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Unrest at the parts store


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As the title says, it appears what had been our main supplier for years is having trouble at their local store.

It started with the loss of their commercial parts person to the competitor, loss of a manager (brought on to straighten the store out) - moved to another store and replaced with a fresh out of training manager, a loss of the commercial sales person that visited the businesses and to top it off a switch in their distribution - causing parts to arrive at 3pm instead of 8am.

Obviously I'm not doing business with them anymore but it sure is a pain in the butt! From write up procedures in our management software to core returns and billing procedures it all works completely different. Anyone else ever experience similar situatuions?

 

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Everyday life around here. We buy from 5 stores, when one store can't get their act together we order from the next one. It seems like when we buy from the same store all the time they get a little too comfortable. It took some work to set up 5 vendors in Mitchell but now its simple to buy from all of them.

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I feel one member of management is at fault in this instance - district manager type deal. It's been a pretty vivid reminder for me - working the numbers and pushing for better numbers are great, but your customers make those numbers happen. Never forgo customer service and customer retention while pushing for better numbers. In this case only big volume shops have been taken care of. The smaller shops are now waiting hours on deliveries. We really only have 2 same day options, and we've got world pac. World pac charges shipping which hurts our margins in many cases!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

My main supplier is Carquest, and they sure do try hard for me. Right now the manager and his son that work there have cancer, they are down to 2 people on the counter and 2 drivers. Even though they are 12 miles away from me it does matter if I make a 3500 dollar order and want 1 oil filter brought by ( not that I try to do that to them) but they MAKE SHIT HAPPEN.

 

Napa on the other hand I am in between 2 stores each about 5 miles away and I am not a "high enough priority customer" for them to bring out a 2500 dollar block heater order.

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      It always amazes me when I hear about a technician who quits one repair shop to go work at another shop for less money. I know you have heard of this too, and you’ve probably asked yourself, “Can this be true? And Why?” The answer rests within the culture of the company. More specifically, the boss, manager, or a toxic work environment literally pushed the technician out the door.
      While money and benefits tend to attract people to a company, it won’t keep them there. When a technician begins to look over the fence for greener grass, that is usually a sign that something is wrong within the workplace. It also means that his or her heart is probably already gone. If the issue is not resolved, no amount of money will keep that technician for the long term. The heart is always the first to leave. The last thing that leaves is the technician’s toolbox.
      Shop owners: Focus more on employee retention than acquisition. This is not to say that you should not be constantly recruiting. You should. What it does means is that once you hire someone, your job isn’t over, that’s when it begins. Get to know your technicians. Build strong relationships. Have frequent one-on-ones. Engage in meaningful conversation. Find what truly motivates your technicians. You may be surprised that while money is a motivator, it’s usually not the prime motivator.
      One last thing; the cost of technician turnover can be financially devastating. It also affects shop morale. Do all you can to create a workplace where technicians feel they are respected, recognized, and know that their work contributes to the overall success of the company. This will lead to improved morale and team spirit. Remember, when you see a technician’s toolbox rolling out of the bay on its way to another shop, the heart was most likely gone long before that.
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