Today we’d like to introduce you to Keith Benline.
Robert’s VW started in 1969 on Cass St. by Robert Martin, the original owner. Robert owned it for about 5 years until he partnered with Bill Clum. Bill soon bought Robert out but kept the name Robert’s VW until he moved it to the Birdrock area of La Jolla and added Swedish and German cars. Bill, his family, and his father Fred, operated Robert’s and it became Robert’s German and Swedish auto repair. Bill then moved the shop to its current location at 4630 Mission Bay Drive around 1983 and expanded into Japanese cars. So the name became Robert’s German, Swedish, and Japanese. After joining an automotive repair consulting company and consulting with Keith Benline, the VP of the consulting company, Robert’s German Swedish Japanese became Robert’s Auto Service and began working on all types of vehicles, yet still specializing in each car line because of the technician’s abilities. in 2003, Bill Clum sold Robert’s Auto Service to Keith Benline and his wife Kelly.
Many of the Robert’s employees that were with Bill are still with Robert’s Auto service to his day. Terry, the European technician has been with Robert’s 38 years, Bob, the American car technician, has been with Robert’s 28 years, Dean the Japanese car specialist, has been with Robert’s 20 years, and James, the General Manager, has been with Robert’s for over 15 years. Add in a few other employees and you have the team at Robert’s Auto Service, one of the best in all of San Diego!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Shortly after purchasing Robert’s in June of 2003, the months of July and August were fantastic. Then the huge fires of 2003 hit, causing a downturn for the month. Other than a worker’s compensation billing/communication issue with Farmers Insurance that was costly and unfortunate (because of the ownership change,) things were mostly smooth with the exception of a few issues here and there. But with the long-term employees at Robert’s it was pretty easy. They feel they are family and watch for the best interest of Robert’s as much as Keith and Kelly do.
The only bump in the road was the recession, which we saw starting in summer of 2007. Summers are the best months for auto repair and the summer of 2007 was not good. Sure enough, our nation plunged into the recession. Customers were coming in 2007 telling us they were losing their jobs, getting layoff notices, etc. and wouldn’t even invest $300 in their vehicles. As far as they were concerned the car could sit on the side of the road and they would take a bicycle to work.
In automotive repair, we really get a real world glimpse into what is going on with the general public. Most people think auto repair is “immune” to things like a recession. Well it’s not true. Yes, it might be better than selling luxury items, but if people aren’t working and don’t have income it affects everybody.
In 2012, we hired an experienced manager who helped bring us all the way out of the recession and back to the way things were before the recession. We have recently moved on from this manager, but, he was key in helping James Harvey our long-time manager become the General Manager. Robert’s is on record pace for 2017.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Robert’s Auto Service story. Tell us more about the business.
If you’re looking for auto repair in San Diego, you’ve found us. Here at Robert’s Auto Service we work hard to earn your trust and loyalty. We know how important it is to find a San Diego car service you can rely on, so your satisfaction is our top priority each and every day.
Here at Robert’s Auto Service, we understand what makes customer service truly outstanding. You will feel the difference exceptional customer care makes when you work with us. We know auto repair San Diego offers you lots of choices, and we aim to provide the kind of caring customer service that will bring you back.
Our San Diego car service offers you years of combined expertise from our well-trained technicians. We treat our auto repair professionals well, because we value their skill and can-do attitude. We know our team sets us apart, saving you time and money, not to mention worry. When it comes to auto repair in San Diego, we are totally confident that Robert’s Auto Service is the best option in town!
With its years of great reputation in the Pacific Beach area, Keith and Kelly have continued the family atmosphere which keeps the employees very happy, the customers well taken care of, and the reputation of automotive repair solid! Robert’s Auto Service is an Approved Auto Repair shop with the AAA, and has many 5-star reviews on all the popular review sites.
Lastly, it’s about you, the customer. We know auto repair can be sudden and unexpected. We always make sure we communicate thoroughly, go over all your options, and stand behind our work. If there are ever any issues the last thing we want is someone who feels they weren’t treated fairly. So, we will go above and beyond to make things right in the customer’s eyes, always. And we will spend whatever time it takes to make sure of it.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck is pivotal and needed in any business. No matter how good or innovative you are, luck plays into it. For us, we were able to take over 2 other shops customer base during the recession. If luck didn’t have these people come to us we would have never worked it out with these other shops. That little bit could’ve been all it took to help us survive the recession.
We have avoided most, (not all) bad luck situations. When we have had bad luck, it hasn’t been too bad. We always joke that no good deed goes unpunished, and that does happen more often than not. An example would be: the technician notices a rag sucked into an air box restricting air flow to the engine, which is not good. He removes the rag and rechecks for damage and re-secures everything properly. He does this no charge for the customer because they are spending enough money on other repairs. Well, within a few days, the check engine light comes on because now with proper air flow into the engine, the computer realizes there has been a problem that was been masked by the restrictive air flow. So, no good deed goes unpunished because now we are responsible and have to fix the customers check engine light problem. This is how luck affects the auto repair shop.
The other way luck comes into play is with what we call the “light bulb.”. When you walk into a room and turn the light switch on, sooner or later the light bulb is going to burn out. Cars are no different. We can look it over and give the car a clean bill of health. The next day or two, something can break that we had no idea and could not foretell in anyway (this is not a worn part that we could see was worn. It would be a part that appeared fine.) Customer’s usually don’t understand this and expect us to replace this part. So that’s where bad luck can affect us.
Contact Info:
- Address: Robert’s Auto Service
4630 Mission Bay Drive
San Diego, CA 92109 - Website: www.robertsautoservice.com
- Phone: 858-483-4130
- Email: info@robertsautoservice.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertsautosd/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/robertsautosd @robertsautosd
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/roberts-auto-service-san-diego
- Other: https://www.surecritic.com/reviews/roberts-auto-service
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