“One of the most spectacular fireworks displays I’ve ever seen.”
That’s how Eric Newton says his father-in-law, Curt Rock, described the fire that ended in a total loss for his shop, Curt’s Auto Repair.
On December 7, 2007, the family was sitting in a midweek church service when one of their business neighbors in Phoenix ran in looking for Curt because the shop had caught on fire. The fire would burn the shop to the ground, along with a few customers' cars.
Rather than dwell on their situation, the team pulled together and was able to quickly find a new location and retain almost all of their customers. Newton, the general manager, outlines what happened and the important business lessons that he’s learned.
Backstory:
Newton married into the Curt’s Auto family when he wed Rock’s eldest daughter. He’s been in the business, which started in 1987, for 25 years. Newton says that his father-in-law started by doing fleet maintenance, and then, when he got busy enough, he rented a place and started a shop, Curt’s Auto in Phoenix.
Problem:
On December 7, 2007, the building caught fire and burned to the ground. The fire inspectors said that the cause of the fire was a short in the wiring of the building, and the breaker wasn’t able to do its job, which melted the wires and caused the total loss of the building. When all was said and done, it was a $300,000 loss. The shop only had $75,000 worth of coverage. That meant that a couple of customers would be able to get their vehicles replaced, and that was it. Curt’s Auto was left without tools, equipment, or a place to call home.
Solution:
Initially, the team wanted to rebuild at the same location, but they weren’t allowed to because there were already “too many buildings in the area.” So, they started asking around and looking to see what was available. They ended up finding a location roughly six miles away from their initial location. It was a run-down repair shop that had recently become available because the landlord had to kick the previous tenant out. There was a lot of work to be done, but they knew they could make it work.
During the process of finding a new building, the team never stopped working. They brought in whatever they had from home or could borrow and kept working on the customers' cars that they had in the parking lot that were not damaged by the fire. Luckily, they had a backup of all of their customers’ information, so they were able to keep in contact with all of the customers and let them know what happened, what the plan was, and keep them updated all throughout the process. The new location opened around the first of 2008, with lightning speed turnaround time.
“We didn’t have a choice,” Newton says of the hard work that was put in to get a new location up and running as soon as possible.
Aftermath:
The location that burnt down did between $600,000 and $700,000 per year with a staff of four. The new location is pushing $2 million with a staff of 15. After the fire, Newton estimates that they retained 90 percent of their customer base at the new location, even though some of those customers suffered personal loss of their own from the fire.
“I would say it’s because we were always good to them, so when things happened, they were willing to be there for us,” Newton says.
Takeaway:
For Newton and the rest of the staff who went through this, one of the biggest lessons was not to take anything for granted.
“You never know what tomorrow will bring,” Newton says.
Newton says that going through something like this has made him somewhat a cynic and made him double-check everything. For example, make sure you’re covered financially in case there’s a total loss. Newton says that at any time, the shop may have up to $1 million worth of equipment and vehicles in the shop, and he can’t cover that for a few thousand dollars worth of insurance.
Also, make sure you’re being diligent about business maintenance, especially if you’re in an older building.
“We preach about maintenance on vehicles, but the building itself needs to be maintained,” Newton says.
Communication, Newton adds, is also key, especially in a time like this. Customers need to be kept in the know, and they will appreciate it in the long run. Cell phones were a newish concept at the time of the fire, but employees made sure to use their personal lines to keep in contact with their customers.
Last, remember that you are a team and you need to work together. At the time, Curt’s had to let a few people go because they couldn’t afford to keep them around, but once the shop had recovered, they were able to get one of those employees back because they maintained a good relationship.
Nobody expects to go through anything as devastating as this, but it can happen to anyone at any time, and it’s important to think ahead, work together, and never take anything for granted.
