Operations

Mobile or workshop fitting? Offer both, cleanly.

Mobile and workshop fitting are often seen as one service in two locations. Most shops adding mobile fitting attach it to the workshop business and then wonder why margins look worse six months later. They are different products with distinct cost structures, and treating them as one causes the issue.

A fitting van parked by a garage entrance

They are different products, not a single service in two locations

A workshop job occupies a bay for a set time, with all tools and consumables to hand and no travel.

A mobile job requires a van and driver for the task plus travel each way, carries only what was loaded that morning, and faces weather, parking, and access issues that a bay does not.

These have different cost bases and risks. If you price them the same, one subsidises the other, usually the bay work quietly covering the van.

Price them separately, and charge for travel honestly

Assign each its own price instead of adding a mobile surcharge at checkout. A surcharge feels like a penalty and obscures the true economics from you.

The factors to consider in a mobile price are those that truly fluctuate.

Travel time each way is the biggest hidden cost and often underestimated.
Job duration on site is typically longer than in a bay.
Van capacity matters, as a two-tyre job and a four-tyre job vary more in stock than travel.
A minimum job value ensures a single tyre at distance isn’t sold at a loss.
A coverage radius, beyond which you either decline or adjust pricing instead of absorbing costs.

A shop that can’t determine mobile job costs before the van leaves is guessing, and that guess eats into margins.

Schedule them differently

Workshop jobs fill bays; mobile jobs fill routes. Running both from one calendar leads to chaos.

A bay calendar optimises for constant occupancy: the next job starts as the last ends. A van calendar optimises for location: two jobs on the same street are far more valuable than two at opposite ends of the area, even at the same price.

Thus, mobile slots should be offered by area and time window, not exact times; a booking system that can’t do this will over-promise or leave the van underutilised.

Stock is the unplanned constraint.

A workshop can order for tomorrow. A van has what was loaded this morning, and a mobile job with the wrong tyre is a wasted trip and a disappointed customer.

That makes accurate fitment data more valuable to a mobile operation than to a workshop one. If the size came from a registration lookup rather than a customer guess, the van is loaded correctly far more often.

It supports confirming fitment at booking, not on arrival, and having a clear rule for when the on-site job differs from the booked job.

Let coverage dictate your offerings.

Coverage is the true limit of a mobile business and should be clear, not concealed.

A defined radius keeps van jobs accessible and routing sensible. Customers outside it should see garage options instead of a mobile slot that can't be served well, and this should be clear before booking.

Customers shouldn't have to think about which product they're buying. They choose a time and place that suits them; the system decides if it's a bay or a van and prices it accordingly.

When is mobile worth adding?

The mobile vs garage fitting question isn't which is better, but whether you need both. Not every shop does. It's worth adding when it reaches customers a bay can't, and worth declining when it just shifts existing customers out of the bay.

The case is strongest where your catchment exceeds travel limits, where work suits a driveway, and where demand exists at times a garage can't serve. It's weakest where your bays are full: a mobile job that empties a bay you could have sold is a worse job at a higher cost.

Track the two separately in your reporting for the first year, with travel counted accurately. It's the only way to know which situation you're in.

Common questions

Should mobile fitting be pricier than garage fitting?

It typically should, as it includes travel time and van capacity that a bay job doesn't. Price it as its own product, not as a surcharge at checkout, which feels like a penalty and obscures the true costs.

How do I schedule mobile and garage jobs together?

You generally don’t. A bay calendar optimises for constant use, while a van calendar focuses on location, so mobile slots are best offered by area and time window rather than exact times.

What is the largest hidden cost in mobile fitting?

Travel time each way, often underestimated, followed by stock. A van carries what was loaded that morning, so a wrong fitment means a wasted trip rather than an order for tomorrow.

How do I determine a coverage radius?

Based on routing, not ambition. A radius that keeps jobs accessible and clusters sensibly is better than a wide one causing long unpaid drives. Customers outside it should see garage options clearly before booking.

Is mobile fitting worth adding to a garage?

It’s worth adding when it reaches customers a bay can’t. It’s not worth it if it mainly shifts existing customers out of bays you were already filling, as that’s a more costly version of work you already had.

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