Like so many others in automotive service, I am, to a large degree, my business! So it's not easy to be objective. It's even more difficult to pinpoint exactly what has made my business successful. I do know that long before I had experience, I called on personal beliefs and standards that originated from a vision of what I felt would provide car owners with a better automotive service world than they had previously known. I practice the philosophy of leaving things better than you found them.

Was I right? Who knows? But we at Car Clinic Service do enjoy a great reputation in our community. I am always delighted to meet customers at local functions where it's common for them to tell me how terrific my employees are and what great service they provided.

I made the decision to start my own business with the belief that there would be sufficient customers in my community who would appreciate and pay the price for quality automotive services - delivered by a company with strict standards of excellence - consistently! That standard was easy for me to deliver to my customers because I simply placed myself in my customers' shoes.

I care very much about my industry, my customers and my employees. I have always had a concern that technicians were not properly appreciated, certainly not held in high esteem or paid wages comparable to other service industries. This includes medical insurance benefits, paid vacations, sick days and free schooling, all of which require considerable financial resources. It was this concern that played a major part in how I structured my business.

Bottom line: I was never afraid to charge customers a premium price for work received. That was in the early days - the '70s - when most shops were giving away their services. But when you charge someone a premium for services, you must also be willing to take ownership of those services. Your customer pays your price the first time. If there's a problem with those repairs afterward ... you own it! Taking ownership of our customers' car problems has definitely been another success factor for my service business. This established our company's reputation as a shop that charged for - and delivered - excellent service.

Remember that the service business is a moving target and one that brings new challenges daily. We experience many similar circumstances that consist of many different components requiring a myriad of solutions. The key here is flexibility. Be on constant lookout. I know that when I think I've got my business down pat, it's time to pause, re-examine operations and see where we really are and where we want to go.

Meeting challenges and solutions is easier than you think because it's something you and I can control. One of our biggest individual challenges is our resistance to change. You and I work hard to learn what it takes to do business and the rules change! You and I get so caught up in day-to-day routines that our vision narrows. We do know that as long as we're the one talking to our customer, as long as we're managing the job and as long as we have control ... we see success. That's right, success ... with one job maybe. But what about all those other jobs that didn't get our personal touch. Were they up to par? Probably not! The solution is “personal growth!” We shop owners must learn to delegate, to trust others' skills and listen to their opinions, and we must hold them accountable! We must pause; look at our business from a different perspective. Upgrade our facilities. Examine how we do business now and learn the way customers would like for us to do it. We must throw out the old (not all of it) and search for the new. The future is here ... now. It demands fresh, energetic, enthusiastic entrepreneurs who aren't afraid of making mistakes and have the presence of mind to recognize and not duplicate them. We are the future of our business. Some of us are just in a lull right now. Some have been in the business so long that we've actually experienced its evolution. We may have allowed our growing industry to intimidate us ... like, perhaps, we've done to some customers in the past.

Now we must open our minds, set our egos aside, remind ourselves of those earlier days when we were so eager to serve our communities that we did whatever it took to succeed - regardless! And we must share our wonderful knowledge with our associates and build solutions that are born from every challenge!

At Car Clinic Service we're working on the next five years. We have new processes, a living policy manual that answers employee questions and promotes solutions and new electronic information devices (OK, computers!). We're setting the pace with our beliefs and standards. The future of the automotive service industry is so strong and promising that we can't wait to get up in the morning to come to work. We can't wait to find something an employee has done right so we can share it with everyone. We see the true meaning of success. We're sharing it with each other daily and it's getting easier.

Bobby Likis has been in the automotive industry for 40 years and has worn many hats - including technician, race car driver and pit crew, shop owner and talk-show host. He is currently president and CEO of Car Clinic and its subsidiaries, which consists of an automotive maintenance and repair business, and nationally syndicated television and radio programming, including Bobby Likis Car Clinic.

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