Community involvement fosters customer loyalty for Auto Art of St. Louis

placed Jun 27th,2008
by Michael Anderson Click here to view the original article.

St. Louis--If you were to ask Bill Anselmo the reason for his collision repair facility's longevity, he would tell you it's his involvement in St. Louis' "The Hill" Italian neighborhood, where he was born, raised, lives, and has conducted business for more than a quarter-century. However, he said current market conditions have forced him to make some changes to his longtime shop, Auto Art Inc., in order to stay afloat in a rapidly changing industry.

At the onset of his business, Anselmo said he bought the 12,000-square-foot building, a move that has given him greater flexibility today. About a year ago, he said he decided to downsize his business and rent out half of it to a mechanical repair shop, Extreme Automotive, who he now sublets work to.

A new tenant has afforded him the opportunity to reduce his reliance on insurer direct repair programs (DRPs) and continue to draw business from his longtime customers and nearby fleet accounts, Anselmo said. "The general public is starting to understand that they don't have to be directed to a shop for repairs.

"I don't rely on DRPs anymore," he said, adding that he only works with two now. "I find that my customers are my source of income. Repeat customers that have dealt with me for years are happy."

It's common to see Anselmo at neighborhood events on The Hill, such as the annual St. Ambrose Car Show and the Columbus Day Parade, spreading goodwill among family, friends, and neighbors.

Anselmo was quick to point out that he doesn't rest on his laurels. "If you don't put out quality work they'll go elsewhere."

The combination of walk-in collision repair work, business from two DRPs, and fleet work accounts for about 80 percent of business, he said, while the remaining 20 percent is in restoration.

To perform quality collision repair work, Anselmo said his four technicians rely on Mitchell 1 for repair information. "We find it useful for repair procedures on airbags and ABS systems," he said.

When it comes to obtaining parts for the repairs, Anselmo said he tries to purchase from those who are nearby and support his neighborhood.

Anselmo said his cousin, Joe Barbagilia, who owns and operates Southwest Auto Parts, supplies him with DuPont paint that his painter sprays in the shop's Binks cross-flow booth. For the custom colors, he said he uses DuPont's Hot Hues and Valspar's House of Kolor. "DuPont has improved greatly with their color matching," he said of its VINdicator system, which matches color using a vehicle's VIN.

Since Anselmo scaled back the size of his shop, it meant working on only one or two restoration jobs at a time instead of five or so. "Most of the cost in the restoration work is time and materials," he said, adding that he doesn't have to float such a large expense anymore.

At the time of Parts & People's visit, Anselmo and his crew were working on a 1964 Volkswagen Transporter, a unique VW truck that resembles the vintage bus. Central Realty commissioned the restoration on the Transporter that they purchased in Hawaii, which dons a retro paint scheme in GM green, Ford white, and GM red, said Jimmy Phelan, shop manager.

The bed of VW Transporter has panels that fold down, Phelan said, adding that they were rusted out and had to be custom-fabricated. Many of the replacement parts were purchased from Wolfsburg Parts, an online supplier of genuine OE VW and Audi parts, and Wolfgang International, a manufacturer of reproduction VW parts in Redding, Calif., he said.

For OEM crash parts, Anselmo said he buys mainly from nearby Don Brown Dodge and Auto Plaza Ford; and for recycled parts, he said he relies on Modern Import and American, LKQ, and Mack's Auto Parts.

"In today's market, everybody's trying to save a dollar wherever they can," he said, which is why he frequently uses aftermarket or recycled parts. Although, he added, "I give credit to the dealerships who are trying to beat the price of the aftermarket. I always call the dealers to see if they'll match price."

When looking at the business as a whole, Anselmo said it's important to consider all expenses.

"It comes down to gross sales," he said. "We're trying to put numbers together to see how much we're benefiting from a new tenant." In addition to sales, he said he pays close attention to his costs associated with parts and paint and materials. "At the end of the day, it's about the gross profit on each job."

All things considered, a smaller shop reduces the amount of time spent managing the business, he said. "Now there's easier management, easier control of material cost, payroll, taxes, and insurance."