Tires Too

Gary,

Very good suggestion. I am involved with ATI and have had good results, but Elite also has some great training available. My involvement with Elite has limited to online videos and I have purchased their sales training package online. I don't know the cost of their full package. Joe may have some info on that.

You will have a very hard time getting out of the program(Payments anyways) once you have signed up. I know there were some classes out west in the past, but I'm not sure now. If you would like I can check with ATI about Cali classes.

We've used seafoam and Trans X in the past with good results. We use the Valvoline products for maintenance flushes much like some others use BG products. Very happy with Valvoline and their lifetime warranty.

I'll give you my biased opinion. I signed up with ATI 5 years ago. I went through their 30 month re-engineering program. I've stayed involved with their 20 group program. I have been very happy with ATI and the results we have achieved. My gut feeling is that most of the people who have had bad results from management training fall into two categories;

First are the folks that do not really want to change their business practices, but want better financial results. It is hard work and scary to implement the changes that are going to be recommended.

Second are the folks that will "Drink the Kool Aid" to the point where they change the culture of their business and alienate all their customers, employees, suppliers etc.

The really hard part is walking the fine line between implementing the changes and not alienating your good customers and good employees. I've had many heated discussions with my Coach from ATI about the changes they've recommended, but that is the benefit of having a 1 on 1 coach to work with through the re-engineering program. I have not implemented everything that ATI has recommended, but my results are still well above their guaranteed rate of return.

NAPA has a very competitively priced program through Bank of America and Hot Rod processing is also very competitive.

Joe Skutches

The Official Credit Card Processor for “ Automotive Training Institute-ATI ”

946 Linden Street

Bethlehem, PA 18018

Direct Line 570-656-3013

Or 877-333-6266,fax 610-340-2343

[email protected]

I did sign up for their "Top Shop" program about 4 months ago. I like the concept of what they are doing, but the return on investment just has not been there. I've had a total of 6 phone calls on the number that is in my listing. 2 of them were computer sales calls. The other calls were shoppers from outside my market area. I have had 0 tow ins. All of that for only $299 a month. I have cancelled my enrollment in the Top Shop program.

That's good stuff to remember. We try to develop relationships with our customers and work together on their vehicle's maintenance needs. I've just started a book called "difference" by Bernadette Jiwa. It is a little more about marketing, but the main focus is how we can make a personal connections with our customers and make a difference in their lifes. How powerful would that be?

Gonzo,

We usually grab the scanner and look at the PID for the MAF. I'll have to try this next time we have a fuel trim problem.

Russ

I'm not suggesting that you have to work 100 hours per week at your shop. Flex schedules like Frank suggested or like we do. The techs still work 40 hours per week, Depending on how you are staffed you may need to hire or develop additional service advisors but the business is out there to be had if you want it.

Wes,

I don't have the raw data, I'll see if I can get it. The "processed" data is listed on the Napa Auto Care Member website. I haven't done a formal survey of my market area, but the eyeball test is pretty convincing. The National and Regional Chains in my area(NTB, Sears, Pep have Boys, Sullivan Tire, VIP Tire & Auto, Firestone) have empty parking lots during the week. On Saturdays you have trouble finding a parking spot. Our area is a bedroom community for the Greater Boston metro area. Many of our customers commute into the Boston area for work and are looking for the convenience of weekend service. If I don't provide it, someone else will. I have not opened on Sundays, and I hope not to, but I've learned "Never to say never".

Gonzo,

You can afford to have those hours because of your multi-million dollar writing career. Us working stiffs gotta fish when the fish are around.

Russ

PJ, Make the most of it. I have been with ATI for 5+ years. Really the best thing I did for my business and myself. Elite is topnotch stuff.

There are a couple of studies out that show the National Chains (Pep Boys, NTB, Firestone etc) do upwards of 50% of their business between 5:00 PM Friday and 8:00AM Monday. Do you want to limit yourself to 50% of the market?

Most customers can not do without their cars. I know everyone says their customers are loyal, but do they want to leave their car during the week for a "quick oil change" or "State Inspection"? Probably not.

What happens when they are at "whatever" shop and they need tires or brakes and the shop says "No problem, we can get that done while you wait." I would say a larger percentage than you would want say - "Ok"

We flex our techs schedules so that they work 1 Saturday a month with another day off during the week they work Saturday. I have 2 or 3 general service techs in on Saturday to do oil changes and other light mechanical jobs. We do not do bigger jobs on Saturdays, but often uncover bigger jobs that help to fill in the first part of the following week.

Offering loaner cars is another way to offset weekend hours, but that is not without a significant investment.

There are a couple of different ways to look at this situation. Here is one way to approach it.

Package your oil changes as 5k or 7.5k services with the tire rotation included. When the customer asks "How much" for the rotation - You say - "No Charge" it's part of our 5k service. Using this method you need to get ride of any reference to an "Oil Change". Everything you do is a "Service".

We are trying to move to that type of a package, but I have to say it can be a challenge with some of our customers, particularly owners of domestic cars. I find that import car owners are more inclined to the "service" interval package.

We do free rotations on tires we sell as long as the vehicle is in for an oil change. It does help to lock those customers into our shop and we get the first look at brakes, steering and suspension components etc.

You may want to think about just doing it so the customer doesn't go back to another shop.

Joe,

We participated for the first time in 2013. We were late signing up for it, so we didn't do much in the way of advertising before the start of the program. It did generate a lot of good will and we raised $1000 for the program. We are planning on participating next year.

The issue I had with Angie's list is that they had very few subscribers in my market area. I believe if you go on their site you can get the number of paid subscribers in your area. They were looking for me to sign up, but it just didn't make sense for the number of members.

We are in southern NH. We had been hearing O'Reilly ads for about 2 years before they bought a local chain up here - VIP Discount Tire & Auto Parts. We are a NAPA Auto Care Center and hear that they are similar to NAPA. They had an outside sales rep stop in once, but we have not done anything with them. It has been a little crazy with O'Rielly, Advanced, Autozone all moving in recently. I really think the VIP deal was just the start for O'Reilly in New England.

I tried Pro Demand for a year and was happy with the content, the only problem we had was getting the techs to use it. We have had All Data for 20 years and I couldn't get the techs to use Pro Demand. It is a bit of a learning curve to change over. All Data has made improvements to their platform so we are staying with them.

We used a really inexpensive wood laminate in the office. Customer's are always tracking sand and salt over it in the winter months. We clean it with a swifter pad and it looks great. Check out the photos on our website www.tirestoo.com.

http://tires.about.com/od/Tire_Safety_Maintenance/a/Tia-And-Nhtsa-Discuss-Tire-Pressure-Monitoring-Sensors.htm

If the system is not working when it comes in it can go out that way. If it comes in working it must go out working.

Like many things in this industry, oil is much more complexed than what most consumers imagine. There are many different standards/requirements for engine oil. Failure to meet these standards may open you up to litigation. Here are a couple of links that may change your thinking on "oil being oil".

http://www.searchautoparts.com/motorage/nace-cars-event-news/deciphering-todays-motor-oil-labels

http://www.motoroilmatters.org/Home

We use Valvoline as our bulk oil. The Major oils very often will have advertising support programs, volume kickbacks and are more likely to stand behind you in the event of an engine failure.

Mudlick had given me a break down by postal carrier route of the number of single family homes, apartments units, business addresses. They also had average home value and average household income. You can then choose which routes to mail to. I'm not sure how easily that info can be obtained, but I'm sure there is someone who knows.

Yes Mudlick will do it all. New Customer's Now is another company I've used. They are really flexible in working with you on a mailing program. They will be more per piece than Mudlick, but very good to work with. The postal service has a new program EDDM - every door direct mail - that is very cost effective, but you will need to get a printer to get the cards done.

517.546.7900 | www.NewCustomersNow.com

Hunter is expensive but well worth the money in the long run. We've tried a couple of others over the last 40+ years and nothing has lasted as well as the Hunter lifts.

RO Writer has the ability to pull the VIN when you input the licenses plate number. This comes through Car Fax. World Pac and Napa have apps for i-phones or other smart phones that will import directly into their online ordering systems and from there you can past into your management systems. The feature in RO Writer has been very useful for us.