Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathryn and Sybren van der Pol.
Kathryn and Sybren, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Adolf Hoepfl Garage is one of the longest operating auto repair shops in Houston. It was founded on Jan. 1, 1946 by Adolf and Lillie Hoepfl from Moulton, Texas. My husband Sybren and I bought the business 13 years ago from his son Eugene so we are the second family to own it. When we bought the business, it was in need of a lot loving help. Over time, we made major building improvements, repairs, brought the business into the computer age, added new equipment, new lifts and began servicing hybrids and electrics, doing oil changes and maintenance services.
I was a school teacher and my husband was a Jeep/Chrysler Master Technician and Foreman for a local dealership. It was always his dream to own his own auto repair business. I used to teach Latin and history at St. John’s School for 17 years so jumping into the automotive world was a huge leap of faith for me. I still get to teach but now I teach with my husband. He is constantly training all of us and I am still teaching, too. We hold car clinics to help our customers get the most value out of their vehicle. We hold daily meetings to help our service advisors improve as leaders, and help our entire staff work as a team focused on a common agenda, commitment and purpose.
My husband has taught me so much about the automotive industry and cars but there is not a day that goes by that we don’t learn something new. That is what I love about our industry. It is always changing and we get to be part of that. Our shop on the outside may look like a throw back from the 50s, but on the inside we are definitely part of the 21st century,
Has it been a smooth road?
The road to where we are has been a lot of hard work to improve just the physical appearance of the building. People think that our building is so cute now. If only they could have seen it in 2004! One of the other biggest struggles has been to find qualified technicians and customer service people. We now have three Master ASE certified technicians, a rarity in our industry even for dealerships. We also have three excellent customer service advisors and office manager, but it literally took years of trial and error to find such a competent and friendly team. Anyone who has been in business knows that finding good people is a key to business success.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Adolf Hoepfl Garage – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Adolf Hoepfl Garage is a full service auto repair shop. Our warranty is three years or 36,000 miles whichever comes first. We offer everything from oil changes and state inspections to brakes, check engine lights repairs, suspension, tires and engine tune-ups and more. We can fix anything that the customer needs. Some customers have been known to bring us in addition to their cars and trucks, boats, generators and yes, one older lady once brought us her midnight special.
We also offer a special protection plan for vehicles under 75,000 miles which is free provided regular maintenance is performed. This protection plan is for the life of the vehicle and is transferable.
Often, new customers will come here from other shops and ask us in desperation to fix something no one else could. One time, a customer brought his engine in pieces from the dealership! With the experience of our technicians and their high level of training and tools, we can do a lot of work that many cannot. We can also do the basic maintenance and simple things that everybody needs to maintain their car: batteries, fluid services, 30, 60 and 90K services.
Many people do not realize that independent repair shops like ours have to be more skilled than dealership technicians. This is because we have to work on more makes and models than dealerships as well as older vehicles that dealerships won’t touch.
One thing that makes us stand apart is, that our technicians are required to do 40 hours of training per year. Our company spends thousands of dollars to keep our staff up-to-date on the latest automotive technologies. In addition, most dealership technicians are performing warranty work so while they become skilled at certain repairs because they are doing them over and over, we are repairing higher mileage vehicles with more issues that many dealership technicians will ever see.
In 1974, Congress passed the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1974 which basically states it’s illegal for a dealer to void a warranty because regular maintenance services were performed elsewhere. The dealerships should not tell customers they are required to do oil changes and services at the dealerships because that is not correct. We can service anything that the dealership can and we can perform oil changes without voiding their manufacturer warranty. Now if a part breaks that is under manufacturer warranty, we would advise them to take the vehicle to the dealership or we would take it to the dealership for them so it could be repaired at no charge to the customer.
Our auto repair shop specializes in long term relationships with our customers. We are taking care of the cars of Adolf’s grandchildren and the grandchildren of his customers. We have many new young families that have discovered us and that is exciting because we hope that we can build the same long-term relationships with them that we established with other long-time customers. While we have won many awards from the Better Business Bureau, the Greater Heights Chamber of Commerce, the Automotive Service Association, The Leader Newspaper what we are most proud of is our history and connection to our community. We are involved with a number of projects to make the North Shepherd corridor more attractive to local owner-operated businesses, help our local schools, and promote the area.
We believe that cars are key to our independence so another thing that sets us apart is our waiting room which is nicknamed the Liberty Tree Waiting room and has many Texas- made products for sale, and tree cuttings from the last known Liberty Tree of the American Revolution.
As far as special services, we are a AAA Approved Auto Repair facility, we offer loaner cars, pick-up and delivery, a shuttle service, and many other little kindnesses that make auto repair more convenient and add value.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Houston is a great city of opportunity. We love the people and the diversity. I guess what we like least are the potholes but at least, that is good for business.
Pricing:
- Synthetic/Blend Oil changes $31.47
- Full Synthetic Oil Change $59.95
Contact Info:
- Address: Sybren & Kathryn van der Pol
Adolf Hoepfl Garage
4610 N. Shepherd Dr.
Houston, Texas 77018 - Website: www.adolfhoepfl.com
- Phone: 713 695-5071
- Email: Kathryn@adolfhoepfl.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adolfsgarage
9-2-15 Double Rainbow over Adolf Hoepfl Garage
Image Credit:
Kiki Neumann and Eugene Hoepfl
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