Joe Marconi

We have done the same thing and opened up on saturdays / longer week hours // What a difference . We are in the retail business want sales then need to be there and handle the calls

Have you made adjustments to your staff in terms of scheduling? We use a rotation basis so that people still have their time off, but we have full staff for 6 days a week.

I never had this problem. My wife likes to fish although she doe make me bait the hock and take whatever she catches off of the hook.

 

 

I thought this might help everyone's sales if it makes us smile!

I don't know how you find these things, but again, thanks for the laugh (and the smile)!

Can ya tell... I'm smiling right now.... that way the grouch that I really am stays hidden in the back room till all the customers go home.... LOL

Good point to keep in mind Joe...

My dad would put it this way.... You can catch more bees with honey, than you can with salt.

Later... Gonzo ... still smilin'

Gonzo, I would bet with your sense of humor, you smile a a lot. Right?

Martin Lindstrom, author of the book “buy-ology”, describes how the brain reacts to certain suggestive stimulus and how advertises and sales people can increase sales by understanding how the mind works in advertising and in the sales process.

Experiments were conducted and researchers found that sales people who smiled more and had a friendly disposition were significantly more successful than those that did not smile at all.

We all know that the sales process is very complicated, but incorporating a smile along with a friendly nature can go a long way in increasing sales.

Thanks xrac

Thanks too, xrac, I should have made it more clean where my blog is.

Thank you for the advice. I know without a doubt that I will have to have employees to help me. The problem is my garage is at my house (no room for expansion) and this area is so expensive to buy and build/or even rent that I can't justify the cost yet. I don't want to turn wrenches the rest of my life. I love what I do but I don't want to be 30 yrs into this business with nothing to show for it but a busted body and no room for improvement...

I see your dilemma, you will need to choose a path in life that makes you happy and earn a decent wage, without the worry about the physical exhaust related to what you are doing now. Maybe with the help of ASO you can gather ideas and put a game plan together. Check out my blog if you want some insight on how I expanded and overcame many of the issues a lot of us have in this business.

Hey I bought a used Snap On Eco 134 recovery machine .It won,t vacum past about 18 and slow to recover .Some vacum is felt but not much.Any Ideals on what to do.Will a pump from somthing else work?

Sorry, not famliar with that model. Snap On can't help you?

Michelangelo's David Is To Be Returned To Italy

 

Michelangelo

I laughed so hard my service writer came running into my office to make sure I was ok.

Now THAT is funny.

You really keep me going, keep them coming!

We have driven a lot of new business by offering an oil change and tire rotation at $25.95.

What about air conditioning?

I am the only one working here. Its just me to answer the phones, do the work and test drives, and so on. I have a 2 bay garage (one bay with the lift and the other bay with an alignment machine) As far as work, its whatever comes through the door. I do 99% of my work by appointment because I am the only one doing the work.

In your situation, you will no doubt go nuts on a daily basis. But, how long can you keep that up? I did the same thing when I first started and finally crashed one day and I was in really bad shape, both emotionally and physically.

You need to think to the future and hire people. Take your time and look for a qualified B tech; someone who can generate income while you are doing the rest. In time, hire another tech tech. Always think about expanding and growing. You can't do that without good people around you.

Take it for what it's worth, I have been in business for 30 years and now have 2 facilities and nearly 20 people working for me. It’s a long and slow process but you need to think about it.

Sorry I got off topic about scheduling, but I felt this is all related and more important.

How do you guys schedule work? I have been struggling for months to get the right balance between having enough work and having too much. Most of the time, I too much work to do and can't keep up with what is already here. Does anyone have any pointers for me (this one man band) on how to properly schedule work.

When you say you are a one man band, does this mean you work alone? Also, how many bays do you have?

Scheduling correctly is a delicate balance and largely depends on how large your shop is, manpower, type of work you do and the amount of walk-in trade you get.

Give us a little more info so we can help.

I always wondered.... why is it that "our" price has to be lower?? Who sets the standards?? the dealer?? Sometimes I think it's just the nature of some types of people to bitch at whatever the cost. I've got some stories on this subject... I should post one of them... AH, customers... gotta love em' Whether they are right or wrong... in their eyes your still wrong... another day in paradise.

Gonzo, I had that argument at a shop owner's meeting a while back: Why do we have to be lower than the dealer? If they lower their prices, we have to lower our prices too? Is there some unwritten law?

The 2 CTS' I've had in my shop were both Leased vehicles. Of course, people who lease don't think they should have to perform any maintenance on their own dime. Your price is right in line with what it should be. There is no way the dealer would have been the same.

Thanks, glad to hear that. You start to wonder sometimes when people say things like that. I knew the price was fair, just wanted to throw it out there to make sure. Thanks again.

Joe our prices for the same thing would be about $180.00. Considering the part of the country you are located in and costs in that area it doesn't sound like you are out of line. Unless the dealer is running some type of special promotion there is no way a Cadillac Dealer is less than that. Just remember that you can't make everybody happy. A funny thing about Cadillac CTS owners is that the ones we have had who drive these cars are either tight wades or broke. They all hate spending money on repairs and CTS take constant repair. In my opinion CTS drivers are wannabes and I put PT cruiser drivers in the same category.

 

How about an answer that we want to do good service and be competitively priced. We periodically compare our prices to similar service providers and have determined that our prices are both fair and competitive and that our pricing allows us to be profitable enough to employ qualified people who can provide quality service.

I agree, I really don't think my prices are out of line. We do the same thing and compare with similiar businesses. I also agree with you that this person is a wannabe Caddy owner and really should not be driving this car.

I just needed to hear it from someone else. Thanks!

I had a lady the other day, who drives a Caddy CTS, tell me the that our prices are higher than the dealer. We did a Mobile 1 oil change service (6quarts), checked it for a any needed service at HER request (all was ok), sold her a wheel alignment and 4 wheel balance because she was complaining of a hi-speed shimmy and that she has hit a lot of pot holes over the winter.

The price with tax; $202.56

How would you respond to this claim???

How has that worked out for you?

Welcome to ASO John, it looks like as with most of us you realized that being a great tech is not enough, the skills of business are equally, if not, more important.

Looking forward to exchanging thoughts and opinions.

I'm glad my stories spark a memory or two... this is the best part about writing them down... You guys make my day... and I'm proud to call each and everyone a friend for life... This is a great tribute to our industry... how guys from different parts of the country can see the humor in this crazy mixed up industry.

I take a bow to all.... thanks for the memories...

 

Oh, and Joe... the contest idea is a super one... I think we all could "one-up" each other for years and years... and just to let you know... reading glasses are important... I where bifocal saftey glasses (they don't fall off)

 

Thumbs UP all around... great stories guys.

I feel the same Gonzo, shop owners are a rare breed and I am proud to be part of it.

I encourage other to tell us their funny story, we are all in the same boat and could use a good laugh.

I think he was pretty close on the car diagnosis. LOL

Maybe he's in the wrong business?

This may be worth reading:

 

4 Things You Can Do To Make Your Business Inviting To Women

 

Women...

Great article, you are like the knowledge guru!

One day I was standing along side as my ASE Master Certified Techician was struggling with a wiper blade he could not get to go on to a car. This non-technican that you would never want working on your car took the blade from him, popped the adapter onto the blade and stuck the blade on the car in about 20 seconds while the ASE Master Tech looke don with mouth open..

Well, as long as we are in the confessing mode…here’s one: About 8 years my top tech and I were looking over a wiring diagram trying to locate a particular relay we needed to test. My tech and I are the same age and 8 years ago we were both resisting wearing reading glasses (a big mistake). Anyway, we located the relay on the diagram and saw that the location for the relay said: “WP”, which we assumed meant, “Water Pump”. My tech and I were looking in the engine compartment very confused and I said, "why in the world would they put a relay near the water pump"? One of my lube techs walked over and looked at the diagram and said, “Hey grandpa, that’s not WP, it’s I / P… Instrument Panel. Talk about an embarrassing moment!

Maybe we should have a contest: Your most embarrassing moment

While I agree that there are many factors that effect productivity and it would be great to have a Dr. Deming time study expert on our staff, that is not usually possible from a cost standpoint. But we actually have the experts working for us already! I have found that if I work with the staff individually to find out why they think their productivity is down, they can usually pinpoint the areas that need attention. While it is true that their idea of fix may not take into consideration elements they don't understand, like the cost to fix certain problems, between them all they can usually nail down the areas that need improvement, especially when it effects them personally. It is then up to me to come up with a cost effective solution.

 

I found that the first step in improving productivity is to make it obvious to everyone that there is a problem so that they can make changes in their own behavior if necessary. If just changing the behavior is not enough then a discussion per above will usually tell me exactly where I need to look. Many times it is not what I want to hear, since it means I must change something we are doing as a company, or buy a piece of equipment, or pay for training, etc.. The problem must first be obvious and identified, and they steps can be taken to cure the problem.

 

My primary reason for developing QuickTrac productivity software was to make productivity easily understood and constantly on display for everyone in the company. If my facility is put together right, my processes are effective, and my customer load is sufficient the team will keep us above 120% productivity all the time. The first three items are my responsibility, as is finding the right team members, from there on they will see it happens.

Words of wisdom and well said. I agree that much of the information on how to boost productivity and efficiency can be found within the walls of our own facilities, by enlisting the help from our experienced staff.

When I was in the planning stages for our second shop I did just that. My entire staff met on numerous occasions to discuss where the productivity problems were. We discussed everything from work flow from service writers to techs, placement of oil filters and other parts, part delivery, bay configuration, shop layout, air lines, drop lights, time wasted between jobs, on and on.

The truth is you can increase production by fine-tuning your operation; a little change can make a big difference.

Why men shouldn't write advice columns:

 

 

Oh, this is funny! Hard to believe this is true.

Now that's funny... I had a tech do about the same thing... except he was a proud to show off that he was a ASE certified tech... and he kept on bragging that because he was ASE he knew more and could avoid making stupid mistakes.... he didn't last long.. LOL

 

But you know there's a Forest Gump around every corner... they can surprise you sometimes.

I hate to admit it, BUT, years back I had a no start on a car which I isolated to a problem with fuel delivery after checking for spark and yes, I too had to reach for my trusty scanner. To make a long story short, the car was out of gas and I a few seconds away from condeming the fuel pump.

It's good to laugh at yourself from time to time.

Now this is what I call fishing:

 

What a fish!

When I was younger I use to fish off the Long Island Sound (New York) on a charter boat. We went for Tuna, Stripe Bass and Blue fish. It'sbeen a while since I have been out, but it was always a lot of fun.

Are you bombarded throughout the day with an endless stream of questions? Well, it just might be your fault. The more you allow yourself to be the “go to” guy when a question arises, the more your employees will come to you for answers. This can zap your energy and decrease your effectiveness for the tasks you need to get done.

Try this, when Tom the Tech approaches you with a question, instead of giving Tom the answer, throw the question back at him and ask him how he thinks the issue should be handled. If Tom says, I tried everything and can’t find the problem, ask him to tell you exactly what he did and review all his diagnostic procedures. Continue to ask Tom a series of questions and then ask him what he thinks we should we do next? This process allows Tom to work out the problem in his own mind and will help him with future problems.

You should do the same with service writers and other office staff. If your service writer comes to you with a question on how to handle an unhappy customer, ask the service a series of questions to get at the root of the problem. Your questions to the service writer need to be put in such a way that the service writer actually comes up with a solution by himself.

There will be times when you as the owner will need to make the final decision on some matters, but the more your staff is thinking and making decisions on their own, the stronger your business becomes.

One more thing, if you are worried about them making mistakes…they will. It’s all part of the learning process. The reason why you as the boss can make quick and decisive decisions is because you have been making a lot of decisions over the years, but also made a lot of mistakes too. But, knowledge is gained through each mistake.

So remember, answer a question with a question.