|
John Smith (yes, that's his real name) swallowed hard,
plucked down his life savings and, with a little financial help from
his family, bought his own body shop.
Smith wasn't new to the business; he'd managed a shop
for 13 years in the Silicon Valley community of Mountainview,
California, home of fast fortunes and fast living. But the body shop he
bought was over 100 miles away in Reno, Nevada - "America's Biggest
Little City" - which meant selling his home, buying a new house, moving
his wife and daughter to a new neighborhood and settling in to run a
business in a town he didn't really know. "It was scary," Smith
recalled. In fact, the opportunity had come to him from a friend in
Mountainview who also wanted to buy the shop but whose family didn't
want to make the big move to Nevada.
|
| Owner John Smith and shop manager Kristine Flower. |
 |
| Shop size has increased to 14,000 sq. ft. |
| |
At a glance
Dynamic Auto Body & Collision, Inc.
680 Montello Street
Reno, NV 89512
14,000 sq. ft.
70-80 vehicles monthly
$1.7 million annual sales
Employees: 13 including: 1 shop manager, 4 metal men, 3 estimators, 2 painters, 2 prep and 1 detailer
Paint: PPG
Spray Booth: Viking and Garmat downdraft
Frame & alignment: Star-A-Liner Cheetah frame machines, 17' and 20' models
John Bean Alignment
|
Smith wanted a smooth transition. Dynamic Auto Painting & Collision
had been run by Richard Ray for twenty years, and had a good reputation
when Smith bought it from him. Ray's daughter, Kristine Flower, stayed
on to help manage the shop, and Ray himself came in part-time to do a
little body work. Both Ray and Smith were concerned that the body men
and painters might leave when the ownership changed. "We worried about
that, but no one left," Smith recalled.
Dynamic
Auto Painting is different from many shops in Reno in that it pays on
clock hours rather than on a percentage of book hours. "A lot of guys
think they'll make more (on book hours) but we know that our pay is
actually above average, and our turnover is very low. We offer a
medical plan, paid vacation and pay for all major holidays," noted
Smith.
Techs choose Star-A-Liner Cheetah
When
it comes to equipment, Smith lets his techs advise him. "We had a
Star-A-Liner Cheetah 17 and a (Chief) EZ Liner II. The guys told me to
get another Cheetah because it was easier to use. They were using the
Cheetah twice as much as the other rack and it's, maybe, half the
price, so I bought a Cheetah 20 from Star-A-Liner." The technicians
like the low working table and the 360 degree pulling feature on the
Cheetah. "Star-A-Liner shipped it direct from their factory, the driver
set it up, and we were in business."
For
estimating needs, Dynamic Paint relies on CCC's Pathways® system. "I
was used to (Mitchell's) Ultramate® at the other shop, but I found the
CCC database very easy to use. It's definitely easier to learn. I
learned it by myself in a week or so."
PPG jobber really delivers
The
paint is PPG. "Good paint, and awesome service from our jobber (Barrett
Paint Supply in Reno). They'd do anything for us, at any time," Smith
said enthusiastically.
Snagging the DRP programs
Smith,
who is not bashful about his fondness for DRP programs, went hunting
for business soon after he arrived. "I called on the people at each
insurance company who made decisions on their repair programs. I was
persistent," he said. It paid off, as Dynamic now has DRP relations
with Farmers, State Farm, California Casualty, Encompass and ANPAC.
With new business coming in the door Smith leased more space,
increasing the shop from 10,000 to 14,000 square feet, allowing him to
repair on average 70-80 cars a month. The average invoice runs about
$2,200. "I believe we can do about $2.5 million in annual sales with
this much space," said Smith, which represents an increase of $800,000
over today's volume. The shop has growth potential beyond that, too, as
another 6,000 square feet will become available in two years. "I don't
want a second location. I'd prefer to grow this one." In addition to
direct sales efforts, Smith has advertising programs on radio and
billboards.
With Flower managing the
production operation and a working supervisor in both the metal and
paint departments, Smith is able to concentrate on marketing and
administration. "We've got it running well," he said.
While
the shop's reputation for quality work was in place when Smith took
over, and that meant referral business from the beginning, the growth
has clearly come from the DRP side. "DRPs are good," Smith stated. "For
one thing, it weeds out the shops that do bad work or just plain don't
have the equipment to fix today's vehicles."
Unlike
many independent shop owners, Smith shows no animosity towards
insurance companies. "We work with them. If you don't, they'll just
stop sending you any work. Then where are you?" In fact, Smith says
that most insurers are easy to work with, especially those whose DRP
programs he participates in. "They ask us to use aftermarket parts, or
to look locally for good salvage parts, and we do that if it won't
delay the job. But they don't come down on us for using OEM parts. They
want the job done quickly. If we get non-OEM parts that don't fit or
(used) parts in bad condition, it means they have to pay for more
rental car days. In most cases, we both want the same thing."
Does
he have an insurer that he feels is easiest to work with? After
consulting with Flower, Smith responded, "Farmers, or maybe California
Casualty." Does he pay for rental cars? "Sometimes, but not often." He
explained that Farmers will calculate when the job should be completed
based on book hours and the assumption that about 5 book hours should
be completed per day. He calls it "a reasonable timeframe." If the
vehicle is not complete, and there are no extenuating circumstances
such as delayed parts, then the shop might have to pay for the extra
rental car days. Smith also keeps a handle on cycle time by doing his
own mechanical and airbag work rather than subletting it to dealers.
His
tip for working successfully with insurers is to "keep good log notes.
Document everything. Every change, every delay in receiving parts or
reworking parts that didn't fit, anything the customer asks us to do.
Write it all down. And always be reasonable."
|
