Lee Harkins' Thoughts

In our business, Customer Retention must be our ultimate goal! Your competition has been successful in stripping away at your business. These independent service providers are fighting for every customer they get! Your fight must include focusing on making your operation “different” than before! Remember, they disqualified your operation because of the way you were. Not changing anything and then thinking they will return is a poor strategy.

M5™ can help you and your dealership develop tactical methods to advance your business. Call us for suggestions! It would be our pleasure to help.

Thank you,


Lee Harkins
President and CEO
M5™ Management Services, Inc.
leeharkins@m5ms.com

Visit us at:
www.M5MS.com

So, you think you have problems??
by: Jim Richter

I know you’ve been reading about all of the parts issues tied to the tragedy in Japan and that has me thinking about all we’ve been through these last few years and what we should be thankful for here. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own world we lose sight of what others in similar, but still different industries have to cope with.

Choices, Choices, Choices...

I can’t recall how many times I’ve visited with a Parts Manager and heard complaints that the orders were delayed for a day or two, or referred from the normal PDC to another, or even in some cases referred to the factory for a critical order fill. Hey, at least there is a process to get that order done, and that’s not always the case.

Every year I visit the Amelia Island Concours and attend vintage car and motorcycle races; you think you have parts problems? The vehicles being loved and campaigned are largely out of production, in some cases approaching 100 years old. Where do you think their owners and restorers go for parts? They seek out small suppliers, often in other countries, wait for months, and pray the damn things actually work! I volunteer at the Barber Motorsport Museum here in Birmingham AL and they’ve gone so far as to acquire a CNC milling machine to make the parts they cannot find. How would you like to have to deal with that every day?

Expand Supplier Lines

Too many parts managers in franchised stores confine their lines of supply to their factory or factory wholesale distributor. Well, sometimes that’s just not good enough. A while back we talked about having multiple supplier lines for pricing purposes; remember Good, Better, and Best? Well that goes for supply as well as price. Even your franchise manufacturer has multiple suppliers just in case one goes down, as well as to control costs.

Brave New World

2009 and 2010 are now behind us and stores left standing have to deal with the realities of a recovering new vehicle market. Those who planned to structure their business on first owner vehicles have seen a dramatic reduction in their business over the last two years. Those who aggressively pursued the subsequent owners with the high mileage units have begun to grow and prosper. To do that they had to become flexible on sourcing and pricing, as well as be able to acquire quality non-franchise parts quickly. There are some progressive companies that have geared up for this business. They’ve traditionally served the Aftermarket, but they’re available to you as well and I don’t mean just for the occasional ‘hot shot’. You need to cultivate good quality vendors who will stock and supply you with your needs as the market shifts, and now is the time to be selecting them, not when you’re stuck with a problem. Conversely, some of these vendors could use you as a supplier to them. They can’t have everything in stock any more than you can, so line some of them up as wholesale customers. Aren’t they just as valuable as the independent shops you only sell a few parts to right now? Its plus business and you’re going to need every bit of it.

It could be a lot worse...

Looking back at the last 2 years we’ve all come through a lot, but hey we’re still here and ready for more. 2011 will be a year of opportunity; no more retrenching. There’s an old saying “You can’t expense your way to profits” and I firmly believe that to be true. You can’t grow if you’re shrinking. Now is the time to say “I’m done with back pedaling” and prepare for the future as it will be for some time. Be the winner!

Skid Marks

Skid Marks is an ongoing article series that shares the lighter side of working in a service department. All the stories are true. Brand names and real names have been removed.

This particular story popped back into my head after the recent goings on in Pakistan with the capture & elimination of Osama Bin Laden. I worked in a car dealership within an hour of NY City when the tragic day of 9/11 occurred. Needless to say we lost customers, and some of us lost friends and family at the dealership I worked at. I knew some people down close to the towers but, thankfully, all got out safe & sound.

A month or so after the tragic day I was sitting in my office with my shop foreman at the end of the day about 5:30pm going over the day’s events, and my receptionist stated that she had a frantic women on the phone & insisted on bringing her car in right away TODAY to have us check a noise she is hearing, and, it just started & is afraid to drive the car.

“I need to come down there right now & get this fixed”, she said. My foreman Frank is sitting with me when I take the call. He is the only tech left at the shop at this particular time, and when I got on the phone she was in pure panic mode.

“The noise is terrible”!

“It sounds like the car is falling apart”!

“It has to be fixed NOW”!

“Ever since I left the local Walmart a few minutes ago I hear this noise can I please come in now”?

So naturally I asked if she could drop it off with us some time tonight, and we would get it looked at right away in the morning, and several other options, but guess what? No dice.

Frank my foreman was sitting right there, and hearing the whole conversation. So with my best “puppy dog” eyes I ask if he can hang out a few minutes, and go for a ride with this lady so we can at least talk her off the ledge?

He heard me do my best to get her to come in tomorrow, or drop it off tonight. He was an awesome tech as well as fantastic person with the customers. He agreed, and when I told her the good news she said she would be there within 15 minutes.

Well she was a woman of her word, and was prompt. When she arrived we wrote up a quick repair order. She thanked us a million times for taking her in because she swears she would’ve broken down or something awful would have happen with the noise. Frank asked her if she was ready to go for a ride, and she refused!

“I am not getting back in that car until it’s fixed”!

Oh boy, this one is going to be a lulu!

Well Frank goes off on his ride alone, and I am left to entertain “Panicking Polly” for the 10-15 minutes while he is gone. Well Frank gets back, and walks into the write up area, and “Polly” jumps up and says “did you hear it”?

Frank says “Yep, I sure did”!

He then pulls one of the plastic American flags that everybody was attaching to their rear windows as a sign of patriotism due to the recent events. She said “What is that”? Frank explained he heard the noise right away, and heard it coming from the rear driver’s side of the car. Frank Jumped out, removed the flag, and guess what?

The car was quiet as the day she picked it up after that.

She stated that she just bought that at Walmart & put it on the car, and almost didn’t believe that it was the problem. Frank convinced her to take a ride with her. She agreed. He drove without it at first, and no noise. Reinstalled the flag, and guess what a loud flappy banging noise from the rear. Guess what Frank was right!

She was thankful, and embarrassed, and she didn’t even buy the car from us, but after that we had a customer for life.

All I have to say is God Bless America, but when we are being patriotic with our cars do us all in the car business a little favor...Pay attention!

If you have a funny story that you'd like to share with your peers in the industry please send them to newsletter@m5ms.com and we will include them in a future Skid Marks article. Please remember that we will remove ALL brand names and real names.