By virtually all accounts, the Japanese auto manufacturers are winning and the Americans are…well…we’re losing.

Let’s take just one example. Toyota increased US sales in September by 25% over a year ago. Over the same period, GM’s figure dropped 3.1%. What’s the difference? Paul Ballew, GM’s chief industry analyst says that a lot of the problem is because of misconceptions about the brand’s fuel economy – a rough thing for buyers to be ill-informed about when the media’s so focused on fuel prices. As a result, they’re going to aim a lot of their advertising at the fact that 23 of their models have fuel economies of 30 mpg or greater on the highway.

Too little, too late? Perhaps it’s too soon to tell. But truth is Toyota is ahead because they’ve stayed smart. They haven’t gotten lazy. You can say it’s quality, marketing or any number of other things. Really, I think the Japanese manufacturers are in the right place at the right time. Too often, it’s easy for “the big guys” to get comfortable at the top only to turn around one day and see they’re not there anymore – replaced by somebody smarter and harder-working. That’s what happened to US manufacturers. If you’re already on top, don’t let it happen to you. It’s called protecting the high ground. If you’re not there yet, work harder and smarter than whoever is already at the top. If you do that consistently, you can win.

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The other day, my local paper, The Greensboro News & Record, carried a story about a local store called Rose Furniture. I’ve lived in Greensboro, NC for 30 years and the economy has been run by three things for a lot longer than that. For years, the big industries have been Textiles, Tobacco and Furniture. They’re all facing BIG changes. Textiles have moved out of the country. We all know about the challenges the Tobacco industry is dealing with. And Furniture is facing huge changes of its own.

Rose is an 81-year-old family-run furniture store. It’s certainly not the first furniture store to go out of business recently. In fact, it’s one of many. Jason Harris is the vice president of sales and marketing at another furniture store across town called Furnitureland South– it’s thriving. He said that the retail furniture business has gone through drastic changes recently. Because overseas furniture companies with lower costs have forced a lot of domestic furniture manufacturers out of business, it takes longer for the goods to arrive. That means longer waits for customers. That doesn’t mesh with the current trend of consumers deciding to buy something one minute and expecting to have it the next.

The question is, how can salespeople reconcile slow delivery with customer demands? The answer: by managing them. In my latest book How to Sell at Margins Higher than Your Competitors, I talk about the fact that we teach our customers how to buy from us. How do your customers buy from you? Do you need to change? Do you know how?

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When it comes to changing the oil on my car, I take it seriously. Every 3,000 miles I take my car to an auto repair shop rather than go through the mess and hassle of changing the oil myself. That habit has served me well – I’ve owned my own cars for nearly 30 years and have never had an engine oil related problem. So when I stopped by for an oil change at a nationally known auto service franchise last week, I figured it would be business as usual – 20 minutes and $20 later I’d be out the door and on my way home – good for another 3,000 miles. Not this time.

I had actually stopped by the shop the evening before, about five minutes past 6:00 PM. The business was closed, and I noticed the sign on the door said their hours were 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. No problem; I should have called ahead to check the store hours. Besides, it was on my drive home anyway.

The next night I left work earlier and arrived at the auto shop at 5:05 PM. Much to my delight, there was only one vehicle in their eight service bays. Once again I figured 20 minutes and $20, and I’m on my way. Not this time either.

I entered the customer service area and the desk manager asked me if there was anything he could do for me. I told him I wanted a simple oil change, nothing more. Without blinking an eye, he explained that they take their last car in the shop at 5:00 PM, and it was now 5:05 PM. I tried to plead my case by mentioning that my family and I have been repeat customers at his store and then pointing at the mechanics in the shop who were just standing around. My words fell on deaf ears, though the manager did offer me an apology and a “$2 OFF” coupon if I would come back another day.

I managed to get the oil changed the next day, but it was somewhere else. Are you surprised? We have three cars in our family – that’s about a dozen oil changes a year, not to mention air filters, wheel alignments, tire rotations, tune-ups, repairs, etc. The manager who turned me aside 55 minutes before their posted closing time just turned away several future business opportunities and probably didn’t think twice about it.

Think about this for a minute: what if the auto repair shop sign said they closed at 5:00 PM instead of 6:00 PM? Seeing activity in the shop, I might have popped my head in at 5:05 PM and asked what time the next day I could get an oil change. In turn, the manager could have said, “Sir, you’re already here, so we’ll be happy to take care of you.” In that case, what do you think my perception of their service would have been then? And just for sake of argument, if the shop was busy at the time, all the manager might have said was, “Sir, we normally close at 5:00 PM; the cars in the shop being serviced all arrived before then and we’re staying to finish up the work. We do, however, open at 8:00 AM tomorrow, and I can put you first on the list.” Once again, my thoughts might have been different – wow, these guys are closed, but they’re staying later to get the job done. It’s all about perception.

Most businesses have to close the doors at night. That’s a given. However, when your business hours say you’re open, can your customers get service during those entire times? I believe their perception is they expect service as long as your doors are open. And if you’re not going to service them, you’re better off actually being “closed” rather than “open” but unable to help. What’s your opinion?

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