Joe Marconi

Yes, go to one day seminar, but proceed with caution.

Great Video! I think that we are creating an economy that will collapse the future generations. We will no doubt suffer too, but the long term effects are unimaginable. You know me by now; I am a pretty positive person, but what is happening in this country and around the world truly worries me.

We use Mitchell Mananger Plus, we have had since 2003. It has some limitations but overall it's a good program and easy to use. There are different level packages. You need to contact Mitchell and see a few demos. Please keep us updated during the expansion process, maybe create a blog. I expanded and put up a new building last year and documented the process in my blog (click on blog at the top). I know that other shop owners would be interested in the process.

Yes, Please keep us posted, I know we can all benefit

Wow, I will take that as a compliment

You know this will only hurt most shops. They don't have the marketing program to bring in masses of people and then up sell other work. Nor, do they have a national ad that brings in thoudsands of people like AutoZone. AutoZone does not care if one or two people are not happy, there are plenty more. But for us, that could be damaging.

Poll added. Please vote.

Has anyone seen the TV commercial for AAMCO Transmission promoting they will test a check engine for free! Well, this is misleading and deceiving advertising. Click on the link below and find out the truth posted on their Web site! This type of advertising damages an industry already filled with confusion and mistrust by the average consumer. Anyone….and I mean anyone can hook up a scanner and get trouble codes. That is not a diagnosis. Even though AAMCO states on its web site that it’s only a “Free Check” of stored codes and that more testing is needed, the majority of people will not go to the site and read the fine print. THEY WILL, HOWEVER, QUESTION YOU THE NEXT TIME YOU TELL YOUR CUSTOMER THE TRUTH AND GIVE THEM A PRICE TO DIAGNOSIS A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, AFTER HEARING “FREE” ON THE TV. Here’s the link, let me know what you think. Are there any AAMCO dealers out there? I know we would all like to hear from you. http://www.aamco.com/Check_Engine_light_on-FREE_Check.asp

This is a good story… About 12 years ago the local police and District Attorney were trying to build a case against a man that drove his car while under the influence of alcohol and pot, got into an accident and killed the passenger. It was a high profile case. The man claimed that he lost his right rear wheel which caused him to lose control, slide into a tree, which consequently killed the passenger. The entire wheel, rear drum and axle detached from the rear differential. This was a 1980’s Camaro. The lawyer for the defendant obtained a metallurgist engineer who was going to testify that the axle broke from metal fatigue and separated from the rear differential, which was the cause of the accident. The local police asked for my help on the case and we obtained a warrant to examine the car. I disassembled the entire rear differential along with the drive shaft. I concluded that the force from hitting the tree (right front, almost head on) drove the driveshaft back which broke the right rear axle and that’s why it separated the wheel and axle. In other words, the axle broke as a result of the accident, not before the accident. This was in direct contradiction to the engineer’s report. We went to court and I brought my reports along with life size illustrations of the undercarriage of a car. I put the illustrations on an easel and gave my testimony. One of things that I pointed out was; if the axle did break while the car was in motion before the collision, then why did the axle land 100 feet down a hill in the opposite direction from where inertia should have put it? The defendant’s attorney questioned me over and over, but I knew he could not make a dent in my testimony. After that, the defendant broke down and admitted that the reason he lost control was because of drugs and alcohol and driving too fast. He then admitted that right after he crashed he got out, saw the wheel and axle hanging off, picked it up and through it down the hill. The trial made the papers and after that I started getting calls from District Attorneys, Law Firms, State Troopers and other police departments. To this day I still get calls.

Welcome to AutoShopowner.com. Glad you stumbled on to us. Looking forward to exchanging ideas and opinions.

I perform accident investigates for the NY State Troopers and for many law firms and District Attorneys. We have investigated hundreds of accidents and only one ended up in an explosion. That happened when a drunk driver crossed the double yellow line in a F550 Flatbed and went head on into a Dodge Neon. We did have a few fires caused by a collision. Remember the Ford Pinto in the 1970’s? I worked for a Ford dealer back then when all the Pintos were recalled because supposedly the car would explode when hit in the rear during a collision. I never personally heard of one exploding but it was all over the news.

First, making points with God is a good thing. You bring out a good point: if the inspection was done a little bit better, it would have been easier to charge a little more at that point. I think I will take this approach and also inform the customer beforehand that we may encounter additional problems. In this way the customer is somewhat prepared.

I have heard this from others. Many shop owners find it very difficult to commit to a long term program. You need to have the right mind-set to continue. I do believe in continued training, but I enjoy having control over what seminars and clinics I attend. Plus I like variety. Going thru AMI classes, including home study classes, is something that I would encourage every shop owner to participate in.

You are too much, that's funny.

I will make top priority, expect something this month.

I think I may create a forum or business section in AutoShopOwner that talks about tracking key numbers, with explanations and how-to information. What do you think? I have been thinking about this a lot lately. the problem is the time. But, I think shop owners will get a lot a value from this. Non auto business training is good. It makes you more well-rounded.

I can totally relate to your story too. It happens in my shop. I have expression I use often with my service writers: Be competitive when you need to be, be profitable when you have to be. Too many times, the service writers are thinking with their own wallets. Too many services are discounted because they want to make the sales. I understand this. It's a tough economy today and people constantly complain. The service writers get bombarded all day long from the public and can get gun shy. But, I am with you...in order to remain profitable we need to keep track of every job

You are right; it's another sham perpetrated on the American people. He’s a good story; A customer of mine went into a Jeep dealer during the clunker program and made a deal to buy a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. The dealer made him a nice deal, thousands of dollars off, and he almost signed the papers. My customer then told him he had a 10 year old Jeep at home he would like to trade in under the clunker program and get the $4500. The dealer turned around and told him he would have to charge FULL LIST PRICE for the new Jeep! This is after the salesman made him a deal. My customer walked out disgusted, brought us the old Jeep and we put tires, brakes and performed lots of service work on it. He ended up giving the old Jeep to his son in college.

We will, our paths are bound to cross.

So, let me understand: this deal was to get old clunkers off the road, get newer "greener" cars on the road and help AMERICAN car companies????? What this does not show were all the Hummers and other large SUV's sold. Where are we headed in this country?

How was 2009 sales compared to previous years? Many shop owners I speak to in my area say sales were up, some say they were down. It's kind of mixed.

Is this a stand alone seminar or a long term program? First let me tell you that management training is the key to the success of your business. I have attended many one day business seminars and multi-day seminars. I have never personally enrolled in a long term commitment program. I know shop owners who have been enrolled with Management Success Program and other similar long term programs. I have heard some negative stories and many positive stories. It’s like going to school; you will get out of it what you put into it and what you commit to. These programs can be life-changing. It will take a lot of work on your part to make it work. Is it worth it? Only you can answer that. I personally like one day seminars and clinics or multi-day seminars. I also take college courses on business, finance, marketing, advertising, customer service, etc. I am an AMI Graduate (Automotive Management Institute) and part of Bob Cooper’s Elite program. I am also involved with business councils which can be very beneficial. And, I read constantly about business. Hope this helps????

The other day one of my techs was replacing front brake pads and rotors on an older Subaru. The caliper bracket bolts were seized and one of them snapped off. This is a common problem and we are well aware of it. We try our best with rust busters and heat, but sometimes nothing works. The tech drilled out the broken bolt and finished the brake job. No problem, right? Here’s the problem, who pays for it? Me,or the customer? I asked the tech if he informed the service writer. He said he did. I asked the service writer if he told the customer and up-sold the repair. The writer told me it was a hard sell just to sell the brakes and felt he could not approach the customer. I informed my service writer that I did not buy the car, build the car or break the car. I did something that maybe I should not have done; I went into the customer waiting room myself and explained the situation and sold the caliper bracket repair. My issue is this. Are they times when we can't charge and we just have to eat it? I say yes and no. That depends on the situation. I also think that this particular writer needs more training in customer relations. What do you think? Charge or not charge? What policy do you have?

We go back 14 months for most in-house mailers. We try to be as consistent has possible. The key is to keep doing it. You can tweak the program from time to time, but once you start, keep it going. It will build on itself the longer you do it. We also advertise, on the mail piece, a contest for a free oil change. We have a monthly drawing. Customers bring their post cards in and drop them into a box on the service counter. We announce a winner each month. It's a great way to track the effectiveness and to create excitement. It also increases your response rate.

As we celebrate the start of 2010, I want to thank the members of AutoShopower.com. You have made this forum a powerful and informative network. Shop owners are a rare breed of hard-working business people that are dedicated to their profession and to the motoring public. I have learned a lot from so many shop owners and it makes me proud to be part of the finest industry in this great nation…The Automotive Shop Owners of America. I want to wish everyone a healthy and prosperous New Year! Joe Marconi