Suppliers looking for brand loyalty from their independent service customers may be wasting their time on shop owners. Brand selection is usually made by the technician, according to a panel presentation titled “The myths and realities of automotive service and repair” at the Global Symposium.
Suppliers might also be wasting their time promoting brand to consumers.
“I can’t remember the last time a customer came in and asked for a brand,” says Betty Jo Young, co-owner of Young’s Automotive Center in Houston, Texas. “But the decision of the brand that is going to be purchased is my decision and my tech’s decision. Really, more his than mine, because we’re both having to stand behind this warranty.” Some exceptions to this are motor oil, as many consumers call for specific synthetic blends, and batteries, she adds.
“Most of the time the consumer does not specify a brand,” agrees Aaron Clements, president of C&C Automotive, in Augusta, Ga. “We get very few questions from the customer on wanting a specific brand, but we do get a lot of feedback from technicians on what they want to use.” Clements adds that if a technician had a problem with an aftermarket part a year ago, he would not want to use the part again.
On the flip side, there are some cases where the tech prefers an aftermarket part.
As far as ordering parts from OEMs, the reactions from the panel are mixed.
“The OEM purchase is rising, and we are echoing that in our own facility,” says John Cochrane, owner and president of Cochrane Automotive. The aftermarket price can be significantly higher than OEM parts in his experience, which, he adds, wears on the consumer’s confidence.
Denny Kahler, whose shop — Kahler’s Werkstatt, in Dublin, Calif. — specializes in European makes, notes that his overall dealer purchases have surprisingly decreased.
Refrain from infomercials
Quality training for independent repair shops should be free of sales pitches and what the panel describes as infomercials. As soon as you try to sell, the techs will tune you out.
“The shop owner requires business training, management training,” says Cochrane. “Technicians that come to infomercials will come once; they will not come back.”
Training should have good course descriptions and information should be current, says Young. “It’s got to be something that really entices the technician to want to be there,” she says. “I think you have to have a good instructor that’s going to keep these guys awake.”
Panelists also agree that the shop owner should be responsible for training.
“I send my technicians around the country for specific training classes,” says Kahler, who adds people come from all over the country to attend training at his business. AFTERTHOUGHTS | Turning to techs for brand insight
Betty Jo Young, when contacted after the Symposium, says she was “pleasantly surprised” to learn that other shop owners also depend on their techs for brand selection. Regarding whether or not distributors are aware of this fact, she says, “I don’t think they realize how much I depend on my technician to help me make those kinds of decisions. The way I look at it is the tech and I are in this together. I value his input.”
The “infomercial training” mentioned in the automotive service and repair panel is starting to be phased out, she adds, but, “It takes time to win these guys over.” Technicians must see the value to want to attend training classes, she adds, whether it’s making more money, becoming faster or remaining competitive. |
Management training is critical, and the industry is accused of performing poorly in this area.
“One of the numbers that I heard is the efficiency in the aftermarket repair shops is 60 percent,” adds Kahler, who also serves as chairman of the Automotive Service Association (ASA). “At 60 percent they’re out of business: They just don’t know it yet.”
The panel also stresses the importance of focusing on preventive maintenance.
For many years, Young says her shop threw maintenance work away. “Now we don’t have any choice.
“When my customer breaks down because maintenance was not performed on their vehicle, I have failed,” adds Young. “My job is to educate those customers. Their owner’s manual is not a Bible. And that 100,000 miles between spark plug changes is not what we recommend.”
“We were traditionally more of a breakdown shop years back,” says Clements. But now, “the cars are just not breaking down as often.”
Technology plays a significant role in the survival of these repair shops.
Kahler says without scan tools, his shop would be out of business. The company also belongs to a number of vehicle-specific Web groups, which have chat rooms and repair histories available.
“The resources are there and unfortunately I think a lot of the shops don’t know it,” he says, adding he noticed a productivity increase when he purchased laptops for each of his techs.
“So many problems are fixed in the shop instead of coming to the office. It’s made a huge productivity increase.”
He says Web access has also been a tremendous help in cutting down on return rates as it enables his company to do returns over the Internet. |
