Joe Marconi

History of Veterans Day World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.” In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations." Let us honor all those that have fought, died and served our great nation in order to protect the freedoms which we enjoy each day. Joe Marconi

I have a related topic about information and communication. That’s the information received from the customer to the service writer, and relayed to the mechanic. I instruct my service writers to write down or enter in the computer everything the customer’s states and exactly what they say. Do not interpret or put a spin on what the customer is telling you. For example, a customer says to you, “Once in a while on wet mornings only, I hear a click when I turn the key and the car won’t start. I try it again a few times and the starts up normally”. Don’t just write on the mechanic’s repair order, “Check for no start at times”. This drives me crazy.

I have every machine BG offers. I believe in fluids services and the advantages of promoting the BG Lifetime Protection Pan. People keep their cars longer these days and people want value. With so many maintenance items taken out of the owner’s manual, you will need to hone your skills as an advisor in order to promote preventive maintenance. For example, with a spark plug change, we will also sell the added benefits of a fuel system/Decarb service. Once the customer understands the benefits of the service and the value of the lifetime protection, they are more inclined to go ahead with your recommendations.

No matter who is sits in the White House, we ultimatley answer to one person on this planet, and that's that person you look at in the mirror each day.

She did not have the invoice with her from the dealer, but she said that she did everything that was listed on the dealer 15k. She would not tell me what she spent, but said it was "a lot".

All great advice. Let me add to make sure that a service writer understand the sales goals of the business and know when the shop is making money. Many shops base the writers pay and/or bonus on sales without knowing breakeven. We all know that gross sales and gross profit dollars are two different things. Gross profit dollars is what we need to focus on. For example, a service writer can sell a ton of tires in one week, so the gross sales look great on paper, but the GP dollars will be lower than if the same writer sold a ton of brake jobs, steering, suspension and preventive maintenance. My advice is to carfully look at the numbers of the business, know when the shop is making money and base the pay/bonus on this number. When the writer has a target to shoot for, he or she is apt to hit it more often. BTW: For me, breakeven is not just paying bills, it's a precentage above when all the bills are paid. That percentage above is determined by many internal and personal factors.

Yes, I explained to her that the 15k service the dealer sold her was a "Dealer written" service, not the factory service. I also added that many of the services she had done, were not needed at that mileage. But people react funny when you present them with the facts, especially if they think you are questioning their decision. It becomes a power play, they almost want to defend their decision, rather than admit they were misled. The more I spoke the more I could see the anxiety increase in her face, so I explained to her (and showed her) the factory schedule. But again, it becomes MY WORD against the DEALER'S WORD. And while deep down I put doubts in her mind, ego tends to cloud people's view and that FREE thing keeps coming up as a way to rationalize everything else. She actually said at one point, "Well I guess they got to sell you something for all the free stuff they give you". This is a tough one, tough for me at least. The dealer has an advantage because the sell the car and more and more dealers understand that if they get the customer to come back for service, they not only increase the overall profit of the dealer, they greatly increase the odds that the customer will buy another car from them in the future.

Because of the storm this week I made it a point to meet and speak with every customer who managed to come in. Many came by to check their car for damage, some even stopped by to charge their cell phones, since they had no power. I spoke to a number of customers with new cars and asked them why they haven’t been in for service, but only for State Inspections and other minor issues, such as a tire light on. They told me it was due to their free service at the dealership. These car makes included; Toyota, KIA, Subaru, Volvo, and Audi. I know this has been brought up before, but the question is, “How do we compete with free?” Another question is, “What is free?” Many consumers don’t realize that the oil change is the only freebie. The customer will pay for items such as tires, brakes, tire rotation, air and cabin filters and wipers. In fact, one customer showed me her 15k service on her Subaru which included spark plugs, transmission service, coolant service, tire rotation air filter, cabin filter and a whole lot more. That’s a 15k service! HOW'S THAT FOR FREE SERVICE, RIGHT? We know what goes on, but the consumer does not. Why they can’t see thru the smoke and mirrors will remain a mystery, but the sad fact is that we may be losing the battle to this false marketing that anchors customers to the dealership. I don’t mind healthy and fair competition, but the questionable disguise of FREE service casts a voodoo-like magic over the consumer. It’s amazing how they recite the words from the sales person, “Everything is free, everything is free, I was told everything is free”. And when questioned about what exactly is free, they stare at you in silence. So, how do we compete with Voodoo Free Service?

The National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) has issued a warning to both consumers and repair shops to be aware of counterfeit airbags entering the aftermarket. These counterfeit airbags, within the last few years, have been tested by the NHTSA and shown to malfunction and may explode metal shrapnel during deployment. Although no deaths or related injuries have been reported, it is a major consumer concern and a liability issues for auto body shops and repair shops. Every repair shop is urged to confirm the authenticity of every airbag purchase. In addition, all used cars that have been purchased within the last 3 to 4 years should have its history checked either through CARFAX or other sources to see if the car has been in a collision and if the airbags were replaced.

I just read an article in November issue of Fortune Magazine, written by Nina Easton, about the lack of skilled workers in this country. It’s a crisis, but not a lack of jobs crisis, but a lack workers who are able to fill the jobs that are available and will be available in this country. These aren’t jobs that require a college degree either; they are well paying jobs that require trade skills. We, as shop owners are well aware of this crisis. There are 3 million jobs right now in this country that go unfilled. When we speak of the unemployment rate, we cannot discount that this numbers factors into this state of affairs. We need to take responsibility to secure our future. We need to find ways to increase interest in our industry, get involved with local high schools, trade schools and with automotive college programs. We also need to implement apprentice programs, mentorship and internship programs. This year I started an internship program with the local trade high school. This spring, handpicked automotive students who plan on furthering their automotive education will have the opportunity to work side by side with a tech or service advisor at my shop. They will be required to write about their experiences and about their future. We will then, will the help from their teachers, choose one of these students and my shop will award that student a scholarship. I would like to hear from other shop owners around the country on what you are doing and what you think needs to done to bring qualified people into our industry.

As we near the presidential election, I feel compelled to say a few words. What I will not do is turn this post into a political position or voice personal opinions on how I will vote. My intentions are to keep this post neutral. Rather, the importance of this election and every election is to recognize who we are as free nation. We are a melting pot of people who have migrated here from literally around the world. Even the American Indians trace their roots back to Asia. This diversity gives us great strength and a unique heritage. My own family migrated from Italy in the early 1900’s, coming through Elis Island and settling in New York City. As a child I remember hearing stories of the old country, but my family also spoke about how proud and fortunate we are that we are now Americans. I clearly remember my parents, who would switch from speaking Italian to English, stop themselves and would tell each other, “We are Americans now; we need to speak English, not Italian”. My father told me time and time again growing up, “You are an American. Yes you have an Italian ancestry, but never forget that you are an American”. Patriotism, hard work and family were the ethics I grew up with. When my father enlisted in the Army the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, he was asked if he had a problem fighting the Italians. My father sternly told that person, “I am an American and proud to serve and fight for this country”. This sentiment embodied my childhood. At every Election Day my father would remind the family, “It is not just a right, but our obligation to vote on Election Day”. He would tell us often, “Whether you are a democrat or republican or whatever, don’t blindly vote your party line, vote for the person you feel is the best person for the job”. So, with Election Day almost here, let us not forget our obligation as Americans and work to continue to make this Nation the greatest nation in the world.

Yes, I do remember reading this before, but it is such a great story, it's worth reading again. A truly amazing story!

Years back I remember speaking to a GM dealer tech, he told me that they used a tool you are decribing to swap engines on caddies. But I have never seen one. Sorry.

It is truly amazing how stupid some people are....

Thanks, yes are back open and thankful for that.

A Lot to be Thankful For This past Monday morning, October 29, I sat in my office with my service advisors and manager planning the week. We had a packed schedule and just last Friday the buzz phrase for the day was, “We have turned the corner”. Business had picked up last week and it looked like this week would be a banner week. But, lurking around that “corner” was a storm, not a storm of cars, but Hurricane Sandy. Our plans shifted from business to safety. We sent everyone home by noon on Monday and secured the shop for the storm. I was angry and disappointed. For the first time in months it looked like we would have, a much needed, banner week. But, it was as if an unknown force had other intentions than granting us those sales. We were told it would be bad, but like past predictions, we thought this storm would not live up to the hype. We were all wrong. By late that afternoon, with winds nearing 100 miles per hour, I knew this was something I had never experienced in my 57 years. As I watched trees falling down around me, losing power was inevitable, the safety of my family become the only thing that mattered. That feeling of anger about losing sales became so insignificant that I became ashamed of what I thought was important just a few short hours before. As the lights went out around 7pm, and in the dark, my wife and I looked at each other and I said to her, “Well, here it is, are you ok?” I started the generator and grabbed all the flashlights; we had dinner by candle light, and opened a bottle of wine. I could hear crashing around me and we made last minute plans to find refuge in the basement, if needed. As we sat there in the dark all we could think about was our family and friends. No thought of tire sales, ARO, car counts or part GP. We tried sleeping that night, but the howling wind kept us awake. I received a number of phone calls during the night from the alarm company that there were numerous break-ins at the shop. I knew they were not break-ins but probably wind damage. It would be foolish to venture out in the storm, so I merely ignored the calls. Around 4am I finally dozed off for an hour. The wind had died down a little by then, but it was clear that the storm had wrought its wrath. At 6am I heard knocking at my front door. It was a frantic neighbor. Everyone was without power and I was one of the few with a generator. She said that her daughter was having a mild asthma attack and needed to plug in her nebulizer. She tried calling 911, but it would be a while for help to arrive with all the roads blocked from fallen trees. I welcomed her and her daughter into my home. The daughter plugged her nebulizer into one of the kitchen counter outlets. A minute later she was breathing normally. I offered the mother coffee as we watched the daughter continued to breathe into the devise. The feelings of calm and serene from helping a neighbor were feelings you could not put a price on; feelings that transcended the storm. Those feelings stayed with me for days. It would be days before we got power back or phone service. We were helpless without our man-made devises. No lights, no water, no heat, no internet, no phone, no IATN, Alldata or Identifix. How could we survive? Well, we did survive, but not without casualties. Thankfully, my family is ok and we experienced minimal damage to the shop and my home. We were lucky, but not everyone was granted this luck. People lost homes, their cars, businesses were destroyed and for some, a life time of hard work was literally washed away. Some lost their lives. So, here I am, Friday night, thinking about this past week and realizing that I am a much different person than what I was just a few days ago, thankful for what I have and thankful for the things that we sometimes take for granted. This week’s business tip has little to do with business; rather, it has EVERTHING to do with business. We put so much emphasis sometimes on the daily ordeals we encounter as business people. What we learn from Mother Nature we cannot learn from a book. Sometimes Mother Nature reminds us that life itself is fleeting and we need to value each and every minute of it.

Well you got to the bottom of this, but it still stinks. The sad part is you are taking responsibilty for something that is not your doing. But, I would have done the same thing. Shop owners are better people-people than we are business-people. I don't mind taking care of people either, but it would be nice to have a week once in a while where all we do is make a profit. Maybe, we answer to a higher authority?

STORM UPDATE: There is a gas shortage in the area and gas lines. People are getting frustrated. Also, there have been reports that people are stealing generators from people's home. It's a real mess, even worse in Jersey, Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. Power is still out in many areas. We got power back finally at home and at the shop.

It's hard to be everything to everyone. It's not bad to specialize, but you must know your market and have the image and look that will attract people from that market . General repair has an advantages and disadvantages. Working on multiple cars lines means you have to tool up for many different makes and models, which can be more costly and more training is needed. The up side is that your potential market is much greater and have a greater potential to make more sales. Also, a customer may own a VW today and buy a Honda next year. Whatever you decide, make sure you take care of the customers. Cater to them, not just their cars. Understand that people do business with people, no matter what car they own. Hope this helps and good luck.

Minor damage to roof and to front porch, lost a few shrubs, blown away. No damage at shop, just loss of business for a few days.

Minor damage to roof and to front porch, lost a few shrubs, blown away. No damage at shop, just loss of business for a few days.

Still without power at home. No internet or land line phones. I am using my cell phone to post this message. Shop as power again, but area is a mess, lots of damage. Will be limited in keeping up with posts. Sorry Joe

By now everyone knows that a major storm is hitting the east coast, particularly the mid-atlantic states on up to New England. For those that are in the pathway of the storm, please be prepared and stay safe. My home and shop are both in the pathway of this storm. Let's hope and pray that it's not as bad as they predict and that everyone remains safe.

We sell on average 100 to 150 units per month