Magazine for the professional tire industry
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55 www.moderntiredealer.com oil changes, and suspension services that add profitability to any tire operation. In fact, Feller came to her business and helped her place the alignment racks and lis for maximum utility. Before her 20 Group membership, Piscione's business was "old school," writing invoices by hand and generally operating just the way Piscione's dad had operated. In the 20 Group meetings, Piscione learned about which point-of-sale system would be most beneficial to automate her operation. A couple of members from Tyler, Texas — Rheanne Goolsbee and Martha Holley of Goolsbee Tire — helped her with posting inventory on the new POS system. Still being a novice at service, Piscione also received good advice from Gary and Becky Townsend, GT Tire, Pataskala, Ohio, on how to train her staff to grow the service side of her business. "It was overwhelming, the amount of personal help I received from my 20 Group friends," says Piscione. "ey wanted me to be successful and they invested their own time and travel to help me turn the business around." Family affair Piscione's husband, Ed, is a CPA and helps with the financial side of the business. Ed generally accompanies Piscione to her 20 Group meetings, which are held three times a year. Mid-year, Pai and Ed hosted her 20 Group comrades for their summer meeting. e group meetings include a store v i sit where teams are formed to examine the exterior, website, interior, work flow, and processes and employees. "It is extremely beneficial to have 20 experts looking at your business and then making recommendations for improvement," says Piscione. "While everyone was generally impressed by the look and feel of my business, there was plenty of room for improvement in the work flow area." Piscione's layout, having two separate buildings, required technicians to walk back and forth between shops to retrieve filters and fluids. e groups suggested ways of consolidating the inventory and minimizing the tech time. The group examining her interior design also suggested a change in the shop layout to enable Piscione to add two bays without major construction. "It's amazing how fresh eyes can look at an operation and see immediately how improvements can be made," Piscione explains. Another suggestion made by the group was prey simple. In order to aract more service business, they suggested that she change the name of her business to "Carter Tire & Automotive Repair." As people drove by the business, the current name of Carter Tire reinforced the idea that she ran a "tire shop" instead of a full service business. "My engagement in the 20 Group has absolutely transformed my business," explains Piscione. "When I joined DSP, my net profit was actually in the red. Last year, I almost achieved our group's goal of 10% net profit. Now, this year has been a challenge with two strong competitors moving in just a half mile away. And the business environment has been prey depressed in the Elkhart area. However, at the last meeting I discovered it seems that business all over the U.S. has been fairly challenging. So, I am not disheartened. "As the business environment soened this year, it was easy for my employees to become discour- aged," she adds. "A great part of my success also is in the wonderful staff here at Carter Tire. ey have supported me through thick and thin and always embrace the changes that I am making to improve the business." In order to keep everyone informed, Piscione holds routine staff meetings. And as you walk throughout her shop, one can see hand-wrien, inspirational posters on the walls that help keep spirits up. "And, we pray a lot!" Piscione's deep faith is one of the most posi- tive elements of her business. "I believe that with continual improvement in the business and staff motivation, we'll come through this storm stronger than before." ■ Pat Brown is a Dealer Strategic Planning Inc. (DSP) 20 Group facilitator. Formed in 2007, DSP launched the first 20 Group established specifically for the retail tire and service industry. DSP offers tire and automotive service dealers the opportunity to share best practices, benchmark against the industry, and improve their financial performance. From its initial startup with one group and 20 members, DSP has grown the business to seven groups, and currently has more than 100 independent tire dealers as members. Modern Tire Dealer parent company Bobit Business Media (BBM) acquired DSP om its owner and founder, Norman Gaither, in January 2016. For more information, see www.dsp-20group.com or contact Brown at (419) 420-5915 or pat@dsp-20group.com. One of Piscione's first improvements was eliminating garage doors in front of the dealership to give the store a more welcom- ing appearance. This summer, Piscione hosted her 20 Group members. The dealers evaluated her shop and offered fresh perspectives on how to improve work flow and increase business. Not long after taking ownership of Carter Tire, Piscione purchased a laundromat next door and moved the commercial side of the business into that space.