Shop Strategies
Stacey Phillips is an award-winning freelance writer and editor for the automotive industry. She has 20 years of experience writing for a variety of publications, and is co-author of “The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops.” She can be reached at sphillips.autobodynews@gmail.com.
with Stacey Phillips
California MSO Launches Kustomine Software to Help Collision Repairers Work More Efficiently
Body Shops Giving Back
In 1956, Bruno Sanchez opened a David, worked in my grandfather’s 2,500-square foot auto body shop shop growing up. He began running in San Francisco, CA.Stacey He named it it in 1968 and eventually purchased with Phillips Bruno and Son Auto Body Shop and the business in 1980. After opening the goal was to offer honesty, pas- a second location in Pleasanton in sion and craftsmanship. 1991, he changed the name to B&S Over the years, the family busi- Hacienda Auto Body to reflect a ness grew and was eventually re- partnership the company had with a named B&S Hacienda Auto Body. nearby collision repair facility. with Stacey Phillips We recently celebrated our 30th Currently owned and operated by David and Maria Dolores and their anniversary of that location. The three sons, David Jr., Tony and original San Francisco shop was Rob, the company has expanded to eventually sold in 1994. My brother Tony, the general include six locations in the Tri-Val- manager, started working with my ley Area of California. father in 1992. Rob, vice president of with Stacey Phillips dealer relations, joined in 1993. After earning a business degree at Chico State, I came onboard in 1999. Since my grandfather established the first location 65 years ago, we have opened six shops in the Tri-Valley area of California: Dubwith Victoria Antonelli lin, Livermore Southfront Road, Livermore First Street, Pleasanton Old Santa Rita, Pleasanton California Avenue and San Ramon. My parents are semi-retired but In 1956, Bruno Sanchez opened Bruno and still come by the shops. They spend Son Auto Body Shop most of their time doing philanwithofEdB&S Attanasio David Jr., CFO Haci- thropy work, which they absolutely enda, said the Sanchez family has love. always been committed to providing excellent customer service and qual- Q: What prompted the company to ity repair work. develop Kustomine software for the The team recently developed collision repair industry? software, called Kustomine, dewith Gary signed to empower body shopsLedoux with Jeff: I grew up in the same neigha paperless customer experience borhood as David, Tony and Robthat reduces environmental impact, bie and we had been trying to work saves time and money, and provides together for years. Finally, in 2019, cleaner data for the tools used to run B&S engaged my company to build the body shop. a better way to connect with cus Autobody News reached out to tomers from the time they initially David Sanchezwith Jr. andStacey Jeff Hill,Phillips an drop off their car through to the deinformation technology (IT) consul- livery process—from quote to cash. tant who helped develop the prod- Ultimately, we figured out how to uct, to find out more about Kustom- improve this process using modern ine and what led the team to create web development architecture and the solution for the collision repair communication methods such as industry. texting and email.
Tips for Busy Body Shops My SEMA
Shop Strategies
an estimate, they are handed a tablet, iPad or Surface computer to input basic personal information. Then, the CSR or estimator takes pictures of the damage and sends the information to the application, which we call Kustomine. Customers immediately receive a welcome message via email or text, as well as information regarding their insurance policy and rights. The estimate is also created automatically. The solution allows us to take estimate data virtually in real-time and push it to the custom CRM application. The software provides a 360-degree view of the repair so a customer can stay updated about everything concerning their vehicle. It also allows us to remarket to our customer base effectively. Q: How is it currently being used and what has the reaction been from
Product Innovation
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From the Desk of Mike Anderson with Mike Anderson
Q: Can you share some history about B&S Hacienda Auto Body?
Q: Can you provide an overview of the software?
David: My dad, who is also named
Jeff: When customers come in for
42 SEPTEMBER 2021 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com
customers and employees? David: We rolled out the product to our flagship location in Pleasanton in December of 2019. Once we realized how successful it was, we began using it in the rest of our locations. We’ve found that it has led to a drastic increase in customer engagement. During COVID-19, we tried landing every person who came through the door. The product helped us do that with the welcome email/text and providing information about their rights. Jeff: In regard to employees, most of those on the front lines, including the CSRs and estimators, are at least a generation younger than us. Their comfort level with this type of technology is very high and they welcomed it with open arms.
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