Arjun

It is good work. Secondly I had some technical knowledge about this work. I had interest in this so I chose this business. I have interest in cars very much and that is the reason I started up this business.

I faced a lot of challenges. I faced with regards to RTO then availability of spare parts. Which spare parts I should purchase and which I should not purchase, which vehicle’s spare parts are running regularly and which are not running. There used to be rate difference in companies’ spare parts then discount and everything. I faced some problem but I covered it fast say within 1 year.

No, I started this business; in my family everybody does the job. I used to do job before this in Domino’s pasta foods. I was working in Ashok Leyland first then I joined Domino’s pasta foods. Then I joined Hindustan Composites then I started up this business.

Customer, customer should have complete satisfaction. Whatever he wants, in what way he wants it, should be complete. I will have to keep customer only first and then only my business will be done. If customer will be satisfied then only I will be able to progress.

Yes we have their files with us, we note down there when we return the material to the vendor.See this is of Tuli international Pvt. Ltd. This is GST bill. We had placed order to them like this. We have files of all parties separately.

Customers are important and because of them only our business is running. Sometimes customers try to bargain in spare parts, I deny them because I don’t use roadside spare parts in the vehicles. But sometimes for customer’s satisfaction we have to fix spare parts in cost price only. Our profit might be very low with that customer but we have to let go. Sometimes we don’t get profit also but we let customer do his way. We feel our customer base should not break down. Suppose a spare part would be worth 120/- and we want to sell it for 100/- but customer will demand it for 90/-. Sometimes we incur loss of 10-20/- and give it to the customers. We feel our customer should not break. We want next time that customer’s car to come to us only for repairing.

Whatever problem customer might be facing in the car, it should be fulfilled by us. Whatever problem he might be facing in the car, we would do it in still better way for the customer. Suppose gears of customer’s car are not working, 1st gear is okay but 2nd gear does not work, we try to find out the problem, its gear cable might have got spoilt or gears from inside might have got spoilt or gear oil might have got exhausted.

Those who have cars and if they face problem in their cars, they come to us. Customers whose free servicing from the showroom gets over, they start coming to us for the servicing. Wherever we might be but customers search for us online and come to us directly. Customers who know us, they recommend us to others also. Some customers come to us through mechanic’s contact also.

Customer should get proper satisfaction from us. Suppose customer’s car does not start up, he would have towed the car 3 kms till our workshop and if his car would start up within 10 minutes, the customer will become happy. Fuel wiring problem would be there, fuel would not reach the engine because rat might have cut the wire. Once the customers become happy, next time they come to us only. Their work would be done faster and cheaper.

Yes we give towing service as well. If it is far distance then we charge them for towing, if it is 1-2 kms far then we give them free service.

No, we don’t write materials in the register. We arrange the material from here or there also at the time of need.

No I don’t keep any record of the customers who comes to the shop. We never go to their place, they come to our workshop. They phone me up and say my car is not starting up; this problem has happened in my car, more petrol is being consumed in the car and everything.

If he is my regular customer, many mechanics also come to us for getting cars repaired, I give more discount to my continue coming customers. If it is new customer we come to know. We see the vehicle number and come to know that this vehicle has come from Raipur or Nagpur or somewhere else. We know that this outside customer will never come again to our workshop. Only 2% difference is there in our discounts for regular and new customers.

Suppose customer comes to our workshop and whatever problem he was facing in his car, if that gets solved then customer says so and if he faces the problem again in the car, he says that again there is problem in his car. We then tell the customer to bring the car again to our workshop or we send our mechanic to the customer’s place for repairing it again.

Customers search my workshop on Google map. My place is 15 kms far from the railway line. Just now only one customer came searching to me on Google map; he called me asked where your shop is, there are many other shops like you here, I want to get my car repaired. He was the customer from MP; he had got transferred here and came to stay here. This is the example I am giving you, many people have transferred and come here like him. He came to my workshop, we took test drive of his car, he wanted us to do servicing of his car as Volkswagen showrooms are not available here. we did good work in his car, he got satisfied and went away.

No there is no competition from other shop, their customers are theirs and our customers are ours only. See the customer standing behind you; he continuously gets his car repaired from us only. He has come from 12 kms far. He comes here only and he does not go anywhere else. If material useful in his car is not available with me, I arrange it for him anyhow. If there is no customer in my workshop, they send their customers to me. They are my friends only. If they don’t have any material, they come and take it from me and if I need some material, I approach them. Little bit far there is one shop like us, he is also my friend. At the time of need they give us the material and we give them the material to use in the car of the customers.

Yes, I chose this location. This is square only for the four wheelers. Here lathe machine and vehicle’s work was done since before. This location is here since before, here earlier trucks used to get repaired. My shop is on rent. The owner of this shop had truck business. He used to repair trucks and road rollers and everything. He stopped that work and so I overtook this work here. On opposite side there were 2-3 more shops but they closed down. One shop was of oil, he used to sell all types of oil in his shop. So this square is here since 1985. Yes. Earlier Bhandara was there only but because of highway Bhandara has got extended till here. Here long route vehicles pass by and trucks halt here so it is called the square. In 1985 there were no buildings or anything in this area. Only here at the square repair shops were there.

A lot needs to be done for the customers ma’am, we can provide customers service same as available in the showroom. Once free servicing is done from the showroom, why customers do not go to the showroom after that? What is the psychology of the customers? In showroom they charge more labor payment. GST will be applied. On top of that there are timings from morning till evening; if servicing is not done today then you will get it tomorrow only. In our workshop immediately customer brings the car for servicing, work is done fast here on the car and within no time customer is told to take back his car. Here we give discount to the customers, at the showroom they would charge the same price whatever they would say. In showroom they don’t give discount of 1/- but we give discount of 10/- to the customers. Now we sell only spare parts. Washing of the car should be there but I don’t have that facility. It was done before but now it is stopped. Alignment balancing is done of the car by mechanics but that is also not there with me, it should be there I feel. Ours is mechanical related work then there is electric related work and for that I don’t have many spare parts for that, I feel that should be there with me too. I arrange that for my customers but I have to call up somebody for that at that time. I cannot keep censors also because in single car 50 censors are installed. Like that so many companies’ cars are there so we have to maintain very big range of censors. Sometimes in showroom also they don’t have this material. They come to us then. Maruti showroom people come to us for that. Hyundai showroom people also come to us. Halogen bulbs are not there in Hyundai showroom so they sometimes come to us to take it. Sometimes we don’t have the material so we go to the showroom and get that material. Like that there is vast range of materials in automobiles. Now foreign country vehicles have come up but Maruti, Hyundai, Mahindra are Indian companies only. Kia, Skoda, BMW, Volkswagen has come up. Like this the range becomes vaster day by day. We are not able to do fulfill all the customers. Even showroom cannot satisfy the customers in terms of material.

Peak time is during summer season, people go for the outing and on the way their cars get spoilt or something so they come to us. Due to hot climate the temperature increases and car also gets heated up. In sunlight cars come to us more.Yes in Dashera, in Navratri, on holidays, during vacation of the children, people go for the outing and sometimes they need to come to us. In Ganesh utsav also they come to us. In Ganesh utsav they don’t come more to us, in Navratri and in summer vacation they come to us more.

There is vast range of materials, sometimes selling party does not have the material and they place the order and then they provide us that material. I manage the stock of material also in my shop. Entire material is displayed on the rack there, suppose in one car only 4 parts are used. Actually same type of bearings would be available 4 on the rack. If one is used in one car then 3 would be lying on the rack. Mechanics keep me informed about the material that is available in the rack, when bearings are left; I placed the order for it from the dealer. Like this I maintain the stock.

No I don’t keep the record of the material but I check on the rack, if I find the material less then I place the order. We write the name of the material and number of pieces and place the order with the party. No on simple paper we write the order and place it to the party whose name would be written there.

I have 4 mechanics and 1 person who bring the material from the racks for the mechanics to use in the cars. Yes. In my absence the staff who brings material from the rack, writes down the name of the part which has got exhausted or remained less in number on the rack. Next day when I come to the shop, I place the order for that. He handles everything like payment, discount structure and all. If the customer demands for more discounts then he calls me up and asks me that customer is demanding this part in this much amount. I know the discount structure of all the material and all the company so I suggest him that much.

I face stocking the material on rack. We plan to do a lot but it becomes difficult for us to carry that out. Space is short, it should be more. Too much record is to be maintained. I have to do a lot; I have to arrange entirely different set up for that. I myself note it down. There is lack of time; I have to maintain it manually. I send the material written on the paper to the party and party places order for us further.

No, I have not listing on Whatsapp. I have the online number of party’s sales person. I have party’s office number also. When sales person is not available then I place the order with the party office. We have to ask sales person whether this material is available with you or not, if he says no then I have to contact different parties for that material.

I wanted to arrange the set up in the starting only but I was not able to do it. Now I will have to again take up balance stock for the material. There are minor spare parts and in taking up balance stock many days will be consumed, this is the reason I have continued with as it is going on. I will have to feed the entire data in my computer. Daily I will have to add the material if it comes up from the party and minus the material if it gets sold out. I will have to maintain the entire stock now. There are many other works to do so I am not able to pay attention on the stock set up now. In the shop work, in the field work…this is the reason I am not able to maintain the stock set up, it is going on as it is.

I have to maintain the staff, sometimes mechanics fight with some customers or customers fight with the mechanics, I have to solve that. I have to balance all that.

I do my work and they do their work. If customer creates the fuss related to the spare part or problem in his car then I have to interfere and explain everything to the customer. I have to maintain relation with the customers and with mechanics both. If anything wrong happens with the mechanics, I have to manage that also.

Yes, I face problems with mechanics sometimes it happens but next day they come to the job. With stock maintaining boy also sometimes I talk roughly when I am not in my mood but after sometime everything becomes normal. If his mind would be disturbed, he would speak up something to me also. Next day we all become normal. Now-a-days the atmosphere has become such, everything seems to be in tension only. I let go things and behave normally with them next day. I feel we all have to work together only. Sometimes while making fun the discussion happens, sometimes the customer would talk to them roughly. Sometimes customers do not feel satisfied with the work of my mechanics so they get angry and I have to explain to the customers that there was some other problem in your car and so other part has got damaged.

Yes I give them payment weekly. Whenever they need financial help, I provide them. If they want I can pay them monthly but they themselves demand for weekly payment. Sometimes they demand for more payment after 2-3 days of weekly payment and I give them. It is kept in my mind and their mind also. I dont decide how much advance I have to give the staff member. It is like we have to carry on with whatever are the circumstances.

3-5 years. Now EV vehicles have come up. It is little bit different market. There is no engine in EV, there is battery in it. With single motor only on the vehicle runs. Company is producing these segment vehicles at present but let us see till when this segment will last. EV is expensive and we have no idea about its spare parts. It has just started up in the market. EV customers will go to showroom only for any problem; EV cars’ starting price is only 20 lakhs.

I found vendors when I wanted to start this business, I visited Nagpur for the material and from there I got contacted through Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, from one party I got contacted to other party. From one salesman I came to know about other party and I contacted that party for the material, like this it went on. When I don’t get material from anywhere then I buy from Delhi side also. Once I had ordered material from Punjab when I did not get that material from Mumbai and Pune. Right now Hyundai’s vendor is regular for me. Maruti vendors are many. Even Toyota’s vendor is regular. If they don’t have then they give us the contact number of other party and we contact that party then. We have vendors at Bangalore, Delhi and all.

I contact vendors on telephone, WhatsApp.

Even though the material is not available with us, customers come to us only. I had placed order to Punjab vendor and told him to give delivery within 4 days but he delivered it after 7 days, customers made much fuss saying our vehicle is standing useless, it has become very late and all. We tell customers that we have placed order for your part, if you will go elsewhere he will also consume 10 days more, now here only 3 days are pending, you will get the part in 3 days from now. We tell them transporting issue happens many times, it becomes delayed. Vendors tell us that we have already dispatched your material, you will get it soon. Vendors tell us clearly that they have that material or not.

Yes, I take material on credit. We take the material from them and then pay them through NEFT after few days. Till now big amount is not paid but if ever it is big amount then they have GST system with them so the amount gets minus from there.

When we don’t get proper material, we return them back the material, the amount gets minus then. We ordered gear from Tuli and that gear was not proper and it did not match and we found this after receiving it, we clicked its photo and sent the company saying it is mismatch so we are returning it back to you, so they minus the amount of that part from our total bill.

No, didn’t face any problem with the vendors but we face problem with the customers. Sometimes customers irritate us very much. They keep on moving around us frequently, once we tell them that you will get the vehicle after 4 days, they keep on coming to our shop daily. They come and say you have not even touched my vehicle, we tell them that we have told you you will get your vehicle after 4 days so you will get it anyhow.

Smartphone is a good invention. WhatsApp is there. I was thinking some time back that when WhatsApp was not there and trucks repairing work was being done here since 1985, how these people would be contacting vendors for the material. Maybe they would be contacting them on landline which was more trending at that time. Now we immediately click the photo, tell the vendor that this spare part and this model number we want and they send us the material. Now everything has become easy. Earlier there used to be much problem. Vendors used to send person with the material for delivery from other state to this state. Entire day of that person used to get wasted in travelling like this. The process used to be very slow. Same was with the shopkeepers, sometimes they used to send their person to the party to get the delivery of the material. At that time travelling was slow also. One day used to get wasted in travelling only. Now the process has become very fast, if we need the material immediately, the vendors will deliver it to us on next day. If we want anything urgent then they charge us more for it and send it in the bus. Within 1 hour the material reaches us then.

WhatsApp has become easy, if we click photo on it and send, our work happens with perfection. The shopkeeper or vendor is able to see the parts properly. I told you about WhatsApp, it is very much useful to me in my business. I click photo of the material that I have received and the copy of the bill and send to the vendor on WhatsApp. Even vendors click the photo and send me on WhatsApp showing that they have sent this material. If they don’t have the material, they write me there that this material we don’t have so check it with other party. If there is any change in the part then we click the photo and send them that photo.

Yes Google map is important and then there is Google search, if I don’t understand anything about the material, I check it on Google search. Yes. Then there is Rane suspension. I have to download its pdf, I don’t have that. Party has the pdf. Pdf means every vehicle’s all types of details, rate and everything comes in it. I search that directly from Google and download it. There is VR Texting, SKF bearing, if I search for SKF bearing, I will get the pdf there in which rate and everything is there and I download that. Yes. I search for electrical goods, washing machine I told you earlier. Yes, I search for washing machine also I come to know from it about the company of washing machine and its price and everything. Even I search for alignment balancing machine, I come to know its price from there.

On Youtube I search for the problems that are experienced in the vehicles on YouTube. Many times we are not able to detect the fault in the vehicle but on YouTube expert mechanics post many videos regarding this, so I watch them. There is one expert of Delhi, I don’t recall his name now, I follow him on YouTube. No. I follow one expert of Kolkata, he is from Hyundai showroom. One expert of Delhi named Ravi Konda, I follow him. He posts many videos regarding the cars. No, he doesn’t show the solution of the problems, he shows how to detect the problem in the cars. I myself see the video and then show it to my staff also. They don’t have android phones so they are not able to watch the videos in their phone. I also show them(the staff) latest news related to current affairs, new news has come up of Nitin Gadkari that diesel vehicles are banned; in Delhi they are snatching vehicles that are 15 years old from people. I show them EV vehicle news.

If a vehicle is of no use and is scrap, they are lying there in my workshop. Till one limit we are able to return back the spare parts to the dealer. If that limit gets crossed then they are kept lying with us only. Sometime some customer comes up searching for the spare parts, at that time we sell him off that junk lying with us.

Yes, my shop is located on Google maps. People search our shop on Google map and come up; they call me up and come up also. There are some customers who inquire for the price of spare parts from many shops and then come finally to our shop. These types of customers search my shop on Google map and call me up from there. They say they want to get servicing done of their vehicle.

I get many inquiry calls now after I put my shop on Google maps. I don’t remember when it was put on Google maps now but it might be 2-3 years back. Just now you saw Just Dial people had come up, they had come here earlier also. They told me get the app downloaded in front of them but I have not yet opened it.

I don’t think people will go through Just Dial and come to our shop. Bhandara is very small city still. The population here might be 15 or 25 lakhs only. This city has not grown very big, not become so much advanced that people will come to my shop after referring Just Dial app. People know at this square only the repairing work of four wheeler is done so they come here only. Here there are showrooms of Maruti, Toyota and Hyundai in the same line. On other side is Tata, all the showrooms are on this highway only. Customer comes here only.

I have never replied on Google maps. They search my shop on Google map and then contact me on phone. No never. Whatever feedbacks are given there is given by my friends only.

Sometimes I get party from Instagram for spare parts. I saw suppliers of Gujarat and Punjab there. Second hand parts seller also I saw on Instagram. I mostly watch Instagram for this reason.I message them too. I follow them because I should come to know when they would post new video on it regarding new vehicles.

I use Google pay. There is no difference in it. Sometimes payment is later due to server down. Sometimes message comes late; I have faced this 1-2 times. Customer sent me money but I did not get message then I wrote down the number of the customer and told him if I don’t get message then I will call you. every time I don’t get message I do this, if customer is from outside somewhere then I make him sit till I get the message. Local customers’ number I take and I ask them to go. There is no difference in it. Sometimes payment is later due to server down. Sometimes message comes late; I have faced this 1-2 times. Customer sent me money but I did not get message then I wrote down the number of the customer and told him if I don’t get message then I will call you. every time I don’t get message I do this, if customer is from outside somewhere then I make him sit till I get the message. Local customers’ number I take and I ask them to go.

For business I mostly use Gpay. Sometimes I use Paytm. Payment is not done on it smoothly, party sent me scanner to do payment through Paytm but it did not happen. I mostly use Gpay.

Yes. All of the options I use. After payment is done I share it with sales person. Sales person will share it with the office ….with the party. Share option is there if you have see…

Yes, I have a register for payment.

I don’t feel there should be any change in it. If customer is not having cash, they immediately do Gpay. I have not faced any problem with Gpay. So I don‘t think I need to change anything.

3 years back before corona customer had to carry cash. If his bill is 5,000/- and he is having 4,000/- cash then 1,000/- was left to be paid, then he would come next time and then give me that but now he gives me 1,000/- through Gpay. Now customers also divide the money and do the payment.

Yes, I have app to note down accounts in my mobile but I don’t use. I can keep my balance……accounts and all in it but I have not used it, if I do it then I will have to take down my balance stock. It will be time-consuming.

No I don’t want to open a new shop, in four wheelers it is not there but in two wheeler it is there. No one has thought about any change in four wheelers and if they think then also I am not interested in it. Now we do everything on our own wish, if association is there then there will be one fixed off day, Price will get fixed, you have to sell this product in this much price only, you cannot sell it in less price. So no one is interested in having association and I am also not.

Yes, profit is there in business but it should run well, everyday 30,000/- business should be there then profit is there. More customers should be added, give satisfaction to them; give them in low price to get their confidence. If sale is happening in 20,000-30,000/- then profit is there, if it goes up then it is good but minimum this much should be there. There are times when only 5,000/- sale is there. During monsoon sale is not good. People don’t go out much.

To create trust in customers, I tell them whatever parts we are putting is genuine, I give them satisfaction, I assure them if anything happens come to me, I am there to help you. I tell them you can call me and we can come to your house and check it. In payment I give discount and give him satisfaction.

No. I have my business card on my Whatsapp status; I did it when I started new. No. you can see my card, on Facebook also I have put. I don’t keep it all the time; I put it on festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali….