Shop Profile: Baum Blvd. Automotive
It is often said that change is the only constant. Nobody understands that better than Chuck Wichrowski, owner of Baum Boulevard Automotive, an 8-bay automotive repair shop in Pittsburgh, PA. He has built his entire business model around the concept.
“Dealing with change has been one of the central elements in our shop’s success,” says Chuck. “Early in my career, I noticed rapid changes taking place all around me. Advances in automotive technology, a shift in local demographics, new and more creative business management techniques — it all made me realize that if I wanted to stay in business, I would have to adapt to these changes very quickly.”
Adapting to Change
General business training was a fine start but that was not enough. “I needed to learn how to handle the unique problems of running a repair shop business — and keeping it profitable,” he said. So, he reached out to the experts in the industry.
To learn how to organize and manage his business, Chuck turned to Management Success, a management and sales training company for independent repair shops.
For repair and service work support, he chose Bosch, worldwide supplier of automotive parts to vehicle manufacturers and the aftermarket, and applied to become a Bosch Car Service (BCS) center. After going through a very exacting evaluation process, he was enrolled into the exclusive Bosch Car Service international network of shops whose repair and customer service standards meet the company’s demanding criteria for excellence in the services they provide.
As a BCS shop, technicians at Baum Boulevard Automotive now had access to the latest technical training and equipment as well as marketing tools and service information from Bosch. Soon it became obvious to Chuck that adopting the complete Bosch Car Service program could help elevate the standards in his shop and enhance value for his customers.
“Associating with a large group like Bosch Car Service not only helped me fix cars, but also gave me an identity that made me stand out among the many repair shops out there,” Chuck commented.
Establishing an Identity
According to Chuck, “the very first thing a new customer sees is the appearance of your shop. Since one of the groups we are targeting is owners of high-end vehicles who are at the end of the dealer warranty, we want to give the impression that we are equal to dealerships in every way.”
To that end, Baum Boulevard Automotive elected to implement the recently-launched Bosch Car Service imaging program to project the look these customers expect. Customers who, when they now walk into the shop, often use words like “clean,” “stylish,” and “modern” when commenting on the new look, Chuck said. Furthermore, because it is located next to the local Mercedes-Benz dealership, their customers sometimes will walk into Baum Boulevard Automotive thinking it is the dealership’s service department!
