SHOP OWNER SPOTLIGHT
INTERSTATE AUTO CARE
BILL NALU
PRESIDENT, INTERSTATE AUTO CARE →
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
WHAT IS YOUR NAME AND JOB TITLE?
Bill Nalu – President
WHERE IS YOUR SHOP LOCATED?
Madison Heights, Michigan
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR SHOP.
7 Bay general service facility, celebrating our 23rd year in business.
DOES YOUR SHOP SPECIALIZE IN ANY CERTAIN REPAIRS OR SPECIALTIES?
Fleet priority services.
WHAT IS A FUN FACT ABOUT YOU AND/OR YOUR SHOP?
We are big on work/life balance for our team members and excel at providing our clients an exceptional customer service experience.
WHAT IS YOUR BUCKET LIST ROAD TRIP?
Any event involving the sights and sounds of the Grand Canyon.
HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE AAPEX SHOW?
Yes, my team and I have been to several of them over the years.
IF THE ANSWER IS YES TO THE ABOVE QUESTION, WHAT DID YOU FIND MOST BENEFICIAL? ANYTHING YOU WOULD CHANGE?
The industry networking opportunities are unlike any other event on the calendar, and the sheer size and scope of the event is simply amazing. We never return without a phone filled with great team memories and a list of ideas to be implemented into our business offering.
WILL YOU BE ATTENDING AAPEX 2023? WHY OR WHY NOT?
Yes, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
This year, I along with 3 other shop owners, will be providing master technicians who will be building a vehicle to be donated to a deserving underprivileged recipient and the build out will be assisted by a dozen or so Clark County local school district CTE program students. More to come on this in the coming weeks and months.
IF THE ABOVE ANSWER IS YES, WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR?
See above
WILL ANY OF YOUR STAFF BE ATTENDING?
Yes, I plan on bringing at least 2 team members with me.
DO YOU RECEIVE THE AAPEX NEWSLETTER? IF YES, DO YOU READ IT?
Yes.
WHAT IS CURRENTLY THE BIGGEST ISSUE THE AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET IS FACING?
It is without a doubt the need for a more sophisticated shop owner. One that appreciates the ever increasing level of complexity in our industry and isn’t afraid to make a good living at it. We work on the most complicated consumer product that man has ever devised, and employ the most complicated machine that God has ever created.
Is it any wonder why it’s so difficult to find success inside such a complicated business model? As in all things, the answer begins with a shop owner who seeks knowledge through the hundreds of vendors featured that week and the thousands of industry professionals who are there for no reason other than to help make otherwise ordinary shop owners extraordinary.
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOUR SHOP HAS FACED OVER THE LAST 2 YEARS?
Educating the average customer past the lure of the low priced service providers and building in the value that only comes from paying someone good money for good work. It’s what I have come to call “transactional gravity”.
WHAT IS YOUR VIEW ON THE FUTURE OF THE AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET?
The future is as bright as we dare it to be. If we see ourselves as nothing more that “installers”, as some suppliers refer to us, then we will naturally be commoditized away. If on the other hand, we remain at the forefront of innovation and dedicate our time, talent, and treasure to building the best shop owner that we can, then he or she will make this industry what his/her industry forefathers could not have even imagined a generation or two ago.
WHAT EMERGING TECHNOLOGY OR INDUSTRY TREND WITHIN THE AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT?
AI is one of those things that is going to have to be closely watched, as it grows in size and scope within our businesses. My hope is that AI will free the average service professional to perform the more people centric work, while it handles the more menial tasks of building an estimate, or building a technician test path to name but a few examples.
IF YOU COULD GIVE OTHER SHOP OWNERS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Do not miss this Industry Superbowl event, celebrating our beloved aftermarket industry. Anyone who’s anyone will be there, so don’t let another year pass you up. Business isn’t getting any easier, so you might as well get some help from some of the smartest minds in the business.
WHAT ADVANCEMENTS CAN ADAS BRING TO THE AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET?
As vehicles and people get busier and busier, technology stands to gain strength because of the way that it can save us time and even save lives.
HOW DO ADAS ISSUES AFFECT YOUR SHOP?
First and foremost is the cost in equipment and training that a shop must commit to, before the first dollar of sales can ever be credited to ADAS work. To that end, if you’re not a shop who has previously budgeted for training and equipment, then the culture shock that is about hit your front door may be bigger than you anticipate. All the more reason to network and gain best practices from other shop owners and coaches.
Secondly, the implications of AI and ADAS are bound to revolutionize the way that this business runs, technically speaking. With that said, the business of providing High tech/old fashioned customer service is just getting going and I’m most excited over how customer service/customer experience technology is going to keep up with this amazing personal mode of transportation that we call today’s automobile.
Bottom line: I’m all in on where we are taking this industry because of the faith that I have in the amazing people that I’m on this journey with.
Do you know a shop owner you’d like to highlight? Email katy@mdg.agency to be included!