I've built a respectable business — but not without the challenges I'm sure many of those reading this have also faced. We have worked tireless, endless hours and have endured so many different types of abuse that I cannot even begin to elaborate on the number of times I have had to humble myself for the 'good' of the business.
Running any successful business requires a lot of work, but running a successful auto parts store and service facility? Now that's a talent. We are a very detail-sensitive business that is totally dependent on an absolute, flat-out unorganized customer base that often can offer not details that may be very necessary in fully assisting them. And because I do not possess the magical powers of ESP, our name, my employees and our bottom line can suffer.
When we were operating as a traditional auto parts jobber, our dealer customer base made up the largest percentage of our clientele. We were 70 percent wholesale. We really catered to the independant dealer, car dealers and fleet accounts. Without knowing any different way of going to market, I simply took for granted that a 14 percent return and warranty rate was due to the nature of the installer business. Then we became the largest installer in our market, shifted to 70 percent retail, and our defect/warranty/return rate fell to 2.8 percent. Instead of dealing with a lot of different small- to medium-sized shops, we focused on ourselves on being the dominant large installer. What happened to reduce that returns percentage by almost 600 percent?
Well, it's quite simple. Most small- to medium-sized shops lack the proper information,training and overall managemet skills to help us help them. And, there are considerably more small shops than there are large shops. Case in point, I recently had an installer customer come to us with a complaint about a 2002 Ford Ranger with an EGR system fault. The customer said this was his third attempt at changing the EGR valve; the installer said that the previously installed EGR valves were defective and he returned them to the respective other two parts stores he called before he called me.
Having a little practical experience, I asked the customer what the trouble code was. When a "mere" supplier questions a technician's diagnosis, the reaction is as unpredictable as nuclear fusion. During my catalog look-up for the EGR valve, I also referenced a diagnostic database looking for EGR system issues for the vehicle in question. All the while I'm trying to actually help the installer, I am bombarded with insults about aftermarket parts and delivery, and the technician's negative opinion about the customer, who was upset about paying for a repair that has not fixed his car.
My diagnostic search revealed that the EGR fault for this particular vehicle was a result of something else, more often than not. In fact, a DPFE sensor was the most likely culprit. After revealing this information to my prospective installer customer, he asked me if he could try it, and if it did not fix the problem, he wished to return it. To counter this request, I informed the installer that there were some tests he could perform to verify the problem, all of which were quite simple, with minimal tools and time required. Why would I "loan" a part to an installer that makes me his third call, insults my parts and returns everything?!
This is the "culture" that exists at almost every repair facility. There are a few that are on top of their game, but not many. The culture that I'm speaking of is a 50/50 split of responsibility. The first 50 percent rests in the lap of a traditional jobber store. Because of the huge amount of competetion, if an installer simply pays his bill on time, we (the jobber) will question virtually nothing. The next 50 percent of the burden is on the shoulders of the installers. Improper diagnosis, failure to read instructions, and lack of information will propigate a false prima-donna attitude that is necessary for the installer to protect the bottom line. To summarize, the likeliehood of 3 EGR valves in a row being defective...500:1 odds. But even a rational installer with little to no information about proper testing and information regarding particular application considers the likeliehood of his diagnosis being wrong akin to the same bookie that set the odds on the consecutive EGR failures.
Until the medium and small installers up their game, purchase proper diagnostic equipment and subscribe to databases that provide more thorough information other than a code definition, they will continue to claim fault in everything else because they don't know any better. Jobbers cannot demand that installers do the things required to alleviate the rampant defect claims, new returns and browbeating until they also provide their employees with the same tools to ramp up the knowledge curve. Anyone can sell an EGR valve, but sometimes it's hard to keep one sold and out of the defect bin unless it's sold to the right type of installer.
Being right about this, however, does not make me a popular guy. In fact it almost makes me vilified by some of the installers that insist on "trial and error" diagnostics, when I try to explain how I know the EGR valve is in fact not defective and do not want to warranty the EGR valve simply because it did not fix the problem. So, here I sit atop my self-made empire, playing billy-goats gruff with everyone, competitors, vendors and customers, trying to topple my righteousness indignation. I don't think there is a moral herein, but our auto parts store is far more profitable for having gotten rid of some of the riff-raff.
Let's face it, how much money can you really make and keep when dealing with inept customers?
I've built a respectable business — but not without the challenges I'm sure many of those reading this have also faced. We have worked tireless, endless hours and have endured so many different types of abuse that I cannot even begin to elaborate on the number of times I have had to humble myself for the 'good' of the business.
Running any successful business requires a lot of work, but running a successful auto parts store and service facility? Now that's a talent. We are a very detail-sensitive business that is totally dependent on an absolute, flat-out unorganized customer base that often can offer not details that may be very necessary in fully assisting them. And because I do not possess the magical powers of ESP, our name, my employees and our bottom line can suffer.
When we were operating as a traditional auto parts jobber, our dealer customer base made up the largest percentage of our clientele. We were 70 percent wholesale. We really catered to the independant dealer, car dealers and fleet accounts. Without knowing any different way of going to market, I simply took for granted that a 14 percent return and warranty rate was due to the nature of the installer business. Then we became the largest installer in our market, shifted to 70 percent retail, and our defect/warranty/return rate fell to 2.8 percent. Instead of dealing with a lot of different small- to medium-sized shops, we focused on ourselves on being the dominant large installer. What happened to reduce that returns percentage by almost 600 percent?
Well, it's quite simple. Most small- to medium-sized shops lack the proper information,training and overall managemet skills to help us help them. And, there are considerably more small shops than there are large shops. Case in point, I recently had an installer customer come to us with a complaint about a 2002 Ford Ranger with an EGR system fault. The customer said this was his third attempt at changing the EGR valve; the installer said that the previously installed EGR valves were defective and he returned them to the respective other two parts stores he called before he called me.
Having a little practical experience, I asked the customer what the trouble code was. When a "mere" supplier questions a technician's diagnosis, the reaction is as unpredictable as nuclear fusion. During my catalog look-up for the EGR valve, I also referenced a diagnostic database looking for EGR system issues for the vehicle in question. All the while I'm trying to actually help the installer, I am bombarded with insults about aftermarket parts and delivery, and the technician's negative opinion about the customer, who was upset about paying for a repair that has not fixed his car.
My diagnostic search revealed that the EGR fault for this particular vehicle was a result of something else, more often than not. In fact, a DPFE sensor was the most likely culprit. After revealing this information to my prospective installer customer, he asked me if he could try it, and if it did not fix the problem, he wished to return it. To counter this request, I informed the installer that there were some tests he could perform to verify the problem, all of which were quite simple, with minimal tools and time required. Why would I "loan" a part to an installer that makes me his third call, insults my parts and returns everything?!
This is the "culture" that exists at almost every repair facility. There are a few that are on top of their game, but not many. The culture that I'm speaking of is a 50/50 split of responsibility. The first 50 percent rests in the lap of a traditional jobber store. Because of the huge amount of competetion, if an installer simply pays his bill on time, we (the jobber) will question virtually nothing. The next 50 percent of the burden is on the shoulders of the installers. Improper diagnosis, failure to read instructions, and lack of information will propigate a false prima-donna attitude that is necessary for the installer to protect the bottom line. To summarize, the likeliehood of 3 EGR valves in a row being defective...500:1 odds. But even a rational installer with little to no information about proper testing and information regarding particular application considers the likeliehood of his diagnosis being wrong akin to the same bookie that set the odds on the consecutive EGR failures.
Until the medium and small installers up their game, purchase proper diagnostic equipment and subscribe to databases that provide more thorough information other than a code definition, they will continue to claim fault in everything else because they don't know any better. Jobbers cannot demand that installers do the things required to alleviate the rampant defect claims, new returns and browbeating until they also provide their employees with the same tools to ramp up the knowledge curve. Anyone can sell an EGR valve, but sometimes it's hard to keep one sold and out of the defect bin unless it's sold to the right type of installer.
Being right about this, however, does not make me a popular guy. In fact it almost makes me vilified by some of the installers that insist on "trial and error" diagnostics, when I try to explain how I know the EGR valve is in fact not defective and do not want to warranty the EGR valve simply because it did not fix the problem. So, here I sit atop my self-made empire, playing billy-goats gruff with everyone, competitors, vendors and customers, trying to topple my righteousness indignation. I don't think there is a moral herein, but our auto parts store is far more profitable for having gotten rid of some of the riff-raff.
Let's face it, how much money can you really make and keep when dealing with inept customers?
