Joe Marconi

I am actually spending labor day with my son in San Francisco. Nice to get away! San Fran's not big on bacon or meat, they like tofu and veggies, but I will do my best!

My last align machine was a snap-on, it was good. When I built my new shop, I purchased a Hunter. Very happy, great product, great support. I sunk the rack in the ground, level. This way you pull straight onto lift, no ramp. This allows all low profile cars with no chance of damage to front bumper or spoiler. I also opted for the extended rack to do extended pickups. I have the optional TPMS program and steering angle sensor also. Hunter is a great company and one that keeps pace with technology. Hopes this helps?

The huricanne is over. Not as bad as expected. Lot's of wind damage and flooding. We are out of power. luckily we have a generator. No expected time when power will be restored.

It's a great topic. And, you are right...I wonder if these know-it-all treat doctors, lawyers and other professions the same.

Six Sigma! I am impressed. I have not met anyone yet in the auto business who has knowledge of six sigma. I have studied six sigma principles and use a lot when creating my work flow processes,especially in the area of reducing comebacks.

I had one of these Know-it-alls come to me recently and wanted to discuss a problem with his race car. As he spoke I began to fade. I stared at his face, but the words didn't make any sense. I could feel he was trying more to impress me, rather than to ask for my help. After his 10 minute monologue, he ask; "so, what do you think". I told him, "Sir, no disrespect, but I have been working on cars since I was a kid. I have been fixing cars for living since 1974, but to be honest....I have no idea what the heck you are talking about". He turned around and left. Sorry, but what else could I have done or said?

It's 5:00pm...nothing yet, just a little rain, no huricane yet. But I am prepared, Generator is all gased up, got food and water and cold beer. Now we wait!

Great question. Car counts must be taken into account as another factor in determing staffing for any shop. Before I expanded, my facility was a 6 bay shop. I can tell you what my business model was, which worked quite well and maybe you can draw some conclusions. For our 6-bay shop we had 4 techs, one service advisor and a shop foreman. I helped out on the counter when needed and helped with diag work, when needed. Our car counts back then were 100-135 cars per week. We were open Mon thru Fri and half day on Saturdays. Our avergae repair order was approx $375.00. We also have a clean up person who worked every day from noon to closing to keep the shop clean. This model for us worked. Every shop is different. Don't overload your shop with service personell. The right service advisor can handle one to three techs easliy. I recommend to create a lead-tech position or foreman to help with work flow. This will help with productivity. Most important; create systems and polices that MUST be followed by your techs and service advisors. This is key to your sucess. Hope this helps.

Another thing to remember; once I touch the car and accept a part from the insurance company I am responsible. I really don't care what rules or policy the insurance company wants to follow. I don't agree with a health insurance plan either that dictates certain doctors or certain medication. Do we blindly accept thier rules?

Doing something that goes against my core beliefs IS comprising my intergrity. End of statement. I have no issues with used hub caps, mirrors and other non-safety components. But when it comes to steering, brakes and other components that I deterimne may put my customer at risk or put others of the road at risk, I will not do it. I will not accept a used steering rack from a salvage yard I have no history with. Somethings go beyond making the sale. We are not talking about using the warranty company has a income stream. What I am saying is that above all, (at least the way I see it), I will run my business the way I want to run. I will dictate the rules and I will always put People Before Profit. This is the way I do business, and it's worked quite well for over 30 years.

Gonzo, we need more Roys in this world to put things in percpective. (How's that for a Royism?)

Frank...I am at my desk falling off my chair with laughter!!! Actually, it speaks the truth. Thanks, keep em coming!!!!

Only 17 states and the District of Columbia have mandatory state inspections. Many feel that the cost of running the program outweighs the benefits. Others say, leave government out of this. Let the people take care of their own car and let repair shops manage these issues. Should there be mandatory state inspections, nationwide? I say yes. There is a movement to pass a law (H.R. 229) that would require all states to participate in a mandatory Safety Inspection Program. Here’s why I am for this. In my state, New York, we have annual state inspections. My customers come in and there are usually no issues, they pass no problem. But, we get a lot of people that are not regular customers. The owners of these vehicles bounce around from shop to shop; they shop for discount tires, discount oil changes, discount brake job, etc. These people never establish a relationship; consequently their cars are not in tip top shape. They come to me for a state inspection, and many times will fail for a cracked windshield, tires worn due to an alignment problem, broken tail light, torn wipers, parking brake not working and other safety-related items. Without a mandatory inspection, these vehicles would never get the attention they need. Here’s one more scenario; I do accident investigations, helping the State Troopers and other police departments piece together the reasons for a vehicle accident, mostly when a fatality is involved. While most of the accidents are either driver error or drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a great many of the accidents I see are caused by mechanical failure. The most common reasons: worn tires, worn brakes, leaking wheel cylinders, suspension failure, and others. I’d like to hear your comments on this, both from shop owners that are from states with an inspection law and those that don’t.

Jiffy Lube Announces Extended Oil Change Service? Maybe Not! When I read the headline that Jiffy Lube is doing away with their 3,000 mile oil change service interval, I was somewhat confused. All indications state that the Quick Lube industry has experienced a decline in car count for the past 10 years. So why would Jiffy Lube make this announcement? Well, it’s call marketing. Jiffy Lube service advisors will now work with customers to figure out what is the right oil change interval for their Particular driving habits. The customer is in involved with setting their own oil change schedule. Jiffy Lube, instead of surrendering to the factory extended service schedule, has found a way to win back its business. Initial results: 47 percent of customers have decided that they drive under severe conditions and have chosen an average oil change service interval of 3500 miles. An additional 43 percent have chosen an average interval of 4,100 miles. This means that 90% of Jiffy Lube customers have opted for an oil change interval of 4100 miles or less! They found a way to beat the OE recommendation. Boy, I wish I had thought of this…

That's an interesting thought...The Russin mafia. I really don't know. What I am convinced of is that most of these companies know exaclty how to skate aorund the law and work very hard to beat up the repair shop and the customer. They have no regard for the customer because they got thier money up front. It's not just warrany companies, I don't have much respect for insurance companies either. They too like to beat up the repair shops. And, I wish the body shops would stand up and stop accepting $45.00 per hour for their work. Now, the other side of coin; BG offers a lifetime protection plan on their maintenance services. As long as the customer sticks to the program, they honor the failure for life. We have had no problems with getting transmissions and other components warrantied. Then thier Jasper, their warranties are also good.

I can't tell you how many times, people do not take my advise and buy a car from an auction, friend, relative or neighbor, without having the car pre-inspected. Just a few months ago, I customer brought us a car from the auction. He was proud of his purchase and the price. It looked clean but once up in the air on the lift we could clearly see that this car was in a flood. But, people are people and too many times too trusting. People tend to listen to friends first, not the experts.

Wow, I could feel the heat thru my computer screen...sorry about that! At this point in my life, I agree...I call the shots...I did my time in the trenches...I owe to myself to uphold my ehtics and intergity. Plus, it's a matter of doing the right thing for my shop and my customers.

What bothers me is when the dealer sells these warranties, they sell it in a way that the consumer thinks that everything (bumper to bumper) is covered and that what ever the cost is, will be taken care of. This is where the trouble begins. We tell a customer it will be $3,500 for the transmisson and the warranty company says they will only pay $3000. Well, we don't work for the warranty company and they cannot tell us what WE should accept as payment. The customer then has a tough time dealing with the fact that they need to pay the difference. It may be in the fine print, but no body reads the fine print.

I really don't want to say, but it wasn't one that I normally deal with. I don't want to lump all extended warranty companies in the same boat, but thier are a lot of bad ones, and they want us to cut corners. They forget that these are our customers.

An aftermarket insurance company wanted me to install a used rack & pinion that they would provide from a salvage yard that they do business with. It’s bad enough that their arrogance dismisses the fact that we make money both on parts and labor, but to think that I need the business that bad that I would compromise my integrity. I flat out told the insurance company, “NO”. I also told them, “this is my job, my business and I have an obligation to my customer to do the best job possible and do what’s in the best interest for my customer". I spoke to the customer and explained the situation and what I thought was the correct repair. She agreed and paid the difference to install a quality reman unit. Shop owners, agree or disagree?

You have a good point....we trust our financial integrity to politicians with no business or financial background. Some do, but most do not. Many politicians never held a private sector job!

Let me make you guys sick, I did the math. As part of a local TECH NET Council Meeting, a panel of shop owners sat down and calculated the cost of scanners, tech pay, updates, training, Identifix and/or IATN, Mitchell and/or Alldata and OE sites. We also calculated the average number of Diag jobs each shop did per year and divided all the associated costs of performing a diag problem into the numbers of jobs. We also calculated the average time it took to perform a typical diagnosis. What did we find? The cost to perform the average check engine light of similar diagnostic analysis is $110.00 for one hour's work. That means to make a profit on diagnostic labor, you will need to charge a least $170.00 per hour for diagnostic work to make a profit. (Espcially if you do not get any repairs from the analysis) Now, when you realize that a brake pad/rotor replacement can be done in less than 30 minutes, and most shops charge any way from $75.00 to $150.00 labor for that brake job, we start to understand why diagnostic work should not be given away. OR DO MORE BRAKE JOBS…. one or the other!