As you may have have heard, the Berkeley/East Bay Humane Society had a disasterous fire recently, killing a number of cats and seriously damaging their facility. Anyone who knows me is aware that I got my dog Sam from them, and am a major supporter of the facility.
This weekend they are offering for adoption both dogs and cats and are waiving the usual adoption fees. In addition for each dog adopted the Humane Society will get $500, money they desperately need to rebuild their facility.  The link for the adoption information is below.  So get some extra love in your life and get a great bargin, while helping the Humane Society at the same time.

http://www.maddiesadoptathon.org/e/Home.html

For this past month I’ve been paying the price of my failure to adaquately plan ahead.
My coach has always reccomended that I should always be interviewing potential employees and keep a file of people interested in working for me. I was always ‘too busy.’ So when I lost an employee unexpectedly-first he was out sick, then he decided to move-I didn’t have anyone ready to take his place.
You would have thought in this economy that there would be a long line of people to take his place.  And there would have been, if I was willing to settle for someone untrained, inexperienced or without good references.  Over half the applicants didn’t even send me professional references even though I specificall asked for them in the classified ad. 

    I can’t afford to settle.  My name and reputation [and sometimes people's lives] are dependent upon each job being diagnosed and repaired correctly.  I won’t let someone do ‘on the job training’ on my client’s cars. 

   So for over a month I operated below the minimum staffing level I needed to pay my bills and finish the work  in a timely fashion.  My fault-my poor planning.  This time I think I’ve learned.  I’m now back to my usual staffing level but I’m still interviewing.  Not only had I planned to step up my staffing for the summer, but this time I want to end up with a few names in reserve.  I don’t want to be caught short again.

I’ve been searching for the last few weeks for a new Technician [read mechanic] and whenever I do so it’s an edifying experience. I run an ad on Craigs list specifing professional experience required, send resume with contact numbers of previous employers or supervisors. Had about 30 responses. Half had no professional experience at the offered position and only about 3 actually sent me the contact info I had specifically asked for. If someone can’t even follow instructions when applying for a job how can I expect them to follow instructions when they’re working for me?
Well, it sure made sorting through the stack of applications easier. Got a new guy starting Monday. It’s always unsettling starting someone new, but at least this guy has good references from his previous employers, real professional experience, and has passed the test I gave him. I’m looking forward to a positive relationship.

The biggest automotive story of the New Year is the big Toyota recall.  Toyota recalled 2.3 million of their vehicles for a defective throttle assembly [built by an American company for Toyota.]  This is not Toyota’s first recall.  Just last year they recalled some 18 million vehicles for defective floor mats.  And Toyota, along with Honda, are still in my opinion the best Car Manufacturers in the world for reliability  and cost effectiveness.  But Toyota, bouyed by its popularity, tried to expand too fast.

     Toyota tried to produce a car to fill every demand, and went from a few well made models to a multitude of vehicles.  Trucks as big and powerful as anything made in America.  Luxury cars under the Lexus label as fancy as anything in its price range.  Hybreds before anyone else had them in mass production.  And everything in between.  They seemed to forget what made them so successful- making low cost, gas efficient, reliable vehicles that weren’t cutting edge, but just worked for a lower maintenance cost than any of their competitors.   Part of the huge expansion they’ve gone through required that they sublet out more and more of their parts and sub-assemblies.  And quality control slipped.

     Its my opinion that Toyota has recognized its mistakes and will be doing everything it can to take care of their recall quickly and efficiently .  But their expansion will be difficult to slow down, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they hit more bugs on their path back to their own high standards.   And it will take Toyota years to restore its reputation from this fiasco.

      I’d still buy a Toyota without hesitation.  Recalls are hardly unique in the automotive world.  American car manufacturers have had any number of multi-million car recalls. Part of the shock of the Toyota recall is that we expect such high standards from them, but we all screw up.  Its what we learn and how we respond to our mistakes. Andt I think its worth looking at the lesson of what happens if you expand too fast to ensure quality control is where it needs to be-at the top of your list.

Hi All,
Both I personally, and my business have been really busy during this holiday season.
Personally, its been a round of holiday mixers, holiday parties, and visits from friends. Add to that a busy shop and I’ve been pushing myself enough that when I have a few days with nothing to do it feels like a blessing.  I really love the activity, though.  It keeps my spirits up through the darkest days of the year.  I used to get depressed this time of year.  Now I don’t have the time!
There are several factors that have been keeping my shop busy. One is that people have more days off so it’s easier for them to give up their car for a day.  Another is that the cold, rain, and increased darkness puts more stress on a vehicle’s electrical system, so we are seeing more failed batteriers, alternators, power windows etc.  Another factor that’s keeping us busy is the result of neglected maintenance. We’re seeing more cars with leaking power steering racks, gummed up engines, piston rod knocks, etc-the results of lack of maintenance.  Most are salvageable [though often costly,] some are no longer worth the cost of repairs.  It would have been so much cheaper if they had only done the maintenance…….

Then there are my favorites, the people who understand the value of their vehicles and take care of them! 

Have a safe, happy and love fillled holiday season

Marty

I Just returned from one of the most memorable trips of my life.  Went to Peru with a great group of people, saw Machu Pichu [something I've been wanting to see for over 20 years] had some very powerful spiritual experiences, climbed a mountain that stretched me to my physical limits, and came back with some new missions for my life and some understanding of a culture that was entirely new to me.
I’ve since talked to several people, some of them salesmen, who have told me that they’ve never taken a vacation. I tell them all the same thing. No one, on their deathbed, ever said “I wish I’d spent more of my life working.”
Don’t get me wrong. I love my business. I love taking care of your cars and trucks. I love meeting, getting to know and serving the people of El Cerrito, Richmond, Albany and all the cities around here. I love learning new ways to make this business fun for my clients and staff. I love watching this business grow and knowing that through what I’ve created, I can help people support their families.  I even love the challange of making this business survive and grow during these challenging economic times.
But when I get old and its time to step down from this business, I don’t think these will be the memories and images that will run through my head.  I think it will be the visions of the great mountains I’ve seen, the fascinating cultures I’ve encountered, and the stunning creations of some of those cultures, from Machu Pichu to Angkor Wat.  I’ll never regret any of those experiences.   They’ll be the memories in my mental bank account for as long as I’m alive.

May your holidays be filled with joy, and bring you great memories of your own.
Marty

Well only one more day till I get a a plane to Peru! Visiting Machu Pichu is a trip that has been on my agenda for decades.
Running an Auto Repair business can be time and attention consuming and this has been a challenging year for my business [I know I'm not alone here.] In many ways I have no business going, but when a chance came along to take this dream trip with some good friends, I chose to ‘go for it.’ If there is one thing I know about life, its when a great opportunity presents itself, TAKE IT. One of the salesmen whose product I buy was in today and said that he hadn’t taken a vacation in about 30 years. I reminded him that no one ever said on their death bed “I wish I had spent more time working.”
I love having a car repair business in El Cerrito, and love the fact that Richmond and Albany are at my back door. Taking care of my clients brings me joy, and I can’t think of a better area in which to live. But I never scip a chance to travel. Its one more great adventure, and I will keep these memories with me for the rest of my life.
Happy trails,
Marty

In about three weeks I’ll be in Peru, on my way to Mach Pichu. It’s a trip I first considdered twenty years ago, but other things kept getting in the way. Then I heard that a dear friend was organizing a trip there, and I knew the time was right. But my body wasn’t. My inflamed right knee, the latest in a long series of minor injuries that had been giving me excuses not to excercise, still hadn’t healed. But there was no more waiting. So I started with bicycling and swimming, and as my knee felt stronger, moved up to hiking up hills, the steeper the better. Well, I’m still not ready, but I’m a lot stronger and not done yet. One more steep hill today, andother tomorrow, then a day off.
I still work daily on growing my business, especially online. I’m highly placed in Auto Repair El Cerrito, but am looking for a stronger presence in Auto Repair Albany and Auto Repair Richmond. I’m checking out new web guru’s and seeing what they have to offer, and welcome all online reviews. Will post more later, but one more event to cover.
Marty

I’ve been so busy for the last 6 weeks that blogging has fallen off my agenda, but I’m finally getting close enough to caught up to think about putting something together for my whole 6 or 8 readers.

My dog Sam’s back from Cindy’s and its nice having him around.  He’s perfectly behaved at home and great around people and kids, just a big lover.  Unfortunately he’s agressive around other dogs so I have to be careful where I take him.  No dog parks for us.

  I’m Thinking about  running a contest in November. Prizes for the Best and Worst auto repair experiences.   Might be lots of fun.  Feedback and all stories are welcome.

Right now, on top of my already packed  schedule  I’m starting to work out regularly in anticipation of my upcoming trip to Machu Picho.  If I don’t get my heart and lungs, to say nothing of my legs, in better shape I’ll get up there and won’t be able to move.  Until my knee fully recovers its mostly bicycling and swimming; but by next weekend I want to add hiking.  Five  weeks to go, so no time to waste!

Tip of the week: Tire pressures.  Its important to check your tire pressures regularly.  Both too low and too high pressures will cause premature tire wear and can be downright unsafe.  Do you remember the stories a few years back about RV’s and trucks rolling over during emergency turns.  Well  they all had tire pressures below the minimum.  Tires will leak air right through the rubber, so at least once every few months check all your tires.  Don’t forget the spare.  If it doesn’t have air in it, its just useless dead weight giving you a false sense of security.  Don’t trust the gauges in the gas stations either.  They are often quite inaccurate.   A dial or digital gauge is the best.  The tire will have a maximum pressure rating stamped in that small print on the side and your vehicle owner’s manual will have the reccomended tire pressures.  Its best to use that information, but in a pinch 36ps is good for most vehicles.

Until next time,

Marty

Just got back from 4 days in the Sierra’s.  Stayed at a beautiful lake-Bucks Lake, and the worst run facility I’ve ever been to.  All sorts of lessons jump out.   Among them:

Take care of the little things.  Broken bathroom door handles, lamps with missing switches, only one glass in the cupboard, broken towel rack.  All these things would have just cost a few dollars to fix, yet left a clear impression that the owners don’t care.

The customers come first: They actually had a guy doing chainsaw art [making bears out of logs] directly across from the cabins late afternoon through early evening on Saturday night.  Nothing like coming back to your cabin after a peaceful mountain day to the sound of chainsaws.  When I mentioned it at checkout time, the owner actually said “We had to do it then.”  What’s more important- your customer’s experience or your esthetics?

What is your business?  The lodge’s bar directly across from the cabins blasted rock and roll till well past midnight Friday and Saturday nights.  No doubt the young locals loved it, but for anyone coming  to the mountains for a relaxing  getaway it outrageously out of place.  It seemed like the owners couldn’t figure out whether they were a peaceful mountain resort or a bar hangout.   It wasn’t a suprise, as I enquired around the community,  that the locals wondered how much longer they could stay in business.

Fortunately we had a boat up there and the lake itself was beautiful! Still had plenty of water, surrounded by high Spruce and Pine.  Saw 3 or 4 Osprey, several Bald Eagles, and a Golden Eagle.   The water was beautiful, clear, and full of trout.  Slept more than I ever do at home, enjoyed the company of the guys in my mens group, and came back feeling relaxed, recharged and looking forward to a productive future.

Marty