Joe Marconi

A customer accused me the other day of being too high priced on a brake job. He actually called back to complain. This customer has only been here twice. The funny thing is that we did the job in a timely manner (he waited for the job), the service advisor explained in detail exactly what needs to be done, we informed him at his last visit that he would need brakes soon and the price for the job was fully explained before we started and was itemized in detail. I got the phone call when he called back, but no amount of reasoning would make him happy. I said to him, “So you not questioning the quality of the job, the quality of the parts, the fact we did it right away for you and that all the charges were explained in detail before we started?” He just kept on saying we were too high. At this point I thanked him for his business and said hope to see you soon….although I don’t think I will ever see hi again. I would you have handled this?

Great info. This is how we help each other. The Power Of Networking!

Follow up: I also got back a refund from the insurance broker for $768.00. I am going to make a point to look at everything that passes my desk and ask questions. Everyone should do the same. Don't assume anything.

While I do agree that all businesses must track key numbers and recognize certain trends, I do not take that as the only criteria. I have been to many management training seminars and clinics and have taken countless home study courses. Numbers are great, but real world is better. My philosophy is to look at each shop and find out what works for them. I really don’t think you can use a benchmark number in California and say it holds true in Rocky Mountain N.C . Every business is different with different fixed expenses, goals, employee wages, labor rates, rents, etc. A shop owner needs to sit down with his/her accountant and find out that they need to turn a profit. So, while we need to understand the numbers of the business, it’s our numbers that really count.

Let's start with search optimization. I hired an outside firm to take a look at my web site. They made some key suggestions about changing the home page which greatly helped with search optimization. I did not realize how important key words and phrases were on the home page. Plus, it was not that expensive to do that. My most effective forms of advertising: Radio, TV, direct mail though the purchase of local mailing lists and being involved with community events.

Consumer education is a start. My only concern is how to overcome ads like the Ammco commercial. People sometimes hear what they want to hear. Also, sometimes, their brother in-law who sells shoes has more credibility than we do. You bring up a great point when you say your regular customer do not question you. The same with us. What is comes down to is that we need to continue to build customer trust through honesty and integrity. Also, we must realize that we cannot be everything to everyone.

We don't have an O'Reilly's in our area. But from what I hear, they are a good company. The CARQUEST Company in the North East is owned by a different group, actually its family owned. I know the owners personally. They are truly a class act. They are always there for you and help you in any way they can. When I had my grand opening they donated food, banners, man power to help that day and donated prizes to give away.

Suspension work, brake work and maint work are my most profitable services.

I am right with you 100% I can teach a monkey to read codes. That's not an analysis. And, I don't want to go down that road where I start a "bait and switch" form of advertising either. I like your approach. Do you get people who question your analysis fees?

That's a good piont. A local parts house is more interested in the local shops.

Wow, that's interesting. CARQUEST in my area is king. They have the best service. Some of the prices are high, but people accuse me of being high price too.

Great advice. Optimize your search engine capability. Promote yourself locally. Contact all local business and ask for their business

Undocumented workers may save on payroll expenses, but may end up biting you in the butt. Talk to you accountant about the best ways to handle this. There are freelance workers and subcontractors that can work for you and they are responsible for their own payroll taxes and not subject to other company benefits. Each state has different laws, so seek advice. I hire part time people and they are all on the books. I have too much at stake, too much to lose. All you need is one labor issue or someone blows the whistle. It's not worht it. That’s my opinion.

We use all the BG products and have every flush machine. We are sold on BG! Great product with great support. Plus, they have the BG Lifetime protection and Saftrack Road Side Assistance program. All good stuff.

If it is a part comeback we pay the tech. I have worked out a comeback program with my main supplier. The issue becomes with other suppliers that will not pay any warranty. This is a real problem throughout the industry. We have seen an increase in part defects, one of the reason is China. Our base warranty is 12months, 12,000 miles, with some expections to 2 years, 24,000 miles. Parts and labor. And it does depend on the supplier and what they offer too.

We do everything at my shop: from Diag to oil changes, to fluid flushes to engines. The most profitable work we do are maintenance work and brake work. It's hard to make money with diag work. The time spent and the unwillingness to pay by the consumer makes it real tough. If you maket you business right, you can increase your maintenance work. This will make more money for you.

We use CARQUEST. They have the best service and stand behind their parts. They have their downfalls, but they all do these days. I think China is doing a number on us. Don't use AutoZone or any other parts house that caters to the DIY market. Track all comebacks. You need to know if you have a part issue or tech issue. If you see a pattern, identify it and deal with ASAP. In the downloads section in AutoShopOwer.com you will find a Comeback Form you can use. Click on downloads in the management section and use the form to track comeback. Good luck!

Not to scare you, but a good friend of mine is a machinist and used brake cleaner to clean parts for more than 20 years. He recently had a kidney transplant for a failed kidney. The doctors attributed to brake cleaner!

Once you know the code do you charge a diagnostic fee or incorporate it with the repair or...?

Are you doing any advertising or marketing in your local area?

You can't do it all yourself. Well actually, you can do it for a while, but eventually it will catch up to you. Trust me on this...I have been there. I did everything too in my shop and built a good business in the 80's. But it all came crashing down in 1991 when I reached burn out. I learned the hard way, and it almost cost me more than you can imagine. In order to stay in business, you need to grow to a point where you have the right people around you. You become the "Boss". Believe me, you will thank me and your FAMILY will thank you. This is one of the reasons I started AutoShopOwner.com. I want to help other shop owners achieve greatness and become great business people.

Keep us updated, I am sure we all all curious. Plus, we can all learn.

In what way?

What are plans for future growth?

You can create and define any type of customer work. You can build generic jobs or specific to a type of vehicle or a type of job. It's very flexable. Can you clarfiy your last question on pricing?