As I glanced at the pachysandra planted in the landscape bed just outside of the front door, I knew I was about to enter a very special place. You see, I love pachysandra, having grown up in a house that had a huge bed of it in the front yard. Not only did it make a beautiful ground cover, it also cut my mowing time by at least 10 minutes!
As a young teenager, 10 minutes was half a lifetime. God bless pachysandra!
But, I wondered, who in the world would plant this beautiful vegetation in front of a body shop? It struck me as odd, until I walked through the front door and was greeted by the smiling, vibrant face of Jill Strauss. Pristine front lobby, modern and comfortable, functional and welcoming all at once, this was the front reception area of the Metro Toyota Scion Accident Repair Center, a stand-alone body shop just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Jill was more than ready to get us (I was accompanied by BSB editor Georgina Carson) taken care of. Unaware that we weren’t “real” customers, we were treated to an unedited version of how passionate this company is when it comes to taking care of their clientele.
After casual introductions, we were soon joined by Lauren Angie and Michael Giarrizzo Jr. But it was hard for me to turn my attention away from the huge picture window that exposed the entire guts of the shop to the front lobby and waiting area. If a picture paints 1,000 words, this window spoke 10,000 more. Clearly, and I mean clearly, we were someplace special.
Michael Jr. formed DCR Systems just over a year ago, and this was their first stand-alone, off-site facility. Throughout my 20 years in both the mechanical and collision repair industries, I have never seen any shop as beautiful, comfortable and welcoming as this. Not even close.
At the core of the DCR concept lies the tie that binds. Family. This is one very impressive family business, and for that they have their father Michael Sr. to thank.
From very humble beginnings as an independent single shop on Cleveland’s East side, Michael Sr. has evolved his passion for customer service (he just happens to repair vehicles) into DCR Systems. But he’s quick to credit Michael Jr. and his daughters (the aforementioned Jill and Lauren) with much of this transformation. By the same token, each of them owes a debt of gratitude to Dad for the hereditary gift of passionate customer service they each possess!
The DCR concept is simple. Do for car dealers what most of them can’t or don’t want to do themselves: repair vehicles. But, it’s how DCR does it that will ultimately set them apart from the rest.
I could write an entire article just on their interpretation, application and implementation of “lean manufacturing “principles and their radical approach to repairing damaged vehicles. But, in thinking about DCR, I just can’t get over how passionate they are for their customers.
They talk a good game at DCR, about process efficiency, “5-S” mentality and stringent quality verification (all of which they master). But it can’t disguise the true reason for their success: unrelenting passion for serving the customer — just as the pachysandra can’t disguise this facility as the most impressive car repair shop I’ve ever seen!
You should see it too. Go to www.dcrsystems.net to learn more.
