Joe Marconi

This year has been one of strangest years in business I have ever experienced. I have lived through many roller coaster economies in my 32 years as a shop owner, but this time around it’s a bit different. Although the media tells us the economy is better, I don’t think they have spoken to the same people I speak to on a daily basis. But, we will live through whatever is going on and come out even stronger, I am confident of that. One very positive aspect is my car count, which remains strong. A clear indicator that consumers are still coming to me, it’s just that their discretionary income is somewhat less these days and their concern about the short term and long term future has them a little leery about spending. The other day I had to leave early and called the shop later that day to see how things were going. I know that the schedule was booked and expected to hear good things. My service advisor sounded a little down and told me that he just can’t sell anything lately. Now, let’s clear things up. A few “no’s” once in a while is normal. You can’t make every sale. But when a service advisor of this caliber who is accustomed to making sales get rejected more than usual, it starts to eat at him. The next morning I sat down with my manager and two service advisors and explained to them that people are worried right now. Do not take it personal and just stick with our game plan. Always remain positive and look for ways to help people. Give them options, plan out the services they need and try to understand the situation from their point of view. When you see an employee getting a little discouraged, it’s your job as the boss to give them an emotional pat on the back and point out all the good they have done. Maintaining morale and optimism will go a long way and just may make the difference between success and failure.

Good old fashion American ingenuity, don't know how is started, but glad we have here in this country. And hope is never ends…

I feel the same way you do, but a word of caution; the long term affects of breathing in those chemicals is not good. It affects the respitory system and other organs like the kidneys. We really restrict the use and don't overuse it and we use brake cleaner from Wurth Products. To keep costs down we buy it in the drum. To be honest, the less we use the better. Where we can clean with good old fashion soap and water, we do it for health reasons. Would like to hear from other shop owners, this is a great topic....

On Memorial Day, we remember and honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. And we also look to the future. To the ways we can honor their legacies and to the ways they have given us strength and help propel us into that future even as we cherish their memories. Joe Marconi

Welcome Matt, to AutoShopOwner and best of luck in your venture. The advice I can give you is to stick with your thoughts on how to position your brand differently from the rest of the pack. I don’t know if you realize the importance of what you stated in your post, but it will be the key to your future. Too many of us went into business based on the strategy of great technical attributes, quality tools and equipment. Although those are needed attributes, the consumer does not have the awareness of these attributes. It would be like going to your doctor with a pain in your shoulder and you asking the Doctor, “What brand MRI and x-ray machine do you use”. You are not going to your doctor becuase of his equipment, right? We assume that the doctor has the right equipment. It’s the same for us. Build a business that people take notice, because it’s NOT the same as the rest. Use your business talents as your guiding force. Oh, and about you doubting yourself about getting into this business. After 32 years I still second guess myself from time to time. That’s human nature. Best of luck and keep posting questions, comments and ideas, we are all here to help each other!

The brother of one of my techs works at a local Chevy dealer and told me the other day that they laid of 3 techs recently and will lay off another 2 today. This dealer is the only Chevy dealer left in its area and it's a sign of what the dealers cannot do, build strong relationships. As dealer margins on new cars continue to shrink they will become more aggressive with building the service department. Dealers are already slashing prices, thinking that people want price only. Discounts will attract some people, but the effect it will have on industry pricing is what I fear. Times are tough, but we must build for the future. We need to keep a close eye on the dealers. They are in a fight for their survival

This is another case that we can all relate too. We diagnosed a faulty shift solenoid on a Pontiac a few years back, gave the owner a price and he said he would think about it. The car came back to us on a tow truck a week later with the entire interior gutted and ripped apart. The cost of repair was four times what the orginal estimate was. What really bothers me is no so much the attempt by some people, but why can't the see the complexity in what we do? Do they think a You Tube video is all they need? I wonder if there is a You Tube video on removing a brain tumor? I'll get back to you on that....

The other day my manager, shop foreman and I got into a discussion about a long time loyal customer we had not seen in a while. We checked our records and the last time this customer had his car to us was last August. Before that he never missed an oil change service and was a customer for over 10 years. I decided to call the customer and ask him where he has been. He told me that he decided to get a new car and that the dealer gave him 2 years “FREE” maintenance. (He bought a Nissan Altima). He went on to tell me all the horror stories about his visits to the dealer and that he will be back, but just can’t pass up something free. He did tell me that, they try to sell him things, and he declines every time. So, I’m thinking that when he does come to me, the car may not be in the best shape. This started me thinking and I ran a report and found that there are many other customers that I have not seen in a while, probably for the same reason. Just yesterday another very good customer arrived at our service counter and told us, “I am done with the dealer, I got all the freebies from the dealer, I now need the 30k service on my Sienna, I think I need tires and brakes too, so here are my keys, call me later” The lesson I learned is that I need to pay more attention to my good customers. Many people will be back once they are done with their free services, but are there others that get caught up in the habit of going to the dealer? Something we all need to think about. BTW: I started a "We Miss Campaign" and sent post cards and emails to all the customers that we have not seen that were regular loyal customers

Gonzo, this is a very important point, thanks for bringing this up. These policies are usually termed "Mechanical Breakdown". So although the extended warranty lists every component of the car known to man, if the listed part wears out, you are out of luck. SO, if a ball joint is covered, and it "wears out", no coverage. Be very careful how you word things when speaking to these companies.

I have been down this road all too often! There are some good companies and very, very bad companies. I am doing a transmission for a customer right now and dealing with the warranty company, Geico. From the start I informed the customer that the warranty company may or may not pay the full amount, so beware. The warranty company wanted to beat me down on labor and ship me a used transmission. I told the company NO. This is my customer and my business, I don't work for you nor do I take orders from you. The customer will pay the difference for whatever you don't pay. The rep was not happy, especially when I told him I would be calling the customer. In the end, I installed my transmission at my labor rate. The warranty company paid $1900 on a $4000 repair. But I got the job. The key thing is to inform the customer beforehand that these warranty companies may not cover the entire bill. And that you will work hard to get as much money from them, but they will be responsible for the balance of the repair. I have been extremely successful with this approach. Hope this helps.

Thanks for those kind words. I hope to more on the east coast in the future.

I have been keeping a close eye on our customers who have purchased new vehicles in the past few years with “free Service” plans. For the most part, the dealer is changing the oil, by the factory schedule, which is anywhere from 5,000 miles to 15,000 miles, depending on the car make. But, what I have found is that nothing else is being done that the car owners pays out of pocket. For example, tire rotations, cabin filters, air filter and wipers. It appears that if it’s not included, the dealer has a tough time selling it. The long term effects of this free service will be interesting to see how it all plays out. We might be left with a whole bunch of cars poorly maintained. Just a few weeks ago, a customer called me about her Subaru needing brakes. She was at the dealer getting her free oil change and the dealer said the car needed brakes, all four wheels. She called me to not only verify but to do the work if needed. The moral of this story: After 42,000 miles of free oil changes, the dealer could build a relationship strong enough to sell her brakes. We ended up doing the brakes, and also did a tire rotation, replaced the wipers because they were torn and she also needed a New York State annual inspection. I should call the dealer and thank them for doing the oil change for free and leaving me the gravy....what do you think?

All I could think about as I read your article is the vast amount of time and money we need to spend to keep pace with technology. The dealer's only edge is the direct pipeline to factory information. Our problem as independents is that we work on multiple car lines and must be proficient in every vehicle make we work on. A Ford dealer may cross the brand line and work on other cars, but that's not the norm for them. Much of what has been happening the past decade or so is more than just introducing hi-tech into the average vehicle, it's also smart marketing to get the average person to think that cars are so sophisticated that it takes a trained dealer tech to understand them, with the right factory tools, information, training and parts. You are right when you say there is a perception that independents are not viewed in the same light as dealers, but we still are preferred over the dealer. I have to go back to a disturbing story a few years back about a Saab signal switch we purchased from the dealer (no one else had the part), only to find that once installed, the car would not start. The car maker decided that this part is part of the security system and we needed to bring the car to the dealer to have the old part registered with the dealer web site, then removed, the new part registered with the dealer web site and then installed. A deliberate attempt to lock certain people out? I think so. And it’s not just the DIYer. The factory and the new car dealers know that in order to keep selling cars they need to increase retention in the service department. With so many car lines and so many choices and cars lasting 200k plus, new car dealers don’t have the captive audiences they once had. The future the DIYer is in question; let's hope that our future isn't along those same lines.

I want to wish all the Mom's a very happy Mother's day. I hope everyone gets to enjoy this very important day!

Nice story, I am going to try to find if Jay Leno has a web site or a fan club contact and invite him to ASO.

We had a 2007 Toyota Sequoia with a complaint of a growl from the front while driving. You would bet money that the noise was from the front differential. In fact, we ran it up in the air in 4 wheel drive and you could hear the noise from the front differential. Or, what sounded like the front. We took it out of 4 wheel drive, and ran the real wheels only. The tech inside the car shouted out of the window, “The noise is still there”. After listening to the rear differential, we found that the noise was actually coming from the left rear. We pulled the bearing apart and it was filled with rust and scored. The left rear bearing solved the problem, but we got initially fooled. Just thought I would pass this info to everyone...

Sure, I will give updates as I get them....

I think I would like to put Gonzo in charge for that....we will need a fund raiser, you know...

Great points! Well said!

Frank, I have been down this road too many times. I even hate to speak about this, because these negative things we go thru eat us up and as everyone knows, I like to be positive in life. Imagine someone spending a lot of money for a meal at a resturant and after a few hours gets hungry again....you think that guy would run back to the resturant and complain that he spent a lot of money on the meal and he got hungry way to soon? Sounds crazy? Well that's what it's like for us in this business sometimes.....Crazy!

People like to be recognized on certain days, such as birthdays. With Mother’s Day coming up, think out of the box and come up with a little gift you can give to your customers; maybe a flower or a small inexpensive box of chocolate. Something that shows you are thinking of them. This will go long way in showing customers how much you appreciate them.

Yesterday, May 5, was Elite’s Marketing Seminar, where Bob Cooper and I co-presented the seminar. We had a great turn out, over 30 attendees. I also was glad to see a few ASO members, like Gary Armando. We covered many topics and gave everyone tips and a greater understanding how effective marketing and advertising can help your business. The Seminar was held in Philadelphia. I will keep the members posted of future seminars.

This is sad. Has our business been reduced to selling commodity items? Gonzo, you went out of your way to show the difference in the rear main seal; the truth is there are people out there that will never go back to their mechanics to express their feelings. How do we reach them, when there’s always a brother-in-law, cousin or friend who can get a cheaper part either on line, at an AutoZone, or another shop willing to do a subpar job? We are headed down the wrong path if we cannot position our business on quality. If the motoring public cannot see a difference in what we do as compared to other low pirced shops and price-positioned parts houses, then we have reduced what we do to no more than a consumer going to the grocery store to buy a carton of eggs or a gallon of milk. “It’s all the same, so why are we charging more”, will be the rally call for the future consumer. In this ever-increasing price sensitive time in history, where the entire world is a few mouse clicks ways from checking prices, we need to come up with an answer. To go engage in battle to justify our price is not only insulting, but’s it’s a big waste of time. Does Morton Steak House justify its prices as compare to the Outback? Does Mercedes justify its price as compare to KIA? No. So why in the world do we need to justify our prices? I find myself in the same position more and more and it’s starting to concern me. Tomorrow I plan on have a meeting with my staff and we are getting back to basics. We are going to make sure we market and position our shop not on price, but on quality. We will cater to those people who respect what we do. I urge everyone in the automotive repair and service business to take a long hard look and see how we can improve the image of our companies and not engage in a foolish price war. Too many shops, due to the economic climate are looking for ways to increase business. Too many of them are willing to reduce prices, find the cheapest parts and lower the price on the repair or service because they assume this is what the world wants. No one wins in this scenario. When the day comes that Morton Steak House or Ruth Chris Steak House lowers their prices because the consumer sees no difference in their steak dinners than a steak dinner at Outback, is the day I go selling apples on the street corner. Then this truly will be a world where will not be able to say, “Please compare apples to apples”

That's too bad, that's a lot to go thru, for you, your wife and the poor dog. Hope things get better...