Joe Marconi

That's the reason. I hire the best, pay them good, but demand a lot from them. We do around 200 cars a week. I want my people to feel like they are a cut above.

I hope I am not over doing it. For staff over 5 years I give a week's pay. For other I give something in the form of gift cards and tool bonues.

Do other shops in your area do the same thing?

I was speaking to a few shop owners the other day about christmas/holiday bonues. Most shops do. I would like to know what formula shop owners use to calculate what type of bunes is given.

Please help us welcome xrac to the AutoShopOwner moderating team. Over the past few months, since xrac has joined the other shopowners here at AutoShopOwner, he has been the most frequent member in our forums. He's on here just about daily. He has now offered to help the community, by becoming our first forum moderator! He will be a valuable part of this community and another person to offer asssistance in our forums, to members of AutoShopOwner. Thank you xrac, for your help and support!

“The Right to Repair Act” Your Customer’s Right of Choice This great nation was founded on strong beliefs and principles that are still held sacred today. The citizens of the United Sates treasure the opportunities that have been instrumental in making this country the world power that it is. One of the reasons why Democracy works is because of free enterprise. People in this country can aspire and fulfill their dreams through the spirit of entrepreneurship. Among many rights, the people in the country have the right to choose where they want to live, where they want to work, where they shop and whom they buy from. When these rights are compromised, Democracy is in jeopardy. We have now come to a crossroad. The Right to Repair Act is more than a disagreement between the car manufacturers and the aftermarket auto repair industry. It is about the basic right of the people to choose where they want their car serviced. It is about preserving free enterprise. We cannot let an industry, such as the car manufacturers, hold hostage the citizens of this country. We cannot let any industry create products and systems that destroy the basic principles of free enterprise. There must be a level playing field. Competition brings out greatness. Without it, brings demise. Letting car makers hold back certain information and build complicated systems that force people back to the car dealerships will destroy the right to choose. It takes away the rights of the people and the spirit of business. And let’s not make a mistake in believing that if we let the new car manufactures enter into an honor system to provide information, that all will be ok. That’s like letting the opposing team set the rules for the game. It will not work. I am not for big government, but this is not about big government. This is about preserving an industry that the people in this country have chosen to patronize for more than 100 years: the automotive aftermarket industry. The automotive aftermarket greatly contributes to the economy of this country. The aftermarket independent repair facilities are the preferred choice of the motoring public. The aftermarket auto industry keeps this country rolling. Independent shops have never interfered with the process of manufacturing or engineering new cars. Independent shops across the country continually learn new technology, invest in tools, purchase new equipment: all for the purpose to serve the motoring public. All the aftermarket asks is the right to compete fairly. I urge everyone to support the Right to Repair Act. Let the people of this great land decide where they want to take their cars for service and repair, not the car manufactures. Below is a link for more information on the Right to Repair Act and information on how to contact your public officials: http://www.aftermarket.org/Government/RighttoRepair.aspx Joe Marconi

The 2 top scan tools for us are the Snap On Solis and the Launch. But we constantly look at others and ask tool vendors to keep us informed. Right now we are in the research stage and don't know what we will be doing next. Sometimes too much choice is not good.

Yes, I track tech productivity and shop productivity. It's one of the key numbers I look at each week. If your labor rate is $100.00 per hour and your shop productivity rate is at 60%, you actual labor rate per hour is only $60.00 My tech bonus plan is based on their productivity. At $100.00 per hour, an increase of just one hour per day will increase your income by $500.00 per week for a 5 day work week. Increasing productivity is the best way to increase sales dollars without increasing car counts or raising prices.

You know, not being a tech can be an advantage. I have two service advisors, the one who was a former tech has a tough time with billing labor hours. The other advisor, who was never a tech, bills more labor hours. In the end a job is worth what a job is worth. Labor hours must exceed pay hours, or we will not be in business long. The book can hurt us in our wallet! Do you track tech productivity?

We do a lot of everything. That's the problem. We have the Snap-on Solis, Ipro, Master Tech, Launch Diagun, Ford OEM Scanner and a few code readers. We also have the I Flash for flashing updates. We find that sometimes we need to hook up multiple scanners to get the right info. It's getting worse too. Even factory scan tools get outdated. My techs like the Launch Diagun for Euro cars, but sometimes hit a wall with that. You may not want to hear this, but depending on what car lines you service, you will need more than one scan tool. Also, we utilize IATN and Identifix as part of our diagnositic procedure.

Do you fear that your techs have an issue with keeping up with technology?

Do you fear that your techs have an issue with keeping up with technology?

Taking a poll. Let me know your favorite scan tool or tools. Most of us work on just about what ever rolls thru the bay doors. That can be an issue.

I took a ride today with my wife and son to visit my old neighborhood in the Bronx. A lot has changed in 30 years. I moved out of the Bronx in 1980 to open up my shop. Time goes by real fast. We need to stop and smell the roses more often.

Many shops require their techs to attend a certain amount of training each year. Many shop owners tie bonuses and rasies around training. I agree with mandatory training for all employees, not just techs. What are other shops doing?

The other day we were diagnosing an air bag fault on a 2001 BMW 325. My Snap-On Scanner pulled codes for the passenger side seat sensor and pre-tension. My tech also found some information on IATN and Identifix, but could not trace down the problem. He finally called Identifx and was told that the information to the scanner is wrong. The actual problem area is the driver side air bag located on the pillar. When we pulled the side air bag down on the driver’s side we found a broken connector at the air bag and fixed the problem. We find these problems way too often, particularly with European cars. I will log this with the NASTF.

We struggle with labor times on a daily basis. We compare Mitchell and Alldata all the time. The other day we sold an oil pan on a Chrysler Mini Van. The service advisor used the Mitchell time, 1.4hr. When I saw that, I nearly screamed! This is a real problem. The tech was also doing an exhaust (cat-back) on the same car and the labor time for that was 1.3hr. There is no consistency with time. Maybe we are approaching it all wrong. I try to teach my staff to take into consideration the complexity of the job. For example: An hour of brain surgery is worth more than an hour of racking leaves, right? What it comes down to is that you need to be competitive where you need to be, and charge a premium for those more hi-tech jobs. You need to use good judgment too. We give too much away as it is. It’s a delicate balancing act. Agree? Thoughts?

Where I am in New York (less than an hour north of NYC) you can expect to pay about $2500.00 per bay for rent. So a 3 bay facility will run about $7500.00 per month. I had too much negative feedback when I used to charge supply charges. The customer did not mind paying the $400.00 brake job, but had an issue with the $3.00 supply charge. I guess it's like those annoying line item charges you find on your phone bill and electric bill. I calculated what I was making on supplies charges and then amortized that number and raise my prices slightly and spread the charges over all the invoices. I achieve the same results, but just behind the scene, and a few pennies here and there is not noticeable to your customers.

We use to charge a supply charge. We had some customers complain. Plus, New York has a few restrictions on how to charge supply charges and enviornmental charges. According to New York, you can charge supply and other charges only if you document what the charges are for, and, you are only allowed to recoup your expenses, not generate a profit. It may be different where you are. It looks like the supply charge really works for you, that is great!

A parts matrix is the only way to insure that you achieve your overall GP on parts. And, I agree, those items that are price sensitive are the ones that we need to be more competitive with. As far as fees are concerned, are you talking about hazmat and supply charges?

Great article. My newsletter will be out next week, it will feature the Right to Repair Act.

We are going thru some growing pains; the more people your have the more personalities there are. It becomes a challenge.

I understand the need for people to take time off, and we do rotate Saturdays for that purpose. But like you said, durning peak times (such as holidays) we need a full staff. We are in a service type business. it could be worse, we could be a business that requires us to be here on holidays. I guess what I am looking for is a fair policy. I can't allow senior poeple to dictate when they take their vacaction. I think the problem started with me. Years ago when I was not as big, it was not an issue. Now, we have 14 people on staff and I want to make sure people don't feel like they are not being fairly treated.

I use Mitchell with the parts/labor guide. It has most of the dealer prices which can be imported onto the invoice. The only problem is that you don't know the cost. If you go off dealer list, you may be hurting your gross profit. Mitchell can also control your in-house inventory and order parts from a parts house like CARQUEST. For in-house inventory and parts supplies, you can set up Mitchell to adjust prices automatically to meet your profit margins.

you make one general rule for everyone?