AutoHQ Guarantees
Any work done at Auto Headquarter Motorsports is done correctly the first time.
Our labor rate is $110 per hour; Flat rates are charged for most scheduled maintenance services. Our labor charges and part prices are fair and very competitive.
AutoHQ Customer Bill of Rights, July 6th, 2008
1. We work for you.
2. We earn your loyalty and will keep your trust. If you ever have a question or concern, please ask us right away.
3. Customers are usually right. And customers know their own cars better than anyone else. Though customers do not always receive the best information from outside sources, the customer's ideas and opinions are always respectfully acknowledged. Our goal is to help you reach your goal by building you a reliable car that performs as you desire.
4. Any work we do for you will be done right the first time.
5. In the unlikely circumstance that AutoHQ makes any mistake during mechanical work or damages your vehicle, we will notify you immediately and take all necessary steps to correct the mistake/damage at no cost to you. This is our guarantee.
6. If you are tuned by Shiggy and not satisfied with your results, please tell us immediately and we will do all we can to satisfy you right away. If Shiggy has already gone home to Japan, we will do everything reasonable to make you satisfied when Shiggy returns. In some circumstances, we can safely offer remote, online custom tuning of customers' cars to optimize their maps.
7. At AutoHQ we make every reasonable, honest effort to have your service or project completed in a timely manner. Yet we always take the time to do our work right rather than rush a job or cut any corner. Given any unanticipated delay, such as parts becoming temporarily unavailable or an additional problem with your vehicle being discovered, we will notify you immediately and reassess our expected finish time/date considering your needs.
8. The regular shop hours are 12 pm to 7 pm Monday through Friday, and Saturday 12 pm to 5 pm. If you have an appointment during those hours and find no one at the shop when you arrive, we will do something really nice for you! This kind of error on our part now occurs very infrequently.
9. If you want to have your car towed to the shop outside of normal business hours, you can reach me at my cell number anytime. If we are reasonably available, we are happy to come to the shop and secure your car inside the garage, given available parking space.
10. We only upsale parts that we genuinely believe are superior products for providing better performance, reliability, and/or value. We do not recommend parts to customers just to profit from part sales. However, you should expect that we usually make some profit on part sales, given that we work hard to find genuine JDM parts for customer, arrange shipping, and still get the best possible prices. If especially concerned you are welcome to ask us how much we are profiting on the sale of any part to you. More often than one would expect, we sell parts at our cost and make no profit.
AutoHQ Bill of Rights, July 6th, 2008
1. We have to the right to be spoken to and treated with respect at all times at the shop.
2. We have authority over the premises. Customers may only enter the garage/shop floor and office when invited and for a specific purpose--to view findings on your vehicle, discuss the work, products, etc. Customers may be asked by any AutoHQ employee to wait in the lounge or leave the premises at any time, and should expect to be asked if found present inside the shop or office without invitation. Customers are not allowed to hang out/socialize inside the shop during normal business hours. Customers must enter through the front door opening into the lounge, and may not enter through the garage bay door.
3. The office and shop computer are for AutoHQ use only. Free wireless internet is provided in the lounge for any customer.
4. If no appointments are on the schedule and no customers are expected, though unusual, we have the right to close the shop, and occasionally we will close the shop during normal business hours to have lunch, pick up parts, visit GoKart Racer, or otherwise enjoy ourselves. Also, as we are keeping regular business hours now, any job that is not finished by our scheduled closing time will be wrapped up for the day and finished the next day. If a customer arrives late in the afternoon and insists on having his job finished the same day, and that requires our mechanics to stay past normal business hours, we will bill labor at an overtime rate of $127.50 per hour.
5. Smoking is not allowed anywhere inside the shop, or outside the shop within 20 ft of any entrance. If any customers are in the parking lot, smoking is not allowed in the parking lot.
6. We usually give first-time customers a discount on labor charges. But we always have the right to decide if we will offer a discount, and what the discount will be. Customers should not expect or ask for a discount unless promised a discount. Our labor rate is already very fair--generous considering Kevin's experience and expertise--and part prices are almost always discounted. We work very hard to get our customer great part prices. You have the right to ask questions about pricing, but not to haggle or low-ball prices on any new or used parts or services.
7. We have the right to request customers pay for aftermarket part orders in full and upfront. Sales tax is always charged on the total price of parts sold. Shipping charges are the customer's responsibility.
8. During business hours our friends are considered customers, and should not expect special privileges, discounts, or exemptions from our stated policies. This rule exists to keep our work efficient and to ensure fair treatment of all customers. We try to treat all our customers as friends, but we will not be taken advantage of because of our hospitality.
9. We have the right to build and tune cars responsibly, as well as to do our best to ensure the safety of our customers. We would honestly rather have an unsatisfied customer than be responsible for blowing an engine, in the short- or long-term. Even when a customer requests that we push the limits, we will not tune a street car beyond its safe limits. Vehicles used strictly for competition are tuned appropriately and per the customer's request understanding the risks involved.
10. Though very uncommon, we have the right to refuse work or service to any customer without explanation, as well as to discontinue work already begun if the customer refuses to meet, in a timely manner, our agreements regarding payment, providing parts, or any other matters previously agreed upon.
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Our policies exist to ensure win-win cooperation between our team and each of our customers, and we fully expect each customer to respect our policies. With so many of our friends being customers, and most of our customers becoming our friends, it is necessary that we establish and enforce policies that ensure fairness to each customer, and that support us in doing business efficiently, honestly and professionally. Our policies are non-negotiable and subject to change without notice. Any customer is welcome to inquire about any policy for the sake of understanding or appreciating, but not to question or argue about our policies.
Thank you very much for your respect and cooperation, especially when honestly we are all on the same team to build great cars. We keep our customers' interests in mind and heart always, hoping to build and tune strong and reliable cars for you, as well as to provide the best scheduled maintenance at a fraction of dealership prices. |
AutoHQ Statement of Mutual Respect to Competing Shops, July 6th, 2008
No one is perfect and mistakes are occasionally made at even the best of shops. Moods and opinions vary, and not everyone can resist taking a cheap shot. Customers will always have different experiences at different shops. Given enough customers, every shop will have outspokenly unsatisfied customers, and, quite honestly, some individuals are incredibly difficult to satisfy no matter what you do for them, and some people will hold grudges over any small mistake or omission.
At AutoHQ, we understand ourselves and have a general appreciation for human nature. As of this day, it is our policy to show respect to competing shops and to try our hardest to avoid directly or indirectly criticizing, condemning, or complaining regarding reputable competing performance and/or motorsports shops.
We will especially appreciate if any attention to our policies here is focused where is should be, on a spirit of cooperation and mutual support that we hope to develop with and among Bay Area shops.
We seek to acknowledge and show respect for the accomplishments and strengths of competing shops, and to give credit to their good works and reputation whenever possible.
Our reasoning is simple. When you give people a good reputation, they more frequently live up to it. Also, we have respect for any shop able to prosper in this industry. Overall, we appreciate that in a relatively small industry, and one of luxury, supported by a limited community of customers, that if competing shops are disrespecting each other, undercutting each other, or otherwise intentionally harming the business or reputation of one another, the whole industry will suffer and the community of performance enthusiasts who support it will decrease in number and strength. The opposite is also true, that in times of mutual support and respect, and of general good reputation, that the industry as a whole will benefit, and that the community supporting it will be encouraged to grow, given trust in their chosen shops.
Therefore at AutoHQ we would like to make a few pledges. First, if a customer is known to be price shopping, seeking to compare quotes for identical or very similar services between different shops (for instance, showing up to us with another shop's previous quote in hand and looking for us to undercut the other shop), we will not quote that customer. If we do quote the customer upon their insistence, we will not knowingly undercut local shops.
Some customers may read this pledge and believe that we hope to control prices, or to limit the role of free market competition. We are doing neither. We honestly believe that each shop can and should provide a quote to their customers that they believe is fair to the shop and to customers. We will let customers decide where to take their business based on many factors, price being only one factor, and often not the most important.
We are frequently asked for our opinion regarding other shops and tuners, in person, via phone and e-mail. As of today we are making it our policy to respond that we don't know, even if we do have an opinion or impression, unless we have something good to say. We will always be ready with good things to say about specific local shops.
We believe that in a community of mutual respect and support among shops providing similar services, our businesses will profit and prosper in monetary, competitive (racing), and human terms more so than we would otherwise. Coming together with our resources, we hope to work with other local shops to sponsor events, and also to service our customers as best as possible when another shop offers a product, possesses equipment, experience or expertise that is of interest or benefit to our customers.
Some readers may criticize these policies as idealistic or unrealistic. These policies are idealistic, but still reasonable. It is unrealistic to expect perfect discipline, that no one will ever speak ill of someone. We are sure to make mistakes occasionally. However we are making it our practice to avoid it, and our practice to point out the accomplishments and strengths of competing shops. Seeking to control our own behaviors and statements is realistic, and responsible. We would much rather cooperate with, and even form camaraderie among, locals shops than compete for business. One day when AutoHQ prospers enough to support a dedicated race car, we hope to compete as friends on the track. In the meantime, we are happy to see the successes of other local shops, and to serve our customers as best as possible. |
P: 650.368.3290 C: 408.203.8513 F: 650.368.3509 E: info@autoheadquarter.com
230 Villa St., Mountain View, CA 94041 |
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