Joe Marconi

As I write this post, Derek Jeter just hit a double and drove in Brett Gardner to score. It's the end of an era. Derek Jeter is one of the Yankee's all time greats. As someone who grew up in the Bronx, not far from Yankee Stadium, it's a special night.

RepairPal released the results of the second Car Care Survey, which surveyed over 2,500 consumers to learn their views on getting their cars serviced and repaired. Surveys are subjective in nature and I am not endorsing the survey or RepairPal. I just thought it would interesting to review and would like to share thoughts and comments. We are living in s new age of marketing and advertising. We are seeing an evolution take place before our eyes. Take a look at the survey, here is the link. http://repairpal.com/shop_hub/2nd_Annual_Survey_Landing

This was the customer's auto insurance company, not extended warranty. But, for the most part, they are all the same. Sadly, you have to sometimes play their game, but I really do not want to go down that road. I stood strong and explained the labor charges, and in the end, they paid the bill less the deductible. The customer was happy, and that means a lot. Maybe we should all stay strong?

Thank you. I write a monthly column for Ratchet + Wrench. Glad you liked it.

Gonzo, making a TV commercial is not bad idea. We all know that as an industry, we struggle with image. Perhaps a company like CARQUEST Advance, now that Advance has an interest in gaining the commercial trade, might consider it. Advance could position itself an ally to the professional shop, and distance itself from AutoZone. It would take a company such as Advance to move away from caring about Wall Street and a focus on Main Street...where our shops reside. Interesting, I am going to bring the up at the next TECH NET meeting. Stay tuned on this!

The Atlanta Business Chronicle is reporting that Atlanta-based The Home Depot is seeing success with its pilot program for the automotive Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market. The company currently is running the pilot program in about 50 stores. Home Depot originally launched the pilot program in 10 stores in 2006. The home improvement retailer has dedicated about 500-square-feet of floor space to auto products, including motor oil and fuel additives. It is hard to imagine how Home Depot sees opportunity in the DIY market. I was under the assumption that companies such as Advance and AutoZone are working to form a strong alliance with the commercial trade. What does Home Depot know that others do not? Here is a link to an article and source. http://www.aftermarketnews.com/Item/130070/home_depot_likes_what_it_sees_in_automotive_diy_retail.aspx

Gonzo, this has been my objection to this form of marketing for years. AutoZone features the "Price", not the "Product". It's the Wall Mart strategy- advertising low price to the masses. Bring them in and sell them something. But, where is the Value???? What we do is different, we don't sell price, we sell value. And there is a difference. AutoZone, Advance and other discounters need to realize what we are all about. We have spent too many years not charging what we need to. And to try to compete with parts that the public perceives as the same, based only on price, will only damage the repair and service industry more.

A customer brought in their car for damage to the oil pan. Apparently they ran over something. After inspecting the car and generating an estimate, the insurance adjuster contacted us and the customer and said that "According to labor rates in the area, we should be charging $50.00 per hour" My labor rate is double that. The insurance adjuster said that we will have to negotiate the price. I told the customer AND THE adjuster, "I don't negotiate with terrorists"

I just posted an article link about Autozone; profits are up for them. Pep Boys is different, they sell parts and labor. Pep Boys is understanding that "Cheap" and "Value" are different. It will be interesting to see how things play out the next few years with major players such as Advance, AutoZone, NAPA and O'Reillys competing for the service and part Pie. I just hope we don't get left with the crumbs.

AutoZone continues to show that it is a major player in the auto parts business. With many independents experiencing a roller coaster ride with regard to sales, part companies appear to be doing ok. Below is a link in Aftermarket Magazine. http://www.aftermarketnews.com/Item/130005/autozone_reports_fourth_quarter_results.aspx

Oh man! I can relate to this!

In my 40 years as a mechanic and 34 years as a business owner, I have blamed for things I did not touch more times than I care to remember. Perhaps my all time best story is when a customer blamed me for damaging here car, claiming that I scratched the driver's door. Her car, by the way, looked like she used it on the weekends at a local demolition derby. As I walked out to see the car, she points to the drivers door, which was so badly damaged I said to her, "We did this damage to the entire door"? She replied, "No, not the entire door, most of the damage was there already, you guys just did this", as she pointed to one scratch. All I could say was, "You have got to be kidding? The entire car is damaged and you are worried about one little scratch?" Amazing, right?

Pep Boys, after struggling this year financially, is considering closing 63 stores. Pep Boys has been changing the marketing strategy the past few years, emulating what we the independent shop owners do so well: Building strong relationships with our consumer base in our communities. It will be interesting to follow Pep Boys the next few years to see how this all plays out. Below is an article in Tire Business.com. http://www.tirebusiness.com/article/20140915/ISSUE/309159977/reality-check-pep-boys-in-red-considers-up-to-63-store-closings

What a list! Number 7 is my all time pet peeve. I always say, "it there car looks like this, how does their home look?" Great insight!

Thankfully, it appears that CARQUEST Advance Auto Parts will keep the TECH-NET independent shop banner program. This is good news for me personally. I was part of the CARQUEST Advisory council back in the mid to late 90s that created the TECH-NET program. It appears that CARQUEST Advance is committed to strengthening the alliance of the independents commercial trade. Again, good news. This January makes 2 years since the Advance acquisition of CARQUEST/BWP in my area, the Northeast. While many shop owners are still apprehensive, especially due to past and current advertising strategies of Advance, there are positive signs that Advance is learning from the culture of CARQUEST/BWP - building long lasting strong relationships with shop owners, and not so much with the retail DIY trade. We shall see...

Today we are hosting our 5th Annual Customer Appreciation Day. We close down half the shop and have live music, a live remote from WHUD Radio Station, we cook up hot dogs and burgers, and have giveaways and raffle off other gifts. We do a media blast and social media blast for the weeks leading up to the event. We usually get a few hundred customers stopping by throughout the day. Perhaps the best part, customer come to visit us, just to visit. No car issues. And we get a chance to say thanks and have bite to eat with them. As far as marketing is concerned, it's a win. Hands down!

Thanks Frank, I try to write real-life stories because I know we can all relate. Plus, I do enjoy writing.

I agree, great comment!

The first five years in business I gladly worked on anyone’s car. I had to. I was young, just starting out and anything in the bays was better than nothing. For me back then, a customer was a customer. But I soon found out that I was spending way too much time trying to please people that, quite honestly, were too hard to please. These people would argue over the price, want the job done yesterday, never took proper care of their car and would only come to me if I offered them a discount. I began to realize that dealing with my better clientele, the people that came to me, not for a discount, but for a quality repair, are the people that I SHOULD be spending my time with. These are the people that I should be targeting. And you need to do the same. Build a profile of your top customers. The people that truly are a joy to work for; the people that don’t argue about price and appreciate what you have to offer and those that listen to your recommendations. These are the customers that will build a long relationship with you. They come to you not because you advertize a discount, but because they trust you. Create your marketing, your advertising and build your entire business around them and what would please them. Before any marketing or advertising is created, ask yourself, “Who am I targeting?” If it doesn’t target and describe your key profile customer, it’s probably wrong. Trying to be everything to everyone, ends up pleasing no one, including you.

I am not sure about this approach, so I will reserve judgment until I see what others post. One thing to ask you. Have you given any thoughts about your brand? What you want to be known for and bring to the community, and what is your target audience? The reason I mention this is that this will help you with designing the right target marketing and advertising. As opposed to mass advertising reaching people with discounts that too many times attracts the wrong people. Just my thoughts. Very interested in hearing what others have to say about this unique approach.

Gonzo, I loved this article. You continue to reach deep down (somewhere) and pull out these gems of wisdom. Always love to read your article!

Thanks everyone for your input. Nice to know you guys agree. I am lucky my service advisor handled it like a pro. But, I am not happy that he had to be verbally abused. Customer or no customer, some things cross the line.

This is sad. What will it take for Cardone to take on these issues, speak to their customers (we, the repair shops) and get these problems solved? Has the damage been so great that even if they make changes, would it be too late?

A first time customer arrives at our service counter requesting prices on a set of tires. My service advisor, using the vehicle information she gave him (big mistake), priced a set of Goodyear tires. She authorized the job and made an appointment. The customer dropped the car off this past Wednesday for the tires. A few hours later the car brought in, only to realize that the tires were the wrong size and the tires that belong on her car would be more money. The advisor called the customer and she went ballistic. She screamed and demanded what we honor the price. The service advisor reduced the price to cost, but that was not good enough. She decided to cancel the tire job and pick up her car. We made a mistake; we should have never given her a price without actually checking the vehicle information and tire size. It was a mistake, we admitted that to her. But here is where it gets ugly. She came in with a friend to pick up her car and she started to insult my service advisor. She called him names and began to throw insults at him that I do not want to repeat. My advisor said nothing; he stood there and took it. We also had other people in the office at the time. I called the women and told her that I would have given her the tires at any cost, but after hearing what she had done and said, I told her that some things cross the line. She responded by saying, “aren’t you guys regulated? Isn’t’ the customer ALWAYS right? And don’t you have to honor the price?” I said, “First we are not regulated, what ever that means, this is America the last time I looked, and we are talking about a mistake here. Plus, the way you acted, I really don’t think we want you as a customer.” By the way, she freely admitted to me that she was “fresh mouthed”, her words, not mine. IS THE CUSTOMER ALWAYS RIGHT? Not really, agree or not?