Cheerfully embracing a united front among three generations, the Barbera family’s Union Collision exudes high energy as they enthusiastically approach each workday with an affable sense of humor accompanied by a can-do attitude.
| At A Glance |
| Union Collision |
| Name of shop |
| Union, NJ |
| Location |
| Barbara and Kenny Barbera |
| Owners |
| One shop with five buildings |
| Number of shops |
| 36 |
| Years in business |
| 20 |
| Number of employees |
| 7 |
| Number of DRPs |
| 22,000 |
| Square footage of shop |
| 30 |
| Number of bays |
| $2,808 |
| Average repair order |
| 44 |
| Number of customer vehicles per week |
| Sherwin-Williams |
| Paint supplier |
| Car-O-Liner |
| Frame machines used |
| CCC |
| Estiating system used |
| www.unioncollision.com |
| Internet site |
The people at this business appear to genuinely enjoy each other’s company.
“Family is what Union Collision is all about,” says Mike Barbera, who serves as co-manager along with his brother Nick. Also on the job are their parents, Barbara and Kenny, Grandfather Frank, and a 19-year-old cousin just entering the industry as an apprentice body technician. The family atmosphere is further nurtured even among non-Barbera staffers with two father-and-son teams at work out on the shop floor.
“Each family member has his or her own strengths, which we utilize to the fullest every day,” Mike says. “We are a normal family who happen to work very closely together. Of course, we get on each other’s nerves at times – but we respect how lucky we are to be working together to achieve a common goal.”
And that goal revolves around delivering quality repairs at fair prices.
“Our marketing message is not what we say but what we do,” says Mike. “We treat every person who walks through our front door as if they are a friend. We always keep the customer’s best interests in mind. We want everyone who comes to us to be a customer for life,” he points out.
“This has worked wonders for our business,” according to Mike, designated as the family’s spokesman for this Shop Profile. “Our customers trust us, and because of that they recommend us to their friends, family and neighbors. A quality repair done by people you can trust is what keeps our customers coming back time and time again,” he says.
“Word of mouth and our reputation has been all we need to keep the business going so far. We do some repairs for gratis and in return those customers trust us when more extensive work is necessary,” Mike explains.
“For example, if a bumper becomes dislodged from a vehicle we will reattach that bumper for no charge. We will also buff and touch-up any vehicle upon request and ask for nothing in return except to remember us when they need any future car repairs,” he says, adding that “these small but significant gestures show our customers that they can trust us, and our bottom line is not as important to us as the goodwill that these services generate.”
Located in Union, N.J., which is part of New York City’s metropolitan region, “we serve the surrounding communities because this is where our family was born and raised. This is our home. We want to be able to help anyone who had the unfortunate experience of being in a car accident.”
Reciprocal respect
A strong wage and benefits package that includes a matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation and sick time plus full tuition reimbursement is augmented by a pleasant and positive work environment that encourages longevity among the staff. An apprentice program assists in attracting younger hires who begin their careers working after school, on weekends and during the summer, eventually culminating in full-time employment. The recruiting process tends to be relative – candidates are typically related to existing staffers.
“We know what their parents bring to the table in terms of work ethic and skills, so it is a no-brainer to hire those that we know,” says Mike. “Over the past 10 years we have had little employee turnover, which is a huge advantage in our industry. Our employees know what we expect of them and we know what they expect from us,” he notes.
“We all know that without great customer service we wouldn’t have any customers. We enjoy the interaction with different people on a daily basis, and customer service comes naturally to all of us,” Mike reports.
“We treat every employee with respect and, therefore, they reciprocate. Our employees are an extended part of our family. Without them the shop wouldn’t be what it is today. They watch us interact with our customers and know how we interact with them. We expect that they follow our example,” he says. “They have all been with us long enough to know how to treat those who come through our door. Everyone within our company treats others as they would want to be treated.”
A focus on continuous and cooperative education assists in ensuring that the latest in sophisticated repair techniques are implemented throughout the operation. “Our longtime employees enjoy teaching, and it seems to form strong bonds between them,” says Mike. “We also make sure that they learn from multiple employees so they can take what they learn and turn it into their own style of repairing a vehicle.”
The Union complex consists of five separate structures in close proximity. An electrical fire several years ago ultimately resulted in a renovated office building that also houses the main work area.
“Although stressful at the time, we used this as an opportunity to redesign our shop and office,” Mike recounts. Administrative space was doubled and the latest shop equipment purchased. “The fire forced us – but also helped us – to create a new shop better suited for the cars on the market today.”
Another structure is exclusively utilized for ensuring flawless finishes. “Having one building dedicated to painting vehicles is a huge advantage. Not performing any bodywork in this building reduces the possibilities of any imperfections one may see in the final refinished job,” he notes. “This stand-alone facility also allows us to minimize any chemical contaminates which might affect our final painted product.”
Established in 1982, the business got its start when Kenny Barbera was working as a mechanic in one of the buildings on the property. Next door was Emmel’s Body Shop; upon retirement Emmel offered to sell the then-modest enterprise to Kenny, who leaped at the opportunity and subsequently embarked on ongoing expansion efforts.
Partnering with professionals
A policy of continuous improvement includes investing in state-of-the-art equipment and applying lean production techniques. The cars are disassembled and blueprinted upon arrival.
“We have taken the ‘concept lean’ and made it work for us. It is a commonsense approach to repairing a vehicle. We work smarter now as a result. We try to spend as much time as we can doing a proper estimate, often asking each other for our respective opinions on the repair. The better the original estimate, the more efficient the repair process will be for both us and the vehicle owner,” Mike says.
“We also schedule vehicle repairs throughout the week and do not rely on the old ‘in on Monday and out by Friday’ routine,” he elaborates. “We realize that we can only work on a certain amount of cars on a given day. The more time we work on them the less time they sit idle, which is best for everyone involved. Partnering with other professionals who excel in their field is how we hasten the repair process.”
Some of the suppliers have been selling goods and services to the Barbera family for 36 years.
“They know exactly what we want in terms of customer service. We have formed friendships with them. Teaming with the correct dealers and vendors, who have knowledgeable and friendly employees, makes our job easier,” according to Mike.
“We also order all parts by email, which gives our vendors a detailed list and helps to eliminate errors. Often we include photos of the vehicle and they suggest other parts or structures of the vehicle we may want to check. They work with the same makes and models day-in and day-out, and their knowledge of the vehicles and their construction aides us in the repair process,” he says, adding that suppliers will frequently go to Union with their own personal vehicles.
“We take great pride in the fact that they deal with many different shops, some having their own in-house body shops, but still choose us to repair their cars. This reinforces how strong our bond is with our vendors, which only helps our customers.”
Although the family strives to maintain amicable and smooth-running relationships with insurers, bumps in the road include insufficient labor rate reimbursements, pressure to procure low-priced parts and an insistence on overly quick cycle times.
“Some companies will call us multiple times per day to check on a vehicle’s status in order to cut down on rental costs,” Mike reports. “If they were concerned about the repair they would ask how it was going – not when it would be done. We are the ones who have to warranty our work, and we are the ones who have to sleep at night knowing we are fixing a vehicle that is going back on the road with a family riding inside of it. Their job is to pay to restore a vehicle to its pre-loss condition, and ours is to restore it. It is and should be as simple as that,” he asserts: “We will never allow them to dictate how or when to repair a car, but it is an ongoing challenge that we face.”
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