Opening the lobby, and how busy things are

I'm getting asked how this virus is affecting the volume of business.

It is like 911 in some respects.  On-again, off-again.  After 911, it would be three weeks snowed under with work, and then three weeks no work.  It finally started to even out about the spring of 2003. 

So far, it is like that, but it sometimes happens in the middle of the week.  Very busy the first part of the week, then the rest of the week very slow.  One week it was slow in the middle of the week, then on the weekend I couldn't seem to catch up with everything that came my way.  Other shops are reporting the same pattern.

People are not driving as much so there are less repairs.  That follows.  However, once they take the car out to drive again, something shows up because it wasn't exercised.  That's how the off-again, on-again pattern sets in.  Something like a farmer using his harvest truck only one time a year.  It wasn't exercised all year and then at harvest something breaks because of lack of activity previously.

As far as when Janell and I will open the lobby for customers, it most likely will be the first of June if the virus does not surge. 

On the 4th of this month it was evident that people were done being cooped up and they started calling for repairs and business picked up.  I took that date as a benchmark.  I figured that it would take about 4 weeks to see how people's getting-out-and-about, would spread Covid-19 here in Kansas.  And that date is June 1st.

If there is not sufficient up-tick in virus bloom by June 1st, then we most likely will open up the lobby for customers.  But we will do it with good airflow, using windows and fans, and sanitizing surfaces as we have done all along with customer's vehicles.

These has been the two main conversations, "across-the-counter", in the last month.