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| Dan
R’s Automotive Service Center
Dan
and Cathy Reichow
By Rod Brandt
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"We’re
a marketing company who just happens to do automotive
repair.”
"There’s still knuckle busting, but not
liked it used to be.”
 There
was a time when the gas station attendant would pump
the gas, clean the windshield and peek under the hood
to take “a good look-see.” It’s
funny how things change, though. Today, we pump the
gas ourselves, swipe a card and don’t even go
inside the station unless we need the bathroom or
a cup of coffee.
Still, there are places where good, old-fashioned
customer service still exists, and Dan R’s Automotive
Service Center is such a place. Owners Dan and Cathy
Reichow understand that how they treat people ultimately
determines their success. “People do have a
lot of choices where they can go for things,”
said Cathy.
Not many auto repair shops will give up a sale to
alert you that your car’s problem is still under
warranty. “We will schedule an appointment at
the dealer,” said Dan, “actually drive
the car to the dealer for them and pick it up when
it’s done.” If a call is repaired at their
shop, Dan R’s has free loaner cars and a three-year,
36,000-mile warranty on repairs.
In addition, Dan and Cathy routinely ask for customer
feedback through satisfaction surveys and stay on
top of factory recalls and other safety notices. If
for some reason the customer isn’t happy, Dan
will sit down and talk it through. “We’re
the kind of business you don’t have to walk
through the door and feel like you have to get in
an argument to get something taken care of,”
said Dan.
Because Dan R’s goes the extra mile for its
customers, customers travel miles to go to Dan R’s.
“Most businesses try to attract a three-mile
radius for their clients,” said Dan. “We
have a lot of clients that travel 20 to 30 miles to
use us.”
“We’re a marketing company who just happens
to do automotive repair,” said Cathy. “We
really focus hard on staying in touch with our customers,
trying to attract new customers and anything a marketing
company would do.”
Dan R’s is a full-service automotive center.
In addition to repairs and service, the business has
a detailing division, towing and inspection services,
a retail store that features tires and cargo covers,
and a used car sales department. “Our motto
is ‘Car trouble? We fix everything!’”
said Dan.
Dan and Cathy believe that satisfying their customers
begins with satisfying their employees. Some of Dan
R’s staff members have been with them as long
as 22 years. The Reichows pay well, provide good benefits
and believe the cost is worth it. “We’ve
just always taken pride in the way we run our business,
the way we treat our employees, both our internal
and external customers,” said Cathy.
Dan R’s technicians receive up to100 hours of
continuing education per year to stay abreast of an
ever-changing industry. Each service station has a
connection to the Internet. “That’s really
how you repair today’s vehicles, is through
information,” said Cathy. “There’s
still knuckle busting, but not liked it used to be.”
The Reichows’ Navarre Avenue facility in Oregon
is expansive and high tech, thus complementing their
old-time service. Dan R’s is the anchor in what
is essentially a strip mall. Retail tenants occupy
much of the building’s frontage, while the automotive
center’s 12 bays line the back of the structure.
“We didn’t know how big we wanted to grow
or how small we wanted to stay,” said Dan, “so
we developed the tenant space, and that brought in
some extra income for us. We have the opportunity
to grow into that space.”
The Reichows have taken great pains to make their
business “green,” recycling antifreeze,
tires and batteries. Instead of using lead weights
to balance tires, they use more eco-friendly materials
like steel and carbon composite. They’ve also
installed a waste oil furnace to heat the building.
“We run an oil change special if we get low
on oil,” said Dan. “That provides a good
service to the client, and it provides us with heat.”
The Reichows have been in the automotive industry
all of their adult lives. They met while both were
working for an auto repair shop. Cathy worked in the
office and Dan was a service tech. “I kind of
fell in love with car repair,” said Cathy. Soon
after, she fell in love with Dan. They married and
had three children.
In 1981, they opened their first shop, located on
Starr Avenue. As their business grew over the next
20 years, they bought additional properties to expand
their facilities. But with their car sales division
across the street and the detailing service located
four blocks away, the Reichows were stretched too
thin. “We were running circles all day long
to different buildings,” said Dan.
They purchased vacant land on Navarre Avenue and began
construction on their state-of-the-art building. As
it turned out, the timing couldn’t have been
worse. They moved into the complex in the fall of
2001 at the start of the economic recession caused
by 9-11. “It was challenging, real challenging,”
said Cathy.
There have been other challenges since, including
the closing of the I-280 bridge and the tragic delays
that turned the Veterans Glass City Skyway into a
two-and-a-half year project. Like many Oregon and
East Toledo merchants, the Reichows lost substantial
business.
But creativity and marketing helped Dan R’s
stem the tide. Building the tenant spaces was a stroke
of genius and has provided cash flow. The Reichows
also started offering their cars on E-bay and now
do about 90% of their used-car business on-line.
With the bridge now complete, business is picking
up again. It has given Dan and Cathy occasion to reflect
on the loyalty of their customers. “Without
their commitment, there wouldn’t be a Dan R’s,”
said Dan.
DAN R’S AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE CENTER
Dan and Cathy Reichow
4041 Navarre Avenue
Oregon, Ohio 43616
Phone: 888-697-5399
E-mail: danrsauto@aol.com
Website: www.danrsauto.com
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