Joe Marconi

I just made the decsion and ordered a Y1234 machine. We have only see an handful of Y1234 jobs so far, but I do believe that once we have the machine, we will increase our opportunity. Plus, one of jobs we just turned away was 2015 Dodge Pick up. I was shocked to find it had Y1234! There is no right or wrong decsion, sometimes you go by your gut, move forward and make it work.

The main thing is that you are pushing forward, and not sitting on your hands. Try things, monitor and measure, make adjustments and keep pushing forward! Great strategies!

I had the same thing happen to me. I had my web/IT company figured it out. It took a few days. GMB is important, get it straighten out. Sorry to hear this. But it does happen. GOOD LUCK!

I don't think shops should consider other shops in their market area when setting prices. In addition, while overheard costs may differ from shop to shop, that should not be the only thing that is considered when setting labor and part margins. Yes, a shop with a low overhead is different from a shop that has just invested in new equipment and added 3 bays. However, a job is worth what a job is worth. And that may mean that the shop with the lower overhead has an advantage and will make more money as compared to a shop with a higher overhead. But just because a shop has low overhead, does not mean that its will be low forever, and should charge accordingly to invest in the future. If we are to raise the industry collectively, we all need to charge what we are worth. I hope this makes sense. Great conversation!

In the 4 decades as a shop owner, my number one way to have a smooth running shop is to surround yourself with the right people. I am interested in hearing from other shop owners. What's your opinion on how to run a smooth running operation?

Thanks Frank, sorry I took so long to reply. I really appreciate it. Hope all is well in the land of sun and heat!

Here's a tip I preach at the Elite Fly with the Eagles Marketing course: Study your competition in your local area, know everything about, learn what they do in your community, learn about their advertising strategy and marketing strategy, find what their strengths are, and find out what they do special for their customers. Ok...once that is done, here is what you do: Ready? Don't do anything that your competition does! That's right, in order to stand out, be different. Don't mimic what your completion does. Tell YOUR story and build a marketing and advertising strategy based on what YOU do that the competition does NOT do. For example, If you are active in youth sports, then make that your community story. Promote that everywhere. Remember, to stand out you need tell the world what makes you different.

Got your attention? Please read on... In case you were hibernating the last year and half, you had to notice all the increases around you. From food, gas, utilities, taxes, insurance, etc., etc., etc. Not to mention all the training and tool investment we must make from now on, to remain in the business. I have been preaching this for decades: As an industry we don't charge enough, especially when it comes to labor. While there are ways to increase labor dollars, for example: becoming more productive, making sure that we charge for complex testing and driveability; Base labor rates have to factor in as the most important KPI in your business. Do the math, get help from a coach if you need help calculating your labor rate. A real Down and Dirty calculation: If you have one tech and you pay this tech $35 per hour ($42 loaded), then this tech has to bill $140 of labor for every hour worked. ASSUMING THIS TECH IS 100% PRODUCTTIVE. DISCLAIMNER: THIS IS A REAL DOWN AND DIRTY QUICK CALCULATION, SEEK ADVICE IF YOU WANT A MORE ACCURATE REQUIRED LABOR RATE.

The biggest issue with our industry is the inconsistency with pricing and labor charges. And not just around the country; even in local areas. After 41 years as a shop owner I will stand by my conviction that we have not charged enough and we have ALL suffered because of it. I do see changes on the horizon, but not enough shops are willing to charge what they are worth. I met an A rated Diesel Tech through a friend of mine, working on trucks in New York. His rate of pay: $45.00 per hour. GOOD FOR HIM! By the way: Shop's Labor rate: $199.99 per hour.

There are so many sides to this, and you make great points. I think that in time, when we all learn the truth, we will be surprised and hopefully move in a better direction.

100% agree. I am very active on Google My Business. The best reason to utilize GMB? It's Google! Does anyone need another reason?

After a slow January and multiple snow storms in Feb, 2021 is beginning to shape up and gaining traction. Being less than an hour north of NYC has its challenges, but all the pent up demand is greatly improving business. The roads are packed, so people are driving. My prediction? A very good rest of 2021!

Great point Mike!

Thanks for the great feedback. Great points!

Thanks Bob! I really appreciate the feedback. And, I may be calling you too.

I saw a quick demo on Openbay's Otis, an interactive chat program that works with your website. Does anyone use this feature, or know about it? Here is a link: https://solutions.openbay.com/

Don't make the mistake that so many business owners make; thinking that once they hire someone, their job is over. In reality, your job BEGINS when you hire someone. Make sure that all your new hires and current employees are taken care of. Get them the training they need, help to map out their future, mentor them, coach them, let them know how much you appreciate them. Have meetings and reviews. We talk so much these days about recruiting people and that it's hard to find people. What about doing all you can to make sure your existing employees don't leave?

That is a great saying Frank! Thanks for the feedback!

The common buzz in business is to market to new, potential customers. This is a smart strategy given that every business losses customers each year, and we need to replace those lost customers. However, we also need a marketing plan that takes care of our existing customers. It is cheaper and easier to retain your customers, than to market for new ones. What strategies do you employ to retain your existing customers?

Last October the doctors found a large infection and abscess in my large intestine that perforated into my abdomen. I required emergency surgery to remove the abscess; removing about six inches of my large intestine. That was step one: This past January, I needed an additional surgery to remove another 4 inches, and repair other areas of my intestines. Thankfully, I am fine, with no lasting issues. It will take about a year to fully recover, but all is well. I am telling you this for one reason: What if something were to happen to you? Will your shop survive? What about your family? These were the things I thought about when I was laid up in the hospital. Create a continuity plan to prepare for a crisis. Make sure you have a will and enough life insurance. Build a business where it can be run by the systems and procedures you out into place. Lastly, ENJOY the fruits of your labor! When I woke up after the surgery with tubes inside me and in my arms, It became clear that the things we worry about in business are really not that important. Take care of yourself !

I think the biggest reason why Yelp, Repair Pal and other similar companies don't work for the majority of the shops is that they don't find the profile customer for the shop. Think about, would YOUR customer contact Yelp or Repair Pal if they needed a repair? Maybe if they were on the road, far from home, and the Googled auto repair. Most shops have a clearly defined profile customer. Repair Pal and Yelp send us those that are not loyal to anyone. For the most part, our customer perform their due diligence and we then cultivate the relationship. Just me thoughts...Yours?

I too tried Repair Pal, got ALL the wrong customers and mechanical breakdowns. The vehicles towed in were badly maintained vehicles; again not my customer.

When I look back at my 40-years as a shop owner, there is one thing that stands out among everything else: It’s the people we surround ourselves with that will have the biggest influence in determining our success. Think about it, even the greatest NFL coach will never win a Super Bowl without great players. I have worked with a lot of employees through the years, including technicians at all skill levels, bookkeepers, service advisors, managers, and support staff. I can tell you with 100 percent conviction that the years that were the most successful were the ones that I had assembled the best teams. Now, I am not just defining success by profit alone. These were also the years that were the most fun, with less stress and the years that we made the biggest positive impact with our customers and the community. Let’s talk about production first. Highly motivated, skilled technicians with the right attitude produce more. They also get paid more, and they should. The right team of techs will average higher labor hours. I learned many years ago, it’s not the hourly rate you pay a tech that matters, as much as the hourly labor dollars produced by that tech. Next up are your service advisors. Here is where you can make or break your company. The service advisor is the face of the company. They represent you, your company and everything you do. The best brake job in the world means nothing if the service advisor doesn’t deliver a world-class experience that gives your customers a compelling reason to return. The long-term damage from an incompetent service advisor is hard to recover from. For the most part, you don’t run a transactional business. Your company relies on strong relationships and a strong culture. There isn’t a big-box brand name over your bays. It’s your name. And that means service advisors need to go above and beyond to exceed your customer’s expectations. If not, you lose. For the success of any repair shop, I put great emphasis and responsibility on the owner when it comes to employee management. All too often, a poorly run, failing shop is the fault of bad leadership. The shop owner’s ability to lead and motivate is crucial with building a winning team and successful business. However, I have also learned that sometimes we have the wrong people. And no matter what you do or how you try to motivate and lead, there are some people that just don’t “get it.” If it’s not in someone to begin with, nothing you do will change that person. In today’s business world, you need a team of great players. You need to hire people that can produce quality jobs, with minimal comebacks, have the right attitude, self-motivated, willing to attend training and have the willingness to work in a united, team environment. You need to hire people that “get it.” With regard to your customers, your business hinges more on the customer experience than it does on the equipment you have or the brand of parts you use. Of course, the parts you purchase matter. Of course, your alignment machine matters. But none of that is as important as what the customer sees. The customer sees and judges you on her overall experience. Which is how she was greeted at the service counter, how she was spoken to during the sales process, the car delivery, and the experience driving away with a smudge-free steering wheel. Lastly, here’s something you need to accept as a business owner. There isn’t a process anyone can create that will make up for mishaps caused by employing the wrong people. You do need to have processes and policies in place. It’s how you build a smooth-running and efficient business. However, we don’t run a McDonalds or a Dunkin Donuts. We can’t make up for poor customer service with a process or with a point-of-sale computer terminal. The processes and policies you create will only work the way they were intended to when you have employees fully aligned with your culture and have the right attitude. You need to have the right people. There are many components of business. The financials, choosing the right vendors, training, equipment, and advertising are among them. The two most important components of your business are your employees and your customers. However, you have great control over who you hire. And we all know, great employees create great customers. Assemble the right people around you and the rest will fall into place. This story was originally published by Joe Marconi in Ratchet+Wrench on August 5th, 2020 View full article

So true! thanks for the feedback!