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The name is your first clue that Streetwerks didn't
start out as a body shop. "No, we did a lot of street rods and other
custom work when we opened in 1989," explained owner Steve Watkins. But
today, in a new 21,000 sq. ft facility located in fast-growing Denton
County northwest of Dallas, Streetwerks is most definitely in the
collision repair business.
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| Watkins |
Unlike so many independent shop owners, Watkins is not a
second generation auto repairer. Armed with a degree from the
University of North Texas, Watkins started his business working on
custom street rods and selling accessories while doing only some light
collision work. But the custom accessories business changed and
"Staying in it would have required a huge investment in inventory." By
1995, the business had become primarily collision repair.
Build it and they will come
Watkins
and his financial partner - his dad, an airline pilot - found an
excellent deal on freeway frontage land in the upper-middle class area
of Denton and built a 21,000 square foot collision repair center. "Our
capacity definitely exceeds our current volume, but we don't have to
worry about moving as we grow," said Watkins confidently. Fourteen
employees turn out about $150,000 in repair work a month, with an
average ticket of $2,400. "Our average job is higher than many shops
because we do a lot of high-end cars."
If
he had his druthers, Watkins would do less of the high-end work. "The
people who own these expensive cars are more demanding." One
Streetwerks part-time painter works almost exclusively on the European
imports. "He's a perfectionist, and isn't worried about beating the
book hours." In terms of the shop's bottom line, however, Watkins would
like to see more of the less expensive cars come through the door.
State Farm Service First
With
a large building to feed, Watkins embraces the DRP model. "It makes
business sense. And I read a lot about DRPs making you do lower quality
work, but I certainly haven't found that with State Farm." The shop is
asked to make appropriate use of recycled parts and remanufactured
bumpers, but non-OEM parts have ceased to be an issue. "Mostly, they
want the job done right and done on time."
While
he solicits DRP programs, Watkins has set out to win customers by
aggressive marketing. "We're doing Cable TV and other advertising. I've
joined community organizations and we participate in local events like
hosting the Chamber of Commerce meeting."
Business is steady
While
he works on enticing more DRP programs to his shop and waits for
marketing efforts to kick in, business has remained at profitable
levels. "2000 was a great year what with the hail storms and all,"
Watkins noted, but he indicated that many shops in the area say that
business has been flat this year, especially during the summer. "It
really picked up this month (September) but I had one customer last
week with an expensive car who told me he had thought about not fixing
the car; that it was driveable and he could use the money right now."
Chose CCC Pathways Professional Advantage
Steve Watkins chose Pathways Professional Advantage®
from CCC Informtion Services as the estimating and management system
for Streetwerks. "I demoed all three systems about two years ago, went
to NACE and asked a lot of questions. Price wasn't an issue, because
they all end up costing about the same. I like the way you interact
with Pathways. It just makes sense."
Watkins
makes extensive use of the production scheduling and parts management
features. "It lets me look at the shop in terms of dollars that each
job represents. I can quickly see how, by moving jobs around, I can
close some out faster. We have all our computers networked, and
Pathways keeps us all on the same page." Watkins also likes the CCC
support. "I can get my field tech on the phone and she'll walk me
through the problem. She has a background in collision repair, so we
speak the same language."
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