Counterman

From first jobs crashing a NAPA delivery vehicle to today leading the nation’s top association for motor and equipment suppliers, Bill Long says he really got his start in this industry on the “ground floor.” 

“The Monday after I graduated from high school, I was working at a NAPA Auto Parts store in Massachusetts as a delivery driver. I did such a good job in crashing the company delivery vehicle that I was promoted to the machine shop and then to the counter and then managed a store and I did all of that while going to college between courses.

“Eventually that led to a factory job in the Brake Parts division at Echlin, where he spent 25 years and stayed with the company through 2001 and a merger with Dana,” Long shared. Long left the supplier side to become part of the industry trade association world. He joined MEMA in 2012 to lead its AASA division before taking the top spot as MEMA president and CEO in February 2019. In between everything, he’s had a passion for and spent some of his career in racing as well.

Long started going to races when he was 4 with his dad who was a NASCAR official. Long himself spent time as a chief starter, a race control director and other roles in racing, which led to jobs at NASCAR in Daytona Beach, and the IndyCar series, where he spent 5 seasons at IMS. About working in racing, Long said “There’s a lot to be learned and a lot of challenges and many of them are transferrable to this industry.” 

Regardless of the role, Long is known for his calm and affable demeanor. Perhaps it can be attributed to one of the key mantras passed down by mentors, which he shared on “AMN Drivetime“: “Seek first to understand before being understood.”

Be sure to check out the full video here to learn more about Long’s remarkable career and see some of the many photographic memories he’s captured and shared for AMN.

The post MEMA CEO Bill Long On ‘AMN Drivetime’ (Video) appeared first on Counterman Magazine.

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From first jobs crashing a NAPA delivery vehicle to today leading the nation’s top association for motor and equipment suppliers, Bill Long says he really got his start in this industry on the “ground floor.” 

“The Monday after I graduated from high school, I was working at a NAPA Auto Parts store in Massachusetts as a delivery driver. I did such a good job in crashing the company delivery vehicle that I was promoted to the machine shop and then to the counter and then managed a store and I did all of that while going to college between courses.

“Eventually that led to a factory job in the Brake Parts division at Echlin, where he spent 25 years and stayed with the company through 2001 and a merger with Dana,” Long shared. Long left the supplier side to become part of the industry trade association world. He joined MEMA in 2012 to lead its AASA division before taking the top spot as MEMA president and CEO in February 2019. In between everything, he’s had a passion for and spent some of his career in racing as well.

Long started going to races when he was 4 with his dad who was a NASCAR official. Long himself spent time as a chief starter, a race control director and other roles in racing, which led to jobs at NASCAR in Daytona Beach, and the IndyCar series, where he spent 5 seasons at IMS. About working in racing, Long said “There’s a lot to be learned and a lot of challenges and many of them are transferrable to this industry.” 

Regardless of the role, Long is known for his calm and affable demeanor. Perhaps it can be attributed to one of the key mantras passed down by mentors, which he shared on “AMN Drivetime“: “Seek first to understand before being understood.”

Be sure to check out the full video here to learn more about Long’s remarkable career and see some of the many photographic memories he’s captured and shared for AMN.

The post MEMA CEO Bill Long On ‘AMN Drivetime’ (Video) appeared first on Counterman Magazine.

View the full article

From first jobs crashing a NAPA delivery vehicle to today leading the nation’s top association for motor and equipment suppliers, Bill Long says he really got his start in this industry on the “ground floor.” 

“The Monday after I graduated from high school, I was working at a NAPA Auto Parts store in Massachusetts as a delivery driver. I did such a good job in crashing the company delivery vehicle that I was promoted to the machine shop and then to the counter and then managed a store and I did all of that while going to college between courses.

“Eventually that led to a factory job in the Brake Parts division at Echlin, where he spent 25 years and stayed with the company through 2001 and a merger with Dana,” Long shared. Long left the supplier side to become part of the industry trade association world. He joined MEMA in 2012 to lead its AASA division before taking the top spot as MEMA president and CEO in February 2019. In between everything, he’s had a passion for and spent some of his career in racing as well.

Long started going to races when he was 4 with his dad who was a NASCAR official. Long himself spent time as a chief starter, a race control director and other roles in racing, which led to jobs at NASCAR in Daytona Beach, and the IndyCar series, where he spent 5 seasons at IMS. About working in racing, Long said “There’s a lot to be learned and a lot of challenges and many of them are transferrable to this industry.” 

Regardless of the role, Long is known for his calm and affable demeanor. Perhaps it can be attributed to one of the key mantras passed down by mentors, which he shared on “AMN Drivetime“: “Seek first to understand before being understood.”

Be sure to check out the full video here to learn more about Long’s remarkable career and see some of the many photographic memories he’s captured and shared for AMN.

The post MEMA CEO Bill Long On ‘AMN Drivetime’ (Video) appeared first on Counterman Magazine.

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For the cover story for the August issue of AMN/Counterman, Editor Amy Antenora spoke with several young aftermarket professionals stepping into leadership roles at their family-owned businesses.

In Part 5 of our series, we share the story of Ryan Samuels, vice president at Samuels Inc. / Buy Wise Auto Parts in Vauxhall, New Jersey.

As VP of New Jersey’s largest independent auto parts dealer, and the fourth generation to run his family’s business, Ryan Samuels believes one of his most important roles as a leader is to listen. Not always easy, he says, but it’s been one of the best pieces of advice he’s received while working in the family business.

“Listen more than you speak,” he says. “I still struggle with it all the time, but I am always trying to get better at it.”

Working with family hasn’t been a challenge as many people might assume, Ryan says. “I was fortunate enough to get to work with my grandfather as well as my father,” he says. “I think the two biggest things they taught me was the work ethic to be successful and the importance of family. I know some people say it is difficult to work in a family business, but that has not been my experience. I consider it a privilege and if anything it has made me closer with the family members I work with.”

That work ethic instilled in him through the family business has served him well. At the young age of 41, Samuels was installed as the 2020 chairman of the Aftermarket Warehouse Distributors Association, one of the most venerable organizations in the traditional aftermarket.

Samuels says leading a family business and chairing a major industry organization during a pandemic really showed him the true value of the connections available in the aftermarket today.

“The last year and a half dealing with the pandemic has really put a focus on how great of an industry we are in and the fact that none of us are in this alone,” he says. “While we have always been heavily involved in both the National Pronto Association and the Auto Care Association, the value of these affiliations have really been highlighted through this challenging time. From things as simple as conference calls where members could share ideas and best practices, to the hard work being done by groups such as the Government Affairs team, it is really a comforting feeling to know that none of us are in this alone. These affiliations are something we lean on in good times and especially when things get a little more challenging.”

Outside of the resources available in program groups and trade associations, when in need of guidance on a challenging leadership situation, Samuels looks a little closer to home.

“Thankfully, I have many places I can go for advice when it comes to this topic,” he says. “First and foremost, would be my father, he has always been a great resource for me and continues to be today. I look to my employees for advice as well. Sometimes getting the point of view about a situation from a different lens can help me to make better decisions. Also, I am extremely lucky to have a vast network of other young leaders, many of whom are assuming a similar role to myself within their family’s organizations.”

Like the others profiled for this month’s cover story, Samuels says he maintains the culture of his family’s business by being accessible and being willing to roll up his sleeves.

“I grew up working in the business, so there is really no job here that I haven’t done or wouldn’t do again if the day called for it,” he says. “Also, I am accessible. Whether that is to an employee who has an idea or a concern, or a customer wanting to talk about something, I am here and will always make time to hear what someone has to say.”

Trying to maintain that one-on-one connection as the business has grown bigger has been a challenge, he says, but also becomes even more important in order to maintain the culture of the business.

“Trying to maintain that personal touch as we have grown has been the biggest challenge. It has made it extremely important to have quality people who align with the culture of the company.  Of course, as with any team, it is impossible to have everyone on the same page all of the time, but being able to communicate effectively and keep things moving in the right direction are more important than ever,” Samuels adds.

As a leader, Samuels says ensuring employees are well-compensated is critical, but knowing they are valued goes a long way as well. “Salaries always need to be competitive, and I think we do a good job of that here,” he says. “More importantly though, is having an environment where people know that their contributions and their opinions matter. Listening to people, solving problems in a collaborative manner, and empowering people to make decisions.”

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For the cover story for the August issue of AMN/Counterman, Editor Amy Antenora spoke with several young aftermarket professionals stepping into leadership roles at their family-owned businesses.

In Part 4 of our series, we share the story of Chris Pacey, executive vice president and chief operating officer for National Performance Warehouse in Miami.

Chris Pacey began his aftermarket career at the ripe old age of 13, stocking parts at his father’s parts store during his summer break. His father, Larry Pacey, founded National Performance Warehouse (then known as National Carburetor Exchange) in 1969 in Miami. Over the years, the Pacey family business grew from its original 600-square-foot building to today having more than 30 warehouse locations, more than 50 store locations across the U.S. and Canada and more than 800 employees.

Today, Chris Pacey serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the family business, running the company alongside his father as well as his younger brother John, who serves as VP Florida Operations/E-Commerce.

In addition to knowing he has great resources in the offices of his father and brother right next door, Pacey says he has found value in being part of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance and AAM Group,
both of which have a lot of other family businesses in their ranks.

“The Alliance, along with the AAM Group on the performance side of the business, have lot of family-owned companies within the groups. Those are definitely ones we bounce a lot of questions and ideas off of. And they’ve been great as we look to hit our acquisition targets too,” Pacey says.

With NPW having grown exponentially in its half a century in business, Pacey says one of the best lessons he’s learned working alongside his father is resilience.

“To put it in simplistic terms, I think it’s being resilient when you’re scaling a business and going through all the ups and downs of having a business,” Pacey says. “There are so many different factors that come into play and so many different things that affect the success of an organization. You have bumps in the road and I think just being resilient has been a huge part of the success of our organization.”

Another important trait he’s adopted from his father is to lead by example when it comes to putting in the work.

“From a work-ethic perspective, it was first in for the day, last out,” Pacey says. “As a culture, we work hard to do whatever is needed to get the job done. I think part of that is the family influence. Even as the company has grown, we made it a point to keep that family atmosphere. Although we’ve grown quite a bit, we still have an open-door policy and we’re still accessible.”

With 800 employees today, that is no small feat but still an important part of the family business culture, Pacey says.

“In addition to maintaining that family culture and open door, for me, as we grow the company, focusing on training and investing in our management team is important so they have that same type of approach,” Pacey says. “Now, we are up to 800 employees. At several hundred, you know everybody by name, but now it gets harder. So, for me it has been key to pass that same culture to our team leaders to pass that along to the rest of the folks – driving it down from the senior-level management team and mid-level manager on down so we keep that same culture, making sure people know how important that family feel is for us.”

With all of the changes happening with workplace culture today, Pacey says he spends a good portion of his time focusing on employee engagement. He believes the stability of a longtime family business like NPW is appealing to employees.

“With all the stuff going on in the world, I think that’s what I’m spending most of my time working on,” he says. “I think what makes satisfied employees is autonomy, giving folks the power and support to make decisions. I think a lot of it too has to be stability, especially now with the pandemic. Having been around 50-plus years, nothing’s guaranteed, but 50-plus years is pretty stable. I think the trust we put into our folks goes a long way.

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For the cover story for the August issue of AMN/Counterman, Editor Amy Antenora spoke with several young aftermarket professionals stepping into leadership roles at their family-owned businesses.

In Part 3 of our series, we share the story of Fletcher Lord III, president of Crow-Burlingame in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In 2019, Fletcher Lord III, great-grandson of Bob Crow, one of the co-founders of Crow-Burlingame (Parts Warehouse Inc.), stepped into the role of president just as the Little Rock, Arkansas-based parts distributor was celebrating its centennial.

When asked what has been the best advice he has received so far from the generations before him, the message was simple, he says: “‘Don’t mess this thing up.’ No pressure, right? On a serious note, the parts business is a people’s business, and so as we say around the office and in our stores, ‘It’s all about the people.’”

The fourth generation to lead the business, Lord III explains that always having a solid team of leaders in place – including his father, well-known industry veteran E. Fletcher Lord Jr. – is a big part of the 100-year-old company’s success.

“The experience and wisdom are shared from one generation to the next, and it’s important to me that we make sure those lessons aren’t lost or wasted. One of the best lessons I’ve learned is that the company does not run with one person driving it; it is a team of leaders who makes things happen,” Lord III says.

When it comes to needing wisdom, his father is his first call, he says.

“I have always looked to my father for advice on life and work,” Lord III says. “I’m very fortunate to have him to lean on, whether it’s borrowing five bucks to pay a golf bet or looking at what the future of the parts industry holds. He instilled in me the importance of people and relationships and I will never take his advice for granted. Even today, he continues to show me that this company was built on relationships through and through.”

From one generation to the next, Crow-Burlingame has grown from 46 stores when E. Fletcher Lord Jr. took over to more than 300 locations and 2,000 people in the company’s network today. Being a member of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance gives Lord III an additional expansive list of resources to connect with as a young leader, he says.

“Since Parts Warehouse is part of the Alliance Bumper to Bumper/Auto Value group, our resource list is vast,” Lord III says. “Through affiliations and networking, we have gained many friends of all ages within the industry. My father knows everybody in the parts world, from manufacturers, members of other groups, and his Alliance board friends.”

Maintaining the focus on people, both employees and customers, is one of the foundations of Crow-Burlingame’s culture, Lord III says.

“Our company culture has always been and will remain customer-focused,” he says. “In addition to that, we empower our employees to drive our business. We need entrepreneurs managing our stores, meaning many companies sell auto parts. But how do these independent owners and company-store managers provide a difference to their customers?”

When it comes to ensuring the business remains strong for years to come, Lord III says it’s all about taking care of your people.

“Our leadership is far from one person leading the company,” he said. “We’re a 100-year-old business that believes in family and doing the right thing. We know that if we take care of our customers and employees, they will take care of us.

“I genuinely believe that if people don’t like where they work, they will try and find another workplace. Fortunately, we have many employees who have stuck around with us. One of our longtime employees, Mr. B, celebrated 69 years with our company this year! And we have many others who have been with us for over 20 years. We built a family culture that, as a company, we embrace daily to put our employees in a position to succeed and enjoy what they do. I think that shows by the longevity of our team members.”

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For the cover story for the August issue of AMN/Counterman, Editor Amy Antenora spoke with several young aftermarket professionals stepping into leadership roles at their family-owned businesses.

In Part 2 of our series, we share the story of Charlie Crouse, owner of TBA & Oil Warehouse Inc. in Indianapolis.

Charlie Crouse purchased TBA & Oil Warehouse Inc., based in Indianapolis, from his father 12 years ago. He is the third generation to lead TBA, which opened in 1956. The business, which boasts nine locations and 120 employees, supplies parts, oils, chemicals, tools and equipment to automotive repair facilities such as independent repair centers, fleets, fleet maintenance companies and automotive dealerships.

Maintaining a familial atmosphere is one of the primary tenets of TBA, so much so that they post it right on the company’s website, where it reads:

“We don’t just have customers, we have partners. We ask our Customer Partners to openly communicate with us regarding any problem – big or small – regarding quality, service, or price. Our small-business intimacy, and the ever-evolving focus on the needs of our Customer Partners, gives TBA insight to understand our partner’s needs. It is somewhat of a collegial atmosphere, where we grow together and continually learn how to serve you better.”

Crouse says basic family values such as kindness and respect are key to his business strategy, whether he’s working with employees, customers or vendors. “We try to be centric around our core values, our mission and our vision,” Crouse says. “We realize that we are all individuals, and we try to do best what we are best at, which is not everything.”

As a young leader, Crouse says a nimble leadership style and maintaining personal connections are among the ways he tries to maintain the culture his father, uncle and grandfather (Kim, Carl and Bob, respectively) created at TBA.

“We still are personable with every single one of our employees, are available in our office and on the phone daily for anybody, including our customers and vendors, and can react very quickly because we have a lack of hierarchy in our company and culture,” he says.

When faced with a challenge, Crouse says he has a number of great resources – both inside and outside of the family business – that he taps into when it comes to leadership advice: “Certainly my father, who has been in the business for over 40 years, my business partner and friend Ryan Wrege, my wife and my YPO Peer Group.”

YPO, known as the Young Presidents Group, gives Crouse a different take on things, he says. “It brings a different perspective to me that I can bring back to my business all of the time,” Crouse said.

Crouse also counts the company’s membership in the Automotive Parts Services Group (The Group) and the Aftermarket Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA) as another strong resource to tap into. “The Group helps us differentiate and be competitive in our industry. Our vendor partners educate us on what we should stock and how to go to market. We are a member of AWDA and I am on the Board of Governors, which is an amazing resource [not just] for myself as a leader, but our company and our industry,” he says.

With the somewhat volatile job market today, Crouse says giving employees a real feeling of belonging, keeping them involved and in the loop, is key. Boiled down simply, this is his formula for employee satisfaction: “A true feeling of being a part of a team, being thanked and heard, the reward of compensation, and the understanding of where we want to go as an independently owned company.

“We have to educate, communicate and advocate for our team to work at the level demanded by our industry today. We, however, still emphasize how we act and react as family business,” he adds.

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AP Emissions Technologies (AP) has announced that Glenn Barco has joined the company as vice president of sales.

Barco joins AP after serving in various sales executive roles at automotive aftermarket companies, including Cardone, Dorman and BBB Industries.  

“Glenn is well-respected in our industry, and I am excited to be working with him again. He will be a great addition to our organization,” said AP Senior Vice President Jayme Farina.

Throughout his career, Barco has led several national salesforce teams and oversaw explosive growth within the companies where he has been employed.

“We are excited to have Glenn on the AP team; he is a great fit to our company culture,” added Vange Proimos, AP owner and CEO.   

“I’m excited to be joining the AP team,” said Barco. “I’m looking forward to making an impact while serving both our team and our customer base.”

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For the cover story for the August issue of AMN/Counterman, Editor Amy Antenora spoke with several young aftermarket professionals stepping into leadership roles at their family-owned businesses.

In Part 1 of our series, “Growing the Family Business,” we share the story of Ryan Bickle, vice president of sales for Hays, Kansas-based Warehouse Inc./S&W Supply.

The business known today as S&W Supply was established during the era of the “Dust Bowl” by Claude Sutter and his wife, Helen (Bickle) Sutter. The husband-and-wife team started out small, selling a limited number of automotive parts. In 1954, as the business grew, Claude Sutter moved the business to Hays, Kansas, which offered a more centralized location. At this point, he and Helen were joined in business by Don Wells and his wife, Lyle (Bickle) Wells, and this merger created the company’s current name.

It is here in Hays, Kansas, where the fourth generation of the Bickle family helps lead the business into the next generation. Ryan Bickle, vice president of sales for S&W Supply, says he began working in the family business right out of eighth grade, at the age of 13. “I worked part-time through high school and then when I went to college. After college, I went full-time, so I’ve been in the business for a few years,” Bickle joked.

Bickle describes the best lessons he learned from family members in the business as “the basics” – those traditional Midwestern values of treating others the way you want to be treated. “I try to be available to all employees and customers,” he says. “People still buy from people they trust.”

With nine locations and 90 employees, Bickle says letting staff know they are appreciated also is key to maintaining stable employment today.

“Our employees are our family and we try our best to take care of them,” he says. “I try to work with all employees and help them solve problems within the business. I don’t ask them to do anything I wouldn’t be willing to do myself and I’ve done most jobs within our company.”

Bickle’s father and uncle, DG Bickle and Tim Bickle, the third generation, are the current owners of the business, and his grandfather, Don Bickle Sr., one of S&W’s original founders, still comes into the office daily at 93 years of age. Bickle is helping to train the fifth generation in the family business as well. He has two children – ages 12 and 16 – and this summer, the 16-year-old is working in the warehouse part-time. Tim also has two sons working in the business, who are fourth-generation like Ryan.

Whether it’s a family member or not, Bickle says listening and letting employees know they are valued is key. “I let them know how valuable they are to our business and I listen to them. Without good employees, we would not be here.”

He also credits Federated Auto Parts for the support it provides in maintaining S&W’s longevity: “Our business would not be here today without Federated. Being a part of Federated has allowed us to compete with anyone. The team at Federated is second to none and they are always willing to help.”

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Remember the good old days when you started a vehicle by inserting a metal key into the ignition lock cylinder? Those cars, trucks and SUVs are still out there (adorable, isn’t it?), but imagine a future without the collective jingle-jangle of millions of mechanical car keys in our pockets – because it seems we’re moving in that direction at a rapid clip.

The pace of change really picked up in the 1990s. That’s when remote keyless-entry fobs – you know them as “key fobs” – went mainstream. These handy devices enabled motorists to lock and unlock their car doors and trunks remotely, with the same familiar thumb motion that they’d been using to change channels on their television sets for years.

With the rise of proximity-key systems, we’ve moved into the next phase of the evolution: keyless ignition. In this phase, the key fob is – for all intents and purposes – rendering the mechanical key obsolete. As long as the device is somewhere inside the vehicle, the driver can start the engine by pushing a button or turning a rotary switch. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, keyless ignition emerged in the early 2000s on some luxury models. Today, however, we’re seeing them on more and more mainstream vehicles – and it doesn’t seem like we’re going back.

Because technology doesn’t seem to know when to stop, even the key fob (or “smart key,” as they’re calling it now) might become a relic of the past. In 2020, Apple introduced the digital car key. If you have an iPhone XS or later, an Apple Watch Series 5 or later and a compatible car (a BMW built in summer 2020 or later), you can use your iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock and start your car – sans key fob.

The digital key uses near-field communication in its first iteration. However, as part of its upcoming iOS 15 software update, Apple in June said its “digital car keys get even better with support for ultra-wideband technology, so users can securely unlock and start their supported vehicle without removing their iPhone from a pocket or bag.”

If you’re not an Apple user, take heart: Hyundai’s version of the digital key, which debuted with the 2020 Sonata, is compatible with most Android phones.

So what does all this mean for the automotive aftermarket?

From a 20,000-foot view, you can expect smart keys to continue to get … well, smarter. “They’re only going to get more advanced,” says James Sanabria, key programming team lead at Autel.

For owners of vehicles that come with key fobs instead of mechanical keys – a growing cohort – it means that adding a key for another driver (a spouse, for example) or replacing a lost, damaged or stolen key is a lot more complicated (and expensive) than it used to be. A new key fob needs to be programmed to the vehicle – although the more accurate way to describe it is the vehicle needs to be programmed to the new key fob.

The good news for consumers is that all this technology makes vehicles tougher to steal, at least in theory. Toyota describes the engine immobilizer as “a state-of-the-art anti-theft system.” When the driver brings the key fob into the vehicle, the key transmits an electronic code to the vehicle. The engine will start only if the code from the transponder chip inside the smart key matches the code in the vehicle’s immobilizer. Having that transponder chip embedded in the smart key is good for security, but it’s also the reason why replacing a key fob isn’t simple (or cheap).

The good news for your parts store is that if you carry the Autel MaxiIM IM608 PRO and/or IM508, you have tools that can help shops – and even your DIY customers, in some situations – program replacement keys, restore immobilizer data and perform related tasks, in addition to the all-systems diagnostics you’d expect from a scan tool. In most cases, these tools will guide the user through the steps needed to complete a key-programming job, Sanabria says.

Just make sure your customers are aware that when it comes to key programming, there are different levels of security access depending on the year, make and model of the vehicle. With some vehicle makes – Nissan, for example – a technician or even a DIYer can plug the tool into the OBD II port “and the tool pretty much self-guides the customer through the process, making it easy to make that key,” Sanabria explains.

European makes, on the other hand, are “notorious” for their strict security-access protocols, which could require the user to produce a secured PIN code that can only be generated by a licensed locksmith. Sanabria sees that as an opportunity, not a challenge, for repair shops, and he encourages technicians to consider obtaining their locksmith license.

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Every so often, our editorial staff selects one aftermarket industry professional to get to know a little better. Participants are asked to respond to a series of questions that can be answered in about the same amount of time you might spend chatting at the office coffee pot or waiting for an elevator. In this installment of “5 Minutes With,” we get to know Brian Boland, chief sales officer and partner at Garage Guard by Evarts Tremaine.

What was your first job in the industry?                

Well, this was my first job in the industry. I started when I was 26 back in 2004, and I’ve been here ever since. I was recruited to join and grow this program that I’m involved with, which I run now, when it was sort of in an infantile stage. There was a great opportunity to grow it. Also, there was a uniqueness with our trust with the insurance companies and our differentiation. I thought it was kind of a neat thing to get involved with, which is a little bit different than what you see out there in general agencies. To me, it was just more intriguing. The word insurance can kind of turn some people off and I understand it. I was coming from a sports marketing background prior to this, and it was a big change. But, then again, it was also pretty fun once I got into it, once I learned more of what it was all about.  

What do you like best about your current position?

I think the thing I like best about it is you meet so many different business owners, all across different levels. It’s never the same. It’s really interesting to see in each demographic how each business owner runs their business, how it’s run depending on the climate, depending on the situation where they’re at and, you know, just helping them out. We now become a trusted advisor. They’ll call me and ask for advice on stuff that doesn’t necessarily relate to insurance because I’ve established that credibility with them. We’ve become more of a partner versus just a means to a policy. We become someone they can trust and bounce ideas off of, and we truly work together toward their goals. That part I think is really neat because I feel like I’m adding a lot of value. Being a part of their success is worth it in the long run.

Did you initially intend to pursue a career in the aftermarket? If not, what drew you to the industry and what keeps you here?

I think what keeps me going is the same thing that draws me to it. It’s always changing. It’s not static. There are always new ways to learn and grow. The industry is evolving, and those relationships keep going. I’ve had some customers now for as long as I’ve been in the industry — 17 years. It’s always nice to say “you’ve been with me” for that long, or they hand it off to their son or someone else and perpetuate their business and you’re still a part of that. There’s always something around the corner. That is keeping me intrigued and hopeful.

What do you do when not at work? 

Well, No. 1, I’ve got two kids, a 10-year-old and a 13-year-old. So that keeps me extremely busy. My 10-year-old is really involved with sports and ice hockey. I help coach his ice hockey team and that takes up quite a bit of time. That’s a long season. It goes on and on. It never ends. Other than that, my wife and I like to play tennis. Sometimes, I try to play golf, but that’s not one of my strengths.

What one word best sums up your personality?

That is an interesting question. Using just one word is challenging, but I picked “intuitive” because I feel like I’m good at really being able to understand people and understand what they want, kind of the feel of the room. I feel like that is a strength of mine. I have this kind of uncanny way of knowing if something’s wrong. I can kind of feel it without actually asking that person. It’s one of those things that sometimes is really strong and gets to me. It can be a curse because you can take on other people’s energy so much so that it can affect you. But, I feel like that’s probably one characteristic why I think I’ve been successful at my job. I understand what people need without really having to dig deep. 

What was your first car?

My first car was a green Jeep Wrangler. It was a used car. I bought it off a kid who was graduating from college. I had saved some money and my dad helped me out a little bit. It was the best car by far. I had it until the end of college. I just remember the feeling of when you get that first car being just incredible, especially when you work toward it. It was amazing.

What are you currently reading? 

I just finished a book I’m really into. I’ve always been obsessed with Navy Seals and very crazy things that people have gone through and kind of a growth mindset. So, the last one I read is called “Embrace the Suck: The Navy SEAL Way to an Extraordinary Life,” by Brent Gleeson. It was really fascinating about what he went through in his training, his challenges in life and how people can get through it by shifting their mindset. I always seem to be intrigued by how these guys do it and their mental toughness. 

Favorite quote, mantra or motto?

This actually kind of goes with that book I was reading, but I love it being that I’m in sales. It is: Get comfortable being uncomfortable. I think it’s something that everybody can apply because the more you get comfortable being uncomfortable, the more you’ll take risks that apply to growth. And, the more you will get yourself out of your comfort zone and enjoy life, hopefully not having as many regrets when it’s all said and done.

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Counterman’s “Guess the Car” contest challenges our readers to solve an automotive riddle, for a chance to win $100. And each month, we receive hundreds of responses from aftermarket professionals trying to guess the model of the vehicle depicted.

The correct answer for the August/September contest is the Ford F-150 Lightning. The winner is Christopher Paczesny, commercial specialist at AutoZone in Palmyra, Maine.

Now, let’s get to know the “Guess the Car” champion.

CM: How long have you been working in the auto parts business?

CP: I’ve been at AutoZone for seven years now.

CM: What do you like most about your job?

CP: It’s not the same thing over and over again. There’s always a different problem to solve. Customers will come in and they don’t know exactly what the part is, but they can describe it to you. It’s kind of like a big word search for whatever the part is called, because in some parts of the country, parts are called different things for some reason.

CM: What’s the strangest question a customer has asked you?

CP: I’ve had so many of them, it’s hard to say. One is, “Can I return an OEM part?” That’s kind of weird.

CM: What’s the coolest car you’ve ever owned or worked on?

CP: An ‘86 Ford Bronco XLT. Had a 351 Windsor in it. I owned that one for five years.

CM: Have you seen the new redesigned Bronco?

CP: Not a fan. I don’t believe they did justice to the Bronco.

CM: Do you have any interesting hobbies? What do you do for fun?

CP: Mostly fishing and hunting.

CM: What’s your dream car or truck?

CP: A 1953 Ford pickup truck. Love the body style.

The post Meet The ‘Guess The Car’ Champ: Christopher Paczesny appeared first on Counterman Magazine.

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The post appeared first on Counterman Magazine.

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The post appeared first on Counterman Magazine.

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