For Automotive Technicians, Image is Everything
Key Takeaways:
- An Apparel+ uniform program delivers brand consistency without adding work to an owner’s plate.
- A well-run fitting event can outfit an entire crew without interrupting the workday.
- Breathable, professionally laundered workwear keeps employees comfortable and takes laundry off their to-do lists.
On a typical day at West Coast Customs in Burbank, California, 25 employees work on as many as 15 builds at once. Sparks fly in the metal shop. Fans blow through the paint bays and the upholstery studio. Music carries across the wood shop and the wrap room, competing with axel grinders and spray guns. It's dirty, loud and extremely hot from open to close. The place is so alive that when the crew splits for lunch, the silence falls as if the shop is holding its breath.
West Coast Customs is one of the most recognizable names in automotive customization, and its owner and CEO, Ryan Friedlinghaus, has built more than a brand. He’s built a team, including graduates of West Coast Customs Academy who grew up watching the shop’s builds on TV and now work alongside the crew they looked up to.
A look worth wanting
Ryan had a simple wish: to look out over the shop and see a crew dressed the same and looking sharp. But this was about more than looks. The clients who walk through those doors trust West Coast Customs with their one-of-a-kind visions, and every interaction across the shop is a chance to earn that trust.
"Some of the most famous people in the world come in to work with us, and they trust us to realize their creative vision. It’s really important that we show up looking sharp, professional and dialed. I want our customers to feel the West Coast Customs brand, regardless of who they interact with across the shop."
—Ryan Friedlinghaus, CEO and Founder at West Coast Customs
Still, between builds, business and everything else on his plate, outfitting 25 people kept sliding down the list.
Kara Stephens, who helps manage the shop, saw another side of it. The crew was wearing their own West Coast Customs-branded T-shirts made of sturdy, high-quality cotton that held up to shop work but ran hot, and the short sleeves left the metal fabricators' arms exposed to flying sparks. My first thought was about safety. Sparks and bare arms don't mix, and our guys were dealing with that every day.” Employees were also doing their own laundry, and home-laundering clothes covered in automotive grease, oil, sweat and dust every day is not only a huge chore but also less effective than commercial laundry. Add repairs and replacements to that and switching to a managed apparel program was a no-brainer.
Then Cintas got the call.
"From the moment we got the call, we knew we were the right partner for the job, able to deliver on image, safety and service right from the start. Plus, we were going to make it so easy for them to switch over."
–Carlos Esquivia, Cintas Sales Partner
Choosing the look
To figure out the right garments for the team, Carlos Esquivia, West Coast Customs’ Cintas sales rep, sat down with Ryan and Kara and showed them samples of everything Cintas carries. They landed on ComfortFlex Pro® shirts in navy and pants in charcoal, chosen for their breathability, their stretch and one detail only a custom car shop would think of: no metal rivets to scratch a car's finish.
That presentation was the only time the program needed focused attention from management. From there, Ryan and Kara let Carlos and his team take the wheel.
25 fittings in 90 minutes, zero downtime
Ask owner-operators what they dread most about outfitting their staff, and many will point to the fitting process. Measuring an entire crew sounds like a lot of busy work for them and a lot of actual time lost for everyone involved. In practice, Cintas has a finely tuned process where they handle all the heavy lifting quickly and efficiently — and the crew barely breaks stride.
And that’s what happened at West Coast Customs. Shortly after they chose garments, Kara and Ryan welcomed Carlos back to run their fitting event. Employees stepped away from their bays two at a time, tried on samples and got back to work. All 25 people were fitted in 90 minutes, and Ryan and Kara never had to stop doing their thing.
"The greatest feeling is not to have to worry about anything, not to have to worry about the service, even the fitting. The guys are going to get fitted. I don't have to worry about it. It's handled. Next thing I get to do is walk down here and see everybody in uniform, that's gonna make me feel good.”
—Ryan Friedlinghaus
First service
About a month after the fitting, Carlos came back on an unusually warm morning for “First Service,” the day the program went live. The crew got their ComfortFlex Pro® shirts and pants, built to breathe in a shop that runs hot. Matthew, an academy hire, put his new shirt on and walked past a fan. He said, with real amazement and relief, that he could feel the breeze come through the fabric.
First Service was also the day the crew met Adolfo, their driver (known as the SSR). He’ll be back every Tuesday to pick up dirty uniforms and drop off clean ones, which means laundry is officially off everyone’s to-do list.
“This is the kind of thing that, when left to the pros, gets done quickly and correctly. And it didn’t require any lift from us at all."
-Kara Stephens, Producer at West Coast Customs
One team, one look
A month in, the builds are still loud, the shop still runs hot and the crew is still turning out some of the world’s coolest cars. But something has shifted. The fabricators work without flinching from sparks. Nobody’s hauling greasy laundry home. And when Ryan looks out over the floor, he sees exactly what he wished for: one team, looking sharp, feeling safe and ready to make magic.
“We do a ton of tours every day. People from all over the world come to West Coast Customs to see us, and so for me, it just elevates the brand to the next level. When people are looking out at the guys on the floor, and everyone's in the same West Coast uniform, it’s like ‘chef's kiss.’”
-Kara Stephens
Contact us to learn more about an Apparel+ program from Cintas.