Long Beach, Calif. -- After a year as the manager of Coast Cadillac's collision repair shop, Todd McQuiddy said the dealership is well on its way to maximizing its 5,000-square-foot facility.
McQuiddy said sales have increased by about 15 percent on average and that the collision repair shop had its best month ever in February with sales in excess of $300,000. While the improvements are welcome, he said he believes the shop can still increase its sales from an average of about $250,000 a month to around $350,000.
Cadillacs make up only about 25 percent of the shop's sales, McQuiddy said, noting that the body shop participates in two large DRP programs. In addition, he said, Carson Honda, which like Coast is owned by Sonic Automotive, refers collision repair customers to the shop, as does independently owned Champion Chevrolet.
The shop performs many smaller repairs for the dealerships, McQuiddy said, so while they account for perhaps 40 percent of the shop's car count, they are only about 25 percent of their sales.
McQuiddy said he is looking forward to another boost in a few months when Long Beach BMW, which was recently acquired by Sonic, will also begin referring its collision repair business to the Coast Cadillac collision shop.
McQuiddy said he attributes much of the growth of the past year to a back-to-basics approach in the shop. "My first priority when I take over a shop is to make sure that it's operating properly," he said. "In this case that meant implementing systems and processes for repairing cars and making sure that everyone is operating within the same system."
McQuiddy said that includes tearing down the vehicle for estimating, so that the process can be as complete as possible, using a check-in sheet to identify existing damage to avoid later claims and to offer an upsell opportunity, and checking in parts to ensure that they are correct and that any damage is found.
The collision center staff includes two estimators, five body men, a painter, two helpers, a production manager, and a clean-up/porter, McQuiddy said, adding that it's important that they all know what is expected of them.
"I think that if you approach a new staff and tell them what is going on and what your plans are and get them on board, you will be more successful," he said. "After they began to see that this would help them make more money, I don't really have to worry about enforcement because they understand why we were doing it this way."
About half the staff today has been at the shop since he joined last year, McQuiddy said, noting that some had chosen to leave. "When the dynamic changes in a shop, I think each person chooses their own path. They're either going to get on board or else they start setting traps and working to hide their inefficiencies."
Those that chose to leave have been "replaced by real go-getters who view their stall as a business," McQuiddy said. With the new employees and those that have chosen to stay, he said he believes the shop now has a very professional crew that is prepared to take things to a much higher level.
He added that the crew is often instrumental is making suggestions to improve the systems that are in place at the shop. "You can't let people operate outside of the systems or it creates all sorts of pitfalls for you," he said. "But I am always learning, and if someone has a good idea for how to change a system, we will make changes."
Having come to the dealership through a series of independent shops, McQuiddy said there are a number of differences between the two types of shops, but he said he feels fortunate that Sonic believes in the collision repair business and is willing to invest in it. "Sonic has a collision center vice president who knows about the business and is very numbers-driven, who is looking out for this side of the business," he said.
Working within the dynamics of a company that includes new- and used-car sales, service, and parts also offers support and, in turn, expectations that are not faced by an independent body shop, McQuiddy said. "The biggest advantage sometimes also seems like the biggest disadvantage," he said, "in that I can do everything here."
The key to making it work is to treat all of the other departments the way he would want to be treated by them, McQuiddy said. "You have to foster those relationships -- from the manager to the technicians to the salespeople -- in every department," he said.
"I have to think about what's healthy for the entire company, not just the body shop," he said. "I also have to remember that when we do work that has come through one of the dealerships, it affects their CSI. If we make a mistake, they suffer for it.
"I also have the benefit of being part of a large corporation that has companywide agreements with suppliers, including PPG and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and those help with expenses," McQuiddy said.
Because of the limited size of the facility and its related parking, McQuiddy said that work flow is critical. "I focus a lot on how cars move through the departments and the parking lot," he said. "If it needs to go to service for something, we need to take it now, not later, so that it can be delivered tonight, not tomorrow."
A daily production meeting helps the office keep the technicians informed of the day's priorities and lets them relate any problems they have run into on a job, McQuiddy said.
"It's like rotating stock in a grocery store," he said. "You have to keep pushing the cans to the front of the shelf. The technician's first instinct is always going to be to work on the car that's the easiest to get done to enhance their payroll, but we need to make sure that every car is kept on track."
At the same time, McQuiddy said that he and the estimators must make sure that they keep the paperwork in front of the work being done so that supplements are handled properly, parts get billed to the job, and the car is delivered with complete paperwork.
McQuiddy said it's important to remember that when the job is done properly, you have helped someone. Customers often come to the shop upset because their car has been damaged and that can make working with them challenging.
"People are not here by choice, and that sets the tone for the entire process," he said. "Overall, I think collision center managers and technicians, and especially estimators, are a special breed of people. I don't think that there are a lot of people who could do this job."
