How To Find A Trustworthy Car Repair Shop

According to statistics, about 50% of the people who live in Canada own vehicles. It’s safe to say that at some point, all car owners will need to take their car to a shop for repairs or maintenance.

However, finding an affordable shop with trustworthy mechanics who fix cars promptly is not an easy task. How do you find a good repair shop for you vehicle? Here are some tips that may be helpful.

  • Talk to your friends and neighbors. Not only will they give you honest advice, but they can also give you hints as far as shops that should be avoided. This is especially helpful if you talk to family and friends who have lived in the area for a reasonable length of time.
  • Look for a shop as soon as possible. Most people don’t think too much about choosing a repair shop until they are having car problems. Then, they will take their car to whatever mechanic is available simply to get the problem fixed. This is probably not a good idea. In fact, the best time to look for a car repair shop is when your car is actually before you need one.
  • Consider distance. You may want to choose a shop that is close to your home simply for convenience. In some cases, it may be possible to walk to the shop instead of asking friends and family for rides to pick up or drop off your vehicle.
  • What are the shop hours? If a shop opens after you need to be at work or closes before you arrive home from work, it may be very difficult to pick up your car or drop it off. If you choose to do business with such a shop, you will need to take time off of work every time you have car problems.
  • Find out what types of payment arrangements the shop has. Some places will only take cash while others take cash and certain types of credit cards. Other shops may offer patrons a 90 day same as cash arrangement if repairs cost over a certain amount.
  • Check online to read customer reviews. Keep in mind that not all business will feature customer reviews, especially small “mom and pop” shops. However, you may find that many shops do actually have reviews. Avoid shops with a large amount of negative reviews, although keep in mind that every shop is bound to have a few unhappy customers.
  • Consider how long the shop has been in business. Repair shops that do a good job tend to stay in business for a long time. However, this does not always hold true. You may find a shop that has recently opened with excellent service too if you take the time to look around.
  • Chains or small businesses? There are good and bad points about choosing either a shop that is part of a chain or choosing a shop that is run by an independent owner. Before making your choice, it is best to evaluate your needs and see which type of shop would be best for you.

As you can see, finding a good car repair shop isn’t very difficult; it just takes some time and effort!

6 Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Online Travel Business

Travelling is one thing that you may find common in everybody’s hobby nowadays. In fact, it is a passion for many. People are getting busier and stressed out with each passing day. And traveling is the only thing that can help them to cut off from their busy schedules and get a bit relaxed. As a result, more and more people are in continuous search of online travel businesses that can help them plan their dream holidays. This has led to a massive rise in the competition in the travel business industry. You have to be distinctive to make your online travel business a success.

A considerable amount of work goes into setting up your travel business, enhancing the showcase, and getting the desired number of customers. And a few mistakes here and there can ruin your venture even before starting.

Here, are the most basic mistakes that you must avoid or it might kill your online travel business even before it takes off:

1. Not offering complex travel services
People can easily plan their routine point-to-point tours or trips with the help of the Internet. What they need is someone to help them plan their trips with varied & complex requirement combinations. You must allow the customers to create and plan their travel packages as per their convenience. Providing regular travel packages will do no good to your online travel business but will instead lead the customers to continue planning their trip on other travel websites.

2. No prompt support
Customer satisfaction is the first & foremost requirement in the travel business. You should be within your customer’s reach at any point of time. Yielding prompt support to your customer’s queries & complaints can save many of your customers from moving on to other travel portals. Try giving quick solutions and clearly mentioning all the instructions can help your business from getting bad reviews on Google & other social media platforms.

3. Poor user interface
It’s very simple: “People buy what they look at and like”. So, it becomes necessary to have an attractive and engaging user interface. Customers should be easily able to traverse through your travel portal and get all the things they want. Your travel portal needs to have a simple yet classy design with an appealing call to actions, appropriate sorting filters and easy payment & checkout options. All these will help the customers to take up your proposal at the most opportune time.

4. Not having a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
There are numerous travel websites on the Internet. Following the same strategies like them won’t do any good to your business. It’s tough to beat them & move forward. At this point, you need to have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). USP is the thing that differentiates you from the rest of the crowd. This means that you need to deliver something that none of the businesses from your niche does. For example, you can transform your business message to sell expert advice & personalized services rather than some deals, offers & discounts.

5. No promotions or marketing
Promotions or marketing is the best way of reaching out to your target audience. Most of the travelers start searching online or on the social media platforms before planning their trip. Lacking marketing and promotions will make you lose some of your potential customers. You can hire an Internet marketing company to do this task for you.

6. Lack of personalization
People don’t like to spend much time browsing all the options. They prefer websites that provide them with relevant suggestions as per their needs and interests. In this scenario, personalization can help you. Personalization allows you to learn about each customer so that you can suggest relevant solutions aimed at their needs and interests like What is their budget? What hotel brand do they prefer? Are they flexible with their dates? etc.

By doing just a bit more than your competitors, you are sure to stand ahead of all the other online travel businesses and guarantee that you have a continuous flow of travelers for quite a long time to come.

How To Set Your Health And Fitness Goals With Goal Setting Techniques

Once you have identified the sort of things you wish to get out of life, you will then need to create a plan of action that helps you achieve your goals and personal desires. Once you have written down a tentative plan on how to go about accomplishing your goals, you will need focus in order to stay on the path towards your shining glory and rewards. After setting goals, you need to manage these pursuits, as well as maintain motivation through an effective plan of action.Throughout society, the pressure to stay thin, maintain an attractive appearance and exhibit a perfect picture of health, as well as continue fitness goals are common personal goals. In this day and age, sticking to health and fitness goals are pretty hard with all of the enticing restaurants lining the streets of even the smallest of cities. Exercising often takes a backseat to the other goals you have set for yourself, such as getting that raise at work or finally sealing the deal on your first home.Eating on the run as you race to pick up the kids from soccer practice or shop for weekly groceries becomes a common habit for those who feel they cannot take the time to prepare a well-balanced meal. Finding the time to stick to health and fitness goals is becoming an increasingly hard task to accomplish in many households, which not only affects adults, but also trickles down to their children. What kind of example are you setting for the little ones looking up to you?Whether you are forced to focus on health and fitness goals because your doctor has suggested it or you are unhappy with your appearance, finding the time to devote to this life-changing goal will prove highly beneficial in the long run. One of the first things you should decide upon when entering this personal challenge is why you wish to pursue any health and fitness goals you may have set for yourself.Knowing why you want to tackle these goals will better help you achieve these desires. For some, improving their appearance is ranked number one, while others wish to lose weight for a specific reason. Athletes set health and fitness goals to increase their flexibility, physical skills and strength, as well as endurance. When achieving these goals, more than just a better body and physique is obtained, confidence is built and a renewed sense of mental and emotional health is felt.How to Set Realistic Health and Fitness GoalsOne of the most important aspects of achieving health and fitness goals is setting realistic goals, which usually involves focusing on reasonable time frames (in regards to seeing results). If you expect to reach your high school weight in a month, this is highly unlikely. If you believe you can increase your benching weight from 100 pounds to 300 pounds in one week, you are seriously mistaken. Setting realistic health and fitness goals increases your chances of completing the milestones you wish to achieve.Take weight-loss goals, endurance goals and speed goals one step at a time. You won’t become a speed demon overnight and you can’t squeeze into a dress three sizes smaller after one day of working out. Achieving health and fitness goals takes time and you need to be willing to give as much as you wish to get out of the process.Record Keeping HelpsWhen you write down personal health and fitness goals on paper, they become a real mission to accomplish. Jot down smaller goals, such as run on the treadmill for 30 minutes straight without stopping or leave the sweets alone during the weekdays. Once you accomplish these smaller tasks, you might be well on your way to losing 10-15 pounds during the winter season. Crossing out each goal you’ve achieved is also a great way to keep motivated.Don’t Get DiscouragedAccomplishing health and fitness goals can be a frustrating journey, but with a positive attitude, patience and persistence, you will see results even if they don’t come in time for the high school reunion.