Patience rewarded

Luxury vehicle owners in central Kentucky face an interesting dilemma when they’re in need of collision repairs. Lexington-based South Broadway Collision Center performs manufacturer certified repairs and can handle any luxury vehicle make from Acura to BMW to Mercedes to Range Rover. But there’s one catch. Customers who aren’t used to waiting might have to get in line because the waiting list for services at South Broadway is 40 customers long; and there’s no sign of it getting any shorter because South Broadway has built a reputation that proves it’s worth the wait.

South Broadway’s facade was renovated several years ago to produce an attractive three-story office. Click here for more photos.

That reputation grew out of interesting circumstances that transformed the shop’s business, appropriately enough, over time. South Broadway was founded in 1997, but its history extends further. The business took root when a collision center for a Mercedes Benz dealership shut down in 1985. Then, a core group of technicians took new jobs at nearby European Autobody Specialists, a 17,000-square-foot shop that started up to take on the available Mercedes Benz work. Twelve years later, a new owner stepped in and moved the shop’s employees and equipment into a brand new, 40,000-square-foot building that became South Broadway.

As the shop’s location changed, so did its focus. South Broadway expanded from concentrating on Mercedes Benz and European luxury models to adding high-end Asian imports. Currently, the large 42-bay facility repairs an average of 25 vehicles a week. It does so using a system that keeps as much attention as possible on each repair.

The South Broadway repair system is pretty basic – one technician per repair. Company president Douglas Trulock explains that once a vehicle is scheduled, one technician handles all the work – mechanical, body and frame, teardown and reassembly – only turning the vehicle over to painters and detailers for other chores. The system keeps the work organized and ensures quality by keeping the technician focused on the needs of a single customer.

The receptionist greets customers, 70 percent of whom are brought to the shop from word of mouth advertizing. Click here for more photos.

Though this setup might seem to slow cycle time, Trulock says it’s the best way for the shop to deliver an efficient, quality, timely repair. Trulock says he’s attended several conferences about lean, but the assembly-line approach often tied to lean doesn’t fit his business model. Instead, his shop’s lean approach is to speed repairs by using the best equipment and materials available and to employ workers with the most complete and up-to-date training available.

As such, the shop places a premium on training and certification. Most techs are I-CAR Platinum Certified, and all are I-CAR certified in MIG or TIG welding, helping the shop maintain an I-CAR Gold status since July 2005. Each technician also holds certifications from at least one vehicle manufacturer.

South Broadway has invested heavily in certifications during the past decade. In 1999, it became Lexus certified. In 2004, at the request of a local Jaguar dealer, the shop earned a certification in aluminum repairs when the aluminum-bodied Jaguar XJ was introduced. (Jaguar requires its dealers to operate their own certified shop or to sponsor one.) In 2008, the shop became the first Kentucky shop to obtain Mercedes Benz certification.

The home-like waiting area has a residential feel and prominently features shop certifications. Click here for more photos.

To ensure vehicle owners can take advantage of these certifications, South Broadway keeps its scheduling system as fluid as possible. Repairs are scheduled weekly. The shop takes all the work it can, while making sure the workload doesn’t impact quality or cycle times.

“Our production manager has his finger on the pulse of what each technician can handle,” Trulock says. “He continually checks with them to see what we can handle. Heavily-damaged vehicles also are thrown into the weekly mix. We get a certain number of drop-ins or tow-ins a week. We give them priority because they’re non-drivables.”

The shop also gives plenty of priority to holding onto its highly trained employees. Experienced manufacturer-trained technicians who handle mechanical and body repairs aren’t easy to come by. South Broadway maintains its work force, in part, by paying its techs at least 20 percent more than the rest of the local market, Trulock says. The market consists of three other shops that, with South Broadway, account for a projected 71 percent of the available area repair dollars.

Along with keeping the shop’s work force in place, the higher wages also contribute to better work quality.

“We’re not simply expecting the tech to make more money,” Trulock says. “The point is to have techs worry less about pay so they can give more attention to the repair.”

Considering the type of customers, the approach is working. The shop isn’t attracting those folks through heavy marketing. Trulock says 70 percent of his business comes from word-of-mouth advertising, with dealerships and several DRPs generating the rest.

As for the 40-customer waiting list, before the current recession, it was even longer, with 70 to 90 vehicles in line each week, Trulock says. That’s a lot of people firmly believing their patience will be rewarded.