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Joe Marconi

Management
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Blog Entries posted by Joe Marconi

  3. Joe Marconi
    Managing Your Most Important Asset, Your Employees
    A practical guide for shop owners
     
    By Joe Marconi
     
    We all know that without customers, your business would not survive. The strength of your customer base insures the success of your business and that success is directly related to the quality of people who work in your company. The only way to insure a great customer base is by building a great team of employees.
     
    When Yankee legend Yogi Berra was asked, “What makes a great manager of a baseball team?” Yogi replied, “A great ball club”. His answer may be simplistic in nature, but it speaks volumes. Satisfied customers can never be achieved without happy employees. Perhaps the most difficult part of management is motivating our employees to work toward the common goal of insuring the success of your company.
     
    Managers and owners deal with a variety of issues each and every day; from personality differences to generational differences. Workers from the baby boomer generation often have a tough time understanding younger workers which can cause resentment on the part of your older workforce.
     
    Speaking for myself, a baby boomer, I understood the unspoken hierarchy that the boss was king. And when the boss spoke, you listened. The boss commanded respect and ruled by the doctrine of, “My way or the highway”. I remember the owner at my first job at a gas station in the Bronx telling me the day I was hired: “You’ll work Monday through Saturday, half days on holidays, pump gas when needed and I’ll start you off at minimum wage”. The owner of that gas station never shut the bays doors unless it rained hard or snowed, never turned on the heat and we had no hot water. No one at that shop complained, we didn’t know any better, we were just happy to be working.
     
    Today, we live in a completely different world. I am not here to judge which way was better, only to say that the differences in the generations, gender and cultural must be recognized in order to maintain healthy morale in your workplace. For without a healthy and a cohesive workplace, your business will not thrive. The boss may still be king, but the king needs to earn the respect of the people that work in the company.
     
    Priorities and lifestyles have changed too. Past generations viewed their job and their family as their number one priority. Today, people still hold their careers as vital to their survival and future, but also desire a life beyond work. Time off, free time, family and friends are part of their makeup.
    Motivation becomes the issue. There was a time when just having a job and providing for your family was all the motivation you needed. That may not hold true anymore.
     
    People today are more social. They want a balance between work, family and play. So how do we motivate and get our employees to work as a team? How do we express to them the importance that the quality of their work is directly related to the success of the business? Well, the very first way is to tell them. That’s right; let your people know that you appreciate them. Spend time talking with the people in your company. Praise them when they do a good job. I remember when I worked at a Ford dealership in the late 70’s, the only time you would see the boss come out his office was to reprimand someone. You would cringe when you would see him walk toward you; you knew it wasn’t good.
    Don’t be that boss.
     
    Find things to talk about with your people. Become genuinely interested in what interests them. It could be sports, their last vacation, their family, the weather or anything other than work related. This shows your human side and lets people know that you care about them as a person, not just a worker.
    Get your employees involved in some of the decision making processes. If you are looking to upgrade your tire balancer, hold a meeting and discuss it with your staff. Have them help research the different equipment makers and collectively arrive at a decision. Making your employees feel important enough to help you with a key decision will go a long way in improving morale. That must be you goal. Remember, I can’t say it enough times: Happy employees make happy customers.
     
    I must be honest with everyone. I too once followed the doctrine of “My way or the highway”. However, though the years I have learned that you can be more effective when you get the people in your company working and producing because they want to, rather than because you ordered them to.
    When the people in your company feel the company respects their position and values the work they do, they begin to take ownership and pride in their work. People need to feel that they are making a contribution and that the company they work for recognizes this. Everyone likes to feel important and appreciated.
     
    Start today by walking around the shop and talking to your employees. Pat a few people on the back for a job well done. Let your employees see that you are more than just their boss. Trust me; you cannot grow your business by yourself. You need good people around you. Positive employee morale will result in higher productivity, better customer relations and more income to your bottom line. Employees are people first, workers second. Treat them as people and watch your business grow.
  16. Joe Marconi
    In the year prior to making the decision to grow the business and construct an additional 4 bays, I did extensive research in learning about franchise businesses, quick lubes, national chains and also big businesses such as Disney, GE, Starbucks, McDonalds and others. I wanted to find out why these businesses have a higher percentage of success and growth, as opposed to so many general independent repair shops that seem to struggle and plateau after a few years.
     
    I also visited many quick lubes and national chains to learn how they conducted business. I even took my car in for service at a few quick lubes and tire stores, without them knowing that I owned a repair shop. This experience was extremely enlightening and I advise all shop owners to do the same.
     
    What I learned from my research was that all these business differ the traditional repair shop in many ways and that there are many similarities among franchises, quick lubes and tire stores. And these similarities are not just common to the auto industry but common to all successful businesses.
     
    To be successful you need to have a plan, you need to have vision, you need to think like a businessperson, you need to market your business, you need to advertise, you need to create systems and you need to create policy that all in your company must follow. What I also learned is that the more consistent you become the more successful you become. This can only be achieved by creating systems that make your business more automatic and run without you. The more the business runs without you, the more profitable it becomes. If your business is dependent exclusively on you, your business will never grow.
     
    Perhaps the most important thing I learned is that you need to be a leader and that great leaders can't do it alone. Leaders need great people around them to accomplish great things. I created a team of advisors within my company. This team consisted of my service advisor, shop foreman and lead tech. I also recruited the help from my two sons, a financial analyst and a graphic artist. Together, we created a new plan to expand and grow the business.
     
    Stay tuned!
  17. Joe Marconi

    Never Apologize for Your Prices

    By Joe Marconi,


    Customers
    Shop owners today understand the challenges of rising costs and inflation.  Without addressing this issue and making the needed adjustment to your margins, the increase in your expenses will end up hurting your bottom line. Adjusting prices, up or down, is a function of being in business and, at times, unavoidable.
    Shop owners often fear that their customers may push back with any price increase. They ask themselves,  “Will my customers understand? Will they shop other auto repair shops to compare my prices?” 
    The truth is your true profile customers are not loyal to you because of the prices you charge for your services and repairs. Yes, you need to be competitive, but you also need to be profitable. Your best customers are loyal because of the value they receive from doing business with you.  Those are the customers you need to focus on and spend most of your energy on.
    If you determine that you need to raise your prices, do it, but never apologize. Continue to build value in what you do. When value increases, price fades as an issue. However, when the customer does not see the value in your services and repairs, the customer will then focus more on the price.
  21. Joe Marconi
    This past week the foundation for the new building was completed and the land is now being graded in preparation for the new blacktop. The process of constructing the walls will start within two weeks. The dream is slowly becoming a reality.
     
    Earlier in the week I met with the general contractor, bank project manager, electrician, plumber, architect, excavator, the building inspector, Hunter Alignment rep, Rotary Lift rep, advertising agent, overhead door company and the company that will be installing the bulk oil tanks and pumps. By Thursday night I was shot! I didn’t sleep that night at all.
     
    I am now in the phase of the project that you begin to second guess yourself. Did I make the bay sizes correct? Did I pick the right equipment? Did I pick the right people do construct the building? Did I get the best rate for the bank loan? Will I be able to increase the business to repay the loan? Question after question I asked myself into the wee hours of the morning. I was a walking Zombie by Friday.
     
    The excavator needed to break up the driveway to run power lines and drains and decided to work through the weekend so as not to disturb my business. This morning, Sunday, I picked up coffee and donuts and brought it down to the crew. There were very thankful.
     
    Do you think I am scared? You bet! But I can’t quit now and need to put my faith into the belief that all the preparation to this point will pay off. Did I make mistakes this past year? Tons of mistakes! Mistakes that cost me dearly. But that’s all part of the process.
     
    All I can say is, if it were easy everybody would be doing it. Fear keeps people from sometimes achieving their potential. It kept me from growing my business for years until I asked myself what’s the worst that could happen? Actually the worst would be to loose everything, but I don’t think that will happen. After 28 years in business, this is something I need to do and want to do.
     
    Stay tuned!
  22. Joe Marconi

    5 Reasons for Low Shop Production

    By Joe Marconi,


    Management
    Typically, when productivity suffers, the shop owner or manager directs their attention to the technicians. Are they doing all they can do to maintain high billable hours? Are they as efficient as they can be?  Is there time being wasted throughout the technician’s day? 
    All these reasons factor into production problems, but before we point fingers at the technicians, let’s consider a few other factors.
    Are estimates being written properly? Are labor testing and inspections being billed out correctly? Are you charging enough for testing and inspecting, especially for highly specialized electrical, on-board computer issues, and other complex drivability work?  Is there a clear workflow process everyone follows that details every step from the write-up to vehicle delivery? Do you track comebacks, and is that affecting production?  Is the shop layout not conducive to high production? For example, is it unorganized, where shop tools, technical information, and equipment are not easily accessible to every technician?  Are you charging the correct labor rate and allowing for variables such as rust, vehicle age, and the fact that most labor guides are wrong? Also, is there effective communication between the tech and the service advisor to ensure that extra labor time is accounted for and billed to the customer? These are a few of the top reasons for low productivity problems. There are others, but the main point is to look at the entire operation. Productivity is a team effort.  Blaming the techs or other staff members does not get to the root cause in most cases.
    Maintaining adequate production levels is the responsibility of management to create the processes that will lead to high production while holding everyone accountable. 
  23. Joe Marconi
    I was taught a valuable lesson in pricing back in the 1980s by a fellow shop owner. Tom (not his real name) owned a five-bay independent auto repair shop. We met in a training class and became instant friends. The discussion of labor rates and pricing came up often, and his opinion was spot on.  He would tell me, “Joe, we will never get paid what we deserve until we put a higher value on what we do.”
    This leads me to the reason for this blog: The mindset that auto repair shops should price themselves lower than new car dealerships, is a myth. Tom would emphasize, “Look at your expenses, your payroll, the benefits you give to your customers, and don’t forget your payroll and company profit. Then, do the math and set your prices.” What influenced me was not only his forward-thinking but the fact that he would call the local dealers, to make sure his labor rate was ABOVE theirs!
    Positioning your prices lower than the dealer just because you are an independent auto repair shop is selling yourself short. Your labor rate and prices should be determined by you, factoring in your overhead operating expenses, payroll, financial goals, the amount of net profit you desire, and the value you provide to your customers.
    Another thing: don’t be everything to everyone. Understand your key profile customers and build your marketing plan around them. Cater to those who are loyal to you.
    Here’s the bottom line with pricing: sell value, not parts and labor. When the value increases, the price fades as an issue. 
  24. Joe Marconi
    The other day one of my techs was replacing front brake pads and rotors on an older Subaru. The caliper bracket bolts were seized and one of them snapped off. This is a common problem and we are well aware of it. We try our best with rust busters and heat, but sometimes nothing works. The tech drilled out the broken bolt and finished the brake job. No problem, right?
     
    Here’s the problem, who pays for it? Me,or the customer? I asked the tech if he informed the service writer. He said he did. I asked the service writer if he told the customer and up-sold the repair. The writer told me it was a hard sell just to sell the brakes and felt he could not approach the customer. I informed my service writer that I did not buy the car, build the car or break the car.
     
    I did something that maybe I should not have done; I went into the customer waiting room myself and explained the situation and sold the caliper bracket repair.
     
    My issue is this. Are they times when we can't charge and we just have to eat it? I say yes and no. That depends on the situation. I also think that this particular writer needs more training in customer relations.
     
    What do you think? Charge or not charge? What policy do you have?

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