Carroll, Iowa -- On Nov. 8, Larry Olberding, owner of Larry's Automotive & Alignment, said he held his first Ladies Car Care Clinic.
    "Over the years", Olberding said, "I noticed that the majority of the customers coming through the door were women. I developed a good working relationship with an independent businesswoman, who is also a customer.
    "Over the years, we would bounce different ideas off each other. We would talk for 30 to 45 minutes at a time. I finally realized why we had so many women coming in the door. We took the time to explain to them what was wrong with their car on their level and made sure they understood why it would cost $250 or more to replace a sensor. They needed to know what they were getting for their money.
    "So, what they were doing was talking in the beauty shop about where they were getting their cars fixed," Olberding said.  "One woman told another about our shop and that woman told another, and the word got around.
    "When I bought out the shop of a competitor who was retiring," he said, "Stacy Stangl was, and still is, the service manager. I told her that she would be seeing and hearing from a lot of women. She asked why, and I told her that 75 percent of my customers are women.
   "It is the women that make the appointments, they are the ones that bring in the vehicle, and the women are the ones that write the checks. It did not take long for Stangl to realize that I was right. We get women from all stages of life, mature women to young girls.
    "I started talking to one of my customers about a ladies night," Olberding said.  "I asked her what she thought about a ladies clinic. She started to ask questions about what would be covered, what we were going to do, and why ladies should come."
    "This one person kept coming to mind, thinking about how I explain things to her when she is at the counter. Stangl helped with the brainstorming because she had been on both sides of the fence. I spoke with Kris Haugebak, from Johnston Auto Supply; I also spoke with my tire salesman, Ed Jansen from Schiebout Tire Co. in Pella, Iowa. 
    "Everybody I approached on this thought it was a great idea," Olberding said, "but they didn't know how to go about putting it together. Kris Haugebak got me in touch with a marketing specialist from ACDelco. I am a TSS (Total Service Support) repair shop through ACDelco, so they were happy to help out."
    Olberding said ACDelco was very helpful in getting materials to him. They had a newly released handout called "Knowledge Is Power." ACDelco has a complete program, and he said he used some of that material.
"We also used the Car Care Guide," he said. "That is the best guide I have ever seen for explaining systems and services on a vehicle without getting into too much technical detail. It gives you the basic information on how and why you need to perform certain services on your vehicle. Everyone who attended the clinic received a Car Care Guide book."
    Olberding said he and his staff put together a booklet to go with the Car Care Guide. In addition, each woman received a bag of goodies that included such things as a tire gauge, a candy jar full of chocolate, flashlight, pens, and note pads. He said he also gave everyone a $5 gift certificate to use on the next service or repair of his or her vehicle. He said he had soda, wine, cheese, meat, crackers, and pastries for refreshments; the shop sent out 90 invitations, with 22 attending. 
    The clinic was about three hours long, Olberding said, and the only negative comment received was the length of the clinic. The women each filled out responses to 14 questions, and all wrote that they were very happy with the presentation and material.
    The clinic was presented by Olberding, his staff, and Haugebak. Olberding said he had a car on the rack to show the attendees what the presenters were talking about. The women crowded around to see how to check the engine oil, transmission fluid, air filter, and washer fluid, he said.
    Olberding said he started at the age of 11 in his father's auto repair business, sweeping the floor, cleaning components, and eventually machine shop work for his father until he graduated from high school in 1977. After he finished high school, he said he went to work for Kmart Automotive. He said he changed tires and did some tuneups and oil changes.
"From there," he said, "I worked for a local Chevrolet dealer and a couple of independent repair shops. In 1989, I got tired of the trickle-down theory, the boss always wanting more for less. I decided I wanted to do better for myself, so I quit my job to open my own business. My wife and I had a mortgage and our first child on the way, so it certainly was a scary time.
    "I had worked for about six months getting things prepared," Olberding said.  "During that time, I got things in order like equipment, tools, and a location. Before I got the doors open, I had two weeks of work scheduled. We kind of hit the ground running, and there was no lag time at all. The support of my longtime customers was amazing.
    "For 16 years, I worked alone in a three-bay shop that was about 4,000 square feet," he said.  "I had some part-time help, like someone to answer the phone, but I did all the repair work. Then in April of 2005, I had the opportunity to buy the shop of a competitor who was retiring. That move put us into the tire and alignment business overnight. It was at that time I got acquainted with the people at Johnston Automotive Supply."
    On the Ladies Clinic, Olberding said, "Yes, we'll definitely do it again, but not right away. We need a little recovery time before the next one."