Joe Marconi

I agree. To compete in this tough arena, we need to play with the big boys. We have gone to a rotation basis, to give techs off a day during the week and a Saturday every few weeks. This is what we need to do. It’s the way the business is in these times. Our Saturday sales are all gravy for us. We usually hit our numbers for the week by Friday. Saturday is gravy day.

BG offers a variety of plans and services that we can use to market ourselves. Have you heard of their new roadside assistance program call Saftrack?

You are right! What held me back for too many years, like so many others, is that I started out as a mechanic. Once I learned how to be a "business man" and not just a "man in business", I started to grow and make money. We just opened up our second location and looking to open more.

Glad to see you off to the right start!

It does take a little salesmanship to sell some of the services. I have found that if you focus on the benifts and what can happen if you don't do the service, it works better. Plus, with BG, we talk about the Lifetime Protection Plan for cars under 75k and the road side assistance program.

I received a distressing email the other day from a fellow shop owner. The shop owner stated in his email that he was scheduled for surgery the next day and asked if I knew of a tech that wanted temporary work. He went on to say that his other tech (a full time Police Officer), works at his shop between shifts, and with him out of commission due to surgery, he will need help in the shop. This shop owner fills in when the tech is working at his other job. This shop owner has been in business for more than 25 years and well into his fifties. What’s wrong with this picture?

To be honest I didn’t know how to reply to the email. After years of being in business, this shop owner has not grown his business to a position that allows him to take time off, without the worry that the shop can’t run on its own. I’m not talking about leaving early on Friday afternoon. In this case this particular shop owner is scheduled for surgery the next day and while his main concern should be on his personal health and well being, he has the added stress of finding a tech to take his place while he’s out recuperating. And to make matters worse, his other tech has a full time position and career in a different trade. Is this the way a business should be run?

It may sound like I’m passing judgment on this fellow shop owner, but please understand, I know exactly what this person is going through. Back in 1988, I broke my foot playing basketball with a group of friends. Back then my shop centered on me. My job positions included everything from answering the phones, lead tech, service advisor, shop foreman, bookkeeper and janitor. So, when I broke my foot I had no choice but to suck it up and go to work. I was supposed to be on crutches for at least 4 weeks but rarely used them. I didn’t take any time off. My doctor told me to rest a least a week and use the crutches, but I told him I had a business to run. My foot never healed properly and to this day it gives me pain. Another time, I was cutting a piece of steel with a torch to fabricate a section of frame, when the jig broke and a piece of hot metal shot into my hand. It was a serious injury, which required minor surgery and stitches. Again the doctor told me to rest for a few days, but you know the rest of that story. I’m not saying I was wrong with my decisions, at that time I did not know any other way.

The difference is that I learned through the years that if I were the center of my business universe, I would never grow. If all the daily tasks of running a business were solely my responsibility, I would eventually fail. For the first 11 years of my business career, I never took time off, worked 6 to 7 days a week, worked holidays and put in a minimum of 12 hours a day. By 1991 I was physically and emotionally burned out at the ripe old age of 36.

It took me years to turn things around and run my company like a true business. Today I have every position filled by trained, qualified people. My business grew dramatically when I let go of total control and put the right people in the right positions. I learned that a well-run business is one that runs without me!

I urge you to ask yourself these questions: Could your business survive if you had to take time off for an extended period of time due to illness or another crisis? Would you still draw your usual income if you could not work for an extended period of time? Do you have people in place that could run your business the way you want it to, without you? And, do you have systems and policies in place to insure your business runs smoothly until you return?

If you answered no to any or all of theses questions, your business needs help. The only possible exception to this would be shop owners that work alone or have one other employee. But, regardless of your size there still needs to be a system that allows the owner to take time off, for either health reasons or just for a well-deserved vacation.

We will be faced with many challenges in the coming years. The better you become at running your business, the better chance you will have at thriving, and not merely surviving. Look at your business and do some sole searching. Not just for you, but for your family too. You made the choice to go into business, that doesn’t mean you need to be a slave to it. Have the strength to hire people, put yourself in a position that allows you to grow the business, and take time off. It won’t happen overnight, but it will work. To be successful you need to let go and not let the business control you.

As for my fellow shop owner, I replied back that I would keep my eye out for anyone looking for temporary work, and that if I could help in anyway, to please let me know. When he recovers, I plan on talking to him. By the way, I changed the story details, as not to embarrass or insult him.

Bronxbomber: Are you from the Bronx?

We have every BG product and all their machines. It's a great profit center!

When I get a chance I would like to do some research and report back.

Great point. We need to market value, not price. However, there is a balance and it's important to understand how the customer views our service.

It's been a two and half months since the grand opening of our newly expanded facilty. Business has increased greatly, but not without pain. Check out my blog and read about recent updates and issues.

I would like to know if any shop owner has first hand knowledge. It would be nice to get a discussion going on this matter. In these times, where many shops are hurting, this may be a viable tool.

It's not good for any of us. But, you must admit this type of marketing does not help us either. How many times have you priced a brake job at a fair and honest price only to have the customer question your price because they saw a ridiculously low price? The consumer does always know what things truly cost and many times fooled by this form of advertising.

And now with this junkler clunker program, it's just another bail out for the car makers and dealers. How in the world can we let this happen????

The local coupon publications did not work. For me it’s the wrong type of marketing. It brings in people ONLY looking for that coupon. Next week there off to the next place with their coupon.

I prefer brand advertising. I studied what type of customer is our model customer and then find different forms of media (Radio and TV, mostly) to reach out these people. This has been most affective

We plan on a buget of about 5% of gross sales. We also intend to increase our exposure on the internet, emails and e-newsletters.

I stopped all local penny saver books, newspapers, local coupon magaizines in addition to the yellow book.

My ad in the yellow book will now be a small bold listing. Just in case someone hears about us and needs to look up our phone numbers.

Yes, we have implemented a "Just Say Yes" policy where we try to do whatever we can to accommodate the customer on their terms. We also started a while you wait program and express bays to capture more customers. We also started advertising on TV and radio and stopped most of the paper advertising, including the yellow book. We hired another tech to help with customers who prefer to wait. Our car counts are sales are up this year by almost 20%. It works. You need to forge ahead while everyone else is retreating.

There’s been a lot of optimistic talk and media press lately about the projected increase in business for the independent repair shops due to the closing of many new car dealers. It appears that in order for the Big 3 to survive in a global market, there needs to be a thinning of the herd. The glut of too many domestic dealers has put the Big 3 at a competitive disadvantage with their Asian rivals. This would appear to be good news for us as independent repair facilities. But I wouldn’t bet the farm on this data…not just yet, anyway.

Here’s my position on this topic. GM, Ford and Chrysler will no doubt continue to reduce the number of dealerships as they restructure their businesses in order to regain their status among the world’s leading carmakers. This will take time, but it must be done. The government will also be a major factor in the outcome of this transformation, especially for GM and Chrysler.

Right now the public views GM, Ford, and Chrysler as troubled and failing. The press tells us how people are reluctant to buy American cars. The government has chastised the American carmakers past sins with claims of poor quality, poor business plans, ugly car models, and incompetent leaders who head these companies. I’m not going to debate public perception or the government’s view on this, but what I will tell you is that, if anyone thinks the domestic carmakers are going away or will end up as powerless companies, they are mistaken.

When the dust settles and with the dead wood removed, the dealers that are left will be in a stronger position then ever before. They will have effectively reduced the competition that prevented them from succeeding in the past. Plus, the dealerships that do survive will get full support and backing from their respective carmakers. GM, Ford, and Chrysler will fight with all their power to insure the success of their new dealer stores and will have the money to do it. In short, beware of what is coming.

As a young boy, my father taught me that there is always opportunity, especially during bad economic times. Large national chains will view the closing of the new car dealers as opportunity. A large dealership facility with a great location may be very inviting and fit into the expansion model of many national chains. Many dealership owners, after losing their franchise, will also view this as opportunity to reopen as large used car and service centers. That’s not to say they will be successful. Part of the reason that many new car dealerships are failing is their inept ability to provide quality customer service.

Independent auto repair facilities are still the first choice of the American motoring public and lead the way as far as customer service is concerned. But I do believe that the changing landscape of the auto industry will have an influence on our business as the public’s curiosity and confusion may direct them toward these newly founded businesses.

For us, independent auto service companies, there is also opportunity. But that window of opportunity will be short-lived. We must act now. What are you doing today that will secure your future? The timing has never been better to capture a larger market share in your area. You have the power to make a difference. But you must take action. You must increase your presence in your community and show strength during these tough times. People will remember that, when the economy turns around.

Consumers are confused right now. Many don’t know where they should get their car serviced. Many that were going to the dealers, are now seeking alternatives. You can capitalize on this. Create and direct all your advertising and marketing efforts toward increasing and securing your customer database. Your ad campaigns should focus on the fact that your company has been there through the difficult economic times and will be there in the future.

Don’t make the mistake and assume that the customers will flock to your door because a few dealerships in your area have closed. You need to be proactive to get those people to your bays.

Opportunity is knocking truly at our doors. The question is: How many will go and answer it?

You bring up great points. I need we need to find a balance between offering great package pricing that takes care of the customer's needs during these difficult times and remaining profitable. With that said, I also think we need to work hard to maintain our customer base too. And that means being able to be flexible.

I agree with you. One other thing to think about. The dealerships that survive will get full support from their parent company (GM, Ford, Chrysler). This is a concern of mine.

Look my my email newsletter article this weekend on this subject.

I think this a new business model formula, which is quite different from our thinking years ago.

Do you mean that with the increase car, there is drop in ARO?

My car counts are up too, with a decrease in ARO. We implemented a "Just Say Yes" policy. With this policy we accept walk-ins and appointments based on the customer’s needs. It means we are doing more basic services, but the up side is we are becoming more convenient to the consumers and it's putting us on an even plane with the larger tire stores in the area. Overall, my sales are up.

I have 10 bays; it would hard to handle this policy with smaller shop.

You will see many dealers get more aggressive with expanding their services too. Even dealers that loose their franchise may re-open as a used car dealer, tire store, etc. I just read of one case in Tire Magazine today.

Be aware, the dealerships will not fade away like so many of us have hoped.

I'm betting that many shops this past year are exploring the idea of diversifying their businesses. Examples: used cars, detailing, towing, etc.

Your thoughts?

I agree. I don't know how many times the consumer can ride this price roller coaster!

I wonder if the recent rise in the price of gas will have an affect on business this summer?