Joe Marconi

Before you call me crazy, please read on. Your tools, your technical ability and your equipment are all components of your business. And of course you cannot conduct business without these components. But, the real key to your success is who you hire and how you manage your employees. In addition, morale has more to do with worker engagement than any other element of your business. And engaged workers are more productive, have less comebacks, take less sick days and contribute to the growth of your business. We all know one undeniable fact: Happy workers create happy customers and happy customers put you in a position to win. Think of it this way; what wins baseball games? Is the stadium? Is it the training equipment? Is the beautifully manicured field? The baseball bat? The baseball? These are elements of the game, but it’s the quality of the players, combined with their drive to be the best, that ultimately determines success and win games. Hire the best talent, work real hard to keep morale up, and do all you can to bring out the best in all your employees. Do this, and the rest will fall into place.

This is good news for the aftermarket industry. All too often we hear about new car dealers and car manufacturer twisting and abusing the Magnuson Moss Act, making claims or making consumers think that they have to use OE parts or that dealer service is required under the new car warranty period. Click on the link below, I urge to read the article. We need to make our customers understand this too. The fact is a consumer has the choice where to have their new car serviced. No car company can require an OE part of dealer service, unless the dealer or car company offers it at no charge to the consumer. Here's the link: http://www.searchautoparts.com/aftermarket-business/news-distribution/auto-care-association-applauds-ftc-settlement-bmw-warranties?cid=95879

Find out if there are any business organizations or business groups in your area. Also check with the local chamber of commerce and speak to the financial loan officer at local commercial banks. The reason I mention this is that your success will be largely determined by the strength of your business plan, not your ability to fix cars. I know this may contrary to many, but it is the truth. Servicing and repairing cars is what you will do. How you become profitable and successful will be determined by how well you understand business, finance, pricing, labor production, employee management, etc. If you start off on the right foot, you will be ahead or the curve, that I can guarantee. Trust me on this. For the first 10 years in business, I was busy and made no money. I was a great mechanic, but a poor business man. The more I learned about business, the more success the business attained. Good luck and great post!

First welcome to ASO. Glad you found us! It is going good. I don't think the program is for everyone. You need a shop that can handle tire sales and at the same time, maintain production. We really don't compete with other tire stores in the area, since we also do full service, general repairs and diagnostic work. So, for us, the G3X is a bonus. We also don't brand ourselves as a tire dealer. I didn't want to be a "Me Too" tire dealer, giving discount tires. We are selective and competitive. Welcome again!

Is there a web site for more info?

The State leaders (around the country) do not understand how important the state inspection is to the safety of the motoring public. We do accident investigations for various police departments and the NY State Troopers. Many of the accidents we see are due to unsafe cars: bald tires, leaking wheel cylinders, other brake issues, loss of a belt which cause the driver to loose power steering, on and on. We all know that many accidents are due to excessive speed and driving under the influence, but safer cars saves lives. Many of the failures we see during the inspection were not known to the car owner. A customer just last week hit pot hole, damaged the tire and bent the wheel.

Ok, I'm really confused. 2ME the world has changed 4ever. Missed you last week..Now I know Y. Joe

Does anyone have first hand knowledge of a business management system for multiple locations that want to merge the data base, but yet keep separate the inventory and financial numbers of each location. I have a friend that tried Mitchell Enterprises and it was a disaster. Any help would be appreciated.

It seems every day you read about new technology or advancements in technology and electronics with regard to the modern and future automobile. With driver-less cars, hybrids, electric cars, hydrogen cars and other technological advances, will the repair shop business as we know it today be able to survive? I am saying that there will not be a need for repair shops. There always will be. And there will be a bright future for those you keep pace with technology. What I am saying is this; Will shops be able to tool up and hire techs that are able to handle all the different technical areas of the future automobile? Here's an example:, back in 50's, Transmission shops emerged and were a separate business from the traditional repair shop. Transmission rebuilding was a highly specialized business. Could we see more specification in the future? We are already seeing this on some level with The Hybrid Shop. Younger shop owners need to consider this and watch the trends and technology very closely. Your thoughts?

Customer that have postponed work will return. The issues is with production capacity. To make up for the lost sales, you will need to increase production. You can do that by extending hours, which will add to increased costs. Or, you can improve production per tech per day, which is not that easy. We may have to be selective in the type of jobs, choosing jobs that maximize profits. It will be interesting.

Does anyone have first hand knowledge of the actual part quality? And what about returns and wrong parts?

In 35 years in business, I have never had a winter like this. In total, we lost about 2 weeks’ worth of sales. And, I know that I am not alone. There are many other shops with similar loses. So, the question is, “Can you make up for lost sales?” I really don’t have a clear answer. One thing I do know; with what it takes to be in business these days, we need to do a better job at planning for downturns. Whether is due to winter storms or other reasons. I also know that we need to set aside a budget that can be used during any downturn. But, this strategy only addresses the loss. Putting away money to use on a “rainy” day is fine, but it does not make up for lost sales. We need to rethink what we need to make during the good months, to maximize sales and profits. Your thoughts?

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to everyone! I may be of Italian heritage, but love celebrating March 17th, Saint Patrick’s Day!

Driving to work yesterday was like driving through a road that was recently shelled with bombs. Because of the severe winter, potholes and damaged roads are a big problem. But let’s face it, there are a lot of other people that are driving on these road. And, a lot of them are our customers. In fact, unless someone’s car was parked for the last 2 months, just about every car will need to get inspected for winter-related damage. Now, I don’t want to sound like Dr. Evil and wish bad things on anyone, but the fact is that we are already seeing pothole-related damaged cars. Damaged tires, wheels, suspension, steering, wheel alignment and other damage. If your shop suffered through 2 rotten months of bad weather, do yourself and your customer a favor and inspect each car for winter-related damage. The opportunities are there. You owe it to your customer and to your bottom line!

Thanks Adam, great comments! I think we are on the same page. I hope to hear from others. The discussion of Yelp comes up often, and I find myself on both sides.

I hear so many mixed opinions about yelp. And not just from the auto repair shops. There are restaurants that love Yelp, others say it did nothing. I also read that the laws suits against Yelp was found in favor of Yelp, and that their business practice does not extort businesses. I know this is an old topic, but does anyone have a solid experience they can relate to me. A real-life experience, not hearsay. Thanks in advance.

A lesson for us all.

When I started in this business, way back in 1974 B.C. (Before Catalytic Converters), new car dealers couldn't care less about the service department. But, with stiff competition and shrinking margins, the service department is a much needed source of revenue. A recent survey shows that new cars dealers service departments are expecting a significant sales increase in 2015. Independent repair shops should not take this lightly and should step up their marketing, particularly in customer service. The really good news: Customer service marketing is the most cost-effective and the independents are still the preferred choice of the motoring public. Let make sure we hold on to this advantage.

A recent Wall Street Journal Article stated that self-driving cars could eliminate 90% of all accidents, prevent up to $190 billion in damages and health costs and save thousands of lives annually. This was reported by Mckinsey & Co, a consulting firm. That's the good news. The bad news. What will it do to the collision business? If these predictions are true, this will change the auto collision business. Will this be an event as big as the transition from the horse and carriage to the automobile?

There are two Valvoline stores in my town, neither are that busy. I really don't know how they stay open. And, from what I hear, the employee turnover is high.

As a kid growing up in the 1960's, Star Trek was one of those TV shows that defined the 60's. Leanard Nimoy, along with other cast members like William Shatner (Captain Kirk) became household names.

If your shop is in the northern part of the country, there is no denying that this winter has been one of the toughest on record. Storms have forced many shops to lose work days, resulting in loss of income, which may be hard to recover from. But, there is another thing that can affect business, and that’s the mood and morale of customers and your employees. People tend to shut down as they endure day after day of bad weather and cold. This may have hurt your business more than the weather. For you, the shop owner and leader, you must maintain the right frame of mind. Remain upbeat and positive. Do not get sucked into doom and gloom attitude and find things to celebrate and feel good about. Your positive attitude will go along way with both customers and employees. Let’s face it; it will not be long before spring is here, and the winter…a distant memory.