Joe Marconi

Yes, BG should be able to supply all BG machines, product and service on the machines.

We have 2 facilities on the same property, a total of 10 bays. One building has six bays. In this building we do all major repairs: engines, transmissions, diagnostic work, etc. In the new 4-bay facility we have 3 quick maintenance bays and an alignment bay. In the new building we do LOF's, state inspections, tires, brake work and all other maintenance work. We are large enough and can cater to most walk-ins. One of the reasons for expanding was to increase car counts. My marketing strategy is a bit different than what we were taught years ago. We once concentrated on high ARO. I like to create opportunity through high car counts. I do track ARO, but want high traffic. If you want to build a business, you need to increase market share. One of the easiest ways to do that is to make your shop convenient for the consumer. 4 years ago, I scheduled my work by appointment only. I had the 6 bays at the time and we did about 80 cars per week. In 2007 we started a new program: "JUST SAY YES", where we tried to accommodate the customer on their time. We increase car counts to 120 per week and sales followed. We jumped to 180-200 the very first week we opened the new building, largely in part due to this strategy.

Thanks. Can you believe it! No one gave them a chance. A rookie QB and a rookie coach. Can't get better than this.

If you’re reading this article that means that you are still in business and have weathered the economic storms of 2009. While we are not out of the woods yet, things are definitely looking better than a year ago. 2010 will continue to bring us challenges and obstacles, but we all know that whatever doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger. Independent shop owners across this nation have proven their resolve and refused to participate in the recent recession. When thousands of dealers shut their doors and unemployment tipped 10%, automotive shops found a way to survive. I am not saying it was easy. I have heard from many frustrated shop owners this past year that questioned whether they should go on. Some did give up, but most did not. The fight goes on and 2010 will once again test your resilience. Many of your customers are still out of work and many small local businesses and local contractors are suffering. Both business and personal bankruptcy is still rising. These issues will no doubt continue to impact your day to day operations. We have already seen taxes go up in many areas and who knows what the health care calamity will bring us. The government will continue to spend like a drunken sailor on shore leave, which will have deep, long lasting affects on our economy for generations. The housing market had a few up ticks in 2009, but is still a long way from a recovery. Too many years of unrealistic growth combined with too much subprime mortgage lending nearly killed a once-touted safe haven for your money…real estate. Also, let’s not forget the war on terror, the global warming issue, the green movement, the volatile stock market or emerging Chinese dominance. Ok… I got the bad news out of the way. Now, here’s the good news. When the dust settles, who do you think will be there as a shining star? You will. Because the success and survival of your business rests totally on the person you look at each day in the mirror….You! You have no bail out. You rely on your own resources to make things work. You are tested each day and somehow get things done. That makes you strong. We are all sitting on a gold mine of opportunity. It may be hard to see, but it’s real. However, it’s an opportunity, not a gift. You will need to prepare for it and act swiftly. Those of us that plan now will reap the benefits later. There has never been a better time in history for the automotive service and repair industry. The motoring public is confused. They have lost faith in the American car companies. The government bail out to GM and Chrysler has made them look weak in the eyes of the consumer. Ford stands alone, not accepting a bail out. This may prove to be their silver lining. New car sales in 2009 were dismal for most car companies, including Toyota and Honda. Empty new car dealerships sent consumers scrambling for alternatives. We need to take advantage of what is happening in the economy and use it to our benefit. We need to show strength. Our day-to-day attitude must be positive toward customers and with our employees. Take a look at your operation, everything from the exterior facility appearance, waiting room, bathrooms, shop appearance, uniforms and everything else about your business. Make sure that your shop looks top-notch. I know it’s hard, but spend the money and make improvements to your operation. This will help boost your image and help increase confidence from your customers and the potential customers in you market area. Review your advertising and marketing strategy. Be consistent with your advertising. While others are pulling back on advertising, you need to keep forging ahead and stay in the consumer’s eye. Provide the very best in customer service. This is an area where you must not fail in. People will judge you more on how they are treated at the front counter than what brand of parts you install or what type of equipment you use. Trust me on this one. Customer service will make or break your business. Listen to your customer, they will tell you in which direction you will need to go. Your success in the coming years will be directly related to the level of customer service you provide. Make sure you have the right people at the front counter and answering the phone. Lastly, work on your leadership skills. As the business owner, you are the company’s leader. This puts you in a tough position where hard choices and decisions will have to be made. Make those decisions with the best of your abilities and don’t second guess yourself. You can’t be right all the time and being too fearful of making a mistake can cause indecisiveness, which will hold you back from achieving your goals. The good thing about making a mistake is the knowledge you gain from it. Be supportive of the people who work for you. Encourage them to be the best they can be. Promote the good things they do, rather than focusing only on what goes wrong. People want to be appreciated and recognized for the work they do. Remember, happy employees boost morale, which increases productivity and creates happy customers. Being in business is not easy, if it were, everyone would be in it. Being an auto shop owner in today’s economy is extremely difficult, but this career was our choice. The reward for being in business is making your enterprise your personal success story. Don’t worry about the size of someone else’s business. It’s not about building an empire like Disney World or McDonalds; it’s more about you and building your empire. That is the true measure of an entrepreneur. Good luck and prosper in 2010!

That's good; maybe I am reading it wrong. New York can be a tough area with a lot of negative talk. Plus, I am pretty much upbeat and positive all the time. It may be that when I don't see that same passion I confuse it with anger .

I have 2 advisors for 6 techs and one foreman. Like you, I do jump in where needed. I also have a women in a separate office who takes care of the books and answers the phone. In a busy week we can write 200 plus cars. Answering the phone can be an issue too. Right now in the winter, the service staff is adequate, but I don't think it will be adequate when we get into our busy season starting in March. I think I will test the waters and hire another person in service. Someone who can handle walk-ins, the phone, follow up on part orders, etc. I don’t want my techs near a phone or getting involved with pricing or talking to customers. You are right, that’s old school. I still go to management seminars where they tell you that the service writer should have the tech talk to the customer. Are you kidding?

Jets fans are used to suffering. My son who lives in L.A. is actually going to the game. As a Jet fan my favorite expression is..."There's always next year" We will see...

I too have upgraded my security system and now use cameras. It's sad, but I guess it’s a sign of the times.

Here is a great way to boost morale and get your people to think more like a team. Last spring I arranged a trip to the NY Auto Show with all my people. We went as a group and afterward went out to eat in a nice resturant. Everyone had a great time. There is another car show in Rockland County NY at the end of January and I have another trip planned. Bringing your staff together in a non-business atmosphere will boost morale. They will also see that the boss is human.

Is it me or so people in general appear more angry than usual? Is it due to the end of the holidays, or the winter, or the economy or all the other bad news they hear? Maybe, I'm too sensitive, but more people than usual who I talk to these days, are very negative and in bad moods. What have you seen?

I have been to many seminars and read countless articles about the "perfect number" of service advisor per tech. I know that a shop with not enough service personnel will hurt productivity. The waiting time for techs to get approvals is critical to the shop's bottom line. Plus, the effectiveness of how well a service advisor can sell is also critical. I would like to know what other shop owners feel is a "perfect" number, or is there such a thing?

This is totally non-auto related, but I do love football. I am big Jet's fan and have been since the days of Joe Namath (giving away my age, right?). Anyway, would like hear from other football fans out there; predications, thoughts?

Trust me, that's my goal. If this forum can help the industry, we will all propser. It's my mission!

You words are sad, but quite true. I know too many shop owners that fit your description. I need to be honest; I too was headed in that same direction. I had to reach near failure total burn-out before I woke up. It took me years to turn my life around. I wasted a lot of years. I was a great tech but a very poor businessman. For the past 15 years I have been working on my business and made great strides. I am not special. I just could not go on killing myself and sacrificing my life and family. Today, I manage the business and look for ways to keep growing. One of my goals through AutoShopOwner.com is to share this knowledge that I gave gained. I firmly believe that in order to become a complete human being and continue to grow, you need to help others.

Great point..."does the shop run you?" Understanding breakeven is vital to a shop's success. Set your goals higher than breakeven. I set my sales goals based on breakeven plus a return on investment. The profit above breakeven is what really counts.

Lots of widsom here, I hope everyone reads this.

Well, sharing the hell stories helps bare the pain.

First, I love that Army Ranger you have. Coming from a military family, that's great! Your story is more bizarre than mine. How dumb can people be? If you don't like the price, go somewhere else. Why make it a point or a mission to go out of way to hurt someone? I don't get. After all these I still do not know why some people act way they do. We need to look at the positive and all the great customers we have. Forget about what we cannot change.

I did think of offering him something, but his nasty attitude really turned me off. I am a business man, but I am a "man" first. Don't some things transcend business? If you have an issue, why can't we discuss it like gentlemen? Maybe your right, the problem is with him.

A customer accused me the other day of being too high priced on a brake job. He actually called back to complain. This customer has only been here twice. The funny thing is that we did the job in a timely manner (he waited for the job), the service advisor explained in detail exactly what needs to be done, we informed him at his last visit that he would need brakes soon and the price for the job was fully explained before we started and was itemized in detail. I got the phone call when he called back, but no amount of reasoning would make him happy. I said to him, “So you not questioning the quality of the job, the quality of the parts, the fact we did it right away for you and that all the charges were explained in detail before we started?” He just kept on saying we were too high. At this point I thanked him for his business and said hope to see you soon….although I don’t think I will ever see hi again. I would you have handled this?

Great info. This is how we help each other. The Power Of Networking!

Follow up: I also got back a refund from the insurance broker for $768.00. I am going to make a point to look at everything that passes my desk and ask questions. Everyone should do the same. Don't assume anything.

While I do agree that all businesses must track key numbers and recognize certain trends, I do not take that as the only criteria. I have been to many management training seminars and clinics and have taken countless home study courses. Numbers are great, but real world is better. My philosophy is to look at each shop and find out what works for them. I really don’t think you can use a benchmark number in California and say it holds true in Rocky Mountain N.C . Every business is different with different fixed expenses, goals, employee wages, labor rates, rents, etc. A shop owner needs to sit down with his/her accountant and find out that they need to turn a profit. So, while we need to understand the numbers of the business, it’s our numbers that really count.

Let's start with search optimization. I hired an outside firm to take a look at my web site. They made some key suggestions about changing the home page which greatly helped with search optimization. I did not realize how important key words and phrases were on the home page. Plus, it was not that expensive to do that. My most effective forms of advertising: Radio, TV, direct mail though the purchase of local mailing lists and being involved with community events.

Consumer education is a start. My only concern is how to overcome ads like the Ammco commercial. People sometimes hear what they want to hear. Also, sometimes, their brother in-law who sells shoes has more credibility than we do. You bring up a great point when you say your regular customer do not question you. The same with us. What is comes down to is that we need to continue to build customer trust through honesty and integrity. Also, we must realize that we cannot be everything to everyone.