Real World Retail: Agoura Autosounds

A LEGACY OF TALENT

WORDS BY ROSA SOPHIA

In the 1990s, Jaime Palafox started hanging out in a stereo shop and learning through observation—then by participation. He knew he wanted to work in the industry professionally, so he spoke to the owner and asked for a job.

“I learned with guys who were amazing installers and fabricators,” he said. Palafox worked there for about nine months, learning techniques involving box building, welding, painting, alarm installation and wiring.

His first attempt at business ownership lasted a few years and ended in 2008, he added, when the economy crashed.

After working outside the industry for a little while, he returned to 12-volt, eventually becoming installation manager of another shop, where he handled fabrication, troubleshooting, tuning and system design, and started saving to open a business again.

These experiences, he said, helped prepare him for ownership of Agoura Autosounds.

Nurturing a Family Business

Palafox stated that his ultimate dream is for his kids to eventually take over the business. His sons are 21 and 22, he said, and his daughter—who handles office-related work and billing—is 18 years old. But for the past six months, he’s been working on his own in the bay. Rolando Palafox, who has one year of experience as an installer, recently broke his wrist in a skateboarding accident. In the meantime, Palafox took him to KnowledgeFest Long Beach this year in February.

“[I want to try] to get that fire in him,” he said. “I plan to still keep building stuff and oversee the operation, but I want to get them enthusiastic about this industry. I want to see if I can instill that drive in my sons.”

Palafox added that he could envision having his son Rolando handle the majority of the wiring and electrical work, while he focuses on bigger custom projects. “As soon as he’s healed, I’m going to bring him back in.” Palafox’s other son, who has previous experience as a service writer in a dealership, may come on to assist with sales. He added he also has a friend who sometimes helps him out on weekends if he’s behind.

His daughter, Michelle Palafox, takes care of all the paperwork. “I’m organized, so it’s pretty easy for her,” he said, adding that she also runs errands for him if he needs parts. “If I do get more employees, there are some things we do our way. As long as you use those procedures, it should be pretty easy.”

“[My kids] see the hours I work, so they know I give it all I’ve got,” he said. “I think events like KnowledgeFest and SEMA will be helpful for them because they’ll see another part of the industry that a lot of people don’t see.”

Palafox said hiring family can be problematic, adding that he also has difficulty working with people who have less experience. “I’m kind of hard to work with because I’m pretty picky. It takes me an hour to do a couple of speakers or a radio. If I give this project to my son or another installer, I have five or six hours in,” he said. “I’m sure there is someone out there [who will care as much as I do about my business]. I’m hoping it’s my sons.”

The last time Palafox had another employee, he worked at the shop for a year. “Guys who work here usually leave with more knowledge than they came with,” he said. “You’re going to learn something.”

A Destination in Southern California When Agoura Autosounds opened, Palafox’s already active social media presence helped to spread the word.

“March 15 will mark two years here at this location,” he said. “Before I had time to set up the shop, I had four or five big projects. I hired a small crew. I had my son [Rolando] come with me, and one other guy, and I set up my Yelp page, my Instagram, Facebook—all the free stuff you can take advantage of on the Internet. It’s incredible to see the growth. I have a line of cars outside the shop.”

While looking for a location for Agoura Autosounds, Palafox said, it was important to him that he consider location and territory in order to add JL Audio to his product lineup.

“I tried to stay as far away from the other shops as I could. I had worked with other shops that couldn’t get [JL Audio] because they were so close [together],” he explained. “I worked in this area before, which is 30 minutes from my house. I knew the area really well, and I found a location. I’m off the beaten path.”

Agoura Autosounds has a large bay and the ability to fit about six cars, according to Palafox. “I put windows in my fab room so customers can come in and [look]. I have templates lined up on the board and they can see the wood room stays clean,” he explained. “[Their car is] going to be in a clean facility. You want them to feel comfortable. [Their vehicle is] their baby. Especially in Southern California. We love our cars here.”

The goal is to offer an experience, Palafox added. “If you have an hour-long commute to downtown L.A., I want you to have the best experience possible.”

The business has been doing well locally, Palafox said, and it also attracts people from farther away—as much as a five- or six-hour drive—making it a destination facility.

Customer Care Beyond 12-Volt If needed, Palafox offers additional services that go beyond mobile electronics. Customers never forget that he knows how to do other things, he said, adding that he’ll fix power door locks, power windows—and even do brake jobs.

“It’s more of a service where I’m helping them out,” he explained. “They say, ‘I’ve been driving with my window down for six months,’ or, ‘I can’t roll it down and it’s 100 degrees outside.’” Palafox will check automotive codes and install sensors, too. “Sometimes I’ll fix the car the same day,” he added.

“If I’m putting in new wheels, tires and suspension, and I’ve already got the car apart and I notice the brakes are really bad, I’ll offer to do the brakes,” he said, adding that he’s also fixed headliners that were hanging down over the driver’s head.

His goal in regard to OEM integration is to make the car look like it could have come from the factory with the installation. “I’ll take their trunk and try to turn it into a masterpiece.” Palafox focuses on the theme of the car, its colors and accents.

Recently, he completed an OEM integration project for a customer. “He had big systems in different vehicles. He said [of other shops], ‘It’s never right, and I always complain. They make mistakes.’ He did a lot of research to find me. I said, ‘Whatever it is, we’ll fix it,’” Palafox said.

“I’m not going to run. I’m not going to hide. If I make a mistake, we’ll make it right. No matter what it is, you can count on me.”

Jaime Palafox envisions a future where his kids play more prominent roles in Agoura Autosounds. Rolando Palafox has one year of experience as an installer, and recently accompanied his father to KnowledgeFest Long Beach.

Unique Designs Make Clients Feel Special

Palafox had worked at shops that put quantity first—places with big inventory and large showrooms, he said. “I wanted to do specialty installations,” he explained, “one-off [projects] that make customers feel special.”

Many of the projects that come through Agoura Autosounds are unique custom builds, though Palafox also takes on smaller projects. The shop offers lifetime warranties and endeavors to provide 100 percent customer satisfaction.

Agoura Autosounds makes providing an excellent experience a priority, according to Palafox. The shop also honors lifetime warranties on installations, he added, noting, “If there’s a better way to do things, I try to do it the best way possible.”

He underscored the importance of communicating in a timely way. “I try to do the best job I can to make sure they come back. It takes 100 happy clients to make you look good, and only one to make you look bad. When you go to a restaurant and have a bad meal, you tell everyone. But if you have a good meal, you’re probably not going to tell that many people about it.”

The shop follows a small checklist to ensure customers are happy. “One of the things I want [an installer] to do [after a radio install] is set the clock for the customer,” he said, adding that he also likes to make sure the same radio station presets are fixed for the client. “I think that’s a small detail that a customer can look at and say, ‘Wow, they even put the same radio stations back [that I had on].’”

Jaime Palafox intends to transform his shop into a well-oiled machine, which he hopes to one day turn over to his kids as a family business.

Palafox said the shop will do a full inspection of the car. “When we do a big system, I have [the employee] drive the car around to make sure it doesn’t rattle. Pretend this is your car and you just had this done.” The shop will also check to ensure the windows and door locks operate properly.

Additionally, follow-up calls are an important part of the process. “I give it two or three days, and I’ll send them a courtesy message. About 50 percent of the people will say, ‘It’s perfect.’ The others will say they want to add more bass, [or something else]. It’s your opportunity to make a bigger sale. It’s a way for you to get the customer back.”

Business Driven by Five-Star Reviews

“I don’t spend any money on marketing at all. I hired a company that does marketing, and I didn’t see a big return on my investment. I wish I could say they were very helpful. They would post pictures on social media, but they didn’t know my business and they didn’t know me. They were a generic marketing company. “Yelp is free, and if you can get that five-star review on there, people read the reviews. I have 35 five-star Yelp reviews. People wrote stories and said, ‘He went above and beyond,’ and ‘I was in a bind,’ [and he helped me]. “They come in and say they read my reviews online [and that’s how they found me]. ‘I came here because of the reviews.’ “People will pay more because they’re getting a better service. I’m in the Top 50, and last year I made Top 12. That helps my business. I give thanks to [Mobile Electronics magazine] because I proudly post those plaques on my wall. There’s always room for us to get better.”

Shop’s Online Presence Renders Traditional Marketing Unnecessary

“If I take on too much, I can get overwhelmed. Sometimes my customers get frustrated.” The shop spends zero money on marketing, but sometimes, Palafox said, the fact that he has a very large online following can backfire on him. “I would post a video or something online and get a phone call right away. The customer will say, ‘I see my car in the background. Why aren’t you working on my car?’ “One of the things I learned from where I used to work is, you take all the jobs you can. If they paid money to get that guy in the door, they wouldn’t let him walk, because that’s $200 you didn’t have before. That’s something that can haunt me. Sometimes I take the job and I get spread too thin.” Agoura Autosounds’ online presence handles spreading the word very well on its own, he said. “Some people call and before they even show up here, they’ve already looked at all my stuff. I’m slammed. They do their research.”

Problems can and do arise, he said. “When my son was here, I scheduled cars in assuming he would be here to help me,” he said. “He’s not here, and it put me in a bind. Now I’m staying up late working. I have to because my customers depend on me.”

While noting that he should probably be reusing some of his designs, he said he has difficulty with this. “The artsy part of me overpowers the logistical part [sometimes],” he said. “I am trying to make every car different and cater to that customer. I can’t make the same thing twice.”

During a short lull in work that lasted only a couple of weeks, Palafox used the opportunity to fix up the shop, clean the showroom, organize things and work on his own vehicles. “I installed my own stereo system, and now I have a demo piece,” he said. “I like to put them in my own car and let them listen to it.”

He begins with the best options available and works down from there. “When a customer comes in, I ask them, ‘What is your ultimate goal?’”

They can call him anytime, he said, adding that he will go on-location to help a customer if needed. “I had a customer call me in the middle of the night. He was stranded [because] the car wouldn’t start.”

The client believed the issue was the recently installed remote start, Palafox said. “I was 99 percent sure it wasn’t,” he added. “I drove out there, took a couple tools with me. I banged on the starter and started the car. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. I offer satisfaction, 100 percent. Some of that is mobile service.”

Palafox will often go the extra mile for customers, he said, adding that if he’s running late on the project and has to keep it for another day, he’ll offer additional incentives. Sometimes, Palafox will come up with another idea partway through the project and pitch the concept to the customer. “Fortunately, because the reputation is there, they’ll say, ‘I trust you.’ I love that feeling. They have confidence and trust in me, and I love that.”

Despite Uncertainties, Growth Remains the Goal

With continued growth, Palafox feels he’s gotten better at scheduling and also tuning. “I spend more time doing fine-tuning and adjusting than I used to,” he said. “I think it’s within the last year I’ve grown exponentially. I push to make cars sound better than they used to and have that edge. Now, I have other shops who call me for help with tuning.”

Training is a big part of Agoura Autosounds’ growth, Palafox said, adding that he takes every opportunity he can to attend trainings. He also plans to send Rolando to Mobile Solutions.

“[Training is] beneficial to my business,” he said. “Some people say you don’t need it, and I used to be one of those people. It’s necessary for my business and for me to grow. We learn from our mistakes. The worst thing I ever did was not attend trainings. A lot of them are free and we have to take advantage of it. I think it’s critical to my business.”

Growing the company is the main focus for Palafox, who hopes to get the right crew together so he can take on more jobs. “My stubbornness [could derail it],” he admitted, “[like] trying to micromanage everything. That’s bad on my part. I have to learn to let go a little bit and trust in others.”

If things go according to plan, he hopes to move Agoura Autosounds into a larger facility in the next five years. “I want to make sure the shop is a well-oiled machine,” he said. If things go the way he wants them to, he added, his kids will continue to be involved. “I want to have a plan—a checklist where we come in, answer the phones, attend to the customers. I want the shop to run on its own so it doesn’t require me to be here 100 percent of the time.”