Joe Marconi

It takes a lot to be in business today, and your story is similar to so many. Most of us started out the way you did, with great technical skills. I opened my business in 1980 and struggled financially for 10 years until I woke up to the fact that technical skills will never replace business skills. I was busy back then, very busy, but made little to no money. In the 1990's I started to learn about business, customer service, learned about tracking key numbers, started an advertising/marketing programs and forced myself to be a business man, not just a man in business. Most of us are very successful mechanically, but fail financially. Where ever your focus is, is where you will succeed in. The best advice I can give you is to work hard in the areas of business. Learn all you can about the numbers of the business, leadership, marketing and advertising. Pay close attention to your customers, especially your profile customer. AND, know your breakeven, and when you are making money. Set goals to become profitable and never view profit as a dirty word. Lastly, do not be everything to everyone but take care of your key customers as family. Best of luck!

Yes, he picked up the car and was nice as pie. He apologized to Mike, without an explanation. But, that's ok. We did not make a big deal our of it, but will be very carful in the future with him. Thanks for asking!

Welcome to AutoShopOwner.com! It looks like you have great potential. You are right, there is a wealth of information on this site and the members are world-class people. Please do not hesitate to particpate in the forums, post something new or ask questions. You will find we are all here to help each other.

Yes, Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year!

You make very good points. As far as tech rates going up, that's the smoke screen. I went to the meeting with the Workers Comp Board last week, and that's the first thing they said. I needed to remind them that the only way that a service advisor class would hurt the fund is if shops claim techs as advisors. If a shop sees the need to grow and hire a TRUE service advisor, he or she is not subjected to the same potential hazards, so workers comp claims will not go up. I went on to add that shops who hire an official service advisor are doing so because their business is growing. That means hiring more techs, thus the need to hire an advisor. Adding to the payroll base, only adds to the workers comp fund, not diminish it. BUT, only if the it's done legally. As far as the money under the table, that another story and does hurt us all. And the part stores....well that's for another post....

Is any ASO member using RepairPal to help market their business. Or, has anyone checked out RepairPal, or know any other shop that is a member of RepairPal. Just wondering about this site and would like to learn more about it. Below is the web site link. http://repairpal.com/

The fact that I was not there, puts me in an akward situation. I don't know how I would have responed if he had thrown a pen and the receipt at me. I don't think I would have said ok to doing the work on his car. BUT, the last thing I want to do is to second guess and judge the people I put in charge when I am not there. They made a decision and in time we wil discuss it. For now I will and must stand by my staff. There are plenty of fish in the sea, I agree. It will be interesting to see how this guy reacts when he picks up his car. I am hoping that he apologizes, but we shall see.

I really appreciate the comments, it great to hear other points of view. This helps with me with this situation and I will convey this to my staff. Again, the power of ASO and networking!

A good customer called me the other day to let me know that he has concerns regarding the quality of our work. Last week we installed an exhaust system on his Maxima and two days later it sounded like the muffler had fallen off. There was so much noise he was afraid to drive the car. We went to his house to pick it up. We found that the baffles had broken apart in the brand new muffler we just installed. About two month ago this same customer had to bring the Maxima back due to a grinding noise from the brakes. We had done front brake pads and rotors a week prior. We replaced the defective pads along with a new set of rotors at no charge and everything was fine, or so we thought. With each incident we did a follow up call to insure that there were no additional issues. Apparently, these two situations did not sit well with this customer. During his phone call he reminded me that he was a loyal customer and that our customer service is exceptional, always going above and beyond the norm. However, he went on to say, "Exceptional customer service can’t make up for the quality of the repairs." He was very candid and honest. He said he would not “jump ship”, but he has concerns, and that if there are any more quality issues, he will look to go elsewhere. He even mentioned the dealer as an alternative to us. I did not make any excuses, only apologized and assured him that we will do our due diligence to find the root cause of these issues. I thanked him for calling me and let him know that most people would not make this call, and how we welcome the opportunity to know how our customers feel. This situation was a real eye-opener for me. I always believed that exceptional service can save you when things go wrong, but obviously this is not necessarily so. There is no doubt that due to our “above and beyond” customer service culture, we are able to sustain most negative cases. But, I guess even the best customer service can’t save a restaurant if the food is continuously bad. I now need to take a more proactive approach with respect to where I purchase my parts. We also need to track every part issue and see if there are any trends or patterns to the failures. We will bring it up to the parts supplier, but if the parts supplier makes no effort to fix the issue, I will have to seek other companies to do business with. In this business climate, too many things can go wrong. We, as business people, need to understand the perspective of the customer. And, no matter how much we preach customer service, the quality of our work is the signature of our brand and our company.

Four months ago a customer came to perform a brake inspection and look over the car for any needed services. It was a first time customer, referred to us by one of our regular customers. The car needed brakes and a few other minor services. Other than that the car was in very good shape. He seemed like a reasonable and friendly person. He came back yesterday for an LOF and state inspection. The tech noticed that the right front wheel bearing was dangerously loose. When the service advisor called him, he blew up and started screaming at the service advisor, stating that we missed it four months ago. My service advisor tried to explain to him that this bearing was so bad, there is no way someone could have missed it. In fact, it was inspected by one tech and then handed over to another tech for the brake work and then re-inspected afterwards. He continued to yell and said not to touch his car. When he came down to pick up the car and pay for the state inspection, he signed the credit card receipt and then threw the pen and the receipt at my service advisor! He then began his rant again. He went on and on and on. My service advisor said nothing, but tried to explain again the facts of the case. I was not at work yesterday. I plan a Friday each year before Christmas to spend with my wife to finish up Christmas shopping and just spend the day together. My manager called me at night to tell me what happened. I called Mike, the service advisor who dealt with this guy, in the morning to first praise him for his professional conduct and get his take on the situation. I apologized to Mike to having to be subjected to that abuse but again praised him for his control and how he handled himself. Here’s the kicker, as the customer was walking out the door, he turned to asked Mike how much the job would be. Mike gave him the price and the guy said, “When can you have it done”. I am sure Mike wanted to tell him, “When hell freezes over”. But, he remained calm and said, “Monday”. He said to keep the car and fix it! Is this strange or what? Monday I plan on calling this person when his car is done and you know I will be the one handing his keys to him and collecting his money. And while Mike was very professional and did the right thing, I just might “persuade” this guy not to cross that line again with my people, because I don’t know how you feel, but no one has the right to disrespect others, no one!

Hey, Gonzo, did you record my conversations with MY CUSTOMERS??? Because I have had those exact same people calling my shop! This is amazing, is there species of people out there that are somehow programed to invade repair shops? Maybe is a plot, or some sort of test? Anyway, happy to see we are all in the same boat. You just gotta laugh, right?

My thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost their lives yesterday and their families in Newtown CT, an area not far from where I live. At times, things don’t seem to make sense. Tragic events such as this reminds us how precious life is and why we need to focus on the things that really matter in our lives. As the President said last night, “Hold your children a little tighter tonight and tell them you love them.”

All great comments. Direct mail, as in any other forms of advertising takes time to develop, and the more consistent you are with your message on a continual basis, the better. Don't give up on advertising. I do agree that you need to identify your profile customer and then find those pockets of your demographics that fit that profile. You will need to try different things, some will work, some will not. ID your ideal profile customer, create the message you want to give, give an offering and commit to continual advertising. Metro areas like yours (I'm from the Bronx originally, so I know Queens) are bombarded with so much advertising, it's tough to get thru to your target audience, but it can be done. Can Mudlick help you understand your ideal customer and then target them? This is a question I would have for them. Another thing to consider: A consumer is not ready to buy until he or she realizes a need or an awareness of your product or service. That's why you need to constantly advertise. Look at it this way: you are sitting watching the football game and a commercial comes on about Home Depot. Home Depot does not expect you to jump off your couch and run down to the nearest Home Depot, just because it aired a commercial, right? No, it's just sending a message, reinforcing its brand. Hope this helps and makes sense. Great post and good luck!

So true Gonzo! When I tell myself, "Now I've heard everything", something new comes along. You look at life thru the lens of a writer, always seeing the inner story. That's a gift, and we are lucky that you can bring out things in life that we are aware of, but when you bring it out, it has a deeper meaning. So keep looking thru that lens and keep writing!

TECH NET Shops, which are selected by CARQUEST auto parts have a nation-wide warranty and it works great!

This is a constant battle in most shops, I know I struggle with it too. Some techs are so clean, you never have to tell them to keep thier bay clean. Others, are natural pigs. I asked my manager, who was once my lead tech, why some techs are such pigs. He told me that honestly when we are working and busy we never think of it. It's not like they WANT to be pigs, they just are not wired that way. Create a shop layout where each tech has easy acess to drain pan, oil drain buckets, oil absorb, brooms and plenty of garbage pails. When there is a little down time, have the crew as a team clean the shop and give praise to anyone that cleans anything on thier own. We have a clean-up person too, but his job is mostly to keep the bathrooms clean, the customer waiting area and the exterior. I think, if possible, the tech should be accountable for his/her own bay. By that, I mean, stop throwing the oil filter boxes or the water pump boxes on the floor, be more carful when draining oil, get a drain pan when bleeding brakes, etc. A lot can be done, it just needs to be a concerted effort. Hope this helps, it is an on-going issue for most....

I don't know what system is best, I am not an expert with all the technical stuff. But, I would look into who you have working for you and find out how the items are missing; employee theft, customer theft or a combination of both. I do have secrutiy camers at my business, but I don't use the cameras to maintain honesty, I try to hire honest people. I hope I am not sending the wrong message to you, but prevention is better than a "gotcha" policy. Does this make sense or I am over-reading this.

Remember Pearl Harbor On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, the American Army and Navy base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The attack came as a surprise to the American Army and Navy and lead to great losses of life and equipment. More than 2000 American citizens were killed and more than 1000 were injured. The Americans also lost a large proportion of their battle ships and nearly 200 aircraft that were stationed in the Pacific region. More than 60 Japanese servicemen were killed, injured or captured. The Japanese Navy also lost five midget submarines and 29 aircraft. Let us never forget the brave men and women who have served our great nation!

I got a call two weeks ago from an insurance company asking for my insurance carrier and policy number. When I asked him why, he said that one of my customers was involved in an accident and claimed that her brakes did not work, and that we were the last shop to work on the brakes. I asked him to explain the details of the situation. He said that back in August, this woman rear-ended another car and claimed that she could not stop and that we had just did the brakes. He continued to say that she drove the car away from the scene, with only minimal damage and that the car was never inspected at the time and that she is still driving the car now. The other car sustained $2000 worth of damage. I said, “Really, and what fairy tale land do you think I live in?” I called my insurance company and they said they must open a claim because someone made a statement against me. He told me that it happens all the time and sometimes the insurance settles because it will cost more to fight it. This is nuts, anyone can say anything? My insurance company promised they would not just cave in without a complete investigation, but this smells really fishy. These are the things about business that I do not enjoy!

A few weeks ago I put an ad out for a tech in the local Penny Saver and on Craig’s List. I listed 2 positions, B rated and Entry Level Lube Tech. I got a lot of people responding to the ad; a lot more than I expected. It was nice for a change to have to choose and not settle. I ended up moving one of my techs into the B position and hiring an Entry Level tech, a graduate from Lincoln Tech, who has a lot of street experience. After we narrowed down the applicants to 4, we had each work a few days to see how they work, fit in, and interact with the rest of the staff. I made my choice after consulting with all the techs and service advisors. You never really know how things will work out, but at least we had a process.

Agree....emails may be overated for some businesses. Now, before we ask for the email address, we ask, "Which form of communication do you prefer to receive service reminders, etc. Many of them say, "Post Card". I think every shop needs to do a study to see what is working for them.

Don’t Assume Customers Prefer Emails Emails are a great way to communicate to your customers, especially with service reminders and recommendations. But, don’t blindly assume that customers prefer email correspondence or that the customer even reads their emails in a timely manner. Many people, especially with home email addresses, don’t check their emails daily. And when they finally get to them, the “in box” is loaded with a back log of emails and your service reminder email may be missed as the customer quickly scans the emails and hits the delete button. Business people live by emails and text, that’s different. At write up, particularly with first time customers, ask what form of communication the customer prefers and get permission for either: Email, Text, or Post card. We have many people who when asked for their use email, say yes and give us the email address. But when asked how they would prefer their service reminders, they tell us, “Post Card please.” More and more shops are using text programs to remind people of appointments and to communicate with the customer. This technology has its place too. Again, just make sure you discuss with the customer that you use this technology and ask their permission to opt in. One more thought, because of all the spam and junk emails we get, email may not be as effective as it once was. Post cards reminders and recommendations still have their place with CRM marketing.

Very inspirational! Napoleon Hill said, …“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve. Regardless how many times you may have failed in the past or how lofty your aims and hopes may be.”