Door-to-door at your service

The current situation is not particularly friendly for businesses like tyre or car services. You have certainly noticed that you have less clients that a month or two ago. Obviously, you can shut your service down totally. But that won’t be the best solution. After all, you can contract the virus (virtually) anywhere. And if you shut your business down, there is less risk. But – there is still risk! 

Does it make sense?

Don’t forget that you would rarely meet more than few people inside your garage. Especially if you make some safety zones inside. Obviously, the risk is still there. But – it is equally high at other places. Take your nearest shopping mall. Or the staircase. Or the elevator – if you live at an apartment block.

There’s loads of ways you can contract the virus with. 

And you won’t get away from it. That’s the bad news. The good news is – if you follow the hygiene guidelines, you would lower the risk of contracting the virus. 

Door-to-door – when clients cannot visit you

Moving around can be problematic these days. Some countries have introduced bans on that – obviously it all depends on the country you live in. And this means many people are simply afraid to leave their homes and visit your company’s premises. So, how about you leave your workshop and go to your client’s? It might be a great idea to pick the car up from the customer’s and drive it to your garage. Or even do the repair at the customer’s place.

Door-to-door – how to do it?

That should not be too challenging. All you need is:

• wheel cover/rug cover/seat cover
• disposable gloves
• protective mask
• disinfecting liquid
• another driver 😉

The last thing could be challenging. It would be best if you went there with someone that you meet everyday – for instance, your colleague from work. 

CAUTION

Make sure to check up on the local regulations regarding moving around.

Public transport?

In general, we would recommend staying away from public transport. The same pertains to taxi or other cars like that. Don’t forget there are hundreds of people using the public buses or trams. This means a much larger risk of contracting the virus. Most of them sneeze or have a cough and spread the bacteria all around. 

The same pertains to taxis or other, similar forms of transport. In these cars, hundreds of people ride everyday. The driver is at risk just due to pure contact with them. Plus to that, drivers often have contact with cash. 

If you already managed to deal with the transportation, make sure to prepare the car for pick-up. Try to maintain as little contact with the customer as possible. Do not shake hands with them – a simple “Hi” or “Good morning” is just a normal things these days.

In general – try to keep safe distance from another person. The 1.5 meter is enough to hear one another. But – we would not recommend talking for too long. After all, you can agree upon all the repairs by phone or by e-mail. 

Picking keys/documents from the customer 

Be sure to have gloves on. Do not touch them with bare hands. The same pertains to documents or service books. If by any chance you ever touch these things, disinfect them. Never touch any surfaces – to avoid spreading the virus. 

Getting into the car – how to do it safely?

First up, have your gloves on. All the time. Don’t forget to put the cover on the steering wheel and on the seats. It’s all about not transferring the germs from the outside to the inside of the car. 

While driving, try not to touch any surfaces. Obviously, driving without the steering wheel would be challenging 😀 The same pertains to door handles, seat or mirror handles. Overall, though, try not to touch the radio or A/C buttons. And disinfect the gearbox handle too. 

By the way – this might be a great idea – such a test drive is a great opportunity to explore potential car problems. for instance, when the customer complains about power losses or squeaky suspension. 

After the repair

When you are done with the repair, drive the car back to the customer. While giving the car back remember to follow some safety recommendations. The first one pertains to money. 

Better take bank transfers or card payments – if you have a wireless terminal. 

It won’t hurt to disinfect the car again while giving the car back. You can use handkerchiefs with the disinfecting liquid on – and wipe the steering wheel, handles or other elements that you touched. 

CAUTION!

Avoid spraying whole areas directly with the disinfectant. As you know, it’s not hard to damage the plastic parts inside the car. You don’t want to have clients complaining that you damaged some parts of their car, do you? 

Tow truck

Things become even easier when you have a tow truck. Obviously, you have to remember about these safety recommendations and the overall costs. 

Roadside tyre service

This is just much easier. To be honest, a tyre service that comes up to the client’s place is just the perfect solution for these difficult days. Maybe it would be a good idea to provide that service at your company? 

If you are looking for providing services like that, consider buying additional 

• wheel balancer
• tyre changer
• compressor
• car jack (like air jack)
• impact wrench 

And all the consumables like weights/valves, markers etc. 

We know that many of our clients are happily using our equipment in vans – like Citroen Jumper. Even the larger ones, like REDATS WT-770 balancer or REDATS M-221-3D1 tyre changer. 

What car jack? 

The air jack would be the best solution. Axle stands or trolley jack won’t be able to jack the few cars up every day. 

The capacity depends on the type of cars you are going to work with. If you operate on passenger cars mainly, the 3T air jack is just enough. For heavier cars, consider the 4.5T or even 8T jack. 

To sum up

Offering door-to-door service can be a great idea at these difficult times. It may let you sustain the financial flow of your company.