Joe Marconi

I'm guilty of working on my own stuff, so I don't fuss to much if the techs need some time on their own cars... But I'm with everyone else, not allowing them to work on other family or friends cars. Those I always will tell them... OUTSIDE ONLY... DO NOT BLOCK BAYS... But at the same time we might get a rebuilder in or a restoration project that isn't a direct paying job for anyone. But, I'll give them a cut if we resell the car. That always works well... they tend to act like little greedy vultures when you tell them they can make a few bucks on a car... Nobody minds the extra cash...

 

Great posts ... I like reading about things like this... gives me new ideas for new stories... Gonzo

That's what ASO is all about....sharing and exhanging ideas and learning from each other

I have started doing that here. We are already warming up and mowing our grass around here.

Do you any special promotions?

Summer is returning for most of us in the northern parts of the country. How are shop palnning to capitilize on the summer heat and promote air conditioner service and repair?

The car wash is a nice little perk.

I like the car wash feature too. Morale is an issue, anything that an employee can view as a added perk is good.

It depends on how the employee is paid. If he is commissioned only, then he can work on HIS vehicle. If hourly, then he needs to be off the clock. But there are always issues with workers' comp and supplies he may use. Who is responsible if the lift falls on him while at work on his vehicle or less dramatic, piece of metal in the eye? You are!

Great point! We all need to be carful, it's still a business; favor or not.

I agree. Increasing shop productivity is more complicated than the actual time the technician takes to complete a job. We all know that a tech can beat the book time on most jobs, so why would productivity be lower than normal in a given shop?

To elaborate on Evan’s remarks; wasted time between jobs, techs performing tasks that are not productive, time wasted finding the right tools or equipment, receiving the wrong parts, on and on, all contributes to lower than normal productivity.

I too agree that shop owners need to do an analysis on the actual work-flow process, much the same way the Japanese did decades ago when analyzing how to improve the efficiency of the assembly line, in order to find the waste in shop production. As each problem is solved, more profit is generated to the bottom line.

No surprises at all. This is about what he probably got in college since no one has ever seen his transcripts. LOL

It felt REAL GOOD to take this poll. My marks were not favorable, trust me!

After hearing this story tonight, I figured I'd share.

 

My parents and sister came over to our house tonight for Easter dinner, and shared some photos and stuff from their trip to Key West, which they just returned from yesterday. They drove down the east coast from New York, and stopped in Orlando at my aunt's house, on the way. My aunt was getting over being sick this week and was having difficulty getting around, maybe not feeling well, etc...but had to pick her car up from the service station. Something about battery cables rotting away and the car dying on her earlier in the week.

 

My parents offered to pick it up for her, to make it easier on her, since she really wasn't in the best of health this week. She was very happy about this and said it was at the Mobil station around the corner...make a left, then a right, and it's right there.

 

To make a long story short, my parents hunted around every Mobil station for 5 miles in each direction...no one had her car. They came back and got the number from my aunt and decided to call (maybe they should have done that first). They got better directions and found out that the car was at "something" Automotive Repair. They pulled in to this shop parking lot, with no sign of Mobil anywhere...yet when they walked in, the mechanics had Mobil logos above their shirt pockets.

 

My mother asked the owner if they were a Mobil shop, and if so...where were the pumps. The owner said, "No, we just buy our oil from Mobil, and they give us these nice patches for our shirts."

 

From an older woman's perspective, the shop must have not been clearly identified and the one thing that stood out, was the Mobil logos on their shirts.

You would think that in this day and age, a business owner would realize the importance of signage.

LOL! I could just see me telling my father-in-;aw and brother-in-law that they couldn't work on their cars.... but they know I'll push it out in the morning if it gets in my way

I limit my techs to their own cars and immediate family, not their uncles, cousins, etc and NEVER friends. It must not interfere with business and I prefer they come in early (before the day starts). I don’t allow big jobs like engine swaps or transmission, that’s taking it too far.

. LOL thin crust, original... that's already to many decision to make on a Saturday. My Saturdays are either working around the house or trying to decide on a 5 iron or a 6.... Thanx for the invite. Gonz

I hate to repeat myself, but once again I tip my hat to my fellow shop owners that truly take this industry to another level!

Welcome! It is good to have you! For the record I have no previous automotive background except the 11 years I have running our shop. You wouldn't want me working on your car!

First, thank you for serving your country and protecting this great nation, I salute you.

As one of the founders of ASO (AutoShopOwner.com) I want to personally welcome you and look forward to sharing your thoughts and opinions. You will have the opportunity to network with ASO shops across the country and around the world. If you need help, just ask. ASO will be there for you.

Again, welcome and best of luck to you,

Joe Marconi

I agree whole heartedly. We went from a DOS program to RO Writer just because of this. I liked my dos program for the whole picture much better than RO Writer dumps into QB. Once you have the vin in, you can shop and compare if need be to see who has the part and price. Order from there and it puts it on the work order. Tracks everything. We still have to make phone calls if a dealership part is needed. After making the whole estimate for everything, call the customer and he picks and chooses what he wants, then all we have to do is decline it for what he doesn't want. The next time in, it brings it up to remind you to ask the customer if he wants to do what he passed on the time before. Estimate done for you.

The better you can automate the customer process the more productive you become and the more prodcutive your shop becomes, which adds dollars to your bottom line. We all need to use technolgy to not not help us in the shop, but also in the front office.

Nice way to take the world, the community, and the customer and bring them into a that "small world" ... Makes for a better relationship with that customer. Me, I know I need to keep my back into my work in order to keep the doors open, but, I will stop and chew the fat with any customer that wants to take a moment to talk - about anything. (religion and politics I tend to stay as neutral as possible) The whole idea is to make that big world feel like that perverbial small town. I like the concept.

In addition, I use the same concept with all of my suppliers. They are as important to me as my customers are.

 

Nice work Joe. Thumbs up !

Thanks for your great input. I see you truly understand customer relations and how it has a positive affect on your business and the auto industry.

Your comment on your suppliers is right on track. You actually stole part of my thunder for my next tip.

That's a perfect situation of what really happens. It has happened to me too; a customer gives us the ok to do the work, only to find out later that they can't pay for the repair. To be honest, there are dishonest business people too, but dont make the "Cure" worse than the "Crime". /quote]

 

A few years ago we had a customer who blew his engine up by overheating it on the interstate. We give him a price on a used engine with a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty. It took a few days to get the part in and to get the engine changed out. He was calling every few days to check on it. Then he stopped checking. When we got it done we tried and tried to contact him but we never heard from him again not even to this day and that has been about 4 years. We came out all right. We went the mechanic's lien process and got a title. My service manager drove the car for about a year (gas was near $4.00 and it was a Mazda Protege). Later we sold it to a kid who had blown up his Dodge Stealth (owned one week) and got enough money to cover the repair.

 

At least it worked out. I know shop owners that were not so lucky.

 

Happy Easter, BTW

I have to file on several each year. Most of the time the car isn't worth the bill that's owed. But, at least I have "something" to get some of the cash back. I would have to read this law as it's written and interpreted.... sometimes bad information spread out there by the news media is as bad as stupid laws put into affect by the legislation. However, it sounds more like it's the jerks that can't really repair cars is the reason this law is out there.. Joe, again... totally agreement... it's just stupid what the law will do with situations like this. (BTW, read your comments on the web page too)

 

If I lived in Iowa... every single job would have to be paid for in full up front, and any additional work deemed necessary would have to be paid for before completion.

Sounds like you could go to a shop ... have them install a motor or something ... come back in a day or two... and say... "I can't pay for it.... give me my car." and there ain't a whole lot you can do about it. THAT STINKS ! !

That's a perfect situation of what really happens. It has happened to me too; a customer gives us the ok to do the work, only to find out later that they can't pay for the repair.

To be honest, there are dishonest business people too, but dont make the "Cure" worse than the "Crime".

It’s important to connect with your customers. Take for example: When a customer informs you that she needs her car back by 4:00 because her son has a soccer game, make a note of that. Make sure you have that car ready on time when she picks up the car that afternoon, say something such as, “Tell your son good luck at the game”. She will remember that more than the service you performed.

Here's another tip. We use the customer remarks field in Mitchell Manager to make notes about the customer. If Tom Smith enjoys playing golf, we make a note of that. The next time Tom brings his car in for service, we ask, “How’s your golf game going”? It’s a nice way to connect with your customer and trust me, being personal will help you with sales.

Joe, I agree with you. However, I have had a couple of times that I had to reign in excessive use. It was usually something like a divorce or domestic situation leading to the abuse.

That is a different story, and in that case the tech's head is not on straight anyway. I have been down that road too and it's something that's part of life. But you can't make policy based on the extreme. That's the way I feel, anyway.

And, of course, no cell phone use while road testing, AGREE.

What's your cell phone policy?

 

Cell Phone Policies by Elite - AutoPro Workshop Blog post - Where Professionals Gather for Better Business

I read Elite’s article and I “kind of” agree. I understand the need to concentrate and the safety issue. And if this were 1995 I would totally agree, however…this 2010 and the world has changed. Many people today don’t even own a land line and are too accustomed to staying in touch with their family via the cell phone.

I would not feel right if I did not give my people the same privileges that I enjoy. How can you tell a tech that his wife can’t call or needs to leave a message and their husband can only return a call during break time or lunch? Would you accept that? Not me. If my wife calls or a family member calls, it’s important.

Having said that; I don’t allow cell phone abuse or in any way encourage cell phone use. I tell my entire staff, please do not abuse the privilege, you can have the cell phone on you, but it is only to receive emergency calls. I also tell them that I know that having a cell phone attached to your hip is part of how our society functions. This is my policy and I never have an issue.

They told me to make the repairs and we made them but they never came and picked up the cars or paid for them. They couldn't pay the bills. Both are young people in their late 20's-30's. I will have a 2000 Hyunda Elantra for sale if anyone is interested.

The good news is that you kept the cars. I had a few cases where I trusted the customer. I will never to that again. I lost money.

You will get your money, it's just that the process can add stress.

People don't realize what we go through, right?

I have two cars like that right now that I have had for several months and I am finally going to go the mechanics lien route on.

What happened, they could not pay the bill?

I would like to see the exact wording of the law, but it seems as though a written estimate is a must and if you are going to go over that estimate you need to have the customer come down to the shop and sign an agreement to the overages. This is another case of protecting the guilty while harming the innocent. It looks as though all shops are now considered crooked. I wonder how long before NY follows suit?

Here we go again...What about the honest repair shop. What about the people who try to get away without paying or agree to a job only to find out they can't pay. Why is always the "Dishonest Shop". Here's my reply I made at the end of the article:

Another short-sighted stupid political move. What about the honest repair shop and the dishonest people who don't want to pay thier bills. Ever think about that???

Joe the nice thing is that those "friends" who were looking for something for nothing or nearly nothing have been replaced by paying customers and now a lot of them have became friends. I think it was Carnegie who said that "A friendship based upon business is better than business based upon friendship."

 

I still think 25% markup is way too low.

I like that quote from Carnegie.

Once shop owner realize what it cost to be in business and to earn a profit, the fear of charging goes away. Why are so many shop owners afraid to charge what they are worth? Is it really the fear that "some" people may complain? SO WHAT if someone can get it cheaper from Pep Boys or AutoZone. I truly don't care.

My mark up is a reasonable markup at 50% on parts and 70% on labor. That's needed to pay my bills, pay my people, put food on my table and put a little aside for the future. Don't I owe that to myself?

I am not ashamed of what I charge and when I person says to me; “I can get that part cheaper”, I reply and say, “YES YOU CAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR ME”?

Priceless! A picture is truly worth a thousand words!!!

My service writers struggle when charging for interment problems, especially when the problem cannot be duplicated. Here my policy:

“Mrs. Customer, unfortunately we cannot duplicate the problem you are experiencing, but would like to perform a few tests based on the symptoms you describe. These tests may help us by analyze the problem and will let us know if all the major functions of your on board computer, fuel system and ignition system are working properly, The cost for these test is “X” dollars. Remember Mrs. Customer, the problem is not occurring at this time and further testing may be required”.

I would like to hear how you handle this and your policy.

Joe,

When you added the 2nd Service Writer. How did you pay him. We now pay to #1 Service Writer 8% of all sales of the techs.

Great question! I pay my service writers a base pay with a sales bonus. BUT, here's the key; base your bonus not on sales alone, but on gross profit dollars.

For example: If we had a week where we install 2 engines and 2 transmissions, our gross sales may “look good” on paper, but what is the actual profit dollars? When you do the math, the gross profit (parts/labor) may only be 40%.

Let’s say you have a week with similar sales but you filled your week with brake jobs, maintenance work, steering work and suspension work. The gross profit on these sales may be 60% or better. The sales amount for both weeks were the same, but there is more money in your pocket.

You need to sit down and calculate your break-even. Create a sales goal based on the amount of money over break-even.

I add 20% above break-even as my goal. Anything above that amount I give my service writers a percentage of those sales. I also track what each service writer sells (Mitchell Manager tracks this).

My top writer receives a larger portion of the bonus and so on.

If you need further clarification on this program, please let me know.

BTW; Gross profit dollars is calculated by adding you labor dollars sold plus the profit on your parts.

Labor dollars for week= $10,000

Parts sales for week = $10,000

Total gross sales = $20,000

Profit on parts = $5,000

Total gross profit dollars: $10,000(labor) + $5,000(profit from parts) =$15,00