On June 24, Fix Auto Meadowvale celebrated its grand opening at its new location in Mississauga. The event included raffle prizes from on-site sponsors, door prizes and a meet-and-greet with the Fix Auto Meadowvale team. All proceeds from the event went to Ronald McDonald House Canada.
Collision Repair attended the event and spoke with Claudio Chiodo, president of Doublesee Enterprises Inc. and multi-shop owner with Fix Network, on Fix Auto’s newest location.
Fix Auto Meadowvale opened for two primary reasons. “We wanted to provide an environment that was transparent to the consumer,” said Chiodo. “So from the start of the repair, the consumer can see their car, from when they walk in through to doing repairs and advanced inspections.”
The second reason encompassed the desired employee environment. “[We have] a climate-controlled environment for the technicians, a clean open workspace with enough lunchrooms and an environment that fits the modern next generation of employees,” said Chiodo. “It rewards the older employees who have been in the industry for a long time, who haven’t necessarily been treated the way that [they should.]”
In addition to its three detail bays and multiple inspection bays, the new facility can spray five vehicles simultaneously, creating a fast lane to complete small repairs more quickly, eliminating them from the general repair queue. Furthermore, the shop can separate repairs from a refinish standpoint, effectively producing two cycles working concurrently on a daily basis.
The shop’s layout utilizes its square footage well, from a track system that moves vehicles in and out of booths to a detail bay that allows multiple vehicles to be pre-washed and delivered together.
While Fix Auto has had aluminum repair capability for a long time, the new shop increases customer awareness and perception of Fix Auto Meadowvale’s ability to handle EVs and calibrations, Chiodo said. “Those are all things that we do here on site,” he added. “And so, we’ve incorporated all of those technological changes into the current model and are looking forward to what the future models will be.”
Fix Auto Meadowvale also has protecting consumers’ assets in mind, made possible by its secured pound area. “It allows for vehicles that are coming online,” said Chiodo. “So if they come off the highway and are brought into our pound, the vehicles don’t have to sit outside and come inside at night; instead, they go into the pound and stay protected.”
According to Chiodo, the fast lane approach allows the team at Fix Auto Meadowvale to better handle dealership work, and insurance companies benefit from transparent triage and the separation between repair style and size.
“I think if we can get our car count to where we want it to be, if we’re fully staffed with employees that are enjoying their workspace and that we continue to deliver the service levels that we’ve promised to our consumers, that we can see that reflected in our reviews, [then we will know this investment has worked,]” concluded Chiodo.
Fix Auto Meadowvale is Doublesee Enterprises’ seventh Fix Auto location, joining Fix Auto Burlington, Fix Auto Cambridge, Fix Auto Etobicoke, Fix Auto Hamilton Centre, Fix Auto Mississauga Central and Fix Auto Streetsville, in addition to four NOVUS Glass locations in the Greater Toronto Area.
