St. Charles, Mo. -- Dave Tritz, AAM, is the first to admit that he was an average body technician when he worked for his father, Don Tritz, founder of Don's Auto Body. Tritz, who now owns the shop, said he's learned to work on the business, rather than in it. He's able to do so because his son, Adam, has joined the family business.
"You can no longer fix cars and count your money on Friday," Dave Tritz said, adding that fixing cars and managing a business are two completely separate skills. Competition in the St. Louis area, coupled with an ever-changing collision industry, demands constant training, he said.
"The management training required to run a collision repair shop is amazing," Tritz said. "Management training is equally if not more important than technical training.
"The best class is always the next class and what you can learn from that," he said, adding that shop owners cannot conduct business the same way they did two to three years ago.
"When your vocabulary changes, beware; it'll affect your pocketbook," Tritz said. The advent of insurers' direct repair programs (DRPs) are one such example, he said, and they demand leaner operations and a close eye on key performance indicators (KPIs), a term he learned though industry training.
Three KPIs that Tritz said he constantly measures are traffic to his doorstep and closing ratios, the average sale per RO, and gross profit. "If you know these numbers, then you can push and pull any way you want to."
Traffic to doorstep, closing sales
Without traffic to the front door, it's not possible to gain business, Tritz said, adding that this occurs with a combination of DRP business and customers that find their way to the shop through their marketing and advertising efforts.
"You have to ask yourself, 'What drives the bottom line?'" he said, adding that the shop is able to close approximately 80 percent of the business that arrives at their doorstep.
Average sale per RO
Since Tritz knows his average sale per RO, it makes sales projections predictable, he said. Once the aggregate number is determined, a budget can be formulated around the projected number of units the shop will work on in any given month, he said. With an average of 65 units a month, he said, the shop's on target for $1.3 million in sales for his fiscal year.
Gross profit
Knowing where profit is coming from is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy bottom line, Tritz said. It includes closely monitoring paint and materials, parts purchases, and ensuring that all work surrounding supplements is recorded and accounted for.
In many cases, that dictates the number of office personnel required to maintain profitable operations, he said, which now is a one-to-one ratio with technicians at four each.
"Maximizing gross profit on labor and keeping a two-day repair a 'two-day' is critical," Tritz said. DRPs are measuring average cycle time in the area and frequently compare their performance to others, he said, adding that a delay in parts orders and delivery can elongate repair cycle times.
For example, he said that since parts comprise 35-37 percent of the shop's sales, he hired a dedicated parts director, Scott Acres. "If you put that into dollars, it makes good sense to have someone accountable for that."
When choosing which vendors to conduct business with, Tritz said price is a consideration, but service is at the top of the list. "Because of DRP cycle time requirements, it's critical to turn the car quickly," he said. "Parts ordering has nothing to do with repairing the car but has everything to do with management.
"We like to use multiline dealers," Tritz said, such as the Lou Fusz Network, Weir Chevrolet, and Pundmann Ford. Other stand-alone stores the shop works with are Mid Rivers Chrysler Jeep Dodge and Weber Chevrolet, he said, adding that he values the relationships developed with counter staff.
Tritz said Painter Mark Acres, the father of Parts Director Scott Acres, sprays DuPont in the shop's two Eagle downdraft paint booths, the smaller of which is used for painting items such as hoods, doors, and fenders taken off the car. Color Master, a nearby jobber, supplies Don's with all the shop's DuPont refinishes, he said.
DuPont has also helped the shop increase efficiency when it comes to processing vehicles for repair, Tritz said. He said he learned that no more than 4.3 hours should pass from the time a drivable vehicle hits the lot and a supplement is written.
"We're looking at ways to dial that in," he said, adding that it requires someone to be on hand to inspect a vehicle as soon as it comes in. By tearing off bumper covers when a vehicle arrives, hidden damage can often be revealed, he said, and a supplement is written on the spot.
To record information for supplements, Tritz said the shop devised a carbon copy form with white, yellow, and pink sheets that is placed on the windshield of a vehicle. The supplement has been processed if the white copy is missing, the pink copy belongs to the parts department, and the yellow remains with the vehicle, he said.
The idea for the supplement worksheet derived from quarterly staff meetings that the business holds for its four technicians and four office personnel. The shop closes down for an hour and a half and the floor is open for discussion, and topics such as production or needed equipment are discussed.
During one meeting they discussed purchasing a new electronic frame-measuring system, which they eventually bought from Automotive Technology Inc. (ATI) in Fenton, Mo. Even though the shop uses a Car-O-Liner frame rack, it went with a Chief Velocity electronic frame-measuring system because of the salesmen calling on them and ATI's presence with the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Missouri (AASP-MO).
Tritz said his membership with Gateway collision chapter of AASP-MO affords him valuable training and networking with like-minded professionals. Many times, he said, vendors host meetings and offer their services to the more than 60 members.
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