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Toyota certified collision center spells success in first two years |
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Monday, 05 March 2007 |
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Page 2 of 2 The certified criteria
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With such a large facility, the parts department operates 40 parts carts to categorize parts when received and then to deliver the parts to the body shop.
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Hiring qualified technicians was not a challenge given the reputation of Toyota, Carter said. Once hired, all technicians completed a 2-day training certification course in Torrance that covered both structural and non-structural components. Carter was required to complete training as well.
As a certified collision center, Mossy is included in Toyota’s executive summary reports, which set a financial benchmark for shops. In December, Mossy Toyota ranked 38 out of 153 certified shops across the country.
Customer satisfaction is held in high regard as well. At the completion of each repair, customers are informed that Intelysis, a research firm, will survey them on the experience. To maintain Toyota certification, the collision center must receive a 25 percent response rate. Mossy Toyota receives an average response rate of 40 percent, Carter said. He monitors responses and meets daily with the estimators to resolve any issues that may arise.
“It’s pretty demanding,” Carter said. “It’s a daily process that we go through here. We see all the surveys as they come back. We look at them closely. It’s very important to us.”
The little things count
Teamwork is key at Mossy. Each estimator has his own team of collision repair techs, and techs receive a bonus based on their production level. At the request of CEO Philip Mossy, employees also participate in a program called the Pacific Institute, a self-improvement motivational program.
Parts distribution and DRP’s
Mossy Toyota has a fairly large parts department for shipping and receiving, and all direct ordering from Toyota is done from the facility. To speed up the repair process, the center utilizes portable parts carts. Forty parts carts are used, first to categorize the parts when they are received, then to deliver them to the body man.
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With a 36,000 square foot collision center, May of 2005 marked the opening of San Diego’s largest certified collision center at Mossy Toyota. In just two years sales had reached over $4 million, more than doubling the first year’s results.
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It is a requirement from Toyota to use OEM parts, and the shop can offer discounts to customers on these parts. Some of the direct repair programs require aftermarket parts, and this can be accommodated as well. Mossy Toyota has DRP relationships with AAA, Farmers, State Farm and Wawanesa. Ninety percent of business is insurance related.
The family line
The Mossy family came onto the car scene in 1921, when Wiley Mossy first sold Buicks in New Orleans. Shortly thereafter in 1934, he put enough money together to acquire an Oldsmobile franchise in that same city. This marked the beginning of a family legacy in the industry, and that first location is still in operation today and owned by Wiley’s grandson.
Now the Mossy family owns and operates dealerships in New Orleans, Houston and San Diego, five of them with body shops. In San Diego County in the late 80’s, Philip Mossy opened Mossy Nissan in National City, which has a body shop onsite. “Phil recognized that body shops can be a profitable operation from his experience with the National City store,” Carter said. “He wanted to be a full-service dealer, and that means to include the body shop.”
Shifting focus
Today the focus is on efficiency at Mossy Toyota’s collision center.
“After 2 years, we’re shifting over more to process and production. Now that we’ve filled our facility, it’s more about fine-tuning our process.”
Carter has recently examined various management systems to enhance production. This includes Mitchell ABS, CCC, Summit and DuPont.
“We’re looking for a complete management package,” Carter said. “The biggest emphasis would be to monitor process in the shop.”
With 29 employees, to credit the success of the collision center to one key player would pose a challenge. Carter put it best when he said, “It’s all of us. It’s the whole package. It’s just the magic.”
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