Escondido couple drive business

By: SHANNON WINGARD - For the North County Times | Friday, March 23, 2007 8:58 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- Considering that owner Mark Ross has two bachelor's degrees in humanities, it may come as a surprise that he and his wife now own Al's Auto in Escondido.

Two years ago, Ross and his wife, Christie, bought the business, which was established in Escondido in 1977. Although neither is a trained mechanic, they believed that they had the business know-how and right attitudes to develop long-lasting relationships with customers.

Those relationships are suggested by a recent encounter with an elderly woman in which Christie Ross promised to give her a reminder call in the morning that her car needed to be brought into the shop.

She said she enjoys taking that extra step because it is one way of establishing trust with the clients.

Another way, she said, is always being honest with the customers about what the vehicle needs.

"It's not always going to be what they want to hear, but we will always tell them the truth," she said.

Apparently, the owners have earned the respect of their customers, especially since they have received a 99 percent customer satisfaction rating. The survey was done since Al's Auto is a certified Napa Auto Care Center, which is the national organization that conducted it. It is based on efficiency, accuracy of original estimate and overall satisfaction. ÝÝ

Although he has no formal mechanical training, Mark Ross said that he has had a passion for automobiles since he was younger.

"As a teenager, I started working on my parents' cars and tinkering on any car that needed my attention," he said.

That passion led him to consider buying the shop, which has three full-time mechanics, when he and his wife were deciding which type of business to buy. He said he searched the Yellow Pages, talked with numerous owners, and eventually was connected by a broker to the former Al's Auto owner ---- Al Davis. Ý

Since he and Davis shared similar beliefs on how to treat customers, Mark Ross said it was easy to decide that Al's Auto was the right business for his family to run.

Although it is a lot of hard work, he said being part of the mechanical process is worth it. Ý

"There is something about having a car with a problem, figuring it out and fixing it," he said.

He said the business's previous reputation was very important because new owners have distinct opinions on how their customers should be treated.

Mark Ross said his and Christie's opinions stem strongly from both of their backgrounds. In fact, he had originally planned to go into the ministry when he earned bachelor's degrees in Bible and youth ministry from Pacific Christian College, where he and his wife met as students. Ý

Mark Ross said that he decided not to pursue the ministry, and eventually worked in marketing for an information technology firm in Silicon Valley. While living there, he also earned an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Years later, he and his family moved to Oceanside.

Mark Ross said that one reason for the move was to go into a new business that was more family-friendly. Since their three children spend some time with their parents at Al's Auto, he said it is ideal.

While Mark Ross is not necessarily drawing from his bachelor's degrees to run the business, he said the humanities degrees have helped him to work well with his customers.

While the Rosses have numerous reasons why they enjoy what they do, Mark Ross summed up their feelings very well in a written description about the business.

"Helping them (customers) keep their cars operating in good condition makes us happy at the end of the day," he said.

Name: Al's Auto Service

Owners: Mark and Christie Ross

Address: 2431 Vineyard Ave., Escondido

Phone: (760) 745-8000

Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday

Established: 1977

Web site: www.alsautoescondido.com/

Services: Vehicle maintenance and repair, oil changes, tuneups, dealer-recommended maintenance, brakes, smog tests, etc.

Employees: Five

Revenue for 2006: $485,000

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