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 The Evolution of the
Automotive Shop Owner
Many of us got into
the automotive business probably the
same way. We had a love for fixing cars
and entered into a career as an
automotive mechanic. As our skills
improved we looked toward the future to
stake our claim in the automotive
business world. We were mechanics on a
Friday; working for dealerships, garages
and gas stations. We became shop owners
on a Monday, and the world for us
changed forever.
Let’s go back in
time to the early 1970’s. If you were
strong and technically skilled you made
a pretty good living as a shop owner.
The models you worked on were mostly
Ford, GM and Chrysler. Imports cars were
no threat and you didn’t go out of your
way to learn about them, nor did you
care about them. Only a select few
specialized in “Foreign Repair”.
The Big 3 supplied most of us with what
seemed like a never-ending stream of
repairs and service work. Overhead was
cheap, you didn’t need hi-tech special
equipment and you didn’t have to send
you techs to school on a constant basis
just to try to keep up with technology.
The skills you possessed were mechanical
and you ran your business from a
mechanic’s mindset.
Back in the 1970’s
muffler shops replaced exhaust,
transmission shops repaired
transmissions, new car dealers primarily
were interested in selling new cars and
no one ever imagined you could run a
lucrative business just changing oil.
The auto shop owner
of the 1970’s wore all the hats of the
business: he was the head mechanic, shop
foreman, service writer, office manager
and janitor. He did what ever it took to
keep the business running. But his
primary goal was to fix cars.
You had
competition, but it didn’t seem to
matter. Independent repair shops and
service stations flourished in this
country. Now, Main Street U.S.A is lined
with convenience stores as many of these
shop owners are finding that selling
milk and potato chips is more profitable
than repairing cars.
Throughout the
1980’s and 1990’s dramatic changes took
place. The Asian Imports made quality,
price and gas mileage issues that slowly
ate away at the dominance of the
domestic carmakers. The motoring public
had more choice. Made in America didn’t
mean what it once meant as people began
to resent the cars being produced by
Detroit.
National automotive
chains and franchises began to sprout up
across the country. Quick Lubes changed
the oil change business forever. As
profit margins on new cars shrunk, the
new car dealers began to concentrate
more and more on service. Maintaining
the customer became extremely important
since it increased the chances of that
customer retuning to purchase a future
vehicle from that dealership.
Today’s automobile
is a complex computerized marvel with
more technology under the hood than the
Apollo Rockets had on their missions to
the moon. Cars today are built better,
last longer, require less repairs and
demand highly skilled people to service
them.
The demographics
have also changed. You’re customer is no
longer primarily men. Women today
balance careers and families and make
most of the family purchasing decisions.
They are your primary customers.
Today all segments
of the market fight for a share of the
automotive service pie. Transmission
shops, muffler shops, tire stores and to
some extent, lube shops; all evolved
into Car Care Centers.
Change is both
constant and resisted. The modern auto
shop owner now knows that it takes more
than a strong back and the willingness
to work long hours to be successful.
Modern shop owners want to thrive, not
merely survive. Those who accept the
change will reap the rewards of a better
world. Shop owners today are business
people working on marketing strategies,
setting goals and learning the
mechanics of business.
Terminology such as Excel, Power Point
and Word are as common today as big
block, posi rear and ported cylinder
heads were the jargon of yesterday.
There is a place
for all segments of the automotive
service business. In unity there is
great strength. We may be competitors
in business but colleagues in our
profession.
If we learn anything from evolution,
it is that things will continue to
change. AutoShopOwner.com will be part
of that change and the best way to deal
with change is to create it.
Joe Marconi
Osceola Garage, New York
www.osceolagarage.com
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