as a part of my continual rant and rave, a apparent oversite came to me in a indirect manner; of course i have been spouting off about retailers doing illegal repair and diagonstics on customers cars, and the legal implications of their actions.
i had a customer come to our store, recommended by a repair shop, to have us sell and install wiperblades on a late model chevy venture mini van. as my assistant quickly rose to the needs of the nice old church lady,(which she was the wife of the local preacher) i queried why she was sent here, rather than the shop installing the blades; of course, the idea if paying to have the wipers installed was the key to this operation as it unfolded. of course, unknown to us as well, here at the part store, that the wiper arm itself, was stripped on the transome mount, and when my eager to please helper placed the wiper on the arm, and the blades were test run, of course, when the wiper arms crossed over each others path, of course, the blades caught and twisted.
now, how was we to know the wiper arm was stripped? i suppose the fact a repair shop passing on the "should be free" installation, should have clued us in on a potential problem, but like stevie wonder driving on a freeway, we didn't know what we were getting into. my only recourse, was since we didn't have arms available for this model, was to replace the blades for free and have the honest church lady return to the dealership for a arm replacement on m y dime. ouch, there when t all my profits on those blades for the next month or so.
the issue at hand here, is the fact that people have gotten so used to the retailers offering so many so-called free services, that it forces us, the jobbers to respond likewise, and either do the same job, or rsik losing a customer for a $10 sale since we don't want to do it.
of course, as cars have become more complicated, a simple light bulb change or battery installation isn't an easy operation as it was in the 70'S....even repair stations charge for these complicated repairs now, hence customers flocking to the big boxes for the free installations.
this also slaps the reapir trade in the face, making what should be a simple, reasonable fee repair, is now replaced by low paid hacks, who botch the repairs, or since they are the last ones who touched my car, and it wasn'tthat way when i got there, pass the buck type customers, where in our wonderful, land of the free and litigation for all, makes business insurance rates skyrocket; ask your agent what is your deductable for helping customers and doing simple repairs, and if your people make a mistake, who pays and how much; we maybe locking the help to the counter and forbiding any or all simple repairs, no matter how much it hurts sales or customer relations.
the key issue here is the legality of the repairs; even nice little old church ladies can have some killer legal savy and make you think twice about being the nice guy or girl next time.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
IN GOOD HANDS
today's rant, as always, goes out to the fine boys and girls, who happen to work at the major big box stores. unknown to most of them, since the basis of most of their cliential is DIY's(dummies, idiots, yahoo's), the buy it 'cause i may need it, runs amock in our industry.
we are not car insurance companies; i did not go to school to sell policies to people to proctect them from theirselves; granted, it seems like it at times, when people, just like NASA, bid their parts out to the lowest bidder, i have to question having $12.99 brakes on a $40,000 SUV.no, my favorite pet peeves are the unsure ones who saunder into my store, no idea of what it is they want or need, and because of the retail giants, who will taake back anything, no questions asked, i have to bite my lip, and watch my parts go out the door and within one to two days, watch them come back, unused and unwanted. chances are, if you are a busy jobber store, you'll not catch the items on your order trigger and of course, since we are keeping lean inventories, they get re-ordered, and now our dollars are tied up by having two sets of what ever it was they bought.
true, a little forsight and query might(MIGHT) prevent alot of these transactions from even taking place, but there always be the ones that do and as well, there are folks who are steadfast determined to buy the product, look you in the eye and tell you these will come back, i am just hedging my bets.....some times, like the whack-a-mole game at Chuckie-cheez's, i want to take a big hammer and Whack the above said idiot...what even hurts worse and rubs the salt in deeper, is when they like clockwork, walk in all smiles the next day, triumphat, returning the said items, gloating how right they were...sure, we can hit them with a re-stocking fee; but in these tight times, continue a risk of sending them further into the trenches of the enemy?
hell, maybe it is time to get my insurance license afterall.
we are not car insurance companies; i did not go to school to sell policies to people to proctect them from theirselves; granted, it seems like it at times, when people, just like NASA, bid their parts out to the lowest bidder, i have to question having $12.99 brakes on a $40,000 SUV.no, my favorite pet peeves are the unsure ones who saunder into my store, no idea of what it is they want or need, and because of the retail giants, who will taake back anything, no questions asked, i have to bite my lip, and watch my parts go out the door and within one to two days, watch them come back, unused and unwanted. chances are, if you are a busy jobber store, you'll not catch the items on your order trigger and of course, since we are keeping lean inventories, they get re-ordered, and now our dollars are tied up by having two sets of what ever it was they bought.
true, a little forsight and query might(MIGHT) prevent alot of these transactions from even taking place, but there always be the ones that do and as well, there are folks who are steadfast determined to buy the product, look you in the eye and tell you these will come back, i am just hedging my bets.....some times, like the whack-a-mole game at Chuckie-cheez's, i want to take a big hammer and Whack the above said idiot...what even hurts worse and rubs the salt in deeper, is when they like clockwork, walk in all smiles the next day, triumphat, returning the said items, gloating how right they were...sure, we can hit them with a re-stocking fee; but in these tight times, continue a risk of sending them further into the trenches of the enemy?
hell, maybe it is time to get my insurance license afterall.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
CURSED WRENCHES
consider the lowly "TORX" brand fastners; you really don't think much of them, until a customer comes in wanting a socket to remove one. in their design feature, much to most mechanic's dismay,their one most pressing feature is the one they do best; resist stripping out.
most tech's and counter people will agree that in the conditions they are used, they work extremely well, by avoiding the rounding off of the shoulders of the bolt. in theory, by placing the stress on the inside of the fastner, in a tool that places the torque in multiple points, makes for a better fastner all around. and since the bolt(nut) is generally hardened, it resists stripping out even further. what drives most back yard and entry level counter people out of their minds is the simple fact the tool that is designed to remove these bolts is made of a "soft", mangable metal, which is designed, to break or shear off if over stressed in usage. how many times have you been asked if you had any 1/2 drive torx sockets? if you need a 1/2 drive or an impact resistant type socket for these, "you" are going about this the wrong way. how many times a day do you get some one returning a "warranty" socket, with of course, the head sheared off, or twisted? when you try to explain to "johnny backyard" that the tool is only warranted for structual defects, not due to mis-use of the tool as for it's design intent? i have had on many occasions, so called mechanics, telling me that so and so retail store warranties the sockets all day long, i send them on their way, to those places; ask any Snap-on tool rep, sure, for 25.00 a socket, i'll warranty the damn thing, but at $2.79, the first time i try and warranty it, i am told to toss it and eat the cost; after two or three of those so-called freebies, now i am at a losing point; any tool salesman worth his or hers salt(or 10w30) will tell you the tool is designed to fail, shear or break off, so that you, the smuck taking off the bolt, doesn't do any further damage and strip out the fastner and make the task even harder. for god's sake, lube or heat the damn thing and you'll find, 90% of the bolts come easily out; sure, many safety hardware, like seat belts, the bolts are not designed to be removed and are bastards to remove( look under the car, cut of the fastning plate, the bolt comes out real easy) so a little patience or fore thought will aid in using the right tools for the job, including the tool that is in your head; you'll find those little "star" bolts aren't so bad and just another bolt in your life.
most tech's and counter people will agree that in the conditions they are used, they work extremely well, by avoiding the rounding off of the shoulders of the bolt. in theory, by placing the stress on the inside of the fastner, in a tool that places the torque in multiple points, makes for a better fastner all around. and since the bolt(nut) is generally hardened, it resists stripping out even further. what drives most back yard and entry level counter people out of their minds is the simple fact the tool that is designed to remove these bolts is made of a "soft", mangable metal, which is designed, to break or shear off if over stressed in usage. how many times have you been asked if you had any 1/2 drive torx sockets? if you need a 1/2 drive or an impact resistant type socket for these, "you" are going about this the wrong way. how many times a day do you get some one returning a "warranty" socket, with of course, the head sheared off, or twisted? when you try to explain to "johnny backyard" that the tool is only warranted for structual defects, not due to mis-use of the tool as for it's design intent? i have had on many occasions, so called mechanics, telling me that so and so retail store warranties the sockets all day long, i send them on their way, to those places; ask any Snap-on tool rep, sure, for 25.00 a socket, i'll warranty the damn thing, but at $2.79, the first time i try and warranty it, i am told to toss it and eat the cost; after two or three of those so-called freebies, now i am at a losing point; any tool salesman worth his or hers salt(or 10w30) will tell you the tool is designed to fail, shear or break off, so that you, the smuck taking off the bolt, doesn't do any further damage and strip out the fastner and make the task even harder. for god's sake, lube or heat the damn thing and you'll find, 90% of the bolts come easily out; sure, many safety hardware, like seat belts, the bolts are not designed to be removed and are bastards to remove( look under the car, cut of the fastning plate, the bolt comes out real easy) so a little patience or fore thought will aid in using the right tools for the job, including the tool that is in your head; you'll find those little "star" bolts aren't so bad and just another bolt in your life.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
BROKEN CHINA
today's rant will go a seperate direction, still spewing hate towards a retail giant, but this time, the biggest of the big, the one and only Walmart. the players are different, but the end results are all the same, pushing the concept of cheap cheap cheap, damn the results of the others, we are going for the jugular.
when i was a younger man, i was enthralled by the glitz and prices of the big box seller; it was like a staple of life, get paid on friday and by saturday after work, we loaded up the car for the trip to wally world, and a few hours later, unload all the crap at home and by monday, start the cycle all over again. as i aged(ah wisdom at the expense of humor), i came to loathe Walmart; like it's ilk of previous years, Kmart, the giant was going thru growing pains, after taking ahold of an area and laying wake to all the lesser stores, the decay sets in. admit it, try to shop at any Walmart; once you get thru the door, of so-called community groups hawking popcorn or cookies, you are greeted at the door by what looks like the "crypt-keeper", freshly dug up from his tomb and propped up by the carts to scare most small children...once you get inside, and try to get past the crowds at the understaffed return/service center, you may get a cart, or at least something that even the most jaded homeless preson would even turn their noses up at. as you swerve to avoid the 450lb people, too lazy and fat to walk, who are racing up and down the aisles like a bad nascar race and their offspring who are riding bikes and scooters up and down the busy paths, maybe i didn't need that small bottle of asprin after all( i need a gun, oops, they sell them there too).all indications that most southern comedians are right, only ugly people breed..but i am not here to complain of the clientel of the famed store, but of its tactics and policies as per-se.
you see, as the great dumbing down of america takes place and henry ford is rolling over in his grave, the average median income is coming down in record time, as the average income of third world countries is going up; karl marx would really be dancing in his, knowing that socialism is alive and working very well; soon, we all will be able to afford $10,000 cars and happy meals from mcdonalds as dinner dates.so , who is single handled responsible for this raping of the america as we know it? you got it, the big happy smiling face, reminding you about the new lower prices of stuff you need, not made in america, for our best interests, bought and sold by the chinese government. you could round up in any given walmart supercenter, all american products and they wouldn't fill the men's bathroom. it is a shame, but the truth. but the same is happening in our own industry as well, look at the contents of the parts you sell, in the interests of the ever budgetminded consumers, the value priced items, are all made in the land of the big red flag as well; hell, even general motors has said, 25% of its parts content, will be made in china.now, it stands to reason, with a population of over a billion people, the consumer market place china represents, is way larger than here and europe combined; so it makes sense, if you are going to build it there anyway, spread the costs all over; just good business sense. but from a country who blanantly reverse engineers a bmw and calls it something else, some thing is lost in the fit and finish and quality as a whole; cheap knock offs, no matter where made, are still jsut that, cheap knock-offs.
whether you shop at Target, Autozone, Krogers, or even my own store, if we just made a consious effort to buy and demand, quality made products, not just american made ones, we all will live happier and perhaps a more enrichened one as well.
when i was a younger man, i was enthralled by the glitz and prices of the big box seller; it was like a staple of life, get paid on friday and by saturday after work, we loaded up the car for the trip to wally world, and a few hours later, unload all the crap at home and by monday, start the cycle all over again. as i aged(ah wisdom at the expense of humor), i came to loathe Walmart; like it's ilk of previous years, Kmart, the giant was going thru growing pains, after taking ahold of an area and laying wake to all the lesser stores, the decay sets in. admit it, try to shop at any Walmart; once you get thru the door, of so-called community groups hawking popcorn or cookies, you are greeted at the door by what looks like the "crypt-keeper", freshly dug up from his tomb and propped up by the carts to scare most small children...once you get inside, and try to get past the crowds at the understaffed return/service center, you may get a cart, or at least something that even the most jaded homeless preson would even turn their noses up at. as you swerve to avoid the 450lb people, too lazy and fat to walk, who are racing up and down the aisles like a bad nascar race and their offspring who are riding bikes and scooters up and down the busy paths, maybe i didn't need that small bottle of asprin after all( i need a gun, oops, they sell them there too).all indications that most southern comedians are right, only ugly people breed..but i am not here to complain of the clientel of the famed store, but of its tactics and policies as per-se.
you see, as the great dumbing down of america takes place and henry ford is rolling over in his grave, the average median income is coming down in record time, as the average income of third world countries is going up; karl marx would really be dancing in his, knowing that socialism is alive and working very well; soon, we all will be able to afford $10,000 cars and happy meals from mcdonalds as dinner dates.so , who is single handled responsible for this raping of the america as we know it? you got it, the big happy smiling face, reminding you about the new lower prices of stuff you need, not made in america, for our best interests, bought and sold by the chinese government. you could round up in any given walmart supercenter, all american products and they wouldn't fill the men's bathroom. it is a shame, but the truth. but the same is happening in our own industry as well, look at the contents of the parts you sell, in the interests of the ever budgetminded consumers, the value priced items, are all made in the land of the big red flag as well; hell, even general motors has said, 25% of its parts content, will be made in china.now, it stands to reason, with a population of over a billion people, the consumer market place china represents, is way larger than here and europe combined; so it makes sense, if you are going to build it there anyway, spread the costs all over; just good business sense. but from a country who blanantly reverse engineers a bmw and calls it something else, some thing is lost in the fit and finish and quality as a whole; cheap knock offs, no matter where made, are still jsut that, cheap knock-offs.
whether you shop at Target, Autozone, Krogers, or even my own store, if we just made a consious effort to buy and demand, quality made products, not just american made ones, we all will live happier and perhaps a more enrichened one as well.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
REQUIEM OF A VW BUG
if there ever was a car line that defies all conventitual logic, it would be the volkswagen car line up, with the bug out front and the a1-to current generation line up of rabbits/golfs/jettas...there just isn't too many other real lines that brings out the joy of ownership that this one does. many cars and trucks also envoke passion, but generally with a few ownership changes, where a vw will go thru owner after owner and keep the same basic chassis and like a teen age girl at the GAP, change looks to reflect the mood and passion of this new owners.some times it is almost too funny how a car can go from stock for many years, change to a go fast go-cart for a few years, a college girls powder puff for 4 years, then a mall beater for some skate rats and back to a classic restoration project in its life time. just like the willy's original jeep, you could almost build a brand new vw, abet a 1969 one, from parts bought from JC Whitney or like type catalogs. in a marketers sense, it is the perfect car; so many of them are still going and going; and keep on needing parts. one warehouse/ parts supplier for vw's based here in michigan, has such a bad reputation that no matter how many customers he pisses off, the next owner of the car will buy from him again, then the vicious circle keeps on going and going, so the car stays with him, just a new face and victim to rob from.
many car companies are starting to accept that the love affair we have with our cars is hard wired to us; build it and we'll keep coming back for more; a classic is timeless, and in some instances, such as the vw, it is immortal.
many car companies are starting to accept that the love affair we have with our cars is hard wired to us; build it and we'll keep coming back for more; a classic is timeless, and in some instances, such as the vw, it is immortal.
DOUBLE BAGGER
unlike the tag, this is an issue that affects all retail and service type sales; here in the cooler climes, one bane of the windy and blistery days, it grows tiring seeing plastic bags, from all kinds of sales stores, caught up in the bare arms of the trees, blowing like weather vanes, abet much uglier, in all directions, until they free their selves or some one tires of them and removes the visual eyesore for us. lets revert back to the paper bags; i try to use only paper boxes, ala like sam's club or costco, to give my customers to carry their items with; it saves my store space of empty boxes and reuses the potential they still have as storage, to someone else. for each and every one we pass on, another tree thanks us, for one less plastic bag caught up in its loving embrace of the sunlight and air we breathe.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
INSTALLER MENTALITY
one place the jobber/independent parts store still has beaten the big box retailers at is the heavily competitive market place of the installers. sure, in many places, they have started to make some noise, but overall, the service industry of automotive repair is worlds different than the d.i.y. market place for the most part(there are rare cases of similiarities, but i am dealing with the overall topic at hand).
the big box retailers are all about cash.cash is king; it is how they have become the 800lb monkey's they are; when you have a limited amount of payables, and get the bulk of your business paid for in matter of days, it is a marketer's dream. for the independent repair shops, as well as large companies as well, credit is a way of life. ask any jobber store, collectables are at a all time high with most recievables at over 45 days on the books.it adds up folks, and it takes the precious cash terms the big boys enjoy away. sure, they can and do offer attractive terms on credit cards, issued in their names, but with some one else toting the note, it continues to make business sense, but can they compete when money gets tight for the repair shop? no, its c.o.d. again, and those plain white ford rangers sit parked infront of their buildings.
kinda ironic at the least; all those years of 3-5% kickbacks for paid bills, paid labour claims and no hassle returns from NAPA and others, have spoiled the repair shops; how many repair shops proudly have a AUTOZONE repair shop sign out front? none i am willing to bet, and won't be in any time soon either. the low paid ex-TACOBELL employees working at these so called parts stores, whose turn over rate approaches fast food service records as well, don't have the mechanic/tech mentality to focus or service the wants and needs of the repair industry; we aren't talking about rocket science here, but nor are we talking about the foo-foo retail parts that the repair industry doesn't want or need either.
we'll take one small victory at a time and when the giants have fallen, there will be peace, joy and happiness once again in the automotive parts industry.
the big box retailers are all about cash.cash is king; it is how they have become the 800lb monkey's they are; when you have a limited amount of payables, and get the bulk of your business paid for in matter of days, it is a marketer's dream. for the independent repair shops, as well as large companies as well, credit is a way of life. ask any jobber store, collectables are at a all time high with most recievables at over 45 days on the books.it adds up folks, and it takes the precious cash terms the big boys enjoy away. sure, they can and do offer attractive terms on credit cards, issued in their names, but with some one else toting the note, it continues to make business sense, but can they compete when money gets tight for the repair shop? no, its c.o.d. again, and those plain white ford rangers sit parked infront of their buildings.
kinda ironic at the least; all those years of 3-5% kickbacks for paid bills, paid labour claims and no hassle returns from NAPA and others, have spoiled the repair shops; how many repair shops proudly have a AUTOZONE repair shop sign out front? none i am willing to bet, and won't be in any time soon either. the low paid ex-TACOBELL employees working at these so called parts stores, whose turn over rate approaches fast food service records as well, don't have the mechanic/tech mentality to focus or service the wants and needs of the repair industry; we aren't talking about rocket science here, but nor are we talking about the foo-foo retail parts that the repair industry doesn't want or need either.
we'll take one small victory at a time and when the giants have fallen, there will be peace, joy and happiness once again in the automotive parts industry.
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