A Dozen Rules for Prospering in a Recession
Welcome to “Recession 2008.” It’s been a long time coming, but now it’s here. Should we be happy or sad about it? I guess that depends on a number of factors, so let’s take a look at them.
First, some definitions:
Recession – When your neighbor loses his job
Depression – When you lose yours
Eight Qualities Every Leader Must Possess
Recent statistical surveys show that only 10% of employees look forward to going to work, and most point to a lack of leadership as the reason for their discontent. Many, at management level and below, don’t believe they are given the proper direction, motivation or attainable goals to make the daily contribution to their employers worth the time and effort they are asked to put in. In other words, they are uninspired by their so-called leaders.
The 10 Biggest Hiring Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Truly one of the greatest shortcomings owners and managers possess is the ability to make hiring decisions on the basis of concrete evidence that a job candidate will indeed be ready, willing and able to perform the tasks for which he or she is being employed. When someone leaves or when the shop gets really busy, we tend to panic and look for any warm body to take the place of the missing person or fill the open slot. Additionally, in a labor market that is so tight for our particular industry, our mistakes can be exaggerated far beyond the norm. These mistakes can cost many thousands of dollars and can even put us out of business in some extreme cases.
AOS: Absolutely Outrageous Service
So what does impress customers? Things they have never seen an automotive shop do. Things that are so far from normal they will be remembered and talked about at gatherings for years to come. Like, “Let me tell you what happened when I went to get my car fixed. I just couldn’t believe it.”
Priority Customers
In business, as in life, the 80-20 rules always seem to apply – things like how 80% of your aggravation comes from 20% of your employees and 80% of your profits come from about 20% of your customers. Now, I don’t know how aggravating your employees really are (the little dears), but I do know the part about the customers to be true. Although you may have lots of them, the ones who spend the most money with the fewest hassles and consistently help you to pay your bills are only about 20% of the total. If you’ve ever muttered the words, “Gee, if only I had more customers like her,” then you know what I mean.
A Word to the Wise Had Better Be Sufficient
In Hollywood they say that anytime you can get your name in the papers or other media it’s good publicity no matter how bad the incident. The idea is that even if you’ve done something horrible, the curiosity seekers will want to hear or read about it and then come to see the person who did it in their next public appearance. That may be fine for Hollywood, but it doesn’t work in the automotive business.
Crash and Burn
A few months ago I wrote an article about a transmission shop that was so poorly operated I didn’t know how it stayed in business. Well, guess what: It didn’t. I drove by yesterday, the signs were down and the place was locked up tighter than a drum. I was sad, but not the least bit surprised.
Aggressive Street-Level Marketing
I’ve fielded way too many phone calls lately from shop owners who tell me that their wholesale and fleet business is off.
As Bob Cherrnay always said, “You don’t have to be an Indian to read signs.” The reasons should be obvious. The problem is that too many owners have had their heads in the sand for too long.
It’s Your Money – Protect It!
When I first started in business I received two kinds of advice from people who seemed to genuinely want to help me succeed; there was the good and the not-so-good. Some of the good advice was on how to handle the money I would take in from doing sales. This may sound like a strange topic to discuss, one that we all should somehow have been born knowing, but we weren’t. Even the most experienced of shop owners can make costly mistakes when it comes to handling their money.
The Trickle-Down Effect
Have you ever said to yourself, “I wish I had just one or two more majors a week? Boy, if I did I could really make some money in this shop.” The question is, after all these years in business why don’t you have them? As a matter of fact, some shops are finding that they don’t even have enough business to maintain the level of income they once enjoyed. They come up one or two majors short of making a living most weeks.
Pilot Error
It turned out that about 90% of accidents resulted from pilot error. Even some of the weather-related crashes could have been avoided if the pilots had followed proper procedure in checking the weather beforehand or not taking off when the weather was too bad. There were even incidents in which planes ran out of fuel because pilots, who did not anticipate weather problems, thought they had enough to get where they were going.
Working All the Angles
I’ll call him John. I don’t want to use his real name for fear of embarrassing him, but I need to tell a story about a truly great shop manager. Although I’ve met many good ones over the years there are a significantly smaller number whom I would consider great. I had one myself for about 12 years, so I know firsthand what they look like. I can also tell you that some who claim to be good managers – or their bosses claim it for them – are nothing more than service writers with a better title.
