Blog Post 1

·   For my interview I chose to interview a Luis Deltoro. He along with his father recently opened an auto body shop, B&M Collision in Oakland CA. They have been successfully running their shop since 2006. Luis is 26 years old and has a vision of building and developing his shop to be as profitable as possible. Currently he has closed escrow on a shop alongside his. He plans on expanding his shop floor increasing the amount of business he currently gets. In the interview he explains the importance of real estate. Personally I think I can learn a lot from him, not only proper office upkeep, but proper business techniques as well.

How did you get started in this field?  What was your educational background?  What are your major responsibilities? 

o   I got in this business, through my father. Through him I was to make great decision, learn from his decisions, and put me in the positions I ma now. My education is real life experience and though my father’s mentorship I was able to start my on auto body shop. My major responsibilities, all paper work, all bills are paid, work on tax’s, customers, negotiations, estimating, and insurance claims.

·      What is the most rewarding aspect of your job, least rewarding?

o   The most rewarding is getting the recognition form a customer of our great customer. To see our customer near tears to see their car restored to better condition is the absolute best feeling that I can explain. The least would have to be a disappointed customer. Knowing that they tare unsatisfied really brings me down.

·      Would you choose this career again?

o   I would. Please me that I am not only successful but benefit other people.

·      In choosing the location of your shop, what did you take into consideration?

o   At our current shop, space was a huge factor; in addition to the prices place a big factor.

·      I know that you are expanding your shop. How do you see the new real estate that you are investing in is going to improving your business?

o   Tremendously! It will change virtually our whole shop attitude. We have added space that has improved our perception. We have noted that our customers feel more relaxed, and with that are more willing to recommend our shop to others. Customers really do enjoy clean, and enjoyable scenery.   

·      What is a “typical” day like for you?

o   I generally walk in and check voice mail messages, speak with father to see what needs to get done throughout the day. We walk through the shop and see where all our employees are with their task, and see where everything is. I then return to the office and handle all my accounting paper work, reviewing what parts were ordered and their statuses. I then work on any insurance claims and estimates and schedule meetings with both customers and insurance angence. Unless I have cars being completed I review all the task and made sure they are moving along, and order parts for the next day.

·      What obligations does your work put on you outside of the actual job?  What are some lifestyle considerations for this career?

o   Being a Business owner, my day rarely ends when the shop doors close. I try to leave the paper work all in the office, but I constantly have the grind of planning my next day; thinking about scheduling appointments with insurance agents, clients, and how to improve my shops functionality. I would say that I have a good relation ship with my customers, so I often have to walk them through the whole claim process, and what the steps are going to be to get their cars fixed. In addition I sometimes have to head to the shop at random hours of the night or weekends when we are close to receive customers cars who have been in an accident.

·      If I were to join your company with the expectation of owning my own shop, what entry-level positions should I look into?

o   Education. I would put you in a position where you would have to do some of the “dirty work”. You have to have a hands on approach, learning how the whole process. Actually learning how long and what is needed for the shop to run. Once you have an idea of the work that is needed, you also have to learn how to interact with customers, and properly do paper work. I would say you have to work your way up from the bottom to trolley understand the business.

·      What kind of salary range and benefits are typical of an entry-level position in this field?

o   It would trolley depend on your experience, but roughly $16-25 an hour.

·      What kind of an individual (skills and personality) is best suited for these entry-level positions?  What are the most important factors used when hiring?   

o   I can’t stress the importance of customer service in this business.  He cant be shy, talkative, confident not necessary energetic, but charismatic. In addition well organized. You also need to be mentally strong, because not everyone you are going to be dealing with is going to agree with you, and not everyone is going to express it in a productive manor.

·      What is the best educational preparation for a career in this filed?  Which classes and experiences would be most helpful to obtain while still in college?

o   The classes I would recommend would be communication classes. In addition any type of phycology class that will help you more or less read body language, which will help ques from customers. This will help greatly in negotiations with both customers and insurance agents. In addition management classes, will help orcistarating a company. Proper writing is also very important. Generally all your business classes will benefit you.

·      How high is the turnover?

o   Profit will be high if you manage your shop correctly. If you are able to run your shop efficiently you will come up. New shops come and go, but the ones that are managed correctly you succeed. Also the better customer service you provide the better recognition you will get, improving your profit.

·      What are typical policies about promotions from within?  How are employees evaluated? 

o   The main way that I evaluate my employees are through there attendance, efficiency, and ability to complete the job properly. Also the ability to interact with customers. Attitude is also very important, coming to work with a good attitude and is ready to go to work. 

·      If I were to looking to start my own auto body shop where would you recommend.

o   Reading a book is only going to get you so far. I recommend working with a shop, learning everything. Diving in, and getting yourself involved in the whole aspect.

·      What is the future outlook for this career?  What are the areas of potential growth and decline?  How do you see jobs changing in the future?

o   The whole industry is constantly changing. Through technology advances we have to develop with them and learn how to follow trends in the auto market. People are always going to be in accidents, and ideally the business should strive.