Joe Marconi

Thanks to all for your help, if I get more infor, or if I decide to try the program out, I will follow up.

Your story reminded me of an old customer. Back in the 80’s I had this customer who insisted on bringing his shop manual with him and reviewing the work on his car before I worked on it, just to make sure I was doing the job right. I was a lot younger then and had a lot more patience. He would leave me the manual, just in case I had any issues. Imagine that! Also, he would tell me that if I got stuck, just call him. He will run right over to give me a hand. Why I put up with that back then I can’t answer you. Now, I just laugh about it.

My tip this week is a recurring theme, and one that will be repeated often: During the holiday season, spend time with family and friends. Automotive shop owner are among the hardest working group of people on this planet. We all need a little down time to enjoy life and recharge our batteries. Work is important but we need to prioritize the things in life that are free and are most important. Happy Thanksgiving to all ASO members and their families! Joe Marconi

Let's clear things up a bit. As far as my political status is concerned, I really don't care about left or right. I look at the person. If Cain is wrong, he is wrong. If Clinton is wrong, he is wrong. There are no "gray" areas in my book. Any political stance that favors one side to the extreme can be dangerous. For example: if you’re a democratic, only voting for a democratic, or if you are a republican, only voting republican. I don't do that. I vote for the person I feel will do the better job, no matter what the party he or she is affiliated with. To be quite honest, I am not happy with either party these days. I try to see people for who they are and what they stand for. While my views are more conservative than liberal, I don't like labels and will disagree with any political party that I view as unethical. In retrospect, I should have phrased the post differently. I respect all views and observe everyone’s right to voice their opinion. That’s what this forum is all about. We can discuss and argue and may never see completely eye to eye, but that’s ok. That’s what makes this country so great. I do not wish to win people over to my views, but I will from time to time bring up controversial issues. This is how we learn from each other. PS: Time for a new topic?

You bring up valid points, and I can clearly see your view point on this. I guess my original purpose to the post got lost in the discussion. I want to hold everyone to the same standards, and I do not want segments of the people taking sides just because they favor a political party. Wrong is wrong in my heart and I do not stand behind anyone who does not uphold honesty, ethics and morals. I appreciate your replies and opinions, it's the strength of the this forum and it's how we learn, thru the exchange of opinions and ideas.

A true American hero and what this country stands for. The sacrifice so many have given must not be forgotten or minimized in any way!

I find that many of today’s younger workforce value their free time more than many people from my generation did when we were that age. I got started business in the 70’s and actually held a job all through high school. My “free” time back then I usually spent working. I had my fun, but work was top priority. I also held two jobs before I started my own business; I worked in a gas station as a mechanic during the day and worked driving a tow truck at nights and on weekends. We don’t usually find this today. And there are many other generational differences. Should we not judge today’s workforce by my early experience or your experience, but rather understand today’s different workers and bridge the gap between us?

I started in the auto repair business in 1974 BC (Before catalytic converters). I remember going on a road call with my boss one cold morning. He popped the distributor cap off, took a peak, took at his matches and used the thickness of the match book to adjust the points. The car started and he told me, “Drive it in”. Now, those were the days. Technology is moving at light speed these days and I can appreciate your speculation, but I agree. It’s like that famous saying, “Whatever the human mind can conceive and believe he can create”.

You are right Gonzo, I have lived by the creed, especially in business. I guess posting something so controversial was not one of my better ideas.

Simply amazing!

Welcome to AutoShopOwner.com! As cofounder of the site I can promise you that this site will become a valuable resource for you. I am glad to see that read the E Myth. One thing that I know, if you want to suceed, you need to grow your business skills. I struggled for many years, mostly due to the fact that I was a great tech, but a poor business man. Once I began learning the Mechanics of Business, things started to fall into place. I look forward to future posts and will help in any way I can. Joe Marconi

I am neither campaiging for Cain, nor am I defending him, if the acusations are true. Consensual???? He was the President and he was married and he lied on national TV. I clearly do not see how it's "OK" if it was consensual.

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...