John Peake, owner of Peak Performance Inc., in Salt Lake City, Utah, began tinkering with automobiles as a young child. He helped his father, who repaired vehicles in his spare time. Peake would crawl under the cars and gather the nuts, bolts and washers his father would drop. As Peake grew up and honed his skills, his father increasingly entrusted him with more of the repairs.

All of Peake's spending money in high school was derived from auto repairs he performed for friends and neighbors. Peake attended college after high school but became bored with it. He decided to set out across the United States in a 1965 Chevrolet step van.

Then in 1976, the van began to run badly. He was entering Salt Lake City at the time, and was 19 years old and looking to make some money to continue his journey. After trying his hand at advertising sales and radio and TV production, Peake went to work for a Nissan dealership.

In 1980, Peake opened Peak Performance with a partner, and three years later he was able to buy out the partner. The business began as a small, two-bay operation. "At this point, I ran the business by myself," said Peake. A few years later, the business moved to a larger three-bay facility with air conditioned office space and adequate parking.

The business and customer base grew steadily. "This was a challenging period with regards to stress. I would answer the phones, order the parts, keep the books, fix the cars and scrub the floors," said Peake. During this same time, Peake was also involved with other projects including software program development and publishing.

The Staff
With increased customers and work, Peake moved his business to its current leased location and hired additional staff. Today, Peak Performance has seven bays and employs four top-quality individuals. The shop has 2,200 square feet and performs between 60 and 70 repairs per week.

Peak Performance offers a wide range of services for imported vehicles and a six-month or 6,000-mile warranty on all work. The entire staff promotes a healthy "can do" attitude toward their day-to-day tasks. The shop is staffed with two National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) technicians. Peak Performance's Dave Nuttall, shop foreman, has 15 years of experience in the automotive service industry and genuinely loves going to work. Thai Nguyen, technician, brings an international flavor to the shop. Alexis Kent rounds out the staff as office manager and, according to Peake, keeps everyone "in line."

Peake has found that in-house training sessions work best for his staff. He is also committed to providing them with as much training as is available.

One of the things Peake likes most about his job is working with great people all day.

Customer Service
To educate customers, Peak Performance has developed a multimedia information center within the shop, located on the service counter, that details the services and repairs offered. In addition to the information center, Peake also publishes an email newsletter and hosts a local radio show called CarTRAK for two hours every Sunday morning.

It is very important to Peake that he and his staff take the time to visit with the customers. "It is usually very hectic at the shop so I have to make time to slow down a minute and talk and listen," said Peake. He feels people like this personal interaction. A top priority at the shop is to please the customer every way possible.

Peake spends a lot of time at the counter visiting with customers and writing tickets. "I think that the initial phone call for repairs and writing of the repair order are the most important, and sometimes most neglected, steps in the repair process," he said. Peake has noticed that extra time spent during the initial contact with a customer provides valuable information. "This information will steer the technician in the right direction; shorten time needed to diagnose and repair the car; reduce repair costs; and get a customer for life."

According to Peake, his business philosophy is, "We truly stand behind our work. The way I see it is this: I could spend $100 for one 60-second radio commercial or I can eat a $100 warranty and have a surprised, happy, walking, talking, word of mouth, living billboard for life."

Industry involvement
In addition to running an automotive business, Peake has continued to develop computer software programs and experiment with the Internet. One computer project grew into an international information service called MexNET, the Mexico Information Network. According to Peake, his business was one of the first to utilize the Internet.

"It wasn't unusual to get a call from a White House spokesperson regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) developments and then fly to California to consult on an online project," said Peake. In 1994, he received congressional recognition for his NAFTA and Internet projects.

Due to his experience with computers, the Internet and the automotive industry, Peake taught an Automotive Management Institute (AMI) approved seminar on electronic marketing of an automotive business. The seminar was held during the ASA Annual Convention earlier this year.

Peake recently returned from Cuba, where he researched a story on classic cars. In order to enter Cuba, Peake had to obtain permission from the U.S. federal government.

About the industry
Peake admits that there are times when he wishes he was in another industry, but he's quick to point out that this feeling is usually due to a job going completely sour or a customer who doesn't appreciate the extra effort. "For the most part, owning and operating a small shop is immensely satisfying," he said.

Association membership
Peak Performance has been an ASA member since 1997. ASA membership has given Peake a new outlook on the industry.

"I noticed several things when I began to associate with my peers at ASA functions," he said. "First, I was surprised that the problems and challenges facing other shops so closely matched my own. Next, I was amazed at the real world solutions that I learned from other shop owners and course instructors."

In addition to these items, Peake also said he was impressed with the ASA staff and members for their sincerity toward a common goal of a more professional automotive service industry.

Future Plans
When asked about future plans for the business, Peake said, "I would like to see the shop remain at its current size and income. Any busier and I can feel the stress and tightened chest feeling creeping in."

Peake would also like to develop communication tools for other shops to help interact effectively with their customers.

Peake said he feels that independents, now more than ever, must pay closer attention to their customers and the way they do business to keep these customers.

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