Joe Marconi

Thanks for confidence in me. I made a pledge to myself this year to get more involved in the political arena. ASO members such as you have helped me greatly in understanding the needs and the frustration of the typical shop owner. I will continue to fight for our rights, but I need your comments and opinions. ASO will become the greatest source of automotive shop management information, worldwide!

Highlights from the NY State Public Hearing on the Right to Repair Act On Wednesday June 9, 2010 I gave testimony at the NY State Public Hearing in support of the Right to Repair Act. It was a very interesting day and a lot was said, both for and against this bill. The public hearing lasted over four hours, so I will summarize some of the highlights for everyone. It is interesting to note how vehemently the opposition is fighting this bill. I felt some the comments of those who opposed the bill were at times insulting with respect to the aftermarket. Some questioned the integrity of our work and inferred that the work we do may be somewhat inferior to that of the new car dealers. Also, some opponents question the parts we use, as possibly inferior. Luckily, my turn to testify was after many of the opponents, so I loaded my gun and gave it to them, both Barrels! I told the panel of assemblymen that the comments being spoken here are insulting and I am outraged by these comments. I went on to tell them that we, the aftermarket are the preferred choice of the motoring public, not the new car dealers. I also told them that the aftermarket solves many of the factory mistakes, such as Ford Explorer ball joints and Chevy Silverado control arms. All we want is a fair and level playing field. We are asking the car makers to make available all the information and tools necessary to fix the cars “they” made. Also, car makers should not build systems that force the consumer to go back to the dealer. The right of the people to choose to where they get their car fixed should be theirs, not the automaker. For those of you that may be members of the ASA (Automotive Service Association), they are against the Right to Repair act. Don Seyfer was there to represent the ASA. His position, like all those who oppose the bill, is that all the information and tools are already available to us and there is absolutely no reason to proceed with this bill. Don Seyfer cited “Lack of training” and “Not knowing how to obtain the information” as the primary reason why independent shops hit road blocks and can’t complete a repair. There were only four independent repair shops testifying. However, we made a great presentation and one Assemblyman; Michael G. Dendekker, actually told the audience that before hearing from the 4 independent repair shop owners, he was not in favor of the bill. But, after hearing the testimony from the 4 shop owners, he now understands why we want the Right to Repair Act. He stated that the 4 shop owners made the most powerful argument of the day. Much was said that day, and I am not sure what the outcome will be. My fear is that the car manufacturers, the new car dealers, the new car dealer associations and the auto workers unions are a powerful group and they comprise a lot of voting power. But the aftermarket is a powerful group too. We need the support of all segments of the aftermarket; from independent repair shops to aftermarket part companies to aftermarket franchises. One last thing, The Right to Repair Act is something that I support. I don’t know your position on it. I feel passionate about it because of the increasing challenges we must endure to properly and safely repair our customer’s cars. Also, it is clear to me that the systems and the design of new cars are an attempt to lock out not only us, but the consumer from his own car. Tell me how you feel; for or against and why.

Want to boost morale? Talk to your people about things other than business. Find out what Tom the Tech likes to do on his day off; golf, fishing, hunting, etc. Talk to him about it often. You will see a difference in his attitude when he sees you are interested in him as a person, not just a tech. People want to be recognized as people and sometimes too much business is not good for morale. Remember, a little small talk goes a long way!

It's a great point, and one that is often overlooked. A lot of us may think nothing will happen to us, but the reality is we need to prepare for the worst. We also owe to our families to have them protected. Tough subject, but we all need to deal with it.

Gonzo, you stole my thunder again! All kidding aside, I agree. This is a learning experience and you need to "learn" from this. Don’t be everything to everyone. You need to look at the car in its entirety before you commit yourself. I know it’s easy for me to say this, but I have been down this road before. I also agree with xrac, have a legitimate sit-down with this customer and explain the facts. Stand by your convictions. No refund! One more word of advice: create a checklist to pre-check cars before you work on them. You need to indentify things like: check engine light on, SRS light on, TPMS light on, broken lenses, etc. This will save a lot of grief. I can’t tell how many times we had people tell us, “That ABS light was not before you worked on it”. I feel for you, we have all been down this road and will travel down tough roads in the future. Look at it like this: It will only make you stronger and wiser.

LKQ in our area offers reman for some units. We intalled a reman manual transmision from LKQ on a Subaru. It worked out great. Saved the customer a lot of money, greater value and we maintained of profit margin. Win, Win.

A lot of money!!! A little over 20k. I saw a few models but none broke down tires like this. Anyone can change a tire with this machine, I mean anyone. The machine lifts the tire up onto the machine for you. There is no effort, no fighting, no struggle. You can break down a low profile run flat the same way you break down and 75 series on a steel wheel. Plus, after buying the Hunter Alignment machine, I am really sold on the Hunter company. It's a lot of money and that's an issue, but I felt it was the best and the time savings and the ease of use is a big plus.

Great articles, should be mandatory reading for shop owners, service advisors and managers.

Great, Great story. I wish all our customers would realize this. Actually I wish the dealers would stop spreading these myths. Too many people think they must return to the dealer under the warranty period. At the State Hearing yesterday for the Right to Repair Act, many of the Assmblymen and Senators did no know this was the law! And they write the laws!!!

I just purchase the Hunter Tire Machine Auto34. This tire changer breaks down run flats with no problem. It truly is a quality machine. We just got it installed today and already we saved time on a few tough low-profile tires. Here's the link check it out: Hunter Auto34 Tire Changer

Want Help Growing Your Business? As many of you many know, I recently joined Elite Worldwide as a Business Development Coach. Elite Worldwide as many programs and products that can help you grow your business. My role will be working with shop owners who are interested in one-on-one business coaching. We are looking for the right candidates. If you are interested or know someone that is interested in finding out how Elite can help you grow your business, please contact me. For more information on Elite go to EliteWorldwideStore.com Joe Marconi AutoShopOwner.com Elite Worldwide, Inc Osceola Garage

I use Auto Alert through CARQUEST, only because I can work with this company to tweek the system to fit my needs. Mitchel CRM is a good system too, I just like to have more control and with Auto Alert, I have more control.

We do the same. There are times when a member of the community has an unusual situation and is asking for help. We will do certain repairs and charge for parts at a discounted rate with no labor. Sometimes it's not about money, but about helping people. We are very selective and don't want to offer this just to anyone. It has to be a special case. We had a famliy that lost the father in a fire, he was a firefighter. He had a wife and 3 children. She needed work on her car and could not afford the bill, we took care of her.

Thanks for that vote of confidence, I am looking forward to working with other shops.

Now that's a great saying! I am going to use that.

The media will always slant a story to fit their "cause". Do you know how many kids each year get hurt from little league baseball? A lot more than are hurt from guns, Why not ban little league?

Jeff, no boundries crossed. ASO is founded on the principle of free speech and the open exhange of ideas and opinions.We welcome your comments and thoughts. It's how we grow and become better people.

I really don't see the issue. Just look at what the law pertains to; "illegal immigration", let me repeat that..."illegal immigration".

We have a comprehensive checklist also. This is vital to insure quality customer service. We need to always address the customer's concerns but need to look at the entire vehicle. To address a brake issue without addressing a leak at the rear differential not only hurts profits, it's not doing the right thing for the customer.

Keith, you gave us valuable information. This is what I was waiting from you. You took your background from the management consulting side, applied it to real-world and found out what works and what does not. Coming from you, it’s like an endorsement. I agree with your assessments, especially on pricing and competing with the dealers. We have also changed our strategy on diagnostic labor and made changes due to economic conditions and the push from the dealers. This is great stuff Keith. You came through for ASO and I thank you.

Well said! I only wish more shop owners felt this way. Many shop owners do not realize the hit they are taking by not charging what they are worth. Many think that a job is a job, especially when they are slow. That's not true. Doing work that is not profiable is a sure way to go out of business.

Here’s the scenario: Your writing up a customer at the front counter and another customer walks through the door, and you are the only one at the counter. You realize that you need to give the customer you are speaking with your undivided attention, but what about the customer that just walked in? Well, you need to make some sort of contact with the customer that just walked in. That customer may feel uncomfortable just standing there not being noticed. You need to make eye contact with the customer and give a head nod or tell them you will take car of them in just a moment. This is good customer service and will put the customer as ease just by the fact that you took a moment to recognize them.

We are also seeing an increase of people asking to supply their own parts. I think it’s a combination of economic conditions and the Internet. I also question why some part suppliers would sell to the consumer the same price we get the parts for; that bothers me. Most part stores give some sort of discount for walk-in trade, but the public should not receive the same discount as a professional. As for allowing people to bring in their own parts, I avoid it. I don’t want to go down that road. It’s a road to failure because you lose too much profit. We earn a living on labor and the profit we make on the parts, taking away the part profit will most definitely hurt our bottom line. Are there exceptions? Of course: People buy tires through Tire Rack, some people will buy struts and attempt to do it themselves and find out they can’t do the job, people buy a set of plugs and realize the job is too big for them, etc, etc. For these customers I will make an exception, but all in all…I supply the parts, the labor, give the customer a great warranty and that’s it.

I found this article in Dealer Magazine (a trade publication for New Car Dealers), and thought is was interesting.... Millennial Buyers Compare Car Buying Experience with Going to the Dentist Dealers have to be ready to deal with every kind of buyer that is going to walk into their dealership. These include the buyer that doesn't have a clue what they want, to the buyer who knows everything. One buying group dealers need to keep track of is the Millennial buyers. These buyers are the tech-savvy generation of consumers that have grown up with the internet and are very comfortable with technology. Microsoft recently conducted a study of more than 1,100 Millennial (those aged 18-29) buyers and found this generation is disappointed with the technology capabilities of their dealers and potential vehicles. The research was conducted to get a feeling for how the Millennial generation feels about the technology features and options offered in cars and how they use technology to research potential cars for purchase. Here are some results of the study: • Two-thirds (67 percent) of Millennials believe buying a car is one of the most intimidating purchases a person can make, and more than half (56 percent) classify negotiations with a salesperson as more painful than going to the dentist. • Eighty-four percent of Millennials agree that having convenient Internet access in the dealership during the car buying experience would make the process seem more transparent and fair. • More than a quarter (27 percent) say the technology they would most associate with cars today is a 1980s desktop computer or a typewriter, indicating that there is plenty of room for improved in-car technology in auto maker’s future lines The survey was conducted between April 6 and April 12, 2010 by Wakefield Research. About 1,100 people were surveyed via the internet.