Joe Marconi

Now that's a great idea! Create excitement is a great marketing tool.

I like Jasper, good company to work with.

If there is one thing I will never understand is why some husbands send their wife in for car service and instruct the wife not to make any decisions until HE is informed. It always ends up with what I call “the phone relay”. We inform the wife what the car needs, she calls the husband, the husband relays a few questions, the wife relays the questions to us, we respond to the question and the relay begins another round. Why can’t the husband speak for himself? What kind of man sends his wife to get the car serviced, but will not allow her to make decisions? Here’s a recent story: I gave a women a price of $300.00 for 2 tires and an alignment for her 2008 VW Jetta. The wife called the husband, he told her we were too high and she told us that her husband can get the same job for half the price. I patiently told her, “Please ask your husband that I would really like to know where you could get 2 tires and an alignment on a 2008 Jetta for only 150 bucks! After 6 relays calls back and forth I insisted on speaking to the husband! About 30 minutes later, he called. He tried to act tough and started to dictate to me what he wanted. I listened but did not get defensive. I did not focus on his tactics. I firmly stated what the car needed and he said, go ahead and do the job. When the wife came to pick up the car, she looked embarrassed. I did not want to put her in the middle of this. I felt bad for her and wonder if I did the right thing by insisting to talk to the husband. How would you have handled the situation?

Giving away chocolate hearts for Valentines was such a big hit, I plan to do something at every holiday. The dollar store had small boxes of chocolates for a buck a piece! I bought a few dozen, not a huge investment, but what an impact on the ladies! (And men too) In the past, I only had give-aways for Christmas. This was unexpected, that’s what made it special. Next holiday is St. Patrick’s Day.

We did more transmission and engine replacements last year than in any other year. People are keeping their cars longer. The only problem I see that many are putting of preventive maintenance. When they come in needing brakes all around and 4 tires, they don’t have the budget to perform maintenance work. In general, the next few years should be positive for us.

I went to the dollar store and bought a few dozen small heart shape boxes of chocolates. I started giving them out to customers today who were in for service, for Valentine’s Day. What a hit, especially with the women. They loved it! If there is a dollar store near you, I recommend doing it.

Many don't know this, but in New York, you do not have to post a labor rate. So, I don’t post it. All I am required to do is to let the public know how I calculate my labor prices. My sign in my customer waiting area states: “Labor rate may be computed by either hourly rate, which is multiplied by clock hours and / or flat rate manual. Most labor costs are charged by method of menu pricing only. E.g.: oil service, wheel alignment, wheel balance, tire mounting, or diagnostic analysis. You, as the consumer, have the right to additional information and explanation on labor costs upon request.” I don’t know what the laws are in your area, but my opinion is to get away from talking about time. Many of the jobs we do are menu prices and don’t fall into an hourly labor rate. For example: a brake job that takes you 30 minutes you may have a menu price for 1 hour. To answer your question, having a number like $82.74 is harder to calculate, but do you really need that to avoid confrontation by the customer? There must be a better way.

How in the world did it get this insane? Can we ever recover from what is going on in this country. It makes you want to give up. Most people have no clue about what is being done to them. And, we keep paying and paying and paying and....

It may be baloney, but consumer perception is their reality.

Strangely, there are not a lot of shops in my area selling nitrogen... yet. But I can see it as an up and coming profit center. Are you going to feature tires, steering and suspension work. If so, it might be worth considering. You can also do a market study in your area to see if there are other shops and national chains that are marketing it. If there are, you can judge the effectiveness in your area.

Informative article. I really need to get on the ball and increase my focus on social media marketing.

I agree with that. The Toyota vehicles of the 90's seemed to be of higher quality. I read in the Wall Street Journal how Japan is concerned that this will hurt the image of the country. Remember as a kid; "Made in Japan" was considered junk. I also think that the USA will try to capitalize on the misfortune of Toyota.

I was wondering how everyone feels about the issues with Toyota and the recent problems they are having with their vehicles.

We should all be thinking about our exit stradegy, and estate planning is one of those touchy areas.

Even con men are affected by the economy? They will bargin a rip off?

We could ask the members for input and start putting together a list. Then we could talk about what we like and do not like. It can be done.

I would appreciate any mention you could make. I feel that AutoShopOwner can provide a great, needed service to our industry, Thanks, Joe

The problem with our industry is the lack of consistently from shop to shop. We continue to portray a low image of the auto service business. Just look at the condition a lot shops are and the overall look of the customer reception area. Not to mention the bathrooms in too many shops. If we are to move from the Stone Age we need to clean up our act across the board. No code of ethics will work if we don’t send the right message to the consumer.

what a nightmare!

I was happy to see the Saints win. It's their first ever win and they are a great team. It was a good game.

My Napolean is about 6 feet. I guess they come in all sizes.

Well, now I know for sure which side of the isle you favor. And, I am right with you. I am going to tell this joke first thing tomorrow at work.

I am a firm believer that we need to tell the customer the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I once feared telling the customer all the issues with their vehicle. I felt this would turn the customer away. I was wrong. I now instruct my service advisors to tell the customer all that is wrong. We will also work within the customer’s budget, if needed, to prioritize the work. I want my customers knowing the complete condition of their vehicle. In the long run, this is better business. As far as you Napoleon, I have one of those too. I think we all do.

I think we need a code of ethics that all shops adhere to. It must be confusing for the public too. You have one shop that resets the light and sends them on their way, while another shop wants to properly diagnose it. It would be nice if we were united, but maybe I just a dreamer.

I think we need to have the mindset that we should constantly be looking for qualified people. Too often we are caught with our pants down, left shorthanded because an employee has decided to leave or we terminated an employee. I use all the methods you pointed out but my favorite is asking around and finding people who are unhappy at their present job. Finding good people is not an easy task and has been a reoccurring nightmare for me.