Kim Faughnan is a rare bird in a field known to attract men who spent their
youth tinkering on cars in the backyard.
"I started...as a driver and my father is a mechanic, so I had some knowledge,"
says Faughnan. After two years of driving, she suddenly found herself working
behind the counter and had to learn the automotive lingo fast. "It was sink
or swim."
In a typical day, Faughnan processes about 50 invoices and receives about
70 calls. It's hectic. Some of the calls for parts are obvious, but others
require a bit of interpretation on Faughnan's part -- it's up to her to figure
out what the right part for the job is. Then she has to locate the part, "and
sometimes that takes quite a while."
As with many people in the industry, Faughnan learned on the job. But she
also took a course on the basics of the industry, which included warehousing,
merchandising, inventory control, and some electrical and mechanical information.
Now, with computer technology, she recommends people get training before they
enter the field.
Faughnan says the job all comes down to common sense -- give the customers
what they want and do it with a smile. "It's exciting and challenging just
getting the car part," she says. "And now with the computer age, everything
is becoming technological, right down to the catalogs."
Hard work and persistence is a big part of job success, says John Baragar,
who is now vice-president for an automotive parts company.
Many years ago, Baragar started out on a packing bench. Then he worked
as a driver, a parts specialist and a salesperson before he went on to warehouse
management.
"The big thing is to satisfy customer expectations," he says. "You need
to get the right parts in the right place at the right time." With more than
120,000 different part numbers, that's a heavy load.
Most of the business is for vehicles between seven and 13 years old. But
occasionally, there's a request that really stands out.
Baragar recalls a distributor's plea for a Model A Ford. "And we found
one," Baragar says. "That's for a car that goes back to the 1930s. But we
had it within about three days. Customers expect you to be able to perform
magic, but that's just part of the business."
Baragar recommends that students select college courses that include some
computer training and some information about the electrical side of the motor
industry. If you want to run your own business, math skills are essential
so that you can make your own profit-loss statement.
The fast pace of customer demands is one of the more challenging parts
of the job. People have emotional attachments to their cars, but they're also
incredibly dependent on them. Customers become stressed when they learn their
car won't leave the shop for days while a part is tracked down.
"People don't want to be without their cars," Baragar says. "It's a pain
in the wallet."
But Steve Hoellein, founder of the U.S. Automotive Aftermarket Advisory
Council, says too much stock has been placed in technology.
When Hoellein took over his current business in 1986, he bucked the trend.
Instead of firing up a bank of computers, he hired old-style counter personnel
who had a strong knowledge of automobiles. Within a year, he turned the company
from a $500,000 business into a $2-million business.
"I started out at the counter, and I love the counter," he says. "That
is my favorite area."
To this day, Hoellein spends one hour a day, over lunch, working the counter.
When a request comes in, he asks the questions to make sure he gets the right
part.
"The best part of this job is making sure I... get them the right part,"
he says. "My rule is, I may be the slowest on the counter, but you'll get
the right part. If I don't have the knowledge, then I can't ask the question
and we're going to fail."
Hoellein says it's time career counselors realized the automotive
industry isn't a dumping ground for students who are having difficulty in
school. Instead, the industry needs talented, competitive people who have
training in all aspects of the industry.
"You've got to realize that the counter person has to have more knowledge
than the person coming in and asking for the part."