Mark Colaw has a passion for the automotive industry. He started working for the shop’s namesakes, Hastings, and Ida Seymour, as one of three people that knew how to run one of the new diagnostic machines. Mark eventually purchased Seymour’s Garage in 1985 and opened the current location in 1988. Mark is the founder of CarFest an important community program that brings the aftermarket and the consumer into a unified program to support the needs of the community. Find Mark’s other episodes HERE.

Gary Pundt is a second generation technician/shop owner and involved in the automotive industry all of his life. Gary’s parents opened Alamo Heights Garage in San Antonio Texas in 1958 and he began working in the shop when he was 15 years old. Typically he’s done every job from sweeping floors, taking the trash out, driving customers, cleaning restrooms to managing to the business.

Gary and his wife Darla have owned and operated Alamo Heights Garage since 1997 when my mother retired.  Together they have raised 3 sons and grown their business to a level his father would have never dreamed of.

They have both served on many boards and have contributed to our local community for many years, from sponsoring little league baseball teams to hosting car clinics for young drivers. Most recently they have participated in the Community of Automotive Professionals repairing vehicles for needy people in our community while promoting our industry through events like Carfest while Darla wife has served as CFO.

Louie Serianni has been at Sirianni Automotive since 2004. After graduating from Texas A&M in 2003 he went right to work in the family business. His official duties at Sirianni Automotive are usually service writing and customer service but over the years, Louie has done everything including oil changes, vehicle repairs, equipment repairs, sweeping, mopping and even cleaning the restrooms. Now the job description includes Radio Show Host on 550 KTSA!

CARFEST Website HERE.

Resources:

• A special thanks to  Mark Colaw, Gary Pundt, and Louie Sirianni for their contribution to the aftermarket.
• CARFEST Website HERE.
• Books Page HERE
• Leave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.

Subscribe to a mobile listening app HERE.

• CarFest 2019 ‘Unity in the Community’ Behind the Scenes
• A walk through the largest event that unites independent shop professionals with the community.
• 13 Vehicles are given away
• Free admission to the community
• 25 Vehicles repaired for local non-profit members in need
• Monies are given to regional post-secondary automotive trade schools
• CarFest website HERE.
• Carm Capriotto attended and broadcast a Town Hall Academy on this event. To hear even more: Episode.



Your Learning Curve Never Sounded So Good

The Panel:

Mark Colaw has a passion for the automotive industry. He started working for the shop’s namesakes, Hastings, and Ida Seymour, as one of three people that knew how to run one of the new diagnostic machines. Mark eventually purchased Seymour’s Garage in 1985 and opened the current location in 1988. Mark is the founder of CarFest an important community program that brings the aftermarket and the consumer into a unified program to support the needs of the community. Find Mark’s other episodes HERE.

David Justice has been an auto care professional for over 30 years. He grew up in the family business working for his father. At, a young age David purchased his father’s business and went on his own. Over the years David had multiple Shell Gas stations. Find David’s other episodes HERE.

Tom Palermo is General Manager of Preferred Automotive Specialties in Jenkintown, PA. Tom is a world class Master Technician and a Certified ASE Advanced Level Technician, is certified from ASE including Master Auto, MasterTruck, Master Truck Equipment, Master School Bus, Master Collision, Master Transit Bus, L1, L2, C1, X1, P2, F1 Besides the 2015 NAPA/ASE Technician of the Year, Tom also earned the 2011 AAIA-ASE World Class Technician Award from the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, and the Best Tech of the Year award sponsored by WIX Filters. The majority of Tom’s business is fleets. Listen to Tom’s previous episodes HERE.

Key Talking Points:

• Are we charging enough for diagnostics?
  • What is your equipment and training worth?
  • You need to get paid for the skills you have.
  • You can’t compare yourself to the ‘free diagnostics’ places. You are a professional.
  • Find the confidence in your skills and abilities and charge for that.
  • Free advice is worth what you paid for it.
  • Discover your worth.  
  • Mark Colaw put an end to big box stores scan issue. He scans for free, however, he charges for diagnostics.
• We are educators and we need to tell people that so they see the value in what we charge. Have conversations with your customers.
• David offers a 10-minute preliminary inspection and would scan and pull the code and moves into a Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 diag depending on the results.
  • This qualifies the customer.
• The labor rate spread in markets is too big.
  • Increasing labor rates can make huge improvements to a business.
    • Better pay and benefits
      • Attract a higher quality technician
    • Paid training for all
    • Stronger better systems
    • Improve equipment
    • Improve marketing
    • ASE certification
    • Plus many more…….
  • Labor rates are geographical and demographic driven.
    • Labor rates are too low in the industry.
• Shops cannot bad mouth each other. Fairness must rule.
  • Doctors or lawyers do not bad mouth each other. It is called professional courtesy.
• We need unity in the industry. We all benefit. Create a community.
  • Support each other with an idea exchange. Collaborate!
  • To help with any issues inside their business!
  • Tool exchange!
• Knowing your numbers, P & L and Cash Flow will help you understand what you need to charge and why.
  • Key performance indicators are important, however, how to improve them is the vital part of knowing your numbers.
  • Systems, Operations, and Procedures should drive your numbers that have the biggest effect on your business.  
• Educate your customer on the complete transaction and what they should expect from the warranty for the repair. There may be more to the repair then they authorized, so educating them will prevent any follow-up issue that may arise.
  • You could be dealing with a moving target at times.
• DVI
  • A picture is worth 1,000 words and can be worth $1,000. “David Justice”
  • Education and trust regarding safety and reliability.
  • You can eliminate comebacks or secondary issues when you use DVI’s for a complete review of your customer’s vehicle
  • It is an important system and process.
• Mark Colaw will not use canned follow-up language.
  • He requires his people to write down, on the work order, what he talks to his customer at the invoice delivery. No canned wording. Clear and concise not about deferred work. It is typed and in the digital version of the invoice.
• The perception of your business makes it ‘worth it’ to them.
• Don’t be afraid to charge what you are worth. You’ve invested a lot in your business and need to be paid for this.
• Mark Colaw’s core value:
  • Community
  • Education
  • Excellence
  • Integrity
    • Base everything on and off of this value.
    • You will realize what your worth is and will charge appropriately.

Resources:

• A special thanks to Mark Colaw, David Justice, and Tom Palermo for their contribution to the aftermarket.
• Books Page HERE
• Leave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.
• Subscribe to a mobile listening app HERE.
• Refine your area of interest with the Word/Tag Cloud HERE.

Find a mobile listening APP:

A native of San Antonio, TX, Mark Colaw has a passion for the automotive industry. He started working for the shop’s namesakes, Hastings and Ida Seymour, as one of three people that knew how to run one of the new diagnostic machines. Mark eventually purchased Seymour’s Garage in 1985 and opened the current location in 1988.

Mark is highly involved in his community. He started at the age of thirteen volunteering for various organizations. and since then his vision recently brought a team of automotive industry professionals together to create a community event called CarFest. As recently as 2016, Carfest donated more than $80,000 to local trade schools to assist youth pursuing a career in the automotive world. Mark also serves as a board member at Hidden Springs Youth Ranch, where he also donates the land that the youth ranchers use and the resources to maintain the facilities.

This episode is about Mark Colaw’s passion: Carfest. This is, by far, the most comprehensive philanthropic event I’ve ever had the pleasure to cover as a podcaster. This event goes miles and miles to improve the image of our automotive repair community and presents the industry in our most positive light.

Mark explains the impact CarFest is having on the community, automotive technology schools, suppliers and aftermarket vendors. This two and half day public event repairs 25 vehicles free for a select group of individuals. The vehicles are handpicked by community outreach groups such as Haven for Hope and The Battered Women’s Shelter.

When you change lives with heart and hands and bring unity in the community, it goes a long way to build trust in the automotive industry and professionalism in the trade.

Talking Points:

• Mark’s parents wanted him to go to college but he had other plans to be a mechanic.
• Carfest, an idea from Mark to enhance the trade of auto repair.
  • Driven off the core value of integrity, community, education and excellence. To enhance the trade of automotive repair.
• Here are some of the requirements necessary to select the proper candidate:
  • The vehicle must currently be licensed and insured in their name.
  • Must be employed so they can continue to get to work.
• The support for this event comes from local shop owners, aftermarket suppliers, OEM vendors and technicians.
  • The event cannot be run just on getting product, so there is some cash that is needed to run the event.
• • Donations and sponsorships from vendors make this event.
• Last year over 8,000 people came through CarFest.
  • The event is open to everyone at no cost; there is even a kids corner with Herbie and games!
  • Classes for the consumer and Town Hall type events are held for the consumer.
• • Bands. BBQ cookoff and a Chili Cook-Off
  • Every two hours there is a pre-owned vehicle given away to the public.
    • It grew over time.
    • Cars are coming from shop owners and consumers. Some people who want to donate their car that needs repair will get salvage value, or a shop will buy it and fix it up for Carfest.
• There are eight automotive campuses involved in this event.
  • Each campus gets $10,000 toward their program.
  • The money comes from vendors and sponsors.
• CarFest features a 25 bay garage and is staffed by volunteers that are fixing the selected vehicles.
  • There are eight automotive technology school students who shadow the professional technicians.
• Mark’s ultimate dream is to blueprint this event and have other shop owners duplicate this in their communities.

CarFest Website

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