Sean Buckley UltraTune, Owner of Ultra Thoroughbreds Australia

Sean Buckley answers: What has been the biggest challenge of franchising your brand? How did you overcome it?

Ultra Tune has faced various challenges over the years, not the least of which being an adverse legal finding after a court case with the ACCC. I was overseas at the time for an extended period of time and unfortunately (my own fault), didn’t take an active enough role in the pending case. As a consequence the company was issued with a hefty fine. This was an operational issue, that, once I returned to Australia was immediately rectified and, thankfully our clientele has seen it for what it was – a glitch in an overwise stellar 40 years of operation. What it did show me was the need to keep my finger on the pulse of the organization at all time. The implications could have been catastrophic, however, being such a well-established and credible company allowed us to ride this setback out and thereafter the company has comeback stronger and more effective than ever before.

Obviously the current COVID climate has been an enormous challenge for the business. I’ve been forced to make a series very tough business decisions in the first six months. A combination of a sound management team, great network of franchisees and thinking and adapting to changed circumstances have allowed Ultra Tune to survive better than many other comparable companies. We’re clearly not out of the woods yet, but by maintaining an adaptive and proactive approach, I’m confident, 5 years from now Ultra Tune will continue to be the leading independently owned auto-service company in Australia.

Sean Buckley answers: What do you think of the hypocrisy where women are allowed to ridicule men in commercials such as Allpest which requests the extermination of her husband?

Precisely that – hypocritical, hence why we flipped the Pamela ad and had the hero a female. If Pamela’s role had have been played by a man this year, the ad would
have been banned, but because it was a female heroine it left the PC brigade nowhere to go.

Sean Buckley answers: Why aren’t you targeting women in your adverts?

This is a two-fold answer. If you look at the demographics the split of our audience is predominately male – previously about 70/30, these days that is changing though, probably closer to 60/40. Our “target” audience – male or female – isn’t offended by the ad(s), in fact, independent audits we’ve had conducted indicated that only a very small % of people are concerned.

For example, this year we had the Pamela ad viewed more than 5M times on free to air TV and another 2M plus on social channels – of that 7M plus people who saw the ad we generated about 200 or so complaints to AdStandards (which were ultimately dismissed) – so I would suggest this is hardly significant number. The issue is “social media”everyone can have an opinion these days and voice it via social media. So if 100 people pool their resources they can
make a noise.

Those who find the ad comedic (the silent majority) or have no opinion are less likely to pass comment on social media so it “appears” there is a lot of negative press about them, when in actual fact – numbers wise it is inconsequential and, after each ad is aired we see our patronage increase by 20-40% immediately after they are screened. As I keep saying; “if the ads were hurting our brand we wouldn’t run them” – they do the opposite and in many instances we get positive feedback from men and women because we take a stance and thumb our noses at political correctness. The majority of people are over being told what they can and can’t do or like and applaud us for our position.

Sean Buckley – Partner with humm at participating stores

At participating stores Ultra Tune has partnered with humm where you can buy now and pay later with regular, interest-free instalments. If you’re new to humm little things, you can apply while you checkout with Ultra Tune by following the prompts. Approvals are instant (if you qualify), so you can start shopping right away.

Sean Buckley Ultra Tune interviewed by the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association

Sean Buckley of Ultra Tune was recently interviewed by the AAAA (Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association) regarding the inquiry into the behaviour of vehicle manufacturers attempting to monopolize the after-sales car service market and drive up the cost of car servicing. Australia and New Zealand remain the only countries worldwide where manufacturers have been able to quarantine vehicle servicing data making it near impossible for independent service providers to properly service more recently manufactured vehicles. After months of effort and preparation, Ultra Tune, with other independent operators, managed to address the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) regarding the anti-competitive nature of the manufacturer’s behaviour. The ACCC weren’t impressed and legislation will be enacted in 2018 creating a level playing field upon which independent service providers, such as Ultra Tune, will be able to favourably compete on price and workmanship with vehicle manufacturers in the after sales service market. Read more on this report at https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/new-car-industry-put-on-notice

Sean Buckley answers: What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

Work-life balance is an ongoing battle and has particularly been so during the COVID pandemic. My business is located out of Victoria however I normally live on the Gold Coast – about 1000 miles north of our head offices. My two eldest daughters live with me up there – they are young adults and largely independent, I do however enjoy spending time with them and watching them embark on their own careers. Unfortunately, due to travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, I was forced to stay in Melbourne for six months at one point.

The upside is that I’m spending a lot more time with my youngest daughter who is two years of age – which has been a blessing. I exercise daily and have a gym set up at home and ensure I always access to some sort of training facility whenever I travel. I’m also conscious of eating well and practice mindfulness on a daily basis.

It isn’t always easy striking a balance between work and family. This year, with the pandemic, has been particularly difficult, I’ve been forced to make some hard, business decisions to ensure the viability of Ultra Tune as an entity and some of those decisions have adversely impacted individuals and their families and that weighs heavily on my mind, but they have been necessary, tough decisions to ensure long term benefits to the wider Ultra Tune community.

The older I get, the more I realize (a) how difficult striking a balance between work and family is whilst (b) at the same time, how very important that is. I keep reminding myself that; “I don’t want to be the most “successful” person in the cemetery!” Life is a journey and we are measured by how we treat one another along the way in day to day interactions. I like to think that I’m firm but fair and I always set out to do the right thing by myself, my family, the Ultra Tune community, the broader Australian community. If I achieve that daily I can sleep easy and strike a degree of balance in my life.

Sean Buckley answers: What drives you?

In the early days it was business success and personal
satisfaction, these days there is still an element of that, but now that
we’ve grown as large as we have, I am responsible for the livelihood of
250 plus families across Australia – if they succeed, I succeed and I will do
everything in my power to ensure their long term success.

What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?

Aside from having my three beautiful daughters? Biting the bullet and taking over Ultra Tune when it
was a basket case back in the mid ‘90’s and nurturing it through the tough
times to create a category leading entity as voted by Canstar Blue 3 of the
last 4 years.

Sean Buckley answers: What was the one big decision that made your company what it is today?

Being different, at Ultra Tune we’re not scared by doing things differently to the
competition and I believe this is what sets us apart. We did it back in the early days
with our Dyno-tuning and we continue the trend today with our controversial
television commercials. We’re different, we take pride in being different and we
aspire to be different.

Sean Buckley answers: What are some of the vital attributes, in your opinion, that every leader should possess?

Focus, goal-setting, follow the data, build relationships, employ expertise – listen to them, don’t micro-manage them and remember; the best predictor of the future is the past – learn from your mistakes and don’t make them again in the future.

What is the operating philosophy that the business has been built on?

Always try to look to the future. Employ good, trustworthy hard-working people in key positions, give them some autonomy and only provide guidance rather than micro-managing. A number of my staff have been with me for 15 years plus, some of the key innovations we’ve had within the various enterprises I’m involved in can be attributed my key staff members.

Sean Buckley answers: What are the cutting-edge franchise services/solutions offered by Ultra Tune?

I often like to tell people; “Ultra Tune is an IT company that just happens to service cars.” Obviously, our car servicing is our stock in trade, but where Ultra Tune has managed to stay ahead of the competition over the years is by reading market trends and staying ahead of the curve.

In the early days we did this by introducing “dyno-tuning” before anyone else, today we aim to stay ahead of the competition by building a state-of-the-art priority IT platform which handles each and every aspect of the business – from booking a service, to reviewing service records, to sending out reminders to clients that their next booking is due, to invoicing. Our system is world leading and provides both franchisees and clients with a seamless and complete service.