"It was devastating," Mathews recalls of that fateful night (see sidebar). But for the amount of damages the building itself suffered — a price tag Mathews couldn't pinpoint — his shop was determined to turn the event into a rebirth of a bigger business.
Fast forward 17 months to Aug. 19, 2007, the date Bill Mathews Auto Body reopened in a new 30,000-square-foot building, replete with the latest equipment and paint options. "We were definitely nervous about how this would all turn out," Mathews says.
During the rebuilding process, Mathews has gleaned a few lessons to share with other shop owners/managers who may find themselves the unfortunate recipients of a natural disaster one day. First, he notes that the rebuilding process was not without flaw. Following the catastrophic event, there were issues to address within the city of Springfield.
"Our old building was 17,000 square feet. We were grandfathered into the building, because it was older. When we decided to go to a 30,000-square-foot building, they made us annex into the city, because we had to get city water. That means any building over 11,999 square feet has to be sprinkled," he explains.Therefore, he advises those susceptible to natural disasters to invest in code improvement insurance to help defray costs of, say, sprinkler systems. "Although we did have some code improvement insurance, we had nowhere near enough to cover our sprinkler system. That alone cost close to $90,000," he says.
Mathews, who began working in the shop at age 15 and assumed the manager role at 21 following his father's death, points out a key benefit to rebuilding — the ability to "start from the ground up."
Once rebuilding was confirmed, the entire process consumed Mathews, who is pleased that the shop now can house equipment they may not have invested in so quickly under other circumstances.
Yet another lesson learned by Mathews is when faced with calamity, use it to your advantage to stand ahead of competition. That's at least part of the thought process driving the shop's decision to invest in paint booths that were set up for the shop's new water-based paint capability. "We are now the only one between Chicago and St. Louis who has this capability," he says. "We decided to upgrade, because we've heard that in five to seven years, it will be mandatory. By taking the extra step now, we can stay ahead."
The shop also offers for the first time sandblasting, car washing and detailing, tires, alignments, oil changes, even powder coating, which Mathews believes may be another exclusive in the Springfield area. "We also added a two-bay indoor drive-in estimating area that's used strictly for estimating," he says.Another tip to fellow shop operators: if you are forced to shut down, keep spreading the word about reopening your business to ensure people remember you when it's time to reopen. In Mathews' case, the shop mainly concentrated on keeping in touch with insurance agents and employees. Mathews is optimistic that the shop will be in the "black" by year's end. "One good sign is that we're writing lots of estimates," he says. "And old customers are coming back."
He credits the shop's overall success — prior to and after the storm — to his dad's background in cars, which he willingly imparted to his son. "My dad taught me everything I've ever known about cars," he says.
The new shop continues to step up advertising in shopper magazines and small-town newspapers, as well as television ads. At presstime, the shop also planned a grand opening. The local city and county police departments were expected to make an appearance to demo crash simulator cars and the DUI vehicle.
Next on Mathews' agenda is a fully functioning Web site, which is under construction. And the shop is working to restore all direct repair programs. Having already secured six insurance companies the shop is close to adding other agreements, which existed in the pre-tornado days.
