About Auto Safety Center West Bend WI
Welcome to Auto Safety Center's About Us page! We're a West Bend shop that focuses on relationships with our auto repair clients, who we come to view as part of our family as we get to know them. Our business is auto repairs, but our focus is on the people we serve and the vehicles they bring to us.
Front view of Auto Safety Center auto repair shop in West Bend WI
At Auto Safety Center, we built our reputation on what we do - not what we claim to do - and we take our reputation and position in the community very seriously. We approach our work with professionalism, taking personal responsibility for our customer's satisfaction. We understand the meaning of "service" and are committed to developing long customer relationships. 45+ years of success is a testament to how we treat our customers at Auto Safety Center.
We believe our role is to inspect, estimate, consult, and repair your vehicle based on honesty and integrity. The critical element is consultation. We provide information to assist you in making decisions, professional assessments, and clearly explained options that fit your needs and budget. We want to present to you the history of Auto Safety Center, which stretches back all the way to 1965.
Four Decades of Success
Original Auto Safety Center shop on North Main Street West Bend WI
From Left to Right, Roger Berth, Ralph Schimdt and Joe Valind Past and present proprietors of Auto Safety Center in West Bend, WI
Ralph Schmidt (Proprietor 1965-1984)
Ralph Schmidt opened the original shop, Schmidt's Safety Center, in September 1965 at 444 N. Main St., West Bend, Wisconsin. The location had been a gas and service station since the 1930s and had seen several businesses come and go before Ralph took over.
Ralph never attended formal training but gained mechanical expertise from working on the family farm and several repair shops throughout Wisconsin. Schmidt's Safety Center specialized in tires, wheel alignments, brake, and suspension service. Ralph also installed tires for many local retail stores such as Western Auto, Gamble, Sears, and Fleet & Farm. These tire installations often lead to other repairs and many loyal customers. Ralph started his business solely by word-of-mouth advertising and built it with quality work, honesty, and integrity. To this very day, we still service and repair vehicles for customers who started coming when Ralph ran the shop.
Roger Berth (Proprietor 1984-2005)
December 5th, 1983, was a day life would change for Roger; in more ways than one. Not only was it the day his daughter was born, but it was also the day he and Ralph agreed on the sale of Schmidt's Safety Center. Roger remembers negotiating with Ralph on the phone from the hospital while his wife, Linda, was beginning labor. Linda had recently quit her job to stay home with the kids, Roger was between jobs, and baby #2 was on the way! In hindsight, the timing could not have been better. Roger got his start at Lang's Trailer Rental in Milwaukee, servicing and repairing their fleet of 120 trailers. In 1969 Roger took a job at the full-service Mobile Gas Station on 124th and North Ave in Milwaukee. It was there that he developed his automotive repair skills. The service station owner would send his mechanics to every training class he could. Roger benefited from the training and the high volume of vehicles they would serve on a typical day. The experience also gave him the critical skills that he would need to run his own business. Roger officially completed the deal with Ralph on January 27th, 1984. He immediately changed the name to Auto Safety Center to gain a better position in the phone book and bring a better understanding of the type of service he did. Ralph took out a full-page advertisement in the local paper to thank his customers and support Roger. Roger made many physical improvements to the shop over the years, but he had no problem keeping the reputation for honest and quality workmanship. His philosophy was "honesty is the best policy" and to do only what he would want if the customer's vehicle were his own. These core values helped Auto Safety Center to prosper and carry on the values established by Ralph.
Joe Valind (Proprietor 2005-Present)
As a high school senior, Joe got his first automotive mechanic job in September 1995 through his high school co-op program. The placement was with Roger Berth at Auto Safety Center as the Lord's providence would have it. In January 1996, Joe graduated from West Bend East High School and worked full-time at Auto Safety Center.
Roger was a great mentor, and Joe learned a great deal during his time there. Joe quickly recognized his obsession with cars and a personal goal to own his own shop. He attended Moraine Park Technical College of Fond du Lac and received a degree in Automotive Technologies. At the time, Auto Safety Center did not do all aspects of auto repair, so Joe moved to another shop to broaden his repair skills. After a few years of gaining experience,
Joe decided the time was right to own his own business. He pursued purchasing a shop in West Bend, but the deal fell through after several months of negotiations. The shop Joe was working at was closing, putting his hope of purchasing a shop on hold as he focused on finding a job. Joe heard Roger at Auto Safety Center was looking for help and dropped in to see if the job was available. They hit off just like before, and 15 minutes into their conversation, Roger asked, "Have you ever thought of going into business for yourself?" Joe replied, "Funny you should ask." It took another year and a half to finalize the transaction, but in May 2005, Joe and Jessica became the subsequent proprietors of Auto Safety Center.
The common characteristic throughout all the years and changes of ownership has been a commitment to customer satisfaction. From Ralph, then Roger, and now Joe, the values of quality work, honesty, and integrity have remained unchanged. Please schedule an appointment today for auto repair and assistance if you require auto repair service. We're also on Facebook! We're located at 3700 W. Washington Street, West Bend, WI 53095, on the corner of Shepherd's Drive and Washington Street, right across from the Fleet Farm. Our shop hours are Monday - Friday, 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM. We make car repairs easy!
Interview by Remarkable Results Radio. Listen it here: RR 067: Joe Valind from Auto Safety Center
DAILY NEWS - Washington County’s Daily Newspaper article about us (PDF) here: "Constant Growth Key to Auto Safety Center’s Success"
The November 2017 issue of Under Car Digest
Republished with permission of Undercar Digest. To receive Undercar Digest
visit www.undercardigest.com or call 800-274-7890 and request the Circulation Department
Hard Work
Auto Safety Center has evolved dramatically since it opened in 1956 as a muffler and undercar shop, and current owner Joe Valind admits there was a lot of heartache and struggle to make the shop a success since he purchased it in 2005. The changes that were implemented are phenomenal, to say the least.
Joe has a long history with the business. He worked at the original location as a co-op student in high school in 1995 and stayed on until 1998 before moving to a job that allowed him to advance into engine diagnostics and other high-tech repairs. After that shop closed, he returned, making an agreement that he would buy the shop within a year or two.
Joe learned quickly that running a business was just as important as being a good tech. Over the years he has joined the International Automotive Technician’s Network (IATN), Tom Ham’s Automotive Management Network and is a member of a 20 Group where he shares ideas with other business operators.
Most important, Joe noted that he spends as much time as possible reading books.
“I average probably seven to 10 books a year – business, marketing and financial books – books that can improve my business and my thought processes,” he said. “The fact is, that as a business owner you’re responsible for more than just you. You are responsible for your employees, your family, the customers and the service they receive. That realization is the motivating factor.”
“The shop was small and the parking was very limited. It was holding our business back. I added general repair but we just couldn’t grow anymore.”
Tough Times
Although business thrived, at the beginning of the Great Recession in 2008 it began to falter by 2010 and was really sinking by 2011.
“Looking at our facility I decided we needed to find a location that would suit the needs of our customers today,” he said. “We needed to have a nice waiting area and have room for longer and bigger vehicles. And I also had an idea of running my business with a weekly meeting. I wanted to have a spot where we could get around the numbers and get everybody pulling the rope with the same amount of strength and distance in the same direction.”
During the interim, Joe started advertising that the shop specialized in Honda/Acura and Toyota/Lexus.
West Bend didn’t have a Honda dealership so it was easy to bring in import customers. In addition, his technicians soon found that specializing made it easier to diagnose some of the tougher problems. The shop continued to repair all makes and models and then added VW/Audi to its specialization mix.
“I like the idea of specializing because if we can see some of the same cars, we can target pattern-failure items and be more efficient.” Tires followed.
Expansion
Joe’s search for a better site lasted two years. He stumbled across an 8,200 square-foot building attached to a strip mall that had been vacant for four years.
With 6,000 square feet of shop space, it now has nine bays – five with lifts. It has 1,800 square-feet for office space with the rest going to storage space, a large customer-waiting area, a lunch room and even a playroom for kids. And it has extra room for expansion. The shop offers free snacks, beverages, Wi-Fi and TV.
Team Culture
“Our secret sauce, so to speak, is making sure our employees are happy, making sure they are appreciated and having a drama-free team centric culture,” he said. “We address issues as they come up. We address issues as a team. We want to provide a good customer-service experience. Getting everyone on same path ¬– that’s our mantra,” he said.
“Our team culture is important. We’re transparent. I share the numbers every week, I share our gross profits and I share production percentages of our technicians, our average repair orders from our service advisers.”
Tuesday morning meetings provide a great opportunity for the staff to share concerns and share opinions.
“When we hit shop goals we provide a lunch on Friday,” Joe said. “Generally the team has the ability to choose where they want to go. We’re not talking McDonalds – instead it may be subs, a nice restaurant or we bring in lunch.
“My techs are paid an hourly rate, plus a production bonus or incentive, so it’s a hybrid. I also go one step further. Some will get a bonus on top of the production incentive. If they bill 40 hours and they are here 40 hours, being 100% productive they will get a bonus on top of that.” Everything is explained in the employee handbook.
Spiffs
Auto Safety Center pays for all customer training. Technicians and service advisers all have ASE certification. But Joe notes that the automotive culture in his area makes it difficult to participate at times. A technical school about 45 minutes north of his shop offers a variety of automotive evening classes, but very few others sign up.
“I signed my B tech up all the time for scan tool and electronics, but the school is constantly cancelling them because they don’t have enough interest. It is so frustrating because I think training is so important to the industry and holding a lot of shops back. It got to the point that on the third time, they put it on for my one tech – two nights of one-on-one training on scan-tool usage. It was a once-in- a lifetime opportunity for him.
Technicians are allowed to work on their vehicles and the vehicles of their immediate family after work hours and on weekends.
Serving Customers
Auto Safety Center provides a visual inspection on all vehicles to provide the customer with an idea of the vehicle’s complete health – and it’s all paperless. The technician follows an inspection form on a tablet, photos are taken of problems and the service adviser reviews them with the customer and/or emails them to him.
“The last thing I want to do is sell a customer on a four-wheel brake job that is $1,000 and then have him come back two days later with an engine knock because their oil level was five quarts low. We want to give a big picture of the vehicle to the customer. It’s a must if they are going to invest $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000. We want them to know what they are investing in. I hear too many horror stories – ‘I just stuck $800 bucks into this thing and I found out my frame is rotted and the car is junk.’”
The shop has five loaner cars that are free when repairs are extensive.
“The loaner cars have produced way more income than they have cost us,” Joe said. “It’s a huge benefit for the shop. “How many incidents do we get into where a repair goes haywire and now instead of scrambling at the end of the day you give them a free loaner and it relieves stress on both sides.”
Maybe that’s why the shop has a 4.8 google rating with 38 reviews.
Active in Community
From May through October the shop offers a “Cars & Coffee” car show from 8-11 a.m. on Sundays. Joe describes it as a laid-back social gathering for car enthusiasts. A local coffee vendor comes as does a food truck.
Auto Safety Center also supports a non-profit that provides transportation for the handicapped and elderly for medical visits. The shop services its vehicles and Joe and one of his service advisers work as celebrity waiters during its fund-raising dinner.
Seed of Hope is a life-based group that provides crisis pregnancy counseling. The shop donates repair services valued at $3,000 each year for the group’s clients who need auto repairs. Joe also gets suppliers to donate parts, so the repairs have a value closer to $3,500 or $4,000.
