Mister Collision

By Steve McLinden

Aldo Amirgholi’s autobody training had strict beginnings. An industry veteran of 30 years, Amirgholi earned his certification in auto repair in his native city of Toronto in a five-year apprentice program that spanned more than 7,000 hours.  Unlike the U.S., Canada requires certifications for all auto-repair professionals.

Amirgholi did a little bit of everything in the fix-it biz during those early days in Canada before moving to far-warmer Dallas in 1989, where he rebuilt vehicles for used-car dealers before opening his Mister Collision  business in a no-frills metal building in a business park off the beaten path. There, Amirgholi operated austerely, finally building up enough insurance trade to expand to a larger, more centralized location.

In 2007, he took over his present 11,000-square-foot, shotgun-shaped lease space on major north-south route on Stemmons Fwy. (I-35E) in Farmers Branch, a few miles north of Dallas city limits. The busy shop processes 50-plus vehicles a month for about $1.5 million in annual revenues, said the owner. About half of Mister Collision’s business is referrals.

While the shop works on all types of vehicles, the owner has created a niche in repairing luxury and sport cars. Several of that genre, including 2014 Jaguar XJL and a 2004 Mercedes Benz E55 AMG, were in the shop on an early November afternoon.

Amirgholi is big on first impressions. The Mister Collision reception/waiting area features two long customized glass tables, a widescreen TV on the wall showing jobs in progress, a large aquarium plus art on the wall, along with the shop’s many awards and certifications and several letters from highly satisfied customers. The owner also points to the shop’s A+ Better Business Bureau rating.

Another little touch: Amirgholi limits the use of the reception-area bathroom to customers; staffers use a facility in the back of the complex. “When people see that everything is clean, they feel a lot more comfortable being here and bringing their cars in here.”

Since his arrival in the states, Amirgholi has spent hundreds of hours earning I-Car Platinum and I-Car Gold certifications as well as ASA’s Automotive Service Excellence mechanic certification.

Mister Collision is a Direct Repair (DRP) shop for State Farm and other insurers plus a factory-certified shop for Hyundai, Chrysler, General Motors, Nissan, Honda and Acura, a rarity in the local autobody trade. “We have to have all the right equipment to earn that kind of certification,” he said. “And the costs really add up, but it’s worth it.”

The shop serves the greater Dallas area but draws trade from such local burgs as Irving, Addison and Garland. Some customers come all the way from neighboring Tarrant County and Collin County to patronize Mister Collision.

Amirgholi is a savvy marketer as well. He asks each customer to fill out a short one-page customer survey after their repair jobs are completed and rewards them with a free gift: a glass “Mister Collision” beer mug inscribed “We Met by Accident” and filled with a pen and refrigerator magnet, plus a rolled-up brochure and business card. The survey indicates where customers heard about the shop, be it from a mechanic, insurance agent, friend, the internet, shop website or a recommendation from a car manufacturer as a certified shop, or elsewhere.

“It’s important because I can better target my marketing dollars,” said Amirgholi, who has completed several courses in autobody-shop management. “A shop should always look beyond the next year,” he said. “And if your business gets slow, you have to ask yourself what you should do about it, not just keep on doing what you’ve been doing.”

The owner also emails each customer a full-length calendar each year and sends them thank-you notes after they patronize the shop or get an estimate. He takes cookies to insurance agents and chats them up for the sake of good business relations.

Amirgholi is also a big fan of chronicling the repair process and gives each worker a “priority work sheet” each morning, plus maintaining his own erasable “big board” in his office that covers every step of a project and who is tending to it at present, from an adjuster to body worker to painter. He posts a flow-chart at every work station and has 16 cameras throughout the shop and exterior so he can keep tabs on work in progress while he works in his office. The owner also uses different colored “magnets hats” that he places atop cars so insurance adjusters can quickly identify their customers’ cars.

The shop website (www.mistercollision.com) offers such topics as what to do and not to do after an accident, the importance of genuine replacement parts, plus gas-saving and automotive-maintenance tips and customer testimonials. “This man is absolutely wonderful and is honest as the day is long and I would refer him to anybody,” wrote one customer. “I just cringe when I see other (chain shop) commercials, because I know that Aldo is a single individual and he does great things for people that add value to their cars — things they sometimes don’t even see until after they’ve sold their vehicle. He is a real jewel to work with.”

Among the shop’s many tools of the trade are CSI and Mitchell estimating systems, Spies Hecker computerized pain-mixing software, Accudraft and Blowtherm downdraft paint booths and a Kaiser Rotary air compressor, which is a requirement for all factory-certified body shops. Mister Collision offers a lifetime paint warranty on all refinishes. It also does car-detailing, paint-less dent removal (PDR) and auto glass replacement.

As a community service, Mister Collision participates in the nationwide Wheels to Prosper program which awards a fully inspected and fully repaired car to a deserving individual to help that person get back on his or her feet again. Some of the program’s cars are donated or sold cheaply by customers and the shop then gets them road ready.  Amirgholi often provides loaner cars to people who aren’t covered for rentals.

The owner hosts occasional “family meetings” with his 10-person crew where he provides pizza and discusses things they are doing well and areas that require work. “That makes us feel like we are a big family and lets us get to know each other better. That’s important when you are working as a team.” •

SHARE
Previous articleCatching Up
Next article2016 in Quotes