BEDFORD, TEXAS —
Every other week, aftermarketNews.com offers an interview with high-profile individuals in the automotive aftermarket. We give executives free rein to express their views on anything from the state of their corporations to recent legislative news to future trends in their niche markets. Here you see what matters to the newsmakers themselves.
Our latest edition of “Executive Interview” features Ron Pyle, president and chief staff executive of the Automotive Service Association (ASA). Pyle has served as president and chief staff executive of ASA since July 2002. He previously served as distribution network president for California-based CarParts Technologies. Prior to that, Pyle worked for the National Pronto Association as vice president of marketing, and later spent seven years as president and CEO.
In 2000-2001, he served as the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association board chairman, and also served as chairman of the Automotive Service Industry Association in 1999-2000. He is also a member of the Northwood University Aftermarket Advisory Committee.
We had the opportunity to catch up with Ron recently and learn about the latest happenings at ASA, including new member benefits, plans for Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week, the association’s take on the Right to Repair issue and more.
It’s been a little over two years since you were named president of the Automotive Service Association (ASA). How do you feel now that you’ve had some time to settle into this new role?
I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience thus far. Working with independent shop owners is extremely gratifying because they represent all the best qualities and strengths of our free enterprise economic system. The challenges of running a small business in our country are daunting enough, but the complexities of the automotive service and repair business are particularly acute. I truly admire our members’ ability to fix cars and satisfy their customers’ needs.
ASA has introduced many new member benefits and features since you started as president. What are some of your proudest accomplishments from the past two years?
Adding significant new member benefits would certainly qualify as one of those accomplishments. The recent addition of new programs with ALLDATA and Mitchell 1 are examples of tangible benefits members can measure in dollars and cents. But in reality, adding programs like these is a part of an over-arching strategy that is being driven by our volunteer leadership and executed by the ASA staff on an ongoing basis.
For example, our member leaders agreed on goals in several areas of focus for the association, including improvements in our operational processes, strengthening our affiliate relationships, creating more relevant industry events and improving our ability to deliver state-of-the-art management training. We are delivering on all these goals as we speak.
We were very pleased with the return of Texas and Michigan as ASA affiliates and we added a brand new affiliate in Nebraska. NACE will be held in Las Vegas during Industry Week for the first time. The Automotive Management Institute will graduate its largest class in 2004 and train more than 4,000 individuals at NACE. We’ve made significant improvements in our management infrastructure through upgrades in our management systems, improvements in our communications capabilities and strengthening our organizational structure.
So in summary, all of us take great pride in achieving success with our strategic objectives. We have a solid plan and have demonstrated great execution.
What plans do you have for the future growth and success of ASA?
A great deal of emphasis is being placed on increasing the member value proposition. This means evaluating all of our activities and services from the perspective of the member to be certain that we are highly focused on delivering the right product.
We have identified several opportunities for growth as well. Our relationships with other associations and groups are going to be a key area of focus. We have formed strong alliances with program groups and major distributors that will create opportunities for our members to enjoy competitive advantages in their local markets.
Our members tell us training and education continue to be a priority. The challenges are enormous and more comprehensive than any one organization can address, so we are exploring partnerships and opportunities to collaborate with others to deliver professional management and technical training to a broader audience than any one of us could reach alone.
We will continue to reach out and create a favorable and friendly environment for state and regional groups to join with us, either as affiliates or partners. Our strength is in our dedication to the issues that affect service and repair shops. Other groups who have a similar focus and mission will be encouraged to work with us to create a stronger voice for our collective memberships.
ASA was instrumental in creating the service information agreement between automakers and service providers, which was created as an alternative to the Right to Repair legislation. The issue of the Right to Repair Act has been making headlines again recently with the Congressional hearing that took place last month. What are your thoughts on the hearing that took place and on the current status of the service information agreement?
The agreement with the automakers is working. Shop owners have access to more information than ever before, either through the traditional third-party sources or the OE Web sites. Clearly, Congress wants the voluntary agreement to solve the problem, and the recent letter from the FTC to Congressman Dingell echoes many of the same concerns we have expressed with a legislative solution. The hearing was an opportunity for the proponents of legislation to present a case that the agreement is not acceptable. As we have seen on the national political stage, disagreements over approach, policy and philosophy can become divisive and acrimonious. This is unfortunate, particularly when we remember that we all have the same desire to see automotive service and repair shops succeed.
Despite the effort to misrepresent the cost of acquiring the information or an attempt to question the validity of the agreement based on isolated instances where information has been difficult to find or interpret, there are thousands of repairs accomplished daily utilizing third-party and OE information sources that would have been unavailable without the agreement. When there are problems, there is a process designed to swiftly resolve the issue and it is interesting to note that the number of complaints is decreasing.
Our challenge now is to continue to improve the process and give everyone comfort that the agreement is a better alternative to a legislated solution that has the potential of creating a bureaucratic mess that delays access or adds costs that won’t benefit anyone.
What is ASA’s role in the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) and the NASTF.org Web site, which serves as a portal to the OEM Web sites, as well as serving as a forum for complaints about the OEM repair information Web sites?
ASA has taken a leadership role with National Automotive Service Task Force in terms of ongoing participation and encouragement. We believe broad participation from the industry is necessary to capture all the potential problems and provide a venue for solutions. As an example, NASTF just recently formed a new committee to address the issues that locksmiths face when trying to re-key or initialize the more sophisticated security systems in new vehicles. Rather than ignoring the problem or trying to create some all-encompassing regulation that may have unintended negative consequences, the task force will focus on a cooperative solution that will serve the consumer and the locksmiths in the best way possible.
ASA does not manage the NASTF Web site but provides a link to it from our own site, www.asashop.org. We also monitor the complaint process. We have taken on the responsibility of reviewing every complaint and the tracking of that complaint through resolution. This is an additional undertaking by our staff, but it affords full visibility into the process from the perspective of the repairer whose interest we serve.
We also assumed an educational responsibility and have conducted automaker Web site presentations to shop owners in twenty-nine states in an effort to keep shop owners informed. We developed a specific seminar that teaches shop owners how to access, utilize and incorporate service information into their business processes. This program is offered through the Automotive Management Institute and credit is awarded toward fulfillment of the Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation.
In addition, ASA hosts the NASTF meeting held during Industry Week in conjunction with our annual CARS (Congress of Automotive Repair and Service) event. This meeting will take place at the Flamingo Hotel on Nov. 3 and is open to anyone in the industry who has an interest in the process.
ASA has been very vocal about the issue of insurer-owned repair shops. Legal battles have been brewing across the U.S., with one trial (Abbott v. Allstate) taking place as we speak. Can you provide us with an update on this issue?
The first phase of the trial just concluded in Dallas this past month. Additional testimony and closing arguments were scheduled for Oct. 19. While it is not appropriate for me to comment on the testimony while deliberation is ongoing, I do believe the action the state has taken to protect independent collision repair shops is appropriate. We were very pleased that the legislation prohibiting insurance companies from owning collision repair shops passed the Texas legislature unanimously. Overturning the state legislature will be a serious matter and I am sure the courts will take that into account.
This is an important issue for collision repairers and the outcome of the court case is being carefully monitored by our affiliates and other groups nationwide where similar legislation is currently under consideration.
What are ASA’s plans for AAIW this year? Anything new?
This will be the most ambitious and exciting week in the history of ASA. We have a tremendous NACE program this year, and are extremely pleased with the increase in registration. A great deal of effort has gone into creating a more relevant and user-friendly event. There is an increased emphasis on networking and training and it is paying off. We will train more than 4,000 people at NACE this year with the majority of those folks attending Automotive Management Institute-approved classes.
Our mechanical division event, the Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) — which is traditionally held at AAIW — will again include an exposition, technical and management training, and a host of speakers and networking opportunities. The exposition space has been sold out for some time, and this year we are particularly excited to have a full day of OEM new technology sessions presented by Ford, GM, Isuzu, Honda, Volkswagen, Chrysler and Toyota.
The newest event that we will showcase at AAIW this year is the ASA Celebration of Excellence. The celebration will allow us to recognize the contributions made by individuals and companies to advance the professionalism of the service and repair industry over the past year. We are very pleased that the celebration will also recognize the largest graduating class in the history of the Automotive Management Institute. The lineup of sponsors for the celebration is a veritable “who’s who” in the industry. It will be a great opportunity to focus on success in a time of challenges.
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