MINUTE WITH A MANAGER
Q. What is your best workday?
A. Every day, because when we send cars back home to happy owners, it’s a great day. We don’t solicit online reviews, though we probably should. When our customers take extra time to call or stop back in to express their appreciation of how wonderful their vehicle looks, there is great satisfaction in that.
Q. Why I love working for my business:
A. Three of four siblings work at the business, and there is something satisfying about following in our dad’s footsteps. I grew up in the business and learned from the best, but I don’t do it because Dad did. I took to the business at an early age. We have a great crew of people well-skilled in the craft, and that makes managing our business easier. While we’re not all related, we are like a family.
Q. What are your company’s best attributes?
A. Excellence in craftsmanship results in customer satisfaction. We work hard to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers. We find the best employees in the business and do our best to keep them. We experience very little turnover, and that is significant to the quality of the end result.
Q. What is one thing people don’t know about your company?
A. Not only are we a family-owned and -operated business that our dad started 53 years ago in 1965, but our facilities stand on part of the old Halter farm. Our second building was actually built where an old calf barn once stood. Our family roots run deep and spread wide in Conway, dating back to November 1878, and we’re proud of that heritage.
Q. What is your typical workday in a nutshell?
A. There are times when I’m surprised our own shadows can keep up. Both Daniel Jackson, assistant manager, and I are hands-on managers. We do everything, including assisting and coordinating work flow in the body and paint shops; coordinating with specialized sublet vendors; writing estimates; working with insurance-claims adjusters; managing staff; and assisting customers with their needs. It is never boring, for sure.
Q. What is the best business advice you have ever received and from whom?
A. Dad taught us that honesty is always the best policy, no matter how hard it may be to tell the truth.