Three options for transferring to the client the extra effort made by the garage regarding safety and hygiene measures due to COVID-19

SARS-Cov-2 pandemic does not differentiate continents, races, gender… It has made all of us more equal in many regards. The vehicle repair sector is not an exception, regardless of its market of operation. Even though the impact on activity has been more or less important depending on the confinement measures adopted in each country, all of them have implemented specific measures to prevent contagions within the garage staff as well as with clients and suppliers.

Amongst the adopted measures, the hygienization and disinfection of each vehicle when it arrives to the garage stands out, before performing the operation that brought it to the garage, be it maintenance, a repair, body or paint work… An additional new service that has a cost for the garage, not only because of the materials needed but also because of the time that the professional must employ with each vehicle.

This way, the majority of business decided to transfer this additional cost to the client, which has been frowned upon by many clients and consumer organizations. The most common argument is that clients are forced to pay for a service that they did not ask for, even though most of them accept it because of the enhanced safety this service provides.

Regardless of each country’s legislation, generally speaking, these increases in prices are legal, but the client needs to be informed of them beforehand. In this regard, a visible sign can be enough, though it is recommended to offer all the information related to this issue when receptioning the vehicle.

In any case, it is the decision of the garage manager to charge or not the client for this service. This way, it is up to each company to establish its own hygienization and disinfection methods, as well as billing for them depending on price, costs, competition...

Many car repair businesses have accepted this cost as a competitive advantage or an added value over their competitors, something the client can add to his/her experience with the garage.

However, in case the garage decides to bill for this service, professionals can choose to do it by using one of the following options:

- Bill detailing the quantity and price of each element used during this service.

- Quantify the labor cost of these elements, incorporating them to the hourly rates.

- Establish a fixed price, as long as the invoice includes a complete list of operations and parts included in the set price.

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