Joe Marconi

I am sick of the double standard in this country. Clinton admitted he lied to the American public and did have affairs while he was president. BUT, the media and liberals stood behind him saying, “You have to separate what he did from his presidency”. The liberals made excuses for him, forgave him gave him the customary “liberal double-standard pass” Now we have Herman Caine, who has been accused, not found guilty, but accused, and the media is having a field day with this. Why? Because he is a conservative republican. That’s why. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Why is Herman Caine being judged by the media based solely by accusations! And, even if Herman Caine is guilty, Why was it OK for Clinton and NOT ok for a Republican??? There clearly is an agenda in this country where the left can do no wrong and the right needs to walk a fine line and tip toe through a political mine field.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations came into effect. On November 11, 1919, Armistice Day was commemorated for the first time. In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed the day should be "filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory". Veterans Day is intended to honor and thank all military personnel who served the United States in all wars, particularly living veterans. It is marked by parades and church services and in many places the American flag is hung at half mast. A period of silence lasting two minutes may be held at 11am. Throughout both internal conflicts and world wars, America’s veterans have dedicated their lives to protecting those at home. Remember their service and bravery at one of the monuments or memorials in the region.

Has anyone heard of Bolt On Solutions? It's an add on program that is supposed to enhance the Mitchell Manager Program. I saw a few demo slides and it looks interesting. If anyone as heard of the product or has viewed a demo, it would be real helpful. Thanks in advance.

Yes, we still use Auto Alert, but I also use Mechanic Net. That web site is not Auto Alert thru CARQUEST auto parts. Auto Alert is great for post cards, seasonanl promotions and other promotions. I use Mechanic Net for all me email remiders and promotions. Mechanic Net gets all the information from my Mitchell system. Plus Mechanic Net will organize all customer reviews for your web site, orgainize your online appointments, get your reviews on facebook, have a mobile app and a lot more. I don't know too much about Mudlic, not too much positve feedback. I hear good things about Customer Link. CARQUEST Auto Alert web site: http://cqautoalert.com/

Ever Had A Customer’s Wheel Fall Off? I was debating whether I should bring this up. I won’t directly ask anyone this question, for obvious reasons. But having a customer's wheel fall off is perhaps every shop owner’s nightmare: I was speaking with someone recently from a national chain and they were telling me that this is a problem, an ever increasing problem. Years back, when “cars were cars” and wheels, disc rotors and hubs were made out of good old American Steel, we would run up the lug nuts with our ½ inch gun and that was it. I never worried about a wheel falling off. But now, with just about all wheels made with soft alloy metals and small wheel hubs, you need to be very careful. We pre-torque all our wheels using torques sticks, then once on the ground the tech re-torques the wheels using a pre-set torque wrench. BUT, the tech must re-toque the wheels in the presence of either another tech or service advisor and chalks the top of the tires with a piece of white chalk. We call it, “Torque and Chalk”. The observer will then sign off on the back of the tech’s work order. It takes a little more time, but it is worth the extra effort. This is our way of quality control. I thought I would share our process with everyone.

Is it me, or are we finding more and more rusted and rotted brake lines than ever before? I know those of you in the south, where you never have snow, may not see this, but in the northeast we are seeing an ever increasing amount of rusted brake lines. We are also seeing an increased amount of rusted-through frames and rotted fuel lines. I have heard that many towns and cities use a different chemical, combined with salt to coat the road during and after a snow storm, but I really can’t verify what every municipality does along the rust belt. But here’s what interesting; it seems the most cars that are affected are those makes and models from the past 10 or 12 years, or so. For example; we see a lot of Chevy and Ford trucks with this problem, but we see older trucks, from the early 90’s or 80’’s they don’t seem to be as affected. Would like to hear from other shops along the Rust Belt…

How do you celebrate the holidays with your staff? Or do you at all? Each year I take everyone at my shop to a local restaurant, including wives, husbands or a guest. We used to also hold a party at the shop, usually on the afternoon before Christmas Eve, but that got too difficult since we expanded our company. I feel that it is important to have some sort of celebration during these times to show thanks for the people in your company. What do other shops do?

Great point Gonzo. One of the down sides of increasing staff is the loss of correct communication at times. Remember playing telephone as a kid? This is what we are up against at my shop and slowly finding ways to solve this issue: A tech speaks to the foreman to review what he found. The foreman talks with the service advisor, the service advisor talks to the customer and back down the people chain again. Something gets lost in the process. We are recreating our workflow, to have the tech speak directly to the advisor. But the issue is that sometimes the advisor interprets it differently. It's a work-in-progress, but you are right; we need to be sure of what we are saying and explain the details.

Car Delivery: Make a Great “Last” Impression We often speak of making a great first impression with customers, but making a great lasting impression at car delivery is equally important. Every contact with the customer is an opportunity to create a memorable positive experience. At car delivery, review the work performed in detail, highlight anything that was done at no charge, review your warranty policy, book the next appointment and most of all; express to the customer that you truly appreciate their trust in you. A positive experience will increase customer retention and help grow your business.

I really don't know what to think, not that I am a fan of the dealerships, but this type of stuff makes us all look bad. Are we to take the first mechanic as the only expert? I don't like fruad, the compressor exploded? I must believe that there are a lot of honest shops out there that are doing the right thing, each and every day. I guess the only good part of this story is that the attack appears to be mostly directed to the dealerships and next the national chains.

Power back, all back to normal, now let's see if we can play catch up with sales...

Welcome aboard Greg! Glad you joined us. Ask away, that's why we are here. This is where the rubber meets the road for all business issues and comments and questions. Joe Marconi

Frank, that was so funny! You always find a way to brighten my day. A million THANKS!!!!

I would like to know what shops are using a time clock to track techs time per job and/or start time and end of shift time. And, do you feel that the use of a time clock helps to improve productivity?

We got a foot of snow! Power down at the house, got it back last night. Power down at the shop too. We were working in the dark today with hand tools only!!! There are fallen trees everywhere with roads that are closed becuase they are not passable due to fallen trees and live power wires. It's like a war zone in my area.

Without mentioning part companies, has anyone been having issues with brake squeal and noise lately with brake pad replacements.

We recently had a customer tell us that we were nearly $100 more expensive on a Timing Belt job (Volkswagen Bug) than the dealership. I called that dealer (as a regular customer) and asked for a price on the same vehicle, only find out we were, in fact, $89.00 higher. Now, we all know the price game when people call on the phone, they usually give a bottom, starting price. Also, how complete was that price? And, what would have the price been after the car was inspected at the dealership is another story. The fact is we see more and more lowering of prices in service as dealership, especially from Toyota, Honda, Ford, GM, Subaru, Hyundai, Nissan and Chrysler in our area. The goal is to increase car counts in the service bays. Smart dealerships understand the relationship from the service bay to selling future new cars. As independent shop owners we need to be aware of this. I don’t want to enter a price war with the dealerships, but I don’t want my customer to perceive the wrong message either. Any industry that enters a price war will have deep casualties among all. Your thoughs?

ASE Online Testing To Replace Written Tests This November, 2011, ASE (The National Institute for Automotive Excellence) will offer its last written technician certification tests. All future tests will be offered in computer-based format in four two-month sessions throughout each year. Winter 2012 registration opens on January 10, 2012. Testing will run from January 17 to February 29. For more information on ASE online testing visit: ASE Web Site,

Looks like you are blessed with a beautiful family!

I'm just sitting at my desk reading your article and laughing my butt off. Gonzo, you have this talent of telling the world the "exactly" the way things happen. The funny thing is, any mechanic out there can claim this story as thier own. We all have the same stories, maybe just a little different from each other. The difference: you it tell the best!