Joe Marconi

As a the owner of a general repair shop, I don't really consider extreme bad weather such as a snow storm or ice storm as oppourtunity. How do our Auto Body Shop Owners feel about extreme weather and its effect on business?

This article was written by one of our female team members... all the ladies in our office feel the same way. There are some important lessons to learn here, starting with the fact that heralding your shop as "Certified Female Friendly" by our poll, is actually a negative marketing tool.

 

 

 

CERTIFIED FEMALE FRIENDLY? JUST BE FRIENDLY

by Tonya Briggs, Autoshop Solutions

 

This past year, talk among shop professionals has revolved around women- mainly, how to earn our business, be “female friendly” and retain us as loyal customers. I realize that 52% of the auto repair market is women, and that shop owners need a certain amount of appeal to keep us coming back for more, but I have to wonder... How did this conversation happen? What triggered all of the hype? Why are all of these shop owners spending money to be “Certified Female Friendly?” I don’t get it.

 

When I go into a shop, I don’t want to see “Certified Female Friendly” displays; I just want a friendly smile and a “What can I do for you today?” I don’t want my mechanic to take a course in order to be “female friendly.” I want you to be an expert on my car, show me what the problems are, be honest and give me some advice for preventive maintenance- really the same thing ALL customers want, regardless of gender.

 

Back in college, I found a great car mechanic. I met him when my rear tire went flat. I was stranded on the side of the road and called AAA. I only had a few towing miles left, so I had the company tow my car to the nearest repair shop. The mechanic met me with a friendly smile and asked how far down the road I was. I told him that it was just a couple of miles. He asked me why I had my car towed when it was just a couple miles down the road. Didn’t I have a spare?

 

He wasn’t being condescending. I told him that I did have a spare, but I wasn’t strong enough to change it myself. He showed me where my car jack was, taught me how to use it, and proved to me that I could change a tire by myself any time of day. All the tools were already in my car. After he showed me how to change my own tire, he created a customer for life. He could have really taken advantage of me by selling me anything. But he didn’t. Instead of getting me to a buy new tire, he patched up my old one. I used it for a pretty long time, and when I needed new tires, guess where I went? Yep, I went back to him.

 

After he taught me how to change my tire, he showed me how to check my oil, add wiper fluid and check the coolant. Every time I went to him for service, he taught me something new until I felt like I knew everything about my car: the hoses, the tires, the belts and the engine. From time to time, I’d peek under the hood to make sure that the rubber was good and the battery was clean. Owning a car became really fun.

 

Back then, I never thought of him as being a particularly “female friendly” mechanic. He was just friendly and I enjoyed taking my car in. I learned about my car.

 

Having a clean and organized shop isn’t the only way to be “Certified Female Friendly.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s refreshing to walk into a tidy auto shop, but teaching women about their cars and enabling them to be more independent is truly the best way to earn female customers for life.

 

 

See it on our blog http://www.autoshopsolutions.com/marketingblog/

or on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/autoshopsolutions

First, I need to tell you...THANK YOU. This is something I have been saying for a very long time. We all know that treating "people" with kindness and in a professional manner is something we all need to do to be successful. But this one-sided approach to a certain gender or group makes no sense. What if we singled out another group of people? Can you imagine if a shop advertised, "We are an Asian Friendly Repair Shop". Think about that!

We all need to indentify the needs of our customers and understand that there may be different needs for different people. But, in the end it's just good old fashion business sense and providing the very best in customer service and quality repairs.

Thank you Tonya Briggs and Auto Shop Solutions for this article, it's about time we spoke about this!

We have had a few of those cars but thankfully few and far between. Seems like if you work on them once you own them.

Agree...I have gotten "married" to a few cars too in my career, it's no fun. I hate to profile a customer and/or the car they drive, but sometimes the end result does not justify the time, effort or money.

How’s Your Credibility?

In order to be credible you need to be believable to others. A Shop owner is the leader of the company and a leader must be credible. To be credible you need to be consistent in your actions. Follow through on what you say, but be flexible and understanding of others who work with you. You need to hold yourself accountant and not make excuses when things go wrong. Make yourself available to the people in your company and above all you must have integrity. You will have a much greater chance of success when the people around you believe in you.

In this competitive and ever changing economy, are there shops that have ventured out and added different forms of income streams. For example, many shops have started to sell used cars as a means to add more income to the bottom line. Other shops have added a car wash or detail center.

I am curious to hear from other shop owners if they plan on expanding their business by adding new services or products?

HOOPTY Gonzo Jan. 2010

 

 

A decrepit 94 Impala SS with a 5.7 liter engine was towed in. When this thing was new, it was a real power house. But, this poor thing had a pretty rough life. Terry, (My buddy the tow driver) was standing in the lobby with this grin on his face. I could tell he was about to give me one of his patented tall tales about this car.

 

"Gonz, you're going to like this one, nice car, a crème puff, oh, and the paint, awesome, just awesome... You'll have to put your gloves on before you start on this cherry ride. Wait till ya see this one," he tells me, while trying to keep a straight face.

 

"Really, how come I don't believe you," I said.

 

By now he couldn't stop from laughing, and then he tells me that on the way over the trunk lid pops open. He stopped to close it only to find out that the entire latch area was completely rotted away. The car was completely painted with flat black paint from a spray can. No door panels, broken trim inside and out, cracked glass, and a pillow in the driver seat to keep you from falling thru the seat. The car had a slight lean to one side as if a spring was broken or the shock towers were rusted thru. The outside mirrors are dangling off the doors, the wheels don't match, and there's a steady drip of oil from under the car. It's a real POS. (Your definition is sufficient; I don't need to explain that one I'm sure.)

 

It started, so I drove it into a service bay. The thing smelled awful and I'm not talking just the exhaust. All I was told was that it would die while driving and you would have to wait quite some time before it would start again. The service light was on, along with almost all the other warning lights. But as it was, I was only concerned with the service light and see if that led to any results.

 

Several codes were stored; I wrote them all down and then cleared the memory and restarted the car. 2 codes did return right away. One was for the secondary air system, that one was easy, the relay was missing. The other code (code 36) had to do with the distributor (High resolution circuit). I ran the test procedure to see where it led. One of tests required that the connector at the distributor needed to be disconnected to verify connection quality. The connector…. A … what connector? Someone had stabbed the 4 wires into the distributor housing and then used silicone to keep them in place. The entire distributor area was covered in oil. In fact, the oil was dripping out of a crack in the distributor cap. (How the H?LL did this thing even start?)

 

There's no sense in going any further, I priced out the obvious parts and called the customer. To say they were shocked would be an understatement. This distributor isn't cheap by a long shot on these 5.7's. But, what surprised me even more was what the owner told me.

 

He said, "The parts were new."

 

New? You've got to be kidding me. I needed to find out what this bailing wire commandos version of new was. There wasn't one new part on this heap. The crack in the distributor cap was large enough to actually be seen without getting that close to it. And, that's even with the distributor buried behind the waterpump and the harmonic balancer. You could see it plain as day.

 

"Where did you get them?"

 

"Salvage yard across town," he said.

 

"Then there not new, they're just new to the car," I told this POS captain.

 

"Well, they looked new when I took them off the wrecked car," he tells me.

 

Off a wrecked car, of course a wrecked car… right….I'll bet it's probably one that got smacked by a train right in the radiator too. It's not so much that this POS pilot used salvage yard parts, that's not what I'm concerned with. It's the amateurish way he installed the distributor wires and the fact that he wasn't concerned about this huge crack. But, as it always seems the case… money, or the lack of, is the real issue here. Now why is it, when you get a job in like this the very first thing that happens is the wallet starts to dictate the repair.

 

He wanted to know if he could get more parts from the salvage yard and if I would put them in. I don't like doing that, but to help the guy out I said I would work with him, a bit. But the big deal was that connector; he had to find a replacement. As far as he knew there wasn't another one at the salvage yard with a decent connector.

 

After talking to the dealership about the parts, they told me there was a replacement harness still available, however, it was revised from the original and most likely the connector would not match the older style distributor. So, it's not looking good for this guy.

 

When I told him what the labor costs would be just to replace the distributor and the rewire the connector, he had a big problem with that, he couldn't afford any of it. Then the wallet started talking again, now he wanted me to change only the distributor connector since the other parts were new. There's that word again… new… Yea, right it's new…. Let's leave the dripping oil filled distributor assembly bleeding all over the place. I'm sure that's exactly how it was designed to work. Must be one of those "total loss" oil systems from years gone by that I read about in the history books.

 

I think it's time this guy finds a new car. I'm sure if he drove, pushed, or pulled this heap of junk to the salvage yard the car would automatically find its own parking spot somewhere next to the rest of the worn out scrap wagons waiting for their final demise. It's just too far gone for any professional shop to tackle on this guy's income. Not that it couldn't be repaired and brought back to refurbished shape, just not on this guy's salary.

 

Sorry dude, I'm real sorry, but I can't work these kinds of miracles on a budget. The sad truth of it is, there are a lot of cars out there that are in just as bad of shape. Look around the next time you drive home you might even spot one of these "hoopties" driving down the road.

 

I feel pretty bad that even though I know how to fix it, I just can't fix it without spending a fortune on it, and maintain some professionalism to the finished product. I took some time to talk him, gave the young lad some fatherly advice on how to pick out a decent car and not get so wrapped up in his emotional attachment to this aging wanna-be hot rod. (He called it a hot rod… not me.)

 

I hope he takes my advice, and I hope he finds a decent cheap car that won't eat his pocketbook up in repairs. Because this car is done, put a fork in it… call the scrap yard and tell them, "Gotta another one for the crusher!"

 

 

Thanx for reading these stories, they are here for your enjoyment before publication. The final version that is published might be slightly different, and that's how you can help. Your comments make it easier for me to edit and send a finished story.

 

Thanx, Gonzo

Great story...more sad than funny. Even after more than 35 years in this business, people still baffle me. I do agree that it's about money...but not everyone is having it tough financially. I think, too many people DO NOT WANT to spend the money. As usual, I enjoyed reading you article. Thanks!

We personally run a $55 alignment special for most vehicles. We also give a free alignment with the purchase of 4 new tires. It was said above, and I agree, that alignments generate a ton of front-end work. It is also, in my opinion, the easiest to sell. The customer is typically in the waiting room (rather than a drop-off) and I can bring them out there and physically show them the issue. It is a strong selling point and a great money-maker.

 

I view alignments the same way as I do oil changes: A way to get a customer in the door, get their information in the database, and start them on a regular maintenance program.

Do you think that due to increased competition, many shops are using more and more services as lost leaders? Major companies put items "On Sale" as a way to bring people thru the door, but the truth is the "special sale price" is still sold at a profit. Some times the promotional sales price is the actual price of the particular item. When we "give away" lost leaders as a means to gain a customer base, are we losing much needed profit?

I bring this up only to stimulate conversation, I want to hear from other shop owners and how they market lost leaders and other forms of marketing to bring new customers in.

Schedule One-On-One Time With People In Your Company

At the start of the New Year, set aside time to talk with everyone in your company. Review their past accomplishments and identify where they need to improve. Make these meetings a positive experience. Do not use these one-on-one meetings as a “beat up” session. Make sure the meeting is filled with dialogue, where both parties are partciapting. Encourage your employees to be open and be ready to take critisism.

You will achieve greatness when the people in your company are engaged, focused and committed to success of the company. And, always thank the people in your company for their continued loyalty, hard work and participation.

OK, so a little update.

I went to pitch my plan yesterday at the local small business administration. The guy threw my plan to the side without looking at it. He then told me a 30 minute story about how he worked the oil fields in the 50's, and how he is not "familiar" with the internet. Bottom line is, it was a complete waste of time. I understand most of the "counselors" there are likely volunteers, but holy cow they could not have been any less helpful. I went in with all my questions written down and a professional looking business plan that I worked on for ages and I received no feed back at all. It was a bit discouraging, being I had made the appointment weeks ago, and had been looking forward to moving one step closer. Oh well, I will get back to work at it and see what I can do from here.

That's terrible. The SBA should be ashamed of themselves! You are doing the right thing by creating a business plan, don't give up. What about your bank? My bank had financial people that helped analyze my plan. Is there a local Chamber of Commerce? Maybe they can recommend a business consultant.

We use the factory recommended service interval for all later model cars (roughly 2000 and newer). If a manufacturer states an extended service interval (over 5,000) and does note require synthetic we recommend synthetic. We only use oils that comply with the manufacturer spec. We stock mobil oils in both conventional and synthetic.

 

Older cars we do 3k on conventional, 5k on synthetic.

We do pretty much the same as you do.

Joe, the kits you have, do they include the stems on sensors where the stem is removable? I've been looking for a kit that includes these, talked to my carquest rep about it too. I only seem to find kits that have the seals and nuts, 500pcs kits that are mostly valve cores and caps.

 

We leave the sensors alone unless there is a problem. Same with valve stems, we check them, replace cracked or rotted looking ones, thats it. Charge for them when we need to replace them.

 

On another TPMS note through, what do you charge for resetting the TPMS system if needed. On some cars it needs to be reset just for tire rotations. Most shops around here seem to charge straight labor, usualy a half hour. What's the rest of the world do?

Yes and no, there are so many kit numbers today that you have to buy different master kits. CARQUEST is our main supplier, but we are looking at different companies to keep costs down and part availability. I don't know if my CARQUEST rep is getting different kits from your rep. I am checking into Meyers and Specialty Products and a few others.

Our standand labor charge to reset is a half hour, UNLESS there is an issue with the system. Or, If I need to dismount the tire to verify a failed sensor. Sometimes we find a broken sensor from the last time the tires where replaced.

I am concerned that the industry is headed in the wrong direction if only a hand full of shops service the TPMS sensors when replacing tires. I rather not take a chance and have a leak later on. We find many leaking tires from the seals.

My opinion and what we do:

*Make sure the TPMS light is not on before the tires are removed from the car

*Visually inspect the sensors

*Inspect all the cores to insure that they can be removed

*Inform the customer of any concerns BEFORE the tires are dismounted

*Remove the TPMS sensor; replace the nut, core, valve cap and seal

Thanx Joe, I enjoy doing the stories... and some are better than others. As I've said before, it's not so much the story but the telling of them. We all have these experiences and in some small way I hope I bring some laughter to our otherwise hetic days.

 

They'll be more laughs, and more stories...

thanx again... Gonzo

 

BTW... the reason their called Oysters.... is because they don't taste like Chicken... more like Oysters...

Well to be honest with you...I hope never to find out...first "hand" that is!

Rocky Mountain Oysters Gonzo Jan 2010

 

At my shop I tend to do more electrical repairs than anything else. It's what I'm known for, and sometimes I get my share of odd ball electrical problems. Sometimes it's a factory defect where a harness has rubbed into a bracket behind the dash and shorted things out.

 

But, a lot of the time it's some add-on that causes the problems. Usually some sort of flashy-testosterone filled bling that the owner is using to show off his macho self to all who pass by. Seldom do I see these "manly" things on a girl's car… it's mostly the guy's… sorry dudes… it's true. You guys can't leave them alone. Ya gotta show your manhood somewhere on that Detroit steel.

 

I had this cowboy's truck in the shop; it's a late 80's Chevy pickup, jacked up to the sky and loud. His only problem for the day was that his parking lights would blow a fuse. My usual first question is, "When did ya put in the stereo?"

 

Over the years I would say it's probably the no#1 problem I find in the park light systems on these GM cars and trucks of that era. It never fails; some goof ball is going to use the gray wire as the radio ground. I can usually tell these types of guys because they'll "always" tell me how they used an ohm meter to check the wiring.

 

Ah, dude, it will show continuity to ground because the gray wire is the dash lights and you'll pick up a ground signal thru a bulb filament back to another dash bulb. However when you turn the park lights on (which they won't check till the next time they drive at night) the fuse to the park lights will blow.

 

But in this case this hombre was safe… it wasn't the radio. Now I have to look elsewhere. One of my many "tricks" to test a short circuit on these older trucks is with 2 fuses. First stick one in the fuse box and turn on the park lights. (It came in blown, and I doubt you're going to make it any worse) … Keep your eye on the fuse, did it blow quickly? … Or did it take a bit? When I say a bit… I don't mean like… a second….I mean not immediately, let's just call it a quick blink. If the fuse takes a bit to blow that tells me the short is farther away from the fuse box than closer. (Learning the difference may take some practice.)

 

In this case this saddle sore owner's problem was not immediate, but an ever slight delay. I'm going to look around the outside of the vehicle and see if it reveals any clues. It could be in the back or the front of this herd chasing cattleman's Cadillac. I climbed out of the cab and headed to the south end of this northbound rig to check for any trailer wiring. It's my 2^nd usual place to look for faulty wiring on this type of truck. Any time you get the handy-dandy farmhand with his fence pliers working his magic on the horse trailer wiring, you're going to have problems.

 

Well, how about that… it was professionally done… and in fact the wiring looked great! But there was this other foreign object dangling on the receiver hitch. Oh man … is this necessary? Bull testicles? There's a pair of fake plastic bovine manhood rocking back and forth with every sway of this pasture cavorting vehicle. Now, I don't know who this cowboy is trying to impress… 'cause if I was a cow… I'd think there something wrong with this bull. And, if I was some gal in a car behind this boot wearin', skoal chewin', cattle jockey… I don't think I'd be impressed… at all.

 

But then something else caught my eye… and it wasn't the swinging genitals. There's a small wire connected to them, and the wire is connected to the brown wire of the trailer connector… which, is the park light wiring. OMG… no way…these rocky mountain oysters light up and glow with the evening sky. I don't remember animal husbandry being a part of my job requirements. And I don't think glow in the dark dangling beef ta-tas was covered in any of my training classes.

 

You mean to tell me, if I disconnect the wire from this cowboy's dangling plastic bull parts the park lights might work? This is nuts! I can't believe this … … this is definitely not going well today. Well, I've gotta try, it could be the end of my search of why the park lights are blowing the fuse … here goes… … with one hand, I grabbed this pasture-prowlers-artificial-cattle-creators and held on with an almighty firm grip. With the other hand, I took steady aim with my trusty cutters--- "Snip" ---the deed is done.

 

Back to the fuse box and change the fuse, and then flip on the park lights. Well what do ya know, we have lights! Tell all the Angus and Holsteins on the farm – the park lights are working perfectly! ! Whoo Hoo!

 

I'll have to admit, it's the first time I have ever had to castrate a truck to get the park lights to work… Well, there's a first time for everything… might as well start up a new career… You'll find me on one of those late night infomercials and in the business yellow pages under;--- "Bull Castrator/Mechanic"--- .

 

 

these stories are posted before publication and final editing. Comments make a difference in which will be published. Most of these stories will be in my next book and your comments help me decide which ones to use.

Visit my website for more stories and car related info. www.gonzostoolbox.com

You are truly blessed in many ways, to have the opportunity and the ability to write in such a way that you brings joy and humor to all of us. Again, great story. I would say one of your best...BUT they are all great!

Sorry, I’m a little late to the discussion. First, thank you for your service to this country.

I am the cofounder and also a shop owner for 30 years, and I really don’t know where to start. I admire anyone who has a dream like yours and wants to make the dream a reality. Let’s start with leadership which you mentioned in your post. You will most certainly need leadership to build your dream shop. To build what you are proposing will take an enormous amount of cooperation from the right people all pulling in the right direction. You will find that getting people aligned in the public sector may be a bit harder than in the military.

You will undoubtedly need to learn business skills and become more proficient in the numbers of business, marketing, advertising, etc. That’s not to say you have to do it all yourself, you just need to know how to get the right people working as a team to achieve your goal.

I am a little concerned about the 10 investors, not quite sure what that means in terms of return on investment for these people. When I expanded my business a few years ago and built another shop, I create a comprehensive business plan which was submitted to my bank. The bank, in essence, was my venture capitalist. Have you spoke to a business lawyer about this?

I think you idea of used cars is great. We started selling used cars last year and we have done fairly well. We plan to increase our use car department this year. It’s a great way to acquire new customers and keep existing ones, looking for a car.

I think you need to determine what will be your best income stream. It will be important to establish a steady form of income. You may find it will be traditional automotive service and repair. For this reason, you need to tool up for this type of service work: tires, alignments, brakes, preventive maintenance, etc.

As far as employees, that’s a tough one. In a perfect world, you need to be looking for service writer(s), technicians, support staff (clean up), lube techs and some sort of bookkeeper or administrator. One thing I can say with certainty, if you plan on making this happen, it cannot be done on your back. Please take this advice from someone who has been there: You need to work on the business, establish goals, create the vision and oversee the operation. Don’t try to wear too many hats, it will wear you out and tear you apart. Trust me on this one. If your goal was a 2-bay shop, doing oil changes and brake jobs, that’s different.

You say you don’t want to start small, I like your attitude. To achieve anything in life you must have goals and a well-thought out plan. And you achieve you goals by establishing many smaller goals. I make the parallel to when President Kenney said in 1960 that the USA will go to the moon by the end of the decade. The goal was the moon, but how we got there was a series of smaller goals: we sent rockets into space, then we sent rockets with animals, then we sent a manned rocket up into orbit, eventually 2 men. We practiced docking in space and other tasks. After a many missions, we sent unmanned rockets to the moon, and then manned missions which orbited the moon, and then finally we landed on the moon. You must do the same, build your plan, and establish you short term and long term goals. Don’t try to do too much at once.

Sorry for going on and on. Let me leave you with this. Most important don’t be afraid of failure and making mistakes, because you will….we all have.

Good luck and stay in touch!

Get yourself a copy of a book called the E-Myth by Michael Gerber

First; GREAT, GREAT suggestion, perhaps the most enlightening book you can read.

Welcome to ASO. Within these forums is a wealth of knowledge from a lot of veterans and seasoned shop owners. My advice as a shop owner for 30 years is to learn as much about business as you can. In today’s competitive world you need to understand not only mechanics, but the mechanics of business. You don’t want to fall into the trap as so many of us have and spend a lifetime working very hard with little to show for it.

Build something that will make you proud, always have passion for what you are doing, don’t ever forget the people around and strive to always be the best.

Good luck and stay in touch.

GM's New Engine Oil: Use It Or Else!

 

http://autos.aol.com/article/gm-engine-oil/

 

http://motoroilbible.com/blog/general-motors-dexos-motor-oil-spec/

 

Have any of you saw a 2011 GM vehicle yet for an oil change?

We just purchased a few cases of the DEXOS but have not had any new GM car in our shop yet. I see this as another marketing tactic to get the consumer thinking: "Go back to the Dealer, you local repair guy can't keep up with technology". To their suprise, we will. As far as education is concerned, that must with us.

Believe it or not...

These are Memphis, TN's

 

REAL 911 Calls!

 

 

 

Dispatcher : 9-1-1 What is your emergency?

Caller: I heard what sounded like gunshots coming from the brown house on the corner.

Dispatcher: Do you have an address?

Caller: No, I have on a blouse and slacks, why?

 

 

 

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is your emergency?

Caller : Someone broke into my house and took a bite out of my ham and cheese sandwich .

Dispatcher : Excuse me?

Caller : I made a ham and cheese sandwich and left it on the kitchen table and when I came back from the bathroom, someone had taken a bite out of it.

Dispatcher : Was anything else taken?

Caller : No, but this has happened to me before and I'm sick and tired of it!

 

 

 

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is the nature of your emergency?

Caller: I'm trying to reach nine eleven but my phone doesn't have an eleven on it.

Dispatcher: This is nine eleven.

Caller: I thought you just said it was nine-one-one

Dispatcher: Yes, ma'am nine-one-one and nine-eleven are the same thing.

Caller: Honey, I may be old, but I'm not stupid.

 

My Personal Favorite!!!

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What's the nature of your emergency?

Caller: My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart

Dispatcher: Is this her first child?

Caller: No, you idiot! This is her husband!

 

And the winner is..........

Dispatcher: 9-1-1

Caller: Yeah, I'm having trouble breathing. I'm all out of breath. Darn.....I think I'm going to pass out.

Dispatcher: Sir, where are you calling from

 

Caller: I'm at a pay phone. North and Foster.

Dispatcher: ! Sir, an ambulance is on the way. Are you an asthmatic?

Caller: No

Dispatcher: What were you doing before you started having trouble breathing?

Caller: Running from the Police

These are priceless!

You probably posted that to push my buttons, right Gonzo. I'm glad I made you laugh for a change too!

Click on the link and check this out... http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/griffin-gets-an-iphone-all-up-in-your-cars-obd-ii-port-with-the/

I am really tired of the disrespect we get from the media. To call us “mechanics with greasy paws”, is truly an insult. Are we animals? Why are portrayed like this. I have fought my entire career to change our image. Talk about racism and stereotyping!!!

Here is my response I posted on that site:

“Hey, Tim Stevens, I’m one of those greasy mechanics that you are referring too. To think that an $89.95 devise can take the place of someone like me is a joke. Pulling error messages from the OBDII computer is of no help without knowing how to interpret the data and analyze the computer system. But, that’s ok; I hope I see you stuck on the side of the road on a cold rainy night, with a check engine light problem. You won’t need me, because you have the Griffin Car Trip, right? Good luck with that, because I will drive right past you!”

Joe, how many part numbers do you carry and how many dollars would you say that you have tied up in inventory. Do you sell new TPMSs with every tire sale?

We purchased the rebuilt kits from CARQUEST (I think they are from Meyers Tire Company). They come in plastic cases. The investment to start off was a few hundreds bucks and the coverage is about 90%. The average cost price of the kits are $2-$4.00 and we charge $8-$10 per kit. The only time we sell sensors are when the sensor is found defective or damaged or if the core is seized inside the stem. For some models you can change just the stem part of the sensor. There are some high end cars (BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc) that have more expensive kits, but for those customers, I never have an issue.

We rebuid the kits on every tire replacement and sometimes when we breakdown a tire for a repair. The only time we don't sell the kit is when a customer damages a tire on a new car, with under 10k on the clock.

We are in a small town before you head off into the redwoods, you could say we are in a remote location. It would be amazing if we could do 4-5K per week in tires!! If I do 2k we're kickin' butt. As far as the TPMS, we do not replace anything on them, and have never had one issue of a come back. The customers quoting us are very tight fisted and so many shops in and around our town do EVERYTHING FREE, drives me crazy (IDIOTS). If I have to do something out of necessity, I show the customers the concern and explain and they're cool about it.

The reason why I posted this question was because I starting asking other shops in my area, only to find out that 9 out of 10 shops do nothing also. To me, this can be an issue. Replacing tires on a car with 100k, and not servicing the TPMS sensor? That's the same as not changing the valve stems, right? Maybe it's me, but we always explain to the customer about TPMS, we always sell the kits and don't have a problem. Plus we make an additional profit on the kits.

I am not trying to convince anyone to do it my way, I am just asking questions.

We are in the process of evaluating shop management software right now. We currently have a product called Motorware. It has served us relatively well for nearly the last 10 years but has not kept up with our needs.

 

We need a much more robust schedule as we book work out over a week, sometimes two now. We also are looking at new ways to manage and sell regular maintenance based on manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedules. Other needs include better ways to contact and connect with our customers. Email and SMS messaging are some of the tools we are looking to add. We'd really like to add some customer self service tools also but it seems no one in the Automotive management software sector is operating on this level yet.

 

I came here a year ago after working in Technology management for 10 years so I's still a little surprised how archaic most software I've seen is compared to where technology is in other business sectors.

 

We have reviewed a few different packages and right now see only two that might meet our needs.

 

R.O. Writer, the most expensive of what we've looked at is very well put together and the people I've spoken with there are both well versed in automotive shop management as well as what software can do and should do in a business operation. This software lacks a little in a few spots, mostly the schedule. There are not as many ways to manage the work flow and it loads into the shop. No way to manage parts on order for jobs due in the future. Total visibility to the workload on the shop is limited. It does support custom report writing through crystal reports, so I can fix most of this, but for a software that's both expensive (compared to others in the sector) and advanced in many other respects I find this a significant short sight.

 

Pace software's Yes is the other that may fit our needs. The schedule in this software is the best I've seen to date. It is very robust as far as managing total work as its loaded into the shop. You can easily sort through jobs in natural states as you would see them in your shop environment (waiting for parts, needs diagnostics, waiting on customer approval, ect) The visual layout and interface could be improved but is very functional. I have been having some trouble through their demo with integration through activant. It does not seem to be very well implemented. My sales rep thinks something is wrong with their demo install and is working on fixing it now. This has left me a little weary about the stability of the software.

 

Both packages offer pretty intelligent kitting, integration with online ordering systems like wrenchhead, carquest, worldpac. They both integrate with Alldata, which we use.

 

Packages that we eliminated from possible candidates.

Gem Car

Invomax

Scott software Maxtraxx

Winworks

TABS

 

 

We use Alldata and I have heard that the Mitchell program does not integrate with Alldata. If this is not true if someone could chime in.

 

Are there other packages people are using that I should look at?

I understand your concerns, but most auto repair systems are built to fit the average repair shop owner. Many shop owners do not utilize the full extent of their systems, so to have more bells and whistles would be wasteful and too costly for most shops.

Mitchell and Alldata are 2 different companies and systems and do not integrate with each other. We use Mitchell Manager Plus with repair; we also have Alldata for information. It's not an easy answer when looking for a management system. With Mitchell you can have multiple vendors set up thru online ordering, inventory, customer history, marketing programs and lot more. It's worth checking out.

Snap-on has a handheld with a printer. One thing that I would like in a tester is to be able to test Euro batteries. I have a DTAC now but if you dont have the CCA reading off the battery you can't do the test properly. How do you guys handle testing batteries without CCA's?

 

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=85036&group_ID=20178&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

I have the Midtronics and a SnapOn unit. If the CCA reading cannot be found on the battery, we go by the CCA rating for that vehicle. Actually, a clinic I attended years ago, recommended that you always check the factory spec for the battery rating for the vehicle you are working on, just to make sure that the battery in the car is the correct battery with the correct CCA rating.

Here's another piece of info from Cooper.....

 

Cooper Tire Service Bulletin113.pdf

Maybe we should be selling all 4 tires, unless the other 2 are in "like new" condition? There are too many legal issues these days. We all want to do the right thing and respect the customer’s financial position, but do we compromise our business when the customer states they cannot go for all 4 tires, and we settle on selling them only 2?

Review 2010, Make Plans for 2011

By mid week you should finish analyzing your business, going over the numbers and reports, review your 2010 goals and finalize your plans and goals for 2011. You need to share your goals and plans with your staff. And remember, a business plan must be written, it does not have to be lengthy, but it needs to be well-thought out and written down.

Goals also need deadlines. Meet with your staff; encourage them to get involved in the process of improving the business. Goals and plans that are made as a group will have a much greater chance of success, than if you just tell people what you would like to see happen.

Most important, remain positve and strong. Success can never be accomplished by having a negative mind set.