From Ken Niefer

I spoke to Kevin at Star Warning Systems regarding lens colours for snow removal vehicles. The latest info that he has from the MTO says that government or municipal plows will still be using blue lights. Private companies or individuals can use blue, but only if they are on private property (parking lots etc). If they have a blue light on while they are on the road they can be fined. They should have an amber light on their vehicle and then they will be safe in all areas. Apparently a lot of regional police departments are unclear as to what the law actually is.--

CAA to BCH links

I linked up CAA control arm numbers to In stock BCH numbers.It gives us a cheaper used car option that is easily missed by us and Weblink users.
Greg

when Cust Service DOES NOT ANSWER thier phone

Have you ever called CARQUEST customer service and they have NOT answered their phone ??? It rings and rings ... and no answers -- one comment from Rob Scott was --the person at the desk forgets to 'tag' their phone when they get up and leave their desk ( tagging it as being 'unavailable')

So when we THINK the phone is ringing --it is flashing a small light on the phone only --as the person has a head set --and it would ring there -IF IT WAS plugged into the phone ... but the headset is on a trip to the washroom --or where ever.

I juts had this happen to me --- so I called Rob Scott -- awwwhh --away --so I transfered the call to Nathan -- and while I was taklking with him Debbie answered ...she says she was NOT away form her desk ...hmmm ...another problem ??/ Who knows ... but I am looking for this to happen again -- you can do this if -- a) you have the time -- and B -- you have a second phone to call someone to trace who screwed up on the 1st phone that is still ringing ( I guess you could put the first call on hold - but you would have missed the person like Debbie who answered and heard that you are not on the phone - then they hang up )

Who likes a mystery ??

End of Month

End of Month is on Friday this week. Please make sure that POS terminals are run off on Friday night and then don't run them off again until Wednesday, December 5th. I will be in on Saturday, December 1st to run statements. Any questions please call me.

Payroll

I will be doing payroll on Wednesday, November 28th. Please make sure all timesheets, sick/vacation days are sent in before then.

see CTI post on longer cars

Yep--longer cars --- curious --see the CTI blog on longer cars

profit sharing article - please read

Hello

for anyone ( and hopefully everyone ) participating on our profit sharing plan -- PLEASEZZE ... read this article and think ... How can we make our program better --easier to understand -- more of a motivational program for all participants


----profit sharing article - Globe & Mail 11-20-07------

This will be discussed at next staff meeting ....err ... hint for you to remind a fellow staff to read BEFORE the meeting -- so we don;t have to take the time AT the meeting to read .... thanks

Time's running out!

If you haven't RSVP'd for the staff Christmas Party yet please make sure you do so before next Friday. I need to let Colasanti's know how many will be coming.

Keystone Returns

These are the Keystone return rates for the last 12 months for both the Carquest account and the direct account respectively.

D&T 10.2% and 8.2%
Pete's 27.3% and they don't use the direct account
AutoBarn 4.6% and 2.9%

If you have any questions let me know.

Dorman - pictures from APEX Show

Pictures from ApEX Vegas show for Dorman -- click on im ages to make them larger ---what do you see that is new ??

lower prices on Group 31 in sets of 4

Look at the BAT 1031MF and BAT-1031PMF batteries --we have set an aggressive price for sets for sets of 4. Please give your store manager any feedback you think is important on how how we can grow our sales on this sku...

Cross Canada - major changes almost done

With the help of Kevin in Toronto DC - and the pushing from Pete Heinrichs --we have MOST -- but not all changes in for BSL- CROSS CANADA. The exception pricing has been changed --see Greg H for details as we can;t post this here.

Soon --we will have ALL parts --the rad fan assemblies - the rads, the ac parts -- so when we get stuck -the data will be here and it make it SO MUCH EASIER for the counter staff to price and sell.

There is a new competitive position sheet - both Pete & Greg H missed seeing it on the link .... but it is here --that is an issue we have to take up with Matt Davis on how new announcements can stay longer before they are flushed.

Identifix

Identifix Update

Jeff Meyer from Identifix would like to set up an evevning with us (some time in December) to do a demo for our customers. After attending his demo in Windsor on Monday night, I can tell you first-hand that everyone there was very impressed with what they saw. They are offering a special from now until December 31. If a shop signs up before then, they get the first 6 months for $94.95(US) per month. If they are a TechNet shop the price drops to $84.95. This is a savings of $30 a month. In addition, if they are a member of iATN, they get their second month free. After 6 months, prices return to $124.95 and $114.95 for Technets. If you promote this demo to your customers, try to avoid talking prices until after they have seen it. We found several shop owners on Monday night who were ready to signup before they even knew what the price was.

GST Reduction

Please note that the GST rate is to be reduced to 5% as of January 1, 2008. Any questions let me know.

Wage Surplus Plan

This productivity plan has been in place since 1980. The basis of the plan is unchanged but we have slowly improved the base calculation. Originally it was a percentage of sales with a step scale for gross margin - and GUESS WHAT --that worked out to the formula we use to day -- 40% of gross profit is made available to wages.

If we pay more than 40% of gross profit dollars in wage surplus --there is NO claw back - you can keep it. But it is much more fun to have a BASE WAGES that supports a surplus at year end. This plan is designed to be a win-win issue -- most labour management issues tend to be a 'if you win - we must loose' issue .... we think this is a win win ( or is terrible mishandled it could become a loose-loose ).

At most monthly staff meetings we will tell you the year to date wage surplus your store has built up. We can compare to past years to give you a sense of where you are. We also give your manager a PRODUCTIVITY chart --showing how many dollars have been sold for the hours worked. This is MOST IMPORTANT - it helps see if the manager is planning staff hours correctly. If you have lots of idle time -- guess what -- you are burning your year end wage surplus bonus. If you see another company with staff always busier that your store - you are looking at staff who will have more wage surplus at year end.

This plan is a team plan - like the Tigers - you can have bad year with good staff - if is the way you all mesh together as a team.

Wage surplus allocations are set as a percentage of your base wage with some slight adjustments for common sense points ( like have you been there for a full year ). Allocations are reviewed by the office manager and ops manager and final year end allocations are reviewed by other store managers - to ensure fairness. Al staff except the ops manager participate in this plan.

You can have TOO FEW staff - your chart looks wonderful - but your ability to serve the customer will drop. The customer will become disappointed in your store and you will loose sale in the long run.

Another problem --when you know someone is off on vacation or similar and you call in sick - especially when you don't get a replacement - then the staff struggle to handle the level of customer service that keep customers coming back. Remember it is a team effort to make good bonuses.

This bonus comes from not wasting hours --when you go into a store and too many staff are standing around -that kills the bonus. There are times when we are quite - that is the time that great staff do something - from counting stock - cleaning up - solving that problem - or on some occasions - seeing if the manager will let you off early.

It is all common sense.

Profit Share Plan

A guide to new staff - our profit sharing plan. The short and sweet version. Each company of our group offers this. We have offered profit sharing since 1979.

15% of pre tax profits is set aside for profit sharing. Want more -- two ways - help the company earn more or show you manager you have done tasks and actions that warrant a larger piece of the pie.

Other store managers, the office manager and the ops manager also review you store managers ranking of you piece of the pie to ensure a fairness. Frank and honest discussion are the best medicine for improving your piece for next year.

Click on the two images to see the larger size - one is a block rating system and another is showing circles of how one good trait leads to another ( drawn in 1992 - and still true today ).

The more we can show staff that their ever action impacts on the profitability of the company - the more we can help work as a better oiled team to maximize profits and minimize waste.

Spend that bonus ?

In the next few days we will know the exact number for both profit sharing and wage surplus plans ... will you spend that bonus or save it?

See this link ...

power of compound interest

I had read an article like this ....
Start early
The earlier you start investing, the more time you leave for compound interest to take effect. Someone who invests $100 a month from age 20 to 29 and then lets their investments grow is likely to have more money at 60 than someone who invests $100 a month from age 30 to 59. Here is the link for this ( with British Pounds vs Dollars .... but you get the difference ... start early . do you think I can find that article I read - but this one gets the point across.

source for SEVERE duty creepers

Shawn needs a source for SEVERE DUTY creepers ( sound like they might double as engine movers for diesel shop? ) Call Shawn with your idea's - thanks

drum price drops

Pennzoil & Quake State is dropping prices on drums of oil - 5 types ( 10-30 5-30 5-20 15-40 & atf ). New price will be .10 cents more than bulk oil. Change is effective Nov 1 -- will take some time to work out details.

I do NOT think we can order from warehouse - but we have asked what they will do. You will need to order on bulk oil truck.

If this is a ONE SHOT deal - the drum will come here and the customer picks up.

If account will buy a couple of drums a year - then we can set up as a drop ship account and he gets the drum delivered direct to him ( so DON'T forget to bill the customer !! )

With 5-20 becoming more popular -this could be a good way for shops to cover more customer demand.

See Neil Laing for details