Location Raleigh, NC
Number of shops 1
Years in business 37
Employees 6
Sq. footage 5,000
No. of Bays 6
Volume 50-60 per week
Average repair cost $300-325
Annual Revenue $600,000
Forget about the 40-hour, five-day work week. Running any shop is an exhausting task requiring lots of extra hours dealing with what can seem like an endless stream of business, customer and employee issues.
Then there's the matter of reinvestment in the community and industry. For any shop owner feeling there just isn't enough out there to get involved in, consider the example of Bobby Dunn and Triangle Car Care in Raleigh, NC. Many shops give back, but Dunn may have just set the gold standard.
When Dunn entered the industry in 1969, he faced the same challenges as many repair shop owners. He needed to build a stable, conscientious work force and keep his workers properly trained. He needed assistance with finances and marketing. He also needed to determine just what kind of shop he was going to run. With the help of management training programs and assistance from other professionals associated with the Independent Garage Owners of North Carolina (IGONC), he eventually turned Triangle into the top operation it is today.
1. From left, Audrey Dunn, Bobby Dunn, David Blackburn, David Kriedler, Jeff Weaver and Steven Hulsey.
2. Service Advisor David Blackburn has been with Triangle for 34 years.
3. Nineteen-year veteran technician Jeff Weaver balances a tire.
4. and 5. Dunn says that when added together, his employees' years of service total more than 100 years. That success is due, in part, to Technician David Kreidler and Technician Steven Hulsey, who have each been with Triangle for five years.
( All photos: Triangle Car Care Inc.)
The shop employs only ASE-certified techs; three have Master certifications and one has an L1 certificate. Triangle also offers a range of benefits to its employees, including flex time, full medical coverage and reimbursement for expenses related to training and attending trade shows. Triangle provides a bonus plan to reward performance and recognizes birthdays and work anniversaries, and it sponsors company outings to bring employees together and encourages spouses to meet one another. As an indication of the workforce's stability, all employees own their homes. Their work histories stretch from five to 34 years.
Normally, running a successful business like this for almost four decades would be enough of an accomplishment for many owners. That hasn't prevented Dunn from taking a lead role in directing a host of industry groups and efforts that aid both the industry and his neighbors.
With the IGONC alone, Dunn has:
* Served as local chapter president for two years, a state board member for three years and a vice president for one year.
* Served as state president for two years and on the executive committee for four years.
* Assisted with manning the association's tech help line.
* Mentored start-up shops.
* Helped write "Best Practices" manuals.
Dunn also advised on legislation concerning estimating laws, ergonomics, technical information availability and emission inspections. He has traveled to Washington, DC to discuss Right to Repair legislation.
Outside of IGONC, he has worked with school and community groups to rewrite and update apprenticeship standards. Dunn also has held seminars for other companies on car care and safe driving, promoted decisive driving courses for new drivers and served as a member on a business education leadership council and school-to-career committee.
In addition, Dunn hosts a Saturday morning call-in radio show to advise listeners on car repairs. He makes guest appearances on an evening program and has appeared several times as a panel member on a legislative television show to answer questions on emissions. He has hosted emission inspection awareness clinics around the state, taught an emissions class for new Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) inspectors and assisted the DMV in making a video on emissions inspections.
Dunn remains busy on the home front as well. He and his wife have been foster parents to six children, two of whom they adopted.
While Dunn committed to these interests, he still finds time to oversee the repair of more than 31,000 cars. Shop, family, community and industry - someone might want to check if Dunn has a Superman costume stowed away somewhere in his office.
- By Tim Sramcik
