They say you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your relatives. In the repair world, you can’t choose your neighbours either. Isolda Repairs in Broxbourne, Herts, is positioned right next to rival bodyshop Rye Street Coachworks, but it’s an amicable arrangement, even extending to sharing a car park at the back of the shops. In fact, John Isolda, Managing Director of Isolda Repairs, has found this mutual cameraderie running through a large part of the repair community, with fellow bodyshop owners and managers willing to share knowledge and information. As someone who’s built the business up from scratch from a young age, he’s found this extremely valuable. Isolda Repairs is part of Synergy, extending this cross-fertilisation further, and John is a member of the FMG Partner Support Council. ‘There are so many good guys in this industry, and a few more cards are on the table these days,’ John said. ‘The industry is talking; there’s more communication going on. I can phone other bodyshop owners and they’re happy to share their knowledge.’

Of course, not all of them are literally on his door step, although there’s also a DWS shop just down the road. The main effect of this on Isolda Repairs is that, between them, the bigger shops have the insurance approvals in the area pretty much sewn up. John isn’t bitter about this set of circumstances – in fact, quite the opposite. ‘The big shops are out there winning clients and growing their business and they deserve a pat on the back; they’ve done it,’ he said.

Rather than moan about the proximity of his competitors, John has sought out alternative sources of work. In fact, the origins of the business lie in Smart fleet repairs for Tesco, which has its head office just down the road. This grew to bigger repairs and then fleet work, which formed the backbone of Isolda’s business – as it still does today. The Tesco work fell by the wayside as the retail giant downsized its fleet, but John anticipated this and turned to other work to replace it. Along the way, the experience taught John a valuable lesson. ‘It was a wake-up call for me. Since then, I’ve looked at ways to diversify the business. Every car needs tyres, brake pads and such like, so we set up another unit offering fleet solutions for mechanical repairs as well.’

John did try going down the retail route, but had little return on advertising and found policyholders largely steered by their insurer. ‘People have an accident, they call their insurer, it’s dealt with,’ he said.

Likely targets

Instead, Isolda now focuses on accident management companies and small fleets, and runs its own accident helpline to support this service. A useful tool in attracting this work initially was a brochure with a free ice-scraper printed with the helpline number. John is also building up relationships with local main dealers and sees vehicle manufacturer, and maybe even insurer approvals, as the next likely target.

While many repairers faced a difficult trading environment last year, Isolda bucked the trend, enjoying a year of 30-40% growth, taking over another unit on the estate and gained another work contract. The bodyshop also received its PAS 125 accreditation (which John describes as ‘priceless’), alongside implementing a Lean management approach. Muradi’s Gary Steele came in to help with both initiatives and they’re concepts. ‘You’re fighting to grow your business and making little changes all the time and it’s easy to double up on processes without knowing it,’ said John. ‘You don’t realise just how many processes are in your company either. Lean has allowed us to maximise throughput and work smarter. It doesn’t change repair methods; it changes thought patterns.’

Input and advice

Despite John’s seemingly easy acceptance of advice, he says it was actually very hard to have someone come in from outside the business. He said, ‘When you’ve got BSI and people like Gary Steele saying something needs to be done, it’s hard to do it there and then because you’ve got deadlines and targets to hit, but you know you’re going to benefit if you do it. We’re here to learn from other people’s input and it’s down to you how you use that advice.’

He describes operating Lean procedures as ‘having the workshop kitted out like a tool box’. This incorporated what appear to be simple steps, such as signage around the shop, that have a big impact on the fluidity of the business. It also meant maximising floor space, which enabled John to incorporate three more work bays, and streamlining the processes to eliminate mistakes. ‘Our biggest strengths are customer service and quality of work. If it’s not right, we do it again,’ he said. ‘I understand human error can occur, but I don’t accept it when something’s not welded correctly.’

This uncompromising approach to quality means everyone in the business can enjoy what, for John, is the best part of the job – the appreciation of a happy customer. ‘When they’re pleased with the quality of the repair and we’ve made it as stress-free as possible, when all that comes together it’s evidence that the processes do work,’ he said.

John is now in a position to, as he puts it, ‘push onto the next level’. So far, when he’s needed more space, John has simply bought up another unit on the trading estate. He now has three, but is keeping an eye open for further opportunities. Eventually he may have to move, but until that becomes an issue he’s happy to stay put. ‘It’s a tidy estate we’re on,’ he said, ‘so it’s a nice environment to be in and we’ve got the River Lea running just behind the car park.’
He’s right, it is tidy. And the same could be said for Isolda Repairs: a tidy repair business with tidy workshops in a tidy area. In an ideal world, it could do with different neighbours, though.