Joe Marconi

Most of my junk I give to the scrap man, I'm glad just to get rid of it. I do get paid for catalytic converters, alternators and oxygen sensors.

In an effort to maximize productivity, my service advisors will dispatch the work to those techs that are proficient in a particular are. So, a tech that is great with check engine lights will get the majority of check engine lights. Most shops probably do the same thing.

But, he’s my dilemma; I understand the different techs have different strengths but doesn’t this practice make techs better and better in one area while not giving other techs the opportunity to learn new skills?

Have you ever had two techs that can’t stand each other? This can be serious and spread through your shop like a deadly virus. Other techs naturally will take sides and before you know you could a feud like the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s.

How would handle a situation like this?

The local Chamber of Commerce will host a business expo in my area next week. This will be the third year I will be involved. Local business can purchase a booth a showcase their business. The expo has proven to be a valuable source of new customer contacts and gives me a chance to talk with existing customers in a more relaxed setting.

My table is filled with brochures and information on my company plus we raffle off oil changes throughout the day. It’s an enjoyable day and rewarding.

Being involved with the community in any fashion is a great way to promote your business.

Thanks for sharing .... I'm glad the story touched you in a way to make everyone think about the customer and ourselves in a different light. And Joe, starting this website, and letting me introduce you to my stories is something I'm very proud of. As if you couldn't tell, I have a story for just about every situation.

 

I try to write these stories so that each and everyone who works in the business can relate to them. I'm not writing them to be the next "Steven King" I'm writing these to help "tell the story of the repair business from our side of the counter" too many times the evening news wants to portray the repair place as something to fear, I'd like to change all that. Change it to the point, that it's a highly respected trade and less of the "jerk/rip off places" Well, I can dream can't I?? .... but with effort each and everyone of us can help put something in motion for the future techs and business owners.

 

In the mean time.... xrac... you can collect the money... I'll sit back with Joe with some coffee and sign those books. Gonzo thanx again...

Gonzo, I think we should grab another cup for xrac, what do you think?

Gonzo, a very moving article, it really touched me. Your insight about people, the world and business is astounding. You have the gift of expression, which makes you special. But you are not alone in your intellect. I have met scores of shop owners and mechanics who share that same intellect. We need shop owners such as you to be our song birds. AutoShopOwner.com has a mission is to bring the great minds of the auto service industry together and collectively raise our image.

Maybe someday we will make a difference…perhaps we will meet one day and toast our accomplishments…perhaps with a cup of coffee... at a book store.

People buy when they are ready to buy, not necessarily when you are ready to sell. Don’t get frustrated if a “Mailed Special” does not get the response you were looking for. Your customers may not be ready to buy your service at that time, even though it may be a great deal.

The purpose of advertising and marketing is to maintain a continuous stream of information to your customer. The more you can connect with your customers and other people in your market area, the more you increase your chances of those people coming to you when they are ready to buy.

Put it this way; Dunkin Donuts does not expect you to jump off your couch every time it airs a TV commercial, does it? No. The purpose of the commercial is to keep embedding the Dunkin Donuts brand into your mind, which in turn they know increases their odds you will choose Dunkin Donuts the next time you are traveling down the road looking for coffee and donuts.

Commit to a constant stream of advertising and marketing and, in time, it will work.

Remember, if you are not marketing to your customer, someone else will.

As soon as that type of customer stops treating me as a professional... I stop treating them like a customer.

I'm posting a new story today with similar topic, a light hearted look at it of course.

 

Oh, and I don't negotiate... negotiations is a compromise of two different parties.... the original negotiation was that I would fix your car for "X" amount of dollars... enough said .... negotiations are over.

As usual Gonzo, WELL SAID!

Who are these people from AutoMD and what are their qualifications? Negotiate a price? Every shop has different operating expenses which in turn will affect how a job is priced out. What would a customer think if we lowered our price because they said they could get it done cheaper at another facility. I think THAT would make us look like we were trying to take advantage of them.

I'm with Joe, this burns me up!

 

Vickie Roth

Roth's Auto Repair, Inc.

Vickie, this does burn me up! Negotiate a price??? How about negotiating a price the next time you go to the Movies, tell the girl at the window, "Hey, Robin Hood at Lowes Theatre is only 11 bucks, can you match it”? I mean, PLEASE, this is ridiculous and we as professionals must not stand for this.

What hours do you run on Saturday?

8am to 2pm, usually. There have been times where we were busy to 4:00. We will stay if there is work.

Out of curiosity I just played around with the automd site. According to them if a consumer does a front disk brake job themselves the parts should cost $27.65... If done at a repair shop the parts cost should be $32.63

Is it me or does AutoMD have an agenda I am not aware of? How can the price of job, any job, be the same where ever you go. AND, "why" does it have to be the same??? Do you get the same price for a steak dinner at every resturant around the country. Are there not different levels of service, parts and economic standards of living?

Who sets these prices? I seem to remember that we live in the USA... the land of the free, the land of free enterpirse!! We all do remember this once great country, right?

I think we should voice our opinions on AutoMD and tell them how we feel.

I have said this a million times...we are the hardest working people in any industry and we deserve to make a decent income. I am not going to be dictated by some online service that tells me what I should charge or how much I can make on a job. NEVER!

Sorry, this really upsets me....

WE ROTATE STAFF TO HANDLE AND WE HAVE SIGNED TWO TECHS TO ONGOING SATURDAYS .

We do the same. I find that a rotation works best, it gives people much needed time off. Saturdays is slowly becoming one of our best sales days. At this point I can't see going back to bing closed.

I have been using LKQ for a few years too and found them very good. The have nice warranty program which helps sell the job.

yeah, I kind of noticed. I guess it helps that I'm single but at this pace I gonna stay single for awhile. The advantage of being open on Sunday while it isn't very busy or profitable is the visibility I get from people pulling in to get gas at the pumps in front of me and people stopping at the sandwich shop next to me(separate business in the same parking lot) and seeing my garage doors open. A lot of these people are local but work during the week so I feel I reached people that might not have otherwise given me a second glance. I always seem to get somebody that walks in asking for an estimate and have scheduled work that I might not have had if I wasn't there. The tire repairs and oil changes I typically generate on a sunday might not be much, but every penny counts when trying to keep the bills paid while trying to get established. It's kind of a fine line between necessity and burn out.

Being single is a big advantage and I do agree that the exposure of being there on Sundays can give you a competitive advantage. Eventually you must build the business so that you do not have to wear all the hats. You need down time and time to work on the business. You can only run that marathon for so long.

Trust me, when I started I worked 7 days a week until I reached burnout and got to a point where I hated the business. My life, family and business were suffering and I didn't know how to get out the depression I was in.

Slowly I learned that I needed to be a better business person and I started to grow the business. Since that time my business has grown year after year and I am much happier. As I am writing this I am planning on leaving a little early today and get a jump on the weekend.

Let's face it, we all work very hard. We need time away to recharge our batteries.

Never figured out why that switch is there on those cars. But I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that takes the simple to difficult approach. Thanx for the post.

That's funny, same thing happened to me, and I would guess it happens a lot on the Subarus.

Safety Kleen picks up mine. When you have more than 100 gallons they will pick up for free. I am not sure what the cutoff is for how much they take before they actually pay you for it but I won't hit that cutoff anytime soon. I have 3 55 gallon drums and I call them when they are full. Every couple of months for me.

Are they any other companies in your area that pick up waste oil. We no longer deal with Safety Kleen. We deal with a lubricate supplier that sells antifreeze, washer solvent (all in bulk) and other chemicals, and they also pick up our waste oil. And, like I said, they also pay us the the waste oil. We give them 250 to 400 gallons at a time and few times a year,that may be the difference.

Here in Indiana they are paying us 35 cents per gallon. At no time during the 11 years we have been open have I ever had to pay to have oil disposed. It has either been free or they have paid us.

We have a waste oil heater and burn most of our waste oil. The oil we dispose of we get anywhere from 15 cents to 30 cents a gallon depending on the going price, but never ever had to pay someone to get rid of it.

ame='Gonzo' date='20 April 2010 - 09:51 AM' timestamp='1271775105' post='6793']

 

I want to clarify one subject in the story for all you techie guys out there. Mode $06 is mainly for emission systems.. BUT there is some CAN on it... it does not (at this point) talk to any body controlled systems... Gonzo

I think most of us understood that about mode $06.

Thank you for the great story in customer satisfaction. My question is this? When you enter a Morton's Steak house there is a certain amount of "expectation" due to the price that you will pay. Do you think that has anything to do with the customer service? How do you think that an experience like this would be beneficial to our line of work? What would do you different?

Absolutely! I think if I received anything less the exceptional service I would have perceived this as a somewhat bad experience. If you think about, when we go to McDonalds, we know exactly what we are getting which is in line with what we are paying. At McDonalds, the food is bad, the people are not friendly, and you have to clean up your own table….but that’s McDonalds.

I think to really learn from this lesson, we need to ask ourselves: If we can deliver exceptional service and WOW the customer, could this help us with sales and with pricing? I believe it can.

My customer area and bathrooms are immaculate. My customer bathroom has flowers and paintings on the wall, tile floor and gets cleaned twice a day. My customer service area always has fresh coffee with cookies or pastry. I also empress upon my service advisors to smile and provide the very best in customer service. I do think this makes a difference.

The customer cannot see the wonderfull brake job you just finished, but they will judge you on what they CAN see, and that's at the front counter and customer service area.

First off "HAPPY ANIVERSARY TO MR. AND MRS. MARCONI" ! ! Sounded like a great evening with the Mrs.

But that doesn't mean I'm pulling out a camera ... taken pictures of my customers... or leaving notes on the dash board.... Great at a resturaunt... I'm not too sure it would work at the shop. LOL But, hey, I'm game for anything... once. You know the big thing about the evening at the resturaunt... was the feeling you left with... no matter what mood you were in when you got there. that's what counts. Maybe that's the thing to work on at the shop.... or maybe we should all just hire Henry.... LOL

Gonzo, I agree. I don't think pulling a camera is what we need to do either. Although, maybe a special occasion, like when a customer reaches 200,000 miles on a car you have kept alive.You can put that on a Wall of Fame or on your website?

But, you are right, it's the feeling that my wife and I left with and that IS something we need to think about and make sure that our customers walk away with that warm and fuzzy feeling.

I would just like to comment on the "brow beating" you get for your labor rate and parts prices. Don't worry about it, that's my take. There will always be someone willing to do the job for less. However, that person is probably an un-registered back-yard mechanic that does work on the side. He won't back up his work and when the repair fails the customer will be left for dead. I used to worry about my prices until I realized that people may question your pricing but that doesn't mean they are questioning you or your integrity. You know you do the best job with the best parts at the best value (notice I didn't say price?). A small shop like yours and mine will grow by word of mouth. They see a price for a part on the internet and think that is what you should charge them. People will begin to realize what they have with you and will become repeat customers. I would rather have 100 repeat customers than have 1000 customers that only show up once looking for the best price. While you are growing your best asset will be that you will get to know your customer's vehicles inside and out and you will be able to predict when they will be back for service. I wish I was as brave as you and take on some help but I just can't justify it, yet. I was just talking with one of my customers that was leaving for vacation. I told him I was swamped and may not get to his vehicle for a few days. He said "that's great!! When are you going to hire some employees to help out? I want to get more people to use you for their vehicle maintenance needs, but not if it means I have to wait for service." Word of mouth is the best and the worst advertising you can get. If you are doing as good a job as you sound like you are, word of mouth will get you more customers than you can deal with. All you can do at this point is take it one day at a time.

Wow, I don't think anyone could have summed it up better than you. You really have an understanding of the meaning between "price" and "value". Plus you truly understand what customer you want to work for. Well said!

I appreciate that... 100 aye? No wonder I've got sore fingers...

 

I've got plenty more ... as long as I'm not boring everyone... I'll keep it up... thanx-a much-a Gonzo.

Gonzo, 100 posts in a short period of time! A world of thanks for you valuable contributions!

Duh! Not as bright as I should be. Thanks CARMandP!

You guys are funny, glad you enjoyed the story.

I took my wife to Morton’s Steak House last Saturday to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The experience was a lesson in customer service.

I made a reservation in advance for 6:45, as I walked through the door the receptionist greeted us with a big smile and said, “Welcome to Morton’s Steak House”. She then asked if we had a reservation and I replied,” Yes, 6:45”. She said, “Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Marconi, please follow me, the maitre d' is waiting for you and will seat you. The fact that she knew who we were immediately made us feel special.

As we walked with the maitre d’ he asked us if this was a special occasion. I told him my wife and I are celebrating our 32th anniversary. He paused for a second and congratulated us. He then seated us, took our drink order and told us that Henry, our server for the evening, will be over in just a moment.

Henry also greeted us with a big smile and reviewed the all that Morton had to offer; from the appetizer to the main course to desert. He then handed us our menus and at the top of the menus in bold writing was the following: “Happy 32th Anniversary Mr and Mrs. Marconi”. What an impression this made on my wife and I!

A little later waiter took our photo and came back shortly with the photo in a card.

Now this is customer service. It’s all about the experience. The rest of the evening went great, the food was great and of course I left a nice tip.

Well written with easy to follow details. This article could actually be part of a complete CAN seminar. Also, it's always good to put a case study, like the Caddy window problem. Great job, as usual.