39 | ASP February 2017
Business
servicing the Subaru
brand, a natural
result from Tom's 10
years of experience
as a senior Subaru
technician and a
healthy population
of the brand in his region. He mentioned that
offering specialization in a brand sets the
shop apart from competitors.
Business philosophy
Tom notes that his shop "strives for honesty,
integrity and the highest level of quality
service on a daily basis. at philosophy simply
stands the test of time. Building customer
loyalty isn't difficult when you steadfastly work
to treat people properly." He states that his
team of technicians makes a point to com-
municate with and educate their customers so
that they have a better understanding of the
work necessary to execute the repair.
Parts purchases
When asked about parts
buying decision influences,
Tom was adamant about the
issue of quality. "Quality
is the number one priority
when it comes to select-
ing our parts, along with
availability and timely
delivery and brand name
recognition. e price factor
is important, but it's less of a
decision-maker as compared
to quality. A maker's promo-
tion that's focused on racing
does not influence our parts
buying decisions."
Tom notes that about 70%
of their parts purchases are
from ACDelco, about 10%
from dealers and the rest
from Advanced/Carquest
and APW Parts Warehouse.
How Auto Service Professional
benefits your business
When asked about the benefits of receiving
the magazine, Tom notes that, "I very much
enjoy reading the magazine because I get to
see the approach that other shops around the
country take, enabling a shop owner to glean
good ideas from other shops and implement
them. ere are so many good articles,
ranging from different products, TSBs and
insightful technical articles. e magazine
offers a wealth of knowledge that any shop
can find useful and beneficial. We look
forward to each issue." ■
(Left) Best's wait-
ing room is clean,
visually appealing
and comfortable.
(Right) Each of the
shop's lift locations
includes a cushioned
anti-fatigue mat to
both reduce techni-
cian foot and back
strain and to protect
the painted floor sur-
face. A great idea.
(Right) The shop's
latest addition
features a taller
ceiling, color-cod-
ed walls, painted
floor and three
additional lifts.