Managing two collision repair facilities is double the work and double the satisfaction. Monte Nodwell (left) is the general manager of the two Mr. Goodbody locations. The shops are located in Duncanville and Grand Prairie, Texas, growing suburbs of Dallas.

The locations are owned by two prominent Fort Worth businessmen. As general manager, Nodwell has been given the authority to oversee the day-to-day operations. "The owners let me run the business as if it were my own," said Nodwell. He took over as general manager in September 1998.

Shop One
The Duncanville location has been in business for 11 years and has 13,500 square feet. The shop performs about 30 repairs a week. The waiting/reception area is clean, well-lit, warmly decorated and inviting. While waiting on repairs, customers can view the many technician certifications that line the wall.

The staff at the Duncanville shop includes: Jack Morgan, assistant manager; Dean Stone, estimator; Kenneth Price, parts manager; Linda Watson, office manager; Mark Baker, body tech; Kelley Stripling, body tech; Billy Colston, body tech; Bill Noble, apprentice; Bob McClellan, body tech; Joe Barron, apprentice; Charlie Emery, lead painter; Anthony Pullins, painter's helper; Paul Hollifield, painter's helper; Joseph Rockmore, porter/detailer; and Allen Eakins, technician. Nodwell manages both facilities from the Duncanville location and oversees its staff of 17.

Jeff Gordon's race car is on display at the Grand Prarie shop.

Shop Two
The owners purchased the Grand Prairie shop three years ago. It has 6,000 square feet and in a week turns out approximately 18 repairs. As you walk into the office you are greeted by the friendly staff. It, too, is attractively decorated.

Javier Bravo is the manager of the Grand Prairie store and supervises its staff of eight. The employees are: Tommy Tarver, estimator; Santiago Zenida, body tech; Luis Ruiz, body tech; Jesse Cruz, body tech; Randy Wilemon, painter; and Leonard Shelby, porter/detailer.

Nodwell has an opening at each shop and is optimistic that they will be filled soon. Many of the employees at Mr. Goodbody have worked with Nodwell at other locations in the past. He is very pleased with the staff and the quality of work at both stores.

Both facilities are Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) Gold Class shops. The technicians are also certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). Nodwell is also I-CAR trained and ASE-certified. He is in the process of earning his Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation from the Automotive Management Institute (AMI).

By providing customers quality repairs at a fair price, the shops have remained successful. According to Nodwell, "If you offer quality work, good customer service and genuinely care about the customer's satisfaction, you can have more work than you know what to do with." This way of thinking is evident in the services the shops offer, which include a lifetime warranty on workmanship, custom paint, towing, frame work and free computerized estimates.

Nodwell stumbled upon the collision repair business. While still in high school in West Texas, he had a minor traffic accident. He was not employed at the time and did not have the required deductible to have the car repaired. The owner of a local body shop hired him as a porter to work off the deductible. While working at the shop, the owner began teaching Nodwell the art of collision repair from body work to painting.

After high school Nodwell attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and studied business administration. He and a friend had a small body shop operation and repaired college students' vehicles. "I soon realized that I was making more money in the collision repair industry than the students that were graduating," said Nodwell.

He then went on to work for several Texas new car dealerships. He began his dealership experience in a parts department, then moved to estimating and finally to assistant manager. Nodwell prefers the flexibility of an independent repair shop over a dealership. "It is less stressful in an independent shop. You don't have the corporate red tape that you have in a dealership. Decisions can be made quickly by one or two people. This is not the case in a dealership where you request something and it has to be approved by a chain of people. Then by the time the decision is made the opportunity may have passed," said Nodwell.

To increase Mr. Goodbody's public visibility, Nodwell relies on various marketing techniques. The newest is Mr. Goodbody's Web site located at http://www.mr-goodbody.com. The site includes links to several of the surrounding cities' Chamber of Commerce Web sites. As a member of ASA, the site is also linked to the Mr. Goodbody listings within the ASA Web site.

The shops are members of the Better Business Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce. Nodwell is participating in an advertising program that provides discounts to employees of large local corporations. The program is called the Your Employee Super Saver Card (Y.E.S.S.) The shops also support the local high school sports teams through various advertising programs such as stadium seat cushions and posters.

Nodwell is an avid motorsports fan. In 1995, he was part of a Busch series crew and participated in 11 races that season. In April when the NASCAR Winston Cup Series came to Texas, Nodwell hosted the #24 DuPont Jeff Gordon car at the Grand Prairie shop. "DuPont and Finish-master were instrumental in making this happen," said Nodwell.

Nodwell says he has the Mr. Goodbody stores on track and looking to the future. Future plans include bringing all accounting and payroll procedures for both stores into the Duncanville shop.

The Mr. Goodbody stores both joined ASA at the first of the year. "I joined ASA because of the professionalism that membership shows," said Nodwell. Recently Nodwell has been active on several state legislative issues.

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