Auto repair shop mixes unlikely combinations to build customer loyalty

My college-age niece, Sydney, is one of the 80 million millennials who regularly use their smartphone for nearly everything – including the search and review process for auto maintenance and repair. At the same time, many Baby Boomers and Generation Xers still crave the human touch that goes hand in hand with a more personal experience.

One San Francisco-based leading Prius specialist, Luscious Garage Hybrid Auto Care, is successfully bridging the generational divide by combining a peaceful environment with leading-edge technology.

Four blocks south of restless Mission Street, I entered their sunlit service bay entrance, which resembles a meditative sanctuary instead of the stereotypical manly, iron-beam-and-concrete-barrier setup typically guarded by a growling service writer.

Gina, the shop manager, cheerfully escorted me around this open space, which could easily fit seven cars. Beneath clusters of vines, which freely dangled from the ceiling rafters, I enjoyed the soft music that filled the shop and studied the tubes of colorful wires and other electrical boxes neatly stored for future use. Recycling is valued in this purposeful world, and nothing is dumped on shelves randomly.

While in-shop safety for the customers is a priority – protecting clients from runaway electrical currents and keeping the immaculate floor clear at all times – I marveled how freely one car owner stood behind a tech, who was crouching into the cabin of her blue Prius. Meanwhile, another customer looked at the tools prepared to fix his car, including a red, rolling tray full of engine parts and a green collection bucket ready to capture the used motor oil.

None of the shop employees seemed anxious to shoo away the customers, who were clearly welcome to observe the work in progress. But just in case customers have enough of watching actual car repairs, everyone can enjoy full access to the in-house library, which contains a healthy sampling of intellectual literature.

Software technology reigns unobtrusively here at Luscious Garage. Customers may begin the service repair journey from the convenience of their mobile devices or on the oversized monitor on the kiosk, where Gina paused to explain to a customer what the diagnostic trouble codes meant. Quietly, she planned the maintenance treatment for his four-door Toyota, which was parked a few feet from them. Then, with a finger swipe authorized by the customer, the car was ready to be serviced by one of the five techs, who are electronically assigned to complete the work orders at their designated stations. Tied into the mobile device or computer, customers can actively track the repair progression.

Employees benefit equally from the cloud-based software package created by Luscious Garage’s founder Carolyn Coquillette, which she named Shopware. Now sold on the market, Shopware enables businesses to connect with their customers. Unbound by paperwork, employees like Gina can update the customers of any modifications in the job in real time so that neither the tech nor the parts purchaser must wait long for approval.

Meanwhile, on a companion software system, the parts purchaser sees comparative parts and pricing to quickly source what’s available in the shortest lead time. John, who manages the inventory at Luscious Garage, told me that he is happy with the path to purchase and looks forward to the time when he won’t be calling a supplier.

Since opening their doors in 2007, Luscious Garage has attracted much attention, including nearly 50 articles speculating on what it represents. Most stories address the obvious duality between human contact and technology, highlight the role of women in the shop, and admire Coquillette’s commitment to an environmental cause. Or, as San Francisco Magazine wrote in December 2015, “Coquillette has ushered a new age of enlightenment into the dark corners of the garage.”

Luscious Garage must be doing something right to make their business a destination. San Francisco Magazine reported that Luscious Garage netted $1.5 million from servicing 7,000 vehicles in one year. Compared with their peers, who on average produce 52 repair orders a week, Coquillette’s crew more than doubled theirs to 135.

After spending one hour in this shop, I left feeling optimistic that interdependence in a tech-linked world is within the reach of the independent repair shop that can commit to the needs of customers, including tech-savvy millennials like my niece, and to those who crave the more personal support of dedicated employees like Gina and John. If Coquillette had ignored those two groups, and curtailed her empowered employees, her business might have seen a different future.

It may require a creative leap of faith to do what Coquillette was willing to do, but the potential rewards of becoming a unique destination is worth the try. Ultimately, businesses like Luscious Garage can serve as a model of who and what we want to be for our customers and employees: a welcoming environment offering a service that links technology with a human touch to match people’s needs and wants now and in the future.

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