Where Your Manager Is Coming From
Don’t forget! Managers are people, too! Managers face many issues within a day and many of them are beyond our control. We deal with so many different personalities each and every day and we have to learn to keep our emotions and negative tendencies in check. Because we managers are people, too, we try to
Keep It Simple Stupid (K.I.S.S.) — And Listen
By Scott “Gonzo” Weaver An older gentleman came to the shop with wipers that would not turn off. This customer was insistent that it had to be a serious malfunction. He was so sure of himself that it made me think there was something seriously wrong with the car. If it was going to be
Get Ready To Smile For The (Skype) Camera
By Mandy Aguilar Tech news mills are churning with dispatches of Microsoft acquiring Skype. The software titans out of Seattle have agreed to dish out $8.5 billion for the pioneers in Internet phone calls, making this their largest acquisition ever. Think about that: They’ve never paid more for anything else in their history! What do
ALLEN & ALLAN: There Are Many Different Types of Customers
By Allen Markowitz and Allan Gerber So here we are, week after week telling the counter professionals to watch how they answer the phone, always be aware of their sometimes imperfect attitude and always try to make the company a fair profit on the sale. Has anyone ever stopped to think about what today’s counter
Want To Sell More Parts? Talk To A Woman
If you have a strong retail presence and want to know how your store is perceived, ask a woman. That’s what David Portalatin did. Portalatin, director of industry analysis for NPD Group, asked hundreds of women their opinions on parts stores. He spoke during a presentation at last month’s Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium that was
There’s Real Pain At The Pump
The CEO of Wal-Mart, Mike Duke, made a revealing observation of retail trends last month during a gathering of industry watchers in New York.
E-Commerce In Parts Distribution, Circa 1976
By Mandy Aguilar I couldn’t possibly fathom all those years ago, that I was then in the true forefront of electronic commerce. It was during the Bicentennial 1976 and my dad drove me early in the mornings in his Fiat 128 to the dealership he used to run with my uncle in Puerto Rico. My
Training? Who Needs It?
Why do we not offer continuing education?
Professionalism Starts On The Phone
Look at the phone as a sales-building tool.
How To Deal With A Bully
We would hope that people would eventually grow up and quit acting as children do. But that is not the case.
Apple Re-Invented The Store Experience
Apple is a company that’s been praised for innovating and changing things up in ways that other companies haven’t.
Where Are You With The Pareto Principle?
In any business, including ours, it’s used to identify where our customers come from.