INTERVIEWS

Steven Burton
Rosslyn, Virginia
SLBurtn@aol.com

 

1 Q: What type of business are you in and what is your position?

 

A: That is auto collision. It's for car accidents, when repair and painting is needed. I own it. I have 100 percent ownership. This is my business. It was first established almost 6 years ago. Yes, it's been 6 years.

 

 

 

2 Q: What led you to establish your business?

 

A: I established the business because, originally I was in Norfolk, Virginia. I had helped a hearing man there establish his business. I had the advantage of learning from him all about the process. I commend him because he did it all without capital, which is quite a feat in financial management. I learned from him right from the start, and through the whole process. I worked with him for 4 years. Then I moved here because my family lives here.

 

 

 

3 Q: Did you face obstacles when you started?

 

A: Yes, the first year was hard because many people were resistant to working with a Deaf person. I didn't let that get in the way. Hard work paid off. Doing quality work and doing it on time impressed people, and word spread. Now people know me and trust me, and business keeps coming in.

 

 

 

4 Q: how many people do you supervise?

 

A: I have 13 employees. I have two who work in the office answering phones. The other 11 are technicians. There are 11 of them.

 

 

 

5 Q: How many Deaf employees do you have?

 

A: I have just one young man working under me who is Deaf. However, in the past, I did employ a Deaf "body" man. He worked here, but then he quit.

 

 

 

6 Q: Who are you role models?

 

A: As I previously mentioned, the man from Norfolk, Virginia set up his own business because he felt like it provided a sense of freedom. No one was watching over him. I liked that, too. I liked that and it became my goal as a young man. It was my goal, and 20 years later I did establish my own business.

 

 

 

7 Q: How do you communicate with your employees?

 

A: Really, I have not found it hard. The most important thing was to bring in a manager and teach him to sign and fingerspell. He improved over time. He brought in employees and some of them did not write well. Most of them were Spanish speaking. It was easiest to use gestures for communication. Over time, the demographics have changed and now most speak English and sign and fingerspell.

 

 

 

8 Q: What education and training have you received?

 

A: I graduated from the Virginia School for the Deaf in Staunton in 1971.

 

 

 

9 Q: What do you do to remain competitive in your business?

 

A: Simple, it is simple. I subscribe to a journal. I am a member of the Washington Auto Body Association. They send me information about technological advances and updates. The information comes monthly and I read the printed material.

 

 

 

10 Q: Do you seek training for your employees?

 

A: Yes, some insurance companies require that individuals be trained and certified. I had my employees leave and go to training and get certified in order to get more business from insurance companies.

 

 

 

11 Q: Are you a member of any trade organizations?

 

A: Yes, a lot of memberships. For example, one is called DRP. That means the Direct Repair Program. An insurance company such as GEICO will deliver an order directly to us after one of their customers has an accident and gone through the process with GEICO. We get our business from them directly. Other body shops who are not members can't get that business directly.

 

 

 

12 Q: Your clients are referred to you by what insurance companies?

 

A: There are three such memberships: GEICO, State Farm, and Nationwide. Oh, and I forgot a 4th, Metlife. So altogether there are four, which is more than enough. Yes, another insurance company approached me for another DRP, but I had to tell them to wait because I did not have enough room to handle the business on the premises here. When I first opened, I thought the area of land was too big for me. I asked my landlord to reduce the space, but he flatly refused to alter what I had signed. Now, the whole area is full, and I'm talking about not having enough space.

 

 

 

13 Q: What was the most challenging obstacle you had to overcome?

 

A: The biggest headache was the vendors. They called me constantly about the bills. If I ordered parts, I had to pay it off within 30 days. If I put it off, they would call without ceasing. They weren't very reasonable or understanding. They just wanted money and other than that, they didn't care. I had to work very hard and finally after the third or fourth year, I got everything all paid off.

 

 

 

14-15 Q: What are some communication challenges you have faced?

 

A: Yes, my first year was tiring Customers would come in and I would indicate that I was Deaf, and go get pencil and paper to write back and forth. It took a lot of writing, especially if the person was not happy with the repair. We would fill page after page writing back and forth. It was a big headache. That’s why I decided to hire a hearing manager and teach the person to sign and fingerspell. Now he can do the talking.

 

The first few years after I opened, I had time to talk with people who came in, mostly communicating by writing. A very few could sign or fingerspell. I had a poster of the sign language alphabet and people would see that I was Deaf and then start spelling. It really helped a lot, and it was fine when that happened, but otherwise I used pen and paper. Now, I've hired a manager that handles the communication problem, and that has worked well for me.

 

 

 

16 Q: Do you socialize with your employees outside the office?

 

A: I don't. They do. After the job, they socialize together or go out for a beer. They hang out, but I don't. After work, I go straight home. I am too tired.

 

 

 

17 Q: What are your greatest influences to your success?

 

A: I would say there are two things which have the greatest influence. One is experience in the same field, and the other is capital, having the money and investments.

 

 

 

18 Q: What organizations do you belong to?

 

A: I am a member of the NAD, the VAD, the Washington Auto Body Association, ICAR, which is certification for repairs, and the Better Business Bureau.

 

 

 

19 Q: Who helped you with starting out?

 

A: Yes, I went through it myself. I have to be assertive. Because I am stubborn. I am a Taurus.

 

 

 

20 Q: Do you think English skills are necessary?

 

A: Yes, I think English is important because my manager goes to insurance companies and talks about how to expand and increase business, and the key always comes down to communication. That's the key. It means better customer service, which is critical. English is important.

 

As you know, I have a daughter who is Deaf and a student at MSSD. Her English is very good. We accomplished this by putting up post-it notes with the name of everything around our house from the time she was born. We labeled everything. For the TV, we wrote out "television." For chair, we wrote "chair." She grew up reading these labels and now her English is good.

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