SpotlightAugust2017

She explained that maintaining a well-rounded staff and keeping them happy is a challenge for any business, but that it’s much harder maintaining licensed automotive tech- nicians. “There is a shortage of automotive mechanics and the main population of mechanics are aging. There aren’t as many young people pursuing the trade, I would say due to costs, wages, and the lack of benefits they receive in the work place. Here at Driven, we hold a high standard of work quality. The technicians can be proud of their work, they get to discuss their work directly with the customer, and they get compensated properly for their thorough job. We have attained very highly-trained and skilled technicians by offering a welcoming work place and an environment that feels like family. All of our technicians were the best of the best at their previous places of work, now we have them all here under Driven’s roof.” Jamanda is the technician of the technicians. Her official in-shop designation is Service Advisor, but she’s much more. She even produces brief preventative maintenance and FAQs videos for customers on Driven Automotive’s Facebook page. When I asked her what the reaction is like when Driven Auto- motive customers first learn that the business is female- owned and operated, her answer perfectly captured the

– children picked up on time, crises averted,” said an eter- nally grateful parent.

It goes on and on like this and Driven Automotive’s BBB Rating Scorecard corroborates every bit of it:

A+, plain and simple.

But is it – was it – plain and simple?

“Starting a business is hard, but the motivation was easy,” Jamanda explained. “My partner and I were both working for a local dealership, on a commission-based pay struc- ture. We both agreed that working hard for someone else wasn’t ideal. If we were going to work this hard pleasing and retaining our own customers within the dealership, why not do it for ourselves. I myself was a sales person and Rob, my partner, was a mechanic there. We both had a customer following and decided that it would be worth the change.” “Starting a business is hard, but the motivation was easy.” Rob, according to Driven-Auto.com, is an experienced Red Seal automotive technician with 20 years under his belt. He is accompanied in the shop by Barry Goyetche, who has more than 30 years in the industry; Drew O’Donnell, Driven Automotive’s first employee who, aside from being sound all around, specializes in high-end cars like BMWs and Mercedes; and Stephen Publicover, a diagnostic guru and Master Ford Technician. “We cater to many vehicle owners as our team of techni- cians have diverse experience with multiple car manufac- turers,” she said. “We have specialized service, tools and parts for all makes and models. We also have access to all manufacturers’ service manuals, maintenance schedules, and even safety recall notices and service bulletins. This makes it easy for multiple car households to feel comfort- able in taking their new or old car to us.”

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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017

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