ABOUT US
The story behind Hometown Motors
Once Upon a Time...
A young man lived in a small, quintessential American hometown. This town was like any other small town; it had a “Main Street”, a small church, and a general store where the locals would gather to discuss the weather and the school sports team wins or losses from the night before.
The young man was like any other person. He went to work every day, where he fixed cars at the little town’s auto repair shop. The young man’s boss was nice, and the young man enjoyed making people happy when he fixed their cars.
There was a girl next door to the shop that the young man fancied, who groomed dogs for the townsfolk. They got married and he assumed that he and his wife would always work in the little shop in the little town, and live a happy life together.
One day, however, a stranger stopped by the little shop to request a repair. The stranger was driving the nicest, sportiest car the young man had ever seen! He was dressed in a professional way, and had an air of confidence that intrigued the young man. The young man took a look at the stranger’s car; it unfortunately needed a very expensive repair that would take a couple of days to complete.
When the young man relayed his findings to the owner of the shop, he said, “No one will want to spend THAT much on fixing a car!” To his and the young man’s surprise, however, the stranger gladly agreed to the price. The shop owner said, “Surely someone as important looking as you cannot have time to wait for the repairs!” The stranger answered, “Actually, I have all the time in the world.” The shop owner was shocked; he turned and told the young man to get the stranger’s car fixed.
At lunch time, the stranger came to check up on his car’s progress. After the young man showed him around his vehicle and the progress of the repairs, the stranger invited him to have lunch with him. The young man gladly took him up on the offer; he had never met a person who appeared to have no worries about time or money! He was eager to learn more about this stranger.
When they sat down to have a meal together, the stranger talked with the young man and shared many things with him. He explained that he came from a town very far away, but not too different from the young man’s little town. He said that he owned a business there. The young man was surprised, because unlike any other business owner the young man had ever known or worked for, the stranger was relaxed and unhurried.
Over the next three days while he repaired the stranger’s car, the young man and the stranger had coffee together each morning and lunch each day. The young man asked many questions and learned about an entirely new way of doing business. The stranger called his employees “teammates,” he called his customers “clients,” and he spoke of both with such care and love that the young man assumed he must live in the greatest town in the world!
At the end of the third day, as the young man finished the repairs on the stranger’s car, the stranger invited him to go for one last walk with him. As they walked along, the stranger said, “I know that you think I’m a special or rare person, who lives in the best town with the best people…but none of those things are true. I am not any smarter than you, and I didn’t have any money when I started out. I thought that every client of mine, though I called them ‘customers’ (or worse!) back then, was the cheapest person I’d ever met. One day, I woke up and asked myself ‘What if? What if I was responsible for my own success? What if I was responsible for making my clients happy, and for having them love conducting business with me? What if I could make people love coming to my business as much as I loved running it? What if I could create and build anything that I could dream of? What if I could change everything?’”
The stranger turned and looked at the young man. He said, “What if you asked yourself the same questions I asked myself?” As the stranger got into his car the young man asked, “What if it doesn’t work?” The stranger looked deep into his eyes and replied, “What if it does?”
Our Story
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Fifteen years ago, Gator was working as an automotive technician. There were a couple of things that he observed and that stood out to him at the different businesses that he worked for. To begin with, customers never really seemed happy to be in the shop; secondly, the process of automotive repair never seemed to operate smoothly.
He realized that the first issue was a result of disregarding a customer-centric approach. While the shop owners were never rude to customers, they never really seemed to value their clientele. All transactions were merely transactional, and nothing more. The customers in turn responded accordingly- they certainly didn’t seem pleased to be there. In regards to the second problem, the operational process was completely chaotic and sporadic. Parts were missed, information was muddled, invoices were incorrectly billed or not created properly, and communication was severely lacking or completely non-existent. It unfortunately appeared that the auto repair business was regarded as a necessary evil. At best, it was viewed as an annoying condition of car ownership.
When Gator observed these things, he made a couple of decisions:
- He needed to change these two major issues and
- He would need to start his own business to do that.
He looked into the mirror one morning and asked,” What if…?” and Hometown motors was born!
Hometown Motors was founded a decade ago and has been committed to changing the auto repair industry ever since. We have always focused on these two areas of customer experience and operational excellence. Our business is built around making our clients feel exceptional. Every time a client or potential client walks into a Hometown Motors location, they should feel totally different than they would walking into any other automotive repair shop. Hometown Motors’ goal is to provide an amazing experience so that people’s cars are fixed and properly maintained. More importantly, we strive to make sure that clients leave feeling loved, cared for and appreciated.
Businesses don’t exist without great clientele. A critical part of an exceptional experience for our clients, however, starts with superior business practices and systems. Hometown Motors provides the best place to work for our team members, coupled with the best business practices and operations. We take business systems and development in auto repair to the next level. Hometown Motors is at the top of the field in all aspects; we have the best technicians, top tier equipment, and emerging technology training!
“What if” we can change the auto repair industry? “What if” our communities and region can be impacted by our focus on a superior business product? “What if” we can create a culture of excellence that overflows into an experience of connection and appreciation, so that our clients know that they are valuable and important? “What if” is the question that we pursue every day with passionate enthusiasm. Come in to Hometown Motors and experience the difference!