Scotch Blend

Owner John McCafferty, a Scot who immigrated 22 years ago, explains how the business got its name.

"The thistle is the emblem of Scotland," says John, "and the fellow I worked for, who was also from Scotland, called it Thistle Auto Repair."

John’s first job upon arriving in Canada was at Thistle Auto, and when he eventually took over the business, he renamed it John’s Thistle Auto. The 3,200-square-foot building boasts five bays, each with its own hoist.

"I’ve got four technicians – three licensed and one second-year apprentice." John himself is a licensed technician, as is his service advisor, Phil Breton. "Phil was a Snap-on dealer for many, many years, so lots of people know him."

While John enjoys new technology, he knows it can be frustrating. A case in point was when he needed to reset the computer on one of his own Jaguars. His personal scanner revealed the problem, but that was as far as it went. "I knew what I was looking at," he explains, "but I didnýt have the capability to reset the computer. When I took it to Jag and told them what I wanted done, I just got this big song and dance from them and a $250 bill – and the car was still the same." In the end he had to contact an equipment salesman to come in and demo a scanner with Jag capabilities. "He did what I asked him to do, and my car’s running perfect. And it didn’t cost me anything."

"We use iATN as a diagnostic tool," says John. Their most recent purchase is a GM Tech 2 scanner, which as John puts it, "does amazing things with GM."

But being in a small community of 20,000 people, it’s the staff, not the equipment, that make John’s Thistle Auto the place to go for professional repair work.

Ralph Bender, John’s top technician, has been with the company over 15 years.

"He did his apprenticeship under me and now he’s my top diagnostic guy," says John. "He’s got all his certificates, and he’s got two awards from AirCare for quality repairs. So he does his stuff."

He feels his best help has come from a series of training courses offered locally by Dave Hurtubise of Hi-Tek Training. "Dave uses real-car failures when you go to his course; actual case studies."

John agrees. "We do lots of training through Dave; we think it is the best training that’s out there. Heýs hands-on, he’s been in the field; he knows what it’s all about, and heýs a guru as far as I’m concerned with this new stuff."

Matt Carr, who began his apprenticeship at Thistle Auto 10 years ago, is another technician who delves into advanced diagnostics. "None of it is really easy anymore; the thing is to find out exactly what the problem is. You always have a suspicion, but itýs a matter of proving it."

Technician Pascal Bajgar and apprentice Kevin O’Brien round out the team at John’s Thistle Auto, where the crew sees lots of pickup trucks, as well as a large selection of Japanese imports like Toyotas and Hondas.

"Being from the UK," John adds, "I do tend to attract a lot of Jags and any of the British stuff thatýs around." Being a general repair shop, Thistle Auto doesnýt try to specialize. "However we do have a name for fixing BMWs and Jags. We get a lot more than the average repair shop would get." He estimates that 20 per cent of his business is European vehicles.

Some key things besides good staff training that help Thistle Auto thrive include having two major parts supplies right across the street.

"Between Lordco and NAPA, I’ve got half a million dollars of inventory right on my doorstep, so I keep the usual oil filters and oil, and that’s about it." There are also only three other shops to compete with locally.

But John credits a lot of his continuing success to the business management courses he takes through Dave Meunier of Total Automotive Consulting & Training (T.A.C.T). Over a 10-month period, shop owners meet for lunch one day a month and spend the afternoon going over their sales numbers.

"They cover everything from service advising, how to set up your office, how to look after your guy’s time, time management, and preventive maintenance programs." Then at night, the technicians are invited along to get a handle on how they can contribute to the overall success of the business.

John doesn’t follow Daveýs procedures to the letter, but adapts it to his style and shop environment. He readily recommends that other shop owners take similar training. "A lot of it has to do with preventive maintenance; this is basically what the industry is today."

At $85 per hour, Thistle Auto has one of the highest shop rates in the area, spins a lot of the business profits back into staff training and equipment upgrades, and rarely gives any type of discount on parts, "I’ve got to get my shop mark-up to keep in business, and to keep upgrading," explains John.

So how do they survive in the competitive world of automotive repair?