Page 69 - Australian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2020

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SAM STREET
I knew we’d be blown away by this
new shop. The passion this family has for the industry is inspiring, I think
Mercedes-Benz are very lucky to have them in their repairer network.
JUDGE POWELL
This facility is the benchmark for prestige
vehicle repairs. It meets all the requirements necessary for the high standards demanded
by Mercedes Benz. This is a true reflection of the Ruggeri family’s impeccable standards.
U
parts laying around, constructing furni- ture from spoilers.
This time, however, it’s a more sober af- fair, with everything specifically designed to meet the German manufacturer’s exact- ing taste in metallic grey. For all intents and purposes, M1 looks like a dealership.
Out front, there’s a gigantic spire with the Mercedes-Benz logo, and inside there are key rings and baseball caps. Even the tint of the window-ledges is a condition of getting the badge - and the Ruggeri’s spared no expense in pursuing it.
“It was all built to Mercedes-Benz’ standards in the hope we’d get the ac- creditation,” their daughter Madison ex- plains, who works at the shop alongside her folks. “They have the same colour swatches and the same design all around the world - so there’s no mistaking it. We’re quite proud of it.”
She should be. According to Pete, the whole thing took two and a half years to construct, with a huge investment in plant including the hoist and the well - not to mention all the endlessswatches. “Being chosen to represent Mercedes re- ally is an honour,” Pete says.
While plenty of workshops are de- scribed as being ‘like a surgery,’ M1 with the Ruggeris extreme attention to detail takes it to the next level. The vast majority of surfaces are white, and a cross-breeze combined with its exten- sive ventilation system keeps the work- shop spotlessly clean.
M1’s pride and joy a pair of brand-new M&N spraybooths, which are extra-long
and extra-tall to fit trucks with refriger- ation units on top. “They’ve been excel- lent - it’s even easy to change the filters, which mum and I do ourselves,” says Madison. “It’s really easy to replace eve- rything and clean.”
The Ruggeris have always been me- ticulous and uncompromising on their extremely high standards. They aren’t interested in volume they just want to repair each car perfectly. “We’re repair- ing approximately four cars a week,” ex- plains Pete. “If it’s hail, you could spend two-and-a-half to three weeks getting it to this standard. Mercedes are all about protecting the brand.”
Although the shop turns over small numbers of cars relative to non-specialist panel repairers, the spend on an individ- ual car is concurrently larger. And, with the steady gentrification of Geelong, Mercedes-Benz is a growth market.
In order to ‘protect the brand,’ Mer- cedes insists that painters and panelbeat- ers particpate in regular training and ed- ucation programs for the shop to keep
its accreditation.
The perception of quality doesn’t
just come down to the repairs, how-
ever. It’s as much to do with custom-
er service standards as it is with techni- cal work.
When clients arrive with their cars, they’re greeted outside with
by a customer service representa-
tive and escorted into the recep-
tion area, where there’s coffee, tea, wifi and a warm welcome available.
Now wonder they won Excellence in Customer Service from Mercedes-Benz last year.
Once the service is over, customers are presented with a thank-you pack that includes a USB-stick, a keyring and a Mercedes-branded pen. “They seem to like that,” says Madison. “And we make a nice cappucino.”
The huge upfront investment in time, money and energy will, no doubt, prove to be a canny business decision.
It’s clear that M1 Autobody is a pas- sion project for Pete and Dianne. “I’ve always said the industry doesn’t need to be the way it is, it’s only the people who are in it that make it this way,” says Pete. “We don’t worry what other shops do.
”Money isn’t everything. It’s impor- tant, but work satisfaction to us is more so.” We can see that Pete.
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