All-Makes To The Limit

Times are changing in Canada’s Motor City. Windsor, Ontario, home of “Big Three” auto production for over a century, used to see few import vehicles. Today, however, they’re seen throughout the city, forcing many independent service centres to be truly all-makes to survive. John Sawatsky’s MSJ Automotive Services stretches “all-makes” to the limit, handing everything from motor homes to police cars in a best practices shop that is anything but pretentious.

The clean, well lit operation resides in a light industrial area away from major thoroughfares; few customers would notice the Holden Avenue location as walk-in trade. But come they do, in numbers sufficient to keep the 9000 square foot repair facility and 3000 square foot emission test building busy. 10 vehicles can be accommodated in the repair bays, with an additional 3 or 4 in the smog test building. MSJ employs 12 with 6 licensed technicians and 3 apprentices performing general diagnostic and repair work, including a significant number of alternate fuel vehicles. MSJ has several high profile fleet accounts, including FedEx, CN Rail, the Windsor Police Department and the regional emergency medical service. 7 years at the current location, Sawatsky’s planning included 14-foot doors and new Rotary lifts, allowing service on vehicles as varied as parcel delivery cubes and motor homes.

MSJ’s door rates are currently $80 an hour for general labour and $95 for diagnostic services. Is it adequate? “A flat, ‘no’” states Sawatsky, adding, “We’re reanalyzing the numbers and are working to come up with a fair rate for the services we provide.” The ability to move rates up and make the change stick with consumers is one measure of an efficient operation. Why tiered rates? “It comes back to educating the customer about why the rate is higher. It’s about equipment, training and experience that the tech has. The value has to be presented,” advises the 47-year old Sawatsky, as his daughter Stefanie (he has three daughters, including Melissa and Jaclyn) handles a flurry of incoming calls at the service counter.

Sawatsky has definite ideas about motivation and management in the repair aftermarket. “Working conditions are a big part of it. It’s not just the hourly rate. There’s no flat rate here; people are paid hourly. I’ve always seen flat rate as dividing employees and management. And the customer doesn’t get quality service. There are too many sacrifices. Employees are stressed and unhappy, and chances are that some jobs will be rushed. And it’s just as complicated to manage”, he advises, adding, “our biggest challenges are meeting customers’ timelines and setting up a structure to keep parts moving. We’ve added a parts manager to order and handle parts efficiently.”

MSJ is a Tech-Net affiliated shop and uses his local CARQUEST jobber for the majority of parts needs. Sawatsky is enthusiastic about Tech-Net, mainly for the networking opportunities, training and the ability to benchmark with other shops. “The banner program provides us with an image and gives us a standard to maintain. We have a local Essex County council set up by myself and the local CARQUEST stores, and we meet here three or four times a year to bring everyone up to speed on what Tech-Net is doing. We share ideas and learn what our peers are doing. The image issue is key. Shops need to consistently raise the bar and improve our shops year over year. The worst thing we can do is stand still. The automakers aren’t standing still and we can’t either,” he states.

MSJ uses Protractor shop management software and Mitchell1 on-line for technical information. Sawatsky also uses E.K. Williams management training. CARQUEST has also noticed MSJ, naming the shop to their North American competition as a top Canadian finalist for three years running.

Prominent in MSJ’s merchandising and Internet presence is ASE signage. Why ASE when Ontario technicians are licensed? Sawatsky relates: “It keeps our technicians fresh by testing their skills. Certificates let us explain to our customer base what it takes to earn the qualification. We’d like to see the ASE bring some marketing dollars up here. The concept is wonderful. Everyone in the trade needs to be recertified or tested throughout their careers. The way vehicles are today, old technology doesn’t suggest that you’re able to work on modern vehicles. Our industry is fighting an image problem and some of it is deserved. We create a lot of the perception that people get.”

Qualified and tested technicians with the right equipment (MSJ currently uses the Blue Streak BDM-Pro and Snap-on Solus diagnostic tools) can repair anything, but Swatsky is keeping an eye on the Right to Repair issue. “We’ve had a few instances where we were forced to turn to a dealer for information. Our industry is starting to deal with it. We have to start looking for options when we’re backed into a corner and go into a different direction rather than succumb to a manufacturer’s program. When we get into a corner we need to document it and pass it along to associations like the AIA. OEM’s want to capture the aftermarket business; we can survive if everybody is aware of it and if everybody does their part to look after it.”

One way Sawatsky addresses the lock out issue is by maintaining a healthy working relationship with local dealers, who, in an unusual turn around, sometimes send off-make vehicles to MSJ for diagnosis.

And what does John Sawatsky do for the aftermarket in his part of the country?

“Locally, we’ve developed the Windsor Professional Auto Repair Association. We’re a group of about 30 shop owners. It developed as a group of shops that got together when PartSource came to Windsor. It was initiated with concerned jobbers. It’s evolved into a shop owner’s association. It sponsored the E.K. Williams training courses. We meet monthly; it’s done remarkably well. In this area our industry networks strongly. It’s alive and well.” Besides local association involvement, he also works to alleviate the local shortage of apprentices: “St. Clair College has developed an apprenticeship program where shops sponsor the students for a year in school and ten months in the shop before they complete their education. They needed an employer council and they called me along with other shops and dealers. I chair a committee that will find placements for twenty apprentices. We’re brining a higher level of apprentice into the shops. They’re giving them what they need by focusing on today’s vehicles. I’m excited about it. We talk about not having qualified people in the trade. We have to nurture and develop them. A program like this is a new avenue for individuals.”

And what’s his prediction for the future of shop ownership?

“I wonder if today’s shop owner doesn’t need to be a number one technician. Business skills count more than ever. I don’t believe that the previous evolution from generation-to-generation without management skills can carry the aftermarket repair business into the future. A business owner needs to be up front educating customers. An owner can’t stay in the bays. You need to manage your business, not turn wrenches.” Despite the extra-curricular activities, John Sawatsky loves operating MSJ Automotive Services: “It’s fresh all the time. Nothing stands still in this industry; it’s not like making doughnuts. Each customer has new needs. It’s exciting.”