Joe Marconi

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.

He is in commercial real estate, big properties: Malls, apartment complexes, shopping centers, etc.

I will be on vacation this week, flying out to California to visit my son. I will try to check in from time to time. Keep things going on ASO for me while I'm away. I know all of you will do a great job! Joe Marconi

Perhaps in some Fairy Tale world, all techs are getting along nice, helping each other, not worrying about the other guy, just trying to do the best he can and can handle anything that enters his bay. But, reality is reality and techs are people and we need to understand that many have limitations and emotions can and will get in the way more often than we like. It is a delicate balance to give all my techs the opportunity to earn a good wage and dispatch the work fairly. But in a real world, it doesn’t always work out and animosity begins to set in. I cannot show favoritism either. That will kill the shop for sure. I deal with the emotions as best I can. I give praise to my techs for a great job and thank them often. Some things cannot be totally solved; this is one of those things.

All great points! You would be shocked at how some shops treat their part suppliers. As we all know, a little "honey" goes a long way.

We all know all too often the frustrations of dealing with your local part suppliers at times; wrong parts, defective parts, delayed deliveries, on and on. Although it may appear as if there is a conspiracy, I don’t think they intentionally want to do your business harm. The fact is we need our part suppliers and we need on-time deliveries. Productivity equates to profit and having the right part delivered in a timely manner is critical. We started a policy to be respectful and courteous over the phone to all parts counter people and to the drivers. We make a little small talk and make sure we thank the drivers for the fast service. You be surprised how people react to a little humanity for a change, after getting beat up all day. Think of it this way….if your shop stands out because you’re known has the “nice guys”; I promise you if there are 2 deliveries going out at the same time, your shop will be the first stop.