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Autobody
News
Three generations build a business
by treating customers with care.
Contributed by Karyn Hendricks
Tuesday, 01 April 2003
When David Sanchez was playing high school baseball in San Francisco in the
early '60's, he often found himself heading to his dad's body shop when the game
was over. "I started as a 'go-fer' when I was about 12, and by the time I was in
high school I was a pretty good metal man, and my dad needed me," recalled
Sanchez, now 58 and presiding over his own three sons in a prospering, two shop
operation that grosses $6 million annually.
David's father, Bruno Sanchez, opened his small body shop, Bruno & Sons, in San
Francisco's Little Italy section in 1956. "We were a family of Mexicans in the
middle of a bunch of Italians. We all learned to speak a little Italian and the
people in the community considered us family," said Sanchez.
After a stint in the U.S. Army, David joined his father full-time at the shop
and the business thrived. When his own children developed asthma and couldn't
take the damp San Francisco weather, David moved his family in 1976 to the
Eastbay inland community of Pleasanton and for 18 years made the long drive into
San Francisco. "That drive really wore me down," recalled Sanchez, who had
bought out his dad in 1977 but didn't expand to a second shop until 1991, when
he ended that long commute by opening a 12,000 sq ft facility in Pleasanton near
the auto mall."We drew business from Auto Club, same as we did in the city, and
we started doing a lot of work for the auto dealers." Long before DRP
relationships became critical to a high volume operation, Sanchez says he built
a referral business by "treating each customer with care. We knew they'd come
back, and tell their friends we were the place to go."
The third generation followed David Sr. into the business. Anthony, 32, and
Robert, 30, joined the company out of high school, while the eldest son, David
Jr., 33, first completed a college degree and tried his hand in other fields
before coming back to collision repair.
The Pleasanton shop, which often takes in 25 cars on a Monday, is managed by
Tony Sanchez, assisted by his younger brother, Robert. Making it even more a
family affair is Tony's wife, Kim, who works on administrative matters.
Kim is not the first Sanchez woman to be involved at B&S. David Sr.'s wife,
Dolores, has worked with her husband since the beginning. "She's been by my side
for years and has done just about everything in the office. I used to say she
was our highest paid estimator," laughed Sanchez.
The family opened a new repair center in Livermore in 1999, about ten miles from
Pleasanton. David Jr. manages the 14 Livermore employees in a modern, 10,000 sq
ft shop. The reception and office areas are spacious and boast some decorator
touches, not to mention hot, fresh coffee for customers.
Because the shops are only ten miles apart, some of the work taken in at
Pleasanton can be transferred to Livermore if the newer shop has excess
capacity. About 75% of the business is insurance work, while a constant flow of
vehicles from auto dealers makes up another 25%. Advertising was used with the
opening of each new shop to gain name recognition, but as referral business grew
the advertising was cut back to "yellow pages only."
Nexa
Autocolor and PPG;
Paint is a critical component of any shop's success, and B & S Hacienda is a
long time, satisfied user of PPG paint, according to Sanchez. When PPG acquired
a European paint line, renaming it Nexa Autocolor (formerly ICI), the Sanchez
family agreed to try it at their new Livermore location. "It's a true European
paint," remarked Sanchez, "and the color match is easy and excellent, especially
on the high end cars."
The painters say Nexa Autocolor clearcoat applies more easily than any other
clear they have used, and that the entire Nexa system is simple compared to
other European paints. "Nexa has an incredible selection of color chips, and
that makes matching faster and more accurate," noted Sanchez. Jobber support has
also been a big factor in successfully integrating Nexa into the operation. "Our
supplier, Peninsula Colors, has been very supportive."
Sticks with Car-O-Liner;
Both B&S locations rely on Car-O-Liner equipment for frame repairs. "I went to
NACE in Vegas in 1991, when I was opening the Pleasanton shop, and I entered
this contest and won the use of a Car-O-Liner frame rack for a year." The year
came and went but the Car-O-Liner never left the shop. Now there are seven
Car-O-Liner racks and two Car-O-Tronic measuring systems. "They may cost me a
little more, but I've found that investing in the best equipment saves money in
the long run."
Windshields to bumpers;
About two and a half years ago, Sanchez and his sons realized that a lot of
sublet money was going for glass replacement. "We figured we could do a better,
more timely job, and keep the profits." The in-house glass work soon led to
Hacienda Auto Glass, which today handles glass work both in the shop and on
dealers' lots. The company recently took on another ancillary service line -
spraying Clear Shield® to protect the front end of vehicles from rock damage.
Sanchez believes his customers, many of whom drive high-end vehicles, will
welcome the service and he also sees it dovetailing with his dealer service
business.
The dealers are also receptive to the latest Sanchez venture - bumper repair and
painting. "There's a lot of demand by the used car lots for refinishing the
plastic bumpers and doing minor repairs. We've put three guys in our bumper shop
and trained them well. We'll do a lot cleaner and neater of a job than the
dealers can do themselves. What the dealers want is basically the same thing
that car owners want - reliable, quality service - and that's what we've always
given. That's what our business is all about."
Since that article was
written, we opened our third shop in city of Dublin; December of 2004.
The youngest son, Robert, is managing that facility.
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