Front of British American Auto Care Inc.

Brian and Jennifer England moved from London to the United States in September 1972. Brian, a skilled auto technician, started work at British Auto Services Inc. in Rockville, Md. Jennifer got a job one block away. Within nine months they were able to put a deposit on a small, single-family home in Columbia, Md. Their house later made it possible to secure their first loan to start their own business.

On July 3, 1978, they opened their own repair shop, British American Auto Care. They rented 1,500 square feet and worked with one apprentice technician. They hired someone to answer the telephones in the morning and Jennifer worked in the afternoons. Their initial plan was to service only British and American cars, but customer demand soon persuaded them to include most Japanese and European cars.

Between 1980 and 1989 they moved twice as they outgrew their space. In 1997 it was time, once again, to look for a new location. After investigating the available buildings for lease, it was decided to explore the possibility of building their own facility. Finding a suitable small parcel of land was the first problem, but finally a 1.7-acre commercial plot was found and in April 1998, the commercial lot was purchased and ground broken.

Brian England is co-owner of British American Auto Care Inc. Jennifer England is co-owner and account manager of the business. Sandi England, daughter os Brian and Jennifer England, is the office manager.

Brian has always been energy conscious, and with building a new custom facility, he researched many energy- and money-saving options by visiting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Web site, www.energystar.gov/ smallbiz. He then installed high-efficiency air conditioning and compact fluorescent lights. He also learned to design the building to take advantage of the surroundings, to use natural windbreaks and to use earth as an insulator.

For his efforts, British American was awarded the 2000 Energy Star for Small Business Award from the EPA. “British American Auto Care is one of only two auto shops in the country that have won the Energy Star for Small Business Award,” said Jerry Lawson, program director for Energy Star for Small Business. “Other auto shops could learn a lot from their example - whether they implement just a couple of the same measures or whether they conduct a comprehensive upgrade, auto shops can save as much as 30 percent on their utility bills,” added Lawson. “The savings go straight to the bottom line and the environment benefits too.”

The 14,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building with 18 service bays was completed in November 1999.

When asked about the current building, Brian replied, “We already have the finest technicians in the area, and we wanted to have the best working conditions. We offer an excellent benefit package that includes medical, 401(k) plan and profit sharing, and now we have a clean working environment and changing rooms with shower facilities. But our customers are most important so we added a spacious, clean waiting area with a separate children's play area, and there is always free coffee and snacks available. It's a minimum cost and the rewards are great.”

The new building also meant new technology. Brian installed computer and Internet connections at all of the technicians' bays. He says, “A repair facility needs to have more information than ever to properly repair a vehicle and do it in a timely manner. At British American we developed a network system for our technicians that is directly connected to the Internet and to a main file server that contains a library of books and technical data. The main file server is regularly updated to ensure it has the latest possible manufacturer's information for any vehicle.”

The business has always been based on preventive maintenance, strongly encouraging customers to follow a regular maintenance schedule - prevention is better than cure. Also, Brian does not believe in coupons, and has never used them in 24 years of business. “Coupons attract price shoppers - not the customer we are looking for. We want to build customer loyalty through our honesty, good work and fair prices,” he says. Brian feels the same about Yellow Pages. “People mainly use Yellow Pages to price shop, and whatever your price they can always find someone cheaper and will not become a loyal customer,” he says. So Brian saves his advertising dollars for cable TV, local print advertisements and to produce British American's own newsletter, HOTWIRE. “We also use customer surveys to find out what the customer wants. It should be as easy as possible for customers to do business with us. We don't want to implement policies for the smooth running of the shop if they inconvenience customers,” he added.

British American's free courtesy van picks up and drops off customers at home or work.

Brian believes that regardless of size it is essential to give personal attention and to maintain the family business image. Jennifer, his wife, does the accounts, and their daughter Sandi is the office manager.

British American also believes in supporting local community charities and the auto industry. That is why it has been a member of the Automotive Service Association (ASA) for more than 20 years. Brian received his Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation from the Automotive Management Institute (AMI) in 1996. And British American is now an AMI sponsor.

British American Auto Care has been voted the “Best Auto Care Facility” in Howard County, Md., 17 times. In 2000 it was voted the best customer service auto repair facility in Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C. Those honors, combined with the EPA's Energy Star Award, show that British American is doing something right!

David J. Jones is an advertising, marketing and business image consultant. He is president of PMI Marketing Inc. in Ellicott City, Md.

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