It is also the home of Nagy's Collision Specialists' corporate office. There, I meet Ron and Dan Nagy, who are president and vice president of the company. Looks are deceiving. They look like they would be right at home wearing John Deere ballcaps and sitting on tractors. Their speech and mannerisms are very folksy. But make no mistake: these two guys are some of the smartest businessmen I've ever met. This becomes increasingly apparent to me throughout the day.

Secret Shoppers

We sit in Ron's office, eat red licorice and talk business. They let me in on a little secret: they have secret shoppers go around to the stores to see if SOPs are being followed. They tell me all their employees are paid hourly.

"Flat-rate causes dissension," says Dan.

"When you pay flat-rate, you're managing quality. When you pay hourly, you're managing production," says Ron.

Ron says he looks at his "numbers" not once a month, not once a week, but two or three times a week.

Different Personalities

Ron characterizes himself as the "entrepreneur." A ball of energy, he says, "I hate being stagnant." One employee likened him to a "little kid." He has a booming laugh that is plentiful and hardy. He laughs a lot.

Dan is the operations guy. He is more low-key and laid back, but I wouldn't want to get in a bar fight with him. A pesky vacuum salesman had the right idea when he high-tailed it out of Dan's home after his wife called him at the shop to say he was being a nuisance. "He'll be home in exactly 7 minutes," Dan's wife told the salesman, and given the proximity of their house to the shop, she wasn't lying.

No Fear of Failure

Throughout the day, I hear some interesting turns of phrase from both brothers:

"How do you eat that elephant? You put a little salt on it." 

"If I lose a job, it's steering. If I get a job, it's a referral."

"People don't fear failure; they fear people knowing that they failed."

It's odd that the subject of failing comes up, especially since Nagy's is experiencing incredible success right now. But the brothers want me to know that money and success don't mean a whole lot to them.

"We grew up in a trailer. We know what it's like, so we could always go back there," says Ron. "If we lost everything, we'd just go back to Doylestown and run that shop. But we don't worry about something not working; we focus on how hard we need to work to make it work."

No Egos

When you get to know Ron and Dan, you realize they speak the truth about their simple natures. Both are average guys. They don't dress fancy and don't spend fancy. They have absolutely no ego. Money is not their motivator. As Ron puts it, "We like to build things." At the same time, they make no bones about their plans for the future. They know the industry is going through some rough times.

"The hardest time we had running our business was when it was $800,000 to $1 million," Dan says. "What's the future of the $800,000 to $1 million shop? Sell to us."

Ron makes the observation that right now, a body shop is pretty much only worth its equipment. Somehow, I don't think that's the case with Nagy's, though.

I ask if they ever fight, and they say no. They get along great – primarily due to a bond forged from fighting off four sisters growing up. They are a great team, and they know it.

Day 1 at Nagy's: Late for Work

Day 2 at Nagy's: Pink Floyd and Cupcakes

Day 3 at Nagy's: A Clean Sweep

Day 5 at Nagy's: Adios and Farewell

The corporate office of Nagy’s Collision Specialists in Orrville, Ohio.

The reception area of Nagy’s corporate headquarters is neat as a pin.

A training room ensures that employees company-wide can get updated on systems and processes.

The Nagys are big on “continuous improvement” and SOPs.

This is the kind of office you get when you’re the big man like Ron Nagy.

You wouldn’t want to meet any of these guys in a dark alley – (L to R) Dan Nagy, Jason Stahl and Ron Nagy.

The store in Wooster, part of Spurgeon Chevrolet.

The Spurgeon store’s stockroom is very tidy.

The store in Millersburg, right in the heart of Amish country.

As a city slicker, this is not something I see every day.

Ron goes over what he learned at a recent 20 Group meeting.