SHOP STATS: First Class Sales and Service Location: Smyrna, Tennessee Operator: Ron Janbakhsh Average Monthly Car Count:23 Staff Size:14 Shop Size: 21,138 square feet DRPs: 1 Annual Revenue: $1.1 million
A Business Built on Family
1. For First Class Sales and Service owner and general manager Ron Janbakhsh, collision repair has been a part of his life since he was a child. His father, who’s been involved in the automotive industry for around 30 years, owned both dealerships and a collision repair shop, so he learned several aspects of automotive repair from a young age.
“My father had both the dealerships and the body shop, so they’d do some auto body work at the dealership, but the rest was completed at the shop,” he said.
Janbakhsh’s father sold his businesses, and in 2017 purchased approximately 4 acres of land and built First Class Sales and Service from the ground up. The state-of-the-art collision and automotive repair business opened in 2018 in Smyrna, an area Janbakhsh’s father was familiar with, having owned a dealership in the region in the past.
A Flare For High-End Design
2. Janbakhsh had a large say in the overall design of the shop, and worked without the assistance of outside consultants to turn his vision into reality. One of his top priorities for the front of the business was for visitors to be greeted with a large, customer-friendly waiting area.
It was his wife, who used to own a dance studio, who had a large influence when it comes to the the upscale decor seen around the front of the business.
“She chose the wood walls that line the office, as well as the granite floors. Her belief is that the quality of the business should resonate from front to back, to let customers know their vehicles would receive the highest quality repairs possible,” he says.
The Janbakhsh’s believe in keeping up with trends and uniformity, so much so that the outside of Ron’s house is the same color as the exterior of the shop. The shop is truly an extension of the family’s life, as the pool table and saltwater fish tank that greet customers were taken directly from Janbakhsh’s home.
Janbakhsh says he is fond of the fish, and they are also a favorite amongst his customers, with many asking what type of fish are in the tank, how to care for them, etc.
“It’s interesting to see what people notice (when they first walk in), and the fish are always a big hit,” he notes. “A lot of customers will come in and tell us that a lot of body shops they’ve been in, they didn’t even want to sit in the waiting area because it was so dirty or plain. So it’s a point of pride for us to have our customers respond so positively.”
World-Class Shop Floor
3. Because the business handles both collision and service repair, the back area is divided into two areas, one dedicated to each department. Janbakhsh says everything on the shop floor is state-of-the-art, and he’s always looking to add more innovation to help ensure his technicians and other employees are working with the best equipment possible
“We’re focused on ensuring our customers receive the highest level of service possible, and a big part of that is ensuring employees have access to and are trained to use some of the most modern equipment available,” he says.
The shop has its own paint booth, and all services are done in-house, with nothing sent out to a third party.
“We can pretty much handle any auto body issue that comes through the shop doors,” he says.
Janbakhsh currently handles the shop’s day-to-day operations, but he hopes he can pass the business on to the next generation in his family in the near future.
“I’d like them to have something to be proud of and involved in, just like I was growing up,” he says. “I know we have a bright future ahead of us.”
