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Marcus Di Sabella of Heeltoe Automotive in studio
Marcus Di Sabella of Heeltoe Automotive in studio
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About this episode
Marcus Di Sabella from Heeltoe Automotive joins the show with his son Mateo, discussing their trip to Arizona for baseball spring training and the World Baseball Classic. They share insights about their automotive passions, including Marcus's impressive car collection and his business journey with Heeltoe. The conversation also touches on the challenges of running a small automotive parts company, customer service experiences, and the evolving landscape of communication in the digital age. Additionally, they reminisce about classic movies like Reservoir Dogs, adding a nostalgic touch to the episode.
Topics:
baseball spring training
heeltoe automotive
car collection
customer service
small business challenges
reservoir dogs
communication in business
ep 166
Marcus DiSabella visits the Hard Parking studio during his first ever trip to Arizona. Marcus owns and operations Heeltoe Automotive, a Honda and Acura specific auto parts company that has been in business for 20 years. This conversation was recorded Saturday March 11th.
Find out more at: Heeltoe Automotive https://www.heeltoeauto.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Heeltoe.
Instagram: www.instagram.com/heeltoeautomotive/
Connect with the show: HardParkingPod.com Instagram JhaePfenning Support us on Patreon
YouTube HardParkingPodcast [email protected]
Hard Parking Media LLC
Jhae Pfenning
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Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Car
Honda S2000
"...did allude to that they were elsewhere. Yeah. The S2000 is that accurate MP and and any given time they h..."
Car
Acura TSX
"at home? Well, my probably my number one is my TSX have a 2004, TSX that I've completely customized...."
Car
Honda Civic
"...that car anyway. But let's see. I also got an 87, Civic hatchback. Well, we got the type S, of course, we..."
Car
Honda Odyssey
"...ith that for a little while and then we've got an odyssey, which is, you know, they have a lot of cars. Oh ..."
Car
Ford Excursion
"...cars. Oh yeah, a lot of cars in your eyes and the Excursion, which comes last because it's not a Honda produc..."
Car
Oldsmobile Cutlass
"...he opening. So my first car was a 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Supreme four-door my father took it to Mako and ..."
Select text to request an explanation
Now it's dripping time. Ain't nobody got time for that.
This is our barking, Bucky by r100, Right?
Toyota out of Scottsdale, Arizona, I'm your host, you finding reporting from my home. In Gilbert, Arizona coming up on
today's show, Marcus of heel-toe Automotive brought his son, Mateo, they hung out for about 40 minutes or so.
And we talked about heel toe in town for baseball.
This was a few weeks ago during the World, Baseball, Classic.
Also, want to tell you about an iconic movie intro, that kind of popped into my head the other day, right?
After this word from four-wheel online J fitting here, I want to tell you guys about for all online for over a decade for all lines for bringing the best truck, accessories and truck parts to enhance the appearance and performance of all trucks and SUVs there. Dedicated to providing an
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You have your truck, a custom look and added functionality.
And if you need a tire wheel package head over and use the configuration tool it, carry all the major brands of wheels and tires will get out there today. So visit them online at
four-wheel online or call them in a one three seven six, nine two four, five one. Again, that's four wheel online.
The number four wheel online. So now you guys know that I
really love movies. I'm kind of a movie buff.
I don't know if I'm a movie narrow but anyway is the day I was on work chat in a co-worker, it said that his day was terrible and he goes, someone please tell me I'm going to be okay. So I put them send a message and
I use a line from Reservoir Dogs.
I said you're going to be okay, say the goddamn word you're going to be okay? Of course nobody knew what I was
talking about. I could just tell because I
killed the chat so I sent him the clip.
It would have what she enjoyed, but it made me think about how great of a movie old-school movie.
The Reservoir Dogs is, I used to have it on VHS, and I kept it on continuous play in the corner of my room.
I had a TV. I hung a TV up in the corner of
the room back when it was seemingly kind of cool to hang TVs. And they weren't flat screens
where you had no flat screens back, then we're talking late 90s. But every time I turn the TV on,
there was some part of Reservoir Dogs.
Jean. That's if I didn't have my Super
Nintendo plugged in and on which I left Tecmo Super Bowl 2 on there as well, so some of you can definitely drive with that, but that opening scene. Were there in the diner is a
brilliant opening and it was a 10 minutes of a movie.
All the conversation between Joe going through his phone book Madonna's Like a Virgin breakdown from mr.
Pink with tipping. And that entire scene is just
mind blown because they do this big circle of conversation and is a camera kind of slowly rotates around.
And, of course, of this opening 10 minutes or just is constant this group talk in this group. Talking these guys talking to
each other across the table. If you haven't seen Reservoir
Dogs, again, this is older movie.
This is one a Quentin Tarantino's first, if not his first, I don't know if it's his first or not.
It's his first that I saw big movies that came out before pole fishing Most people think, was his first big movie.
You gotta see, it's a little violent.
It's very Tarantino. So it's not, I don't know if
that movie could. Well, I think it could hold up
today, just because it's Tarantino because we kind of gets like a green light of being who he is.
But you have to see it. So if you haven't seen Reservoir
Dogs, watch it. If nothing else do yourself a
favor and go watch the first 10 minutes or so.
Basically the opening scene, you'll know when the scene concludes but you might be hooked and watch the rest of it.
Sitting here with Marcus Isabella of heel toe in studio which is awesome. We've been trying to do this for
a while on the side he has a son.
I'm at 80 who is a future star in here to kind of keep them in check. So welcome to Welcome to our
parking Studios. Yeah, thank you.
This is your first time in Phoenix, which is great.
Know what brings you guys actually out here?
Because it sure as hell isn't me.
Baseball, man. Spring training, we got tickets
to an Angel game. One of my vendors actually, as
it turns out that does my Light work, you know somebody Facilities Management over at the Tempe Diablo stadium and so we got four tickets, I got Marriott points, I got Alaska Airline miles, and it was going to be a cheap cheap trip, especially when you factor in Tyson's loner, but that quickly ballooned into more games. So, we're actually seeing three
games. No kidding.
I'm starting win yesterday. Starting yesterday.
Okay, yeah, we saw the Dodgers just barely beat the Angels at ER, field over there and Tomorrow's World Baseball Classic against Mexico. USA, Mexico.
So that's going to be off the chart you were mentioning earlier. That's I mean nothing's
available and then when you try to use your points and they say, you're not allowed to use your points.
That tells you that there's, you know, something big going on.
I didn't know about the Baseball Classic.
I'm not a huge baseball person, don't kill me but you know, living here. We know that a half.
The teams are here every spring and I got used to that being out here. Are you going to to of the world
classic games? We're going to the World
Baseball, Classic Game tomorrow. But the other two games are
spring training games, still with the angels, yeah, Angels Angels Mariners on Monday and we just barely squeaked into some tickets to the Dodger game yesterday against the Angels at the Dodgers facility, which I don't know.
We drove by that Angels Tempe Diablo versus the Camelback Ranch and I think the Angels got him beat on facility.
Well, you know, then I think the nicest facility might be the Cubs. Hmm, which is, I call it Tempe,
but it's technically Mesa. It's right on the 101 in 2002.
So when you're kind of going back to where you're at, I think you're going to go that way and it's to the right.
Hmm. As you go up on the one-on-one
and get on the 2002 before you go to downtown Tempe which is in the general area or at you can see it on the right.
And forward is called my wife, which is there yesterday, watching the Cubs game for work. She's only thing about baseball
either No, a little bit. I follow him a die-hard sports
guy, but and I think that spring training games are actually a lot of fun. Yeah.
Yeah, we had a great time yesterday.
Yeah, they're super chilled soup.
Relax went to a Diamondbacks game when I first moved here because you know this, right downtown if you guys had a chance to drive around and do anything sightsee.
No, I mean, we just got in yesterday morning and we went straight to Tyson's place and straight to the game and then came back to the hotel. And that was our day, pretty
much. Much at dinner with, with a
couple of guys last night, but we really haven't done much of that. That's why I was a moment late
getting here because we did a drive-by.
The, I mean you guys were five minutes or whatever.
Like you were barely late, you know, I yeah, we were on Hawaii time around here. That's all.
So Tyson, everybody comes into town to see Tyson's collection.
What did you think? I thought it was great.
It's pretty cool. His cars are all very nice.
The garage is very nicely set up.
It was funny because we got to his house and I told Mateo, I said, Got a garage like ours, right because you know, we've got quite a collection of cars to although Tyson's garage.
Arrangement is quite a bit different than mine.
You know, I could tell that he doesn't do any of the work on his cars in that garage, but you know, ours is kind of a working garage. We've got some storage and some
Fitness stuff out there that would love to have it as Polished in nice looking as he does, right?
But showroom, yeah, the reality is, is half my cars aren't registered or running You know, the other half of them are outside so my garage is only so impressive, it's just large Tyson's a little, he's a little insane, you know, he's a one-man shop moving these cars around all the time, like little Tesla pieces to get to one. It's I don't know.
I don't know how he does and then he has that extra space on the other side of the garage to. Hmm.
So I guess his overflow storage and then, did he tell you?
He stores at least one car at Accurate MP.
Yeah, well I didn't see a couple of cars which, you know, he did allude to that they were elsewhere.
Yeah. The S2000 is that accurate MP
and and any given time they have two of his cars.
That's why I bought my NSX. So what do you had what you have
at home? Well, my probably my number one
is my TSX have a 2004, TSX that I've completely customized.
Custom paint Interiors, been changed.
Actually the engine is pretty. Stock.
But for the most part, it's kind of my most invested in car.
And my wife has an S2000. We have the na one NSX silver.
I got a 2010 tl6 speed, that's kind of our daily run about the airport car, so to speak. Mmm, I've got an 85 C RX, which
is kind of a neat car, that was a gray market import that Oscar Jackson brought in in 1986. Six.
So I'm doing sort of a restomod on that it's taking way too long you brought it in and 88 in and 86 buys a new car interesting.
Yeah that's a whole conversation itself but but it's going to be a banger when it's done. It's mostly done.
I've just kind of run ended run out of Talent on that and I have to figure out how to finish it with time constraints and whatnot, but a lot of people that know, me know, know about that car anyway. But let's see.
I also got an 87, Civic hatchback.
Well, we got the type S, of course, we got the first one that Tonkin Acura had brought in.
We got their demo mr. T, LX typos, TLX type, asea been
playing with that for a little while and then we've got an odyssey, which is, you know, they have a lot of cars.
Oh yeah, a lot of cars in your eyes and the Excursion, which comes last because it's not a Honda product.
But it's bigger than anything else that you've mentioned.
Well yeah. Because for towing right yeah
that's the only reason why I have that.
No. Do you have like a big space?
You have like a is it like a pole barn type setup or is it?
We have our garage okay? We we built our house.
It was news the new construction and so, it comes with a three cart, and mm-hmm. And then we just bumped out the
side with an RV garage. So, I can go three cars
nose-to-tail in the RV section. And then I've got two others and
the two-car area and then the rest are all outside mmm which isn't awesome. But right, you know whatever I'd
like tandem is that the one and then the second one?
That's double deep. That's right.
Okay, yeah. We looked at some of those out
here before I moved out here. So what two years ago is that
when we met two and a half years ago, it was.
Was it Portland before Portland? I feel like it was right.
It was it right around then it might have been just after that.
Because yeah, I think we really got to chatting in the cocktail reception Monterey, no at Portland ports where we kind of like chatted a little bit. We had a little break out with
Mark and then and then all rights, right?
The little breakout room that might have been the first, you know, more intimate chat that we had.
But after that then yeah, we linked up in Monterey And you know, so it's taking this guy two years to come on this show and originally it's you know, I want to talk to you about your TLX Type S which is which I had it.
Yeah. Oh yeah and which we can still
do I'm going to pick on you a little bit here.
Yeah because you're old school you have to be uh-huh because you're setting this whole thing up via email and I'm thinking kind of have this guy's phone number.
Friends on social media and we're setting our times everything on an email, you know.
But some people are like that. You have, that's how they set
their schedule. And I was like, God, how old is
this guy? Well, so here's the thing.
I'm old enough to understand that the different forms of electronic communication have a place, right?
Yeah, we can chat, we can line up over over text.
You can talk me in. We can make an appointment
tentative or like, the day of activities is great for text, right? If you Of my text.
You can message me on some other platform but if something's got to get done it's got to go in an e-mail because otherwise that, you know, text come and go. You know, I get too many of them
so that goes right that goes kind of the whole classic thing.
It's like a your typical office. It's like, did you get an email
capture in an email? Well, Marcus said this.
He said, I want to call. But did you get an email?
Like no. Then you can't hold it in.
Yeah, half of my calls or my texts was customers are like either answering their question or telling them to email me and it's I think it might be annoying to some people but the reality is, I'm one guy. Sure.
And I get a lot of communications and all right, fair enough. Yeah, fair enough because I've
complained about that not with you but I've complained about the people trying to get ahold of me but they send me Facebook messages. Or Instagram message.
Like hey man, you busy tomorrow. I'm like, dude, if you want me,
you have well in your case, I'm, I took a Buick, you have my phone number call or text me? Because I'm always on my phone,
but this is the other thing. So, nothing's more solid than
capturing on email it, someday you won't even probably have to deal with email. Yeah, that's how that's how this
world, I'll Stand. I'm talking to Mateo over here
and kind of snickered at me like you guys are so old Antiquated.
You know what's funny that he does have an email account a Google account, you know? Half of the, you know, absent
stuff that he's got but I keep wanting to email him articles and stuff but he doesn't log in and check his email so I gotta teach him how to do that. I tell you, man.
It's interesting that that Dynamic and dealing with younger people and it's changing so quickly, you know, like my kids are pretty much grown. Well, they're grown and even my
son, he is kind of an old soul. So he's kind of antiquated like
that. He's always been my Otters like,
you know, she's she's moving life at a hundred miles an hour.
And you know, if you want to get ahold of her for anything, you have to send her a text. Like I'll never send her an
email for anything because I know that she doesn't, you know, communicate that way. So I think it's just kind of
trying to adjust to what works. Meanwhile, my grandson.
Yeah, I just said grandson, he's watching stuff and he's like, hey, I want to see monster trucks and I'm like I pull up monster trucks on YouTube. And before the first one jumps,
he's always clears already clicking on one of the other previews. Yeah, you know my dude that's
clickbait. You see it jumping?
Then you have to wait? For our to jump, you know, and
he's just like, Bam, Bam, Bam. So it's it's a pretty nutsy,
mmm. Yeah, yeah, it is it is
different. And we've gotten my older son,
acclimated to the email pretty well.
He's kind of looking ready to ask him and tells you only.
No, no, I have a soon-to-be seventeen-year-old also will be 17 next month. Actually taking his sat today,
okay? But yeah, just in organizing
that some of the other things that he wants to do, like you got an email right? We'll send them.
You know, the teachers email out stuff, you have my email us but it's like email him. You know, he's the one that's
got to do it, right. And you know, he's well, he's
gotten better at working with email, you know, and which is good. But he won't.
He won't go near Facebook at all.
He's just staunchly against it. Who are you on social media?
Just in general? I do it because I have to at
this point for the business. Yeah, for the most part and
also, it is a good way to To just sort of share experiences and things. And so what I'm finding now is a
lot of you know, you get a lot of joint.
Some of the things that you shared the Facebook reminds you that you did seven years ago whatever.
And so I do try to drop just sort of breadcrumbs of fun things like this trip and whatever.
We're I'll be posting some of it up because it's some point it would be nice to have it flashed back again.
I think that's probably the best thing that I'm getting out of Facebook right now but I do I think that there's a I don't know. There's a, there's a practical
limit to what these platforms are really good for, right?
And it the more and more, they try to turn them into, like, you know, marketing Enterprises are like advertising platforms.
You just really are losing the purity of what you're really want out of it, which is the communication with other people.
You're a so they've infected it with so much like, you know, revenue-generating Like they're trying to keep you on an addicted and all this stuff. It's just you feel it and it
feels like the sucks and so I'm not surprised.
My son doesn't want anything to do with it but I don't know.
Like I said, I'm on there because people use it so, you know, kind of yeah I don't want to see you kind of have to but he kind of have to but I think you've learned and this is the key and all social media and tell you this and I'm looking at a 0 here, you have to learn how to navigate and use it correctly. And it's really hard because it
becomes an obsessive thing. You know, I'm on my phone, all
the time. When I'm playing video games, or
I'm on Instagram, probably more than anything else.
But it's never like, I'm living my best life.
I'm just doing stuff. And then as I post, I kind of
look back and like, man, looks like I'm living my best life, you know. Let me let me post some reality
here. You know, here's my McDonald's.
It's not as expensive steak dinner.
That is actually on someone else's dime.
Just part of. This is all inclusive resort.
Yeah, exactly. The highlight reel.
The concept it's been there for a long time is really seriously true and brings a, you know, this inadequacy and other people that makes me feel like they're not doing dinner today, to life.
Exactly. You had one last week, man.
I didn't write, but, you know, you don't see that, right?
So running running everything you see through the filter of reality is, is important. Yeah.
And I like Facebook only 200 kind of like you, I mean I use it to keep in touch with people. I use it for groups because some
people only communicate, you know, on Facebook You have feel like you have to have a like and we'll get into in a minute but we have to have a sure there's a heel toe page on Facebook.
Yeah. You know as you mentioned it.
Yeah. Got taken over by somebody else.
Last September, we got kicked out as admins and it's been showing like Cosby Show, reels still still like, oh my God.
We've engaged with them attempted to engage with them as many ways as we can. And really, we just have one
ticket open and, you know, right in there, they laid off.
I don't know, some ungodly amount of people, so I don't know if it's a workload thing or what, but they still haven't given us access to the page back.
And I would say that that whole experience is just really shaken my interest and even being on the platform at all.
I'm still there. I kind of review.
This was recent right toward the end of last year.
Yeah, I remember. No.
It's been like five months. Yeah, I remember was posts.
Yeah. Oh my God.
You're right. Yeah, and I would just write it
off. All right.
See all why don't you just start a new page like yeah, sure.
I can I have another name part that I can use but that doesn't change the fact that that page is still got my name on it.
It's still linked to my domain. And so now anytime I try to
share any hyperlinks to my website, they all get pulled down for Community standard violation because of too many people reporting the other page. So I'm kind of screwed.
They have to fix it, right? I don't care if they deleted at
this point. It's just, but I can't have it
be up and I don't see the value in.
Starting a new one, sure, you'd mentioned, maybe memories and looking back. That's what I use Instagram for
a lot and it is fun. Every once in a while I get a
Facebook, this is what you're doing, 10 years ago and I'm looking at is like, what the heck?
I actually deleted something the other day.
It was brought back as a memory. I go, man.
I was making fun of this. This situation, 10 years ago, I
don't want. They want to remove pop it up.
Let me go ahead and delete this post and it was, it was, it wasn't. I mean, it's where do I cancel
culture stuff? But I try to be, you know,
really, you know, head Z about the things that I post, but I'm thinking like highlights. I'm pointing to a picture of
Izzy, the dog at the end of every episode up there because he passed last year. And then on my, my travels page
Instagram, I started creating a highlight reel Forum, probably seven years ago. And so now, anytime To see my
you know disease dog. I just go back and watch the
Highlight Reel. Hmm.
And so you know that's kind of the good of some of the social media and it just kind of goes back to, you know, however you want to use it appropriately. Let's talk about healed.
So first tell me about your TLX type A.
So let's go back to your to your I go.
Yeah, originally yeah, well, we bought this car.
Well I was there at the at the concept reveal That Type S concept and everybody was just enamored with that shape and the design language and And the whole thing man, they really knocked it out of the park. I think with that design
concept. No, Luke are the blue car.
Yeah. Monterey and then when that
became the Prototype and then the production car, I could not believe how close to I mean, you never see a production car look as much like the concept. Now, granted they had to change
a lot of things, and we all know that the men, you know, you can't have 22 inch wheels and it has to be a bumper behind sure.
A and all that, that being said, the design language came through. So clearly it was like I was
able to buy that car and it was like so cool and unlike the super to the FT 1. Yeah I mean I don't I really pay
attention to the other cars. Dogon on isn't based on your
garage, it sounds like yeah, I don't really care about other cars. I don't know, teaching this kid
well right now. I'm teaching a baseball stuff.
All right, good. I'm learning that too.
So he's teaching me how to be a baseball Dad.
Okay, we're learning how to hit, that's what we're learning over here. So the baseball itself is a
whole other conversation but, but yeah, no, I really liked the way. The car looked and being in the
business of Honda and Acura parts and becoming more and more. Or Acura over time, that NSX
really kind of plunked me into with this whole other world that you all NSX. Guys are sort of like you know
level up. Honda Acura people there was
kind of like white. Yeah, it's well it's a different
committee. I've been in Honda Acura
Community since I could drive right you know, in the mid-90s now but By getting the NSX, it's kind of like well there's a whole other group of people that is maybe more NSX than the rest of the lineup. But really actually the kind of
credence that accurate gives the NSX group.
Hmm, kind of exposed me to a little bit more of what, you know some of the workings of Acura is about but anyway having formulated a really good relationship with the dealer in Portland. Are we were on the short list of
contacts? We put in a deposit pretty early
for We actually were second in line behind Ira, but he refused the first car because it didn't have the Orchid interior.
So we took it and I took it to get an exhaust made.
We had more colors yours. The tigers tiger eye as well,
with the black inside. That's the part.
That's the right combo, by the way, I think it's great.
Yeah, that would work. It seems weird.
Mmm. Yeah.
I think the Orchid is probably good for some people but not me, right? Yeah.
So we got it, mostly. Because we wanted to develop
some stuff for it and just have the new we never buy new cars, really. So it was really kind of a cool
car to jump on and that like I said, the dealer was super accommodating. The general manager at the time
was I mean we were getting a live stream of where's the car?
And here it is and sure blah blah blah and given that it was their demo. We couldn't actually take
delivery until some time later. I think it's like 68 but he
actually let us have the car. For most of the time anyway.
So I think I kind of remember that.
So how is it mean? Is there anything you could
compare it to? I know your Honda Acura through
and through but I mean, you you still have it.
Are you just developing parts for you?
Love driving it? Yeah.
You know, how do you ever get to drive it?
Giving you have like 30 cars. Well, my wife drives it pretty
much every day. Well, this drives a all the
time. She's really adopted it and like
loves it but we did. I did have it in California for
the better part of a year, getting some stuff developed and we do have. Let's see, we did Springs with
Tain and we did our own exhaust which just got released and the exhaust system so far is his good and some really good feedback. I'm doing a spoiler for it now
to sort of a ground up design and that I think is going to be pretty neat, I don't know how much I'll do beyond that, maybe some more carbon stuff for the outside so it's more OEM plus with some nice. You know, I'm not really I don't
like doing garish sort of trendy things.
You don't know rocket bunny, TLX Type S in your future.
Know, I know how cool people would think that that would be but ultimately that's just some. Yeah people.
Yeah, you know. But you know, I'm not I'm not
trying to put cars together or parts are catalogs together for five percent of the people, you know, right.
And also the exhaust system moves a big investment for us.
It's your most complex. Us when we've ever done but I'm
going to be selling at 10 years from now.
So you know, we have TL Type S exhaust systems that we still can't keep in stock from the 07-08 model.
Right. And you know, thinking farther
down the line like not everybody wants like some garish over-the-top thing. Yeah I agree.
So talk to me about heel toe. Yeah well we're an e-commerce on
Acura parts company. I started in 2002 just sort of
it's been a while. It's been a long time.
A few companies that are older than mine that are still around but not that many, right? But we've been on the smaller
side and sort of slow growth kind of thing.
And we've never had a year of retraction except for, I would say after covid, we boomed in covid and things kind of got a little more weird, right? People either like completely
sunk or they flourished well in our industry.
It didn't surprise me at all. Did you get all these people
sitting around? First of all, aren't shy about
spending, All income, right? Even if it's not actually
disposable any recession that I've been through, has taught me that people that buy car parts. Don't buy them.
Yeah, it's a necessity, modifying a car.
Right. It helped me.
Understand that what I had to the world and the economy is motivation for people to work and earn money so that they can have fun with things. You know it's kind of a long way
to get around to what do you add to society?
Nobody really needs a souped-up exhaust system, but sometimes people do to get them in the car to get to work.
Work, you know, right. So reality is that if you do a
good job and you have a good product and you provide good service, you won't have problems selling stuff in hard times.
But here we are in a market where everybody was told, literally not to drive their car.
And by the way, here's a bunch of extra money.
Sure. And it was already Springtime at
that time. And so, that's our biggest
season anyway, and it was like, overnight.
I mean, we got it. Deposited in our account and I
said, dude, I need to send out an email blast.
Like tonight I sent one out and it was like a light switch sales. Just Sky rocks.
You didn't squander used it to flourish your well, we never shut down the center. You never shut down at all.
We were, we were considering ourselves, an essential Service, as providing automotive, parts, and transportation support.
And then, we're also a UPS access point in our local community and, because UPS, Just UPS was a essential service also had to stay open and yeah we worked harder than ever.
Yeah. So because of that, you know, we
had a banner year but you know pulled back after that that's the only time that we really had gone down and sales but you know, these really slow confident.
But firm steps forward have kind of kept us slowly on a growth path. And and you know we look now and
it's like well it's a pretty substantial business that we run. We're pretty well known.
Now it's been long enough that I've had people shop with us in the middle 2000s, have a family, get to middle age and then circle around again to start. But you got model around, this
is awesome. Absolutely.
I've got people who are just logging in now that we're customers 12 years ago and it's just really cool that they come back and and are just really happy to do business with us again. Let me ask you this, you're
going to be the first person I've asked this to.
I had jotted down to my notes perception versus reality.
Let's relate to heel toe. You know, what is people's
perception of heel toe? One of them.
And then what's the reality? Well, I think they're, I think
the perceptions are pretty varied.
One perception I think is that? We're a big company.
Hmm, you've been around since 02 but been around a long time, the websites, fairly well polished. It, sometimes is a little bit
clunky acting but just don't go to Facebook, to get always ready. So don't go to Facebook some.
Yeah, yeah, but I think some one of the probably biggest perceptions is that were bigger than We are.
And then, you know, people's assumptions about a larger company are either you know you can afford to help me or you're probably going to screw me or any of these things where you're kind of like interacting with a company where no attention to customer service because you're so big.
Well, whatever. Also in our industry we have a
lot of people who are basically, we're not really business people. That's what their car people,
right? And Vocational fact.
Yeah, their vocational people that just made a job out of Jerking around with cars, which I think there's nothing wrong with it, all, that's what I did. But at the same time, you have
to have an appreciation for what people are expecting out of modern customer experience, right?
So I try to help people as best as I can.
But also we are a really small company.
I mean, it's literally me, you least does support, she does a lot of the accounting and things but even I do a lot of the accounting I've had employees sort of on and off over the years, but they've been more help than they've been contributors. Sure.
So as far as the workload goes, a lot of it's just myself and so reality then you know the reality is number one me.
I am, you know the sales dip for a day.
I I take a breather if they dip for a week, I get a little nervous. Okay, you know, but the trend
has been long enough. Now I know what to expect but
the reality is that we're not a big company and they do value.
Every penny that comes my way and the form of an order or whatever. And so what I've recently
learned, It's gotten a lot easier to just sort of give back to people. Guy messaged me yesterday that
he got the wrong oil seal for his car right?
And I'm looking at it and I sent him the right one as far as what my website said but when I double-checked the listing is wrong so I screwed that little stuff.
Yeah so I said well I said you want to exchange it or do you want to just return it? And he said well I got to go get
It from my dealer. Like I got to get my car back on
the road and I'm and then I'm reminded right.
I'm not just providing somebody some shoes that they can't wear next week. Like they wanted to I'm sending
in something to somebody so their car can drive.
Sure. You know, and something is
Central. Yeah, they really do need it and
I can't go bring it to him. It's right.
Somewhere else in the country or the world.
So not to be offended by the fact that somebody had to go.
And make it happen to get their car running.
That's that's part of our hobby, right?
And if I can't execute right on it in the first place, then I just took the whole loss, all of it, right?
So I said, okay, well you can return it and then I'll, you know, refund you, right? I'm looking at the thing, it's
$11. So I says to him like look, I
said it's so cheap, it's not worth messing with.
I'll just give you a 15 dollar store credit and we'll call it.
Even I said there's much more stuff for your car that we have.
It's a little bit of a risk, but sure, you know, because what if he doesn't want the credit? Well, if you piss somebody off,
they don't want your freaking store.
Credit didn't want to come back, right, but if you're nice, you know, let's just credit you back for the seal, plus some inconvenience and then, you know, throw it in your toolbox, or something, worked out perfect, right?
So, being able to be generous and not Penny pinch, every single sale. Guy got a clutch disc.
That was wrong being reasonable? Yeah.
Well, or even Really going Beyond non-automated?
Yeah. Another quick one guy ordered a
clutch on the website, he put it in the car, he's driving along with it and it's not holding the power that his car makes now the circumstance of his car in the clutch that he has.
I feel like there's probably something else going on because there's no reason why this clutch wouldn't work for him.
But the entire page that he ordered the thing off of said that it was the part that he was getting except for one little blip in their suggested to him that he Was getting an upgraded, clutch one little thing, right? And I went around and around
with them. And ultimately, I said, look, I
said I'm not being resistant here.
I'm just telling you the next time you see conflicting information on our website, let me know before you order it, let me know before you put it in your car, you know, because he goes, what's not my responsibility?
So no, it's my responsibility to make sure the website is right?
I said, but I'm only one guy. I have my type.
All this crap in, and if you see a Normally, I'd like to fix it before you haven't seen. Oh yeah.
So any little inkling that something is wrong with a listing. I have to take full
responsibility so I'm shipping them in a new clutch disc, no cost. I don't want to do that.
I don't feel like I I don't feel like I should Bear all that cost But ultimately, I kind of do this guy's pants, multiple transmission jobs to swap it out.
That alone is a sticking point with clutches.
And I'm lucky that he only wants a new disc, right?
So, and he's been buying for five years, he's a good customer, take care of him. So you've been doing this for 20
years and we 21 at some point this year.
Why in your opinion will get you out here on this?
Why in your opinion do businesses, that do what you do typically fail? Because a lot of them fail, I
think they failed because they don't have the resiliency and they don't have the persistence. They don't have to drive to want
to do it, right? Right.
There are Kinds of customers that we have to deal with all kinds of attitudes, all kinds of entitlements.
But then there's like a lot of ignorance around what people are doing, people are doing the stuff in their garage, and solo come to you with some really challenging customer service type situations. And I think because we're all
kind of coming from the same plane and a lot of us are sort of like maybe a little rough around the fingernails, right.
There's and a lot of us are dudes, there's more of a feeling like We're working against each other or that we know more than the next guy. And so when you're going to lose
that battle, when it comes down to betting with money, you're always going to lose to a credit card, charge back and they throw the hands up and be like, you know what?
Screw those on people are too dumb.
I think I can handle it. Well you know what our people
are business people because car people aren't business.
Yeah. And car parts customers.
They're not buy. These are emotional purchases.
Yeah. Highly emotional purchases.
And if you can't connect with that, if you It tap into the emotion that's behind it. And understand that, when that
person received whatever they got, they went to a really high and if something went wrong they go to the lowest of lows and even worse, they might not be able to drive their car, which is the whole point. So if you can't, whether those
storms then you're going to give up.
Yeah. It's the, my hand.
My custom handmade part. Doesn't fit my car, right.
You guys, everybody. These parts don't fit piece of
crap. Marcus, how do people get a hold
of you? Well, the best way is on.
He'll tell Otto.com there. Any hyphens are any things worse
together? Just heel-toe Auto.com.
It's not heel-toe.com. I've been trying to get that
domain forever and he won't give it up.
But yeah, heel-toe Auto Doc cam. If you're on your, if you're on
your phone, the contact page has a click to call click to text and that goes straight to the phone of my.
But pocket, is there any social media for it outside of, obviously, what we've talked about, the If you paid and we do exist on Facebook, but Instagram is a little bit more of a personal platform. We have a YouTube.
I've been trying to work on the YouTube.
Some of our videos are doing pretty well there to really, honestly email call. And text is probably the number
one. Call me old-school, I guess.
But people do message through those other platforms Facebook Messenger. I use all the time.
Sure, you know, that hasn't my Facebook presence hasn't been impacted at. All right, just the Business
page, right? Yeah.
So yeah, there's many ways to get a hold of us and I filled all of that. Marcus Mateo tables over here
board. Like can we get the hell out of
here? Please thanks for officially
coming in our parking Studios. Yeah man I'll be happy to come
back if I'm in town. Well be happy to have you.
Their conversation of course is brought to you by the cells shop and there's another base retool, their trash your Our choice for wireless Services, whether Arizona, Washington State, California, Texas and Florida, and authorized AT&T dealers to visit them at. So shot by us and you're
connected today. One of the Marcus and his son
Mateo for stopping by the studio.
It's kind of funny regarding Reservoir Dogs, going back to the opening. So my first car was a 1976
Oldsmobile Cutlass. Supreme four-door my father took
it to Mako and got a paint job. It was weird blue.
Kind of a lighter blue and then he got It it kind of painted clearish, kind of a deeper blue. Actually a really pretty color a
popular color now not so not so much back then, but I hated the car but I use the car. I used to be a courier, the kind
of career that goes from one building a business picks up plans, documents takes it to another one.
Drops it off. That's what I did.
I got paid shit in the car that I drove only had AM radio in it, but I had a cassette. Player probably not from 76 but
at some point, someone put a cassette player in there.
So I had the Reservoir Dogs. Soundtrack have no idea where I
got it. I think it belonged to my
friend, Tony, who I picked up every once in a while because we were that typical we he didn't have nothing going on if you wasn't working. So if he was off, that's what we
did. All right, man.
I'll come pick you up. You're right around with me all
day. And we just listened to the
Reservoir Dog, soundtrack over and over and over a side, a side B, just became a A fabric of my everyday since during soundtrack. You should check it out.
Had an awesome conversation with Mike Jimenez of Jada toys, that's going to be coming up in a few weeks.
So be looking for that one thing right handed, Right?
Toyota I discuss the Arizona for all online.com.
So shop Wireless Services, patreon business, Porter, create a motivator Water Gardens Florida.
How construction economy? Michigan big?
How small Home Design? Ashburn, Virginia Traverse City,
Michigan, Westgate exotic cars rentals.
Out of Glendale Arizona. Also shaving success.
With was tankersley at a Boise. Idaho catch us every Wednesday
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