Hidden Gem

It might just be a coincidence or maybe Windsor, CA-based Drive Rite Automotive has taken inspiration from the wine country surrounding it. 
Much like a fine wine, Drive Rite has built its success on product rather than promotion. With its unique look and operation, the shop is quietly proving to be one of the most successful independents in the nation.

Arguably, the most notable thing about Drive Rite is its lack of notability. The facility features no signs on its outside other than the shop's logo and a street-side sign. Inside, wicker furniture and soft colors adorn a comfortable but unassuming customer waiting area. Soft music plays, and nowhere is there signs or merchandise displays. 

The only real indications this is an auto repair facility and not a hotel lobby are a service desk with "We Strive for Perfection" written across it in script and a menu of services and certifications. Hardly the image of a cutting-edge operation, yet Drive Rite is in the top 2 percent of independent shops nationwide in sales.

Owner Hari Dhaliwal, who formally entered the repair business in 1966, says the key to his shop's success - aside from having "a staff more capable than I am" - is an ASE-certified workforce organized according to specialization. 

According to Dhaliwal, this setup provides a number of benefits. The shop performs a minimal amount of cross work. Technicians work in areas that most interest in them. Dhaliwal says the operation also benefits from the fact that employees aren't placed under assembly-line demands for productivity and time quotas. 

"I believe in letting technicians be technicians," says Dhaliwal. He keeps his techs on salary and provides them with an up-to-date array of equipment, along with 10 wireless terminals with Internet access.

For his part, Dhaliwal brings a wealth of education into the business. He holds a BSC in accounting, an MBA in marketing, completion of a two-year technology automotive program from a community college and an L1 ASE certification. He's taught auto technology at Skyline College near San Francisco for 18 years. 

The shop itself is designed to accept an array of vehicles, everything from small automobiles to P30-size chassis trucks and motor homes. Drive Rite features 10 drive-through bays with 20 extra-wide stalls. When appointment customers arrive, the shop already has a work order pending and ready to print to reduce wait time. When customers pick up their vehicles, the service advisor (the shop employs three highly trained advisors) reads over the invoice line by line to explain the repair and answer any questions.

Dhaliwal says this setup has created an operation with zero comebacks. It's also created an operation in which:

* 73.5 percent of work is done on appointment.

* Promised finish time accuracy is 95 percent.

* The appointment waiting period all year round is four to 10 days. The shop reserves a daily time slot for emergency repairs so no customer is inconvenienced.

Heavy advertising and marketing are not necessary. All advertising is done by e-mail, postcards and an insert in the local paper every two weeks.
In a throwback to the time of the neighborhood service station, Drive Rite also offers free convenience services - complimentary tire repair and free replacement of bulbs or any other small items. Free services ... something worth shouting about at other operations, but at Drive Rite, just another quiet, rewarding way to conduct business.

- By Tim Sramcik