Joe Marconi

Sounds like he is successful. I am sure you are very proud of him. Hope he shows dad a good time in CA.

Just got back. Had a great time in San Francisco, very enjoyable. And yes, very proud of my Son.

Joe, have fun. What does you son do?

He is in commercial real estate, big properties: Malls, apartment complexes, shopping centers, etc.

I will be on vacation this week, flying out to California to visit my son. I will try to check in from time to time.

Keep things going on ASO for me while I'm away. I know all of you will do a great job!

Joe Marconi

Perhaps in some Fairy Tale world, all techs are getting along nice, helping each other, not worrying about the other guy, just trying to do the best he can and can handle anything that enters his bay. But, reality is reality and techs are people and we need to understand that many have limitations and emotions can and will get in the way more often than we like.

It is a delicate balance to give all my techs the opportunity to earn a good wage and dispatch the work fairly. But in a real world, it doesn’t always work out and animosity begins to set in.

I cannot show favoritism either. That will kill the shop for sure. I deal with the emotions as best I can. I give praise to my techs for a great job and thank them often. Some things cannot be totally solved; this is one of those things.

All great points! You would be shocked at how some shops treat their part suppliers. As we all know, a little "honey" goes a long way.

We all know all too often the frustrations of dealing with your local part suppliers at times; wrong parts, defective parts, delayed deliveries, on and on. Although it may appear as if there is a conspiracy, I don’t think they intentionally want to do your business harm.

The fact is we need our part suppliers and we need on-time deliveries. Productivity equates to profit and having the right part delivered in a timely manner is critical.

We started a policy to be respectful and courteous over the phone to all parts counter people and to the drivers. We make a little small talk and make sure we thank the drivers for the fast service. You be surprised how people react to a little humanity for a change, after getting beat up all day.

Think of it this way….if your shop stands out because you’re known has the “nice guys”; I promise you if there are 2 deliveries going out at the same time, your shop will be the first stop.

I agree and all of us know what should be done, but that doesn't mean it is done correctly. We have an European Tech that has a photgraphic mind and is really good and very fast. Yes, he is always late, doesn't follow rules and always has some hurt. Yes, I know what should be done. We pay much better than most shops, but finding a good European tech is really hard. Just so you know, I put an ad in today.

Believe me; we all know how valuable a talented tech is. And, sometimes we make allowances because of that. How do the other employees feel? That will become an issue. Sometimes, others may not tell you, but it is affecting their morale and that may be hurting productivity.

I am not preaching to you or anyone, I would be the first to tell you I have my share of mistakes with regard to employees and policy. I just want to understand the mindset of the employee and how they can sometimes hold the boss hostage.

If that Euro tech wasn't any good, you would have gotten rid of him long ago...right?

Gonzo, where do you find these people? Or should I say, how do they find YOU?

I know I can speak for many when I say that by now we all look forward to another chapter in the life of Gonzo.

Keep 'em coming!

My grandparents, on both my mother’s side and father’s side, came to this country from Italy in the early 1900’s. I am the second generation born here. We were taught never to forget our ancestry, but more importantly, we were now Americans. And being American meant something. With a thick Italian accent, my grandmother would brag that she could read, write and speak English.

I was taught as a young child to be proud of being an American. We never referred to a hyphenated name either. We were Americans…not Italian-American.

When my father enlisted in the Army after Pearl Harbor was bombed, he was asked if he had any issues fighting the Italians. He lashed back and stated that he was an American, and was ready to fight anyone or any country to protect this great nation.

Yes, my family came here to become Americans. We never looked back, only forward. We did not send money back to the “home land”, like so many immigrants do today. We came here not only to better ourselves but to make this country better. And we made a difference. We won wars and worked hard.

But, it’s not the same anymore.

There is something happening in this country that breaking the fabric that once held this country together. I for one am disgusted at what I see, particularly from our current President and his administration.

I think it’s time to take back America!

This is true for Most States not just California)

California:

 

The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out, bites the Governor and attacks his dog.

 

1. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop; the coyote is only doing what is natural.

 

2. He calls animal control. Animal Control captures coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.

 

3. He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.

 

4. The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound bandaged.

 

5. The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while Fish & Game conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is free of dangerous animals.

 

6. The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a "coyote awareness" program for residents of the area.

 

7. The State Legislature spends $2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world.

 

8. The Governor's security agent is fired for not stopping the attack somehow and for letting the Governor attempt to intervene.

 

9. Additional cost to State of California: $75,000 to hire and train a new security agent with additional special training re: the nature of coyotes.

 

10. PETA protests the coyote's relocation and files suit against the State.

 

 

 

Arizona:

 

The Governor of Texas is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A Coyote jumps out and attacks her dog.

 

1. The Governor shoots the coyote with her State-issued pistol and keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge.

 

2. The Buzzards eat the dead coyote.

 

 

And that's why California is broke.

Well, that explains it! It looks like most of the country is like California.

What kind of policies are you thinking about?

Put together a game plan. How much exposure and how often, being consistent is important. Once you commit to social media you need to monitor and be part of it, which is the idea behind social media. I can tell you that some people have a hard time at first, but eventually it becomes second nature.

Also, the kind of content and the message you want to deliver.

You also need to put together a plan to reach contacts and promote the fact that you are using social media to your regular customers and prospect customer, whether its facebook, linkedIn, etc. For example, if you are on facebook, invite people to your facebook page from your web site and every form of advertising you do.

http://www.bing.com/....wmv&FORM=VIRE1

 

Unbelievable... ya gotta listen to these voices.... incredible...

Incredible! Makes you proud!

Don't Close The Sale - Open The Relationship

 

http://www.tirereview.com/Article/75904/dont_close_the_sale__open_the_relationship.aspx

Great article. I tell my service writers you need to establish a relationship before you can sell anything. You need to think of the customer as a friend or family member. Once this is established, the customer has trust in you and everything else will fall into place.

With many first time customers, we use the same approach as in the article; we inspect and advise. We feel that we need the customer to feel comfortable with us first. This can only be accomplished through relationship building.

Social media is not a fad any more. It’s time to stop experimenting and start managing your social media strategy. Create a policy around social media, even if you’re only a one-person operation. Your social media policy should include your objectives for each site and any rules you have around posts, articles, pictures, etc. Creating this policy will eliminate employee confusion, problems and PR and potential digital reputation management nightmares.

I use Alldata Manage. I looked into Mitchell Manager but it's too bad the repair information sucks. The first three cars I looked up info for, or rather tried to, Mitchell OnDemand was worthless. The first one had no info, Alldata did albeit limited. The second one I couldn't find the info at all in Mitchell but Alldata had good info. The last one, I gave up after that, was a 1988 Ford Ranger. I was looking for tune-up specs. firing order, #1 cylinder, spark plug gap etc. Even with the pathetic Google search I spent 35 minutes finding the info. AllData was simple, Powertrain Management / Ignitnion System / Firing Order - Spark Plugs / Specifications. All pretty intuitive.

 

As for the shop management software AllData Manage is all I've used. When I opened my shop 5 years ago I knew I wanted my service records on computer and AllData was the way to go according to the feedback on the shop management forum of another industry site. I attended a few management trainign classes and the instructor's shop used Mitchell and that's why I looked into it after seeing all the reports and information you could get out of it that I couldn't get from Manage. I also looked into R.O. Writer, never in a million years. At 15 grand it is way over priced for what I was shown. Sure it can pay for itself with all the little extra charges it heaps on your customers. A nickel here, 94 cents there and pretty soon you're talking big money. Just the way he showed it seemed very unethical to me. Cheating actually. But as for AllData Manage, I think it is a very good program as far as it goes. I would like the ability to import part numbers and prices from my online ordering through NAPA and a local independent jobber. Supposedly that's coming with a future update but right now all you can do is Autozone junk.

 

I looked into GarageOperator and was interested but the disc I got didn't work for some reason, maybe because I installed 6 months later? Reasonably priced. You own it, not subscribe to it like Mitchell and AllData. Maybe I'll contact Chip agian and get a current disc and play with it. Does anyone else use GarageOperator? How does it work for you?

Choosing a management and repair system can be frustrating, and it must meet your needs. I have both Mittchell and Alldata. We also use Indentifx and IATN. Sometimes we access the OE sites if we need additional information. When I started in the mid 70's, all you needed was the old Motor Manual and you hand wrote all your invoices. Those days are long gone.

I have not seen GarageOperator, sorry. Good luck on your quest...it's not easy these days.

Some of your wives didn't appreciate the other jokes I posted. Maybe they will like this one better!

 

40 years of marriage..

 

A married couple in their early 60s was celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant.

Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table. She said, 'For being such an exemplary married couple and for being loving to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish.'

The wife answered, 'Oh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband

The fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - two tickets for the Queen Mary II appeared in her hands.

The husband thought for a moment: 'Well, this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me.

The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish.

So the fairy waved her magic wand and poof!...the husband became 92 years old.

The moral of this story: Men who are ungrateful bastards should remember fairies are female.....

I'm going out with friends tonight and planning on tell this joke! This is a classic!

I have been reading another great piece by somebody by the name of Joe! Ha! Joe, this is a good one that I wanted to be sure that everyone saw. As some of you know I am president of the Joe Marconi fan club!

 

 

 

However, this article has sparked some thoughts that I want to talk about namely how we have to change to remain competitive. My shop has been open for 11+ years and we had never invested in any Eurpoean diagnostic software or equipment. Last week I broke down and made my first investment for the European software and connectors for our Snap-On Modius. It wasn't a huge expenditure (about $1100) but it was a first. Why did I do this? It use to be that the Eurpoean cars we saw (BMWs, Mercedes, VW, Volvos, Landrovers, etc.) were few and far between. Remember that Evansville is in the middle of nowhere and we do not have an Infiniti, Landrover, or Acura dealer. However, as our business and reputation has grown we are seeing more and more Eurpoeans and we have been working on a lot of VWs lately. I realized that if we are going to be servicing that customer base I have to become equipped to do it.

 

On the subject of change the two newest Car-x Franchisee stores that opened in Indianapolis have been built as 8 full service bay shops with three additional quick lube bays attached. These stores are doing $1,000,000 in their first year. The area manager there says they build the quick lube bays, run cheap oil changes to build a database, and then use direct mail to market their other services and it works. This last month the store in the whole Car-x system with the highest sales was a store in Champaign, IL, which has been open less than one year and it is built on some type of tire store model. Remember that Car-x started as muffler shops. My point is that change is a fact of life and something we all have to be open to. If hybrid technology becomes popular we are all going to be forced to look at our business model.

The business model you speak of with the new Car-X stores is the same model I used for my expansion. My traditional 6 bay "repair shop" performs all the heavy repairs and diagnostic work. It's where the traditional "meat & potatoes work" is done. But, in today's fast past world and changing demographics; I saw an opportunity that I was not capitalizing on. My new building (a standalone 4-bay facility) is primarily for walk in trade, while you wait service, tires, alignment and other basic service work. The model works and our car counts and sales have greatly improved.

The point is, and I know you realize this, is that we DO need to change with the times. We cannot conduct business the way we did 15 years ago.

Smith Corona, the great typewriter company, viewed itself as a typewriter company and could not adapt to change. Instead of making the bridge into the computer age, it stuck by its traditional product and went belly up in the early 1990's.

That is amazing! What is wrong with people? Is letting people like this go without asking for some payment reinforcing this ingratitude?

The other day a customer, with no appointment, came in asking for a State Inspection. The inspection was overdue and he was leaving to go on vacation. It was Friday afternoon and we were overbooked already. The service advisor said that although we are booked if you want to hang around we would do it before the end of the day. He said, ok.

We got the inspection done by 4:30. After paying his bill, the advisor, expecting to hear a "thank you", was asked by the customer, " What took so long? It's only an Inspection".

You can't change people....

Unashamedly I will say I hired a world class service manager and 90% of the credit goes to him. Over time we got rid of all the help we had before he came. We hired better qualified people with better skills and attitudes and paid them better. We expanded our service offerings and developed a very positive and up beat attitude. We cultivated positive relationships with key vendors. We worked hard on customer service. We did women's seminars. We learned how to sell and how to properly present the need. We concentrated advertising where it seemed most effective and jazzed up our ads and offers. We have tried to offer something catchy and different from what competitors are offering. How about a camel and a gas pump and something about beating the pump. We did that in one ad. How about my picture on the face of a ten dollar bill that was actually a coupon. We have used that as well. We started opening at 7:00 a.m. in the morning. We started rotating our work schedules so a tech gets at least one 3 day weekend per month. We became better organized.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said you hired the right person to manage the business and hired the "right people". Too many of us have this notion that our entire business world revloves around us and we (because we are the owners of the business) are solely responsible for its sucess. While this is true to some extent it is not the whole picture.

When Yogi Berra was asked, "What makes a great coach", Yogi replied, "Great players". It's the people around you that make you great. Yes, you need to do your job, but to be really successful, there has to be a team effort.

Joe, how did you set up the commission based on productivity? I have been considering this option to put on another tech.

Also, maybe it will help keep me out of the bays. one of my big down falls I'm afraid. but when we get behind I head for the shop to turn out work.

There’s nothing wrong with helping out in the shop from time to time, but it must not become a crutch for the survival of your company.

Each new tech will have his hours tracked and an average hour potential will be established. That becomes their base. So, if a tech averages 35 hours of labor per week, he must beat that before he gets a bonus. For every hour he books above his base, he will get paid an additional hour pay. In other words, if a tech has a base of 35 and books 45 hours of labor, he will get paid an additional 10 hours of pay at his hourly rate.

Now, the key is to raise the bar every month or so until the tech is at 100% base. So, if a tech works 40 hours, you expect 40 hours of labor booked before he reaches bonus.

I hope this helps, let me know.

Here's why I posted this story this weekend... The attachment is a photo of the little wierd doll a guy had in the back seat of a Cadillac on Friday. Check it out.... if - you - dare.... Gonzo LOL

Are you sure you are not located near Transylvania?

At the St. Peters Catholic Church in Chicago, weekly marriage seminars are held for husbands. At a recent session, Father O’Malley asked Giuseppe, a naturalized citizen from Italy who said he was approaching his 50th wedding anniversary, to share some insight into how he had managed to stay married to the same woman all these years.

 

To the assembled husbands, each leaning forward and listening intently, Giuseppe said, “Well-a, I’ve-a tried to treat her nice-a. I spend-a da money on her. But best-a all, I took-a her back to da old country, to Italy, for our 25th wedding anniversary.”

 

Father O’Malley, duly impressed, responded. “Giuseppe, you are an amazing inspiration to all the husbands here. Please tell us what you are planning for your wife on your 50th anniversary?”

 

Proudly, Giuseppe said, “ I’m-a gonna go pick her up!”

Coming from an Italian background, that is truly funny. I laughed so hard, I really needed the laugh after a hot, tough day!

I have posted a little about myself and ideas, but regardless of what my business model will be or how I plan to run a business, theres one topic that really scares me... And Im not sure how its done, or if I can do it at this point in my life.

 

I am the main bread earner for our family. Im married with 2 children, ages 10-12. I provide the income and health insurance through my employer and need the paychecks that are coming in to pay the bills and everyday living expenses.

 

How do you go from one to the other without losing it all...

 

Which leads into my other question that I have read a number of different opinions about. When I do start a business, how do I pay myself? (I think alot may have to do with how the company is set up) I know I cant just take money out of the till to pay my electric bill at home....

 

Maybe others can share how they did it when they satrted out...

 

Thanks for the advice!

Starting your own business is a huge step and to answer all your questions at once will be overwhelming. But, through ASO, I am sure that we can help you with key points and give you valuable and life-saving advice.

After 30 years in business I can tell you that the most important skills to being successful will be your skills to manage and run your business. I was a great mechanic, but knew very little about business. After struggling for a decade, I realized that I needed to become not just a man in business, but a businessman.

I took seminars and classes on business topics: accounting, advertising, marketing and other business related courses. I read all I can on business and leadership.

To be successful in the auto business, you need to be proficient in technical aspects of the business and in the managerial aspects of the business. Too many shop owners have failed because they were great techs, but poor business people.

Let’s keep this conversation going, there is a lot I can tell you. Do you have any specific questions?

Gonzo, if it were not for the details, I would say this story was made up. You have to sumit this story again during Halloween. I have to admit, it's not just the story...it's how you tell it. I tip my hat to you.

Keep these stories coming, they are really fun to read.

Below is my matrix. BUT, I need to emphazize, these are my numbers and what works for me. Plus this is a guide for general parts. It really does not apply to those invnetory parts that are fast movers, such as wipers, air filter, cabin filters, headlights, oil filters, belts, batteries and other quick movers. For fast movers I price at a competetive price beacuase I want to make it a no-brainer upsell when I have the car in for regular service.

Again, pricing takes a lot into account. I have said this before but it is worth repeating. There is a delicate balance between being competive and profitable…too high priced and you wont’t sell, too low priced and you’ll be out of business.

Let me know how you make out.

I also think Curt can help you, he uses the Napa system.

From ------------- Profit Margin

$0.01 to $3.00 --- --- 76.10%

$3.01 to $9.00 --- --- 71.45%

$9.01 to $15.00 --- --- 69.20%

$15.01 to $20.00 --- --- 63.65%

$20.01 to $30.00 --- --- 60.00%

$30.01 to $100.00 --- --- 53.00%

$100.00 to $275.00 --- --- 45.95%

$275.00 to $400.00 --- --- 33.33%

$400 on up --- --- 20.00%