Joe Marconi

We need this dialogue to come together as an industry. As a veteran with more than 35 years in this business I have nothing but the upmost respect for shop owners. These are the people that keep this country moving. We work hard and we sacrifice for the public, sometime, with little to show for it. It may be a dream, but its worthwhile chasing that dream. Great topic, what else is on your mind????????

Yes this is a very stimulating topic. This is what this forum is all about; the free exchange of ideas and opinions. Thank you for initiating it. Now back to the topic. It most certainly is not baiting. I would not resort to that. If you knew me better you would never suggest that. Maybe, I’m not explaining myself correctly. We explain all the expected charges up front. We never, never, Never, NEVER say we offer a free diagnosis or free analysis. We don’t market it that way or advertise it that way. And with regular customers, the issue never comes up. Now, let me try to re-visit this again: A customer arrives at the front counter and says: “My check engine light is on, how much to fix it.” Our upfront policy WAS to tell the customer the analysis charges and sell it. We then explained that after the analysis, we would discuss the repair. The problem with this is that some customers see no value in this because we really do not know what is happening with the car before we do some sort of scan. There is also a fear about the total cost of the job (analysis plus repair). Plus my advisors were spending too much time educating the customers. Most of time they did go for the analysis, but I can tell that some customers had some issues. So we came up with this strategy. If we feel that there is an issue, we offer the customer a complimentary scan to get a direction where we need to go. We fully explain that depending on what we see with the scan you will be looking at “X” amount for the analysis fee. And after the analysis is done, we will discuss the repair. We have an easier time with this stadegy and the customer feels like we are looking out for his best interest. We try to see this from the customer’s point of view. As for you scenario of my customer out of town; this industry is so all over the map, I can be worried about what may happen in that case. We get challenged on procedure every day, because there are no standards. You propose standards, that’s all well and good, but that will take some doing to accomplish, if it is even possible. Does this make better sense?

Let me try again to express myself. I am not suggested we offer a free diagnosis. Nor do I want to follow the path of AAMCO by advertising “We’ll check it for Free”. Nothing is for free, we all know that. My entire business model is predicated on honesty and integrity, not bait and switch. Consider this: How many times has a customer (old or new) come to you with a check engine light and before you rolled the car in the bay you went through an entire presentation on the complexity of the system and all the charges associated with the analysis only to find that the gas cap was loose? Or, what about a customer that is on her way to work and the check engine light comes on, but really can’t leave the car. Tell me none of you ever scanned the car just to give her peace of mind? Here is the concept: Explain to the customer that until we access the error codes, we do not have a direction on what tests we need to perform. Offer to the customer the initial scan with the understanding that after that scan is done, we will explain the necessary steps needed to complete the actual diagnosis. We tell them that this scan is not in any way a diagnosis. We actually give them a price range before hand. I know that there will be those times that the customer will say, thanks for the info and goodbye. But we take that chance every time we try to sell anything. I feel that this approach helps to comfort the customer. My analysis charges are more than the local dealers in my area. They come to me and pay more because of the value and service we offer.

Ok, I hear you all. I knew this would make heads spin. I don't think I am getting my point across. I am not suggesting we give anything away, I am suggesting that we change our approach. I treat all customers as if they just spent thousands. Why? Because if I create a customer, that customer will be worth thousands to me in time. We are a high volume shop (200plus car per week). I get a lot of new customers each day. My sales have up because I learned that in order to keep my bays full I need to see what the customer sees. Their perception is the only reality that matters. Just think of this: I rather spend the time with the customer selling the DIAG work than trying to defend my charges before I even looked at the car. That's it...Simple. I have not given anything away...I have in fact increased my DIAG sales with happier customers.

No, think about it. Let the customer see value first. Let them know you are looking out for their best interest. I have to tell you, my advisors are spending less time defending themselves and more time selling DIAG work. Just think about it. A customer says, "My check Engine Light is on". You tell him that it will be "X" amount to do the analysis. The customer "thinks", you have not even looked at the car yet. All I am saying is that we change our approach. What if it just a loose gas cap, you never checked the car and they go somehere else. That may look bad for you. We now say: “Mrs. Jones the check engine light is on because the vehicles’ on-board computer system has detected a fault. Depending on what the fault is, certain tests are going to be needed to accurately diagnose the problem. Let’s do a quick scan on your car’s computer to see what direction we need to go. After the scan I will explain in detail the tests needed and the cost to do those tests.” I am telling you, we just started with this approach and with great success. We sell just has many analysis jobs, if not more now. And, we have not changed our pricing.

I feel the same what. It would have been nice to have Farve in the Super Bowl. He is a real warrior. I say the Colts by 2 touch downs.

I agree totally. I would have serious issue with that part supplier! But, let me plays devil’s advocate for a minute: We all know that there is no such thing as a "Free Diagnosis". It's either bait or switch type advertising or they are building the DIAG into the price of the job. We do a lot of diagnostic work and get tons of people coming to us for check engine lights and the first thing they ask is…How Much for the Analysis?. For a lot of new customers, it’s always a battle to try to educate them. The time spent is a killer and many say ok, but don't like it. My fear is that we will be perceived as high-priced with all other services and may not have the chance to gain a customer... So, here is what we are doing as an experiment. When a customer now asks what we charge for a check engine we offer them a complimentary scan to see what direction we need to go and what tests are needed to determine the cause the check engine light. So far, we have had NO issues and actually sell the DIAG time after the initial scan. We have maintained our price structure and eliminated the grief. What do you think?????

Oh, boy! I hope my wife does not read this...it sounds like my house!

This goes beyond overselling...this is stealing. Plus, it make us all look bad, that's my fear.

Great work Alex, you will be our Internet "Go To" guy.

I hope the public differentiates this situation from the rest of the honest, hard working independents. This form of marketing from mass merchandisers needs to stop. I hear of these things all the time. I have a tire shop around the corner from me that advertises $59.95 brake jobs. When my customer mentions this to me I simply tell them that I REPAIR $59.95 brake jobs. Let’s hope this is a lesson for national chains. It seems that their business model and code of ethics are not the same as ours.

I have the Snap On Solus, it's a nice tool. You will need to buy different modules for the brands of cars you work on. Another nice scanner we have is the new wirelesss Launch. I do not have any first hand knowledge on the OTC or Mac Mentor.

Gonzo, you hit the nail right on the head! We as independents need to keep the dialogue going. That’s what AutoShopOwner is all about. I thank YOU for your contribution. Understanding the true cost of doing business is precisely the reason why we need to charge for analysis work. The problem is that I don’t think enough shop owners have taken the time and calculated a budget or a have done a CODBA (Cost of doing business analysis). Once you do the math, you know exactly what you need to make per job, per week, per day, per minute. That’s a real eye opener. Then you have the other side of the coin with some national mass merchandisers that offer that phony baloney free analysis. This is a form a marketing that prays on people’s emotion just to get masses of customer through the doors. This problem is complicated and we as independents need to stick together on this one.

It is my mission to make AutoShopOwner the "Go To" online forums to voice your opinions, share war stories, knowledge and ideas. We can make a difference if we learn that collectively we are a powerful coalition. Getting back to Diagnostics charges, I believe that if we don’t stick together and charge a decent price for analysis work, it will greatly affect our ability to reinvest in future technology. My shop has a least 6 scanners (I lost count) and every time I turn around I’m buying an update. When I hear that there are shops that are afraid to charge diagnostic charges or remove the charge if they get the work, it makes me crazy. We are all in the same boat; we don’t work for free and need to earn a profit. We owe to our families, employees and to ourselves.

I felt bad for Farve. He got beat up pretty bad, but hung in there. He is one tough SOB. They should have won that game.

Thanks, I think I will check this out.

Using diagnostic work as a lost leader is a business killer. It cheapens the entire process. As far as gioving it away, they don't. It's more of a bait and switch. If you go to the AAMCO site you will see that the Scan is free, that's it. All other testing is priced accordingly. I like to build my customer base. I don't like marketing that gets people thru the door because of a coupon. You have great posts, I am enjoying the conversation.

You are in a tough position. Is there any chance to increase service/repair and maintenance work? I am glad that you see the power of AutoShopOwner.

The automotive service and repair has changed in the past 20 years to a point that it's almost unrecognizable. You know as well as I do that we need to shift to business model based on maintenance service , not waiting for repairs. Complicated diag work is not where your profit dollars come from. Maintenance and service is.

We are lucky to have you Alex, that's a big task for one weekend.

Jet fans are too used to dissapointment, but I was really praying this year. With a rookie QB and Coach it would have been hard. Manning is just too good. He picked apart the Jets like they were a high school team. The Colts should go all the way.

While I am in agreement with what you say, what you are proposing will be difficult. Our industry is filled with shop owners that are just hanging on for their lives. Many do not understand how giving away valuable diagnostic labor is hurting not only their business, but the entire repair industry. Then we need to consider the mass merchandisers like AAMCO and AutoZone that offer their so-called “free” check engine light check, which we know is baloney. We are fighting forces that may not ever be in flux. I too would not be in business if I did not charge a diagnostic labor charge (notice I never mention time). I equate diagnostic labor charges the way a doctor or hospital charges for certain tests. Your doctor never says you need an x-ray which will take 15 minutes and you also need blood works that takes 30 minutes. No, he just orders the tests and you pay for what the tests are worth. We are too caught up on thinking time and selling time that we have forgotten what the job is worth. I tell my service advisors; “An hour of brain surgery is worth more than an hour of cutting a lawn”. It’s not about time; it’s about what the job is worth. We have two issues to deal with, the public perception of our industry and the lack of salesmanship at the front counters of most auto repair facilities. Think about this; Most service advisors have no trouble selling a hour of labor to replace front brakes and rotors on a Honda Civic that takes about 20 minutes but struggle with selling 1 hour for a diagnostic analysis that usually takes anywhere from an hour to two hours. Right? Anyway, I enjoyed reading your article. Great points, keep them coming!

That's great sound advise!

Can you go into a little detail on how the program works?

Wow, I like that!