Real World Retail: Traffic Jams Motorsports

Traffic Jams Motorsports diversified during the recession in order to survive. Now, the team is aiming even higher and setting their sights on the national stage.

WORDS BY ROSA SOPHIA

Traffic Jams Motorsports opened 26 years ago in Buford, Ga. according to company president Yamil Widy. “I’ve owned Traffic Jams since September of 2006,” he said. “Our first location was a 2,500-square-foot facility, three miles up the road, and we’ve grown into a 25,000-square-foot facility.”

The move came about by transforming a downturn into opportunity. The recession that started in 2008 forced the company to reconsider its business model with a focus on survival. “That’s when we became more of a one-stop-shop instead of just 12-volt,” Widy explained. “It was

a time of reflection to ensure we did what we could to survive. We were able to purchase our current building during the recession. It was the best decision we ever made.”

As a result of diversifying, Traffic Jams offers numerous services including automotive mechanical work, performance upgrades, turbo installation, engine swaps, upholstery, wheels and tires, window tint, car wraps—and of course, the main focus—car and marine audio. “If one department is having a slow month, there’s always another that picks it up,” Widy said. He added that the company also has a dealer’s license and sells one or two vehicles a month.

Besides the retail side of the business, Widy noted the facility has perfected a process of box-building which they are sharing with other retailers across the country. Overall, Traffic Jams Motorsports’ retail reputation has become nationwide, evidenced by the need for the tractor trailer they use to transport vehicles from all over the country to their location.

With the hope of truly making the business a one-stop-shop for customers, Widy said they intend to add a paint and body department once they expand. The business will be able to offer just about every service to automotive enthusiasts. Plans for expansion are already in the works. “We hope to have 50,000 square feet of facility in the future,” Widy said. “We want to hire more employees. We want to take a bigger market share not just here in Georgia, but in the U.S. overall.”

From Surviving to Thriving in Multiple Categories

Marine audio continues to grow due to shop’s close proximity to Lake Lanier, the largest lake in Georgia. Mobile techs will

At the end of the day, each team member reports on the tasks theycompleted via group chat so it’s always clear what everyone is workingon. Pictured from left to right: Ron Venable, Tyler Jankowski, JeffCheek and Michael “Biscuit” Bischoff.

travel to the lake to work on larger boats, while smaller ones are transported to the bay. “Usually, we’ll have two or three boats here at a time. Marine business is a huge part of what we do.” Fifty-five percent of the business is focused on car and marine audio collectively. Traffic Jams works on boats year-round, and their seasonal focuses include motorcycles, four-wheelers and jet skis.

The shop prioritizes client satisfaction with no-pressure sales techniques, Widy said. The customer waiting area is a fun, comfortable place, complete with arcade machines in the showroom and TVs. “We make them very comfortable, and they’re happy with the quality of our work. The brand we’re selling is Traffic Jams Motorsports. Once they know what they’re buying, they start trusting us and believing in what we do.”

To help increase awareness of the brand, Widy said every car gets a small sticker by the VIN number on the door which states the vehicle had custom work done at Traffic Jams. The sticker has a factory appearance. “I have to give credit to Jason Kranitz of Kingpin University for that,” Widy said. “When the car gets sold or traded in, customers will always know where the work has been done.”

If necessary, the company will pick up customers’ cars at work, home or school and return them when the job is done. The focus is always on the store brand, not the products the store carries. In fact, when it comes to amps, speakers and subwoofers, the only lines offered are JL Audio and Memphis Car Audio. Any other brands in-store are items such as head units.

This past year, Traffic Jams was named to the Top 12 Retailers list, and one of the business’s installers, Michael “Biscuit” Bischoff, earned a spot as a Top 50 Installer. The aim is to do the highest quality work possible, and Widy added that the shop is more expensive than most. “A lot of times this isn’t the place for most people, but those who love us want their vehicles babied,” he said.

The shop also demonstrates behind-the-scenes work on Facebook as a method of gaining the trust of potential clients. Several levels of quality control ensure the job is completed to the highest standards possible. After a second installer checks the job, a salesperson does the same before the vehicle is returned to the client.

Continued Growth by Embracing Change

With a staff of 14, all departments are cross-trained except upholstery. People tend to stick around, Widy said, and the average staff tenure is about six to seven years. Team members keep each other accountable by using a group chat system. At the end of the day, everyone has to submit an individual report on what they completed.

In-house training for new hires follows a handbook and a clear structure with rules and regulations. “The first week is all training,” Widy said, adding that new salespeople are trained by general manager Ron Venable. “We also have mandatory training for all staff every two weeks.”

Processes and procedures help ensure there is good communication between the front of the store and the back. While training is a big part of the business’s continued growth today, it wasn’t always the case. “For the longest time, all we did was put our heads down and work. We didn’t pay attention to what our competitors were doing. We didn’t pay attention to trainers. We just worried about Traffic Jams Motorsports, that’s it,” Widy said, adding that all this changed when Jeff Smith from AAMP Global challenged them to attend KnowledgeFest.

“We went, and we haven’t looked back since,” he said. “Sittingin those classrooms, hearing these guys talk about issues and problems and how they deal with them—it was one of those things where it felt like they were talking directly to you.” While it was difficult to try new things at first, the staff eventually embraced the idea. On the whole, Widy said the staff has become more receptive and open to change. They’ve also made a team decision to work toward Retail of the Year.

Most departments are cross-trained. If one department is experiencing aslow day, staff can help out elsewhere. Pictured is team member AlexSalinas.

Michael Bischoff was named a Top 50 Installer this year. As a team, Traffic Jams plans to aim for Retailer of the Year.

“The staff sees that the changes we’ve made have improved things for the better,” Widy said. “Now, we look at new things and say, ‘Hey—if it makes us better, let’s try it.’” Trainings both in-house and outside the store contribute to continued growth. Widy said Compustar recently came to the shop and provided a fourhour training, including both hands-on product training and sales training. In August, Traffic Jams took the whole team to KnowledgeFest Dallas. “You come back motivated,” he added. “We’ve done that for the last couple years and we plan to continue. Ron and I go to every KnowledgeFest—not just Dallas.”

Strong Presence in the Community Increases Store Visibility

Because the business is so well-known in the local area, much of the work comes through word-of-mouth. With jobs booked two to three weeks out, the only marketing is done online via the Traffic Jams website and social media pages. Widy said they focus on community outreach and charitable work to increase store visibility. Venable handles community-related events, along with sitting on the Buford High School Advisory Board. The shop works with the local high school frequently on events. “Tomorrow they are having a career fair, and we’ll be doing a presentation on what we do,” Widy said.

Additionally, the shop collaborates with another local business—Jimmy’s Tequila and Carnes—to host a car show that’s getting bigger and bigger every year. The first time they had the show, Widy said, there were 50 cars. In its fourth year, the most recent show had 160 vehicles. More vendors are getting involved each year, he added, and this year the show was sponsored by JL Audio and Memphis Audio.

All proceeds from the car show go to charity, and this year’s efforts included a Back to School giveaway for lower income communities. Widy said the shop gave away 400 bookbags with pencils, papers and other school supplies with help from JL Audio.

Each year, Traffic Jams chooses a charity to support. Additionally, the shop sponsors a different needy family every year based on a Facebook campaign they run themselves. The campaign accepts public nominations.

“Last year we worked to help a family who has a baby with hypotonia, or floppy baby syndrome,” Widy said. “We outfitted a Toyota van for them with help from DS18, and a bunch of different vendors. We added wheelchair access, a TV, window tinting—made it very comfortable for the child.”

People who won money at the last car show donated it back to the cause, he said, adding that those in attendance wanted to help. “We also noticed a mix of nationalities at the car show—white, black, Hispanic, Asian,” he said. “When you do good, charitable work, people come together and forget race. It was cool.”

Aiming for the National Stage

Traffic Jams continues to build a national reputation, Widy said, which is one of the team’s goals. If there’s a downside to such rapid growth, it’s probably that the business has grown too fast, he said, and as a result it’s been hard to find enough qualified help as quickly as necessary.

Widy and Venable have been traveling all over the country in search of technicians outside the local market who might be interested in relocating. “We run into an overload of work and not enough hands to get the work out,” he said. “It’s a good problem to have, but it’s still a problem.”

The facility works on vehicles from all over the country and uses a tractor trailer wrapped with their logo to transport cars. The truck also features JL Audio, the company that sponsored the wrap. To accommodate this growth, Traffic Jams is focused on acquiring a second facility—a free-standing building next door.

“It would be the same location, but expanded,” Widy said. While accommodating their box-building department, Traffic Jams Motorsports Performance Enclosures, the second building would also house a paint and body department.

The current expansion of the road in front of the business’s location will mean more traffic, and more people noticing Traffic Jams Motorsports while driving by. The area is growing fast, and Amazon will be moving in just across the street. This will mean increased activity, and Widy hopes it will also mean an increase in the business’s customer base. “We’re starting to look at ourselves not just as part of the local market,” Widy said, “but also on the national stage.”

When it comes to amps, subs and speakers, Traffic Jams only sellsMemphis Audio and JL Audio. Outside of that, the business sells radiosand head units from other manufacturers, such as DS18 and Sony.

Groupon for Remote Starts Proves a Failure

“We were not doing as many remote starts and alarms aswe wanted to, so we did a Groupon to try to kickstart thecategory. We had a lot of people wanting to do it, and wecouldn’t do them all. We also chose the wrong product and wewere having issues with their equipment within six months.We ended up having to take out the product, and put anothervendor’s product in, and it cost us more headache and moneythan it was worth.“[If we did it again] I would choose a better vendor. Wepartnered with another vendor, told them the situation andthey brought us their product and we swapped them out. Itwas probably about 50 remote starts. We have stepped outof that. We don’t need to do $199 remote starts to get peoplein the door. Now, people are coming in and we’re just focusingon higher quality builds. Our mentality has changed over theyears. We’re trying to be considered a powerhouse, not just alocal shop that does anything. We’ve learned to say no.”

Every two weeks, the staff takes part in mandatory training, and they also travel to trainings outside the store—including KnowledgeFest.

JL Audio Always Ready to Assist with Training and Charity

“We’ve been with JL Audio for 15 to 16 years, and we’re considered one of their biggest accounts in the southeast. They support us on our car show every year, and this year with our KnowledgeFest expenses. JL has even paid us to go to Miramar, Fla. to train. If we come up with an idea for something, they’re always the first ones willing to help. “When we did our bookbag drive, I called up my rep and told him, and the first thing he said was, ‘What do you need?’ I told him what it was costing me, and that I had to purchase 400 bookbags with supplies. They said, ‘You have a care package on the way. Sell it retail and recoup your money.’ “We did a charity drive when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. We called our customers, and we expected a few things here and there, but our showroom was full ten feet up in the air with all kinds of perishable goods, Pampers, water and toiletries. JL Audio helped us get that to Puerto Rico. “We’re a little bit nontraditional here when it comes to 12-volt because we only carry two main lines for amps and subs—JL Audio and Memphis Car Audio. We carry radios from different manufacturers, but speakers, amps and subwoofers are only JL and Memphis. “The VXi amplifiers have been a major influence for us. Customers love them. They look great and sound great. If you take out what they sell and just focus on JL Audio as a company, they’re a great company with good people. Right now, we’re most excited about the new VXi amps for marine.”

FAST FACTS

Location: Buford, Ga.

Number of Locations: 1 Square Footage: 25,000

Type: Traditional Retail Number of Employees: 14

MAIN FOCUS

55% Car and Marine Audio

20% Wheels, Tires and Lift Kits

20% Window Tinting

10% Automotive Repair and Performance

KEY STAFF

President: Yamil Widy

General Manager: Ron Venable

Bay Manager: Kelly Rush