BG Products adds FUEL SYSTEMS to its LPP Line-up
As of May 1st BG Products has included their fuel system maintenance program into the Lifetime Protection Plan. The Fuel Service will cover injectors, PCV, and oxygen sensors. The service must be performed at 15,000 mile intervals. WIth the inclusion of BG Mass Airfow Sensor Cleaner (p/n 4073) the mass air flow sensor will be covered!
Very exciting news!
Talk with your BG representative on ways to expose your customer to all the benefits of the Lifetime Protection Plan..It will drive business into your doors.
This is the perfect time to make sure this service is part of all major intervals.
There are some other minor modifications to the protection plan that your BG rep will discuss with you, or, you can open the new document when you log in and see them now.
Posted on: May 4, 2011
Positive Action Taken by FTC on Honda Service Statement
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released an FTC Consumer Alert entitled "Auto Warranties, Routine Maintenance and Repairs: Is Using the Dealer a Must?" in response to a complaint filed by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), Automotive Oil Change Association (AOCA) and the Tire Industry Association (TIA).
The FTC Alert was distributed in response to a letter sent by AAIA, AOCA and TIA charging that Honda had issued a release that appeared designed to give car owners the impression that their warranty right would be jeopardized if they used "aftermarket" parts. The Aug. 20, 2010 Honda release stated that "only by purchasing Honda Genuine parts through an authorized U.S. Honda dealer can you be assured of the replacement part's authenticity, reliability and compatibility."
In a subsequent letter to the FTC, AOCA and AAIA charged that the Honda statement was "in direct conflict with the Magnuson-Moss statute," which prohibits the conditioning of a warranty on the use of the manufacturer's brand products.
"Since such OEM missives often confuse consumers into giving up their right to choose independent automotive service providers like fast lubes, AOCA immediately challenged Honda's statement under the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act," said Gordon Tayler, communications manager at AOCA. "As part of AOCA's ongoing discussions with the Federal Trade Commission regarding this issue, AOCA surveyed the membership to determine how many 2011 Honda vehicles were serviced at fast lubes in the fall of 2010 versus how many 2010 Honda vehicles were serviced in the fall of 2009. The results demonstrated a devastating 70 percent decrease."
The FTC's consumer alert, among other things, makes clear that OEM vehicle warranties cannot be voided by the mere use of independent parts and services, and stipulates that the burden of proof is on the OEM and/or dealer who tries to claim an independent part or service provider caused a problem that would void warranty coverage.
"We're urging everyone to post the full statement on their business websites and make copies readily available to their in-store customers," Taylor said. (A copy of the statement is available here.)
"We are pleased that the FTC has put out valuable guidance to U.S. car owners regarding their rights under their new car warranties," said AAIA president and CEO, Kathleen Schmatz. "Vehicle manufacturers like Honda continue to put out misleading information that confuses car owners as to their ability to choose where and with what parts their vehicle is serviced and still protect their new vehicle warranty. Most surveys have shown that absent the warranty, the vast majority of consumers choose the independent aftermarket based on quality, price and convenience; and this FTC Alert will ensure they will have the peace of mind to exercise that choice."
The FTC Alert spells out a key provision of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act that it is illegal for manufacturers or dealers to claim that a consumers warranty is void or to deny warranty coverage simply because someone other than the dealer provided service. The alert states that an independent technician, a retail chain shop or even the car owner can do routine maintenance and repairs on their vehicle, without jeopardizing their new car warranty.
However, AOCA warns that the task of defending the lube industry against OEM attacks is unfinished. For starters, the FTC declined to find Honda in direct violation of the Magnuson-Moss Act, saying in a letter (a copy of which is available here), "we interpret the American Honda position statements to state that American Honda will not deny warranty coverage for the mere use of an unauthorized part, but rather for damage or defects caused by those parts."
"Although the Federal Trade Commission's recent action is a victory for fast lubes, it is not the end of the story. Honda did not receive an official reprimand from the government because the language they used was deemed ambiguous enough to squeeze around the Federal Trade Commission's current interpretation of the law," Taylor said. "Such language could not be seen as ambiguous if the government understood what we understand about the day-to-day customs and practices of the automotive service industry. Therefore, the investigation continues."
Taylor urged lube operators to contact the association immediately should they come across any of the following:
•Customer statements regarding the requirement of using a dealership and/or OEM parts.
•Situations regarding actual dealership claims that independent service or parts caused a problem that would make necessary repairs fall outside warranty coverage.
•Problems with OEM parts, both functional and practical (cost and availability).
•Functional problems with independent parts.
"This information is vital," Taylor said. "It will be used to address the ongoing situation with Honda and other OEMs, as well as the Federal Trade Commission's upcoming review of the entire Magnuson Moss Warranty Act regulation."
Posted on: February 9, 2011
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We wantt to drive business to your shop!
Everybody does Facebook!
We want Facebook to work for us!
We are going to offer FREE BG MOA to our Facebook fans if they come to YOUR shop.
In order for this work well, we need your help. You need to make sure that you "like" us and we "like" you.
www.facebook.com/florida.bg
Then you need to tell your employees, family, friends and customers to do the same. The more people in the mix, the better the opportunity for them to come see YOU.
It is our plan to put this out in the beginning of January, so there is plenty of time to get the word out..."like" us.
BG MOA is the cornerstone of the BG Protection Plan and for those of you using it with the reminder service, I know you see the successes. If you are unsure or unaware, ask your BG rep. A new year, a new plan, continued success.
Posted on: November 11, 2010
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Find us on FACEBOOK!
In an effort to better communicate with you, Florida Distributors has launched our new FACEBOOK page. Visit us by clicking the link at the bottom of our home page or go to:
http://www.facebook.com/Florida.BG
"LIKE" us and you'll stay up to speed on upcoming training, special offers for you and your customers, customer videos, industry information and more.
If your business has a FACEBOOK page, add us to your favorite pages.
Feel free to post anything that is relevant to car care or our business.
The more interactive we can be, the more we can help you grow your business.
If you don't currently have a FACEBOOK page you may want to think about signing up!
See you on FACEBOOK!
Steve
Posted on: October 29, 2010
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| 5W-30 Synthetic Motor OIl BG 73732 |
BG SYNTHETIC 5W-30 MOTOR OIL APPROVED BY VW
BG Synthetic 5W-30 Motor Oil has met and exceeded many technical specifications. Some but all include ACEA C3-08, API SM, API CF, VW50200, VW50500, VW50501, BMW LL-04 and MB-229.51. BG Products' attention to superior quality has gotten the manufacturer's attention.
He are proud to say that VW has approved BG Products 737 to be used in its engines.
BG 737 Synthetic 5W-30 Motor Oil will fill a wide variety of synthetic uses and the stringent European standards. This oil will fulfill all domestic synthetic oil needs as well.
Florida Distributors is excited with the opportunity ahead of us in the synthetic oil market. WIth that, we are offering a terrific pricing program on our 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil.
We will extend bulk pricing in every container from 275 gallon totes to 1 quart.
Email: steve@bgflorida.com
This great pricing will easily give you a competitive advantage in the synthetic market.
Posted on: October 4, 2010
Service Lane Profitability
Missed Opportunities:
Leaving Money on the Table
When was your last service department sales meeting? I’m not talking about a typical shop meeting that you have never an issue arises. Rather, I’m talking about a weekly or bi-weekly meeting of all the personnel in the “fixed ops family.” The purpose of the meeting is very focused and intentional: to teach, to motivate, and to hold accountable everyone involved in the services sales process. I’m referring to management, advisors, techs, and parts personnel…everyone is responsible for service sales!
I’ve spent most of my 27-year fixed ops career conducting these meetings at the local dealership level. The format of the meeting is always the same: (1) Inform everyone of the facts and figures, celebrate the victories, and point out the missed opportunities, (2) Implement a process to turn opportunities into labor hours and labor dollars. (Note: As labor hours increase, parts revenue increases with it…therefore savvy parts managers should have a vested interest in attending the service sales meeting!)
Let me re-state the meeting format a different way. In the service sales meeting, you must discuss: Where you have been, where you are headed, and how you will get there. The best way for me to communicate this concept is by way of a real-world example. In August of this year, I was asked to lead a service sales meeting for a metro dealership fixed ops team. Since the meeting was conducted during the lunch hour, I only focused on two statistics: Shop efficiency and customer penetration rate.
To calculate shop efficiency, simply take the total flat rate hours and divide it by total clock hours. This shop had 2184 clock hours for the month: 13 techs x 8 hours per day (clock time) x 21 days in the month = 2184 clock hours. The entire shop had 1484 flat rate hours (including LOF’s, customer pay, warranty, and internal). Therefore, their shop efficiency was 68% (1484 divided by 2184 = 68%).
That means the technicians were at the dealership for 700 hours with no revenue being produced (2184 – 1484 = 700). I’m not saying they were idle, (with no work to do) for 700 hours…but that they didn’t produce revenue for themselves or the dealership during those 700 hours. Granted, there are some jobs that just drain the life out of a good tech. Sometimes they spend a half day diagnosing and fixing a problem that only pays 1.5 hours. It’s just the way it is sometimes.
I put this number in writing, on a flip chart, and asked the techs how they felt about being at the dealership for 700 hours with no money to show for it. They got fairly vocal and …well…let’s just say their boxer shorts got pretty wadded up! They blamed the service advisors, the economy, the Obama administration, the Chrysler/GM bankruptcies, and the price of tea in China.
Next, I focused on the customer penetration rate (CPR). To calculate CPR, take the number of Maintenance Services sold and divide it by the total number of customer pay RO’s. This shop had 602 customer pay RO’s for the month and had sold 104 maintenance services. Their CPR was 17% (104 divided by 602 = 17%).
CPR is a quick snapshot that shows the health of the service sales staff. The advisors and techs had 602 opportunities for which they only had 104 maintenance sales to show for it. Not too impressive! To recap, the service team was only filling up 68% of their “time bank” and the service sales staff was only closing the sale 17% of the time. These are not mutually exclusive statistics, but rather they are closely intertwined.
This information raises a question: Are the fixed ops personnel helpless victims of fate or are they missing a wealth of opportunity right under their noses?
To answer the question, I went to the back lot where they keep the vehicles that are completed; awaiting pick-up by the customers. I randomly chose three vehicles, raised the hood, and conducted a walk-a-round.
In the interest of time I’ll just go into detail about one; it was a 2006 crossover with 51,500 miles. The RO contained a single line item for a driveability concern with a check engine light…the diagnosis and repair was under $75. History showed the vehicle was purchased new at the dealership and had been in for three minor warranty issues and seven oil changes.
You know where I am heading, don’t you? The wipers were cracked and chalky ($30), the power steering fluid was dark and had no history of ever being changed ($90), the throttle plate and plenum were black inside ($130), the battery connections were starting to corrode ($35), and the factory-installed tires were totally shot ($400). Folks, that’s $685 of maintenance sales (opportunities) that they missed!
How did it happen? Their menu and the big banner on the service drive says they do a free 21-point inspection with each service visit…so I guess the technician wasn’t paying much attention. The service drive process requires the advisor to do a walk-a-round and raise the hood on each vehicle…so I guess the advisor wasn’t paying much attention either!
That $685 translated into about 2.5 missed labor hours. The money and the hours were lost for two reasons:
• They weren’t looking for opportunities
• They didn’t ask the customer to buy
Let’s go back to the 700 non-revenue hours that the shop lost…it was an unnecessary loss. The hours were there, the money was there; all they had to do was be observant and ask!
It’s time to get personal; if I had the same type of fixed ops meeting at your dealership, would I have found the same thing?
In conclusion, here are the action points for success:
? Have a service sales meeting twice a month
? Do the math on your shop efficiency and customer penetration rate
? Examine your missed opportunities
? Educate your customers and ask them to buy
I’ll leave you with the words of Jesus: “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
CALL OUT:
“Consumers will purchase preventive maintenance if you educate them and ask them to buy!”
-Charlie Polston
Charlie Polston is a Fixed Operations Profitability and Customer Retention Consultant with BG Products, Inc. He has trained over 2,500 Fixed Operations personnel nationwide. He has been with BG Products, Inc. for over 27 years. Charlie can be reached at 800-580-0024 or cpolston@bglsi.com
Posted on: August 14, 2009
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Why it doesn't work
In these trying times we at BG have run across a wide variety of managers, owners and employees. We are often asked the same question…”how is everyone else doing?” We get caught in the crossfire with that one because we don’t really know if they are looking for justification of their own problems or are they truly searching for information. I have decided to answer everyone at once.
In business you can be a part of one of the following groups:
Proactive, Reactive, or Inactive.
Let me define them.
PROACTIVE is a group that sees down the road and makes adjustments, even if they are wrong, well before trouble comes. They are also the ones never willing to rest on their laurels. If a bad decision is made they change again, and if a decision was good they still look for a way to make it better. Never satisfied describes the proactive ones.
The REACTIVE group waits until change is absolutely necessary and then relies more on someone else’s decision than their own. They don’t really look at how to move forward, they just want to get by. If they were steering a boat I a storm they would be the ones to fight it, never getting anywhere, but staying afloat. They always ask how did so and so get it done, not look at what I am doing.
The INACTIVE guy may get by, but will never be strong. They will be the first one to blame the economy, the president, the weather, and their spouse for bad business. They will always think about it, and rarely do it. If they do it, they will never truly commit. They have more excuses than carter has pills (for us old folks).
The bottom line is this, in our business we never have 100% saturation, we can always do more. We can always be different. We lose more business than we keep because we don’t think it is necessary to give our customers a reason to come back. The fact is we do. We need to take care of business at home. Our customers are our lifeblood. They need to think of you the same way they think of their pediatrician.
This can all be summed up with one word…VALUE! You need to give it to get it. That never means being the cheapest.
To show you what inactive means, look at the picture on the side. A sampling tray that for the proactive store generates 100s of dollars each day of customer pay maintenance work (the highest gross of all) is being used to hold up a flag, and no one said a word.
Nuff said!
I think I’ve answered the question. Now it’s your turn.
Posted on: June 5, 2009
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The BG Lifetime Protection Plan and the BG Protection Plan Reminder Service
The BG Protection Plan has been the most popular new addition to the BG line-up in years. In this economic state, the retail customer has been extraordinarily value conscious. The BG Lifetime Protection Plan meets that need.
The BG Lifetime Protection Plan offers the customer up to $4,000.00 on all major systems for simply servicing their vehicle. The coverage is for the engine, fuel system, power steering, cooling system, drive line, brake and transmission.
The BG Protection Plan Reminder Service keeps the customers coming back to your shop so their BG Protection Plan does not lapse. You sign up the customer at the time of service and they will receive timely email reminders to return for the necessary service to maintain the BG Lifetime Protection.
This program has brought substantial revenue increases to stores taking full advantage of the marketing and training available with the BG Lifetime Protection Plan and BG Protection Plan Reminder Service.
The ability to use a program to solidify your financial position today in this market and prepare for the turn around with tremendously improved customer retention is the definition of an intelligent businessperson.
The only way to make a difference is to make a change.
Your BG representative knows how…just ask him.
Posted on: May 13, 2009
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RUSH FOR BG PRODUCTS!!!
Rush Limbaugh will endorse BG Products LIVE on air during his daily radio broadcasts.
Beginning January, 12 2009 Rush and BG begin their campaign for trouble-free driving and the BG Lifetime Protection Plan.
Rush is the most popular personality on air in America Today. His show airs Monday - Friday from 12 - 3PM EST. He has 537 affiliates and covers 99.9% of the U.S. He reaches over 10 million listeners each week.
Rush is ranked as one of the 5 most influential conservatives in America, shaping today's political and social landscape.
Rush will promote BGfinashop.com. Make sure your information is updated by speaking with you BG rep onhis next visit.
BG is helping to Drive Service to your facility.
Posted on: January 7, 2009