Landers Body Shops

Little Rock and Benton, Arkansas
plus an interview with Scott Williams, Manager

Author: Richard Filley

“Blue Skies in The Forecast For Two Shops Run as One in Arkansas”
 

2005 ended up being the worst hurricane year on record in the USA but it was 2003 that took the cake for tornadoes, at least in Arkansas. All sorts of records got broken, and a Landers Chrysler Dodge Jeep auto dealership in Benton was almost completely destroyed when it took a direct hit from an F2 rated tornado on May 16th of that year. Scott Williams, General Manager of Body Shops for Landers Central Arkansas remembers the day well.

According to Williams, “There were thousands of cars out on the lot, and every single one of them was damaged. In fact, the only part of any building left standing at the entire dealership was the body shop. Thankfully, no one was injured, and we were actually able to reopen a few days later using trailers and such. It was much longer, of course before the buildings were replaced, but we did get an almost entirely new state of the art paint shop facility out of it all.”

Williams actually oversees operations at two different Landers Auto Body facilities, one in Little Rock and the other in nearby Benton, about a 20 minute drive away. The two shops serve five Landers auto dealerships (www.landers.com) in greater Little Rock. In 1995 the Landers Family sold their dealerships to the UnitedAuto group, a publicly traded organization that operates across the US and internationally.

“The facility in Little Rock used to be a sporting goods store before it was remodeled,” notes Williams. The two facilities (Benton and Little Rock) are similar in size, each sitting in a building about 42,000 sq-ft, and together have a service area that is statewide. “I can’t lay my hands on proof,” he says, “but I do believe that we are the biggest and busiest body shops in the whole state of Arkansas.”

Scott Williams manages 65 employees (spread about equally between the two shops) and has been with Landers Auto Body for ten of the 11 years it has been open for business, making him the second most senior employee to office manager Carol Dawson. He looks for ethical and hard working people, and says those kinds of employees “are the heart of this business.”

Landers Body Shops are general repair facilities. In addition to pulling business from the five greater Little Rock Landers dealerships, both shops have significant direct repair program (DRP) relationships with many insurance companies, both large and small.

Williams says that he is able to lower cycle times by running the two shops together. For instance, if one shop has a cancellation and a spot opens up, a customer can be shifted from one shop to the other. “We can turn the job quicker, and this increases productivity and throughput,” he notes.


 

Cont......

Between them, the facilities hold four Chief® frame machines, two Chief Genesis ™ measuring systems, two Hunter® alignment racks, and eight Blowtherm™ downdraft spray booths. Alignment techs are ASE certified. The shop uses Standox® paint, imported from Europe, and also DuPont® Performance Coatings products.
The shop has seven estimators, and all are using CCC Pathways® software for estimating, or ADP®, depending on the preferences of the insurance company involved. Certifications include GM, Ford, and I-CAR®.

Customer satisfaction information is provided by Customer Research, Inc. Williams proudly notes that in five months of this year, customer satisfaction was perfect (100%) when the customer was asked if they would recommend Landers Body Shop to a friend or family member. All other months this year have been in the high 90th percentile in this same category.

“Insurance companies today demand the use of used parts,” says Scott Williams. “We are able to do that and produce a top quality job.” Williams says that he has excellent relationship with his Premium Recycled Parts (PRP) vendors. “Good communication is the key. If a problem comes up, our vendors are the first to jump in and take care of it,” he adds. Landers buys a lot of used parts from Preferred.

As if running two body shops doesn’t keep him busy enough, Scott and his wife Tracy are raising five girls – Lindsey, Mary Beth, Hope, Rachel, and Anna Claire – with a 16 year age range from oldest to youngest. He and his family are active in Little Rock Church. Williams also enjoys golf and, “Wooo Pig Sooie!” is a big Arkansas Razorbacks football fan.

A direct tornado hit would literally turn any business upside down. But Scott Williams knows that at Landers, “where character and reputation make the difference,” the company slogan is more than just words. As loyal customers across Arkansas know, Scott Williams and his team at Landers Body shops are proof.