News Briefs – August 2014
AMI Celebrates 25 Years
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Automotive Management Institute (AMI), the leading provider of management education for the automotive service and collision repair industry. The Institute currently offers more than 1,300 approved courses, a faculty of 300 approved instructors and the prestigious Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation. To date, its programs have attracted 230,000 enrollments throughout North America.
AMI was founded on the concept that there was an abundance of technical education in the market, but very little industry-specific management education. At the start, AMI offered 26 courses taught by 10 instructors. Today, courses are offered on a range of topics including marketing and sales, operations and service, management and administration, financial management, and personnel management and human resource development. Students can choose from several formats including webinars, online courses, DVD-quality downloads, self-study workbooks and traditional classroom settings.
Steve Louden
“When students take an AMI course, they immediately can apply what they learn to the day-to-day operation of their business,” said Tony Passwater, chairman of AMI’s board of trustees and president of AEII in Indianapolis. “Many students tell us the skills and techniques they learn from AMI courses have made their business more efficient, profitable and successful. AMI also has helped thousands of shop owners and managers change their focus from ‘turning wrenches’ to truly managing the shop and its employees.”
Steve Louden, one of the founding members of AMI and owner of Louden Motorcar Services Inc. in Dallas, said: “After 25 years, many shop owners would not be in business if not for the management education they received from AMI. For them to succeed in the future, management education is a must.”
ASA Announces 2 New Employees
ASA has two new employees: Brenda Rodriguez has joined the ASA national office in Colleyville, Texas, as membership administrator. She will enroll new members and assist in other areas, including helping out with National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) SDRM duties.
Rodriguez will also assist with various tasks and duties utilizing her bilingual skills as she is proficient in Spanish.
Holly Miller has joined ASA’s Washington, D.C. office as a legislative analyst. Her responsibilities include tracking legislation affecting the auto repair industry at both the federal and state levels.
Brenda Rodriguez
Holly Miller
What Would It Take To Please Women?
From AutoMD.com, a subsidiary of U.S. Auto Parts Network Inc., comes some bad news for auto repairers. A study it recently conducted indicates women would rather go to the dentist than an auto repair service center. Only 16 percent have a positive view of their experiences with repairers.
What would make consumers happy? Comparative job quotes, actual parts prices and a good mechanic. Eighty-four percent reported getting the same kind of apples-to-apples repair price quotes usually available for most goods is either “important” or a “must have” in the auto repair process. An even greater percentage (91 percent) said knowing the specific part to be used in the repair – and its price – was either “important” or a “must have.”
ASA-Northwest’s Summer Retreat
Members of ASA-Northwest met June 19-22 at the Red Lion Hanford House in Richland, Wash., for their summer retreat and management conference.
