Joe Marconi

Now that's a great story. It reminds me of one of Sun Tzu's laws from the book, the Art of War: "Win without fighting"

We have had simliliar issues with used car sales people. All we want to do is give an honest inspection. Thinking about it....maybe it should be required that all shops hire x-Army Rangers....

Why I Oppose the Ground Zero Mosque I do not dispute the constitutional right to build a mosque 2 blocks away from where Islamic terrorists flew two jet planes into the World Trade Center Buildings, killing nearly 3,000 people. I do question the morality and intention of such act. Why there? What would we say if a Nazi organization planned on building an educational center next to the concentration camp at Auschwitz? I am a New Yorker, born and raised in the City. I watched those Towner being built, I watched them burn down to the ground on that infamous day, September 11, 2001. I have customers and friends who battled that day, risking their own lives to save others. I organized fund raisers to help families who lost loved ones. Friends of mine who were there that day told me, with tears in their eyes, as they watch their coworkers jump to their death from the windows of the towers. Maybe I am too emotional to think rational, but to me, this mosque is an act of provocation, a symbol of triumph for a twisted ideology that considers anyone but Muslim an enemy. This country was founded on principles, one of which is the freedom of religion. Another is the separation of the Church and State. I am not questioning the constitution, only the strategic location and reasoning behind this mosque.

About 5 years ago I started making notes on all customers who purchased a new car. I found that many were being offered free oil change or oil changes by the dealer. I did not want my customers to go back to the dealer, so I started my own “First Free Oil Change” for all new car purchases. Letters go out to all customers that purchase a new car, congratulating them on their purchase, and a coupon for a complimentary first oil change service. I make it a point that he needs to be their first oil change. The letter also states that they do not have to go back to the dealer in order to maintain their new-car warranty, which we reinforce when they come into us for the oil change service. This program has been very successful at getting customers to come to us after the new car purchase, instead of losing them to the dealer.

The saddest part of this story is that it happens too often to all of us. The insults and rudeness from some people is unbearable at times. I can’t tell you how many times I had to stand there while an idiot customer rants about a situation that in actuality is not really that big a deal. We had a customer come in the other day for an oil change and a state inspection. When we told him that his wipers were torn and would not pass inspection, he went ballistic and started shouting at the service advisor. He said, “that’s impossible I just spent $1,1000 on the brakes and steering at another shop, they would not have missed the wiper blades, you guys are ripping me off”. I heard the commotion and walked into the office to confront this jackass. Politely, BUT STERNLY, I told the man to calm down and stop shouting at my service advisor. I also told him that if he thinks we are ripping him off, he was welcome to leave and go back to the OTHER shop and have THEM inspect the car. (Why he came to us, I don't know). Grudgingly, he told us to put the wipers on. I know this guy will not be back, and truthfully, I don’t care. Thanks again for a great story. For me, this one was therapy…it’s easier to deal with things when I know we are all going thru the same issues.

That's a great tip, Gonzo. Maybe we should post more of our technical war stories. Afterall, if we can help each other to become more profitable in the shop, it helps our business.

A 2002 VW Jetta arrived at our shop the other day, the customer complaint…no air conditioning. The system was fully charged so we started our diagnostic tests and found that there was a pulsing voltage to the a/c clutch. The fan control module would pulse a 12 volt signal every few seconds. After a little research we learned that a faulty compressor clutch could be the fault. We ohmed the clutch coil and found it open. We replaced the compressor clutch and now the FCM sends a constant 12 volt signal and all is ok. Maybe others have seen this, but it stumped me and my lead tech at first. Apparently, if there is a problem with the clutch coil, the voltage will pulse from the FCM. It’s a good thing we did a little research to find how the system works before shot-gunning the problem.

As much as I hate it, I am going to OE cats too. I will keep everyone informed and updated. We do a lot of cats, and not just for emssions failures but also for rust thru.

Glad to hear from you! Welcome back! I understand you need to do what you need to do in order to survive, but I still am not a fan of installing customer supplied parts. Do I do it on occassion...yes. But it's not the rule and my customer understand that. I had a customer come in just today, he tried to install his own shocks and found all the bolts seized. Now, he is embarrssed and asks me to install the shocks he bought already. Of course I am not going to refuse him. Just put togther a game plan and do what is profitable. Stay away from things that are not profitable for you. Stick with with and "ride" it out. It will come around...it always does. Good luck!

Oh, sorry, misunderstood. I was concerned with the fact that we were using an aftermarket cat company and the replacememt cats we were installing were failing.

I don't think the dealerships will win the war on capturing the market share of the motoring public...but, they will surely win a lot of battles. The aftermarket is a resourceful and resilient group. We just need to focus on what we can do and think out of the box. The auto industry is huge and we need to keep things in perceptive. It will be tough in the years ahead. The car makers are purposely building cars that will force many car owners to return to the dealer. Many frustrated shops will throw their hands up in despair and give up too. The amount of money needed to stay ahead of the curve will be burdensome, at best. But we must never give up. We cannot become the blacksmiths of the early 1900’s. We are better than that. We will need to redefine who we are and what business we are in. Changes will occur, be part of it and help create it.

I highly recommend having a car care event. This will promote your business and bring customers to your bays. We have done with great sucess.

In the dark days of the World War II, when it looked as if Germany would overtake Britain, Winston Churchill, one of history’s greatest leaders, understood that for Britain to persevere he needed to maintain high morale and confidence of the people. Churchill worked hard at reducing all signs and symbols of negativity. When the antiaircraft guns were low on shells, he ordered the firing of blanks. This would show a continuous message of strength, rather than silence which would bring fear to the people and give the German bombers a feeling of superiority. When the Germans sank vital supply ships, Churchill pointed out that many hundreds of ship made it through safe and sound, instead giving attention to the ships that were sunk. Churchill never minimized events, but would never allow defeat to enter his mind. As shop owners we are the leaders of our companies. We need to remain strong and positive. Focusing on the negative will hurt morale and only serve to bring down your business. Focus on the positive and watch morale and productivity go up.

Glad to see the problem is solved. I am sure it's a big load off your shoulders.

In my 30 years in business I have seen many different types of people. Some that don't need to be motivated, because they are self motivated. These techs produce because it's the way they are. Then, on the other hand, I have seen techs that are lazy and need to have a "reason" to be motivated. Flat rate works, there is no dispute on my part. It's just that it is up to management and ownership to provide the opportunity to have enough work. This is where I see the problem in many dealerships. When the work is there, the techs makes money,when the shop is slow the tech suffers. Does it equal out? I don't really know for sure. What I do know is this: if a tech works hard and produces he/she needs to get compinsated for that.

Now that is interesting...Cash for Clunkers turns out to as bad as sub prime lending...giving many people an incentive to but something who really should not have gotton a loan to begin with...another bad move from this administration.

Factory cats? Oh, please...I switched to selling factory cats to avoid the issues with the aftermarket.

i don't think it's the heat. I have had seen a high failure rate too, that's why I posted my concern. What bothers me is that alot of these cats were not replaced due to cat failure, but rusted thru. There was no check engine light before, but they came back with a cat error. Something is up and we need to find out.

I judge the economy by consumer confidence. And I can tell you first hand that it's low. My customer are very concerned over the state of the nation and blame a good portion on the current administration. I think we are in tough times the next few years. It will somewhat stabilze as we adjust, but it will be tough.

What a crazy world we live in. The story does not give all the details.

Just got back. Had a great time in San Francisco, very enjoyable. And yes, very proud of my Son.