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It’s a coffee shop. It’s a lounge. Maybe with the giant glass windows, it’s an auto shop aquarium.
Simply, it’s RPM Autoworx.
“We like to say we’re in the customer service business,” said RPM part owner and chief executive officer Rick Broussard, “but use auto repair as a way to present that.”
The repair shop, with locations on Chatham Parkway and Waters Avenue, has changed the business of local auto repair from its beginnings.
In 2008, RPM opened what is believed to be the first LEED-certified auto repair building in the nation.
From the beginning, the shop has incorporated available technology into its practices and has shown a willingness to test the newest technology in the industry.
“They continue to invest in tools, training and equipment,” said Alex Holbrook, commericial account manager for Advanced Autoparts. “They continue forward thinking in terms of expanding growth, and they put their customers first.”
Along with the cutting-edge mentality, RPM Autoworx is majority owned by a woman, still a rarity in the industry.
“It’s extremely unusual as you would expect,” said Moira Sheehan. “I still get ‘can I talk to someone who knows about cars?’ Even from vendors.”
Sheehan said she has been working with cars since she was nine and has experience in auto racing and reconstruction.
RPM opened at the beginning of the recession, a time Broussard said was ripe for non-dealer auto repair shops.
“We thrived as an alternative to the dealer,” he said, “Now we’re filling a niche between dealer and small ‘mom and pop’ shops.”
The company, Broussard said, is “big on show and tell.”
The couches, relaxed lighting and large windows in the interior of the store’s Chatham Parkway location allows clients, service advisers and technicians to interact.
“We have relevant business experience, not industry experience, which is what makes us different,” said Broussard. “This plays a big part in creating an atmosphere and creating our model of being a customer service business.”
While Broussard worked at Gulfstream and Sheehan was a management consultant before opening RPM, both have experience relevant to the auto industry, including driving race cars.
The biggest challenge facing the company, they say, is hiring appropriate technicians.
“Nationwide, it is hard to find A-techs, the most technically able,” said Sheehan. “It’s even harder to find ones with strong work ethic and great personality.”
RPM requires its technicians to interface with the customer.
“It’s just a completely different environment,” said Sheehan. “It’s the way you walk in and how the technicians are available to talk with you … people are so worked up, stressed about car repair. They can relax here.”
RPM services 9,000 customers a year, according to Sheehan, and specializes in diagnostic services.
“We charge a diagnostic fee,” she said, “because I guarantee whatever I tell you will get to the root of the cause.”
The shop also offers lifetime warranty on labor and most parts, with a 24-month/24,000 mile warranty, whichever comes last, warranty on non-lifetime parts.
While she expects a bright future for the company, Sheehan acknowledges that not everyone approves of their business.
“All our online reviews go directly to Facebook and Google,” she said. “Sometimes, we get bad reviews, but we make appropriate responses to all reviews.”
With RPM’s modern atmosphere and niche audience, Sheehan said, the company might not appeal to everyone, especially those used to conventional auto-tech shops.
Going forward, RPM has plans to expand to an airport location, the former Avis buiilding on car rental row, where the company was awarded the bid for Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport’s request for proposal for an auto repair and detailing shop.
Sheehan said the airport wants to market to the business traveler, while she expects to reach Gulfstream and Pooler audiences in addition to meeting the airport’s expectations.
“We will be coordinating auto repair and detailing,” she said, “and concierge services, too.”
Sheehan said RPM 3 also will provide shuttle service to the airport, Gulfstream and the new outlet mall under construction in Pooler.
Technology will be important at the new location, as Sheehan expects her company will be working with more transient customers.
She said the app ClearMechanic will be vital to the new operations.
“Having a technology background has helped us really put a whole new spin on the business,” Sheehan said, “…(ClearMechanic) shows the engine to the people and it becomes a legitimate repair.”
While Sheehan initially had an idea for 100 stores in 10 years, her ambitions have calmed, and she looks forward to progress of her company with the addition of another location.
“Now I’m just going to see where it goes. It’s more about seeing all of it unfold and quality of life for me and the technicians,” she said. “My ambitions have been tampered down by quality of life.”
LOCATIONS
1694 Chatham Parkway
(912) 200-8498
8434 Waters Avenue
(912) 200-8486
WEBSITE: rpmautoworx.com