Hourglass Collision

    “I’ve seen all these direct repair agreements, and it’s on every one of them where you agree to this cap and that cap,” Harris said. “We just don’t budge. I don’t believe in

The same attention to detail is given to create the waiting room atmosphere, above, as it is to repair the high-end vehicles at the shop.

material caps. I don’t care how they pay it, but they have to pay it.”
    Harris began his industry career in the mid-80s but his interest in high-end automobiles began much earlier. “I remember when I was a kid working on Porsches and Mercedes, and being fascinated,” he said. Now his shop, which opened in 2000, is the only Mercedes-certified facility in northeast Oklahoma, he said.
    When a customer sets foot in Hourglass, he is greeted by a waiting room adorned with overstuffed denim blue couches and potted plants. The walls are lined with polished display cases full of model cars and the waxed floors reflect the daylight. When the time comes to pick up the finished car, the customer is ushered to a climate-controlled showroom, each detail of the repaired cars illuminated in the fluorescent lighting. The showroom walls are painted with murals that give the appearance of a tiny European village.
Zero-tolerance repair process
    At Hourglass, the repair process is just as meticulous as the ambience.
    “Our policy is that we have zero tolerance. If we repair the left side of the car, it’s got to look just like the right side,” Harris said. “We’re very picky, but it’s paid off. We now have a reputation. We don’t have re-checks or re-do’s because we are so particular.”
    Harris’ management style is gleaned from years of running a dealership with a body shop. He adopted a lot of the processes used on the service side of the business, and adapted them to the collision industry. For example, Reynold and Reynold was the management system used in the dealership, but this wasn’t body shop friendly, Harris said. So, he chose Mitchell, which was the closest to what he was used to, and he eventually switched to ABS.
Profitability without insurer reliance
    Hourglass was a Service First shop since opening in 2000, but the relationship has since ended.
    “I’m insurance friendly, I just don’t fix cars the way they want as far as aftermarket parts,” Harris said. “I think the worst repair I ever made was when I was trying to maintain my relationship with State Farm. I started seeing them as a big account. I wanted to make them happy. In the short of things, I did things that in my right mind I would never do.”
    State Farm accounted for 25 percent of the company business, yet without the Service First relationship Harris said he has seen profits increase. Instead, the shop has seen more business from other insurance companies. Last year resulted in 15 percent growth, and the shop is currently on track for a 5 percent increase for 2007, he said.