2 GEARS November/December 2006

I
n the August 2005 issue of GEARS,
I wrote an article entitled Wholl
Get the Work? In it, I implied
maybe somewhat tongue-in-cheek
that the most successful shop would
be the one with the cleanest rest rooms.
This idea originated from comments
made by James Press, senior VP and
chief operating officer for Toyota of
North America, who gave the keynote
address at the 2005 Global Automotive
Aftermarket Symposium. During his
speech he declared that at Toyota, more
women purchased cars than men, and
that 80% of those women take their
own cars in for repairs.
All very interesting, but what does
that mean to you? Recently, Rodger
Bland, managing editor of GEARS,
conducted a survey of shops to help us
discover whats working and whats not
for bringing customers into transmis-
sion shops. He presented the results
of this ongoing study at the ATRA
Powertrain Expo in Orlando.
One question asked participants to
rate their shops curb appeal. 48% of the
shop owners surveyed rated their shops
as a 4; 25% as a perfect 5! The chart in
figure 1 graphs the returns (blue bars).
One look at the numbers and I knew
something wasnt right: The numbers
werent distributed properly.
A normal distribution should
define a standard bell curve (figure
1, red bars). That is, the majority of
the respondents should have been 3s,
followed by a lower but somewhat
equal number of 2s and 4s, and finally,
a small number of 1s and 5s.
So what does this mean? It could
be that we have a lot of great looking
shops in our industry or, more likely,
it means that the respondents just think
their shops measure up. Measure up
to whom? All those women customers
weve been talkin about!
Okay, were all aware of the pres-
sures facing transmission shops these
days. But with more women taking
charge of their own auto repairs, could
jobs that men would have brought into
the average transmission shop 10 years
ago be going to the dealer, simply
because women dont want to get their
clothes dirty?
Lets take a closer look: Mr. Press
says more women purchase cars today,
but well go with half. He also stated
that 80% of those women take care
of their own auto repairs. That means
40% of your business should be from
women. Is it? Count the number of
women versus men that came to your
shop over the past three months. If only
15% were women, you could potential-
ly increase your car count by over 41%
if you had the curb appeal to attract
them. Figure 2 shows a chart where
you can take your current percentage of
female customer and the gain you could
realize if your ratio of male to female
customers were at 60/40.
So what are those customers look-
ing for? Why dont you ask them?
Weve created a short survey for cus-
tomers, created from many of the same
questions asked in our What Works
survey. To download a copy, click the
link on the www.gearsmagazine.com
web page.
Then give it to your customers
men and women alike. Find out how
your shop rates from their perspective.
Give them a special gift for filling it
out: Offer $25 off their next service or
repair, or a free oil change thatll
not only get your survey answered, itll
also make sure they come in for work
again soon: a win-win if ever there was
one.
Be prepared for some surprises:
I know we found some of the results
of our initial survey startling. And be
prepared to make some changes to
your shop your waiting room your
procedures and maybe even your
advertising. Because the information
youll be getting will only be useful
if you take advantage of what theyre
telling you.
And get your shop in shape to start
taking advantage of the fastest grow-
ing segment of the consumer market:
women.
FROM THE CEO
by Dennis Madden
Where Are All the
Women?
1 3
2 6
3 18
4 48
5 25
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1 2 3 4 5
Current % % Gain
5 58.3
10 50.0
15 41.7
20 33.3
25 25.0
30 16.7
35 8.3
Figure 1 Figure 2
FM ceo1106.indd 2 10/31/06 10:22:35 AM
0hrysler A-0/A-0
Low-Reverse Piston Retainer ReinIorcement Plate
U5 Patent No. D373 370 51888
Problem: The retainer tends to
distort in the area around the Ieed hole.
5olution:
0ur U5 patented Low-Reverse Piston Retainer
ReinIorcement Plate will eliminate the Iollowing worries:
- 0oasting 2-1 downshiIt clunks or chatters
- Delayed Iorward and reverse engagements
- 0hatter or slipping in Iirst gear and reverse gears
- False code 2: Low/Reverse Pressure 5witch
- Repeat Fail-5aIe Mode
By adding this reinIorcement plate you are increasing the clamping Iorce oI the retainer to gasket and case,
thus eliminating leakage in this area.
Toledo Trans-Kit Low-Reverse Piston Retainer ReinIorcement Plate is available in the Iollowing kits:
Miomi Lokes, FL Phone 3O5.52.27O Fremonl, 0H Phone /1.333.12OO
0verhaul Kits Banner Kits Master Kits 5uper Kit
0ork & Rubber 805 805B 805M 8055
FarPak 805F 805FB 805FM
Ultracork 805U 805UB 805UM
Por a complete listing of Toledo Trans-Kit automatic transmission repair kits and components,
contact your nearest distributor today.
parker5-06.indd 31 4/17/06 2:00:03 PM