Joe Marconi

Great points! Agree! Our infrastructure at this point does not make the EV practical. This problem must be solved. I read that there is a company that is developing a charging system built into the roadways. As your EV drives down the highway, your car is being charged. In my mind, this opens up a countless amount of questions and issues.

You bring up a great point. Change will happen again. We cannot become complacent, we need to keep pushing and wowing our customers. Great advice.

Ha! I can relate! I was always been a firm believer in being in the trenches with my staff. I did my best to balance life, family, and business. Very hard at times. As I got older, it became more and more important to put more emphasis on the things money cannot buy.

As we continue to move forward it will also be our people skills that will be our best strategy in business and in life too. Great conversation!

You have earned the right to do what you like.

Family. Number one, most important in my book.

This is nuts. The time spent chasing down parts and tires does eat into profits.

I thought this article from Ratchet and Wrench was an interesting perspective. Let me know what you think? Joe Marconi Is It Time to Raise Your Labor Rates? May 27, 2022 Nolan O'Hara No Comments With increasing costs and rising inflation, many shop owners realize it may be time to raise their labor rates. But it’s always a battle. There are several factors to consider, including customer satisfaction. Every shop owner needs to keep their pulse on the industry and make sure they're running an effective business, but when do you know, and what steps should you take when you’re considering raising your labor rates? The Backstory Andy Massoll, founder and CEO of The Detroit Garage, has been working in the auto industry for over 20 years. His father opened their first store, Curt’s Service Center, which Massoll still operates as part of The Detroit Garage auto family. Massoll understands the battle shop owners go through when considering raising their labor rates. He also knows there’s a misconception in the industry that gets a lot of shop owners into trouble: the difference between a door rate and an effective labor rate. The Problem It’s difficult to run a shop, and it’s certainly not easy to find and keep professional technicians. It’s vital to know your numbers. Massoll bases his labor rates on his effective labor rate, analyzing his wages and costs. Massoll says understanding your effective labor rate is critical and provides a better insight into your true costs, including the costs of obtaining and keeping your skilled labor. “If I can’t obtain or retain (professional) talent … that is when, clearly, I need to pay more,” Massoll says. Shops need to control rates to balance customer expectations and run the business. The Solution Massoll keeps a close eye on his shops’ productivity. That means understanding how many billable hours your shop is producing and comparing the number of hours worked. Understanding where your productivity is at is crucial in determining raising your labor rates. “You can’t begin to make an educated guess on what (the) labor rate you should charge is until you truly know your labor costs,” Massoll says. “And it’s hard to know your labor costs if you don’t understand and know your labor proficiency or productivity.” Close supervision is key, but you don’t need to write it all out on a whiteboard. Massoll uses a software program to make sure he has a keen understanding of his shops’ productivity. Their goal at The Detroit Garage is to always be at 100 percent productivity overall. That helps Massoll understand when it’s the right time to raise his rates. Additionally, Massoll is on top of his numbers. He spends time in the weeds, analyzing his total number of labor hours and the labor dollars they sell per store over a month, comparing that to his employees’ wages, and understanding the true costs of his business. Massoll knows when it’s the right time to raise those rates because he’s spent the time analyzing his numbers, working to keep on top of a gross profit goal of 70 percent to 72 percent on labor. The Aftermath Eventually, there comes a time when it’s necessary to increase those rates, and Massoll has done so fairly recently. Economic factors are also important to consider—factors like rising parts costs and inflation. As inflation soared to around 7 percent in 2021, Massoll gave all his employees a 7 percent pay rate increase to counter that economic influence. Because of that, he increased his labor rates. The Takeaway With prices going up everywhere, Massoll’s biggest piece of advice for other shop owners is to charge appropriately for your work. He says too many shop owners think of the decision emotionally, wanting to help their customers. Massoll acknowledges it needs to be a factual and calculated decision. Massoll notes that he once had a long-term customer come in, who, when he paid for his bill, asked, “That’s it? That seems too cheap.” Massoll explained to him that he was a good customer, and Massoll wanted to take care of him. The customer told him, “If you don’t charge me appropriately and be profitable in your business, and you go out of business, how does that help me the next time I need your service?” That’s a lesson that’s stuck with Massoll through the years. “This industry is full of very good people; our business is in helping people. People have car problems, and we help them,” Massoll says. “But we do that for a monetary exchange. And too many business owners run their business with their heart, and when it comes to business, you have to be profitable.”

Now that I am not a shop owner, I had to make an appointment to have the A/C checked on my wife's car. While the vehicle was being serviced, the tech noticed a bubble on the tire. I told the service advisor to get me a good set of Michelins. He said that might be hard since he had trouble getting some sizes and models. My wife drives a Mercedes E350. Are you seeing tire-related shortages too?

The Summer is in full swing, a time when many people take vacations and also spend time engaging in their favorite hobbies and activities. How do you spend your free time?

I will never forget the day when a customer, who didn't like the price, took cash out of his pocket, crumbled up the cash, and threw the money at me. This customer clearly crossed the line, in my opinion. Before I tell the rest of this "true" story, I would like to hear from you: How would you have handled this situation?

As an auto shop owner and a business development coach, I know from experience that there are countless ways to create employee pay plans. From hourly, flat-rate, salary, incentive-based, performance-based, team bonuses, profit sharing, on and on and on. However, the question is: are your pay plans legal? To complicate matters, overtime and minimum wage laws differ from state to state and may vary from county to county within a state. Wage and hour laws are ever-changing too. Here’s my advice to shop owners: Consider hiring a wage and hour labor attorney or retain a human resource company specializing in wage and hour regulations to review your employee pay plans. You cannot leave it to chance. All it takes is one disgruntle employee to make a claim against you, and your life could be hell. You should also have your pay plans reviewed every few years and any time you change the details of a plan. Effective pay plans can considerably benefit your auto repair shop and incentivize your employees to reach their goals and company goals. In addition, great pay plans can help retain valuable employees. Protect yourself, your business, and your employees – Ensure your employee pay plans are compliant with federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

HA! I know!!!!!

Wow, amazing numbers! viewpoints That's the beauty of a forum like this, we get to hear all viewpoints, strategies, and opinions!

Interesting. Do you think a lot has to do with the fact that you were in the transmission business, and needed to reach out to a different clientele than most traditional auto repair shops that tend to build long-term relationships?

October 4 - October 6, 2022 Fly with the Eagles The Industry’s Most Powerful Shop Management Course This is a 3-day course, with each day devoted to a new topic, but you have the option to pick and choose the days you’d like to attend. October 4th-6th, 7:30am – 5:00pm EST After attending this comprehensive course for shop owners you will be able to Improve your skills in time management, leadership, and goal setting Fully understand your shop’s financials and key performance indicators Find and hire superstar service advisors and technicians Turn your existing employees into self-motivated superstars Fill your bays with the right kind of customers through new marketing programs Utilize your step-by-step Action Plan to ensure your ongoing success This AMI-accredited course has one objective: to help you create a more profitable, successful business! Bob Cooper built this course from the ground up based on his own success as a shop owner and his experience in helping thousands of other shop owners go right to the top. This series is now presented by Joe Marconi and Kevin Vaught, who have both experienced extraordinary success as shop owners as well, so it’s no surprise that Fly With the Eagles II is heralded by many industry leaders as the most powerful shop management series available to shop owners and general managers. To learn more and to register: https://eliteworldwide.com/event/fly-with-the-eagles/  

Nice! Keep it going! But build for the future at the same time.

Agree Frank! Great comments. And shops need to be careful they don't "steer" only the customers they know will give them a 5-star review.

According to studies from Northwestern, Birdeye, and other companies, people are most influenced by reviews with an average rating of 4.2 to 4.5 stars out of 5 — making this the ideal average star rating for purchase probability. Having all 5-star Google reviews can work against you. People may not trust a company with all 5-star reviews. No business is perfect, and you cannot please everyone. Also, people make mistakes. Having negative reviews is not the end of the world, in fact, it may actually help your business. Thoughts? Comments?

Well said! Branding is key. It's all about name awareness. Obviously, you need to have a quality reputation, but branding in the long-term will give a shop a better ROI than lost leaders or discounting marketing. And I agree with you, that community involvement is crucial these days. Nice Logo too!

Back in 1980, I left a Ford Dealership for a lot of reasons, mostly the toxic culture. Fortunately, it pushed me into owning my own repair shop. I need to ask you, is it all about money, or are there other reasons why techs are leaving, including yourself? Your perspective is greatly appreciated.

Agree, and that is what I have found through the years.

I was around in the pre-OBDII days, so that isn't an issue for me. However, when I was a young tech (back in the mid-1970s) the cars from the 1940s and 1950s were different and a challenge for me, even though they were very basic in nature. For most, we look forward and learning new technologies, but there will always be those that learn about the past technologies too.

SOURCE: Tire Review Magazine: Auto shoppers in America are more likely than ever before to consider buying a fully electric vehicle, and new EV entries are responsible for much of the added consideration. These new entries, many from long-established vehicle manufacturers, are turning EV skeptics into likely EV considerers, according to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration Study. The percentage of shoppers who say they are “very likely” to consider an EV for their next purchase or lease climbs to 24%, four percentage points higher than a year ago, the study says. Several factors are at work in promoting the increase, but the introduction of new electric models—some of which are in an important and largely untapped segment such as pickup trucks—is a primary reason for the increased consumer interest. One hurdle to EV adoption revolves around shoppers’ living and working situations. There is a substantially higher ratio of shoppers who own their home who say they are “very likely to consider” an EV (27%) than those who rent (17%). Not only are homeowners more affluent, on average, but are more likely to be able to charge an EV at their residence. Perhaps most tellingly, 34% of those who indicate they are unlikely to consider purchasing an EV say they lack access to any charging capabilities at home or work. The study, now in its second year, finds that the more vehicle owners drive, the more they are likely to consider an EV. While daily commuters who are encountering higher fuel prices are logical candidates to switch to EVs, those who take frequent vacations and road trips might be assumed to be less likely to adopt EVs. But, like heavy commuters, heavy road-trippers have a higher EV purchase consideration tendency than those who use their vehicles less often for this purpose. It could be an indication that frequent drivers are increasingly seeing the advantages of EVs compared with their gasoline-powered counterparts. Still, as the number of EV models proliferates, auto manufacturers must seek to convert the large percentage of EV shoppers who say they are “somewhat likely” to consider into actual customers. The study points out a key opportunity to accomplish that: expose EVs to those shoppers who have never driven, ridden in or even sat in such a vehicle. Echoing last year’s findings, the 2022 study reveals that firsthand experience with EVs plays an important role in purchase consideration. Only 11% of study respondents who had no personal experience at all with EVs say they are “very likely” to consider an EV. That percentage more than doubles to 24% among those new-vehicle shoppers who have simply been a passenger in an EV and rises to 34% among those who have driven an EV. Owners of EVs are also sold on the technology, as 48% of owners say they are “very likely” to consider another EV for their next vehicle purchase. Following are key findings of the 2022 study: EV consideration stronger among premium buyers: Since purchase price continues to play a prominent role in the vehicle purchase process, and because EVs often have higher price tags than their gas-powered counterparts, it is not unexpected that EVs are finding more favor among premium buyers than mass-market buyers. Some 37% of premium vehicle owners indicate they are “very likely” to consider an EV for their next purchase vs. just 21% among those who currently own mass-market vehicles. EV consideration by owners of mass-market vehicles on the rise: Though premium vehicle owners remain more likely to consider EVs than owners of mass-market vehicles, the owners of mass-market vehicles increasingly register an interest in buying an EV. The year-over-year increase in those who say they are “very likely” to consider an EV is up to six percentage points among owners of mass-market vehicles and up one percentage point among owners of premium vehicles. This suggests some owners of mass-market vehicles are receptive to more affordable EVs. More information engenders more consideration: The study reinforces findings from a year ago that a lack of information about EVs is a key factor in shoppers’ rejection of them. Nearly one-third (30%) of rejecters cite a lack of information as a reason for their lack of consideration. Because firsthand experience with EV technology is still not entirely commonplace, shoppers need to be better informed about the ownership experience they offer. EV consideration by geographic location: It is not unexpected that new-vehicle shoppers in the West region show the highest proclivity for EV purchase. Some 31% of those in the West say they are “very likely” to consider an EV. Surprisingly, the South (26%) tops the Northeast (22%) among those who say they are “very likely” to consider an EV. The North Central is at 22%. Legacy automakers turn in strong showing: Owners of numerous mass market brands express an increased interest in EVs from a year ago. At the same time, owners of several premium brands, including Tesla, express somewhat less interest in making their next vehicle an EV. “Tesla remains a dominant player, but new-vehicle shoppers are proving quite willing to consider EVs from legacy brands,” Stropp said. The U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration Study is used to gauge EV shopper consideration. Study content includes overall EV consideration by geography; demographics; vehicle experience and use; lifestyle; and psychographics, the company says. It also includes model-level consideration details such as cross-shopping and “why buy” findings and an analysis of reasons for EV rejection. The study measured responses from 10,030 consumers and was fielded from February through April 2022.

Thanks for the brief Bio. And welcome to Auto Shop Owner. As a shop owner for 41 years, I agree that your client base must trust you. And that can only happen by building strong relationships. I also learned that I could not be everything to everyone, and early on focused on my ideal customer. I also agree with you about community involvement. That proved to be a gold mine for me. Thanks again!