The Automotive Service Association of Arizona PO Box 81517, Phoenix AZ 85069 602-544-2600 Fax: 602-288-9451 [email protected]www.asaaz.org A Message from the Chairwoman Julee Baxley Integrity Automotive Tucson, Arizona 520-631-7306 [email protected]We know the independent automotive repair and collision repair industry is incredibly competitive when it comes to marketing against dealerships and large chains. You must be constantly on top of your marketing efforts. Are you building a profitable customer base to keep them coming back? Are you marketing to the right customer? Can a new customer find you on their smart phone? Do you have a webpage that is smart phone friendly? Is your webpage easy to use and can they make an appointment via your website? These are important questions you need to ask yourself. Today’s marketing world is through a smart phone and online. Most people now use their smart phone or their computer to find solutions when their vehicle needs service or repairs. Here are a few general tips for marketing. The Power of Social Networking Do you have a Facebook page for your business? Are you on LinkedIn? Make sure you have your address, business hours, email, website and other links that are important to your busi- ness. Do NOT sell on your Facebook page, Facebook will delete it or shut it down. This is a great place to give tips, ideas on unusual issues in your area. Keep it light and fun share funny pictures that are not offensive to customers, stay away from hot topics that might upset your customer. Make it a fun place to read things that have nothing to do with auto or collision repairs! Each time they see your tips or fun things to do, etc you are branding your name! Have contests, start conversations and have them join in (monitor and delete if someone is being offensive) ask questions that engage your customers about local topics, Have you been to our zoo? What was your favorite part? Put a local picture up from our zoo, the more your customer’s talk the better news feed marketing you get! Their friends will see it and comment and so on, or share your tip! More ways to get your company name out there. Are you on Twitter, Instagram? These are different ways if you have time to reach out in your community too! Get Referrals! Do you have a referral program to “thank” your customers? You can send a thank you card, hand written by you the owner or the service writer and include a gift card or discount for the March 2015 next service. Offer existing customer a discount on their next re- pair, have a drawing and each month post on your social media the winners (first name only) and what they won! A gift card or ser- vice. Reward points towards future repairs if their referral comes in and has a service or repair. The ideas are endless…… Tracking is very important “How did you hear about us?” is a question each new customer should be asked! You as a business owner/manager need to know the “how” they found you to keep track of your marketing dollars at work. When you write up a vehicle turn on the radio! Who is your customer listing to? It might surprise you. After a month or two of tracking you will see your customer base for marketing. Look around inside the car what do they read or where are they shopping? Know your customer. Reviews These are important on many different levels. Make sure that reviews can be read from your website. The internet can help you or hurt you. Make sure you check for bad reviews and answer them all! Keep emotion out of it and answer with facts and explanations (short ones). When a customer is looking for new repair or colli- sion shop they read reviews! Customers like to see how you handle a customer complaint, this shows your integrity and thought proc- ess. If you go postal and get emotional this gives the impression that if they were at your business and had an issue you would treat them the same. Remember the most important part about market- ing………. You can get a new customer in the door, but can you or your staff “wow” them and keep them coming back? Our ASA AZ Training Expo in June will have industry leaders teaching classes on these topics and vendors that can help you find the right marketing tools for you. Register early to attend ASA AZ Training Expo on June 19, 20, 21,2015. This is for Owners, all Staff and Technicians. Early Bird Discounts to those registering early!!!!! Take ad- vantage of the local training, having this right here in Arizona saves you time and money, from having to travel out of state to train with these top trainers. Plan to bring your employees and staff and reserve your hotel room early, limited rooms are available! Our Training Expo is about you and your staff! This insures you have the competitive edge and training for your business as a whole.
Transcript
The Automotive Service Association of Arizona PO Box 81517, Phoenix AZ 85069 602-544-2600 Fax: 602-288-9451 [email protected] www.asaaz.org
We know the independent automotive repair and collision repair industry is incredibly competitive when it comes to marketing against dealerships and large chains. You must be constantly on top of your marketing efforts. Are you building a profitable customer base to keep them coming back? Are you marketing to the right customer? Can a new customer find you on their smart phone? Do you have a webpage that is smart phone friendly? Is your webpage easy to use and can they make an appointment via your website? These are important questions you need to ask yourself. Today’s marketing world is through a smart phone and online. Most people now use their smart phone or their computer to find solutions when their vehicle needs service or repairs. Here are a few general tips for marketing.
The Power of Social Networking Do you have a Facebook page for your business? Are you on LinkedIn? Make sure you have your address, business hours, email, website and other links that are important to your busi-ness. Do NOT sell on your Facebook page, Facebook will delete it or shut it down. This is a great place to give tips, ideas on unusual issues in your area. Keep it light and fun share funny pictures that are not offensive to customers, stay away from hot topics that might upset your customer. Make it a fun place to read things that have nothing to do with auto or collision repairs! Each time they see your tips or fun things to do, etc you are branding your name! Have contests, start conversations and have them join in (monitor and delete if someone is being offensive) ask questions that engage your customers about local topics, Have you been to our zoo? What was your favorite part? Put a local picture up from our zoo, the more your customer’s talk the better news feed marketing you get! Their friends will see it and comment and so on, or share your tip! More ways to get your company name out there. Are you on Twitter, Instagram? These are different ways if you have time to reach out in your community too!
Get Referrals! Do you have a referral program to “thank” your customers? You can send a thank you card, hand written by you the owner or the service writer and include a gift card or discount for the
March 2015
next service. Offer existing customer a discount on their next re-pair, have a drawing and each month post on your social media the winners (first name only) and what they won! A gift card or ser-vice. Reward points towards future repairs if their referral comes in and has a service or repair. The ideas are endless……
Tracking is very important “How did you hear about us?” is a question each new customer should be asked! You as a business owner/manager need to know the “how” they found you to keep track of your marketing dollars at work. When you write up a vehicle turn on the radio! Who is your customer listing to? It might surprise you. After a month or two of tracking you will see your customer base for marketing. Look around inside the car what do they read or where are they shopping? Know your customer.
Reviews These are important on many different levels. Make sure that reviews can be read from your website. The internet can help you or hurt you. Make sure you check for bad reviews and answer them all! Keep emotion out of it and answer with facts and explanations (short ones). When a customer is looking for new repair or colli-sion shop they read reviews! Customers like to see how you handle a customer complaint, this shows your integrity and thought proc-ess. If you go postal and get emotional this gives the impression that if they were at your business and had an issue you would treat them the same. Remember the most important part about market-ing………. You can get a new customer in the door, but can you or your staff “wow” them and keep them coming back? Our ASA AZ Training Expo in June will have industry leaders teaching classes on these topics and vendors that can help you find the right marketing tools for you. Register early to attend ASA AZ Training Expo on June 19, 20, 21,2015. This is for Owners, all Staff and Technicians. Early Bird Discounts to those registering early!!!!! Take ad-vantage of the local training, having this right here in Arizona saves you time and money, from having to travel out of state to train with these top trainers. Plan to bring your employees and staff and reserve your hotel room early, limited rooms are available! Our Training Expo is about you and your staff! This insures you have the competitive edge and training for your business as a whole.
ASA advances professionalism and excellence in the automotive repair industry through education, representa-tion and member services. ASA’s na-
tional office is in Bedford, Texas. For additional information about ASA, including past news releases, go to www.asashop.org, or visit ASA’s legislative Web site at www.TakingTheHill.com.
ASA Newsletter—The Roadrunner Is owned and published by the Automotive Service Associa-tion of Arizona, representing businesses in the automotive industry. This newsletter is published at least 4 times a year and is for information purposes only. The contents of the newsletter including editorials do not necessarily represent the views of the association.
Phoenix Chapter
25th Street Automotive Bill Coniam
4112 N. 25th Street Phoenix, AZ 85016
602-955-2637
Ace Automotive, LLC Jamie Armstrong
1730 W. Sunrise Blvd A-105 Gilbert, AZ 85223
480-539-6872
Arizona Collision Specialist Daren Pierse
3034 N. Scottsdale Road Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-947-7770
Brad’s Deer Valley Collision Center Brad Beebe
22202 N. 19th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85027
623-587-9825
Huff’s Automotive Matt Huff
95 N. Dobson Road Chandler, AZ 85224
480-726-8900
Melrose Garage Jeff Dystra & Jayce Elliston
4613 N. 7th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85014
602-842-5010
National Automotive Repair Randy McLaughlin
2723 W. Sweetwater Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85029
602-978-3278
Vision Collision Todd Wright
1109 N. Sickles Dr. Tempe, AZ 85281
480-248-9049
Tucson Chapter
Jeff’s Auto Clinic Jeremy Plyler
1900 A Avenue Douglas, AZ 85607
520-364-9452
MCJ Auto Repair Oneida Corrales
6744 S. Nogales Hwy Tucson, AZ 85706
520-777-6618
Welcome New Members
Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino
Chandler, AZ June 19—21, 2015
1-800-946-4452
Scheduled Meetings & Events For details and registration visit www.asaaz.org
March 17—Verde Valley Chapter Dinner Meeting
March 18—Phoenix Chapter Dinner Meeting
April 2—Phoenix—West Valley Roundtable
April 7—Yuma Automotive Roundtable
April 7—Tucson Automotive Roundtable
April 8—Phoenix—Central Phoenix Roundtable
April 11—Prescott Management Traveling Show
April 12—Tucson & Southern AZ Golf Tournament
April 15—Phoenix—East Valley Roundtable
April 21—Verde Valley Chapter Dinner Meeting
April 24—Tucson Kart Night
May 5—Tucson Automotive Roundtable
May 6—Tucson Automotive Student Awards Dinner
June 19—21—Automotive Training & Expo
Questions: 602-544-2600
Visit our website for an updated list of meetings. asaaz.org
2015 Automotive Training & Expo Take advantage of this valuable opportunity to hear from industry
leaders, network with other shop owners and check-out the products and services available to help im-prove your bottom line!!! Visit our website to download full schedule and speaker information.
Over 4o hours of Training. Topics include: • Selling Diagnostic Services for Maximum Profits! • Mastering Sales Objections • Service Writer Roundtable—Real World Situations • How to Build a Team that Works Without You • Gasoline Direct Injection Diagnosis • Online Marketing Tactics That Work • Planning Your Business Future • Oscilloscopes 101 • Mastering Electrical Troubleshooting • Fuel Trim Diagnostics • Diagnosing the Top Variable Valve System Timing Problems • Success or Struggle You Decide! • Essentials to Running a Top Revenue and Profitable Shop in
Today’s Environment Speakers: Bryan Dodge Maylan Newton Jeremy O’Neil
Peter Meier Jerry Baarson Rissy Sutherland Calvin Higgins Jack Ramsey Michael Gray
All of this will be held at the Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino. A premier hotel/casino to stay and play. Enjoy a nice “staycation” at this beautiful property. Hotel rooms are available for $79 a night plus tax, but there are limited room available, so call and reserve your room today: 1-800-946-4452. We have a great weekend planned for all and your guests will be welcome to join us at the receptions on Friday and Saturday nights as you visit with vendors at the Expo and win prizes. We have great giveaways that everyone will enjoy, but you must be present to win.
There’s training for everyone in your shop! Owners, managers, Partners,
ASA Praises AudaExplore Decision to Provide Breakdown of Refinish Times ASA continues to ask industry stakeholders to work together to resolve the issue. In response to a request from the Automotive Service Associa-tion (ASA), AudaExplore – a Solera company – has provided never-before-shared information about its database and, more specifi-cally, its field and time study observations on the breakdown of refinish times. ASA has requested this information from the two other leading information providers – Mitchell International and CCC Information Services – but to date they have not provided information, said Dan Risley, president of the Automotive Service Association (ASA). Risley furthered stated, “We appreciate the leadership position that AudaExplore has taken to assist the industry in resolving the long-standing issue of arbitrarily reducing refinish times on re-paired panels. This is more commonly referred to as blend within a panel or zone refinish.” Rick Tuuri, vice president of Industry Relations for AudaEx-plore, said: “Over the years, we have had requests from insurers and repairers alike regarding the breakdown of real-world refinish times. AudaExplore has probably conducted more refinish studies than any other entity, except possibly the paint companies them-selves, as result of both our North American studies as well as those conducted in our global markets. We are happy to be able to shed some much-needed light on this topic for the benefit of every-one in the industry.” Risley said the information AudaExplore is providing will be instrumental in educating repairers and insurers as to the amount of time that is required to properly refinish a repaired panel when us-ing AudaExplore’s estimating system. The following is an excerpt from the response provided by AudaExplore (To obtain a copy of the entire letter, visit the asashop.org website)
“In AudaExplore Refinish studies, the following percentage values were observed: • “• 19.1 percent – Administrative tasks (review of job, vehicle
and parts handling, gathering materials, booth operations, move and deliver vehicle)
• “• 6.6 percent – Mix (paint, one tint, primers, clear) • “• 8.6 percent – Application (primer, color, clear) • “• 5.9 percent – Flash (primer, color, clear) • “• 16.1 percent – Final steps/cleanup.” “This is invaluable information to the industry, said Risley. “When collision repairers or insurance companies are presented with negotiating the refinish times on a repaired panel (blend within a panel/zone refinish), we hope this information is used to accurately and fairly negotiate the claim.” Risley reiterated what he said this past October when announc-ing ASA’s quest for a solution to the blend within/zone refinish issue: “This is a call to action for the entire industry. It presents the perfect opportunity for all the industry stakeholders to work to-gether because it is the right thing to do. Repair facilities should be reimbursed for the labor and materials necessary to complete a safe, proper and quality repair. “Reducing the refinish times (blend within/zone refinish) on repaired panels without any supporting documentation is arbitrary and likely is a result of lack of knowledge and information. Al-though it’s prevalent throughout the United States, ASA doesn’t believe all insurance carriers arbitrarily reduce refinish times. To substantiate that assumption, letters were sent to the top 10 insur-ance carriers. They were asked if they reduced refinish times on repaired panels, and, if so, what information they used to negotiate those claims. We also requested each company’s participation in creating a solution. “Research has shown insurance companies’ reductions in what they would pay for such work has ranged from 5 percent to 70 per-cent. The irony of this situation is that it actually requires more labor and materials to properly refinish a repaired panel (blend within a panel/zone refinish) when you account for feather, edge, prime and block.”
Automotive Recycler American Auto Recycling Steve Stoker 480-889-7700 Automotive Part / Supplies AutoZone Brian Abraham, 602-758-5381 ETE Reman Jennifer Porter 800-934-9477 (statewide) Jasper Engines & Transmissions Mike McDonald 800-827-7455 xt 1529 (statewide) LKQ All Models Ron Smallwood 602-818-1774 Merle's Automotive Supply Steve Sattinger, 520-622-3526 (Tucson) NAPA Auto Parts - Mike Kessler 480-907-9839 (District Center) NAPA Auto Parts - Kingman Tammy Green, 928-753-2188 NAPA Auto Parts- Yuma Matt Flournoy 928-782-4721 Off Road Buggy Supply Rich Binder, 928-783-6265 (Yuma) Parts Authority Jeff Beiser 480-994-9397 (Maricopa County) Rieth Auto Bob Curtis, 480-962-4211 (Mesa) US Distributing Nick Navarro 602-258-2191
Banking Alerus Bank & Trust Jay Klepinger 480-905-2416
Car Rental Hertz Paul Bolda 602-267-4971 (statewide) Collision Industry Vendors Leading Edge Auto Paint & Supplies (Tucson) Troy Schooley 520-889-6338 Leading Edge of Arizona John Rang 480-966-8819 LKQ All Models Ron Smallwood 602-818-1774 Riteway Auto Parts John Fischl 602-268-1481 Sherwin Williams Dan Meyer 480-227-9992
Diagnostic Software ALLDATA 800-795-1525 [email protected] (statewide) Equipment, Hoists, Lifts, etc. Leading Edge Automotive John Rang, 480-894-9661 (Tempe)
Environmental Consultants Van’s Environmental Service Brian Vance, 623-674-8267
Glass—Mobile Novus Glass Adam Chase 928-821-6651 (Verde Valley)
Insurance (health) The Argus Group 800-777-5300 (statewide) Dave Perolis xt. 106 Jim Groff xt. 105 Whitley Benefits Ken Whitley 602-432-9288
Merchant Services—Credit Cards First Data IS—Dan Arndt 480-289-6304
Merchant Financing Flex Pay Plus Doug Harding 760-330-1199 (Statewide)
Worker’s Comp. Insurance Eaton & Associates Adam Beyer 480-385-7338 (statewide)
Uniforms G&K Services– Joe Durrant 480-209-8728
Associate Members Looking to bid out a service, contact one of our associate members!
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New American Honda Training Now Available Through I-CAR American Honda Motor Co, Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of two new collision training modules, produced by Ameri-can Honda and delivered exclusively through I-CAR®, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair. The new modules, available on-line at I-Car.com/hondatraining, are the first in what will become a new series of Honda and Acura-specific training available to all shops across the entire industry. These modules are unique in that they are the first to be developed by an OEM, and delivered through I-CAR. All planned courses will be available on-line, providing quick, easy access to all shops. The first module, Using Honda and Acura Service Information (HON10e) is an on-line course educating stu-dents about the importance of using factory service information. It provides information on Honda and Acura publications and how to access them. The second module, Honda and Acura High-Strength Steel Re-pair (HON11e) provides an overview of the different grades of high-strength steel used in Honda and Acura vehicles and approved repair methods. Both courses, as well as additional American Honda courses still in development, will be required for shops wishing to apply for and participate in the soon-to-be launched ProFirst Certified body shop program. “I-CAR is uniquely qualified to deliver the new training mod-ules developed by American Honda” said Steve Osborne, Assistant Vice President of Parts, Service & Technical Operations. “Their platform provides the most effective and efficient delivery of our content to the professional repair industry. And the on-line classes make it cost-effective for shops by eliminating the need to travel. Safe and complete repair is our goal and to achieve that we recog-nize our responsibility to make this training available to all shops that repair Honda and Acura vehicles.”
Telematics in its Simplest Form - a CAWA and Auto Care Association Whiteboard Release The California Automotive Wholesalers Association CAWA) leadership met last month and established the following goal: Educate members regarding telematics by simply defining it, i.e., what it actually is, in an understandable way, including some of its implications, e.g., privacy issues, ownership of information, etc. See this link that explains, in simple terms, what telematics is and how it will impact the independent auto care industry. It was devel-oped by CAWA and the Auto Care Association (and sponsored by Vantage Marketing Global, Inc.) and was featured at the CAWA leadership meeting this month. This whiteboard is meant to educate the industry, legislators, regulators and their staffs, other govern-ment officials, as well as, citizens as telematics becomes the pre-mier issue of the industry and motoring public. The whiteboard is being distributed widely throughout the auto care industry for such educational purposes. CAWA is a regional automotive aftermarket trade association, which represents auto parts jobbers, warehouse distributors, retail-ers, manufacturers, manufacturer representatives and program groups. The Association provides education, legislative, regulatory and business support to the industry and its membership. It is one of the largest trade associations of its kind in the United States and recognized as a leader in the automotive aftermarket industry. For more information visit www.cawa.org.
Scholarship assistance is available for students pur-suing careers in the automotive industry: Deadlines are fast approaching. SEMA has up to $5,000 in financial awards for students preparing for careers in the automotive industry? apply now at www.sema.org/scholarships and complete their online applica-tions by Wednesday, April 1, 2015. Apply for a CAWA Scholarship before March 31, 2015 Scholarship applications will be accepted through March 31, 2015. CAWA has been pleased to provide scholarships to several students each year in Arizona, California and Nevada. Don't miss this opportunity and apply today at www.automotivescholarships.com. Questions? Contact Rodney Pierini, [email protected] or call 800-332-2292, ext. 1. The Automotive Service Association of Arizona (ASA-AZ) is of-fering a $1000 scholarship to 4 Arizona high school or commu-nity college students each year who are intent on pursuing their automotive education at any of the following Arizona post secon-dary schools Applications for consideration should be submitted by April 15. To request an application call Luz at 602-544-2600 or email at [email protected]
ADEQ Officials Announce Selection of First Six Members of Arizona Voluntary Environmental Stewardship Program Arizona Department of Environmental Quality officials an-nounced today the first six members of the Arizona Voluntary En-vironmental Stewardship Program (VESP), which was adopted by the state Legislature and signed into law to provide recognition and incentives for organizations to go above and beyond environmental law requirements. The initial members from large business are PING Inc. of Phoe-nix, which manufactures golf clubs, and Arizona Public Service’s Ocotillo Power Plant in Tempe. The first small- business members are eGreen IT Solutions of Phoenix, which recycles electronic waste, and an auto repair shop, Integrity Diesel, and its corporate office, Integrity Auto Corporation, both of Tucson. The first mu-nicipality to be accepted to the program is the Town of Eagar in east-central Arizona. “This is an important program to recognize the excellent job that many businesses and municipalities in Arizona are performing in their operating procedures to protect the environment,” ADEQ Director Henry Darwin said. “We encourage others to apply for admission to the VESP and showcase their activities statewide.” The VESP has five levels of recognition – platinum, gold, sil-ver, bronze and copper. PING and Ocotillo are entering the pro-gram as platinum members, Integrity Diesel, Integrity Auto Corp. and eGreen as gold members, and Town of Eagar as a silver mem-ber. Each member will receive a certificate of recognition and will be listed on ADEQ’s website. Platinum level membership is limited to entities with a fully implemented environmental management system (EMS) and gold level is limited for those willing to develop and maintain an EMS that is consistent with industry standard. Silver is for those improv-ing their environmental footprint through pollution prevention and conserving natural resources, bronze is for regulated facilities mak-ing demonstrated efforts to comply with environmental regulations and copper is for those who have completed a project that results in measurable improvements to the environment. For more information about the VESP, click this link ://www.azdeq.gov/vesp.html. For further information about joining VESP, contact ADEQ Ombudsman Ian Bingham at (602) 771-4322 or by email at [email protected].
California Lawsuit Claims Flat Rate System Violates Minimum Wage-Overtime Laws A former technician for Caliber Collision Centers, Samuel Cas-tillo, has filed suit in California Superior Court alleging violations of the state’s minimum wage and overtime laws. The suit, Castillo et al. v. Caliber Bodyworks of Texas Inc. et al., filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, seeks Class Action status. The lawsuit alleges, among other items, that the piece-rate (flat-rate) compensation program Caliber used to compensate Castillo only compensated the plaintiff for the hours of labor produced and “…failed to pay plaintiff for nonproductive hours, i.e. hours that he was not performing piece-rate work.” Lawsuits involving flat rate compensation and how they impact calculations of minimum wage or overtime are nothing new to California repair facility operators. Cory King, an attorney specializing in employment law with Fine, Boggs & Perkins LLP, and chair of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) Human Resources Committee, has warned Cali-fornia repair facility operators in his CIC presentations about re-cent case law in the state impacting flat rate pay plans. "In 2013, the California Supreme Court upheld an appeals court ruling in Gonzalez v. Downtown LA Motors, LP rewrote the book on how flat rate technicians pay should be determined in relation to minimum wage. That ruling instantly created a problem for every employer who had used a flat rate pay plan," said King. According to King, the Gonzalez court did not take the time to truly understand how flat rate functions and ruled that flat rate compensation is only intended to compensate the technician for the time actually spent repairing the vehicle. Further, that flat rate pay did not compensate the technician for the time spent on non-production tasks such as cleaning up workstations and tools, wait-ing for parts, waiting for vehicles to repair, attending meetings, training, reviewing bulletins, etc. Thus, the technician was entitled to be paid at least the minimum wage for that non-productive "downtime. The court further ruled that employers could no longer show that the required minimum wage has been paid by averaging the total compensation over the total number of hours worked as permitted by the Fair Labor Standards Act and other states. King continued,"This Gonzalez ruling effectively killed flat rate pay plans in California as we've known them for decades, and opened the floodgates to the type of litigation that has now hit Cali-ber." Aside from getting competent legal advice from counsel who understands these unique California wage hour compliance issues, King offers one piece of overall advice to all shops, "Get quality arbitration agreements and class action waivers in place with your employees immediately, that one document means the difference between a multi-million dollar class action suit and a manageable individual claim by one employee."
Through AutoZonePro.com or your shop management system, a Commercial Sales Manager will receive your order and have it on the way to your shop without you ever making a call •Orders processed when received for quick turnaround •Credit customers have access to invoices 24/7 •VIN Decoder
Learn more about the ASA / AutoZone Rebate Program
