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When AJ Gaston, general manager of Little John's Bodyworks, is asked about the challenges of running a body shop today, he doesn't hesitate a moment: "You have to get better to maintain the same CSI," said Gaston, "customers today just expect so much more."
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Gaston
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| Halopoff |
Little John's Bodyworks, also known as FIX Auto Downey (part of the FIX Auto USA network), is in a working-class community south of LA, but customers there can be just as demanding as the folks in Beverly Hills. "Today's customers continue to get caught up in technology. Everything has to be as fast as e-mail. Even fax machines are moving to the background as customers get used to their e-mail," mused Gaston. "We had to reprint our business cards to include e-mail addresses for the staff because so many customers asked for them."
Family business since 1960
Little John's opened in July of 1960, owned by John and Eleanor Halopoff. After working in body shops for years, John started the business in an 800 sq ft building with one bay door. Today, several buildings totaling 19,000 sq ft are spread out over a 38,000 sq ft lot. The company employs 26 and has annual sales of $3 million. Customers are greeted in a recently renovated reception area featuring comfortable furnishings, good lighting, fabric wallpaper and modern workstations. "We cleaned out the old furniture and tore down the dark wood paneling, something we should have done a long time ago," said Rick Halopoff, who took over the reins from his dad in the late 70's. He recently expanded his operation to a second shop, FIX Auto Buena Park in nearby Orange County.
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| Little John's Bodyworks consists of several buildings totaling 19,000 sq ft spread out over a 38,000 sq ft lot. |
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| David Shubin (left) has accumulated 17 years as a metal man and Albert Alvarado, another metal man, 27 years. |
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At a glance
Little John's Bodyworks
a/k/a Fix Auto Downey
9634 Firestone Blvd.
Downey, CA 90241
(562) 861-0377
Rick Halopoff, President
AJ Gaston, General Manager
Volume: 160 vehicles per month
Sales: $3 million annually
Size: 19,000 sq ft
Employees: 26
Staff: Body/Frame Dept - 9 (includes helpers); Paint
Dept - 5 (includes helpers); 1 mechanic; 1 Detailer; 1 Lot Attendant; 2
Estimators; Office Staff - 5
Paint: Standox
Spraybooths: 2
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All four of John and Eleanor's children - Debbie, Rick, Elaine & Beth - have been involved in the business, which has continued to grow with the help of many long-time employees. General Manager Gaston has been with the business for 17 years. Metal man Albert Alvarado has been turning out quality work for 27 years. John's Halopoff's nephew, Jim Samarin, has been a painter for 23 years; and Dave Shubin, also a metal man, has accumulated 17 years of service. Others are approaching the ten and fifteen year marks.
"These long term employees have been essential to our growth," said Rick Halopoff. "Finding qualified technicians - and underline 'qualified' - is more difficult than ever, so keeping our best people has permitted us to grow while other shops have faltered." The shop's compensation system includes techs paid hourly, some on straight commission and others on hourly plus a bonus.
Little John's has a large customer base with approximately half the business coming from repeat customers and referrals. DRP programs including AAA, 21st Century, USAA, Prudential and GEICO provide a steady flow of business, as does State Farm's Service First program. "There's been a real culture change in DRPs lately," noted Gaston, who said that today most of his DRP insurers will go along with whatever it takes to fix the car properly. "That wasn't always the case. Sure, they still want bang for their buck, but most are not unreasonable now."
Gaston feels that, for the most part, DRPs are a win-win for the shop and the customer. "We're not slowed down waiting for approvals, and the customer get her car back sooner."
Aftermarket parts- the supplier counts
Just as he gets along with most insurers, Gaston has few complaints about the other big industry bugaboo, non-OEM parts. "We only use quality aftermarket parts," he said, pointing out that the radiator and a/c parts he gets from Imperial Radiator (Torrance and Carson, Calif.) are as good or better than he would get from an OEM dealer. "It's the company you deal with that makes the difference. Imperial really knows the cooling business, so we get the right parts. They usually stock whatever we need, and they get it here on time. That's what you want from a supplier."
FIX marketing muscle
About three years ago Little John's joined the Fix Auto group, a network of large, independently owned shops that started in Orange County and has since grown nationwide. "Fix has been a great thing for us," said Gaston. "They offer group marketing and training, but the biggest thing is the (CSI) call center. It's by far the best CSI program we've ever had." Gaston pointed to the easy availability of data, high customer contact ratio and the Internet-based software as strong points of the FIX CSI program. The shop also does some local advertising with nearby FIX shops and makes use of the Fix volume-buying program.
Serving the industry
Over the past 42 years, the Halopoffs and Gaston have been involved in many industry groups including California Autobody Association (CAA), SCRS, and I-CAR. Rick Halopoff was an organizer of the Orange County CAA Chapter and served on its board. Gaston was editor/publisher of chapter newsletter for a few years. Halopoff has served many terms on the Cypress College advisory board for the auto body skills program. "Being here so long is a big selling point to customers, and community involvement is a big part of being here," said Halopoff.
Another big selling point is the shop itself, and Gaston makes sure that a customer has the opportunity to see it. "We're big on giving shop tours and reviewing the repair process. Our shop is super clean. Even though we have an advanced vacuum system, we're constantly sweeping. A lot of people remark on how clean everything seems. We like that."
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