Joe Marconi

Great marketing, and one thing to remember, it's a lot less money to market to your customer base, than it is to attract new customers.

Auto Parts Company Crosses the Ethics Line Its one thing to open a parts store and do free check engine light scans, battery testing, battery installation in the parking lot along with wiper blades. And, although I don’t agree, I can’t stop a parts company from selling $11.00 brake rotors and $17.00 O2 sensors to the general public. BUT, it’s another thing for a parts rep to come into my facility and ask my lead tech if he knows of a tech that is looking for a job scanning cars and testing batteries outside the parts store. Or, approaching my service manager and asking him, if he knows of a manager that might be looking for a job at one of the parts store. This crosses the line and I am furious. The way they did too is underhanded and unethical. This rep came in my HOUSE and in a “round about” way was actually trying to recruit my top people. Business is Business, but this not about business. I will never buy anything from this company, not even if they are the only parts company in the world that has what I need. I refuse to patronize a company that has the morals of a worm. Just to set the record straight; my number one supplier has been and will always be CARQUEST. I do deal with other local companies as my second call. The part company I am referring to in this post is not NAPA, AutoZone, O’Reilly’s, Auto Parts International or Pep Boys. Nor is it a small local company.

Dash Board Oil Change Service Reminder Indicator We are having more and more people extending their oil changes because they are paying attention to the oil change indicator light on their dash. We just had one customer who called us because she has almost 9,000 miles on her 2010 Honda Civic and the oil change indicator still says 50%. I told her you can’t go 18,000 mile before you oil and filter is changed. She said she called the dealer and the dealer told her to wait until the percentage is down to 20% or less. I told her that’s crazy. She came in for the oil change and tire rotation and we urged her to pay attention to our reminder sticker of every 4,000 miles and not the indicator. How are you dealing with this?

Do think a phone number or web site would be a good idea for the sticker.

I guess if the customer agrees to it, with some sort of compensation, it would be ok.

I know shops that use liscence plate frames for the same reason. I don't know first hand how effective that form of advertising is. Have you polled people to get thier opinion on it? Years ago it was common to see decals and liscence plate frames from the dealer the car was purchased, but many people did not like it. I understand what you are trying to accomplish, I just don't have any first hand knowledge on its effectivness. The slogans are pretty good, all of them.

Alex, my prayers are with you, your father and your family. If there is anything you need, let me know. Having lost my mother to cancer when I was 13 years old, I know all too well what you are going through. I will contact you in the morning.

Market to Your Champion Customers Your champion customers, (your loyal and best customers), already know and trust you. It's easier to get business from them than to get business from somebody who never bought from you. Capitalize on this by creating some special deals just for your champion customers ...and announce new products and services to them before you announce them to the general market. Make these customers feel special, because the truth is…they are!

No, the one with the little lizard.

Absolutely perfect, Max. I agree with you. We invest in training, tools equipment and time to insure that we are technically competent to work on these modern-day computers on wheels. For shops to diagnose it free is giving away too much income and is hurting the rest of the industry. It was a pleasure reading your post and look forward to sharing and exchanging future ideas and opinions.

Please salute both of them from me.

This Veteran's Day, we honor those who have so bravely served this country. America is founded on the principle of freedom, justice, and liberty for all. Our nation's soldiers serve every day to protect our country and its ideals. On Veteran's Day, take a moment to remember those who sacrifice their lives every moment to achieve peace and democracy.

I think you are really starting to understand your business. Take it one step more and do the math to find out what you need to break even (pay all you bills) and what you really want to net. Anyone can break even and survive. Real money is made when you consistently hit above break even and make profit dollars. It takes a little work and you may need help from your accountant, but find out your true cost of doing business and work the business every day to be profitable.

Max, that's a lot more than a dimes worth. That's an entire marketing course all wrapped up in one story. Great job! I love the power of networking, the knowlege among us is pricless.

How can this be? Is this a way to stick it to us a little more and show the power of the oval office? When will we wake up?

Differences between Auto Body and Mechanical Shops Mechanical repair shops need a steady flow of customers and actually track vehicle visits per year. The more visits, the stronger the customer base and more profitable a repair shop will be. For auto body shops, it’s an entirely different ball game. You may not see a customer again for years until he or she needs body work again. Plus, you need to work closely with insurance companies to get work. What other forms of marketing and advertising or best practices do auto body shop use to maintain a healthy work flow?

Increasing productivity? I was wondering. How do body shops track productivity and do you pay productivity bonuses?

A regular customer ran his Honda off the road and did damage to the front bumper cover, radiator support, A/C condensor, front tires and now the air bag light is on. We inspected the car and diagnosed the air bag problem at the owner’s request and got his authorization. Now comes the fun part: Dealing with the insurance company. We are not a body shop, but do work with insurance companies often. Our estimate and what the insurance company wants to pay are on different planets. I told the adjuster I could not work for that price. Plus he told me to eat the analysis, because we should consider ourselves lucky we are getting the job. Lucky? Was he here at my shop the past 30 years working side by side building my business? Lucky? I told him to write whatever he wants and I will call the customer to get the rest of the money. He told me that’ not allowed. Not allowed? Who is he, my boss? Well after a heated discussion he made some concessions and we finally came to an agreement. I have to tell you, I don’t know how you auto body shop owners deal with these guys on a daily basis.

Ear trumpet? That's not what I see!

Tim, great question. It is vital that each vehicle visit includes a history record search to see what was done, was needs to be done and what was never done. I use Service Intelligence on my Mitchell program. It gives me a quick and easy report on vehicle history; average miles per day driven and the report can be modified to meet your particular needs. SI was developed by E-Auto club and was sold thru Mitchell, but now they are their own again. Your Mitchell Rep can help you. Other than that, I don’t know of any other program that does the trick. And, looking back at the history records takes too long.

Thanks for posting the new law. Great info. I have a feeling there will a lot of shops out there that are not aware of this new law and may get stuck with the old lead weights or they will just use them up, and not worry about the law. And wheel weights falling off? I guess is does happen, but I wonder how big a problem it really is.

Lead has been on the "hit list" for a long time. Now we need to find a viable solution.

I have been using Mitchell for nearly 8 years. Do you have Manager Plus? If you use the Part/Labor guide the labor time is transferred over to the estimate. You can also build "can jobs" for those jobs used on a daily basis. For example, Tire Rotation, Wheel Alignment, LOF, etc. For those jobs you can set up a generic labor time. You can also create vehicle specific can jobs. For example, if you do a lot of work on Honda Vehicles, you can set up a Honda Rear diff service can job, with the parts and labor already set. This is where the program is powerful because it lets you tailor the program to your needs. You can also add the labor times as you need if the job you are doing is unique. For example; removing a hitch for a customer. This job is not found in the Parts/Labor guide and something you would not make a can job for. For this, you simple hit the labor tab and add the labor time as needed. The Mitchell system has a lot of help screens and video, I recommend going thru them. Also, ask your rep for help.