Ultra Tune entreprenuer Sean Buckley discusses the start of Ultra Tune – the acquisition of a failing company in the 90s and how he turned it around into the successful empire that it is today.
Tag: Sean Buckley Ultra Tune
Sean Buckley – Ultra Tune – exclusive interviews:
Exclusive interview with Sean Buckley – Ultra Tune Executive Director, discussing life at Ultra Tune, exclusive behind the scenes and plans for the future. How did Sean Buckley get Mike Tyson to shoot an ad with Ultra Tune? How did losing everything in the 1980s effect Sean Buckley? How did he start the business? Find out in this exclusive interview.
A really interesting look at Ultra Tune and discussion with Sean Buckley about the company and the notorious television campaigns. Lots of fun clips from advertising campaigns, interviews with close friends and business partners.
Filmed by Industry Leaders in 2019
Sean Buckley – Gold Coast entrepreneur
Sean Buckley is an Australian entrepreneur now based on the Gold Coast with vast experience in many areas of business. Sean is Executive Chairman at The Ultra Group of Companies which includes (among others) Ultra Tune and Ultra Thoroughbreds â one of Australiaâs largest and most successful Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding enterprises. Sean is a skilled entrepreneur with a diverse range of interests including sports, business and new technologies. He went about building Ultra Tune at the expense of his own comfort. He famously took $100 a week in wages so that he could invest back into the business, specifically the franchisees, because these were the people who were driving his long-term vision and the business model.
âEntrepreneurs need to âthink outside the boxâ.
In 2016 Sean Buckley appeared on behalf of Ultra Tune and other independent after sales service providers at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (the industryâs professional lobby group where he now sits on the board) enquiry into the monopoly that new car manufacturers were attempting to sustain on after sales servicing, Seanâs appearance and the background work completed by Ultra Tune proved decisive in opening up the market to greater competition in the industry with legislative changes resulting.
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), didnât 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 â 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. Iâve 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. Weâre clearly not out of the woods yet, but by maintaining an adaptive and proactive approach, Iâm 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 â hypocritical, hence why we flipped the Pamela ad and had the hero a female. If Pamelaâs 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: 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 â listen to them, donât micro-manage them and remember; the best predictor of the future is the past â learn from your mistakes and donât 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 weâve had within the various enterprises Iâm involved in can be attributed my key staff members.
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, Sean Buckley and Ultra Tune, with other independent operators, managed to address the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) regarding the anti-competitive nature of the manufacturerâs behaviour.
The ACCC werenât 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.
The ACCC found that many car manufacturers have not factored consumer guarantee rights into their complaints handling systems and new car buyers are losing out as a result. These rights provide remedies for consumers if their new car experiences a failure, including a right to a repair (without charge) for a minor failure, or a replacement of the car or a full refund for a major failure.
The ACCC has identified five key issues contributing to the difficulties consumers are having enforcing their consumer guarantee rights:
- car manufacturersâ focus on warranty obligations to the exclusion of their consumer guarantee obligations
- there is a dominant âculture of repairâ underpinning car manufacturersâ systems and policies for dealing with car defects and failures
- the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements by car manufacturers when resolving complaints
- the lack of effective independent dispute resolution options for consumers
- particular features of the commercial arrangements between car manufacturers and dealers.
Read in more detail at https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/new-car-industry-put-on-notice
Top 10 Aussie Muscle Cars – Sean Buckley Ultra Tune
Sean Buckley presents the new Ultra Tune advert
Sean Buckley is proud to present the new Ultra Tune advert featuring Laura Lydall and Parnia Porsche. Filmed on location in Melbourne, Australia in January 2016.
Charles Hatley Wins by TKO against Anthony Mundine in 11th Round
What a night at the Melbourne Convention Centre as Charles Hatley wins in the 11th Round by TKO against Anthony Mundine!
It was a lively night, with some great undercard fights:
Blake Caparello def Luke Sharp (heavyweight) â unanimous decision
Qamil Balla def Ben Wharburton v (super lightweight) â unanimous decision
Lucas Miller def Shane Tuck (cruiserweight) by KO
Kane Watts def Thomas Heads (super welterweight) by TKO
Anthony Buttigieg def Sam Colomban (Super welterweight) â split decision
Anthony Mundine vs Charles Hatley:
Hatley took the lead by round 5 with the scorecard showing he was ahead:Â 40-33, 40-33, 39-36
Mundine started to feel the effects of Hatley’s peristant body shots  to the ribs in round 6. Hatley then marked Mundine on the left cheek and definitely wobbled him.
By round 9, Hatley was switching stances going from orthodox to southpaw and keeping up the page. In round 10 Mundine scored his first knockdown, protested by Hatley who came back stronger in round 11 by a strong right hand and TKO.
We had a great night and it was a fantastic event by Big Time Boxing and Ultra Tune
