Joe Marconi

Are Employee Reviews a Waste of Time? Yes and no. While I am a firm believer in spending one-on-one time with the people in my company, I am opposed to treating adults as if they are still in grade school, handing them a report card and grading them in certain areas. I do expect minimum levels of productivity performance; require employees to attend training, will not tolerate lateness, among other company policies. But what’s more important during a one-on-one meeting is to focus on the employee, not the company. The only way to truly create an atmosphere that cultivates high morale and loyalty is to get employees engaged and involved in the company goals. Employees must feel that what they do on a daily basis makes a difference and impacts the success company. And the only way to accomplish this is to insure that the company’s goals and vision is aligned with the employee’s goals and vision. Conduct one-on-one meetings with the intent to get the employee involved with looking for ways to increase sales, improve productivity and morale. Discuss company issues and make the meeting more about the employee than the company. Ask questions and be open to suggestions. Always thank the employee and always focus on the present and the future, not the past.

I want to wish all the dads a Happy Father's Day. Take some time off, spend time with your family or friends, or go fishing. Enjoy the good things life as to offer. The shop will still be there on Monday.

Welcome aboard Mark! Good Luck and stay active on the forums, we are here to help...

Could not have said it better. With three sentences you summed it all up!

Some of my fondest memories as a young boy in the 1960’s were the Saturday afternoons I spent with my father at Babe’s Body Shop in the Bronx. Babe and my father were old army buddies who served together in World War II. They grew up in the same neighborhood and remained friends their entire lives. I never knew his real name or his last name, everyone just called him Babe. As my father and Babe would talked about the old days and the War, I would wander off and watch the men in the shop perform their magic. I can still remember as if it were yesterday. I watched in amazement as these men took a wrecked car and pounded it back into shape. In those days, you didn’t just replace a fender or quarter panel, you fixed it. These guys had the strength of Hercules and the skill of a Michelangelo. I remember on one particular day, my father noticed how fascinated I was watching the guys in the shop. He knelt down beside me, pointed to the guys and said, “I call these guys, Men of Steel. These are tough guys that work hard each and every day. They can take a crumpled-up fender and with hammer in hand, work it back into shape just the way it looked when it rolled off the assembly line; and all by eye”. Before we left to go home, my father and I walked around the side of the body shop and pulled two sodas out of the Coke Cooler. Then we would sat down on a bench seat taken from of an old Desoto and finished our Cokes. Could an eight year old ask for a better summer Saturday afternoon? For many of us, childhood memories have served to create pathways to our careers. The auto repair industry is filled with shop owners and mechanics that draw upon past memories to shape their lives. The auto repair industry may have changed a bit, but we still perform magic every day. We are a dedicated breed and should be proud of what we, as a group, have accomplished. My passion for this business was born watching those “men of steel” back in the 60’s. I knew from a young age what I wanted to do in my life. I feel lucky that way. I often wonder how many people go to work every day hating their jobs. I am a mechanic and a shop owner. It’s the life I chose and it’s the life you chose. We all have a special bond. It’s the reason AutoShopOwner.com was created. Through the use of words, comments and stories we express who we are. We share, learn and become better at what we do. The glue that has bonded us together is our past. That same glue will help secure our future. My father encouraged me to open my own shop and we shared some great times before his passing in 1986. You see, he was also one of those “Men of Steel”. I’m not one to live in the past, but I would give just about anything to have one more summer Saturday afternoon, sitting on that bench seat behind Babe’s Body Shop sharing a coke with my Dad. View full article

Great points everyone. I just want to emphazise what xrac said, We don't just want to pay our bills and survive. That's not the point of being in business. We are not being fair to ourselves or to our customers if we are not making a return on our investment. We do no one any good if we do not generate enough profit to continue to grow our lives and our business. We want to be around next year, right? Well we won't unless we make a profit.

Common question and a big issue with all of us. We have Adanced Auto around the corner and they sell to walk-ins the same as they sell to us. It's for that reason I will not buy from them. There is always a balance between being profitable and being competitive. With that said, you need to charge enough to remain in business. You also need to do a Cost of Doing Business Analysis, which will determine the needed money you need to bring in to break even and to make a profit. Generally, most shops that I have spoken to try to get 45-55% on most parts, maybe a little less with dealer parts. Many shops use a matrix system where the lower cost price items are charged at a higher percentage and the higher the cost the less markup. In other words; a part the cost $11.00 may sell for $31.00 or more, but a part that cost $500 may only sell for $650.00. By the way I don't worry too much about people calling around, they are not my customers and I don't want them. (But that's me) Hope this helps, let me know...

I remember as a kid, the teachers would make a big deal over Flag Day. I think we need a little more of that today. In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14, 2011. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.

Fewer Service Bays Mean More Opportunities! By: Charlie Polston, Dealer Magazine 06/13/2011 There are 50,000 fewer service bays in the United States than there were ten years ago. According to The Lang Report, there were 1,180,000 services bays in 2010 compared to 1,230,000 in 2000 Dealerships lost a whopping 33,000 service bays in the last decade…many of these as a result of recent closures and consolidations. In the big picture, dealerships have 25.7% of all service bays in the nation. In other words, the independent aftermarket has dealership service bays outnumbered three to one. I’ve been following these trends for as long as I can remember, and frankly, this is nothing new. Dealers have been losing market share for a long time. According to James Lang, publisher of The Lang Report, this trend will continue into the foreseeable future. Independent service centers have also been impacted, especially service stations and smaller garages. Despite this overall decline in service bay count, there has been significant growth in specialized repair facilities, tire stores and foreign repair shops. While service bays have declined, the number of cars on the road has dramatically increased! In 2000, there were 200 million cars on the road compared to almost 250 million in 2010. Therefore, we have 50 million more cars and 50,000 fewer service bays. Let’s apply some basic economics to this situation: the demand is way up (50 million more cars), and the supply is way down (50,000 fewer service bays). Therefore, the most valuable piece of real estate your dealership owns is a 12 ft. by 20 ft. piece of concrete called a service bay. This 240 sq. ft. chunk of ground produces more gross profit than the showroom, the parts department, or the front lot. If your Effective Labor Rate is $80 and your gross profit is 70% ($56), then your service bays produce a gross profit of $.23 per square foot, per hour ($56 ÷ 240 sq. ft.). Note: Since labor sales drive parts sales, this number will be even higher due to the parts sales, probably at least 50% higher. With the possible exception of F&I, no other department produces that kind of income per square foot for your dealership. Additionally, it requires very little upkeep, minimal climate control and the floor covering never needs to be changed. It is absolutely imperative that a service bay has four tires on it or slightly above it at all times. Of even more importance is service bay “turn over” or efficiency. If you tie up a service bay for two hours on a job, that only pays .7 flat rate hours, well, that’s not the best usage of this valuable plot of earth. The desired outcome would be having a vehicle in the bay for 30 minutes and flagging an hour or more. At the very least, you want to be at 100% efficiency. So how do you maximize the service bay? How do you make the most money in the shortest amount of time? It’s not gonna happen doing warranty work. It’s not gonna happen fixing broken stuff (repair). Even oil changes, while vital to long term retention, are not highly efficient or profitable. Maximum service bay utilization can only be realized through the performance of maintenance service work. Maintenance services are usually over 200% efficient; the techs love the gravy work and the service bays stay full. Of equal importance is the benefit the vehicle owner receives by having a much lower cost of ownership, because maintenance is always cheaper than repair. However, there is a catch, maintenance service needs have to be recommended by the technician and sold by the advisors. Most vehicle owners don’t know how to maintain their cars in such a way to prevent breakdowns. It’s the job of your techs and advisors to educate the vehicle owners, offer the needed maintenance services, and ask them to have the service work done while you have their car in the shop. At the risk of sounding simplistic, if you want more revenue per square foot of service bay, then hold your advisors accountable to sell maintenance services. Everyone comes out the winner: techs, advisors, management and most of all, the customer. More cars and fewer bays…what an incredible opportunity! My personal thanks to Mr. Lang for letting me reference his research. For more information on The Lang Report, you can visit his website at www.langmarketing.com.

Losing My Patience, Never My Passion As a shop owner, that began his career as a mechanic 36 years ago, the effort of building a business has taken its toll in many ways. While I have not lost my passion for what I do, I have lost my patience with many of the things I see around me. I have built a business from a small 2-man operation to a 2-facility company with close to 20 employees. It’s often said that you need great people around you in order to achieve success. But the truth is without leadership, vision, passion and a whole lot of determination, nothing will ever get accomplished. It also takes risk, with countless sleepless nights. All of which must come from the founder or owner of the business. Here’s my frustration. I hold myself accountable each and every day. If I screw up, I admit it and work twice as hard to rectify the issue. Why don’t others in the company hold themselves accountable? Not for me, for themselves. Take for example, a technician misdiagnoses a problem and costs the company money in lost time, wrong parts installed and an upset customer. Now, mistake happen, we are all human. That’s not my issue. My issue is the lack of remorse, the lack of concern, the lack of sense of urgency to make things right. I see too many times after a mistake has happen, that nothing changes in the attitude from the tech that made the error. He does not work any extra to make up for the loss. He does not come in early to try to make amends. And when I try to bring it up, I’m the bad guy and the tech gets upset at me! Upset at me? I have to suck it up and keep it inside me? And, Heaven forbid if I even suggest that the tech come back from lunch a few minutes early or maybe forgo his “natural birth right” of spending time on the tool truck. In their defense, my techs work very hard. They endure the cold, the rain, the sweltering heat of the summer and the daily bodily punishment of being a mechanic. I guess, what I want is just a little of the passion I have. That show of concern and the paying attention to all the details of the business. Also, I would love to see people have the same energy level as I have. I have more than 20 years on some of my employees and there are days that they can’t keep up with me! I guess, maybe it’s a lot to ask. My techs are great people. The morale is great and we are profitable. Some people tell me that it’s impossible for an employee to care like the owner cares. I don’t agree. Before I went into business, I took my work personal. When I worked for someone, I worked like it was my own business. But, that was me and to be honest I didn’t stay in the workforce long, starting my own business at the age of twenty five. Maybe I have been doing this too long, maybe I need to ignore some things. Maybe I just need a break. But, I am who I am and I can’t see myself changing. My passion will continue to be the force that drives me into the future. I will continue to work hard to bring out the best in me and in my employees. I am dedicated to my family, my business and to my employees. I will not push my ways on anyone. People need to show respect for themselves first. Only then can they truly grow with others.

Yes, I thnk you can write a really great story with that phrase.

We have a customer we call Mrs. Sincha. That's not her real name but every time and I mean EVERY TIME we work on her car, she comes back and says those most dreaded words we all hate hearing: "Ever since you worked on my car, now the radio is not clear". Or, "Ever since the oil change, the car sounds loud". Hence the name; Sincha. She an elderly lady, actually she was a nurse during WWII, stationed in Europe. Because of that, we tolerate it and try not to let it bother us. We now hold a contest to see who can guess what will be her new "sincha" complaint.

Gonzo, this is a topic that really disturbs me. Maybe it's because I'm from New York, but I think I have heard every con story on the planet. But the customer, in some cases, has been tainted by less-than-honest businesses too. Here’s case that comes to mind: Years back I failed (New York Safety Inspection) a Dodge Van for a rotted frame. The spring shackles were rotted away, and where the shackles bolted to the frame looked more like Swiss cheese than steel. The customer was angry, even though I tried to explain to him that the Van is not safe. Not safe for him or for others on the road. He drove off mad as hell. The customer returned about an hour later, drove up to my bay doors, beeped the horn and pointed to the windshield. He was pointing to a brand new State Inspection Sticker! Another shop passed it with a rotted frame. What I told him wasn't pretty....it was the one and only time I cursed at a customer!

From what I am hearing from friends in other trades, the problem of finding good, qualified people is an issue everywhere. Years back, in the early 80's I could hire a kid right out of a technical high school. He was far from being an Ace Mechanic, but he was light years ahead from the young people I see today. Back then, kids went to work early on, they pumped gas and worked with their father fixing the family car. They also fixed things around the house. Today, most kids don't really have a job, no one fixes anything anymore and everyone is geared toward "higher education". This country is filled with too many lawyers, too many accountants, etc. Our true work force is dwindling. We need to change that.

That reminds me of a Stephen King Story...or was it Twilight Zone? Either way, it's the life we live each day, right?

Frustrated because your employees don’t have that “Sense of Urgency”? Many of our employee frustrations are sometimes the result of not communicating with them in times of crisis. We somehow expect our employees to magically know what needs to be done and we get frustrated by their lack of sense of urgency. For example, it’s Friday morning and you’re concerned that the cars that were promised by the weekend, may not get done. You see your techs walking out to the tool truck minutes after they had a coffee break and your blood pressure begins to creep into the unsafe zone. When a crisis is at hand, gather your people together and let them know the situation. Ask them for suggestions on how to get the work done. You may be surprised by their reaction when you include them in on the circumstances. Doing this will also help you cope and maintain morale.

You make a very valid piont. Too much blame for low productivity is due to smoking. I am not a smoker but I have techs that smoke and they are great producers. I may not agree with the habit, but it's their choice, not mine. Again, great point.

Please keep us informed. I like you idea of in-house training and setting guidelines. We do the same thing.

Understanding What the Customer Buys How we position ourselves in our market will determine how successful we are. Too often we offer services and products that we “hope” customers will buy. First we need to understand that the customer never buys a product, a customer buys the satisfaction of a want. And price is always a secondary consideration. In order to become successful in business, we need to understand what are customer perceive as being important to them. What is of value to them is what they want to buy. One mistake many businesses make is trying to guess what’s important to their customers. That can only be answered by your customers. If you don’t know what's important and most valuable to your customers, find out by asking them. If you do know, ask your customers if you are delivering.

Just curious, for my repair shop all alignments are menu priced with a range from front wheel, 4 wheel alignment and up to SUV, truck and performance alignment. But, for the few times I deal with an insurance company, I always us book time, which is more than my menu pricing. Doing a wheel alignment correctly for some vehicles should require charging book time. I don't just; "set the toe and go". Many tire shops and discounters use alignments as a lost leader. For what the equipment cost these days, we need to rethink our price structure. Thoughts? Body guys and repair shops...

I am not and don't know of many shops that are. I like the idea of conusmer education, I don't know how effective MAP as been as far as making a difference for us. What are your thoughts? DO think MAP has value that we need to explore?

Amazing how nuts some people are, right?