Back to the Basics: Did You Know Why and Where Autoflow Was Created?

Long before I owned an auto repair shop, I dreaded when my car broke down for a couple of reasons. 1.) I never had the money to fix it, and, 2.) I disliked the waiting and black hole of time. I hated being in the dark as to what, if anything, was going on with my car and its unknown status while in the shop.

Fast forward to Chris, a new auto repair shop owner, in spring of 2011. I very quickly realized that I was in over my head. At first, I was managing pure chaos. We would lose cars, lose keys, and it’s surprising we functioned to the degree we did. I always look for better ways to do things (Kaizen and continuous improvement), and I knew there had to be a better way. I also knew that I was doing the same thing to my customers that I dreaded, which was keeping them in the dark, and that had to change. After all, my shop’s name is Golden Rule Auto Care, and our mission is to treat our customers as we’d want to be treated.

I first looked for a product to fit my needs but didn’t find one to my satisfaction. I then decided to put my 25+ years as a software developer to good use and create my own tool, which is when Autoflow was born. It was going to be my exclusive competitive advantage, and I used it in my own shop for a year or two. It solved the dual communication problems I had internally within my shop and externally with customers. Autoflow helped to manage the chaos by visually tracking where a car was in the repair process and by keeping my customers in the loop as to the status of their vehicle repairs from start to finish. This expedited communication produced a domino effect of benefits. As communication gaps and delays diminished, our wasted rack time was reduced, and we became a more streamlined, productive shop.

Eventually, I wanted to share what I had founded and created with other shop owners and see their reaction, and, I have to say, the response has been great. It feels good to know that I created something that can benefit others as it has benefited me. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a voice in the industry to offer guidance to fellow shop owners in adopting technology.

In the October 2015 issue of Ratchet + Wrench Magazine, Golden Rule Auto Care’s story was featured in the multi-awarded article “Following the Golden Rule,” which shared how the implementation of Autoflow played a pivotal role in the shop’s process improvement.