Shortly thereafter, he found an existing body shop that was down on its luck. A towing business affiliated with the shop was actually the bread-and-butter of the business. The owner just wanted to sell, so the Solis family purchased the facility, changed the name, upgraded the computer system, cleaned up the shop, and hired a small staff. Solis' many years in the field left him with a lot of good insurance and dealer contacts which helped quickly establish a customer base.

The shop has about 5,000 sq. ft. of working space, with a staff of two body techs, an apprentice body tech, painter, and apprentice painter. Every member of the staff is I-CAR and ASC certified.

Solis Collision uses state-of-the-art equipment and material. The body shop utilizes the Chief EZ Liner frame rack and the Genesis computerized measuring system. The paint shop has an air filtration cross flow spray booth, InfraTech heating and the Dupont paint mixing system.

CCC Pathways

An important element of running a profitable shop is to create estimates that serve as the blueprint for repair and include every single operation to be performed. To this end, Solis Collision Center uses CCC Pathways as its only information provider. The team from CCC came to the shop more than once to provide hands-on training.

Compared to other systems with which Solis has had experience, CCC Pathways was the most user-friendly, so he chose it to become the shop system. They also use a shop management program called ABC Tracker, developed by Norgate Technologies in Ontario, which tracks parts and work flow. The Tracker works in concert with CCC Pathways. CCC exports the estimate into the tracker system, where a repair order is generated.

Family affair not just family

 

Sandi Solis is the chief bean counter. She keeps control of all the expenses and knows where every penny is going. Her organizational and administrative skills are vital to the overall success of the business.

 

For 20 years, she ran a dental business and finds that the same principles can be applied to the collision repair industry. We joked tongue-in-cheek that customers are vulnerable in both businesses and do not really want the services that have become a necessity.

Son Richard Jr., who came on board about a year ago, manages production, estimating, and other day-to-day functions that fall to the general manager. He is very high tech and full of energy, bringing

Solis teases that people come in and ask where Boomer came from. When Solis replies, "he came from Safeway," they ask, "Safeway the insurance company?" "No," answers Solis, "Safeway the grocery store."

Office manager Gillian Figueroa came in with basic office skills and some computer savvy and has advanced to the position of office manager. Figueroa, also CCC certified, handles, among other things, accounts receivable. "She is like a pit bull when it comes to collecting money," states Solis. a younger, fresher perspective to the business.

Daughter Jennifer is in charge of human resources. The family aspect of the business allows her to bring her 20-month-old son Zachary with her to work on occasion.

Sandi and Rich Solis speak of their entire staff as family. Most of their employees have been with them from the start. Randall Mercado is the lead body man. Tom McDaniel is the second body tech, and does fabricating of speciality items. Roy Fulmer III is the painter and his apprentice painter is Eddie Cruz. The newest employee is Jared Rice, apprentice bodyman, who came to them from vocational high school. Even though he is only 19 years old, Solis says he is doing a great job.

The parts manager, Boomer, has an interesting story. The Solis family and Boomer have been good friends for a long time. He worked in Lake Tahoe in the grocery business but grew tired of it around the time Solis was starting the business. Solis needed help and asked Boomer to come and help get the business started. In a sense, they rescued each other. Boomer helped to get the shop in order, then Solis taught him how to write an estimate. He has great customer service skills and has settled into the function of parts manager. He is a great asset.

Business philosophy

"I believe in bringing young people into the trade and treating them fairly," said Solis. "When the shop makes money, there is a little bonus program. My goal is to have a pleasant place to work. If you work hard, there might be some extra pay for you.

"I have always been pro-insurance, but the recently-enacted anti-steering bill, SB 551, is a blessing for a relatively small shop like mine. With the law behind me, I can go to the insurance companies and remind them that they are not allowed to steer and there are now consequences for that type of behavior.

"I am pretty proud of our crew because we can run our business without being involved in any DRP relationships, save State Farm.

"When you sign up somebody to repair a vehicle, the owner is the customer. Do a good job, in a reasonable time period, get paid. There shouldn't be any problem doing that. Don't spend a lot of time chasing money. Give the people what they pay for and you'll get paid.

"When you run your business by percentages, not by gut feeling or your heart, then if everything goes right, you make money. Knowing exactly where you are financially keeps finances in check, ensuring profitability."