TIME IS MONEY One thing I’ve learned after many years of business is that my time is very valuable. I can balance multiple machines running and I can squeeze in some time with my customers, but it can be difficult being the “parts guy” as well. Like most shops, I...

REDUCE – HEAT, PRESSURE, STRESS In the machine shop business we often consider stress, heat and pressure, as it relates to combustion, compression, bi-metals, etc. But when the weather gets extremely hot, like it’s been this summer, it’s also important for Managers to...

DEATH OF A SALESMAN Death of a Salesman isn’t just a famous tragedy by Arthur Miller. It seems to be a sign of the times! Human contact is slowly being replaced by e-mails, e-blasts and e-carts. Record store salesman - gone; now you download one song at a time. Video...

PRICE TALK The phone rings, “How much is a valve job on a pair of early 350 heads?” Sound familiar? These are generally the first words you hear from a customer and seem to reflect the fact that your prospective customer’s first concern is COST. Should you quote a...

HANDLING UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS You can tell the customer interaction will be a tough one in the first few seconds. The caller’s tone of voice, accusatory language and high volume all say, “I’m going to let you have it”. How you react in these first few seconds will set...

CORN IN THE GASTANK I left my 2007 Harley Davidson sitting in storage with a half of a tank of gasoline, without an additive to combat the effects of Ethanol fuel. With all the press releases and articles warning about the corrosive effects of condensation and...