Page 127 - Australian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2020

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naturally the shop is air conditioned. Outside is a pre-wash bay, as you might expect, no dirty car could gain entrance.
The Khabbaz brothers had a vision and have invested heavily both in time and money to realise that vision. It’s a business that raises the bar for the whole industry.
To say they were pleased to win the na- tional award would be an understatement. “WOW” was our reaction to be award- ed “Best New Shop” in South Australia,” says Ray. “When our name was called out as finalists, we were star struck to say the least, and after the drum roll, and Finishline’s name was announced and awarded “Best New Shop National- ly”, the dancing started and the room
erupted in our office.
“It is so humbling to be chosen amongst
our peers within such a small timeframe after our investment. Les and I will forever cherish the accolades presented to us. This is a great outcome for investment in a very pressure packed industry and more so in an environment that has been so harsh and not the norm. We are so stoked.”
BEST NATIONAL BOUTIQUE SHOP
BISSELL’S PAINT & PANEL
When we visited M1 Autobody in Gee- long, Victoria we honestly didn’t think anyone would be able to impress us more. But then we encountered Bissell’s Paint & Panel in Noosa, Queensland.
No disrespect to Fix Auto Wollongong which is an excellent boutique business in NSW or Eblen Collision Repairs in SA which is first rate. Both M1 and Bissell’s
are newer it’s true. M1 Autobody is a shrine to Mercedes-Benz, however what Iain Kippen (Kip) has created is so per- fect for the often well-heeled and alter- native community in Noosa.
A car enthusiast with a business back- ground, his ‘retirement’ in Noosa hasn’t ended up being so restful. Having bought a business he took his cars to be fettled at, he felt that the industry often lacks professionalism and set out to change that. Bissell’s has a dealership standard exterior. The customer recep- tion area is awesome, welcoming and quirky and unique. It has some of his four-wheeled toys on display and every- thing a customer could ask for.
Kip has clearly absorbed to Noosa re- lax vibe, while he gave us the tour de- scribing the workshop in a laid back style as if surely this is the way anyone would do it, well, they don’t. The work- shop is so well laid out with meticulous attention to detail with a true under- standing of how to maximise workflow and output and minimise stress.
From the also built in speakers (ala Finishline) piping individually into the workdays to the amazing rec room with snooker table and bar says this is someone who takes his team’s welfare seriously.
The shop is run lean and yet there is a calm unhurried feel. As Kip says it doesn’t look as if anyone is especially busy but they still get out eight cars eve- ry day. To give this impression of unhur- ried productiveness takes systems and standard operating procedures that the whole team takes on.
FROM OPPOSITE PAGE: Customer lounge area, Finishline; Beautifully laid out workshop at Bissells Paint & Panel; Craftsman at work in Exclusive Bodywerks
Of course just because it’s working well doesn’t mean it can’t work better and constant training and consultation with the team means to process is always up for fine tuning. There’s a colour coded system when the estimators mark up the car, green is work that is approved, yel- low is work that they aren’t getting paid for but are going to do anyway and red for work that isn’t approved and shouldn’t be undertaken. While it might not sound ef- ficient to do work that you aren’t paid for, in a community like Noosa fixing up the odd little scratch for free and pointing it out goes a long way for word of mouth recommendations and repeat business.
All in all this is a state-of-the art, pro- ductive repair facility with soul.
Kip and the team were delighted to take out the National Award. “In the tough industry we are in, in the most testing year that this has been, it is such a great honour to win the 2020 National Boutique Body Shop award. The whole team here at Bissell’s Paint and Panel have worked extremely hard for many years to continually improve systems and processes so that we can meet the expectation of all our stake holders and to receive this recognition, it makes all the hard work worthwhile.
“This result wouldn’t have been pos- sible without the hard work and support of the complete Bissell’s team and they are all now walking around with heads held high and chests pumped.
As owners, this brings a huge smile to both Laura (wife) and my face and is a lovely end to what has been a difficult year for us all.”