Showtime Audio RAISES the Bar

Although he was originally from Chicago, Jerry Villa’s family moved to Los Angeles when he was young. As a result, he was exposed to LA’s car culture at a young age, and found himself drawn to the world of 12-volt. “I had an older cousin who was into car stereo, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever,” Villa said, adding that he watched his cousin work and tried to learn from him.

“We moved back to Chicago when I was 16 and I was still into it.” At 19 years old, Villa went to Mobile Dynamics in Canada and took a two-week course in car audio and fabrication. Over the years, Villa has attended many trainings, including KnowledgeFest, Mobile Solutions, Kingpin University and the first Fish Camp, put on by Dave “the Fish Man” Rivera.

“[Fish Camp] really opened my eyes in terms of fabrication,” he added. “We were already doing fabrication, but [Rivera] took it to a whole different level that we’d never done before.”

Villa opened Showtime Audio in 2002. Currently, the shop has five people on staff, including Villa. Although the team is known for the spectacular show cars they build, they don’t impose limits on themselves. “We’ll do everything from change a fuse to build you a half-a-million-dollar show car,” Villa said, adding that the team approaches every job with the same positive attitude.

“A long time ago, before I was in car audio, I went to a shop to get some work done and they treated me very badly because I was young and didn’t have a lot of money,” Villa said. “I decided that if I ever opened a shop, I would treat everyone the same way because they still work hard for their money, so they deserve the same respect as anyone else.”

Education is a Collaborative Effort at Showtime Audio

The first time Villa went to Knowledge- Fest, he went alone. After discovering how helpful it was, he went back, this time with one of his technicians. “The third time I went, we closed down the shop and all of us went together,” he said. Training is a collaborative effort for the staff because they always compare the notes, Villa added. “Every Saturday, we do a training at the shop, either on something new we want to learn, or something that might have given us trouble during the week.” During morning meetings, the staff stands in a circle in the middle of the sales floor and they go over the previous day. “We talk about whether we had any mistakes, what we did well and what we need to improve.”

Although the staff is not all MECP certified, Villa bought books for everyone. “We’re all studying. I used to be certified a long time ago, but I haven’t been in a while. Since I started going to KnowledgeFest, I decided I had to get certified again, so we’re all going to take the test together.”

Even some of the office staff wanted to be part of it, Villa added. “They said they want to learn about it, too.”

The atmosphere is one of collaboration and open communication. Employees get to choose whether they are salaried or paid by the hour. A basic skills test demonstrates whether a potential new hire has the necessary knowledge, Villa said. “Then we have an interview and we try them out for a couple days to see how they fit into our store culture.”

Most traditional advertising methods are unnecessary for the shop. Word of mouth and referrals attract clientele such as actor Mel Roberson.

Photos by: Damaris Vargas

Open Communication at Daily Meetings Minimizes Issues

When it comes to specific issues with employees, Villa said, the first step is coaching the employee. “I try to take them aside and first find out what the actual problem is and if we can fix it. If it’s a training issue, we train them so we can rule that out. If the problem continues, then we know it’s a choice—not that they weren’t trained properly, or that they didn’t know what they were supposed to do. We try to do everything we can before we fire someone.”

However, Villa added, this is a very rare occurrence because the shop has a low turnover rate. For the most part, the staff has been a part of the store for a long time. “Two have been with me for 16 years, the length of the company, and the other two have been with me six and four years.”

While the shop does not have a standard procedure manual, this is something Villa is working on. “We do have procedures for installations, and we go over things like that in the morning meetings. We are working on a procedure manual and we hope to have that in the future.”

Nydian Villa serves as the business’s office coordinator.

Photos by: Damaris Vargas

Jeovani Rojas is the lead technician at Showtime Audio.

Photos by: Damaris Vargas

For now, encouraging open communication helps to minimize any issues. “The guys know what our standards are.” If not, Villa said, they address any problems at the morning meeting—right away. “We don’t let it get out of hand because we always go over it the next day.”

Sharing Successes and “Two-Second Improvements” Encourages Unity

Morning procedures are structured toward making improvements, Villa said, adding, “We have a lot of reviews, so we share what we call a ‘Raving Fan.’ Every day, we try to read one of our Raving Fan reviews as a group. We also do improvements. I pay for half an hour of time for them to either improve something in their own life, or in the shop.”

This “two-second improvement,” he added, can be anything: “Cleaning something up, building something to increase efficiency, or organizing. They need to do that every day. All of us have to do it every single morning. We come in early to do the meeting, and then the two-second improvement and cleaning, so we’re ready to open.”

As social media director, Damaris Vargas is the in-house photographer and manages the business’s online presence.

Photos by: Damaris Vargas

Upon entering the shop, visitors discover an open floor plan that invites them to explore.

Photos by: Damaris Vargas

Sometimes the improvement involves sharing something new they learned at a training. “If they learned something the night before on a car that kicked their butt, or they just learned something interesting on their own, they can share it with the rest of the staff.”

Any new piece of information that might be helpful in the future is stored in a file labeled “Tech” in Evernote. “We store diagrams, sketches—anything we want to remember that might have been difficult, or something we want to be able to access or revisit down the road.”

“Along with holidays off, we also give them their birthdays off,” Villa said, although most of them choose not to take the day off. “My wife works with me, too, and she buys them a cake with candles and their favorite food for lunch. She

makes a big deal out of it, so they’ll come in to work anyway.”

It’s important to do things together, Villa said. “Sometimes, on a Saturday if it’s a longer staff meeting, we’ll go out for breakfast as a team to change things up a bit,” he added. “I’ll also take individuals out to lunch if they’re going above and beyond.”

Making Clients Comfortable Encourages Them to Return

When customers enter the store, “we ask what brought them in,” Villa said, “and if they say something like, ‘just looking,’ then we invite them on a tour of the shop. We show them around. We also have bottled water with our logo on the label, and we offer them water. We try to make them comfortable with us.”

At daily meetings, employees discuss the previous day, sharing both negatives and positives as well as discussing improvements. The policy of open communication ensures that any issues are dealt with and resolved in a timely manner—as a team.

Photos by: Damaris Vargas

Showtime Audio participates in several charities, including Ice Cream for Breakfast—a children’s charity that benefits kids who are suffering from long-term illnesses.

Photos by: Damaris Vargas

Potential clients get a full tour of the shop, including the install bay. “We’ve had a lot of clients who say, ‘You know how long I have been doing this? And no one has ever shown me their shop.’ I am always blown away by that. It’s like those open kitchens where you get to see your food being made. That’s what I equate it to.”

The shop has an inviting layout, and Villa said this was done on purpose so it’s easy to see everything that’s going on. The team’s greatest success, he added, rests in how they treat their clients.

“I know it works because our clients pay for their jobs, but they still bring us food, or beer for the guys. We’re probably the most expensive shop in Illinois, but they feel the need to do things for us,” he said. “One of our clients consistently gives us season tickets to baseball games. My guys have never been tipped so much at any other shop in their life. It’s amazing what happens when you connect and take care of people.”

Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Brings Consistent Fleet Work

Showtime’s main focus is high-end custom work, including DSP tuning and integration. “We also work with peer-topeer car sharing services—fleet work,” Villa said. An app on a driver’s phone allows them reserve and rent a vehicle anywhere in the city. “You walk up to it, you swipe a card on the windshield, and it unlocks and lets you get in and drive away.”

The concept grew in popularity, Villa said, “And now there’s about five or six companies like that in Chicago with

Photos by: Damaris Vargas

From left to right: Alejandro Caballero, Damaris Vargas, Jeovani Rojas, Jerry Villa and Nydian Villa.

Photos by: Damaris Vargas

According to store owner Jerry Villa, the business is fortunate to have had some big-name clients. Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks is pictured here with Villa.

Photos by: Damaris Vargas

Photos by: Damaris Vargas

similar platforms.” Showtime Audio installs trackers and control systems in these fleet vehicles. The systems track the cars, the mileage, lock and unlock doors, and enable and disable the starters. Drivers who wish to rent out their own vehicles can become a part of the fleet, and Showtime installs the necessary electronics, Villa said, adding that anyone with the app can rent the car from wherever it’s parked. “They are a great account for us. It depends on the day, but they are good for maybe five cars a day in our bay.”

Car Shows and Yelp Reviews Bring Business to Showtime

Since the shop’s main focus are custom show cars, the team is a regular participant in local events. Every March, the shop is present at World of Wheels, a car show that displays a lot of hot rods and muscle cars. The shop also participates in a lot of other local car shows.

While clients do come in and say they discovered the shop at a car show, it’s usually delayed, Villa said. “It doesn’t happen right away. We don’t see those clients until winter, when they can’t use their cars because of the weather.”

The shop tends to be busier during the summer. “We don’t do the volume that other shops do. We’re working on it and trying to be better at it,” Villa said, adding that part of this is due to the fact that their prices are higher.

The shop has never done any largescale advertising. “Yelp has become huge for us. We are the number one rated car audio shop in Illinois, and we have been since their inception.” Growth on Yelp is the result of pure happenstance, Villa added, stating that when customers began to come into the shop and say, “I saw you on Yelp,” he initially didn’t know what it was.

“At the time, we only had five reviews, but they were all five stars. We have about 135 reviews now. It was really cool because it was organic. We weren’t trying to do that—it just happened.”