What’s Up, Doc?
Message From The CEO
Dear Franchise Owners:
I have some important news concerning Convention 2025. We have come to a decision that Dr. Vinyl & Associates will not be hosting a convention in the upcoming months. We will try something that has been discussed multiple times over the years, but we’ve never actually tried it. We are planning to host the next national convention in November of 2025.
We’re hoping that having the event during the last quarter of the year would be better than our traditional time frame of late February/early March. Also, we are looking at the options of hosting the national convention in a different location other than Kansas City. We’re considering locations that will allow you to make it a business trip as well as have personal time to enjoy a mini vacation while away from home. I will share more details with you very soon.
If you have any questions or comments regarding the information above, please call or email me directly at (816) 838-9440 or email richard@drvinyl.com.
Sincerely
Richard Reinders - CEO Dr. Vinyl &Associates, Ltd.
Anniversary Date Recognition
Each publication of the “What's Up Doc?” newsletter, we like to recognize those individuals who’s anniversary date falls within that month. We will recognize those celebrating their 5, 10, 15, 20, 25…... years of service to The Dr. Vinyl Group.
For this publication, we would like to recognize All franchise partners who’s anniversary came in the year of 2024. We would like to thank all of you for your years of service with The Dr. Vinyl Group. If we somehow missed recognizing you or your associate, please let us know as soon as possible.
MONTHLY REPORTINGANNOUNCEMENT
Recaps are a monthly report of your franchise sales which are due the 10th of the following month. For example, sales generated in the month of January would be reported & due by February 10th.
Recaps are submitted online through the Dr. Vinyl Private Website www.drvinyl.com/member, username and password required. If you do not have internet access, you can submit your recap manually. A blank Monthly Recap Form is on the following page. After logging into the Private Website, click on the Communications tab and then Monthly Recaps.
STEP 1: Enter your Franchise #, Your Name, Your Email and the Month in which you are reporting sales for. Note: Be sure to put your email in at top of form before submitting so you will receive a copy of what you send to Dr. Vinyl. If you have more than 10 technicians in your business, submit additional forms for remaining technicians.
STEP 2: Enter the technician name and the sales amount for each category in which they generated sales. There are six (6) categories that we’ve listed on the form. We use these numbers to calculate Individual High Sales as listed in “What’s Up Doc?” newsletter.
RECAP CATEGORIES
STEP 3: Complete the detailed information at bottom of form that relates to your business. Please note that all franchise owners submitting a deduction on their recap for upholstery must attach invoices that correspond with this deduction. We will not accept statements for this deduction. The amount of the deduction and the amount of your attached invoices must match. If you fail to attach your upholstery receipts the upholstery deduction will be charged back to you on your next months statement.
Website Update: When using the Online Monthly Recap form, you can now attach multiple documents when submitting recaps.
STEP 4: Once you verify your information is accurate and complete, click on submit. The totals will automatically calculate. It’s that easy. If you are not using the Online Monthly Recap Form, please submit all accounting, ACH and monthly reports by email to accounting@drvinyl.com.
Receivable Department accounting@drvinyl.com (816) 525-6060 x 170
JulyAuto Paint Repair Training
Cale Gregory joins Chris & Tera Hawkins, Dr. Vinyl of The Cumberland Tennessee, as an Auto Paint Repair Technician. Before joining Dr. Vinyl, Cale’s work history included Finance, Real Estate and Software Sales. Cale and his wife Callie have 3 children; Oliver - 5, Nora - 3 and Harvey 3-months old. In his spare time, Cale enjoys Golf, Church and spending time with his family!
Welcome to The Doctors Touch Cale!
August Auto Paint Repair Training
Koby Smith Koby Smith joins Brian Greenfield, Dr. Vinyl of Green Country Oklahoma, as an Auto Paint Repair technician. Before joining The Doctors Touch, Koby was a Exercise & Nutrition Coach and he also worked as a supervisor for a local Drywall company in Oklahoma. Koby says he decided to join the Dr. Vinyl Group because it gave him the opportunity to learn a new skill as well as moving closer to loved ones. In his spare time, Koby enjoys exercising and hunting.
The Dr. Vinyl Group welcomes you, Koby! Good Luck!
SeptemberAuto Paint Repair Training
Jayse Cole joins his father Jason Cole, Dr. Vinyl of Blue Grass Kentucky, as an Auto Paint Repair Technician. Jason also attended the APR training course to gain extra knowledge in paint and to share that extra . They are now able to offer all the services the Dr. Vinyl Group as to offer.
Cale Gregory
Jayse Cole
August 2024 Interior Training
Brock Minnick joins Clifton Gentry, Dr. Vinyl of Southeast Missouri & Southern Illinois, as an interior repair technician. Prior to joining Dr. Vinyl, Brock worked at Force Turbos & Bryce Plumbing. Brock says joining Dr. Vinyl gives him the flexibility to continue his education. In his spare time, Brock enjoys soccer, ATV’s, cars and racing.
We’re glad to have you Brock! Welcome aboard!
Joshua Smith joins his uncle Clifton Gentry, Dr. Vinyl of Southeast Missouri & Southern Illinois, as an Interior Repair Technician. Prior to joining Dr. Vinyl, Joshua’s work experience included working in a Breakfast Shop, a Factory, as a Janitor and a MMA Coach. Joshua says he just moved to the United States and he’s excited for the opportunity to work with Dr. Vinyl. When time allows, Joshua passion is performing as a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter.
Glad You Joined Our Family! Welcome Aboard Joshua!
Tyler Marble joins Clifton Gentry, Dr. Vinyl of Southeast Missouri & Southern Illinois, as an Interior Repair Technician. Before joining Dr. Vinyl, Tyler worked in the construction & concrete industry. Tyler and his wife Bethany have 3 children; Isabelle - 8, Gabe6 and Tristan - 4. In his spare time, Tyler enjoys kayaking, hunting and fishing.
Welcome to the Dr. Vinyl Group Tyler!
BROCK MINNICK
JOSHUA SMITH
TYLER MARBLE
August 2024 Interior Training Photos
September 2024 Interior Training
JD Stone joins Dr. Joseph Oesterling, Dr. Vinyl of Michigan, as an Interior Repair Technician. JD and his wife Banae, have two children, Jonathan - 38 and Jade - 33. In his spare time, JD enjoys Fishing, Flying and Auctioneering.
Welcome aboard JD! We Wish You The Best!
Greg Gibbs also joins Dr. Joseph Oesterling, Dr. Vinyl of Michigan, as an Interior Repair Technician. Greg enjoys Art, Graphics, Cars and tinkering around with things.
Welcome to the Dr. Vinyl Group Greg!
Joey Dan Stone
September - October 2024
ATTENTION FRANCHISE PARTNERS
The 2025 Dr. Vinyl calendars are in stock.
We have the following available:
Fast Trax (Newer Sports Cars)
Street Rods (Hotrods From the 20’s, 30’s & 40’s)
Street Thunder (60’s & 70’s Muscle Cars)
QuantitiesAre Limited
The price is $2.62 each. Contact the Parts Department soon to place your order before they are gone.
parts@drvinyl.com
photos below were submitted
Before & After Photos From The Field Seat Removal Not Necessary!
1. I was able to pull the plastic panel off the seat and remove the upholstery clips from the frame to expose the exit bolster.
2. Then I lifted the upholstery just on the drivers exit bolster, cut out bad/deteriorated foam, cut a new piece from scrap foam and shaped it with a turkey carver.
3. I used spray adhesive to glue the new foam piece in place and re- installed the upholstery. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the foam right before closing it up.
The
by Cameron Cockrum, Dr. Vinyl of The Ozarks MO
Pic #1
Pic #2
Pic #3 Pic #4
Before & After Photos From The Field
below were submitted
Always remember, before bidding or accepting any Vinyl Siding job that requires you to work above ground level, to be sure to include in your bid the cost for proper scaffolding for the job you are working on.
SAFETY FIRST!
The photos
by Scott Saari, Dr. Vinyl of Southern Minnesota
NEWS YOU CAN USE FROM THE TRAINING DEPARTMENT
Last Chance For Training in 2024
There are two (2) training classes remaining in 2024. Classes will fill quickly so please contact Dr. Vinyl corporate as soon as possible to get your associate locked in. Below are the training dates available for Interior Repair & Auto Paint Repair courses:
TRAINING DATES REMAINING IN
If you have a new associate that you wish to send to training, please do not hesitate to give David, Teresa or Buster a call to reserve a spot for your technician. Training is by appointment only! All owners and eligible associates must complete and return all necessary paperwork to Dr. Vinyl headquarters (attention Buster Coppage) before the start of training.
PLEASE NOTE: ALLTRAINING DATESARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE!
We will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 28, 2024 and Friday November 29, 2024. We will be back in the office open for business on Monday December 2, 2024.
Top 5 Upholstery
Top 10 Interior
August Top 10 Auto Paint Repair
Top 5 Upholstery
Top 5 Paintless Dent Removal
Upholstery News
By Mitchell Reid - Associate, The Cumberland TN
To all Owners and Techs,
I had an interesting call last week. It was about an upholstery quote from a year ago.
Maybe some back story is in order. In September 2023 I was asked to quote some upholstery damage at an Arby’s location. I submitted my quote, and their response was they were surprised at the cost. I told them I understood and thanked them for allowing me to submit a quote. I did get the impression that they would have been more excited about doing the work if the price was lower. This has happened many times to me in the restaurant upholstery game. In the following weeks they did not call back, and I did not submit a lower bid. To be honest with you, after a while, I completely forgot about the job. Then last week, September 2024 I received a call from the same Arby’s regional manager. She referenced the quote and said they were ready to proceed. I was caught off guard to say the least. I pulled the file and started reading the details of the job. I told her I would honor the quote. She apologized for the delay and said she had a total of 22 locations in the area. She said that if I could, she would like me to do all their upholstery work from this point forward. I told her we could do. We start installing the first 2 locations next week!
The moral of the story, I think, is patience. Do not assume that because the job didn’t come quickly that it won’t come at all. Also, don’t lower your prices for a quick sale. If you do, you will probably always have to do so.
On another occasion, I have even been told that the customer has had a lower bid submitted, and I will lose the job if I don’t drop my price significantly. The customer felt the quote was negotiable. I did not. It was not that big a surprise when he called back 2 weeks later to say the lower bid was a fly by night outfit that could not do the job. Please understand, there was never another bid submitted. It was just a poor attempt to get me to lower my price.
The reason I agreed to honor the Arby’s quote from a year earlier was I bid it correctly the first time. I know the common question I always get asked about upholstery prices is “What do you charge for a 4′ booth cover?”
Well, in this case, for this particular job the 4′ booth price was $275. It was an easy call to honor that old quote. It was a very profitable job.
Bid the jobs so you can be profitable not so you can just stay busy. You can be the busiest upholsterer around and not be making any money. Doing so will just put you out of business and provide less competition to your competitors. Let your competitors take the butt kicking on non-profitable work while you focus on making money so you can not only stay in business but thrive and watch them go under. Survive to become not only busiest but the most profitable one as well.
I am no one of consequence. I am not a Franchise Owner or an employee of Dr. Vinyl Corporate. I am simply an upholstery tech just like you or just like you could be. I do not perform some sort of magic tricks to grow our upholstery sales. I simply make sure we are making money at anything we do OR we do NOT do that work. Please keep this in mind on the jobs that come your way in the future. You owe it to yourself to succeed. Isn’t that the reason you joined Dr. Vinyl in the first place?
You will only know if YOU TRY. Best of luck. I can’t wait to hear about your success.
“All Who Wander Are Not Lost”
