Joe Marconi

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A customer arrived to my shop with leaking brake lines, bald tires and rotted front spring seats. Due to the age of the vehicle and many other issues, we recommended that he junk the car. He came down to the shop and said he wanted to take the car. We refused to release the car: Which technically we cannot do. We explained to the customer that the car we unsafe and that while I cannot legally prevent him from taking his car; I have a moral obligation to stop him. The customer sent his son down to the shop to “strong arm” me. I would not give in. I showed the son the problems and told him, “This car is not safe. The brake lines to the front and rear brakes are rotted and leaking, the tires are bald and the front strut spring seats are rotted. After a lengthy debate he agreed. The car was junked and the owner was very upset with me. Two days later, this same customer arrives with a used car, just purchased, and needed a New York State inspection. Lesson: Sometimes we have a moral obligation to do the right thing. Your thoughts?

Great article, and so on point. I have been down the same road more times than I dare to admit. It is truly amazing the stories we hear!

I remember replacing a heater fan in an early 70's Mercedes. This part was tucked away deep inside the dashboard. The book time was about 17 hours. In fact, when I called the dealer to order the part, he laughed and said, "Do you realize where that part is? They literately hung the heater motor by a string and built the car around it!" It is a viscous cycle that we as mechanics will just have to deal with.

Insurance companies have been doing this for decades. And to a large extent they get away with. A law? Never heard of a law. There are so many issues here that need to be covered. First, there is no list price that any shops needs to stick to. It's your business and you need to charge what you know will maintain your profit margins. What we pay for a part is our business, and what we charge for the part is our choice, not the insurance company's choice or limited to any list price. Of course we need to be competitive, but we need to be profitable too. Here is what I do. First, I don't let anyone see my invoices. Second, if I have to work with an insurance company or extended warranty company, I inform the customer up front that "their" insurance company may not pay my charges for the repair. I let the customer know that I will not go back and forth with the insurance company and will not discount the job. If the insurance company does not pay my total bill, I let the customer know that they will be responsible for the balance. If the customer knows up front, there isn't a problem. In fact, the insurance company becomes the bad guy. Hope this helps. Great topic by the way!

Gonzo, I don't get it either. The vast difference between quality techs and the shoddy shops is unbelievable. And that is one of our greatest challenge. But Gonzo, I need to tell you; the problem does not end there. There are also too many shops that don't know the mechanics of running a business. So, not only does quality suffer, but this condition drags all of us down. Luckily, the industry has so many amazing people in it. And, with the way technology is changing, we just may see the tipping point in our favor.

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?

I think we need to slow down at times and speak to people in a way that builds trust. For that women to call you about her car at the dealership clearly means that there was a disconnect from what she was seeing and the level of service she was receiving. And, you are right; we need to slow down when we speak to people, build trust, communicate clearly and often and ask questions. As usual, great insight Gonzo!

Gonzo, a lot of issues we face today can be summed up in your article. I hope I don't throw a wrench into this conversation, but until the shops raises the bar, understand the how much they really need to stay in business and make a real stand to charge what they are worth, the public's view of us will continue. Shop owners and mechanics are perhaps the hardest working people on the planet! They torture themselves at times to get the job done. But, for the most part we do not get compensated for it. Bottom line, if mechanics and shops owners want to play the game of automotive service and repairs, then they also need to get paid. As usual Gonzo, a keen awareness of the life of the typical repair shop. I tip my hat to you!

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Great article on a very important topic. While there are many reasons for the tech shortage, we need to start with the shop owner. I agree with you with the fact that too many shops do not make enough profit to pay their employees a decent wage. As a industry, we need to get much more involved at the high school level and let young people know about a career in automotive. I grew up the way you did Gonzo. When something broke in my house, my father would fix it. I learned those early skills and it helped me with my career. It's not that way anymore. But, if your think about it, there are plenty of careers that have no connection to your youth: Doctor, Lawyer, nurse,Etc The only way forward is stated in your last paragraph. The way to attract quality customers and being able to pay decent salaries is not through low prices. While there are some models that support the low price strategy, most shops need to invest in training, tools, information systems, hi-tech equipment and pay top techs what they deserve. Shops need to price their services and repairs accordingly.

Source: Use technician comebacks and customer service issues to learn and improve

Lets face it, a week cant go by without a technician comeback or a customer service issue. Mistakes will happen, theres no avoiding it. Obviously, you need to put systems and procedures in place to reduce the chances of mistakes occurring, but the truth is everyone at one time or another we will drop the ball. The key thing to remember when a mistake happens is to keep the lines of communications open. With every mistake there is learning experience that everyone in the shop can benefit from. Discuss the issue with your tech or service advisor. Get all the facts. Dont assign blame; the person who committed the mistake already knows he or she dropped the ball. Draw out of the person ways to improve and ask that person if it would ok to share the findings with the rest of the staff. We all need to adopt the culture of continuous improvement. We can sometime learn more from mistakes then when things go smoothly. One last note; I am not suggesting to ignore habitual mistakes or not recognize when someone refuses to improve or cannot do the job. In some cases you may have to let someone go.

The past few years have not been kind financially to the average consumer. So the points you bring up are so true. The bottom line is truly, the bottom line. As shop owners, in order to survive, we must find ways to remain profitable and understanding to our customer's needs. It's not easy, but any proactive approach to reach our customers is a lot better than taking a wait and see approach.

I have seen my share of modifications too. I remember when a customer installed a toggle switch on his dashboard to turn on his cooling fan. He would watch the temperature gauge and when it climbed up he would flip the switch. Well, we all know what happened when his wife borrowed his car!

You bring up an excellent point. For too many shop owners, their life is so overwhelming, that surviving the day is their main objective. But I agree, we collectively need to voice our opinions on the what we feel will benefit the motoring public. And at the same time, help to promote all the good that we do. Great post!

No matter what the year has been, this is the half way point for the year and time to review your business plan for 2016. This is also the time when you review all your 2016 goals, both personal and business. Assess where you are and make the adjustments needed to achieve those goals. Dont worry about the last six months if it did not live up to your expectations. Make the needed course corrections to maintain your focus and make sure you align those corrections to what you need to achieve your objectives. Lastly, remain positive, know the numbers of your company and create strategies that are in line with your goals.

Same here, we give all employees a list of benefits and polices when hired. We have the employee sign it. One of the conditions when the employee leaves or terminated is that the employee is responsible for the uniforms; return them or pay.

We celebrate American Independence Day on the Fourth of [/size]July[/size] every year. [/size]July[/size] 4, 1776, [/size]represents[/size] the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation. [/size] Let us always remember that this still the greatest country on the planet! [/size]

I hope CARQUEST/ADVANCE is listening to these posts! My fear? They will read it, and say all the "right words", but little will change.

I want to reserve judgement at this time. So much in going on that I do not like in the parts industry. The major part suppliers continue to say that the DIY market is shrinking and that their focus is on us, the independent repair shop. But if you look at all the indicators, they keep going after the DIY market. Until the dust settles, I really find it hard to pledge my support to anyone.

Gonzo, I got into this business mainly because of the "mechanical" work required. I don't think we ever imagined the evolution of the car to look like this.

Source: Repair Shop Owners; Please dont lead by example!

Got your attention? Good. I often hear shop owners say, "I wouldn't ask any employee to do something that I would not do." While this may appear to be effective leadership, lets dig a little deeper. Lets say you had an illness that required a specialist. You make an appointment to see the doctor and the day you walk into his office you find him scrubbing the toilet bowl? In defense of his actions, he says, "I can't ask my employees to do something I am not willing to do." I use this ridiculous analogy only to prove a point. Effective leadership does not mean performing every required task in your company. Nor does it mean that the only way to get others to perform what's expected of them is to also perform their duties. Effective leaders do go the extra mile and mentor the people they lead, but leaders also know what their true role is. And that is to coach their employees, set the goals, work on the business plan, and to ensure the success of the business. As shop owners, clearly define your role as the leader of your company. Delegate tasks when needed and manage your time by working on the tasks that define you, the leader.

Source: Improve shop productivity with a Focus on what went right, not what went wrong