Joe Marconi

I can't tell you how many times, people do not take my advise and buy a car from an auction, friend, relative or neighbor, without having the car pre-inspected. Just a few months ago, I customer brought us a car from the auction. He was proud of his purchase and the price. It looked clean but once up in the air on the lift we could clearly see that this car was in a flood. But, people are people and too many times too trusting. People tend to listen to friends first, not the experts.

Wow, I could feel the heat thru my computer screen...sorry about that! At this point in my life, I agree...I call the shots...I did my time in the trenches...I owe to myself to uphold my ehtics and intergity. Plus, it's a matter of doing the right thing for my shop and my customers.

What bothers me is when the dealer sells these warranties, they sell it in a way that the consumer thinks that everything (bumper to bumper) is covered and that what ever the cost is, will be taken care of. This is where the trouble begins. We tell a customer it will be $3,500 for the transmisson and the warranty company says they will only pay $3000. Well, we don't work for the warranty company and they cannot tell us what WE should accept as payment. The customer then has a tough time dealing with the fact that they need to pay the difference. It may be in the fine print, but no body reads the fine print.

I really don't want to say, but it wasn't one that I normally deal with. I don't want to lump all extended warranty companies in the same boat, but thier are a lot of bad ones, and they want us to cut corners. They forget that these are our customers.

An aftermarket insurance company wanted me to install a used rack & pinion that they would provide from a salvage yard that they do business with. It’s bad enough that their arrogance dismisses the fact that we make money both on parts and labor, but to think that I need the business that bad that I would compromise my integrity. I flat out told the insurance company, “NO”. I also told them, “this is my job, my business and I have an obligation to my customer to do the best job possible and do what’s in the best interest for my customer". I spoke to the customer and explained the situation and what I thought was the correct repair. She agreed and paid the difference to install a quality reman unit. Shop owners, agree or disagree?

You have a good point....we trust our financial integrity to politicians with no business or financial background. Some do, but most do not. Many politicians never held a private sector job!

Let me make you guys sick, I did the math. As part of a local TECH NET Council Meeting, a panel of shop owners sat down and calculated the cost of scanners, tech pay, updates, training, Identifix and/or IATN, Mitchell and/or Alldata and OE sites. We also calculated the average number of Diag jobs each shop did per year and divided all the associated costs of performing a diag problem into the numbers of jobs. We also calculated the average time it took to perform a typical diagnosis. What did we find? The cost to perform the average check engine light of similar diagnostic analysis is $110.00 for one hour's work. That means to make a profit on diagnostic labor, you will need to charge a least $170.00 per hour for diagnostic work to make a profit. (Espcially if you do not get any repairs from the analysis) Now, when you realize that a brake pad/rotor replacement can be done in less than 30 minutes, and most shops charge any way from $75.00 to $150.00 labor for that brake job, we start to understand why diagnostic work should not be given away. OR DO MORE BRAKE JOBS…. one or the other!

Bringing you the book got to me. I can't tell you how angry I get when a customer drops off their car for a repair and says, "Oh, by the way, I left the BOOK on the front seat". As if, without that book, I couldn't find my way around his car. What arrogance and lack of respect for what we do. And today it’s worse; they bring us pages of information downloaded from the internet. I wonder if it’s lack of confidence, or maybe they don’t think we have the brain power. I wonder if people bring books and downloaded pages to their doctor??? What's more amazing, people are people no matter where you go!

Viewpoint: Dealership Stickers Steering Drivers to Dealers By Andrew Markel Editor, Brake & Front End Magazine July 22, 2011 New car dealers have been using “only call us” stickers under the hoods of new cars for more than a decade now. These stickers tell drivers that they must take their vehicle to a factory-authorized facility because it is equipped with “highly technical” onboard computers. The fact of the matter is that most independent shops can service vehicles for repairs outside the warranty repairs. Shops have access to information, tools and parts to complete just about any repair that a dealer can perform. Dealers and their trade associations are putting more emphasis on the service side of the business. It has evolved from quick lube bays to brake jobs. Now they want to see a vehicle long after the warranty has expired. I encourage you to discuss the sticker with your customers and ask them if you could remove the sticker and clean away any residue. You can even create your own sticker that refers them to your shop.

I felt "disconnected" to the outside world!

Obama says that all of us must pay the higer taxes, a result of rasing the debt limit, among other programs that this administration has instituted. The president says it's only fair that we all pay the increase in taxes. FAIR? WE had nothing to do with this mess. WE did not spend money like a drunken sailor. WE had no say so in the billions of tax dollars wasted. NOW WE must pay for it. Today I am mad as hell.....someone out there make sense of this for me!

We have a lot of customers who are telling us that they have free oil changes with thier new car, from the new car dealer. Some for 1 year, 2 years, and some for a lot longer. I have a tough time letting my customers going back to the dealer for any type of service. People are loyal, but people are also creatures of habit. How can we compete with “free”? Any ideas?

Go to this web site (Tech Net) and enter the city, state and zip, in the Find a Shop field (to the right). www.techauto.com Tech Net shops must adhere to certain criteria, ASE certification and customer satisfaction. Tech Net shops are usually the better shops. I am a Tech Net shop. I can't vouch for any of the shops personally, but it's worth checking out. Good luck.

Oh, so you do spot checking from time to time, to see how the market is.

I spoke to a shop owner the other day, someone I had not spoken with in a while. A discussion came up about part pricing and he told me he still calls 2 to 3 shops for most jobs to get the lowest price. Is this practice still done, given what we know today about productivity, price stratedy and loyalty to our suppliers? I did not want to get into a debate with him, so I let it go. I would like to hear from shop owners about this.

Wow! Nice photos! Now that's what I call a fishing trip!!!

We all know there is no disrespect, let's face it, all of us say funny things at times. I know I have!

Back To School! August is here, which means many students will be heading back to college soon. Many will travel significant distances. Are their cars ready for that road trip? Let you customers know that they need to ensure that their cars or their children’s car is up to date with all needed maintenance and prepared before they take to the road. Offer your customers a “Going Back to College Service Package” which includes a bumper to bumper inspection, an oil change if needed and a checklist of tips and emergency items. What you are really offering is peace of mind. That’s a win for you and a win for your customer

Too funny...I've heard most of these...still never had alien abductions yet...well, not that I know of anyway. Keep them coming Gonzo, very funny,made my day.

I have the new Bartec (very good tool), plus my new Hunter align machine has a program to help "guide" you through a TPMS problem and I also have the new snap-on verus (very $$$$). Even with all this, we get get stumped from time to time. I think we will see big changes to the TPMS protocol in the coming years. Too many issues.

Wow, I don't think I'll ever buy a new car again!

The Customer is NOT Always Right “Learn to listen first and not react without the facts” The other day I walked into my service area, only to cringe at the way one of my service advisors was talking to a customer. I waited until the customer left and took the advisor aside and said, “We don't talk to people like that, I am really disappointed”. He replied, “Yes, you are right, I lost my cool, it won't happen again. As I was walking away my manager called me and said, “Joe, you got a second?” I said, “Sure”. He told me that I walked in on the tail end of a very difficult situation. The customer had an extended warranty and wanted to falsify the repair in order to cover the deductible. My service advisor stood by our policy of integrity, honesty and ethics. But when the customer insisted and insisted, the service advisor finally reacted. That’s when I walked into the picture. The lesson I learned? Don’t react from your perception, ask questions and listen to what happened. Don’t judge without first learning all the facts. Next time, I will keep my mouth shut until I learn the facts.

I have been saying for many, many years; Fixing cars are not the problem, it's the owner of the car that causes all the issues. Left alone and with all our resources, we can fix nearly anything that comes through our bay doors. The frustration and stress orginates from the vehcile owner. Here's my nightmare (happened the other day, again). A customer arrives a 3:00 in the afternoon and wants his check engine light diganosed. After telling him that he needs to dropped the car off and words back and forth that all I need to do is through it on that fancy machine, he says, "Let me see if there are any other shops around that could do it sooner". My nightmare? He's back at my service counter an hour later, everyone else through him out too!