CSI: Auto Care

When vacuuming (if you don’t vacuum, please read on) what do you do with the “treasures” found on the floor and under the customer’s seats? Money, drugs, pens, financial records, ipods, pictures, small animals, etc. will occasionally be found along with the regular trash.

Purchase some clear 5”x7” poly bags (about 1 cent each) and put any money, lipstick, batteries, pens, pictures, golf balls, keys, etc. into the bag and leave the bag on the front seat. Items too large for the bag should be left in their respective places. You may actually find something the customer thought they lost! This is extremely appreciated by your senior citizens.

Hopefully, implementation of the “poly bag” idea into your current procedure for vacuuming a vehicle will not trigger the C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigator) in your most imaginative technicians. As the technician stands to the side of the vehicle, snapping on their latex gloves, safety goggles, face mask, and equipped with their “poly bag” in one hand and the vacuum hose in the other, the customer sits and prays for something lesser than the death penalty.

Click on “comment” (below) to add your own thoughts (for this or any of these topics).

Christmas Parade

Chances are your community has a couple of parades every year. You know, bands, floats, cheer leaders, and vehicles carrying Miss America, Jr. Miss America, Miss Teen America, Jr. Miss Teen America, Little Jr. Miss Teen America, and finally Little Jr. Miss Fetus America.

When my children were younger, I don't think we ever missed a Christmas Parade. As the children grew older, I stayed home and watched the parade on the local cable station, while they went to the parade with friends. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people would line the streets, while more watched from the comfort of their home, to see everything from the Grand Marshal to Santa Claus.

Church, School, Clubs, etc. allows for people to see YOU, as a person, away from your business. A Christmas parade (or any parade) allows a community (a mixture of Churches, Schools, Clubs, etc.) to see YOU, your business, and your employees, dressed in non-business attire having a good time with the community. Allow for more people to see you and your "team" out of your element!

If you have a classic car or truck, build a float, rent a float, whatever, consider the goodwill and advertising. Perhaps you could load a flat bed with decorated empty 50-gallon drums? Is there a connection between a lump of coal, oil, and Christmas? Can you lube a sleigh? Safe for the Holidays? Green tights and elf hats for all techs? I don't know.

When I was in the first grade in Georgetown, Illinois, I remember TWO things about the Christmas parade that year. The first was the big guy in red (Santa), the second ... the men walking in black with the red star on their hats & shirts. They were the "Men with the Star" - Texaco.

Don't Pay Your Employees!

It occurred to me while I was posting "Simple Math for Getting Started" to my "In-Between Swing Sets" blog, that we, as employers, might need to provide our employees with some basic "daily living" or "survival" tips, inserted into the envelope containing their pay check; or simply posted on a bulletin board in the employee area. Ah, I don't need to get involved - their life is none of my business - it would be a waste of paper. Really?

A piece of paper is less than a penny, well, a copied page might be 3 cents. Is 3 cents too much to spend on someone that you hire to grow your investment? If occasionally, you communicated some sort of advice for every day living, you may actually hit a home run with something.

Believe it or not, you are VERY involved in your employees' lives. Hand-in-hand, their success depends on your success, and your success depends on their success. Educating your employees on more than how to service a vehicle will build trust, respect, confidence and more in your employer/employee relationship.

I am not referring to matters of a spiritual nature here. You do what you want. As a business owner, you must have done something right to get where you are today. Consider your own "school of hard knocks" and pass along some of that wisdom to your employees. Wouldn't it be great if one of those 24 year olds became responsible for a fleet of 100 vehicles 5 to 10 years from now?

Did you know that 80%+ of generation Y (currently 18-28), send thousands of text messages each month and belong to online social networks? If THEY don't like you, chances are, at least TWO HUNDRED people know it.

So, quit paying your employees, and start compensating them. You have value that you can add to the normal "paycheck" routine. "The best potential customer is a customer you already have", well, "The best potential customer is an X-EMPLOYEE (and their friends)".

Disney World

One of the best, if not the best, family vacation was our trip to Disney World in Florida. As a person that pays attention to details, I was in detail heaven. In fact, I would suggest that anyone that owns a business , or is starting a business, make the trip.

Sure, we all had fun. However, every day, men and women, in white paint suits, could be found painting something, anything, and everything. The brilliant colors that they were using to accent trim, hand rails, benches, etc. caught my attention as soon as we arrived. At first, I simply thought, "great, we arrived in time for remodeling". Then, after the second day, I realized that most of what they were painting, would not have been painted, or even touched up, in the "real world". Further, I noticed that most of the painters did not have a drop of paint on their white paint suits.

Needless to say, when I arrived home, I began painting EVERYTHING. It has been 13 or 14 years, and I cannot stop! Touching up is so easy and it can be done anytime, and, people always notice.

Now, those that know me will tell you that I cannot walk ten feet into my yard without looking like I just slid head first into second base, in the mud. I have also worked with white collar, professional types, that would communicate with their clients through 2 feet of paper stacked on their desk while 3 to 5 feet of file folders were surrounding their desk.

Your customers notice details. Drivers passing your business notice details. The mail delivery person, insurance person, advertising person, EVERYONE notices some level of detail, and they talk.

Some techs & mechanics wear oil & grease like medals. Like some baseball players I have played with, they never "dust themselves off". They want to APPEAR like they are giving all, or having a great game. I have seen techs, with your company name on their totally trashed uniform, grocery shopping, walking the mall, and having dinner 2 to 3 hours after they leave work! The uniform says, "Your Quick Lube", and the state of the uniform says "Changing Oil is War, and I am still learning"!

83% of what we learn is from sight, while 17% is from what we hear, smell, touch, and taste. A quart of paint and paying attention to cosmetic shop details (in front of your customers - especially when you are hammered with traffic) demonstrates to each customer, or at a minimum implies, that their vehicle is getting the same thorough (detailed) service, in a clean and uncluttered environment. As for the uniform, good luck, but keep it in the shop!

How Much for an Oil Change?

We may need to educate customer's more on gas mileage (and ourselves). Many of you are very familiar with Car Care Council, however, if you are not, check out their web site. I have included some graphics illustrating how much money one could save on gasoline over a 3,000 mile interval based upon gas prices, miles per gallon, and an underestimation of the increase in mpg by three (there are more) concerns.

Clean Motor Oil

The Car Care Council states that one could add up to 1 mile per gallon by having clean motor oil. I used 1/2 mile for the calculations to the left. For example, if one gets approximately 20 mpg and gas prices per gallon are $3.00, one would save $13.50 over a 3,000 mile interval. 3000/20mpg)=150 gallons of gas. 150*3%(increase in mpg)=4.5 gallons. 4.5 gallons @ $3.00 per gallon=$13.50.

Clean Air Filter

A clean Air Filter could add up to 10% to ones mpg! I used 6% for the calculations to the right. For example, if one gets approximately 20 mpg and gas prices per gallon are $3.00, one would save $27.00 over a 3,000 mile interval. 3000/20mpg)=150 gallons of gas. 150*6%(increase in mpg)=9 gallons. 9 gallons @ $3.00 per gallon=$27.00.

Proper Tire Pressure

Proper Tire Pressure could add up to 4% to ones mpg! I used 3% for the calculations to the left. For example, if one gets approximately 20 mpg and gas prices per gallon are $3.00, one would save $13.50 over a 3,000 mile interval. 3000/20mpg)=150 gallons of gas. 150*3%(increase in mpg)=4.5 gallons. 4.5 gallons @ $3.00 per gallon=$13.50.

Express Lane Time?

What is an Express Lane? An Express Lane - Rapid Lane - Whatever You Call It Lane - Could be a $20 Full Service with NO oil & NO oil filter. Perhaps it would take 5 minutes and consist of (for my examples above), checking the air filter, oil level & tire pressure, brakes, etc..

Ecologically & monetarily, it should make sense to your customers. Just the numbers above, at 25 mpg and $3.00 per gallon computes to $43.20 gas savings every 3,000 miles. The 3,000 mile Oil Change is free!

Back to the Express Lane. I have six vehicles, all of which receive a 3,000 to 3,500 mile oil change. I have had 6 rotors and one radiator replaced during the past SIX months. I have also had one tire blow & a serpentine belt break while on the interstate. I need a Fast Lane - $20 is cheap for a monthly "walk through" by a professional for each of my vehicles. If I spent $20 per month, $34 every third month, and an additional $15 (air filter) once a year, that would be a total of $311. My Savings on gas (25 mpg - $3.00/gal) for the same period of time would be $172.80 (total of each chart above * 4). If I take what I spent with you $311, subtract gas savings of $172.80, that means my net costs were $138.20 for 12 services. I also could have prevented some very costly repairs.

Another view. If you perform 12 Full Service Oil Changes, all take 10 minutes each, and all costs $34, you make (12*34)/(12*10)=$3.04 per minute (and you have product costs). Express Lane would make you (8*20)/(8*5)=$4.00 per minute (little product costs).

What do you think? Let's help one another with some ideas.

Lobby Talk

The lobby in your Quick Lube, Fast Lube, Car Wash, Tire Center or any other type of Auto or Car Care Center should be a comfortable place for your customers while they are waiting for their service(s) to be performed. A portion of the "Comfort Experience" must include Lobby Talk. Why? All people should, at a minimum, be greeted. Some, if they are not buried in a newspaper, magazine, or talking with another customer may actually be uncomfortable just sitting there. Show them some attention.

A "How are you today" or "How about this weather ..." always can be avoided. If you had to frequent 10 businesses during the day, you would be a weather expert by dinner.

What Not to Say

Try not to talk about yourself. I am remembering a seminar I once attended that defined the word "Try" as, "an attempt that results in failure 100% of the time". So, starting over, Don't talk about yourself. Don't use words like "I, me, my, or mine". NEVER refer to their vehicle as "That Car".

I would love to hear, "Mr. Sears your Suburban is going to require 'X' Service, which we can do for $32,898". Really? Can you do that today? Can you do that for my wife's car? What I hear 99% of the time, from various shops, is, "Mr. Sears, THAT TRUCK of yours (also known as Junk, Piece of ____, Cheap Ride) is going to need about $376 of work, that we really don't want to do". Since I have been insulted in my taste of transportation, I am immediately on the defensive. You're kidding. How can that be, since YOUR SHOP has serviced THAT VEHICLE every 3,000 miles since it was driven off the show room floor at the dealership! Get my point?

If the customer asks how YOU are, picture Snow White in the Forrest with all the birds and other animals, then simply answer, "couldn't be better". Leave the divorce, hemorrhoids & foreclosure info at home.

What to Say

Always use one of the most powerful words in the dictionary - "YOU". "You own my dream car ...", "I can tell You take great care of your car", "would you like a cup of coffee?", etc.. When you talk to your customers about themselves, you make all customers feel great!

Use your computer system to record "sound bites" from your customers as they converse with you and/or others. There is something unique about each customer that can be used the next time they come in for service. "Bill, how's your golf game", "Ms Smith, you were a new Grand Mother the last time I saw you, how is that grand baby?", "Mr Piepenbrink, if I recall, you would prefer that we not put a window sticker in your car". Your customers will think you are a genius for remembering what they are interested in.

Reader Boards

Reader boards can have more meaning than what they actually say. If the reader board never gets changed, it may be that you need some help in that area. As with other blogs, this blog will become more interactive, and valuable, with time, as other individuals share their "two cents worth" with the rest of us by posting a reply.

Traveling around my area, there are a couple of businesses that change their reader boards weekly. When I use to take my children to school, my children and I actually looked forward to the message of the week. It takes time and effort to come up with something clever, every week, that will fit on most reader boards.

Messages like "Drive Safe During the Holidays!", "Happy Mother's Day", "Have a Save 4th, etc, show heart & compassion.

"Happy 50th Mr & Mrs Smith", "Congrats Brittney & John on Your New Baby Boy", "Thanks For Your Business, The Sears Family", etc, can echo your local paper, showing pride in family.

"Home of the Titans", "Best Small Town in Texas", "Titans vs Warriors Saturday 8:00pm", displays pride in community.

Maybe I'm wrong, but, "Help Wanted", "Mechanic Needed", says you may be under staffed and might not have a mechanic. Fast food places can get away with "Help Wanted" on their reader board, due to the nature of their business.

I think most messages, that appear to be asking for money get ignored. Messages like "Winterize Today!", "Get Your Oil Changed Every 3,000 Miles", "Wash That Dirty Bucket of Bolts Today", all seem to say I WANT YOUR MONEY. "We're Ready To Winterize When You're Ready", "Mechanic On Duty", "Proper Service=Greater Gas Mileage" seems informative and serves more as an invitation.

By utilizing the Reader board, and keeping it fresh, you can communicate your heart & soul to potential customers (that don't know you), and to existing customers (that are proud to be associated with you).

Shifting Gears

Every little thing that we do can be done artistically, scientifically, and even haphazardly. Mechanically skilled technicians & owners may be missing the boat on the final one-minute of the customer’s transaction. After all of the speed, precision, care & professionalism exercised on a customer’s automobile, in the bay, the customer’s experience may turn into a bad experience, in the lobby. It can be extremely hard, for anyone, to SLOW DOWN for the final one minute of the customer’s transaction.

I have a little experience working a cash register, the day before Mother’s Day, in a Hallmark Card shop. For those that don’t know, Mother’s Day is the number one “Card Giving” day of the year (Father’s Day is way down the list). The average costs for a card, at the time, was seventy-five cents and we would sell over $8,000 in cards in one day! As you can imagine, the cash drawer really never had time to stay closed.

With twenty people standing in line, one might think that SLOWING DOWN, just for a few seconds, would cause one to “Drive Off”, not the case, it shows respect & appreciation. When you are busy, 10 seconds seems like an eternity, but for the paying customer, it is time they feel they deserve (and are paying for).

I have listened to cashiers in the Quick Lube business (and other businesses) rattle off everything that was done to the automobile and not take a breath until after stating how much the customer owes. After the payment has been processed, and while the customer is TRYING to return their credit card to it’s proper place, the cashier is already pushing them out the door by calling the name of the next lucky customer. What’s embarrassing is when the cashier calls the name again, only 2-3 seconds, after the first call! After you smile, say thank you, let the customer exercise his or her own exit strategy before calling the next customer.

If you have a door, leading from the shop to the lobby, I would hang a sign, saying, “Speed Bump”, “Slow Down”, or perhaps “Shifting Gears”. Life can be chaotic enough without having to pay for it.

Shoot Me!

Years ago I witnessed the delivery of one, which would become many, “Show Stopping” phases ever to be spoken in a Quick Lube, or any other business for that matter.

The shop was busy and the “music” from vacuums, oil guns, general shop talk and the like, all playing in harmony, filled the air while multiple vehicles were being serviced. The orchestration directed by the owner for the paying public was a masterpiece.

While the music played on, lunch came along with a couple of part timers to fill the void. You may recall the credit card commercial, the one where everything is running smooth until a person pays with cash? Enough said.

During the busiest part of the day, an employee YELLS, “FULL PRICE BAY 1”. You could hear a pin drop, not only in the Quick Lube, but I swear, business stopped within an entire mile. As all eyes turned toward the customer, awaiting his response, he said, “I guess I am the lucky one, I have no coupons”.

I quit frequenting a Dairy Queen in our town because after the order was given to the “ridiculous speaker thing”, I would pull to the window where I would be greeted with “do you have any coupons”. That wasn’t all, like many hotels, it got worse. I felt bad enough because I was going to be paying more than apparently most people. The pain worsens with “are you a senior citizen, member of AARP, a teacher from the local high school, born on a Tuesday during Haley’s Comet”. No, No, No & No – just shoot me and empty my wallet.

Black Monday

Are most of your days feeling like “Black Monday”? No, not the Dublin massacre of 1209 “Black Monday”, but rather, the October 19, 1987, “Black Monday”, when stock markets around the world crashed. After the markets crashed, top news could be found interviewing some of the most brilliant economic minds of the time trying to answer the question as to why the markets fell. Would you believe that the most common answer was, “they are falling because they are falling”.

Momentum is a fascinating thing. Your Quick Lube – Fast Lube – Auto Care facility may not be busy because you are not busy. Momentum is needed.

Have you ever noticed how most animals travel in groups? People are no different for they also travel in groups. When I was 18, I managed a 700 sq ft retail shop, located on the upper tier, of a mall in Dallas, TX. When I was not busy, I would walk out front of the shop to check to see where the various groups of people were. I would eventually be joined by personal from other shops, which in turn would form a group of people. Now there was a group of people visible to the groups below. Sure enough, the groups of people from below would make their way to us. This cycle occurred all the time during non-seasonal sales periods.

Vehicles passing your shop may see no signs of life at all! Drive your vehicle or an employee’s vehicle inside to an empty bay and lift the hood. Check the tires, wash the windows, and wipe down the engine if necessary. DO NOT STAND IN AN EMPTY BAY, IN A GROUP, LOOKING TOWARD THE STREET; drivers will think they are prey and keep on driving. Always appear to be busy, or better yet, STAY BUSY.