As the president of the local ASA chapter and a national director of SCRS, he's working to improve the skills of managers and techs while improving the industry's image. His ASA chapter has the ear of the State's Insurance Commissioner and the education program - they recently brought in the top notch Master's School to teach an estimating course - really gives members a reason to stay active. Most of Wano's hours, however, are spent back at the shop.

 

GW & Son Autobody, Inc. opened its doors in 1985 when Gary Sr. left the dealer body shop he'd managed for 17 years and, with the help of wife Leona, took a deep breath and became an independent businessman. Today, Gary Sr., 58, manages the production and Leona handles office duties. Gary Jr., who runs the business end of the shop, says that "a lot of fathers and sons couldn't work together, but working with my Dad is easy because he really embraces improvement and change." And as if that isn't enough family for any one shop, daughters Kristi Wano and Tammy Mason are also active participants, handling estimating and administration, respectively.

 

Twelve years ago the family bought the growing business its own 11,400 sq ft building in an industrial park near a residential area. "One of the reasons we've been able to manage the growth is that we've always invested in automation. We were the second shop in Oklahoma to install the ARMS system back in 1987."

ADP Shoplink® sets standard

 

Today, the shop uses two estimating systems plus shop management software. "I'm a real fan of the ADP Shoplink system. We had to get another system for a DRP program we joined, and we compare the estimates because in many instances we need to do two sheets. To make them match, I regularly find myself removing labor time from ADP. It just seems to include more of the necessary operations than the other database - I'm not always going to the P-Pages to complete the estimate like I am with the other system.

"ADP also has a Labor Operations Report that's an incredible tool. We attach that report to our supplements all the time." On the day he spoke to Autobody News, Wano had just met with an ADP rep. "In fact, I took him to lunch. Their people are always helpful and they're here when I need them."

Wano is excited by the promise of needing only one estimating system as claims processing moves to the Internet. "We'll keep ADP and save $12,000 a year in update costs."

 

DRPs fuel growth 

GW & Son derives about 40% of its business from referral or repeat customers and 20% from fleets and trade referrals such as PDR shops. The balance, 40%, comes from DRP programs with GEICO and State Farm. The company also does a lot of work for Prudential Insurance and Shelter Insurance.

Wano has noticed one troubling trend with a few insurers. "They want the original estimate to be low. It doesn't seem to trouble them if you later write a supplement - within reason, of course - but put it all down from the start and it seems to antagonize them. I don't get it. When you know it's necessary, why not put it on the repair order right up front?"

 

Still, working with insurers is more productive than negotiating a job directly with the customer. "When a customer is shopping for competitive estimates, right up front we put down everything we're going to do. We lose a lot of those jobs because some other shop will low-ball them on the original estimate. I tell the customer to ask the other shop, "will you guarantee to complete the job for that price, or within 10%?"

As you might guess, GW & Son is not a big advertiser, choosing to focus its marketing on insurance partners and referral sources. "We sponsor a Little League team and do community type things," said Wano, who indicated that he spends no money on radio, billboards and similar ads. He finds working with a nearby PDR shop to be productive. "We send business to each other. I make more money from their referrals than I would in profits if I brought PDR in here."

 

Gary Wano Sr. oversees production and has become a fan of using panel bonding adhesives. "We used to shut down welding at about 3:00 for fire safety reasons, so if a panel wasn't in place by that time it had to wait until morning. With the 3M adhesives, we can put panels in place right up until closing time. It makes a real difference."

Akzo Nobel streamlines production

 

The shop has used Akzo Nobel paint for the past three years. Gary Jr., who started out as the shop's painter, said, "It's great paint, but more importantly, the service has been good. Our profitability in materials has been incredible. We participate in the Akzo regional performance group, 'Dollars and sense,' and we've really been able to streamline our shop procedures from what we've learned there. We're considering making the switch to their new line of paint, Auto Base Plus, and all I've heard is good things from those who've already made the change. They say that with the new base coat, the clear lays down like glass."