Auto 7 Presents 'Distributor Of The Year' Award At Distributor Council Annual Meeting

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Auto 7 Presents ‘Distributor Of The Year’ Award At Distributor Council Annual Meeting

At the annual meeting of its distributor council, held March 4-7 in Miramar, Fla., Auto 7 Inc. presented its "2013 Distributor of the Year" award to Chicago, Ill.-based Stone Wheel Inc., one of the largest automotive parts distributors in the Midwest.

Counterman Staff
By Counterman Staff
Published:

MIRAMAR, Fla. – At the annual meeting of its distributor council, held March 4-7 in Miramar, Fla., Auto 7 Inc. presented its “2013 Distributor of the Year” award to Chicago, Ill.-based Stone Wheel Inc., one of the largest automotive parts distributors in the Midwest. Accepting the award was Stone Wheel President Tim Renehan, who also serves as president of Auto 7’s Distributor Council.
 
Auto 7, Inc. president Steven Kruss (fourth from right) is joined by fellow Auto 7 executives and members of the company’s Distributor Council at a meeting at Auto 7’s corporate office in Miramar, FL. Pictured from left to right: Jim Murphey, Auto 7 senior vice president and Council founder; Young Suhr, vice president of APW, Carson, CA; Tim Renehan, president of Stone Wheel, Chicago, IL; Mike Mohler, vice president of National Pronto Association, Grapevine, TX; Joe Sotolongo, Precise brand manager; Larry Szpyra, Auto 7 vice president of product management and quality assurance; Steven Kruss, Auto 7 president; Clark Johnson, president of Seth Johnson Sales, Sudbury, MA; Cliff Friedrich, Auto 7 regional manager, and Andy Swope, Auto 7 regional manager.“All of our distributors did a great job for us last year, but Stone Wheel really impressed us with their commitment to supporting our products,” said Auto 7 president Steven Kruss. “Because of their efforts, they were able to register year-over-year sales growth for both the Auto 7 brand and our companion brand, Precise.”
 
Auto 7 has an established network of stocking distributors across North America, six of whom were invited to serve two-year terms as members of the distributor council. The council meets three times a year: once at Auto 7’s corporate office followed by a meeting in Las Vegas during Automotive Week and then a mid-year conference call.
 
Jim Murphey, Auto 7’s senior vice president, founded the distributor council as a way for company executives to hear directly from its stocking distributors on ways they can enhance Auto 7’s products and programs.
 
“Listening to and learning from one’s customers is smart business, and Auto 7 has been doing this successfully for the past two years since forming its distributor council,” said Murphey. “It helps make us a better supplier and business partner for our distributors.”
 
During the council’s meetings, Auto 7’s management team shares all aspects of the company’s business model and challenges council members to provide candid input on what needs to be changed or modified to strengthen Auto 7’s value proposition. Also discussed is what Auto 7 can do to increase stocking distributors’ sales and margins.
 
Members of the Auto 7 Distributor Council for 2013-2014 are Tim Renehan of Stone Wheel; Young Suhr, vice president of APW, Carson, Calif.; Mike Mohler, vice president of National Pronto Association, Grapevine, Texas; Clark Johnson, president of Seth Johnson Sales, Sudbury, Mass.; Robert Roos, vice president of XL Automotive, Houston, Texas, and Yvan Dominigue, vice president of Monaco Group, Montreal, Quebec.

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Customer Service: How It’s Done

Customer service should be your number one priority, and it all starts with the greeting.

Eric Garbe
By Eric Garbe
Eric Garbe is a graduate of Columbus State Community College with a degree in Automotive Maintenance Technology. He has extensive independent and dealership field experience as a technician and shop owner and is an ASE Certified Master Technician and former Adjunct Automotive Professor. He has been professionally writing automotive technical articles and documents for many years and in his free time enjoys restoring old cars and creating custom interiors and upholstery.
Published:

This is always an important topic to discuss, because I consider excellent customer service one of the most important tools you can have to earn trust, respect and repeat business from the customers that come through your door. Whether that customer is do-it-yourselfer from across town or the professional repair shop across the street, your business depends on a solid relationship.It’s a subject that I am passionate about, and it’s one that many people are losing touch with. Whether you are communicating to someone in person, on the phone or using some type of social media, good customer service and bad can both exist. You can’t afford the latter, so this is the first in a series of topics which can and should be shared from the front of the shop to the back. No matter which role you hold, you represent the shop and yourself. Customer service should be your number one priority.First on the list is the greeting. From the second a customer walks in the door, they need to know you appreciate them coming in and how important they are to your business. First impressions are everything and here’s the correct way to do it each and every time: look them directly in the eye, smile and say hello!Of course, you can say “Good morning” or “Welcome to Joe’s Autocare,” but it should be a formal greeting and the most important thing is that you have smiled, looked them in the eye and recognized that they have walked through the door.You should always retain a formal greeting until you are on a first-name basis with a customer. Only once you have established that level of relationship is it OK to use the less formal greeting of “Hi,” followed by the person’s name.This greeting does more than just indicate respect and appreciation for someone walking through the door. Most likely there are customers both new and old who are in earshot of your conversation. For newer customers, this continues to build rapport and reinforce their positive view of your shop; they see that you demonstrate respect and treat everyone in the same manner. For repeat customers, even ones that have been coming for years, the greeting is important because the way you treat them is the reason they continue to come.And when a long-time customer comes in and you greet them with “Hi [First Name],” this indicates your appreciation for them and that you’re glad to see them as a person, more than just a customer. New customers that witness this will see that your repeat customers are comfortable enough to be on a first-name basis, another indication of the trust they have in you.

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