<\/p>\n
ALLISON \u2013 If there\u2019s a secret to longevity and success in a small business, the Simons family, who have run Allison Garage for 50 years, certainly have found it.<\/p>\n
Heading down Colorado 151, just before you enter the little community near Navajo Lake, you\u2019re likely to miss the auto shop if you\u2019re not attentive to the large number of cars parked in front of their four-bay garage.<\/p>\n
Allison Garage has no business sign.<\/p>\n
\u201cA delivery truck knocked it down about 10 years ago,\u201d Robert Simons Sr. said. \u201cThere\u2019s never been any reason to replace it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simons Sr. and his son, Robert \u201cBobby\u201d Simons Jr., have never advertised.<\/p>\n
Bobby, who took over the day-to-day operations of the garage in 1979, said the shop has always had more business than it can handle.<\/p>\n
Clientele from southeast La Plata County, even a regular customer from faraway Silverton, keep the Simonses and their two employees, Alex Lopez and Andy Betzer, busy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve known Alex and Andy since they were boys,\u201d Robert Sr. said. \u201cWe know their families,\u201d added Ethel, Robert Sr.\u2019s wife of 62 years. \u201cIt\u2019s a good community.\u201d<\/p>\n
What everything boils down to for the Simons\u2019 operation is honesty, family and community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been fun. It\u2019s been a good life, a rural life, which most people like once they see it and live it,\u201d Robert Sr. said. \u201cMost locals have cars with 100,000-plus miles. They don\u2019t have new vehicles, and they drive them until they drop, then they get the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family\u2019s way of spreading their message is from the lips of one satisfied customer to the ears of a neighbor or a friend with an automotive glitch they can\u2019t fix.<\/p>\n
The computer age has bypassed the shop, where everything, from customers\u2019 tickets to the bookkeeping, which is handled by Ethel, is done with pens and paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe keep printing shops in business,\u201d Robert Sr. said.<\/p>\n
Robert Sr. started the shop in 1968 after arriving from the San Gabriel Valley in California. He found Allison while in search of better schools for his children and a better quality of life. His first choice for relocation was Colorado, which he remembered from a stint in 1958-59, when he was stationed at Fort Carson Army Base near Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n
The business flow is pretty simple: Call the Simonses and set up an appointment and get in line.<\/p>\n
Sometimes people will come in with a limping vehicle and employees will do a quick diagnostic then set up the appointment.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the Simons family had some burgers, hot dogs and beverages at the shop and invited the community to celebrate 50 years in business. Ethel organized a raffle for a few prizes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought 50 years in business was worth a celebration of some sorts,\u201d Robert Sr. said.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s founder still gets out a wrench once in a while, but now a lot of his time is spent on the road with Ethel in their 40-foot RV.<\/p>\n
Most shops use a flat-rate manual to price jobs, but the Allison Garage usually beats the rates in the manual.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe bill only for the actual work we do. With the flat-rate manual, you get hit for a lot of work that really doesn\u2019t happen,\u201d Bobby said.<\/p>\n
The formula has kept advertising costs at zero and the computer age as an unnecessary complication.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been lucky. We\u2019ve made money every day we\u2019ve been open,\u201d Robert Sr. said. \u201cNot a lot of money, but always a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 82, he is content.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis business has been a godsend for us. We raised a family with lots of grandkids and now great-grandkids coming behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s a good mechanic. My daughters are as good a mechanic as you\u2019ll find,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n