Gary Molinaro, publisher of the Greensheet/Automotive Week, moderated a panel comprised of Jim Bastone, owner of Bastone Auto Service of Pennsylvania; Scot Bennett, director of operations for Bennett Auto Supply of Florida; and Fred Myers, president of One Stop Undercar of Southern California, Colorado, and Texas.

Bastone said that as a shop owner, he is heavily influenced by the feedback he is getting from his technicians.  "If my techs are satisfied with it, generally the car doesn't come back because of a quality problem," he said.

"You have to know your customers and stay in contact with them," Bennett said.  "You have to have your ear to the ground and make sure you really listen to them.

"If you ask your customers what they want, they will tell you," he said.  "Each individual market is different, and you should make your decisions based on the majority of your local area."

Myers said that what he is hearing from his customers is that availability and service are the crucial factors in who they will buy from and which parts they will use. 

"These are not your granddaddy's customers," he said.  "Their attitude towards brands is very different.  These people are not familiar with these old brands and view them differently."

Myers confirmed this by noting that his sales of private-brand brake pads are well more than double those of name-brand products.

"Ultimately, the business we're in is a service business," he said.  "Today, service means getting the part to them in 45 minutes or less."

Bastone said he believes the quality of aftermarket parts has improved in recent years.  "It's coming back the other way, where we don't have to go back to the OE anymore."

When he can count on the quality, Bastone said he prefers to use aftermarket parts.  "I can make more money on aftermarket parts than OE, as long as they address the problem," he said.

When there is a quality problem, he said he asks that distributors identify it to shops up front.  "Bring in your manufacturers reps and let us know if you're having problems with a part so we can work around that," he said.

He also said he wished that manufacturers would stand behind their parts with a labor warranty.  "What I would like to see -- and I know that a lot of parts are sent back as defective that aren't -- but I would like to see them verify if it is truly defective, and when it is proven to be so, pay the labor."

The reference to returns drew strong responses from the distributors on the panel.  "One out of every four or five parts we sell comes back," Bennett said.

"The return situation is the blight of our industry," Myers said.  "In my business, it runs about 24 percent.

"We're being abused," he said.  "The wholesalers are being abused, the manufacturers are being abused -- this is something our industry needs to address."