Recognized as one of the finest shops in the country, Mike’s Auto Body’s Concord VDM location recently received the prestigious 2018 On Your Side Showmanship of Excellence Award by Nationwide Insurance for its outstanding customer service and over-the-top community involvement.

Mike’s was selected as a “top shop” in Nationwide’s On Your Side (OYS) Repair Program for the Western Region. Only seven shops nationally out of the 4,000 OYS shops receive this highly respected award.

A statement from Nationwide Insurance was issued in recognition to the award. “Through integrity and consistency, Mike’s Auto Body has become a stand-out organization, often going above and beyond to make sure that customers are getting the best service possible. As an avid contributor to the community by way of leadership, multiple sponsorships, generous donations and charitable giving led by their nationally respected Benevolence Program, they have earned a stellar community reputation and loyal customer following.”

“This award was established to recognize the best of the best in our repair network,” said Sal Lallian of Nationwide Insurance, who works closely with all of Mike’s 17 locations. “Our partnership with Mike’s Auto Body is longstanding and is a true testament of what can be accomplished when we share the same goals for our customers. We are privileged to recognize their efforts and successes and happy to give Mike’s Auto Body this award.” Also in attendance at the awards ceremony held at our Concord VDM location was Jon Paul, Nationwide’s Associate Zone Director.

Added Brennan Rose CEO of Mike’s Auto Body talked about the value of the award. “We are honored to receive such a prominent award from Nationwide. I appreciate our relationship with Nationwide built over many years and honored to receive the prestigious On Your Side Showmanship of Excellence Award by Nationwide Insurance. I could cite numerous examples of how we give back to the communities we work and live in. Many people know about our 19-year-old Benevolence Program, our annual Food Drive for the food banks, our annual Toys for Tots drive, how we have stepped up for the American Cancer Society, how we have helped elementary school children, whose parents could not afford an annual field trip to the zoo, and we stepped up to make it happen. We don’t do these things for awards, but it’s always nice when a great organization like Nationwide Insurance recognizes us for our community outreach.”

In a statement provided by Mike’s management, it discusses the entire company’s culture. “We understand that keeping a customer informed throughout the process is essential. We make every effort to show as much empathy as possible, while educating the customer in the details of the repair process. While at the same time driving a triage process to maximize efficiency in the repair process. In the same line of thought, we think of giving back, to the people and communities we work in and live in, as just doing our job. We want everyone to have that sense of pride of who we are and what we do. As part of the management team, it is our commitment to drive the culture of our business. We like to say it is in our DNA. Words mean nothing, unless action is behind those words. We truly are one big family, and everyone has input and actions to make us who we are. That is one team and one mission.”

Appeared in Autobody News 

With a 10-year relationship with Rossmoor in Walnut Creek, CA, Mike’s Auto Body is proud to be a part of this senior community by sponsoring its two big annual golf tournaments and providing prizes for their monthly bingo nights.

Mike’s Auto Body’s Sal Contreras and Dane Dearlove have played significant roles at Rossmoor and get nothing but accolades for their outreach and charitable efforts on behalf of Mike’s.

Dickey Nitta, Past President of the Rossmoor Men’s Golf Club has been living at Rossmoor for 11 years. He has developed a relationship with Mike’s over the years and loves working with Sal and Dane. “Mike’s Auto Body is a wonderful company because they are willing to give back to the Rossmoor community,” Nitta said. “They sponsor our 10th hole (a beautiful par 3 with an elevated tee box) and seeing their smiling faces is always a delight.”

Chuck Moran ran last year’s golf tournament, so he knows hole sponsors like Mike’s Auto Body are essential to its success, he said. “Mike’s Auto Body is a loyal supporter, and we really appreciate their enthusiasm and how they are so willing to help us on many levels. We support a wide range of charities here at Rossmoor, including the Rossmoor Fund. It helps residents who need financial assistance and receive it anonymously through this fund.”

The current President of the Rossmoor Men’s Golf Club Pat Iacullo will be coordinating this year’s tournament held later this month. A 4-year resident of the community, he praised Mike’s for being an integral part of both tournaments–the men’s and the women’s held annually.

“They step up at Mike’s and are not afraid to help us every time we ask,” Iacullo said. “Sal and Dane are well-known for sponsoring hole #10, which is a great hole. They provide snacks and beverages and are always willing to give us some encouragement and we really appreciate their participation. They’re like rock stars around here!”

Sal Contreras has seen Mike’s Auto Body’s relationship with Rossmoor as it has grown over the years. “Back in 2013, we were invited to Rossmoor’s 50th anniversary and we also did a float in their parade that year,” he said. “Helping their residents has been great and making them comfortable is a big deal. If they get into an accident, we make it easy for them to take their cars to our Walnut Creek and Lafayette locations. No one ever likes getting into an accident, so being there and playing a role as an advocate is something we like to do for Rossmoor and their residents. Rossmoor is very protected and selective of who they allow into their community and we feel fortunate to be involved with their residents.”

Dane Dearlove calls it a win-win. “Rossmoor is a special place and every time I go there I automatically decompress,” Dearlove said. “We have sponsored them for the past ten years, but we also keep them informed about today’s cars and answer all of their questions and concerns. They know that if they get into an accident, we are there to take them through the process and make the whole experience as easy as possible.”

Recently, Dane and Sal presented an educational seminar about autonomous cars and all of the new cutting-edge technology that exists in new vehicles. “We keep them informed and they really seem to appreciate the class we presented there ,” he said. “We always tell the residents that if they ever have a question, never hesitate to call us and we do often hear from them.”

Brian Tilley, the manager of Mike’s Lafayette’s location enjoys fixing vehicles for the residents of Rossmoor and sees the value in the philanthropy that the company has been performing for more than 47 years. “When the people from Rossmoor bring their vehicles to us, they often talk about what we have done for their community and they are also very aware of our Benevolence Program,” he said. “To foster a strong relationship with Rossmoor, we make sure to give excellent service to their residents and I know they truly appreciate it. Word-of-mouth is a huge thing at Rossmoor, because the seniors there interact with each other all the time. So, we always make certain to provide the best service we possibly can to some of our most-loved customers.”

About Rossmoor

Development of the Rossmoor community began in 1963, and today there are approximately 6,700 residential units, ranging from co-ops, to condos, single-family homes and congregate living. Homes vary in price from around $200,000-plus for co-ops, to around $450,000 to $700,000 for condos and $800,000 to over $1 million for the single-family homes and garden-style condominiums.

Rossmoor offers excellent recreational facilities including 27 holes of NCGA-rated golf on 18-hole and 9-hole courses with practice areas and a driving range. There are three community swimming facilities, a full-service fitness center, 10 outdoor tennis courts, lawn bowling greens, bocce courts, billiards, a state-of-the-art table tennis facility and a dog park with artificial grass and paved areas for socializing. In addition, Rossmoor is surrounded by miles of beautiful hiking trails.

Rossmoor residents (55 years or older) participate in an abundance of activities, including concerts, dances and classes covering art to literature. The community has five clubhouses, a large event center for major theatrical productions, a movie theater, a full-service restaurant and bar, a computer information center, hobby and craft rooms, picnic grounds, meeting rooms and a social center.

For a healthier planet, Mike’s Auto Body uses waterborne paint manufactured by PPG in all of its 17 locations. This environmentally friendly paint is part of the company’s plan for being a responsible, forward-thinking and conscientious part of each business community in which they repair cars. By getting world-class support and advice from PPG and its jobber FinishMaster, Mike’s is set up for success now and in the future.

Once Mike Rose’s Auto Body made the decision to PPG in October of 2009, the first task was to get its painting staff trained on using the product. It was easily done, because PPG’s training center is in Concord, CA, centrally located for all of Rose’s shops. “All of our painters and preppers went through PPG’s one-day training class, as part of the PPG’s Convert with Confidence program,” Brennan Rose said. “The training is excellent and within a very short time, everyone was comfortable painting with the Envirobase High Performance. Since then, we’ve had zero comebacks and no glitches and our staff is putting out the cars like clockwork.”

Northern California PPG Regional Manager Rob Hengemihle knows the collision repair industry inside and out. He started in 1988 as a painter and has been with PPG for the past 18 years. “It’s a privilege to work with the Rose family and all of the people at Mike’s Auto Body, because they stress quality and PPG is a quality product,” he said. “The ENVIROBASE is a environmentally responsible paint with less pollutants in the air, but the painters still need to take the proper precautions and that’s why we are constantly working with Mike’s painters to learn the proper techniques and use them on a daily basis. We work closely with Territory Manager David Miller and Refinish Instructor Marlon Medina to use best practices and keep all of Mike’s locations informed, so that they can adhere to I-CAR requirements and become familiar with new products and processes. We also tell them in advance before PPG’s new colors come out, so that there are no surprises when it comes to dead-on color matches.”

To make certain that every paint technician at Mike’s Auto Body is as good as they can be, each one is re-certified annually at PPG’s Training Center in Concord, CA. “Mike’s painters, preppers, technicians and estimators come to the center and get some hands-on experience,” Hengemihle said. “We have a great instructor named Marlon Medina who has trained countless painters over the years. Refreshing their skills and learning new techniques is key and that’s why we make training a priority at PPG.”

To provide support and monitor things such as performance, quality and inventory control, FinishMaster’s Sales Manager Dave Atwater is invaluable to Mike’s Auto Body on several levels. Dave handles the East Bay/North Bay territory representing PPG with a highly-skilled crew consisting of six sales reps and two technical reps.

“We basically go to every Mike’s location at least monthly to find out how they’re doing and what they need,” Atwater said. “Our technical advisors are Junior DeAvila and Matt Luna and they’re some of the best in the industry. We want to set Mike’s up for success and make sure that every car painted with PPG ENVIROBASE looks incredible. We meet on a regular basis to get feedback from the management at Mike’s. We discuss issues with Lupe Algood and then he goes back to Brennan Rose and Steve Kelly to communicate what we’ve discussed.”

It’s a team effort that includes Atwater’s sales reps and technical reps with the ultimate goal of helping Mike’s paint departments to be more productive and efficient, Atwater explained. “There are a lot of different variables that can affect their production, such as the weather. We have a lot of microclimates all over the Bay Area and a waterborne paint is affected by things like humidity. So we have to continually monitor that carefully in order to make sure that Mike’s is producing the finest finished product available.”

By tracking paint usage and productivity, Mike’s works with FinishMaster to interpret the numbers and act accordingly. “Our Business Development Manager Sal Marano works with Mike’s to provide Key Performance Indicators (KPIs),” Atwater said. “This way, all of the shops can look at what they’re achieving and concentrate on the areas in which they can improve. Mike’s is a great company and a pleasure to work with, because they truly care about what they’re doing and focused on quality in everything they do.”

Mike’s Business Development Manager Lupe Algood runs the company’s training program and is proud to be working with both PPG and FinishMaster, he said. “I work in the areas of product procurement and training. We demo a lot of new products and equipment and all of our journeyman painters get ongoing additional training at the PPG Training Center. We teach them about things such as application, feathering, priming and blocking and how to use the mixing scale to get accurate color matches. I also teach I-CAR classes at the PPG Training Center. With our students, I work with them for 1-2 weeks and then they do 4-5 days of PPG training. With 17 locations and 20 facilities, it’s a big job, but FinishMaster and PPG have gone above and beyond to help us in so many ways!”

Our success is built on strong and mutually beneficial business partnerships and the service and advice we receive from PPG and FinishMaster is a big part of that.

Adept at multi-tasking and performing a wide range of marketing tasks, as well as accepting all challenges that come her way, Virginia Kuiper is already excelling as our newest Executive Marketing Assistant at Mike’s Auto Body. She presently works out of our Concord VDM under the direction of Marketing Manager Dane Dearlove and IT Director Rick Rehm.

Virginia was hired at Mike’s more than three years ago as a Customer Service Representative (CSR) working out of our Pittsburg Call Center. A graduate of Liberty Adult Community Education Center in Brentwood, Virginia, 22, was a restaurant hostess, server and held various retail jobs before working part-time as a pizza delivery person while looking for permanent employment.

One night, Virginia luckily delivered a pizza to our CSR Director Jennifer Rainey-Tebbett, and the rest is history. “I started babysitting for Jennifer and one day she suggested that I apply for a CSR position,” Virginia said. “I interviewed and got the job, which was exciting!”

After going through the CSR training and learning on the job, Virginia used her communication skills and engaging personality to placate customers who were in an accident. A CSR at Mike’s Auto Body is a whole lot more than just a front desk person answering the phones. They represent the backbone of any shop’s daily operations; a mixture of administrator, teacher, customer liaison, paperwork expert, the face of the company and the very first person that most clients will interact with.

“A good CSR makes it all look easy, but it’s not, and only certain people can do it correctly because it involves so many skills,” Mike’s Compliance Manager Jennifer Harriman said. “To be an effective CSR, you have to be diplomatic and work well with a lot of different people. When a customer comes into one of our locations, they are usually not in the greatest mood, so de-compressing the situation and easing them through the process is a huge part of the job.”

At the beginning of the year, when Virginia was asked to become the company’s Executive Marketing Assistant, she responded promptly with an emphatic yes. “This is something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time because Mike’s is an incredible company and an amazing employer,” she said. “I’m learning more and more every day here, and I love it.”

Virginia’s duties as an Executive Marketing Assistant include monitoring and creating new posts for the company’s social media (primarily Facebook); coordinating e-touch reports; creates Excel reports concerning several aspects of the company, including financials and car counts, setting up meetings; changing information on the company’s web site and helping out when it comes to our Continued Education (CE) classes.

“I helped to coordinate the Kick-Off Meeting earlier this year, by working with a caterer and vendors as well as Office Managers and Facility Managers and I’ll be doing the same when we enter our Benevolence Program’s season,” Virginia said. “In addition, my goal is to become a certified Instructor for our CE classes, something that I’m looking forward to.”

Dane Dearlove has already seen some great things from Virginia. “She has brought youthful enthusiasm and an important change of perspective to our marketing team, and as well our IT team,” he said. “She will continue to learn more and more of the operational aspect of our organization, as she continues her transition from being an asset to our Call Center to an asset for our corporate team. It is always a compliment to any organization to be able promote within the company.”

When she isn’t working at Mike’s Virginia has a wide range of hobbies and interests. She likes anime and video games and enjoys hanging out with her friends. She also likes collecting popular bobbleheads called Funko Pops, especially from one of her favorite shows, My Hero Academia. Virginia also enjoys dressing up like some of her favorite characters and attends Comi-Con, Anime Expo and other comic and video game conventions. She also enjoys good restaurants, and some of her favorite things to eat are crepes and seafood, just to name a few.

Virginia is taking on more and more responsibility as she grows as our Executive Marketing Assistant and is happy to accept any challenge that comes her way. She enjoys working with Dane and Rick because she’s able to tap into their many years of knowledge and experience, she said. “I’m grateful for this opportunity and looking forward to a bright future at Mike’s Auto Body.”

Owner Dan Mazzoncini at Dan’s Glass, Inc. in Concord, CA has a long and mutually satisfying relationship, both personal and professional, with Mike’s Auto Body and the Rose family that started way back in 1981. With nine employees and a fleet of six trucks, Dan’s Glass does commercial, residential and automotive glass installation and repair in most of the cities where Mike’s has locations.

Celebrating its 40-year anniversary this summer, Dan’s Glass has installed, replaced or repaired glass at nearly all of Mike’s Auto Body’s locations at one time or another. The window replacement team at Dan’s Glass specializes in storefront and commercial window glass replacements, but automotive glass is also a significant portion of its workload.

Dan met Mike Rose in 1981 through a mutual friend who was a painter and the two began working together almost immediately. At that time, Mike had only one location on Fremont Street in Concord and now the company has 16 locations with two in Concord and Walnut Creek and one in Lafayette, Pittsburg, Antioch, Alameda, Brentwood, Richmond, Fairfield, Napa, San Ramon, Fremont and Vallejo. As the business has grown, Dan’s Glass has been there to provide exemplary customer service every step of the way.

If you visit the Mike’s in Antioch location any time soon, take a look at all of the glass and its unique design, which was all done by Dan’s Glass. “Our goal was to give Antioch that ‘wow factor’, with 1/2-inch tempered glass throughout,” Dan said. “All you’re seeing is glass and that attracts a fair amount of attention. We also installed a large Herculite glass door and installed the water feature in the reception area.”

When it comes to auto glass installation and repair services for Mike’s Auto Body, Dan’s Glass replaces or repairs windows and windshields for vehicles that Mike’s are fixing after a collision or other mishap. This includes chip repair–a cutting-edge process where a clear resin is injected into a window’s crack to prevent it from spreading. Dan’s also performs R & R (Remove and Replace) where windshields are removed while the car is painted and then subsequently re-installed.

In the old days, Dan’s could replace a windshield without worrying about all of the many electronic systems connected to it, but those have changed over time, Dan explained. “These newer vehicles, especially Mercedes and BMW, are so technically advanced that we have to deal with things like condensation sensors, lane departure systems, alarms, crash avoidance systems and even infrared reflective windshield glass.”

In order to succeed in the highly competitive glass industry, Dan’s has to stress training and technical aptitude with all of his glass technicians. “I like doing a good job and satisfying my customers. When we get a 5-star Yelp review, it really makes our day, because that is what we’re trying to do all the time.”

When Dan Mazzoncini isn’t running his company, he works on his collection of 45 motorcycles (all Kawasaki’s) and three classic cars, including two Camaro’s and a 1967 Corvette.

The Founder and Owner of Mike’s Auto Body Mike Rose values his company’s long-term relationship and Dan’s Glass, “Dan’s been doing our work for 30+ years and Dan’s Glass is a very professional business that stands behind whatever they do, and that’s why we always highly recommend Dan’s,” he said.

Dan’s Glass, Inc.

1325 Galindo Street

Concord, CA 94520

(925) 827-4173