Ratchet+Wrench - April 2020

04.20

STRATEGIES & INSPIRATION FOR AUTO CARE SUCCESS

STANDARDIZE YOUR PRICING PAGE 64

7 MARKETING MISTAKES PAGE 56

MARCONI:

ELIMINATE FEAR PAGE 35

Community Stalwart Tessa Gwin, co-owner of Nathan’s Automotive, has made an art out of seamlessly connecting their shop with the community.

SMALL TOWN

SENSATION Invest in your community—and drive customers through the door PAGE 46

04.20 / R+W / 1

NAPA Autotech Training will help you get the most out of your techs by giving them the latest knowledge, so you can get the most out of your business.

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A PERFECT FIT. A PERFECT PRICE.

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For a flawless repair that will surely keep your customers happy, contact an authorized dealer for all your Genuine Mitsubishi Parts needs.

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KUKUI

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04.20 VO L . 0 8 N O. 0 4

A P R I L Taking the Reigns With her husband moving out of the business, Denise Stanley is ready to fully take over Quality Automotive.

F E AT U R E

P R O F I L E

C A S E

40

46

60

68

When it comes to customer perception, auto repair shops don’t have the best reputation.

These three shops are out to change that by finding ways to give back to the community.

By immersing themselves in the community of Noble, Okla., Nathan and Tessa Gwin have kept the marketing budget at Nathan’s Automotive extremely low with a high return.

When the time came to move out of their 3,000-squarefoot shop, Bryan and Becki McGinnis wanted a location that they could stay in for the foreseeable future.

By focusing on the people within the shop, Denise Stanley, co-owner of Quality Automotive Repair, has helped move the business to the next level and is ready to take full reigns of the operation when her husband retires.

MOO SHOOT PHOTOGRAPHY

REVERSE THE STIGMA

BY HANNA BUBSER AND COURTNE Y WELU

MARKET TO WIN

S T U DY

GROWING PAINS

B Y A B B Y PAT T E R S O N

B Y A B B Y PAT T E R S O N

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. COPYRIGHT ©2020 BY 10 MISSIONS MEDIA LLC. All rights reserved. Ratchet+Wrench (ISSN 2167-0056) is published monthly by 10 Missions Media, LLC, 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104. Ratchet+Wrench content may not be photocopied, reproduced or redistributed without the consent of the publisher. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTERS Send address changes to: Ratchet+Wrench, 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104.

R E PA I R

L I F E

EMPHASIS ON STAFF

B Y A B B Y PAT T E R S O N

ON THE COVER: TESSA GWIN PHOTOGRAPHED BY HANNAH T STUDIOS

04.20 / R+W / 5

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

J U M P

S TA R T

11 ONLINE

24 BREAKDOWN

14 NUMBERS

27 VIEWPOINT

16 AWARDS INSIGHT

28 SPEED READ

19 EDITOR'S LETTER

32 SHOP VIEW

Hiring tips

Handling a pandemic

Are you throwing money away?

The legal battle you need to be watching

Get your customers to follow you

EX-UAW leader sentenced to jail time Don’s Auto Repair in Blue Ash, Ohio

The underdog mentality

35 STRAIGHT TALK The least effective motivator

35

JOE MARCONI

THE 2020 RATCHET+WRENCH ALL-STAR AWARDS

THE HIGHEST AWARD

IN AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS BY JUNE 15

RATCHETANDWRENCH.COM/AWARDS ADMIN SUPPORT • SHOP WORKER • EXECUTIVE • MANAGER • WILD CARD

6 / R+W / 04.20

T O O L B OX

67 THE BOTTOM LINE

55 SHOP ADVICE

Stop being afraid and make a choice

How giving gifts benefits your business

MITCH SCHNEIDER

56 SALES+MARKETING

72 THE FIXER

Avoid these common marketing mistakes

What you need to learn about yourself—now

67 INDUSTRY INSIDER

A ARON STOKES

Easy fixes with a big return

RISSY SUTHERL AND

64 FINANCE+ OPERATIONS

Setting the right price

64

04.20 / R+W / 7

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EDITORIAL VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT AND EVENTS Bryce Evans EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Anna Zeck ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tess Collins STAFF WRITER Abby Patterson SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Jordan Wiklund SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Nora Johnson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Hanna Bubser, Joe Marconi, Mitch Schneider, Aaron Stokes, Rissy Sutherland, Courtney Welu PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR Zach Pate GRAPHIC DESIGNER Lily Risken GRAPHIC DESIGNER Nicole Olson GRAPHIC DESIGNER Morgan Glisczinski PRODUCTION ARTIST Lauren Coleman SALES VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER Chris Messer 651.846.9462 / cmesser@10missions.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Andrew Johnson 651.846.9459 / ajohnson@10missions.com MARKETING STRATEGIST Matt Walz 651.846.9463 / mwalz@10missions.com CUSTOMER SUCCESS REPRESENTATIVE Shayna Smith 651.846.9460 / ssmith@10missions.com CLIENT SERVICE SPECIALIST Jen George 651.846.9465 / jgeorge@10missions.com 10 MISSIONS MEDIA PRESIDENT Jay DeWitt GENERAL MANAGER AND PRODUCTION MANAGER Mariah Straub BOOKKEEPER AND CLIENT SERVICE SPECIALIST Meghann Moore EVENT COORDINATOR Katie Cornet SENIOR DIGITAL MEDIA STRATEGIST Tiffany Fowler MARKETING SERVICES MANAGER Miranda Jama MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST Kasey Lanenberg ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Corey Steinhoff EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Jimmy Alauria, 3A Automotive & Diesel Repair Leigh Anne Best, Mighty Auto Pro Ryan Clo, Dubwerx Dwayne Myers, Dynamic Automotive Ricky Jordan, Fifth Gear Automotive Bryan Gossel, BG Automotive HOW TO REACH US 10 MISSIONS MEDIA 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104 tel 651.224.6207 fax 651.224.6212 web 10missions.com The annual subscription rate is $72 (U.S.A. only) for companies not qualified to receive complimentary copies of Ratchet+Wrench.

BACK ISSUES Past issue single copies are $8.

Go to ratchetandwrench.com/backissues LETTERS TO THE EDITOR editor@ratchetandwrench.com ARTICLE REPRINTS For high-quality reprints or e-prints of articles in this issue, call 651.846.9488 or email reprints@ratchetandwrench.com.

Opinions expressed in Ratchet+Wrench are not necessarily those of 10 Missions Media, and 10 Missions Media does not accept responsibility for advertising content.

New Ratchet+Wrench Podcasts.

RADIO

4 SERIES WITH NEW EPISODES EVERY MONTH.

HOW I DID IT. Series featuring a rotating guest each month.

Hear about the challenges, opportunities and success stories from shop owners who found a way to thrive.

New episode this month.

GROW. Series hosted by marketing expert Frank Leutz.

Inside the processes, systems and operational strategies that have allowed the industry’s top shops to thrive.

New episode this month.

LEAD. Series hosted by shop operator Aaron Stokes.

The go-to resource for leadership lessons, philosophies and success stories. New episode this month.

S P O N SO R ED BY:

Print & Direct Mail Made Easy

INNOVATE. Series featuring a rotating guest each month.

An introspective look at the industry’s most pressing topics from the people who know them best. New episode this month.

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ONLINE 04.20 COM M EN T S , DISCUSSIONS , FEED BAC K A N D MORE FROM A ROUN D T H E W EB

MORE OF WHAT YOUR SHOP NEEDS FEATURED TOPIC:

REPORTER’S BLOG

—

The Ratchet+Wrench Reporter’s Blog allows Ratchet+Wrench to highlight what shop owners around the country are doing every day in their businesses to help make an impact. For example, Brian Sump, owner of Urban Autocare in Denver, was recently honored with Hope House Colorado’s first-ever Outstanding Partner Award.

Read more at at ratchetandwrench.com/reportersblog.

Access 100% unedited OEM info with no edits or exclusions.

Find what you need fast with the smartest search tool in the industry.

Leading coverage on updated OEM info, including late models.

RATCHET+WRENCH INTERVIEW SERIES

—

In this podcast, monthly guest Aaron Stokes discusses his tips for raising a very important KPI—ARO.

The Ratchet+Wrench Interview series features oneon-one conversations with top industry professionals discussing some of the industry’s most pressing issues—like the tech shortage and staffing issues.

In a recent episode, Jimmy Alauria, owner of 3A Automotive & Diesel Repair in Phoenix, discusses the lessons he learned when he underwent a complete hiring overhaul.

Hear the full episode at ratchetandwrench.com/increaseARO

Listen to what Alauria had to say at ratchetandwrench.com/interviewseriesJimmyAlauria

PODCASTS

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Revolutionary platform built by industry and technology experts.

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ratchetandwrench.com

PEXELS

TODAY

0 4 . 2 0 / R + W / 11

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND THE RATCHET+WRENCH MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE?

“I would say to come open-minded and ready to actually learn, party and meet people, because it’s not just about learning, it’s also about meeting and networking with industry peers. I didn’t realize there was so much networking, but the thing is, you’ll find people who have ideas that might not work in their shop, but could work in yours. You learn so much from talking to people you might not know.”

NEIL CROZIER • Conference attendee • Owner, NWA Car Clinic

Protractor

12 / R + W / 0 4 . 2 0

2020

SEE WHAT’S NEW AT RWCONFERENCE.COM THE AGENDA • SPEAKERS • AND MORE!

September 17–19, 2020

Hyatt Regency Minneapolis

0 4 . 2 0 / R + W / 13

NUMBERS TOPICS,

TRENDS,

MARKETING MATTERS

—

When it comes to bringing cars in, is word-of-mouth really the best method or is marketing essential to business success?

The Ratchet+Wrench Industry Survey asked shops what percentage of sales they dedicate to marketing, and despite a standard benchmark of 6 percent, the majority of shops (59 percent) fell in the 1–4 percent range.

Nearly 10 percent of shops still do not have a dedicated marketing budget.

Comparing shops of similar size (under 2,000 square feet) Ratchet+Wrench wanted to find out whether or not a marketing budget had a direct correlation with car count.

When it comes to smaller shops, the difference between a budget of 1–2 percent and 3–4 percent of a marketing budget does not seem substantial, but 50 percent of those that had no dedicated marketing budget fell in the smallest average monthly car count range, less than 50.

AND

METRICS

DRIVING

YOUR

OPER ATION

IMPACT OF MARKETING BUDGET ON CAR COUNT

17% PERCENTAGE OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS

THE

17% 16%

10% 20%

AVERAGE MONTHLY CAR COUNT

40%

<50 50-99 100-149 150-199 200-249 250-299 300+

40% 40%

50%

20% 10%

0%

1-2%

20% 3-4%

PERCENTAGE OF BUDGET DEDICATED TO MARKETING

GETTY

More on the Subject To learn how to up your game in the marketing playing field, check out this podcast.

— ratchetandwrench.com/expandyourmarketingtactics

14 / R + W / 0 4 . 2 0

“TECHNET® ADDS VALUE TO THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE OUR CUSTOMERS. TechNet’s Nationwide Warranty, Roadside Assistance and Road Hazard Tire Protection add confidence in our services, and credibility to my business. Plus, TechNet provides promotions and rebates that help bring new customers to our door. With TechNet, my business competes at a higher level and stands out from the competition.

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RYAN TADDIA Dripping Springs Auto Center Dripping Springs, TX TechNet Member Since June 2019

NATIONWIDE WARRANTY

ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE

ROAD HAZARD TIRE PROTECTION

LOCAL SERVICE, NATIONAL SUPPORT

Learn more at technetprofessional.com/rw FOLLOW US @TechNetPros 0 4 . 2 0 / R + W / 15

AWA R D S I N S I G H T

NOW ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS! Know someone deserving of a Ratchet+Wrench All-Star Award?

Nominate them today at ratchetandwrench.com/awards

ALL-STAR NOMINEE

JO E GREEN —

Reputation for Retention

GENERAL MANAGER MIKE SMITH FIRESTONE NEW ALBANY, IND.

BY TESS COLLINS

FOCUS ON LOYALTY. Green appreciates his repeat customers and focuses on them rather than stressing over new customers.

“Existing satisfied customers not only ensure repeat business, but [they] act as ambassadors in acquiring new customers,” Green says. “And, if you’ve done your job well, you will soon have lots of new customers, courtesy of your old ones.”

Green says that the shop continues to satisfy customers by treating every individual as an equal rather than talking down to them. It also values feedback— both positive and negative—and takes its customers input into consideration to improve any gaps in service.

One of the biggest mistakes Green sees that can cause the loss of a customer 16 / R + W / 0 4 . 2 0

is treating new customers better than existing customers. One way of doing this is by offering discounts or incentives to land new customers—this can cause resentment among existing customers because they won’t feel appreciated.

DELIVER TOP-NOTCH SERVICE. Green has a few tricks for delivering the type of service that keeps his customers coming back.

• Be a resource. No matter what your customer needs, try and find it for them, Green explains. Even if it has nothing to do with your business. If they’re looking for a place to get lunch while they wait, offer suggestions.

• Make it easy. Find out what your customers believe are “hassles” in the

repair process and find a way to eliminate those, Green says.

• Stay in touch. Green says the best clients are your current clients, so don’t forget to follow-up and make sure their needs are being met.

• Be credible. Establish trust right away or you risk losing out to your competitors, Green says.

• Get to know them. Small talk goes a long way, according to Green. He gets to know his customers on a personal level and learns about their grandkids, finds out about upcoming trips and what they do for a living.

“Treat them like family because, at the end of the day, they are our lifeline,” Green says.

LEAD WITH HONESTY. A major pitfall when it comes to retention is a lack of honesty and integrity in the repair process.

“Not only have I seen it firsthand, but also in speaking with numerous customers, they feel that some shops push to upsell products or services that may not necessarily be needed,” Green says.

Green says the team at Mike Smith informs customers of any service or product that may be needed and then shows exactly why it is needed. Then, they let the customers make the call with the estimate that is created based on suggested services and never pressure them to purchase anything that is not necessary.

COURTESY JOE GREEN

Speaking with other local businesses in the bracket of family-owned shops in the New Albany, Ind.-area, average customer retention is in the 25–35 percent range. Joe Green, general manager at Mike Smith Firestone, is at 42–45 percent. Green achieves this level of retention through his commitment to customer service and his understanding of how important his role is.

“While some people see this as a trade blue collar job, I see it as one of the most important positions in this day an age,” Green says. “We all depend on vehicles for transportation; I help to keep cars humming so people can go back to their holidays, their families, their errands and their joy rides. None of this would be possible without mechanics. With every vehicle I am fixing, I am allowing those folks to arrive on time, protecting precious cargo, and making someone’s day.”

Green has been in the industry since he was 15 years old and, throughout that time, has developed a passion to learn as much as he can about the vehicles that he is fixing. Green has established himself as a person that customers can trust at Mike Smith Firestone, one of the last remaining fully functioning Art Deco Firestones in the U.S. Green credits his and his teammates dedication to offering educated insight to its success in creating rapport and gaining loyal customers.

A WARRANTY

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THE WIRING DIAGRAM RE-INVENTED — AGAIN

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repair information | shop management | shop marketing

EDITOR'S LETTER

How They Did It WHY OUR ‘INDEPENDENT’ SUCCESS STORIES ARE ALL VERY SIMILAR

LEAH QUINTO

My whole life, I’ve always gravitated toward the underdog. Maybe

it comes from my deeply rooted “middle-child” issues, or even just my own limited physical stature. (I’m 5-11; average, I guess, but I spent my whole childhood as one of, if not the, smallest kids on every one of my sports teams.) Whatever the reason, most who know me are aware of the thick chip on my shoulder I tend to carry into most challenges in life.

So, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that two of my all-time favorite sports stories are that of the “Miracle on Ice” and the “Wee Ice Man.” I had a taped recording of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s famed “miracle” win over the Soviet Union that I watched so often as a kid that the corners of the VHS were rounded down from wear.

I can still name the entire roster and give you their jersey numbers— not to mention a bio on what their post-Olympic careers looked like.

The other story I reference is that of golf legend Ben Hogan. I’ve always been fascinated by him and his incredible achievements and perseverance through so many truly awful life events. I can’t fully capture it in the limited space here, so if you want any suggestions on reading material about him, I have somewhat of a library at my house.

Our main feature this month in Ratchet+Wrench, “How They Did It” (p. 40), profiles three business owners and what they’ve done to succeed against myriad challenges. The determination, passion and execution from those profiled in this piece makes it an inspiring and fun read. There are a number of tangible strategies and takeaways from this piece, but what jumped out to me most was the correlation between the stories of these operators and those of Hogan and the 1980 Olympic team. In the end, it’s this common thread that made them all successful, and the reason any “underdog” tends to win out when they do.

Because they started at a disadvantage, whether perceived or real, “underdogs” tend to realize that it’s a process to reach what they desire. Most successful “underdogs” are obsessed with the journey to reach their goals, not the results along the way. Because of that, they learn, they adapt, they grow and they truly improve more freely than those who may be burdened by greater expectations. And they do all of that “the right way” by unfailingly believing in not only themselves but also their purpose and how they will go about achieving it.

Don’t get me wrong: Results and achieving goals are very important. But we don’t reach milestones and benchmarks by distracting ourselves with the scoreboard. And the immense satisfaction of success doesn’t come from simply checking an item off a list; it comes from understanding and appreciating the journey to get there.

All these stories share that common thread of “underdogs” who have or had a relentless focus on their journeys. And, for all of us following along, hopefully it makes us ask ourselves about our own journeys, and whether or not our focus is in the right place.

BRYCE E VA NS, VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT A ND E VENT S BE VA NS@10MISSIONS.COM

0 4 . 2 0 / R + W / 19

A N SW E R I N G T H E CA L L O F O U R R E A D E R S H I P TO H AV E A L A RG E R U N D E R STA N D I N G, P R E S E N C E A N D V O I C E I N T H E F U T U R E O F T H E A U T O M O T I V E I N D U S T R Y.

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TECH TALK: THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE PANEL DISCUSSION: THE OEM PERSPECTIVE LUNCH KEYNOTE

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THE ADAPT INTERVIEW: A CERTIFIED FUTURE

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TECH TALK: ADAS — A DEEP DIVE

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TOWN HALL: WHERE WE STAND

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The Choice Of Champions

Technicians...You Could Win a Choice Between Two One-of-a-Kind Vehicles.

MAHLE Aftermarket Inc. introduces the first-ever “MAHLE: The Choice of Champions” technician promotion – a unique sweepstakes in which eligible participants have the chance to win their choice between two custom-built vehicles exclusively designed by racing and automotive enthusiast legends Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Casey Currie. The cars, a Ford Mustang Spec 5

ENTRY IS EASY! n

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Upload the receipt via Smart Device or Computer

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by Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s RTR Vehicles and a Casey Currie Custom Jeep, will both feature high performance, high horsepower engines built by the team at Petty’s Garage.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of MAHLE and in celebration of this important milestone, this program really exemplifies the diverse and broad range of services and solutions MAHLE has to offer and what truly defines MAHLE as a ‘partner of choice’ for champions of all kinds in the automotive industry.

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*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Open to legal residents of the 48 contiguous U.S./D.C., age 18 or older, who are professionally employed by or the owner of a company whose primary business is commercial automotive repair at the time of entry. Void in AK, HI and where prohibited by law. Begins 12:00:01 AM ET on 03/02/20; ends 11:59:59 PM ET on 10/02/20. Total ARV of all prizes: $110,700. Odds of winning will depend on the number of entries received for each drawing. Limit: Fifty (50) entries per person per day. For Official Rules, how to enter without a purchase, list of qualifying products, prizes, and entry period schedule, see www.mahlechampions.com. Sponsor: MAHLE Industries, Inc., 23030 MAHLE Drive, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48335.

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J U M P S TA R T NEWS

SHOP VIE W

/

IDEAS

/

PEOPLE

/

TRENDS

32

BREAKDOWN VIEWPOINT SPEED READ

COURTESY DON'S AUTO REPAIR

SHOP VIEW

Making Space Work The parking lot at Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Auto Repair in Blue Ash, Ohio, is on the smaller side, which makes it essential that the team has an efficient repair plan in place.

04.20 / R+W / 23

J U M P S TA R T

Planning and Responding to the COVID-19 How to take preventative measures in your shop in light of the coronavirus panic

BY TESS COLLINS

The coronavirus has called for “social

distancing,” meaning people are not leaving their homes unless they have to.

Many small businesses, such as restaurants and bars, have been shut down all together.

Not only is the pandemic scary from a health perspective, it also has major implications for the success—or potential lack thereof—of small businesses.

In order to come out on the other side, shop owners need to be prepared and clearly communicate to their staff and customers what they should expect during this time.

Getting Ahead of it Ryan Clo, owner of Dubwerx and Avid Autowerx in Cincinnati, is an example of a shop owner that is taking a proactive approach. His initial plan is to acquire supplies in case they become hard to come buy.

24 / R + W / 0 4 . 2 0

His list includes: • 3-4 gallons of antibacterial soap in containers that are marked antibacterial or antiviral that customers can clearly read if they use the soap. Would help if the bottles had pump nozzles • Lots of additional paper towels • A trash can with a biohazard label on it • Red trash bags that are the biohazard trash bags • A dozen containers of antiviral/bleach counter wipes • A dozen containers of antiviral/bleach hand wipes • Roughly 200-300 cheap masks ( the type you would find in a hospital) • Additional rubber gloves in various sizes Then, if it seems to be affecting business, Clo’s plan is to let customers know that he’s doing what he can to create a safe environment for staff and customers. To do this, he may create

TIPS FOR PREVENTING EXPOSURE

—

For shop owners that are in the dark about what to do, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) coronavirus webpage (bit.ly/ OSHAcoronavirusinfo) provides guidance to prevent exposure.

Here is what the organization recommends for all works: • Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. When soap and running water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand rub with at least 60 percent alcohol. Always wash hands that are visibly soiled.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

some video content to sponsor on Facebook, Google Ads, his website and anywhere else he can.

“The basic gist being that we are doing everything we can to be safe and create a safe environment for staff and customers,” Clo says. “If it got bad enough, I might ask all the staff to wear gloves and masks, regularly wipe down all surfaces, and offer our supplies to our customers as well.”

Warranted or not, Clo says that there is real potential for public fear.

“For a medium to large shop, $1000 worth of supplies to create a better image seems like reasonable insurance to me.

And if it doesn't end up a big deal, we can use some of the items and possibly donate the rest,” Clo says.

Another shop owner that is taking action is Lucas Underwood, owner of L&N Performance Parts and Service in Blowing Rock, N.C. He posted a video on his Facebook page (bit.ly/ lucasunderwoodvideo) that lets customers know that, although he’s not afraid, he is taking precautions for higher risk individuals, like his parents.

“If mom or dad needed their car fixed, we need to make sure that there’s no contamination,” Underwood says.

His video explains that he has a solid PTO policy in place, so that any staff that is sick can feel comfortable staying home.

“If I felt like I was financially bound to be at work, that would not be a good situation,” Underwood says.

He also highlights the sanitation stations that he has within his facility to his customers, and, if someone does want to shake hands, he makes it clear that the entire staff diligently washes their hands.

Bernard Swiecki, assistant director for business group, at the Center for Automotive Research, says that shop owners need to inform staff about what is going on and what the plan is. In an environment where people are all touching the same equipment and in close proximity, there needs to be an open discussion about what is happening.

Industry Impact Beyond being scared for their own and others’ health, many business owners are finding themselves in a panic about what the outcome of this will be on their business. The parts supply, especially, is of major concern for automotive repair shop owners. Swiecki says that he’s heard some companies are tripling the

time that they expect something to arrive. And, because of this, many are stocking up extra inventory.

Underwood is preparing for this by letting customers know upfront that there may be some delays and their vehicles may not be ready as quickly as in the past. Because the effects and impacts of the coronavirus on companies have been widely publicized, unlike other events (like the 2011 tsunami in Japan, Swiecki says), customers are understanding.

The impact on the economy is also a big concern. Many are worried that it will lead to another recession, but Swiecki points out that the decrease in the amount that people are willing to fly and use public transportation, paired with the fact that there may not be money to buy a new vehicle, may actually turn into an uptick in repairs. Underwood is also keeping an upbeat attitude, noting that during the recession, there were two types of attitudes. One that said, “we’re going to go out of business,” and the other that took advantage of the fact that people wouldn’t be buying new vehicles and would need to maintain the vehicles they currently have. Underwood has the latter mentality.

04.20 / R+W / 25

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FOLLOW-UP TOOLS If you only have a hammer, every situation looks like a nail, so the key to gaining an unfair advantage is to use a variety of tools.

The “Three-Day Thank You” Call

How do they do it? I asked this question several years ago as a new member of my local Toastmasters International club. The meetings were held every Tuesday, and the room was always packed with aspiring speakers.

At the district conventions, the leaders of the other clubs complained about member count being down in the area. When one club leader spoke about their low member count, the others would console her by saying, “It’s not just you; everybody is slow.” (Sound familiar?)

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Four people stood up, introduced themselves, and each stated the following reason: “I called several clubs that were listed on the Toastmasters website, but Clara was the only one who called me back.”

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FOCUS ON THE FUNDAMENTAL ATI Fundamental #19 states that “Appearance Counts.” The fundamental reason that appearance counts is because it creates the first impression. Following up (or failing to do so) also creates a first impression. When Clara promptly called me back, I got the impression that the club was proactive to the needs of its members.

The club appeared to be on top of its game.

Do you appear on top of yours?

This is an important question to answer because YOU create a similar first impression by promptly following up. The failure to get back with your patrons speaks volumes!

Consider this: according to a recent study, 68 percent of all business is lost because of a failure to follow up. By failing to follow up, you send the message that you aren’t concerned about your customer’s car, and creating the perception that your customer isn’t the priority is a recipe for lost business.

CONCLUSION So, there you have it. As I mentioned earlier, appearance counts. By excelling at follow-up, you will appear to be proactive in the eyes of your customers, which will give you an unfair advantage in your area. Check out autotraining.net/rw0420 to learn more about ATI Customer Follow-Up Guide.

This will give you an unfair advantage in your market because nobody does it! When was the last time you received a thank you call from a retail business after you made a purchase?

Customer Service Follow-Up Calls Call your customers within seven to ten days of their last visit to ensure they’re completely satisfied with the service they received. This not only builds value but helps keep you in tune with the needs of your customers and reveal areas of improvement.

The “How Have You Been?” Call This is not to be confused with the “Where have you been?” call. “Where have you been?” sounds judgmental, while “How have you been?” sounds like you care. Keep in mind that the typical response rate for this type of call is 15 percent, so it will take twenty calls to get three inactive customers to return (20 x .15 = 3).

J U M P S TA R T

The Software Copyright Fight The Auto Care Association sounds off on a legal battle that could lead to a parts monopoly

BY A B BY PAT T E R S O N

A small part of copied code has led to a long-held battle between Google and Oracle, a computer technology company that sells database software and technology, that could have implications for the automotive repair industry.

The case, Google v. Oracle, upheld a charge by Oracle that Google had violated a software copyright when Google copied a small part of the application program interfaces (API) code from Oracle that was necessary to enable interoperability—the ability of software to exchange and make use of information—with programs from Google’s Android operating system. And now, as a last resort, Google has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review both copyright and fair use rulings. At the time of reporting in March, the case was sitting in the Supreme Court’s hands until they officially call for oral arguments. From these arguments, the final decision will be made.

This is all about software, so why should the auto industry care? The future implications, about which the Auto Care Association (ACA) is being proactive. The ACA went so far as to file an amicus brief—a document filed by someone not directly involved in the case but who has a strong interest in the subject matter—because the decision could ultimately impact the automotive repair industry by allowing OEMs to leverage copyright over aftermarket parts manufacturers, and essentially, removing competition in the types of reliable parts available altogether. For example, if the charge is upheld, in the future, OEMs could shut aftermarket parts out from creating reliable, OEM-quality parts.

Regardless of the outcome, it’s important to understand the implications this ruling would have on, not only the auto repair industry, but also the entire future of software development.

Aaron Lowe, the ACA’s senior vice president of regulatory and government affairs, sheds some more light on the matter and answers how it could affect the automotive industry in the future.

What implications could this have on the automotive industry?

I see two possible impacts if the Supreme Court rules against us: No. 1, a reduction in the number of replacement parts available for repair, and therefore an increase in parts costs, since companies that need to build parts containing certain software codes that are needed to interact with the software code on the vehicle will be prevented from developing that code due to the copyright protection.

This could change the dimension of how auto repair shops get their parts, and limit what is available for auto repair shops.

For example, auto repair shops could have access to software down the road in order to better serve their customer, and the passing of this copyright could play

into having restrictions on the software to build compatible parts.

The second thing I see, which is less likely but still possible, are legal actions undertaken by vehicle manufacturers against facilities that attempt to install non-OE replacement parts or new software that the vehicle manufacturers believe violate their copyright protection.

Software is in everything. A vehicle these days is essentially software on wheels.

Why did the Auto Care Association get involved?

It is critical that the Court understand the implications of permitting companies to copyright APIs in order to prevent lawful development of compatible replacement parts and to perform

Aaron Lowe Senior vice president of regulatory and government affairs Auto Care Association

vehicle repairs. The courts must understand the impact on competition of software copyright issues.

The good news is that it doesn't directly apply to the automotive industry, but we saw something that could have implications down the road. This case could have implications for similar companies in the auto repair industry, namely parts manufacturers and remanufacturers. It’s more that they will be forced to be owned by only OEM parts, which could mean auto software parts replacement stores would go out of business. We understand how vehicles are changing and we’re making sure we stay ahead of the curve on issues like this. It’s to make the Court aware of the implications that their judgement could have on other industries.

What’s the ACA’s stance on the issue?

We believe competition is good for everyone and helps build better products and keep their cars longer. Members of the Auto Care Association build parts in order for them to be compatible, and the decision on this case could hamper that business greatly. It could take away the competitiveness in the aftermarket altogether.

0 4 . 2 0 / R + W / 27

J U M P S TA R T

SETTLEMENTS REACHED IN PRICE-FIXING LAWSUIT The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division has approved the announcement of a proposed class action settlements with the Mitsubishi Electric, HIAMS, DENSO, and Diamond Electric Defendants, adding up to $5,940,332 in settlements.

The lawsuit claimed that Defendants conspired to raise, fix, maintain, and stabilize prices, rig bids, and allocate the supply of ignition coils sold in the United States, in violation of federal antitrust laws.

A hearing will be held on June 17, 2020, before the Honorable Marianne O. Battani, United States District Judge, at the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse in Detroit, Courtroom 250 (or such other courtroom as may be assigned for the hearing), for the purpose of determining: (1) whether the proposed settlements with the Mitsubishi Electric, HIAMS, DENSO, and Diamond Electric Defendants totaling $5,940,332 should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable

and adequate; (2) whether the Court should approve the proposed plan of distribution of settlement proceeds to members of the settlement classes; and (3) whether the Court should approve Settlement Class Counsel's requests for an award of attorneys' fees, reimbursement of litigation costs and expenses, and an incentive payment to the Class Representative.

A Notice of Proposed Settlements was mailed to potential Settlement Class members on or about Feb. 7, 2020. The notice describes the litigation and options available to Settlement Class members with respect to the Mitsubishi Electric, HIAMS, DENSO, and Diamond Electric settlements in more detail.

The Notice and other important documents related to the settlements can be accessed at www.AutoPartsAntitrustLitigation. com/IgnitionCoils.

Those who believe they may be a member of any of the Mitsubishi Electric, HIAMS, DENSO, or Diamond Electric settlement classes, are urged to obtain a copy of the Notice.

EX-UAW LEADER SENTENCED TO 28 MONTHS Michael Grimes has apologized after he was sentenced to 28 months in prison, reported The Detroit Free Press.

The former UAW administrative assistant and executive board member of the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources pocketed more than $1.5 million in the corruption scandal. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

The scandal has felled both former union leaders and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles officials, including that company's onetime lead labor negotiator, Alphons Iacobelli.

Former UAW presidents Gary Jones and Dennis Williams have both been implicated, although not charged, in court papers as unidentified union officials, accused by prosecutors as part of a group said to have embezzled more than $1.5 million.

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K E Y I N S I G H T S , T R E N D S A N D S T R AT E G I E S F O R T O M O R R O W ’ S I N D U S T R Y—T O D AY A D A P TA U T O M O T I V E . C O M

A D A P TA U T O M O T I V E . C O M / FA C E B O O K

T W I T T E R .C O M /A DA P T_ AU TO M OT I V E

Digging Into Data ADAPT, a sister publication of Ratchet+Wrench, has a series of stories all about protecting customer data, securing shops from cyber attacks and more. To get started, here is some basic information to jumpstart your research:

ADAPT IS ON THE AIR Check out ADAPT’s growing podcast episode list. One recent episode explores how one repair shop owner is getting involved in legislation by hosting a Congresswoman at his facility.

In another two-part episode, representatives for an Oklahoma dealership network and a tech school describe how they both benefit from a publicprivate partnership. adaptautomotive.com/podcasts

WHAT LAWS SHOULD I BE AWARE OF AS A SHOP OWNER? 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments: Assured repairers the same emissions service information that franchised new car dealers receive.

2015 FAST Act: Vehicle owners were guaranteed access to a car's Electronic Data Recorder. For all other vehicle generated data, owners are at the mercy of automakers.

In 2017 the Senate unanimously adopted a bi-partisan autonomous vehicle data access amendment to the Senate autonomous vehicle bill. However, federal autonomous vehicle legislation was not enacted in the 115th Congress and the amendment along with the House and Senate autonomous vehicle legislation considered by Congress, died at the end of 2018.

U.S. Vehicle Data Access Coalition: The coalition has adopted a position in 2020 that the time for an advisory committee on vehicle data access has passed.

To access all the stories in ADAPT’s data and security series, head to adaptautomotive.com/datatips.

Head to the ADAPT website to sign up for the ADAPT Trend Report newsletter to have the latest news, strategies and transportation trends sent to your inbox every week. adaptautomotive.com/newsletter

Registration and hotel accommodations are now open for The ADAPT: Automotive Technology Summit. The full two-anda-half-day schedule is available at adaptsummit.com.

GETTY

DECEMBER 6 - 8 NASHVILLE, TENN.

ADAPT TREND REPORT

0 4 . 2 0 / R + W / 31

J U M P S TA R T

Don’s Auto Repair

BY HANNA BUBSER PHOTOGR APHY COURTESY DON 'S AUTO REPAIR

1 SHOP S TAT S Owner: Don and Chad Schnitzler Location: Blue Ash, Ohio Size: 3,200 square feet (main shop), 3,700 square feet (additional shop) Staff Size: 13 (2 service writers, 1 office manager, 7 techs, 3 tow truck drivers) Average Monthly Car Count: 350 Annual Revenue: $2.5 million

32 / R+W / 04.20

1 / ROOM FOR GROWTH When space became tight in their shop, Don and Chad Schnitzler, owners of Don’s Auto Repair in Blue Ash, Ohio, bought an old repair shop space just down the street from them to act as an addition to their pre-existing business.

“We’re like a split store,” Don explains.

This allowed them to gain access to six additional bays for their techs, and increase their ability to bring in more customers without having to completely relocate.

2 / BUSY BAYS Due to the limited space in their main shop, some of the bays overlap. This can make navigating a high volume of repairs in and out difficult, but Don’s has a procedure in place.

All of the diagnostics are run right away in the morning so that techs can organize necessary repairs and determine how long they will take. By afternoon, it is time to get started on fixing the vehicles.

The more intensive and timeconsuming repairs are parked in the overlapping bays toward the middle of the shop floor. Repairs that are quick and easy are strategically placed closer to the doors so that they don’t have to move all of the cars around once each repair is completed.

2

3 HAVE AN OUTSTANDING SHOP? Send a few photos and a brief description to submissions@ ratchetandwrench.com and we might feature it here.

3 / THE PARKING LOT WALTZ One issue that has followed Don’s Auto Repair from their main shop to their additional space?

Customer parking.

Their lots are small, and there is not much street parking available. The way they combat this is simply trying to get through repairs in as timely of a manner as possible and promptly calling customers so that cars don’t sit around after they are worked on.

“It’s like a dance,” Don says.

It requires their techs to be efficient and willing to constantly be flexible when it comes to moving vehicles and moving bays depending on the repair job.

4 / TECHY TECHNICIANS

4

Since the business is stretched out between two buildings, clear and consistent communication is essential.

This includes every single employee, from the service writers who operate in opposite buildings, to the technicians who switch locations often.

Each technician uses a tablet to stay organized on daily repairs in addition to the DVI services that the shop already implements.

The use of technology streamlines the shop’s tasks and ensures that each member of the team is on the same page, which ultimately leads to better customer satisfaction.

“We definitely stay up on technology,” says Don. “I think a lot of people appreciate that.”

04.20 / R+W / 33

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Columns

STRAIGHT TALK Joe Marconi

CAN FEAR MOTIVATE YOUR EMPLOYEES? How people feel in the workplace is correlated with how they perform

GETTY, MICHAEL HOEWELER

We all know the story of young Johnny.

He’s in Little League and loves baseball.

As young Johnny walks up to the batter’s box, he hears his coach scream out, “Now Johnny, we need this hit. You struck out the last two times up at bat. If you strike out again, Johnny, I’ll have to bench you for the rest of the season!”

Way to go, coach! That’ll get Johnny to get that hit, right? Johnny strikes out for the third time that day. With his head hanging low, he drags his bat back to the dugout.

Let’s fast forward. Grown-up Johnny is now the lead technician at a shop that’s struggling with sales. After another bad week, the shop owner walks over to Johnny to show him his productivity report and says, “Johnny, take a look at your productivity report for the last two months. If you don’t get your production numbers up, you may not have a job here. So, get your numbers up or else!”

Way to go, boss! That’ll get Johnny

to get his production up, right? Johnny walks back to his toolbox, head hanging low, and feeling awful.

Instilling fear in people to get them to improve their performance will backfire. Fear leads to increased stress and will cause your employees to become emotionally paralyzed to perform. That’s what happened with Johnny in Little League. Consumed with fear, all he could focus on was striking out. Literally frozen with fear, he strikes out again. It’s no different in the workplace. Fear destroys the morale of the workplace. And, if left unchecked, will lead to lower productivity and an increase in comebacks. Yes, comebacks.

Employees that work in an environment where fear dominates their thoughts will begin to hide their mistakes. And when employees bury their mistakes, they bury the business, too.

Let’s not confuse fear with people

Joe Marconi has more than three decades of experience in the automotive repair industry. He is the owner of Osceola Garage in Baldwin Place, N.Y., a business development coach for Elite Worldwide and co-founder of autoshopowner.com. j.marconi@eliteworldwide.com ratchetandwrench.com/marconi 04.20 / R+W / 35

STR AIGHT TALK / JOE MARCONI

rallying around against a common threat to an organization or community. Take for example, the events on September 11, 2001. On that tragic day, we weren’t sure what tomorrow would bring. We were all afraid, but we were together. And united. Those emotions served to bring us together. The fear I am referring to is when managers and shop owners think that fear can be used as a strategy to boost sales and production to make up for underlying issues that are the real cause for a struggling business.

How people feel in the workplace has a direct influence on how they perform. And this will be a determining factor between success and failure. Employees want to feel safe in their work environments.

They want to know that the boss has their backs. They also closely watch how the boss reacts in times of crisis. And believe me, everyone in business will go through times of crisis and everyone is watching

the boss. If your employees see you react negatively to a crisis, they will lose faith in your ability to lead them. Not a good scenario for any boss.

I know how hard it is to keep a smile on your face all the time—especially when things are not going as expected.

But, falling victim to your own fear and then directing your fear on to others, will only worsen the situation and lead to a further decline in business. In fact, many employees will eventually leave a toxic environment filled with fear. And the first to go will be your best employees.

There are many reasons why fear sets into the mindset of shop owners and managers. Usually it’s because the business is not hitting on all cylinders and sometimes, we need to find blame. And all too often, it’s easier to point that blame at others than to look in the mirror and find the resolve to work through the problems.

However, you need to be proactive and

accept your responsibility to work through your challenges.

No matter what the issues are, there is one thing that you can do that will make a difference in any situation, and that is to create a work environment that promotes a positive atmosphere. A place where employees want to come to work and enjoy what they do. A workplace where employees can grow and help each other as a team and achieve great things. A workplace where the employees know that the boss has their back. A workplace where employees don’t try to hide their errors but are willing to come forward to admit their mistakes and improve. Look for the good, don’t dwell on the negative. Celebrate any positive direction and make your employees feel good about their work. Be a boss that encourages others and remains strong in all situations. Remember, when people believe in their leader, the result can only be positive.

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Excluservice: Stephane Grabina

Stephane Grabina, owner of Excluservice, was practically born with a wrench in his hand. Stephane’s father was the personal mechanic of French Formula 3 driver Jean-Pierre Jaussaud. After moving to the United States, Stephane’s father enjoyed a fruitful career as a consultant for service and repair shops.

S H O P P RS OHFOIPL ES T A T S

Excluservice

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important to me. Not necessarily what they can provide for me. I feel that if you connect with people who have

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that similar philosophy, things just work themselves out.”

to read the full story. For more information about Excluservice, visit

bmwexcluservice.com

0 4 . 2 0 / R + W / 37

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Brakes, chassis, shocks and struts are critical safety features, and Duralast parts can help ensure efficient repairs and reduce comebacks.

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All Duralast chassis parts are designed to match or exceed OE at a betterthan-OE price for a worry-free, efficient installation all while keeping your shop profitable. They are made with heavygauge steel and also include hardware and fully serviceable grease fittings where applicable. All parts and components are torture tested to ensure they meet or exceed the OE performance.

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To see our full line of OE quality parts in over 20 categories, visit DuralastParts.com *Auto Dealer Today magazine, 2011 **Proprietary Consumer Study Conducted by The NPD Group, 2019. ***KYB, 2018 04.20 / R+W / 39

HOW THEY D 40 / R+W / 04.20

DID IT

Three shop owners out to change the face of the industry

BY HANNA BUBSER AND COURTNEY WELU

0 4 . 2 0 / R + W / 41

N

HOW THEY DID IT

o one enters the repair industry thinking it will be an easy job.

Rightfully so, because it’s not.

Repair is about fixing vehicles, but at its core, it is also about helping people. Cars are more than machines. They are part of our lives.

Shop owners across the country already know this to be true. It’s why they do what they do.

But shops carry a huge responsibility because of this. Not only are you servicing a vehicle, but you are servicing the people as well.

Because every person is different, sometimes the approach needs to be different. This can be where issues begin to present themselves, and the gaps within the industry become clear.

For example, young people are not as interested in pursuing a career in the trades as they once were, women statistically feel less comfortable as repair shop patrons and some customers can’t afford to safely repair their vehicles and fear being ripped off.

Three shops are out to face each of these problems head-on, all while providing consistent and quality repair service. Operating a successful repair shop and contributing to the greater good is possible, and here’s how they did it.

42 / R + W / 0 4 . 2 0

REACHING THE NEXT GENERATION THE MISSION:

Get youth interested in automotive repair

T H E I N D U S T RY N E E D :

The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that 75,000 new technicians will need to be added to replace retired workers to meet demand by 2020. In other words, the industry needs more people interested.

Students aren’t often presented with the auto industry as a viable career path. High school shop classes are disappearing from the curriculum. Cary Car Care in Cary, N.C., gives high school students a chance to get involved early.

Not everyone wants to go to college, but Kelsey Lambdin, coowner of Cary Car Care, says one of the biggest struggles is getting people to look past the perception of automotive work as lesser, or seeing technicians as nothing more than grease monkeys.

“We’re constantly trying to change that through our professionalism and our involvement in the community,” Lambdin says.

By talking to students while they’re still in school and offering them the opportunity to get directly involved, Cary Car Care is getting the younger generation excited about the automotive industry.

Next Level Commitment

Cary Car Care works with local internship programs to give students a chance to get involved in the industry directly through a job shadowing program for middle and high school students.

“Those who are interested come in for a few hours per week or a few hours per day,” Lambidin says. “They just come in and they work with us throughout the day, depending on what kind of projects we have here.”

The shop has two ASE-certified mechanics who work with the students, one of whom Lambdin says is a specifically great mentor and teacher.

“They come in, they help him, and they get to understand a little more about the operations of the vehicles while they’re doing some hands on experience,” she says.

MAKING WOMEN FEEL WELCOME THE MISSION:

Create a safe, women-friendly atmosphere for auto repair

T H E I N D U S T RY N E E D :

75,000

new technicians will need to be added to replace retired workers to meet demand by 2020 Lambdin says that they advertise for their apprenticeship position through job boards in the area, as well as through their partnership with Wake Tech, the local community college. They accommodate one internship position each semester.

Hidden Talent

Cary Car Care also sponsors the high school robotics team, the Terror Bytes. BJ Lambdin, one of the shop’s owners, has even gone to see the team compete. The shop invests time in these kids, because Lambdin thinks there’s a relation between kids who are interested in robotics and those who might enjoy careers in the automotive industry.

“It was so intriguing, and the technology that goes into it is similar to how cars are evolving and the industry is changing and becoming more technological,” Lambdin says. “It was very relevant to the automotive industry and where we’re headed. It was something we certainly wanted to support and get behind.”

GETTY IMAGES

T H E PAYO F F:

“We’ve seen some of our interns go on to engineering programs at four year universities, we’ve seen them pursue Master tech status,” Lambdin says. “The most important aspect is helping them determine if this is their passion and then guiding them to make future career decisions.”

A survey from RepairPal found that 77 percent of people believe repair shops perform unnecessary repairs for women. Women technicians also aren’t taken as seriously working in the industry.

According to reports from Catalyst, 65 percent of women in auto repair jobs report both being tasked with lower-level assignments compared to their peers, and unwanted sexual advances. They found that a quarter of women feel unsafe at work.

“When you go into your average repair shop… I’ve worked on cars my whole like and they make you [women] feel stupid.”

“When you go into your average repair shop...I’ve worked on cars my whole life and they make you feel stupid,” says Sara Rathsack, manager of JumpStart Auto Repair. “They belittle you for work you haven’t had done on your car because you didn’t have the money to do so.”

JumpStart Auto Repair in Neenah, Wis., is looking to turn that stigma around and create a safe place for women—both as customers and employees. JumpStart gives opportunities to female technicians and works to make female customers feel comfortable, but that’s only the beginning. The repair shop was created by two local non-profits, Harbor House and Christine Anne Homes, to help domestic abuse survivors regain their footing and start over.

From that initial concept, JumpStart grew into a full-blown shop that services everyone, not just domestic abuse survivors, but their mission remains to give survivors a safe space in auto repair.

04.20 / R+W / 43

HOW THEY DID IT

A Welcoming Atmosphere

“When you walk into our shop, we don’t look like your average shop. We call it the Purple Carpet Experience,” Rathsack says.

“When you come in here, there are comfortable couches—not old, ratty, full of duct tape or anything like that. We always have the TV on.”

Making the lobby a welcoming place is especially important for women coming into the shop with children. Rathsack says she always has a box of fruit snacks under her desk, as well as juice boxes and sodas and other refreshments at no cost so women and their kids can feel more relaxed.

“When you’re coming in here and you’re a survivor of domestic violence, a lot of times you bring your kids everywhere because you don’t know where they’re safe,” Rathsack says.

Anyone can bring their car in to be repaired, but regular customers can pay it forward for domestic abuse survivors. If they pay extra, that money goes into a fund for Harbor House or Christine Anne, and will be applied to a survivor’s bill.

Rathsack says that she holds her employees to high ethical standards. If parts don’t need to be replaced, the shop doesn’t replace them. Everything is explained in detail to the customers. The technicians will even take them underneath the car to show them the problem.

A Level Playing Field

A huge focus at JumpStart is giving women a chance in the industry, as well. One of their technicians is a woman who survived domestic violence and went on to train at the technical college.

Rathsack says that having a female technician is important in showing the women who come into the shop when they’re at a low point in their lives, they can see a strong woman. Her presence also challenges any gender-based stereotypes that customers of all kinds may already have in place.

T H E PAYO F F:

The female technician at the shop has inspired even more female involvement at the shop, with exciting plans for the future. The shop intends to break ground to open four more bays, and in turn hire four more female technicians.

44 / R+W / 04.20

ELIMINATING THE BARRIERS OF REPAIR THE MISSION:

Provide quality repairs to all customers, regardless of income status.

T H E I N D U S T RY N E E D :

A study from AAA in 2017 found that 64 million American drivers—or one in three motorists—would not be able to pay for an unexpected repair without going into debt.

People need transportation to get to and from work, which means, many vehicles on the road are unsafe to drive because the drivers cannot afford to repair them.

For years, Jeff Smith had a desire to provide people of all income levels with honest repair work, without the fear of being overcharged. In 2019, Smith opened Good Vibes Garage in Laramie, Wy., to provide, in his words, “safe and reliable vehicles for all of our community members.”

Options For All

Good Vibes Garage provides a sliding scale discount program for some of its customers, based on customer-provided household size and income information.

From this, the shop is able to determine if the customer qualifies for a discounted payment or can be charged full price. Offering these options is important to Smith, both in helping others out and in making a profit to keep the shop running.

“Sometimes, we might provide a quote to somebody and we get the sense that they could potentially qualify for that discount program,” Smith explains. “At that point, we’ll mention that we have that available.”

These interactions are based on a groundwork of trust, as Good Vibes doesn’t require a paper trail.

Common Repair Barriers Lack of emergency funds can stand in the way of potential customers coming in

4

in

people could not pay for a car repair of $2,000

Industry Perception Customers don't always think highly of repair shops. Here are some stats courtesy of AAA that illustrate it.

66%

of drivers do not trust repair shops

76%

Of drivers feel shops recommend unnecessary services

“We’re honest with them,” Smith says. “And, so far it’s been true that, in turn, they’re honest with us.”

The shop has created a pricing scale that they use for reference in these situations. They take the income information and find a suitable price they can offer based purely upon these numbers. If the customer’s income level is low enough, they can qualify for the discount. High enough and they qualify for standard pricing.

The Buy-In

At a surface level, this approach may appear unfair to the customer. But Smith says that they have had no negative feedback from those who pay full price versus a discounted rate.

“There’s no hostility whatsoever,” he says.

The reason for this reaction is most likely tied to the fact that Smith uses a portion of the profit he makes from full price repairs and cycles it back into the shop to ensure that low income clients have the opportunity to get discounted repairs.

Since Good Vibes is a newer shop, this is a system about which they are still trying to educate their entire customer base. Part of their initiative for 2020 is relaying this information on a wider scale.

“We want to let people know that: A) we have the discount program in place for people,” Smith says. “But also, B) by coming to Good Vibes, not only are you getting A-plus service, you’re also helping keep the community safe.”

Basically, when a customer comes in who can afford to pay the

73%

Of drivers believe shops overcharge

standard amount, they not only get a trustworthy repair according to Smith, but they also allow the same for those less fortunate.

Customers who pay standard pricing rates allow Good Vibes to continue churning a profit. The portion of these proceeds that they put towards discounted repairs allows the discount program to exist.

While the program is still catching on, Smith is confident in its endurance. He projects that the annual revenue for Good Vibes Should nearly double in 2020 from $250,000 to $500,000.

T H E PAYO F F:

Unfortunately, there will always be shops that don’t have the best intentions. Good Vibes Garage does its part in combating the existence of rip-off culture by offering an honest, accepting and accommodating environment.

Their work is being recognized. Other shops in the Laramie community refer lower-income customers to Good Vibes Garage, even though they are considered competition.

Betterment of transportation for community members is the main goal. People want a shop that’s trustworthy, because they rely on their cars to get them where they need to go. By eliminating the fear of being ripped off, Smith has created a shop that services people in more ways than one.

“I didn’t start the shop to make a lot of money,” Smith says. “I started the shop to help people.”

Luckily with Good Vibes, he gets to do both.

04.20 / R+W / 45

MARKETI TOUCH 46 / R+W / 04.20

ING HDOWN

Nathan’s Automotive became the most talked-about shop in town— without a huge investment B Y A B B Y PAT T E R S O N PHOTOGRAPHY BY HANNAH T STUDIOS

Ready to Roll Don Foshay's sixshop operts.

0 4 . 2 0 / R + W / 47

MARKETING TOUCHDOWN

A

fter a season

16-year postdrought, the

entire town of Noble, Okla., had its eye on its high school football team’s postseason game against Woodward High School in 2019—not to mention, the rest of the Sooner State, as the game was broadcast across Oklahoma. The upcoming playoff game (which Noble High School went on to win) was all anyone in the town could talk about for weeks prior. It was the event of the season.

And, who was front and center throughout the entire game?

Nathan’s Automotive.

With the auto repair shop as a sponsor for the football team and its exciting run to the playoffs, its logo was featured on the scoreboard and its name is announced during every home game. That type of exposure is priceless.

Well, almost.

The business only spends 1 percent of its budget on marketing and advertising and still hits $1 million in revenue.

Nathan’s Automotive has found that the best way to reach its customers is not a traditional approach to marketing, but rather getting out and interacting with the community.

“Eighty percent of our business is from the Noble community. We are not just tied with the school, but with the police department, the city, the fire department—it’s the whole municipal entity,” Tessa Gwin, co-owner of Nathan’s Automotive, says. “It’s generations of people that come here.”

“As time has gone on, it’s like getting a great steak at a steakhouse—you’re going to want to go tell someone about it,” Nathan Gwin, Tessa’s co-owner and husband, says.

Nathan and Tessa detail how their approaches to getting their name out there has led to success and helped make a difference in the community.

Hitting the Ground Running When both Nathan and Tessa Gwin were faced with unemployment after moving back to their hometown roots from Texas, they decided to start their own auto repair shop business, officially opening the two-bay shop in 2000. Both 48 / R+W / 04.20

Nathan and Tessa were new to business ownership. The only knowledge they had was Nathan’s experience as a technician and Tessa’s experience in the banking industry. As entrepreneurs, neither of them knew what they were doing.

“We were young; we didn’t have a clue,” Tessa says. “We did what we knew.”

They went door-to-door all over Noble to pass out flyers that Tessa made on her home computer that announced the shop’s opening. They even paid a neighbor boy to pass out and post flyers around town. All of that leg work paid off—customers started coming in.

After their initial efforts, they began creating relationships with community members in town. Nathan and Tessa went down to the police station to get to know the officers and drop off donuts at City Hall, for example. To this day, the police officers and other town officials are still loyal customers.

“We didn’t really have Facebook or anything like that back then,” Tessa says.

“We wanted to get out there in the community and that’s how we knew how to do it.”

Support through Sponsorship A couple of years into their new operation, the Noble School District reached out to the auto repair shop about sponsoring one of their events. With Nathan’s side of the family all being teachers, they were happy to help and saw it as a great opportunity to further get their name out into the community.

“It was a great place to put a name on,” Tessa says.

Through this sponsorship came another opportunity after that, and another one, and another one, and another one—you get the point. The repair shop has helped donate supplies, host auto repair workshops for students, and sponsor sporting events. Recently, the repair shop also started a program with the school district called Auto Repair for Bears (the school’s mascot is the Bears). For every invoice dropped into the box in the lobby, the auto repair shop will donate five percent of that bill back to the school.

The auto repair shop is now one of the top-five businesses the school goes to for sponsorships. They’ve helped the

Team Spirit Nathan’s Automotive supports its local football team, the Bears, and because of it has created a name for itself in the community.

NATHAN'S AUTOMOTIVE Owner: Nathan and Tessa Gwin Location: Noble, Okla.

Shop Size: 5,250 square feet Staff Size: 9 (4 back of house, 5 front of house) Lifts: 10 Average Monthly Car Count: 246 Annual Revenue: $1 million

shop build a close relationship with the school district, and now, sponsorship opportunities like these come straight to Nathan’s Automotive’s door.

“We wouldn’t be the business we are today if we didn’t have these groups to depend on,” Tessa says. “I think your bread and butter are the people right down the street from you.”

From all of the sponsorships they’ve been a part of, Tessa says 50 percent of their customer base comes from connections with the school alone—faculty, parents, and students included.

“The parents see that we support their kids and the kids eventually grow up and have their own cars to fix,” Tessa says.

“It’s a cycle.”

Get People Talking Nathan and Tessa took it upon themselves to capitalize on their sponsorships. Soon, the business started slapping their name and logo on everything they could. The auto repair shop can be found on banners for school fundraisers, the scoreboard in the school’s gymnasium, the deck mat of the school’s newly-built baseball field, and even on t-shirts that are thrown into the stands at the high school football games—you name it, Nathan’s Automotive is on it.

“We just put our name on everything and anything the school and students are doing,” Tessa says.

Whenever they sponsor something for the community, the same advertising tactics hold true. While supporting the school is the shop’s main focus, they also aren’t shy to lend an extra hand in sponsoring other events in town. For example, when the fire department has its annual cookout, the repair shop gives them coupons to raffle off for free oil changes or gives them free cups with the shop’s logo on it. And when the holidays roll around, you can find the repair shop’s logo stamped on their float in the annual Christmas parade.

The shop also puts on events of its own.

Back in December, the shop hosted its first-ever Day of Service, where people in the community could nominate an individual or family in need for free auto repairs before the holiday season. The town’s local news station, FOX 25, even did a story on it, which helped get the word out to communities beyond just Noble. The result? The Facebook post alone received 1,322 reactions, more than any other post for 2019.

“When you do stuff like that, people talk about it,” Tessa says. “It’s not traditional advertising, but, to us, it is advertising. I don’t know any better advertising than that.”

A Personal Touch Not all of the advertising the shop does is through sponsorships and events. That being said, it’s still not “traditional” advertising in the form of mailers. Rather than in-your-facemarketing, the Gwins provide valuable information for customers.

To promote their services and specials, the shop sends out monthly enewsletters through an email marketing service. Tessa is able to customize email templates and have them sent to the shop’s email contacts. Back in the fall, Tessa titled September’s newsletter “Hello, Autumn” and talked about how it was time to start preparing for winter, showcasing a coolant flush special going on in the shop. Sending these newsletters helps the shop further interact with customers to get them in the door.

And when a customer is due for a service, Tessa sends out a handwritten postcard to add a personalized touch. When a customer comes in for a service—let’s say an oil change—the shop logs when the customer would be due for the next one and sends out a card at that time. Sending these reminders is just another way to interact and keep the shop top-of-mind; from new customers that walk in the door to the same customers they’ve done business with since the beginning.

04.20 / R+W / 49

50 / R+W / 04.20

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0 4 . 2 0 / R + W / 51

52 / R+W / 04.20

M A K E

M O N E Y / S A V E

M O N E Y / W O R K

S M A R T E R

SHOP ADVICE SALES+MARK E TING CASE STUDY F I N A N C E + O P E R AT I O N S

Location Matters After moving to a larger, more visible shop, Autovantage Service Center saw 40 more cars per month compared to the old location.

70

ALEX SWENSON

CASE STUDY

04.20 / R+W / 53

I N T E R V I E W

to the

TUNE IN RATCHET+WRENCH

INTERVIEW SERIES The industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most prominent leaders discussing the most pressing issues.

View these videos on our Facebook page, or visit

RATCHETANDWRENCH.COM/INTERVIEW

T O O L B OX / S H O P A D V I C E

A Personalized Touch Leave a lasting impression on your customers How can a teddy bear, a coffee gift card and Harry Potter knick-knacks get you 2,414 referred customers in one year? Ask Matt Lachowitzer, owner of Matt’s Automotive Service Center. Being in business for just over a decade, his business has grown rapidly. He’s gone from one shop to six, including a collision repair center, and has garnered $7.5 million in annual revenue with an average monthly car count of 1,500 and an ARO of $512, all because of his focus on customer service.

“We have a little bit of a different business model than other shops,” Lachowitzer says.

“Our whole model is based on the customer experience, not dollars and cents.”

And to achieve Lachowitzer’s goal, a focus on providing a unique way to connect with a customer is key. Here’s how Lachowitzer strives to add a personal touch to the customer experience and remains memorable.

A S TO L D TO A B BY PAT T E R S O N

LEAH QUINTO

Our goal is to get one piece of information about a customer per visit. We have a

“Director of Wow” at our company named Latha Swenson; her other internal title is “Captain of Fun.” Her main job is to find out what is going on in customers’ lives. She gets information and then has a dedicated budget to create a personalized gift that will make their day. It starts at the store level. Latha is at one location, so all of our team members have a piece in this.

If a piece of information could be a “wow” idea, employees will send a note over to Latha to look over. She’ll start researching ideas on what we could do that will make the gift unexpected. Once she gets her idea, she’ll go out and grab the gift, add a handwritten card, and place the gift in the car so it’s the first thing they see when they get in. It takes a lot of teamwork to make this happen.

For example, we were giving a customer a ride home last week and she talked about how much she loved a certain coffee shop at the place she worked. So, we got her a giftcard to that shop when we dropped off her vehicle. Another customer, for example, is a huge Harry Potter fan, so we set some Harry Potter–themed gifts in her car. Whenever we do this, it’s always under $20. We unfortunately can’t do

this for every single customer that walks through the door, but we always strive to do something to make the customer feel special. It started out simple and we’re always trying to change it up.

It’s been a big thing for us to try and do something different. We’re at roughly 72

percent women for customers, many with small children. I had an idea about six years ago to give a teddy bear to our best customers. I reached out to a promotional products company and it was way out of reach money-wise, so I started my own professional products business on the side, which helped bring the overall costs of the bears down. I provide nicer-quality bears, which run about $3 to $4 each, and attach our logo on it. The first year we did it, it blew up. I had customers calling me constantly on how they could get more.

Now, we give them to all of the kids that come into the shop.

I’ve gone through about 16,000 teddy bears, which totals out to roughly $50,000.

This is our fourth year giving out the teddy bears and we make a different one every year. We have customers coming in with their kids asking when the next teddy bears are coming in. It’s become almost a collectible series now.

We have a gift-giving budget of $5,000 per month at every store. You’d be

surprised how much good you can do with $5,000, and it can be scaled to size. We started with a $200–$300 budget at each store and it grew from there. It took us six months to figure out what the right number was, and we figured it out when she stopped using up all of the budget each month. We’ve changed the budget as we’ve been growing. Latha has an additional $60,000 budget for incentives like goodie bags to use each year, and this is not factoring in the teddy bears. We see at least 20 new customers per month with an average ticket of over $900 on those repair orders. Hey, I can throw money at TV, newspaper, or direct mail, but broadcasting what we are doing on social media gives us a guaranteed sale before a customer even walks through the door.

The referral business is the No. 1 thing that has gone up, as well as customer loyalty and retention. It’s really about

building the relationship we strive for. Because we’ve done our research and fact-finding, people respond more to the personalized touch. The more personalized it is, the more they respond.

And our reviews show that.

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T O O L B OX / S A L E S + M A R K E T I N G

Seven Deadly Marketing Sins These common mistakes could lose you money and potential customers

BY TESS COLLINS

paign that ended up with a response rate of less than 10 customers. Not great, and Nickelson knows it—now.

In 2000, when Nickelson purchased his business, Advanced Auto Repair in Denton, Texas, after over a decade as a technician, he wasn’t the marketing master that he is today. Throughout the years, Nickelson has developed a strategy that allows him to bring in 48 new customers and 79 repeat customers per week (weekly tracking is key, he says) and now runs a retention marketing company called Rebate Checks where he helps other shop owners with retaining customers, with one aspect of that being through marketing. Nickelson says he typically budgets 4–6 percent of his annual budget on marketing, but he’ll increase that to 6–8 percent if he’s in a year of growth and plans on adding more technicians.

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The right marketing can make or break you and too many owners are throwing money at campaigns that don’t make sense for their shop. These seven deadly marketing sins, outlined by Nickelson and Danielle Wallace, who has spent 14 years in automotive marketing and is a content strategy manager at BG Products, can lead to the demise of your operation.

Sin No. 1: Relying solely on word-of-mouth This sounds great and, in theory, it is.

Why spend money on advertising when your customers do all of the work for you?

You don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money, explains Wallace, but you do need to spread the word of your business and bring awareness so customers continue to come in.

In this day and age, having a web presence is essential. At the very least, have a Google My Business page, Wallace says.

“It’s free, you can get on there and claim your business and be in the primary search results,” Wallace says.

Sin No. 2: Valuing quantity over quality Sending a coupon to everyone in the city is a waste of money if those people aren’t going to come in, a lesson that Nickelson learned the hard way with his failed postcard marketing campaign. If you target everyone at once, he explains, all of the calls that come in will be based on price. If you’re getting a lot of price shopper phone calls, it may be a good indication that you’re guilty of this.

“You have to find out what it is that your customers are looking for—whether it’s a niche or a specific brand,” Nickelson says. “Play to your niche and once you corner that, go to the next one.”

GETTY IMAGES

Tommy Nickelson spent $3,000– $4,000 on a postcard marketing cam-

So, how do you go about doing this?

Get to know your customers. Shop owners can figure out who their top customers are and make profiles. Then, they can find resources that allow them to specifically target marketing efforts to those customers. Shop owners can purchase lists that have owners of specific vehicles, for example. Once that’s been obtained, then the marketing efforts can be further tailored to that customer. For example, marketing to customers with a specific vehicle that have children may benefit from a vehicle checkup coupon before a holiday weekend.

Sin No. 3: Practicing poor communication Many shops have loyalty and referral programs, but customers have no idea.

Through BG, there’s a protection plan that its shops have, but Wallace says many shops fail to let customers know about this, which is a mistake because it’s a loyalty tool that helps bring customers in.

Nickelson says his loyalty program has been a great marketing tool for his shop, even though it was a struggle at first. He uses a Rebate Checks program, which he says generates a 15–20 percent response rate. The Rebate Checks are sent to repeat customers as a percentage of what they’ve spent with the shop that year. So, each year, a customer could get a check for, say, $60, Nickelson says, to spend at the shop for an upcoming service.

Sin No. 4: Focusing on selling rather than educating “In the auto industry, where we’re fighting the stigma of trustworthiness, we have to have content on education and no ulterior motives,” Wallace says.

So, rather than sending out strictly coupons and service reminders, throw in some educational material that shows that you’re invested in your customers more than just after their wallet. A great way to do this is through social media, Wallace says. She suggests taking a technician from the back and having him or her post tips on social media. This will help create trust.

Sin No. 5: Staying in your comfort zone Think about how different today’s customers are than they were a decade ago. The customer that looked for a repair shop through the Yellow Pages no longer exists.

A few years ago, it was all about social media and now, it seems like voice search is the next big trend. Don’t get left behind.

Wallace suggests looking into podcasts and influencer marketing as a way to differentiate. A podcast gets your shop in front of more customers and is a tactic that not many shops are using. When finding an influencer, it could be one of your own employees that serves as the face of your shop.

“Turn your shop from, ‘Dave’s Automotive’ to, ‘Dave, the automotive expert,’” Wallace says.

Doing this creates trust with customers and brings exposure to your shop.

Sin No. 6: Relying too heavily on returning customers “If you don’t balance your CRM with news customers, you will starve,” Nickelson says.

CRM platforms are great, he explains, but if 80 percent of your business is from repeat customers and all of that work is scheduled up front, you’ll get to

a point where there’s a lull because your customers don’t need any service done for a period of time. This needs to be offset with new customers coming in.

“The more repeat customers that you have, the better, but you need to feed the machine,” Nickelson says. “There aren’t many shops that can take a 75 percent hit because they’ve already fixed that much of its customer base.”

Nickelson suggests figuring out how much each new customer costs you to bring in and then figure out a healthy balance between new and returning customers. His shop is at roughly 80 percent returning and 20 percent new and he recommends somewhere close to that range. He doesn’t recommend any more than 35 percent for new customers, and he only recommends going that extreme in a year of growth. Once that’s been figured out, multiply the cost per new customers to how many you want to bring in each month and add that to your marketing budget.

Sin. No. 7: Underestimating the importance of customer service Good marketing only gets you so far, Nickelson says.

“If they’re [customers] not saying, ‘wow,’ you’re not doing it right,” Nickelson says.

Don’t drop the ball once the customer comes in, or the marketing and work you’ve done will only be good for a one time visit.

Make sure to deliver top-notch service and follow-up. Nickelson says he’s amazed by the amount of customers that express how excited they are that someone is calling to follow up on the service that they received.

He says it’s a wow factor of which many may not think.

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Columns

INDUSTRY INSIDER Rissy Sutherland

7 STEPS TO HIGHER PROFIT These fixes will help make you thousands of dollars Three years ago, I taught a financial

seminar at the Ratchet+Wrench Management Conference. Recently, I got a call from a shop owner that attended that seminar. He told me that the presentation changed his life. He told me that he did just about everything that was covered in the presentation and it resulted in more than $90,000 to the bottom line and roughly the same with sales.

I’ve often met with shop owners— good shop owners with great reputations—whose margins and bottom line are nowhere near where they need to be.

I’ll go over what they need to change, but I’m met with arguments on why it won’t work for them. I’m here to tell you that it will work, if you follow the right steps, like the shop owner who called me did.

1) Look at your labor rate.

A good rule of thumb is that if your labor rate is less than $135, or you haven’t changed it in over a year, then it’s time to raise it. I have people time and time again tell me, “I can’t charge more than (fill in the blank) in my area.” In all my years and in all of the shops that I’ve encountered, I have never known one to go down in sales or customer base when a labor rate change happened. However, they all greatly increase profits and income.

FUE VANG

2) Make sure you are doing labor bumps.

ALLDATA and Mitchell are guides— it says so on the old printed book! They are only correct or the same less than 37 percent of the time. You must see what your tech says, what the guide says and then bump by .05. If you don’t, then at the end of the month, your effective labor rate will not be where you want it to be because you had too much carry over, too much warranty work and too many no gos. If this number is not in line, then your gross profit won’t be either.

3) Pay flat rate. Do not pay salary.

If you want a tech that gets paid more than he or she produces and coast through every week, then pay him or her a salary. If you want a tech who wants exponential potential to make a lot of money, then pay him or her flat rate. I would probably make more money by paying salary, but then I would have unmotivated techs, so it doesn’t work for me.

4) Factor in shop supplies.

This should show up at least 6 percent.

If not, then you are losing a lot of money that you pay out and that is owed to you.

5) Examine your parts mark-up.

If your parts mark up is not at a 2.8 or better, you should examine your matrix or matrix overrides than your managers may be doing. Review your matrix, or better yet, review your manager’s matrix overrides because he or she is probably going around it.

6) Evaluate the amount of discounts you’re giving out.

How much did you lose in discounts last month? Do you know what it should be?

If it’s more than a couple percent, then you may have a problem.

7) Negotiate where you can.

When was the last time you looked at your uniform bill? Have you gone back and looked at each one? If not then you are losing money.

When it comes to parts vendors, have you asked for: • Higher monthly rebates on total purchases?

• Training?

• Paying out to sponsor manager competition?

• Shop lunches?

• Tickets to events?

• Reducing pricing on common parts?

Rissy Sutherland has opened more than 400 shops in her career as the executive for nearly a dozen automotive brands and now the president of SRS + Co. She is one of the industry's foremost experts in shop operations. sutherlandrissy@gmail.com ratchetandwrench.com/sutherland

You can save thousands per year here, so take advantage of it.

These are a few instant, easy-to-do fixes that will make you thousands of dollars. However, it means nothing if you don’t review your numbers every day and then review it with your manager to make changes. I promise, if you put even some of these in place and do the daily review and accountability on it, you will have the same revenues and more profit at the end of the year.

Finally, please don’t assume that your managers—even the toughest of them all—don’t want to review their goals. I went to visit one of the “toughest” managers in the country recently. When I sat with him to talk about the business, I asked him if there was anything we could do for him.

He said, “I would really like you to send me a budget and goals each month of what you want me to do and how that will impact me financially so I can do more and hit those goals.” It was so eye opening to me how much I take these things for granted and what a difference it makes.

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T O O L B OX / C A S E S T U DY

LOCAT E VA L U For Bryan and Becki McGinnis, they knew their first shop wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t their last

BY A B BY PAT T E R S O N PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX SWENSON

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TION ATION Make Your Move Your first shop isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily your last, as Bryan and Becki McGinnis learned. After years of working in a small, hardto-locate shop, they were ready for change.

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T O O L B OX / C A S E S T U DY

For Bryan McGinnis and his wife, Becki, their dream was to own their own auto repair shop, and in order to make that happen, they took what they were able to get their hands on, which they quickly outgrew.

The path to their ultimate dream had the couple starting in a 3,000-square-foot shop off an industrial road in Auburn, Calif. Going into it, both Bryan and Becki knew this location wasn’t the end goal, but they had to start somewhere, and it was what was available and what they could afford. So, when their shop, Autovantage Service Center, gained more clients and their space didn’t hold up to their expectations, the time came to search for other options. Bryan and Becki detail how they made it work until the ideal opportunity presented itself.

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THE BACKSTORY

Bryan started off working as a technician in an independent shop, later working for dealerships. The last one he worked at was Auburn Nissan, which ended up closing its doors in 2008. Right after, he decided to open up his own shop, but he had to start off small. He and his wife, Becki, were able to find a tiny shop hidden on an industrial road near the Auburn airport. Bryan says the space was more like a drive-thru than your typical shop; the shop had three bays with no bay doors.

“When we started, we started the business from scratch; beggars can’t be choosers,” Bryan says. “It was a good size for a home, but not automotive repair.”

THE PROBLEM

Lucky for the McGinnis’s, they started out with a hefty client list. When the Nissan dealership shut down, Bryan asked the original owner to name his price for his client list. On top of this, the old owner wrote a personal letter to all of his

former customers recommending Autovantage Service Center—Bryan and Becki’s new shop—to them. This was a blessing, but with limited shop space, it became difficult to handle the workload.

Their solution at the time was trying to shove as many cars in the shop as they could handle. Thankfully, they made it work—at least, at the time.

“We always had to watch our schedule to make room for everything,” Bryan says.

After a couple of years in the business, however, another problem with the location kept coming up.

“You’re so hard to find.”

“We had no idea you were here.”

Turns out, being on an industrial road wasn’t the best way to get exposure.

They started off with a blessing of plenty of clients, but when new customers— or existing ones, even—couldn’t find the shop, they saw an issue. Many times, customers would drive by the entrance multiple times, never noticing the shop.

“Auburn is not a big California town; only about 12,000 people in the town,”

AUTOVANTAGE SERVICE CENTER Owners: Becki & Bryan McGinnis

Customer Centric Exposure is key. While looking for a new location, Bryan and Becki McGinnis wanted something that was easy to spot from the street.

Bryan says. “It’s one of those things where I thought word-of-mouth would work.”

Two years after opening the shop, they added another 1,500 square feet to the space. But, not too long after, they outgrew that space, too. And, besides needing a bigger space and more visibility, Bryan and Becki wanted to take control and take ownership of their own building in the future.

“After realizing we had paid someone almost half a million in rent, it no longer made sense,” Becki says. “I was not going to make a move to continue to pay someone else's mortgage. We were now thinking about retirement and our future.”

With all of these factors in mind, Bryan and Becki knew it didn’t work anymore.

“Pretty much everything you look for in a business, it wasn’t,” Bryan says.”

THE SOLUTION

One day, Bryan got a call from a friend who ran his own shop in the former Auburn Nissan dealership for which Bryan used to

Staff Size: 8

Location: Auburn, Calif.

Average Monthly Car Count: 180

Shop Size: 11,000 square feet

Annual Revenue: $1.2 million

work for. He was looking to move out of his business and said the current owner of the building would be willing to sell.

The former space Bryan had worked in had everything they were looking for.

The location was just off of California’s State Route 49, the main artery through Auburn, and was surrounded by thriving businesses: a marble shop, a dance studio across the way, a paint shop, an automotive parts store and a brewery.

This was a huge opportunity for the shop to gain more exposure.

On top of the huge upgrade in visibility, the new space doubled the shop’s size to 10,000 square feet and a total of eight bays.

Now, they’d have enough room for their current (and new) customers’ vehicles that walk through the door—much better than cramming vehicles in their barely-two-bay space like they had been.

Plus, there was no lease attached. Once they put their money down, it was all theirs.

The McGinnis’s had $30,000 saved up to own their ideal shop, and this location was worth making an investment on.

“All the other buildings [we were looking at] in the past had been too small or were going to need a ton of improvements to get it where we needed the building to be. We never truly loved the locations either,” Becki says.

The minute the old shop was out, Autovantage moved its equipment in.

Before moving, the shop sent out emails, postcards, and notified customers every time they had an interaction with them about the move. And, before the new shop opened, it was closed for a week for the WORLDPAC expo in Dallas. While the team was gone, Becki got to work on making the location their own.

“Because the building had been used for auto repair since opening, it was set up exactly how we wanted it. All we did moving in was paint the interior and exterior, sealed the parking lot and added security cameras—those were the only improvements needed,” Becki says.

“Everything went so smoothly, and that is how we knew this was godsend and the perfect building for us.”

THE AFTERMATH

Just one day after getting back from WORLDPAC, Bryan and Becki hit the ground running and officially opened back up for business. Just in the first week in the new location, the shop had new customers that were purely walk-ins, which Bryan says never happened at the other location.

With a plateau in car count—1,752 for the year 2017, to be exact—walk-ins made a huge difference. At the end of the shop’s first year in 2018, car count was at 2,179, about 40 more cars per month than at the old shop. With this, ARO and revenue went up, too—$555 to $598 for ARO and from below $1 million to $1.2 million.

This is all just after two years of being at the new location.

THE TAKEAWAY

Investing in a location requires a lot of money and a lot of time. So, when you aren’t sure what you’re looking for or are just starting out, renting may be the temporary answer. But, once you have an ideal vision of what you need for your shop to succeed, Bryan and Becki learned that it’s best to take ahold of that investment and run with it.

“I can’t stress this enough, but for me, you have to buy. It’s a huge investment by buying,” Bryan says. “When we are all done, this building is versatile for several different spaces to rent out or buy.”

And because of this, Bryan and Becki can confidently say they’ll be able to retire early on to enjoy the rest of their lives.

If they had jumped on any of the other locations they had their eyes on, they would have sold themselves short.

“Whether it was divine intervention, I don’t know, but it sure seemed that way,” Bryan says.

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T O O L B OX / F I N A N C E + O P E R AT I O N S

Standardize Your Pricing Keys to a foolproof pricing strategy

BY A B BY PAT T E R S O N

In a 2018 Consumer Complaint Survey Report from the Consumer Federa-

tion of America, the automotive industry topped the list when it came to the number of consumer complaints. But why? With an already-ingrained stigma that auto repair operators are ripping customers off, pricing services incorrectly only adds fuel to the fire. If a service advisor is off by $10–$15, it’s easy to explain to a customer, but if a service writer is shooting from the hip on bigger jobs, it can cost you.

“It’s important because that’s the customer’s perception of you; it’s not a great perception of the industry,” says Seth Thorson, owner of the twolocation, $3.5-million-per-year Eurotech Auto Service in Minnesota, which has an average repair order of roughly $1,000, depending on the location.

“They see the change [in price] as getting screwed over.”

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Cecil Bullard, CEO of the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence, says some auto repair businesses struggle with standardizing their prices, but it’s a system that every shop should put in place.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to trust; the customer trusts you’re not screwing them over, your technician trusts you’re paying them fairly, and you as an owner can trust they will make the profit they need. This requires consistency and a true understanding of what goes into that price.

Bullard and Thorson, whose shops see 300 cars per month, break down how to make sure your pricing correctly the first time.

Get customers to come in.

Don’t give quotes over the phone. Thorson says if you have a business coach, they probably have already told you this.

This is the first step in assuring you don’t

YOUR IDEAL PRICING SOP

Not sure of the best way to create an fool-proof estimate? Cecil Bullard, CEO of the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence, has broken it down. ((Recommended Hours X 0.2) Labor Rate) + Part Price + Tax = Price 1. Find the price of a part—utilizing a parts-pricing app can help you find the correct price.

2. Factor in how long the repair will take.

Bullard says to utilize your shop system’s labor guide, inputting the vehicle type, make and model for the recommended repair time.

3. Mark up from how long the job will take by 20 percent for miscellaneous costs, like shop maintenance, or “the brown bananas,” as Bullard likes to call it. For example, if the guide says a job will take two hours, it should be 2 hours X 20 percent = 0.4, which will equal 2.4.

4. Multiply that number by your shop’s labor rate, and add in how much the part will cost.

5. Add tax.

give the wrong price. There are some exceptions. With a standard job, like an oil change, fluid flush, or a general diagnosis, prices are usually set in stone, so it can be OK to share these prices with customers before seeing the vehicle.

Any other job price involving parts and lots of labor, however, should not be given over the phone. Thorson says any time a service writer does this, they are likely to make a mistake because the price of the job could depend on the vehicle and the condition that it’s in, which may not be communicated over the phone.

Consider variables.

A one-size fits all price is hard to come by in automotive repair. Some surprising factors that make a difference? Correcting improper repairs and rust. Thorson says if another shop worked on that particular vehicle and didn’t put the parts back together properly, the technician has to correct the problem before dealing with the initial repair. Rust can also be a contributing factor in price, which Thorson says can be a 10–15 percent increase in price.

And, because Thorson’s shop specializes in European vehicles, parts prices change often; at one point, the price changed every 60–90 days. So, to avoid misquoting a price, Thorson has a 30-day price quote policy in place. When a diagnosis is made and an estimate is quoted, the service advisor is required to relay the policy to the customer and document that price. That way, a customer can’t get mad if they finally decide to get the repair and the price has changed.

Create a template.

Having a template for your service writers

to go off of will eliminate any confusion in prices. In addition to his straightforward jobs, like an oil change, Thorson has a menu/packaged-based pricing system for more complicated and price-sensitive items, like brake jobs, maintenance services, and some common suspension jobs. To come up with his pricing, he’s implemented the packaged pricing into his shop’s management system, Tekmetric. This is how it works: let’s say a vehicle needs a water pump, for example.

After entering in all of the vehicle’s information, there is an option if the water pump needs a new hose or not, with each option leading to a different price.

By clicking on one of the options, a service advisor can pull out an estimate on a product.

With this system in place, employees and customers have a fairly solid idea on the price. With menu or packaged pricing, it not only keeps prices competitive, according to Thorson, but makes it easier for service writers to communicate prices to customers. If someone comes into the shop, the price is there at one click of a button.

Understand your costs.

If you don’t understand what it costs to make the repair, you won’t know how your pricing will affect your business. The amount you mark up your prices can make or break your business. Bullard says if an owner doesn’t know how other outside cost factors will affect the cost of their prices, they are losing money without even realizing it. An owner needs to understand their costs so they can set prices and make the profit they need.

“You will be a slave to your business if you don’t have these numbers,”

Bullard says. “Base it on the profit you need to make first, then determine your price. If there is a strict equation to follow, then everyone will price the same.

If you aren’t following a process, at the end of the day, you’re going to have less margin, which will lead to less gross profit dollars.”

One of the factors in determining your costs is location. Bullard says multiple locations of a shop have different prices attached because of the different costs associated with that location.

With this, a shop owner has to factor in that location’s rent, utilities, maintenance, and more to determine what price will lead to a profit.

Establish a training process.

After you understand your costs and create a template to go off of, you can create a training procedure that employees can follow and easily go back to so there’s no room for mistakes. Bullard and Thorson, who has a staff of 30, recommend creating a step-by-step training SOP for your staff to follow.

“By standardizing your procedure, you’re going to standardize your pricing to some degree,” Thorson says. “If you are doing it the same every time, that will standardize your pricing.”

To make sure all employees know the procedures like the back of their hand, employees go through thorough training on the shop’s procedures through the shop’s learning management system.

Thorson says if an employee forgets the steps of a procedure, he can send them back to the training to get some more practice. And if an employee needs a little guidance, they can easily access the specific SOP through the system, too.

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Columns

THE BOTTOM LINE Mitch Schneider

MAKING BETTER DECISIONS Instead of letting work pile up, make a choice to start on something

MICHAEL HOEWELER

I’m sitting here looking at my desk

staring at the stacks and piles covering its surface wondering what to do next. I’ll bet I’m not alone. In fact, I bet you’ve found yourself sitting at your desk staring off into space wondering the same thing.

It’s not easy choosing what to start on.

The piles can become overwhelming. But yet, we continue to add to the piles with a sense of accomplishment, since, after all, they are organized. This is the right hemisphere of my brain working, when I’m making the piles.

Once I’ve finally made the choice, a mystical switch is toggled and my brain function shifts to the left hemisphere of my brain where things are more organized: more analytical.

I don’t know how or why that transition occurs the way it does. All I know is that shifting between both hemispheres of the brain was the same way I worked in the shop, both behind the desk and out on the shop floor.

I’m just glad I’ve finally realized that’s what was happening so I could engage both hemispheres in the process of making better decisions—more rewarding choices.

So, what’s the magical process that will result in better, more powerful decisions?

The first thing you have to know is that this process is neither guaranteed to be successful, nor is it magic. Like everything worthwhile, it takes thought and effort. In other words, work. But, like everything worthwhile, it is worth the effort.

For me, every decision starts with revisiting your why. Experience has taught me that conflict, anxiety, and frustration are all inevitable when your actions are not consistent with your purpose and your purpose is—or, at least, should be—a direct

manifestation of your why. So, the very first step has to be ensuring that whatever it is you are about to choose is aligned with your mission, vision, goals, and objectives.

Once you’ve done that, it’s time to harvest information. Start pulling together everything you need to know surrounding the choice you are about to make.

Identify your options. Keep in mind there will always be unforeseen consequences that will flow out of the actions you take. Recognize that, in order to move forward you, will have to force yourself to set aside your natural fear of those consequences.

Remember, the fear of making the wrong choice is real. It can cripple even the strongest among us. One of the best ways to combat that fear is to ask yourself, or your leadership team: your wife, husband, partner, significant other, manager or crew—what the worst possible outcome of your potential decision might be.

Essentially, you are performing a premortem, which is an examination of how and why the patient might have died before death and brainstorming possible causes. It starts with questions about the choices that would most likely lead to an undesirable outcome. What went wrong? Why did it go wrong? And, most important: What could have been avoided to ensure a different outcome?

Once you have explored alternative perspectives and limited your options, understand that, regardless of how hard you try to anticipate that unknown future, you will ultimately have to choose. There are forks in the road and you can only choose one.

Try hard not to be swayed by social pressure or outside influences. And, perhaps

Mitch Schneider is a fourthgeneration auto repair professional and the former owner of Schneider’s Auto Repair in Simi Valley, Calif. He is an industry educator, seminar facilitator, blogger, and author of the acclaimed novel Misfire. Contact him at: mitch@misfirebook.com. mitch@mitchschneidersworld.com ratchetandwrench.com/schneider

most important, be aware of the tendency to fall prey to confirmation bias when it comes to making any decisions. Confirmation bias is the natural enemy of good choices.

Something we must be aware of if we’re serious about the choices we are forced to make countless times each day.

What is confirmation bias? It’s the way we selectively choose, process, retain and use information to support something we already believe. The way we bend information to reinforce something we already believe to be true.

Once you have followed the process and made a decision, don’t look back.

If you followed the process and made the best decision you could on the basis of all the information available to you at the time, there is no reason to look back. The path you’ve chosen is the right choice. The right choice for you. Your path forward.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I WANT THE SHOP TO POSSIBLE. TO DO THI FIND THE RIG Repair Life

68 / R+W / 04.20

D E NI S E S TA NL E Y

O GO ON AS LONG AS IS, IT’S ESSENTIAL TO GHT PEOPLE.” PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOO SHOOT PHOTOGRAPHY

Power in People Denise Stanley (center) is investing in herself and her people in order to take her business to the next level and reach her goal of $1 million in 2020.

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R E PA I R L I F E / D E N I S E S TA N L E Y

W

hat does it take for a shop to triple its revenue in just two years?

Just ask Quality Automotive Repair in Blairstown, N.J. In a town of roughly 6,000 residents, the shop managed to go from $219,000 in 2015 to $660,000 just two years later by focusing on employees.

Owners John and Denise Stanley both came from dealerships before deciding to open up their very own shop in 1996. The couple started out in a two bay shop located on the back roads and made their way to the shop’s current location, where they’ve been for 10 years now. Yes, moving helped increase the shop’s exposure, but revenue was still stagnant. With their dealership experience, they thought running their own independent shop would be second nature.

“For 20 years, we had no idea what we were doing,” Denise Stanley says. “We took our dealership background and just went with it.”

After joining the Automotive Training Institute (ATI) in May 2016 and adding on a service advisor a couple months after, the couple realized everything they’d been missing. And in 2019, the shop hit $725,000.

With her husband slowly moving out of the business, Denise Stanley has taken the reigns on the operation. To get to her goal of $1 million for 2020, she’s placed more of an emphasis on the people within her shop.

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QUALITY AUTOMOTIVE

Owner: John and Denise Stanley Location: Blairstown, N.J. Staff Size: 6 (2 technicians, 2 part-timers, service advisor, apprentice) Shop Size: 3,000 square feet Lifts: 2 (1 alignment rack) Average Monthly Car Count: 140 Annual Revenue: $725,000

When I arrive at the shop between 8 and 9 a.m., I make sure to say, “Good morning!” to each guy. Right now, I’m focus-

ing on employee engagement and want to make sure each employee feels heard and seen. After that, I talk to our service advisor about what’s going on for the day and if he has any questions or concerns. From there, I get up to the office and start doing repair order audits. I’m not consistent with what I do throughout the day, but this is something I do every day so they don’t pile up on me. From these, I am able to discuss any discrepancies with my service advisor and technicians.

I need to make sure I’m up to date on everyone’s performance. It’s important

to have one-on-one check-ins every month to make sure everything is going well. I have one every month, and I also have my service advisor hold a meeting with the technicians every month. That way,

Beneficial Breakfast Once per week, Denise and John Stanley (right), owners of Quality Automotive, get the team together for a breakfast meeting where any concerns the staff has can be addressed.

then they are onboarded and have a different idea of how they want to do things. In the past, we wanted to hold onto candidates because they were a warm body, and we realized that was the worst thing we could have done. We went to a couple of staffing and hiring seminars and I learned how to interview a little better. Just asking the right questions can reveal a lot more than you possibly know. If you ask all of the typical questions, they’ll know it’s coming. It’s about asking the odd questions that will give you an insight.

We started having staffing issues when we joined ATI because we wanted to do things differently. We had three technicians and two of them did not want to change what they were currently doing. It was an ongoing thing. We cracked down on our processes this summer after I went to the staffing and hiring seminars and realized I was handling my staff the wrong way.

When we got our new digital inspection system, for example, it took a lot to get people on board to use it. Now, we finally have guys that understand why we are using it.

Our service advisor was our biggest contributing factor to our revenue growth in that two year period. Before we hired him,

they can vent their issues about the service advisor to me, and vent issues with me to the service advisor. It helps with getting the most accurate feedback.

Every week, I hold a “breakfast meeting,” where I buy everyone breakfast and I go over what’s ahead for the week. This is a great time where the techs can have an open-ended conversation with one another and have the ability to express any questions or concerns.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, I work on marketing with my part-time marketing employee, going over everything that we are going to push for the week. This

year, I’ve been focusing on a lot of different ways to market. Recently, I was talking to someone in our 20 group that told me about a different marketing platform for direct mail, so I made the switch to try and grow our marketing. Once we switched over to the new marketing company this year and

started doing direct mail, we gained 200 new customers. We received a lot of great feedback. I’ve even had people come in that I didn’t know and said they recognized my face from the postcards we sent out. I had a little celebrity moment from that.

We are the only shop in the area that does digital inspections with pictures.

We’ve been working on our new Repair Shop Solutions software all year, and since September, we finally have the process down. So far, we haven't advertised this in our marketing yet. The funny thing is that the things we do, I forget they are special. I was recently talking to our direct mail guy and he said I need to tell people about these things, including digital inspections. Now, we are trying to let people know that we are here and different from everyone else.

Of course, there’s a tech shortage. The

thing about any employee is that—in interviews—they are on their best behavior, and

we went through a period of slow times and I didn’t know how to overcome it. When I was acting as the service advisor, I always talked to customers and held conversations like a regular service advisor would, but when it came down to it, I truly didn’t know how to execute a sale. When customers would talk about how they were going through hard times, I just naturally assumed customers wouldn’t be able to afford a certain service.

When I hired our service advisor, he didn’t know these people and he didn’t have a pre-assumed notion about them either.

He just presented what the vehicle needed to the customer. He’s what we were missing in our shop. He’s a salesman at heart.

One of my personal goals in 2020 is to find my second in command to replace my husband as he transitions out of the business into retirement. I’m 57, so I still have

about 10 years to go before I can retire, and I don’t want to sell. I want the shop to go on as long as possible and hopefully one day, it will run on its own. And to do this, it’s essential to find the right people to take on those roles.

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Columns

THE FIXER Aaron Stokes

If you don’t know the answer, you need to become more self-aware I’m impatient. Extremely impatient. I

want to get down to business so quickly that I forget to be charming or polished or put any effort into the situation. I can make a person feel like I don’t care about him or her and that it’s all business. This is a weakness of mine.

We all have weaknesses. Some of us are just more self-aware. I wasn’t always aware that I came off like this. For me, hopping up on stage and giving an impromptu presentation is easy. Leading a meeting or inspiring people—it’s just a conversation to me. It’s something that comes easily. I actually thrive when there’s no planning.

Planning hurts me. I feel stifled and not creative. But not everyone is like that.

Whenever it came to do something like this, I would come off like I didn’t understand the other person.

I have my No. 2, TJ, to thank for helping me realize my weakness. One day, he said to me, “You do realize that not everyone else can hop up on stage five minutes before and seem like they’ve prepared for hours, right?”

The thing is, I hadn’t. TJ pointing it out gave me self-awareness. My understanding that I 72 / R + W / 0 4 . 2 0

operate on this wavelength was the biggest hurdle for me when it came to business, so realize this was a blessing.

Once you’ve realized your weakness, the next step is actually doing something about it. Once I realized I could come off as though I didn’t care, I began making a more active effort to be charming and put humor into things. I actually wasn’t always this way. My dad left when I was 11 and it traumatized me and made me very serious.

Me working on this has brought me back to where I’m supposed to be. Because I know my weakness, I’ve been able to work on how I adapt to others. I remind myself not to just care about the task, but the person who is doing the task.

For those of you out there thinking, “I don’t have a weakness,” you’re wrong.

Everyone has one (or two, or three…) but you just haven’t come to the level of selfawareness that you need to pinpoint what it is. How do you do this? Be approachable.

Find someone who will be your own TJ and reveal your weakness. In order to be approachable, you have to be the kind of leader that your staff feels comfortable

aaron@shopfixacademy.com ratchetandwrench.com/stokes

talking to. You can’t be the guy—or girl— that loses it and kicks the trash can. That type of behavior is making everyone on your team distrust you. You need to gain the trust of your team so they know that they can tell you what your weaknesses are and trust that, rather than getting upset, you will take it into consideration and work on it.

If you’re not self-aware (which, as I mentioned, may require a little help and humility) you’ll float through life blind.

Once you give in and realize that you’re not perfect, you’ll be able to see yourself like you never have before. It’ll be like looking at yourself for the first time in a mirror.

Self-awareness will drive success. It will point out your flaws and, in doing that, you will realize what you need to grow as both a person and a leader.

Drop the ego. There’s no room for arrogance. In order to be successful, you need to continue to learn—and that includes learning about yourself. If you do that, you’ll learn how to grow and you’ll gain a desire to get feedback from others and how you can change. Discover and accept your weaknesses. It’ll be a gamechanger.

FUE VANG, GETTY

WHAT’S YOUR WEAKNESS?

Aaron Stokes grew his business, AutoFix, into a six-shop operation that is widely regarded as one of the top repair businesses in the country. He is also the founder of Shop Fix Academy.

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