Joe Marconi

13 hours ago, Russell McCloud said:

Absolutely correct on the negative reviews, they are important. Most important is how you respond to them. Being defensive does not work! Acknowledge the person's concern and then a reasonable response depending on the circumstances. The best reply? It's the one where you have already identified the customer, contacted them, and made things right or at least done your best to do so. Then the reply starts out with: "Thank you for taking my call, it was nice speaking with you. We appreciate.... blah, blah, blah" of pleasantries if possible. Or even if the call is a disaster, it shows you took the time to call and make an effort. Speaks volumes about the company and most everyone will forget the complaint and focus on the fact that you took action.

I'm probably the only one who gets e-mail or phone solicitations promising to remove negative reviews (yeah, right!). I have fun with it and ask them why in the world I would want to remove negative reviews, they are vital to the business. Throws them for a loop every time! It's fun listening to them stumble around and try to understand your response. LOL! 

Great perspective on a controversial topic! perspective

On 7/14/2022 at 11:45 AM, Mike DelaCruz said:

This is a really great reminder, and nothing short of the absolute truth!  Having a balance is key.  In the earlier days of my career, I was averaging 60 flights every year.  You might think that's a lot (Ok you're right, it is a lot), but the reason behind that was so that I did my best to never miss a moment with my girls, so I had a lot of back-and-forth trips, East Coast back to the West Coast.  I was tired, but it was worth it when I got home! I had a 3-day rule: I would never be on the road more than 3-days at a time, and I've been blessed that every company I worked for always respected that.  Sure, there were times I had to break that rule on a very rare occasion, but I didn't allow myself to fall into a habit of doing it.  This was always important to me, and it started when I was young.  My dad (now retired) spent 40 years at GM in senior management.  His work brought him to Kansas City, Detroit and Texas.  Until I was in my late-teens, I saw him once, maybe twice per year.  And back then there was no Facetime, so I was thrilled when I got a call from Pops on the landline!   What did this experience do for me as an adult?  It taught me the importance of keeping a work/life balance, understanding that "time" is the only thing you can never get back, and lastly making sure to be the best example for your family.  My dad and I have a great relationship now, and he learned a hard lesson from this experience as well.  C'est la vie!  As I close on this comment, I will leave you with this story:  It was my daughters 3rd birthday and we had it at a park. In order to get a good spot at the park, you had to be there as early as possible, so I was there at 6am.  Shortly after I arrived, a man and three young kids came into the park and reserved the spot next to us.  They immediately started playing on the playground, going down the slide, his kids were jumping on his back, laughing and having so much fun. This is all before 7am!  I hadn't even had my cup of coffee yet.  I had to compliment this guy on how active he was with his kids and I told him that I really admired the relationship he has with them (on the surface of course, I didn't know him personally).  He looks to me and says, "A wise man once told me, ' do you know how kids spell LOVE?"  Feeling that there was a catch to this, I paused.  He says, "Kids spell LOVE, T-I-M-E".  That will always stick with me.  

Mike, your words resonate with me, and they should with everyone.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts and comments. You are right on target, and the balance between work and life is such an important topic. We need to discuss more.  We also need to prioritize: Family, ourselves, and business. 

1 hour ago, rpllib said:

'HE WAS AN ABSOLUTE ACE'

‘HE WAS THE MOST OPEN AND ENGAGED SHOP OWNER I EVER WORKED WITH’

"He was a great guy, and he's going to really be missed"

This is what they will say about you when your gone. All statements spoken and written about shop owners in the last 6 weeks. All younger than me. I am 64

This doesn't sound like retirement to me. 

Take the time to live while your vertical. "TIME" is the only currency that really matters, Imo.

Words of wisdom, and words to live by. Great comments, my friend. 

2 hours ago, Auto Repair Coach said:

Some solutions are so simple.

I know, it's not rocket science. 

2 hours ago, weighit said:

When I had my business I always said if I could live my life style I was living without a single employee I would have none of them. BUT, I knew that was not ever going to be the case, so I treated them with the most respect I could muster. I paid them more than any of the competition paid their guys and instilled in every one, that when a customer entered our building, that was their payccheck coming in. They were to treat and talk with those customers, if they were involved with them, as I did almost all the interactions, with respect.  I also let them know if they for some reason were to tick off that customer it would be said our business was the problem, not that employee. Anything they did was a true reflection on our business and conversly, their payvheck. Seemed to work for the 11 years i kept that business.

Those are words of wisdom, from the heart and real-world. Thank you for sharing! 

Larry, you bring up a good point; the older we get the less sensitive we are to people's reactions to our prices. And a big part of that is what you state with regard to your P/L.

When the shop owners truly understand what it takes to turn a profit, setting margins and pricing becomes a normal function of the business.  

Let's all remember, that a labor rate is an internal number we need to know in order to remain profitable after we pay our technicians. The consumer does not the ability to understand this number. 

For example: If a shop charges $175 labor to replace front pads and rotors on a Honda Civic, and that can be done in 45 minutes, that translates to about $233 per hour. HOWEVER, if your labor charge for an oil change service on that same Honda is $20.00 and that is done in 30 minutes, that equals $40 per hour.

Sell the value of the job to your valued customers and receive value in return for your labor. 

My hope is that ALL shops across this great nation crunch their numbers and realize how labor is crucial to their success and to pay their employees! 

13 hours ago, newport5 said:

I agree with: " Your best customers are loyal because of the value they receive from doing business with you." I arrogantly used to think I was SO good at calling customers back with the additional work needed. They said yes all the time and I thought it was me. I finally realized it was their past trusted dealings with us made everything so easy and smooth. I know they trust us with their car and their pocketbook.

I would tell my service advisors, "Build relationships with your best customers and won't have to sell. All you'll need to do is tell." You just proved that!!!! Thank you! 

13 hours ago, Transmission Repair said:

I agree with you Joe.  However some younger, less experienced shop owners think that way.  I know I did.  I used to be ignorant to job costing.  What you speak of is really a mindset.  Due to the way our transmission shop sold work, less than 5% would have a price objection.  It's sort of a different business world when it comes to transmission repair.  Before I learned about job costing and profitability, I sold all transmissions for the same price, $387.05, in the late 70s and early 80s because that's what my ex-boss did.  When I started doing job costing, there were some transmissions that I was actually LOOSING MONEY on.

Slowly, I started charging labor plus parts based on my costs, then a whole new world opened up to me.  Imagine that; by simply doing what G/R shops have been doing forever, I finally started turning a profit.  I was young and ignorant about business before that.

Just today I read a news story about Amazon charging their sellers an additional inflation & fuel surcharge of 5% to the already high 15% commission on sales.  That means Amazon charges sellers 20% of their gross revenue.  Amazon's New 5% Surcharge  I'm sure sellers' prices will soon reflect the price increase, it's inevitable.  In my industry, late model transmission prices have gone through the roof.  But when coupled with the 30% rise in used car prices, many are simply being forced into paying $4k-$5K and more for a transmission because that's the least costly of all alternatives.

I think we should all revisit our pricing structure before inflation and fuel costs pushes us out of business.

Agree. I think that what's so important to all shop owners is that they need to truly understand the cost of doing business. Early on as a business owner, I confused busy with being profitable. After failing, I realized that the KPIs of the business drive the business for the long term. 

14 hours ago, DUFRESNES said:

You are right.  If and when you raise prices, make sure you believe in them and the why for.  We have found when quoting every single time the cost of a check engine light, if we ourselves believe in it, then the customer

knows that and realizes the value.  

 

Great point! We, and everyone in our company, need to believe in the prices we charge. And also, everyone in the company needs to know the why. Great points! 

Great comments, when people feel appreciated and treated with respect, it makes a big difference in their attitude toward their job and the company they work for. 

I agree, the new COVID relief bill is massive and will take a lot to digest.  Let's keep informed and make sure that we follow how this bill, and meet with our advisors on how this bill can benefit us. 

I hear these stories all the time. And not just in our business. A plumber in my area doubled his labor because he gave up on trying to justify parts. So now he makes his profit margin, largely on labor.

Will the same happen for repair shops?

Very well said! I agree this would help the automotive industry.

Thank you for you input!

That is a very good question. And I really don't want people coming to me complaining about others in the shop, even in management positions.

For me, I like to stay in touch with everyone, and pretty good at seeing what is going on. If you watch how people react to each other and the subtle comments and body language, you will see that there is a probelm. Then it's up to the owner to speak to everyone and be candid about how everyone is getting along.

This actually happen to me with a service advisor a few years back. I knew something was wrong, but did not know to what extent. When I started getting negative feedback from customers, it was time to pull the plug and let him go. Afterwards, the techs came to me to thank me.

Thanks for the comment!

Joe

I really appreciate your kind words. I guess the transformation from mechanic to businessman can seem out of sorts at times. You know as well as anyone, when you are in the trenches with the men, it's a lot different when you take a desk job back at HQ. Leadership takes on a different meaning.

My roots are in the mechanics. I know that my path is different now and that I need to accept the challenges before me. I do want to make a difference and make this industry a profession we can all be proud of.

Thanks for your support; when I have great people like you around me, I know we can all achieve great things.

Joe, from your story you answered your own problem. You, at 25 made the decision to do better. That is the difference in you and a employee. I see this all the time, and from being in a association for the past 15 years of business owners in my area I hear the same thing from each and everyone of them. Every Tuesday we meet for lunch and it's amazing how the same thing happens in every business.I've never had an employee that put as much effort in it as I do, mainly the employee looks at me as the guy with all the money. HA, what money.... Most of them only see their paycheck at the end of the week and have no CARE to figure out where each and every dollar goes when a job is completed. It's as if they think the whole thing goes into the owners pocket. But, if things start getting tight, and slow at the shop, they're the first to run down the street looking for work. To have as many employees as you do and keeping it all together is an art. You've accomplished more than you think Joe... there's no shame in your game... You've done well.... step back from it a second, and look at the whole picture... you'll have pride in what you've done. Believe me, it's worth the look.

Thanks Gonzo, I just needed to vent a little. I guess what makes people like us go into business is our passion and to make a difference. You are right about the money, too. Employees (and customers) don't know how the money gets distributed.

Thanks for the pep talk. I needed it...