Preferred Auto Body’s Cameron and Erika Snow know when you’ve had a bad day.
The Snows, owners of Preferred Auto Body, Inc., apply their know-how to making your prized wheels look as good as new. From coordinating with insurance companies to buffing newly repaired auto bodies, their 11-person crew aims for complete customer satisfaction.
Since purchasing Preferred Auto Body in 2014, the Snows have focused on “keeping people happy” and “trying to do everybody right,” Cameron said. He and Erika bought the shop three years after relocating from California to Prescott, where Cameron had enjoyed visits during high school with a friend whose family had local connections. Cameron had been a firefighter until a job-related back injury ended that career. A family friend mentored him in auto body work, Cameron explained, “and here we are.”
In a typical week, the shop repairs about 20 vehicles. After dropping to 15 a week during the pandemic, business is picking back up.
“Our business is a mix of everything from bumpers to ‘train wrecks,’” Cameron said. “It goes in spurts. We can’t predict what will be coming in, so we’re ready for anything. Seventy percent is repeat customers and referrals. There are a lot more customer pays than I ever thought. People are scared to death to use their insurance.”
That fear arises from misconceptions about what causes insurance rates to rise, he explained. The general rule is that a driver hitting something spurs a rate increase, while damage such as that from hail storms, vandalism and grocery carts does not. A collision with a deer or other animal is exempt. Cameron shared that three-year rate increases of $27 to $30 a month have been reported by customers for “chargeable” incidents.
“The average person is going to get into a wreck,” according to industry statistics, Cameron said. “You would have to go 21 years without a loss to justify a $1,000 deductible and you’d only save a small amount a year for not choosing the lower deductible. People should know the fine print of their policies. Everyone thinks they have full coverage, but they don’t. Many go online and pick the cheapest rate, where accident payouts are low and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts are limited.”
Preferred Auto Body takes pride in advising customers on when to use insurance coverage and when to pay cash. “You may be able to repair minor damage for not much money, but you will want to explore if a more expensive repair justifies the cost of having insurance pay for it,” Cameron said. “We can help you figure that out.”
Besides negotiating with insurance companies, Snow says interfacing with customers can be challenging. “There are a thousand different scenarios, but any of them may have one thing in common: customers are stressed and not happy because their prized possession, and their second most expensive purchase after a home, is broken. We apply our knowledge to make them as happy as possible when they get the vehicle back. Circumstances change, so that task can be hard or easy.”
Community is important to the Snows, who have built strong relationships with businesses such as Brinkley Automotive, Big O Tires, Jim’s Alignment & Brake Service Inc., Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Hertz Car Rental. The Preferred Auto Body experience includes, if needed, a ride to or from Enterprise or Hertz or a nearby home, office or similar location.
Of their many philanthropic activities, Erika said they like to keep their donations local by contributing to Prescott High School, Boys to Men Mentoring, Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters, Kiwanis, and Arizona tax credits to area schools. Serving veterans is a favorite cause.
The Snows had collaborated in California with other businesses to raise $10,000 to $20,000 a year to take underprivileged children shopping during the holidays. They said they’d like to do the same in Prescott by aligning with schools and a merchant for after-hours shopping.
On a personal level, the Snows met at a California high desert roping event during the summer between sixth and seventh grades, Erika said. Their parents were friends and Erika later saw Cameron at middle school, though she says “he didn’t know I existed until we were 19.”
Their son, Travis, 21, and daughter, Shelby, 18, focus on “storming their own castles,” Erika said. Travis works in heavy construction and Shelby graduates this year from Prescott High School.
“Finding the right employees is the hardest part of this whole thing,” Cameron explained of opportunities for painters, painters’ helpers, detailers and office managers. “It’s worse because of the pandemic. We try to keep everybody working together as a family. We are blessed to have the people that we do.”
Best advice I’ve ever received:
“My former boss, and now friend, taught me everything I know about the auto body business and continues to give us advice regularly. His best advice was to always make the customer happy and go out of your way to make the repair process as easy as possible.”
If I could obtain a new skill, it be would be:
“To learn how to play an instrument, like a guitar, because it would be fun to play around a campfire.”
The last time I felt gratitude:
“We feel pride and gratitude on a daily basis. Our son is 21 and is working for a local company in construction and loving it. Our daughter is 18 and is graduating from Prescott High School this month. We’re proud of both of them and are grateful to God to have been able to raise them in a town like Prescott.”
In our spare time:
“We like to explore Arizona in our Side by Side, go hunting with our kids and when Cam can, he competes in Bench Rest shooting.”
Our role models are:
“Our dads. We lost them both at very young ages. They were 46 and 49. They both were hard-working men who were leaders both at work and at home. We try to work and live our lives in a way that we think would make them proud of both of us.” QCBN
By Sue Marceau, QCBN
