Aberdeen, Wash.-Conrad "Butch" Jobst Jr., AAM, is candid when talking about his business, B&B Automotive Inc., and the systems he and his staff have developed to make the longtime repair shop efficient and profitable. He said it has been an ongoing process that has been aided by a variety of outside influences.
Jobst said he pumped gas and worked on cars while attending a college automotive technology program at what is now South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia and later in Yakima while attending diesel/heavy training programs. Out of college in March 1983, he said he went to work with a former college roommate who was running a shop owned by the roommate's father, who was not active in the business.
That shop was named B&B after the two Bills who had founded the business years earlier, Jobst said.
By September 1983, the former roommate wanted out of the business, so Jobst said he bought the equipment and rented the space from the father. "We had three employees and two bays and did everything from valve grinds to engine work, manual transmission repair to general service," he said, adding that he understood vehicle repairs but had little business expertise.
In 1988, Jobst said he moved the business to its existing location, an 8,800-square-foot building on West Market that has been an automotive service and repair site since 1921.
"This place has been Wakefield Ford, a Packard and Chevy dealer, a body shop, and a machine shop among other auto-related businesses," he said. "I paid $72,000 for two buildings in 1988 and have actually paid it off twice. We have redone the building two times and probably invested $200,000 in it," he said, adding that he rents out the adjacent building.
"We had five people on staff in 1988 and we all went to a Bob O'Connor time management course," Jobst said. "We needed help so we attended lots of classes, and in the early '90s we joined the Bottom Line Impact Group (BLIG) No. 4."
That involvement, he said, changed how he did business 100 percent as he started tracking parts and labor, looking at financials, and began marketing his business.
Today, with a staff of 10, including a full-time bookkeeper, a full-time parts manager, and an Automotive Youth Educational Systems student, he said the BLIG experience created a new and positive atmosphere for his repair shop that allowed him to grow and prosper.
Jobst also credits his membership and involvement in the Automotive Service Association of Washington (ASA-WA) since the early '80s as a critical to his firm's success. "The only reason I'm in business (today) is the support I have received from ASA," he said.
"We attended lots of ASA training classes that were beneficial, but it's what I learned at lunch and the networking that was invaluable," he said. "People like Tom Smith (Tom's Automotive in Seattle), Jeff Gietzen (Jeff's Auto Repair in Lynnwood), and later Joel and Nathan Baxter (B&B Auto Repair in Bremerton) among others were superb mentors."
His exposure to ASA-WA training classes led to attending state retreats and networking with other shop owners, Jobst said. He said he is the ASA-WA Southwest Washington chapter president and also serves on the benefits and insurance committees on the state level.
Being a longtime AAA Approved Auto Repair Facility has also been a positive aspect of his business, he said. "We are also an ASE Blue Shield of Excellence shop. We support technician training, and all four our techs are ASE certified, three of them Master Technicians."
The firm is also about one year into ATI management training, Jobst said. "Jeff (Miller, service manager) and I attend those management training classes to enhance our management skills." He added that staff members attend ongoing training and that the company pays for all costs, including travel and meals.
With his involvement in ASA-WA, participation in the BLIG and valid training programs all in place, Jobst said B&B needed a computer management system that would provide the staff with good tracking and quick access to information. He said he selected the Garage Operator system, developed by former shop Owner Chip Keen because it met his needs.
"We were doing 300 cars a month with no system, and now we do 360-370 a month but with the GO system," he said. "It has helped us with virtually all aspects of our business and tracks data so we can be more efficient. The vehicle repair history, parts tracking and sales, labor costs and operations, bookkeeping information, and more are all tied together. With this streamlined management system, we can leave here at 5:30 and know things are done."
Part of what makes the management system productive, Jobst said, is a 10-year, ongoing internal process of creating files that contain such things as company advertising, hiring practices, equipment reviews and purchases, training, and many other procedures and practices that technicians, service advisers, and others in the company are involved with daily.
"We have created very specific procedures on everything from how to properly perform a road test to how to turn off the lights and compressor at night," he said. Also included, he added, are practices on pricing, selling, and customer service, including how to take a customers keys at the front counter, among many others.
"We've been documenting virtually everything we do here and incorporating it into our system. And it has helped our techs follow repair systems, making them more efficient with less writing, and allowed our front counter staff to be more efficient. It has helped our bottom line."
Jobst said the staff perfects each job function, system, and various procedures and then they are documented and entered into the management system. "By developing these systems with the employees, we have a good idea of what we're all supposed to do. And then we do some cross-training so more than one person can fill in when needed."
While Jobst said he is very satisfied with the management and operations systems that he and B&B staff members have created, he said that being involved in the local community is also vital and rewarding. He said he has been involved with automotive training programs at a local high school and college and was instrumental is getting SkillsUSA automotive programs in area.
"We've also been involved in lots of community activities as it's important to give back," he said.