Joe Marconi

This photo gives me the chills. I have 6 Rotary lifts, 1 Mohawk, 2 Snap On and 1 Hunter. The Hunter is by far the best, but the Rotary lifts have not giving me any problems. The Mohawk is top quality too. My Snap On lifts are always a problem with speed, locks breaking, parts wearing out and one side out of align with the other.

Welcome to ASO, looking forward to exchanging ideas and thoughts

Frank, thanks! I can always rely on you to brighten my day! Keep them comming my friend!

A recent report from Lang Marketing Resources Inc. reported that in spite of the economic climate, service stations, independent garages, repair specialists and foreign car specialists are generating about 2.6 billion more in service revenue in the U.S. car and light truck aftermarket this year vs. 2010. This revenue increase is coming primarily from the Do It For Me (DIFM) sector. In striking contrast, the same report projects that new car dealerships will lose more than $750 million in service market products. Service stations and independent garages now account for 29 percent of the total aftermarket DIFM market. What does this mean for the average shop owner today? It spells out: opportunity. This is your opportunity to continue to grow your business and be part of the growing DIFM market; a market that has chosen the independent auto service provider as their preferred choice. One important factor; the strength of the independent aftermarket it is not about price. National chains across this nation that have built their business model based on discounting and low price do not capture the hearts of the average consumer. Independent garages are typically priced higher on most basic services and repairs, but have far less issue with price. The average independent garage has proven that although price is always a concern with consumers, the actual determining factor in choosing a service facility is the relationships the shop has formed with its customers. Every shop owner today needs to ask, “Am I up ready for this opportunity and will I put together a plan of continuous growth”? The plain truth is that if your business is not growing it’s falling behind. The level of success you achieve for your company is directly determined by how you plan for the future. I want to make one thing clear; success is not measured against the success of others. Your personal success depends on your ability, the abilities of those who work with you, your determination and the steps you take each and every day to do better today than you did yesterday. You can build an empire, but that empire will be your empire. Too often people base success on the fortunes of people as Donald Trump or Bill Gates. What they achieved as no bearing on your personal success. That’s not to say there aren’t people reading this that have the greatness to become a Bill Gates. It just means that each of must work hard to achieve the best we can be and never settle for mediocrity. Never settle for being average. Anyone can be average. Striving to be average can become a curse that breeds complacency. Once complacency sets in, your business is doomed. Work hard to become your personal best. And don’t forget about the people who work with you in your company. Part of your job as shop owner and the leader of you company is to recognize the strengths of the people who work in your company and find ways to make them better. This concept will help insure your success. Growing your business requires taking the time to create a plan, determine what your goals are and outline the steps you need to take to achieve these goals. It also takes vision; the vision to see your company in two years, in five years and in fifty years. Most of all, your plan must be written down. The great Sun Tzu, author of “The Art of War”, preached that to be successful requires a well thought out written plan. If the plan is only in your head, it is nothing but a dream. Growing your business is a journey, not a destination. Growth stops the day you put the key in front door for the last time. Make that last day your choice, not someone else’s. The decision is yours; if your business is not growing, it’s simply dying. View full article

I am looking forward to what they find. However, although this is centered around dealerships and also chains, it makes us all look bad.

Thanks! And welcome aboard. Looking forward to future conversations.

I hired 2 part time under a high school apprentice program, they both went onto automotive post-secondary schools. They were young at the time, but worked very hard and knew as much about cars as anyone at that age. They interacted with the other techs very well. As far as I know they are still in the automotive business. One, I believe, is a service advisor at a dealership.

Frank, Gonzo....I am sittinng here laughing my butt off....very funny!

I just read John Lypen's editor's report in Motor Magazine on the importance of women as customers, coworkers and business partners. It got me thinking, I do see more and more women entering the auto business as techs, owners and service advisors. It would be interesting to see how this affect the industry. Like to hear from other shop owners, especially women shop owners.

I appreciate it, always glad to help a fellow shop owner!

Love the story, Gonzo, and I feel your frustration. Just think about this; technically as a species we are amazing, but socially, we have not improved since we jumped out the trees and left the cave! Oh, by the way, I think your blood pressure exceeded mine this time....

Want to Improve Sales Today? Treat Customers As Best Friends Think about this; if you best life-long friend you haven’t seen in a while entered your shop tomorrow, how would you greet him? You would probably stop what you were doing, run over to him, shake his hand, have a smile on your face from ear to ear and start talking about the old days, family, sports, and a bunch of other things. Right? Would the encounter be business-like? Of course not. Now, here’s the killer tip to increase sales. Let’s say this best friend needs brakes, would you have a hard time selling him? Absolutely not. Why? He’s your best friend; he knows you, trusts you and believes in you. Actually, there is no sale, the sale was made long before you discovered the brakes. The sale was made when you formed that bond with him as a friend. I think at this point you know where I am going with this. We obviously can’t make all our customers our best friends, but we can surely treat them as they are. The sales process starts with the initial contact, whether over the phone or in person. Welcome your customers as if they were a long-life friend and I guarantee you your sales will increase. Build relationships, not customers.

Great advise Frank. Let me add that when I built my new shop, I made the bays 25 feet by 15 feet with 20 ft ceiling and extended height lifts. The reason for the high ceiling was to insure that we had enough room for vans and SUV and light trucks and for a second floor loft, where we built a break room and training room, plus office space.

Just curious how other shop owners feel about the the preceptive candidates for president how you feel where we are headed as a nation.

I agree Gonzo, this was very "scripted", but it does show where technology is headed and what will be available to te aftermarket. I will be interesting to see how this plays out. I know new car dealers must hate the fact that WE can connect to our customers and thier customers cars. I still can't see a shop tech calling customers, that day may never come, for me anyway.

Go to this link and let me know what you think, it's a bit long, but well worth it. http://www.aftermarket.org/tomorrow

It goes beyond that. Just think about this scenario for a moment. You purchase a house and a few years later something is wrong with the wiring to the second floor. Because the alarm system is also affected by the wiring problem, you cannot fix it yourself, or call your electrician. The wiring in your house is locked out and no schematics are available. Only the builder has the house wireing schematics. You need to contact the manufacturer of the house to gain access to certain schematics and the manufacturer electrician is the only one who can fix the problem. Sounds farfetched? Well, not really. We always had issues with car theft and there will always be issues with theft. What make newer cars different than the cars of yesterday? Absolutely nothing. This is a systematic, deliberate attempt by the manufacturer to lock out not only the aftermarket, by the average consumer. We have a work for this: Monopoly

You know, it seems everywhere we go, no matter if it's a wedding or a funeral, someone has a car problem and once they find out we are mechanics they seem to feel compelled to tell us. But, they actually don't want to hear your explanation of what to do...they want you to pull the proverbial rabbit out the hat. Maybe we should carry a crystal ball around with us; one that could fit into our pocket. And the next time someone on the golf course asks an automotive question, we reach into our pocket, pull out the crystal ball and say, "Just give me a minute, let me gaze into the crystal ball". I bet after that, they will stop asking! Always fun Gonzo, keep them coming! You are the best....

Has anyone tried Groupon? I have talked to a few businesses and there a lot of mixed reviews. Through Groupon, you offer a discount which is purchased by the conusmer and Groupon takes a portion of the profit upfront. Groupon sends the offer through a email blast of thier member base. From what I gather, you may get many people into your shop, but they are coming for that cheap discount. The other side is, you get a chance to maybe find new customers. I would like to hear from other shops owners who have done Groupon or have opinions on this. Groupon link: http://www.groupon.com

Jim, Great to hear from you and great post! How to feel about the electronic testing? Could this be a proving ground for the rest of the states. Also, I find it interesting how many states are debating wheather they should keep the Safety Inspection and here NJ is looking into more emssions monitoring. And possible tieing it to EZ pass? I find it strange...

You should reach out to your parts reps. They will have technical hot lines numbers of reps that can help you with understanding the different coolants. As far as what to stock and what to charge, you need to do a demograhpics study of your customer base. As far as pricing, it's always good to know what other shops are charging, but in the end, you need to charge what is profitable for you. Like I always say, " You need to find the balance between being competitive and being profitbale. Also, when you get a car in that you do not have the coolant, is it possible to purchase it, as needed, from a local parts house? Hope this helps?

Sometime we need to do something just because it makes us feel good. There is no doubt in my mind that this man would have paid you, NOT becuase he had to, but because he respected what you did. He was right, he could not find the problem, and just becuase it was easy for you, it would probably fool a lot of untrained people. Good story, sometime when you give something away, you get back in other ways....

The Hunter alignment equipment was installed in my new shop. My Hunter rack is flush-mounted, so you need to contruct a pit approximately 2 feet deep. I got the plans for the pit from Hunter, but the contractor built the pit. Hunter did the actuall install of both the rack and the computer system and the wireing. The electrician did the final hook up to the building electric panel. Hunter was very good with working with the contractor during the entre process.