Central Collision Named One Of The Top Ten Shops In The Country By ABRN Magazine

Central Collision Center, headquartered in Mokena, Ill., has been selected as one of the top 10 shops in the country through Auto Body Repair Network (ABRN) Magazine’s annual Top Shop competition.

According to ABRN Magazine, multiple generations of employees and customers make Central Collision a Top Shop. 

Thirteen percent of the company’s 84 employees are second-generation; 27 percent of employees have been with the company for more than 10 years.

“Our culture is the main reason for our success,” Caruso says. “We hire good people and we treat them right.”

ABRN Magazine’s Top Shop winners are chosen based on company profiles submitted by each shop. Areas of consideration include:  number, size and visual appearance of facilities; number of employees and employee certifications; commitment to training and education; management practices and community involvement.

Central Collision operates six traditional repair facilities in Peotone, Mokena, Crete, New Lenox Oak Forest and Tinley Park, Ill. and one same-day, 24-hour repair facility in Oak Forest, Ill.

To read ABRN Magazine's full article on Central Collision, visit the magazine's December 2013 issue online.

For more information about Central Collision, visit www.centralcollision.com. 

To apply for a career with Central Collision Center, visit the employment page on our website.

Mike Caruso Named FenderBender Magazine's Executive of the Year

At the young age of 23, Mike Caruso and his wife, Nancy, purchased a small auto body shop in Peotone, Ill. The two lived and breathed for their new business, operating the body shop, a tow truck and even a hot dog stand at the front of the shop's property to make ends meet. Many nights, Caruso slept at his desk in between tow calls. His wife, Nancy, worked a full-time job at a nearby hospital. When her shift at the hospital was over, Nancy drove straight to the shop to continue working.

Fast forward 32 years.

Caruso now runs six-location, 85 employee Central Collision Center and has been named
FenderBender Magazine's Executive of the Year. 

Caruso is known for his hard work, business development and commitment to family culture.

Serving the collision repair industry nationally, FenderBender Magazine celebrates the success stories of driven, dedicated and benevolent collision repair professionals each year with the FenderBender Awards.

Caruso credits his company's culture and dedicated employees for the company's success.

"Out of our 85 employees, 16 percent have been here 15 years or more and 11 percent are second generation employees," Caruso said. "We've built a family culture at Central and that is one thing that will never change, even as we expand our business."

Caruso and his team have expanded Central Collision Center throughout the Chicago southland with facilities in Peotone, Mokena, Crete, New Lenox, Oak Forest and Tinley Park, Ill. and one same-day, 24-hour repair facility, Central Express, in Oak Forest, Ill. The company prides itself on customer service, quality and timely repairs, and family culture. 

Read FenderBender's article on Caruso here.

Dirty Car? Enter for a Free Car Wash

Central Collision Center is running a Facebook contest to find the dirtiest car in the south suburbs. Think your car might be it? Post a picture on Central Collision's Facebook page for a chance to win a free car wash. Contest runs June 13-21. Central Collision will announce 1 winner on Monday, June 24.

Central Collision Center Named Autochex Premier Achiever For Excellence In Customer Service

Central Collision Center of Oak Forest, located at 15232 S. Oak Park Avenue, has been recognized as a winner of the 2012 AutocheX Premier Achiever for outstanding customer service and satisfaction.

Now in its 11^th year, the annual Premier Achiever Awards honor auto body shops that consistently achieve extremely high customer satisfaction scores as measured by AutocheX either independently or as part of an insurance-sponsored repair program. In 2012, participating insurance programs included seven of the top 25 carriers in North America.

“For the 11^th year in a row, we are delighted to sponsor the Premier Achiever Awards and to recognize the tremendous accomplishments of Central Collision and all the 2012 winners,” said Jim O’Leary, Vice President of Mitchell Repair Solutions. “The high satisfaction scores of these elite collision repair facilities in North America clearly demonstrate their ongoing commitment to their customers, and set the bar very high for customer experience management in our industry.”

In an industry of nearly 50,000 shops in North America, Central Collision is one of only 400 Premier Achiever Award winners in 2012 — placing the shop in highly exclusive company.

“Receiving this honor reflects our company’s core values of outstanding customer service and repair quality above all else,” said Michael A. Caruso, facility manager of Central Collision Center of Oak Forest. “We are proud to be considered among the elite in this category and we will continue to improve our processes in order to remain an industry leader.”

AutocheX, Mitchell International’s customer experience management group, is a leading provider of customer satisfaction measurement and customer experience management solutions to the collision repair industry. AutocheX and the participating insurance companies present the Premier Achiever Awards each year as a way of honoring collision repair facilities that have proven their devotion to quality, service, and customer satisfaction.

For more information about Central Collision Center, visit www.centralcollision.com.

5 Tips For Small Business Owners

Caruso managed and worked out
of the Peotone location.

When Mike Caruso returned from U.S. Military service on a Friday night, he expected to start school shortly after to become a dentist. Little did he know a phone call from a family friend asking for temporary help would change everything. 

After working in his friend's shop for three years, Caruso learned about a body shop in Peotone going out of business when the owners contacted him to purchase equipment. When he drove to the shop on a Saturday morning, Caruso had a strong feeling that's where he belonged. 

At just 23 years old, Caruso and his wife, Nancy, bought the Peotone shop for $40,000. 

"It might as well have been $40 million," Caruso said. "I didn't have 40 cents to my name then."

The couple closed on the property on May 12, 1981. A few weeks later, a hailstorm hit, damaging nearly every car in Will County. 

Thirty-two years later, Mike and Nancy Caruso have created a successful, family owned and operated six-shop collision repair business.

We sat down with Central Collision Center President and Owner Mike Caruso to learn how he created a successful business at such a young age. Here are his top 5 tips for small business owners:

1. Be honest and loyal to your employees, customers, business partners and yourself  

   

   Caruso addresses employees at the company's 
   annual Christmas party.

   My favorite part of what I do is spending time with our employees, most of which have been with us long enough I consider them my extended family. Having an open relationship with the people you work with – whether its employees, customers, vendors, etc. – makes work enjoyable. I want our employees to be proud to work at Central Collision, and that can’t happen unless I’m honest with them.         
                       
2. Deliver a product better than your competitors  
   We will continue to invest in continuing education and training for our employees to make sure we are delivering the highest quality product and service. If you’re not providing a quality service, you’re setting yourself up for failure. I stand behind our technicians’ work 110% because I know the type of quality they produce on every vehicle.
   
   
3. Always work to improve your process 
   Our team meets regularly to discuss ways to improve. Between monthly planning, management, CSR and manager meetings and daily production meetings, we are constantly troubleshooting ways to be more efficient. You can never sit back and say “things are going great.” There is always room for improvement.
   
   
4. Be open to change

   

   Mike and Nancy Caruso matched all employee
   donations at the company's annual food drive
   benefitting Alicia's House Food Pantry.

   One challenge we face is staying up to date with changes from auto manufacturers, insurance companies and general regulations. But we work extremely hard to make sure we are on top of the changes and execute procedures properly. Embracing these changes instead of fighting them has been one of our biggest keys to success.
   
   
5. Give back to the communities that support you  
   Without the local communities’ support, Central Collision would not have made it 32 years. I can’t thank everyone enough who has supported our business. We will always give back to our communities because of what they have done for us. Even as Central continues to grow to serve our expanding customer base and insurance partners, we will never be too big that we can’t service each individual customer properly.

From the entire Central Collision Center team and the Caruso family, thank you for your continued support. We could not have made it 32 years without you!

From left: Michael, Marissa, Mike, Nancy and Matt Caruso

Encouraging Exceptional Customer Service

Exceptional customer service is going above and beyond for a customer, which we call “WOW-ing” the customer at Central Collision Center. We know your vehicle is an investment and leaving it with someone takes trust. Earning that trust through exceptional service is how our team maintains our customers.

My job as the customer service representative  (CSR) manager is to ensure that each Central team member provides exceptional customer service to every customer who visits or contacts any one of our six facilities. I do this through:  

• In-depth customer service training
• Weekly visits to each of our six locations 
• Monthly group meetings with our customer service representatives and office managers

Each month, our CSRs and office managers have a morning meeting to discuss
best practices and troubleshoot. April's meeting included SOP review, time card
calculation and a dress for success seminar.

The first step in encouraging exceptional customer service is training. Generally, a collision repair facility is not somewhere a person wants to visit, which makes customer service that much more important. It is our job to turn around a customer immediately after having damage to his/her car and assure him/her that everything is going to be ok. I do this by training our team on EEE – energy, effort and enthusiasm -- along with honesty and sincerity. Exceeding a customer’s expectations can be as simple as providing prompt solutions or answering with a caring voice in their time of need.

I follow-up on this training by making frequent visits to each of our six locations, normally visiting at least two locations a day. Each Central Collision location’s goal is to leave its customers pleased and satisfied with where they have chosen to have repairs done. During my visits, I answer any staff questions and help them troubleshoot any potential problems.

Our process map breaks down each team member's
responsibility through the customer service process.

We hold CSR meetings monthly to discuss great customer experiences and new ways to help each and every person that walks through our doors. Each customer service representative and office manager attends this meeting, which serves as a place for us to share best practices. Throughout the month, I gather any questions or concerns our staff may have and then provide answers to the group. We also revisit our LEAN process map at every meeting to ensure we are serving our customers in the most efficient way possible.

The testimonials, online reviews and thank you cards we receive from our customers make providing exceptional customer service extremely worthwhile and rewarding. Just yesterday, we were recognized as an 2012 Autochex Premier Achiever for Customer Service. As a premier achiever, Central Collision is one of the companies that rated highest in consistently delivering outstanding customer service.