GAAS UPDATETechnician Training A Cause 
For Concern

DEARBORN, MI - "We have to take great care of our true customer, and that's the service dealer because he's facing difficulty day in and day out; they are going out of business. And they need the support of the manufacturer and the support of distribution, and I don't see that coming forth at the moment," said Mike Howarth, senior vice president of KYB America, during a panel discussion at the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium. 

Bob McKenna, president and CEO of the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), reinforced the fact that without the technician, the aftermarket simply can not survive: "For the aftermarket to be strong and to grow and prosper, all links, all links of the supply chain must be strong. The manufacturer, the distributor, the parts store and the service installers all have to be successful."

Howarth suggested that though manufacturers are making an effort, they just aren't helping the tech learn to sell. 

And the shop owners speaking at this year's symposium agreed. Quality training for independent repair shops should be free of sales pitches and what the service dealer panel, titled "The Myths and Realities of Automotive Service & Repair" describes as infomercials. 

"The shop owner requires business training, management training," said John Cochrane, owner and president of Cochrane Automotive. "Techs who come to infomercials will come once; they will not come back."

"When my customer breaks down because maintenance 
was not performed on that vehicle, 
I have failed."
- Betty Jo Young, Young's Automotive CenterTraining should have good course descriptions and information should be current, said Betty Jo Young, co-owner of Young's Automotive Center. "It's got to be something that really entices the technician to want to be there," she said. "I think the course should have a good instructor that's going to keep these guys awake." Members of the service dealer panel also stressed the importance of focusing on preventative maintenance.  For 30 years, Young said her shop threw maintenance work away. "Now we don't have any choice. "When my customer breaks down because maintenance was not performed on that vehicle, I have failed," added 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."  Jay Burkhart, vice president of global marketing for Federal-Mogul and chairman of the board for the Be Car Care Aware Campaign (BCCA), told the audience that one of our goals as the industry becomes more engaged is to solidify the key point of dialogue - when the consumer is looking to spend money at the counter or point of repair. He added that there is still some amount of consumer confusion and trust and believes a third-party can bring credibility to the message a repair shop offers a consumer when discussing vehicle maintenance. To address this issue, Burkhart, on behalf of the BCCA, unveiled an aftermarket Car Care Guide that can be purchased by industry participants for distributing through the channels. Its intended goal is to help shops and stores communicate information about basic repairs and maintenance procedures.  The whole function of the service dealer is and 
will continue to change, very quickly, especially with electronics.
- Mike Howarth, senior vice president of KYB AmericaTaking responsibility Frank Ordo