Pennsylvania shop builds business on first impressions

Jan. 1, 2020
When customers enter the front office of Noaker's Auto Body in the small town of Duncannon, Pa., north of Harrisburg, they're struck by a couple sensory reactions. People comment, "It doesn't look like a body shop. It doesn't even smell like a body s
When customers enter the front office of Noaker's Auto Body in the small town of Duncannon, Pa., north of Harrisburg, they're struck by a couple sensory reactions. People comment, "It doesn't look like a body shop. It doesn't even smell like a body shop."

Yet there's no mistaking the type of business Robert Noaker owns.

"These reactions — they're intentional," Noaker says. "We don't want to look like the standard auto body shop. We made the decision to operate our office in a separate building from the shop. We now hang up photos of mountains and rivers to replace the certification plaques that used to mark their spots on the walls. We found that nobody outside of our industry cares about (those plaques)."

The certifications now reside in folders, although they're certainly nothing to sneeze at. The I-CAR Gold shop also is ASE-certified and filled with ASE master technicians.

The feedback regarding the shop's front office cements Noaker's decision, enabling him to stand apart from his competition. "We hear from customers all the time who are shopping around that from the start our shop 'looks much better,'" he says.

The "look" has ultimately translated to the bottom line. Having opened in January 1999 with revenues of about $110,000, Noaker's pleased, even humbled, to report revenues of $1.7 million in 2007. His ballpark estimate for 2008 is to the tune of more than $2 million. Some of those revenues can certainly be attributed to direct repair programs — 14 in all, along with a couple dealership arrangements.

The profitable business is outgrowing itself already. Four years ago, Noaker built a new shop, based on demographics data indicating the building would be "plenty big" to fulfill his shop's then-current needs. Yet by early this summer, the 5,000-square-foot shop will build an addition that will add 19 bays and 12,000 square feet to existing space. Noaker says he is pleasantly surprised by the increasing amount of business for a shop whose radius now spans approximately 40 miles and relies mostly on word of mouth.

He credits the shop's success to his 15 loyal employees, one of whom includes his wife, who handles the bookkeeping. The number of employees has consistently grown since the beginning and will likely climb with the completion of the new addition. "I haven't lost an employee I wanted to keep," he says. He attributes that in part and half-jokingly to the fact his shop has air conditioning.

Although he really doesn't struggle to keep employees, Noaker still invests in incentives such as training opportunities and his restaurant plan. He set up accounts with several restaurants in the area. Each of his employees receives $40 per month, which they can save and then use to take their families out, for example.

And if the employees look forward to their restaurant incentive, Noaker's practically a kid in a candy shop when it comes to another aspect of the business: equipment. "If something new comes out, we usually try to get it. Some might call me a toolaholic," he admits, confessing that back when he was working two jobs, he'd spend his entire paycheck from one of his jobs strictly on tools. Recently, the shop invested in a new frame rack, and Noaker currently is eyeing a new paint booth, since the current one runs 14 hours a day.

Speaking of hours, Noaker plans to remain committed to his shop's Monday through Friday schedule. "I realize we could get more business by being open on weekends, but I don't want to push the guys," he says.

The business appears to be boosted by the debut of 30-second V-Status video updates e-mailed to customers, which show their cars being repaired. "Customers love it. Many will watch it more than 10 times," he says. The shop can track how many times it is viewed and hopes to obtain work e-mail addresses this way to drive future business. "We're assuming the video gets shown to their coworkers and hoping this translates to future work for us."

The video is practically the extent of advertising for Noaker's, aside from local promotion via softball teams or other community involvement, including the occasional decal on local ambulances.

Noaker considers himself fortunate with how his business has grown, considering his roots were rather simple. He started out as a diesel mechanic when he was a teen and initially worked on tractor-trailers. Soon he was tinkering with trailers and cars and later found himself managing a car shop.

Today, he serves on an advisory board of the Pennsylvania College of Technology, which has a program dedicated to collision repair — 20,000 square feet is reserved for auto body. As he's gotten to know some of the students, Noaker recognizes his shop's potential recruitment benefits down the road.

As for technology, the Web site is evolving. The e-mail feedback he receives regarding the finished product often takes Noaker by surprise. "Many tell us post-repair that they can't even tell the car was wrecked. It surprises me," he says. "People's expectations seem so low with regard to body shops."

If he wasn't running the body shop, spending 60 hours a week there, Noaker says to look for him on the golf course. The reality though is that there's not much time to golf when running his fruitful business. "Really, the employees keep me going in this business," he says.

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