One-Liners for a Gray Day in December

It's grey, cold, icy and snowy here in NE Ohio and we're about to commence with a company Christmas party. So before I leave my desk and head down to the festivities, I thought I would share these one-liners from repair orders, courtesy of Andrew Markel at Brake & Front End. Who knew technicians had a sense of humor?

Service Advisor: Dead bugs on windshield

Tech: Live bugs on back-order

SA: Evidence of coolant leak found on passenger floorboard

Tech: Evidence removed.

SA: Customer can not turn on car.

Tech: Can I see the customer?

SA: Brakes make the car stop suddenly

Tech: That is what they were designed to do?

SA: Volume of tire noise unbelievably loud.

Tech: Tire noise volume set to more believable level.

SA: Suspect worn brakes

Tech: Suspect you're right.

SA: Driver says the engine missing.

Tech: Engine found under the hood after brief search.

SA: Vehicle handles funny.

Tech: Vehicle warned to straighten up and be serious.

SA: Heater fan hums.

Tech: Replaced with heater that knows the lyrics.

SA: Mouse in engine compartment.

Tech: Cat installed.

SA: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a dwarf pounding on something with a hammer.

Tech: Took hammer away from dwarf.

(I just envision that little guy from the Blue Nun commercials hanging out under my hood now...)

Tool & Equipment Trends - According to our Readers

A couple of weeks ago I reported on the "lifestyle" of today's technicians. Today, I can share the results of our survey on Tools and Equipment. These results reflect the shop owner's experience, not the technician. I have to apologize ahead of time for the manner in which I'm sharing this info - it was a little tough to pull into a cohesive format.


We surveyed the readers of our TechGroup magazines: Underhood Service, Import Car, and Brake & Front End in order to collect up-to-date information on the types of tools and equipment found in independent repair shops. This is another important distinction to make - this information all comes from independent repair shops - no dealerships. We also measured the importance of various attributes affecting tool purchases and the sources of information that shop owners use when they make their purchasing decisions.



Surveys were mailed in September, 2008, and the responses were compiled in October. Once again, I'm just going to share the highlights. A complete copy of the survey results can be made available on request. Of course, I can never resist editorializing as I go....

• 86% of our respondents were either the owner or partner, 12% were managers
• 81.4% have complete purchasing authority on new auto service equipment, 12.2% share the authority with others
• Average dollar value of all personal tools used professionally is $65,300
• Average amount spent on tools each month is $455

We asked, "where do you receive the MOST information on new tools?". 73% said from Trade magazines. The next largest percentage was 17% from mobile distributors. Websites only scored a 2%, and the manufacturers' website scored 0%. I found that VERY interesting. On one hand, good for me because it means our readers still find quite a bit of value in our magazines, and (hopefully) so do our advertisers because their message is being sought out in trade magazines. On the other hand, possibly bad for the manufacturer who has invested quite a bit of $$ in their website, and they may or may not be getting a good return on their investment. You decide.

What makes a technician or shop owner buy a tool? Do you think it's brand, where it's made, price?

According to our readers, the BRAND drives their decision most often. Our readers specify a particular brand frequently or always 73% of the time. If they don't specify, it's because 77% know the brand the vendor will supply.

What helps drive a tool-buying decision? Number one answer is warranty, followed by brand, then availability.

When asked what the 3 most important purchase factors were after brand, 92% chose quality, followed by warranty and then competitive pricing.

Where do they buy their tools & equipment?
57% of their purchases are made from mobile distributors, 14% are purchased from tool & equipment WDs, and the other 29% is dispersed amongst retailers, full-line WD, online, direct from the mfg, and from dealerships.

Have their purchasing habits changed? For a few - yes. 17% have decreased their purchases from the mobiles. While 33% have increased their purchases on-line. (I would still guess that on-line purchase amount is small compared to the rest of their purchases, but can't substantiate my gut feel.)

Specific Product info

• Battery chargers, compressor, tool box/cart - in 90% or more of the shops
• Pneumatic tools, test equipment, shop lights - in 82% - 86% of the shops
• Lifts, specialty hand tools, specialty sockets/wrenches and diagnostic tools are in 79% of the shops surveyed
• 23% had hybrid specialty tools and just
• 19% had flash reprogrammers

And the answer to my favorite question, "Would you find a Buyers Guide of Tools and Equipment useful? 87% said yes, and most said they would hold onto it for 6 months or more. Music to my ears, because we're getting ready to go to press with our 2nd annual Buyer's Guide early next month. And we're the only publisher in the industry that has a printed (as well as on-line) version. After all, our customers are still finding most of their product information from the printed page!

One last comment about this segment of our readers, they reported that they typically spend 46% of their time diagnosing and repairing vehicles. Even though they own multi-bay shops, and they employ 2 or more technicians, they are still spending an incredible amount of time IN the business, versus working ON their business. Only 8% of their time is spent meeting with suppliers. If you are a supplier to this market, you need to understand that as you go forward in your marketing plan. They see a supplier less than 40 minutes/day - and that "supplier" could be a sales rep, a mobile distributor, or a factory person. Ask yourself this question, When you are not in front of them, what have you done to make them remember you?

Profile of Today's Technician

We recently conducted a survey of the readers of our TechGroup magazines, specifically skipping over the shop owner and going directly to the technician. Today, I'm going to outline the "lifestyle" of today's U.S. automotive technician. Check back later for an overview of their tools and equipment purchasing trends.

Our methodology: We mailed and collected the responses to our survey from mid-September to mid-October, 2008. Our objective was to gather informaton on the demographics and lifestyles of professional auto repair technicians. We have a professional research team on staff here, so it was not just me and couple of local auto techs sitting around shooting the breeze. We're serious about research..... (though I realize you may be wondering why there's a picture of Mickey Mouse in an article about research. more to come on MM.)

In order to keep this a quick read, I'm just going to list some of the highlights of our research:

• Our respondents have been technicians for an average of 20.9 years, with 33% being in the business for 26 years or more.


• The majority of our respondents have been working at their current location for over 5 years, with the average being 11 years.
  
• 46% of these technicians began working in the business by the time they were 18 years old. The next largest category (10%) began at the age of 19. (Good reason for you to consider advertising to student technicians today - they start young and stay in the business for a looooooong time.)
  
• 63% hold ASE certifications, with an average of 5 certifications each.
  
• For those technicians paid hourly, 32% have an hourly rate of $16 or less, while 21% cite an hourly rate of $25 or more.
  
• The average number of hours worked per week is 44.4
  
• The average age of our technicians is 41.8 years old. 68% are married. When asked how many more years do you expect to remain an automotive technician, the average answer was 13.1 years.
  
• 38% are HS graduates and 30% went to technical or a trade school.
  
• Our technicians own or lease an average of 3.9 vehicles, with cars/light trucks/SUVs making up 88% of their vehicles. Others are motorcycles, RV, motor homes, snowmobiles, ATVs.
  
• What do you think technicians like to do in their spare time? Well, according to the survey, their favorite passtime is fishing (46%), followed by boating (32%) and travel (28%). Surprisingly, just 22.5% enjoyed motorsports as a leisure activity (why do so many manufacturers spend so much money to support motorsports then?) Only 11% enjoy golf. (of course, perhaps a lot more of them golf, but only 11% enjoy golf.)
  
• Internet use - 93% have access to the internet (70% have access both at home and at work).

Then we asked them some broader industry questions and asked if they agree or disagree.

Here are the areas where they strongly agree: The shop where they work is a decent place to work (that explains the length of time.); There is a shortage of trained technicians.; It is difficult to keep up.

They were more neutral about their opportunity to advance in the industry and some apparently feel the public doesn't respect their skills (something we all need to keep in mind as we work to promote our industry both within and outside of our business networks.)

Finally, 53% indicated they might change careers. Of those, 42% would remain in automotive, but not as a tech, 26% want to become a shop owner, and 32% would seek something outside the automotive field.

One final note: Happy Belated Birthday Mickey Mouse! Yesterday was the 80th anniversary of Mickey Mouse's appearance in Steamboat Willie. 80 years, several modifications, and solid marketing........ today Mickey Mouse is one of the most recognizable brands/images on the planet. Even though his primary target market is children, people of all ages, income levels, lifestyles, and education recognize the black mouse with white gloves (and MM is rarely if ever confused with Michael Jackson, who is a person (not a cartoon character) known to wear one white glove from time to time.) That is great branding - no matter how you analyze it.