SHOP: Revolution Mercedes-Benz Specialists LOCATION: Decatur, Ga. OWNER: Matt Purselle SIZE: 7,700 square feet
STAFF: 8 (4 techs, 1 service advisor, 1 service advisor/office manager, 1 detailer, 1 owner) MONTHLY CAR COUNT: 225
ANNUAL REVENUE: $1.5 million
1) Matt Purselle’s business sits on land lush with foliage and flowers. Purselle says his shop appeals to customers because it looks so good on the outside, people are curious to see what lies inside the shop.
“Customers appreciate that the outside is neat and orderly,” Purselle says. “They see that our shop is nice and efficient on the inside, and that flows outside. Just because we work on cars doesn’t mean we can’t take care of our surroundings. It shows we can take care of our shop, our surroundings, and we can take care of their car.”
2) Having grown up with a garden at home, yet lacking adequate space to grow much of anything at his current residence, Purselle created a shop garden that features kale, spinach, asparagus, garlic, beans and a range of other vegetables. Revolution also boasts peach and apple trees, as well as a fig tree that was planted as a gift from a customer.
The garden can serve as a sort of outdoor waiting room for customers, and if nothing else, creates conversations between customers and the staff at Revolution.
“I like to know where my food comes from,” Purselle says. “I walk by it 10 times a day. It’s a good conversation piece. And if customers show up on the right day, there’s extra food.”
3) While Purselle likes to keep an organized garden and exterior of his shop, he preaches that same organization to his techs and shop staff. Behind the front desk of his shop hangs a whiteboard referred to as the “command center.” It lists the names of all the shop’s techs, their assigned jobs, and the stages of their work. Purselle says it eliminates confusion, keeps everyone on the same page and keeps a harmonious atmosphere in the shop.
“This is the final version of several iterations of trying to put everything in one place,” Purselle says. “I wanted to stand there and look at it and see what the status was on a given repair. Techs can walk up and see what’s next, what’s coming down the road, and what has been done. It kind of makes everyone feel they can work autonomously if they need to—they don’t need to ask, they can just look at the board.”
4) What you can’t see from the road might actually be Purselle’s favorite part of the shop. Revolution gets 50 percent of its electricity from the 62 solar panels on its roof. He says it was a no-brainer to install the panels once he moved into the building, and in the future he may never have to look at an electric bill again.
“It doesn’t make sense not to do it,” Purselle says of installing the solar panels. “It pays for itself. When you have a 20-year loan on this building, I’m looking at 12–13 years to pay for solar. After that, solar is paying me. It’s a smart move, especially in the South.”
