Pick-N-Pull, Inc., San Antonio, Texas
By Caryn Smith
Pick-N-Pull, Inc. is a three-operation business, in San Antonio, Texas, with two self-service locations and one full-service. The main and original location is the Pick-N-Pull, Inc. on Applewhite Rd., which is the volume location, and it has 65 employees. The business opened in February 1987, and sits on 40 acres. Most of the vehicles are 2017 and older.
“We’ve got customers that come from all over the United States. We are called ‘military city’ for a reason with three active military bases here,” says Lloyd Welty Jr., Vice President at Pick-N-Pull, Inc. “We have cell phone numbers calling us from all over the country, and even Puerto Rico. I would say our market reach is probably roughly 75 miles.” With a broad reach, it is important to make a good impression on customers.
The Pick-N-Pull facility processes 800 vehicles on average per month. In 2023 they had over 204,000 customers come through their doors. “It is a big operation, we’ve expanded, and we have done a lot in the area of customer service to make it even better,” says Welty. To him, customer service and brand reputation go hand-in-hand. They cannot be separated.
Raising the Bar on Impressions
Welty doesn’t believe customer expectations have changed through the years, but what changed at Pick-N-Pull is their adjustment to meet those expectations. “Let’s put it this way, in 2014 when I took over as general manager, the location had little to offer in customer service. We were the biggest S/S yard in South Texas, so we could get away with it. In my management style, I am all about reviews; and to get good ones you must take care of the customer. Today’s society has changed. It’s more about the customer than ever before,” he says.
The first change involved the way employees interacted with customers, especially as competition crept into the marketplace. Change did not come easy, and some employees were off-boarded who could not make the transition to positivity.
Welty started with the cashier windows which were set up at higher than the customers’ eye level at check out; so he had a new building built in order for them to be more at a face-to-face level. The management also evaluated the team’s attitude, raising the bar on customer communication. The operations manager now seeks ‘bright and bubbly’ when hiring as a main quality. “If they come in with a negative attitude, or not smiling, they are not hired,” Welty says.
Efficiency is also important in the check-out line, as cashiers are the last impression of the business in the customer experience. “On average Monday through Friday, we push 450 customers a day through here. On a Saturday and Sunday, it’s 850 to 1,000,” says Welty. “When we get a line, which is rare, our customers very seldom wait more than 15 minutes to make it through our checkout.”
Getting Around
Navigating the huge property is also part of the customer experience. The facility has large section signs that are four by eight foot, and 16 feet in the air. There are three ‘you are here’ maps, which also indicate the sections based on the row numbers. All told, there are 36 signs to guide customers to the right section and row. Pick-N-Pull also runs a shuttle that takes customers out to their desired locations and brings them back when they are done.
“Interestingly, the average time spent in our yard is one hour and 15 minutes,” says Welty. “One of the things that we’ve done, too, as a customer comes in, we ask them what they’re working on, what are they looking for? Then we run the interchange on it. We give them a printed list of all the vehicles in the yard that should have that part, with the newest car listed first.”
For pricing, there are QR codes on each of the section signs, one for the yard map and one for the price list. At our entrance we used to post the price list, now we only have QR codes.”
Reviewing the Business
To manage the facility reputation, Welty keeps a close eye on reviews. “Every two to three weeks, I go on Google, Yelp, and Facebook. I respond to all reviews, good or bad. Jen from Jencey Consulting shared this tip at an ARA convention. I have done it ever since. If I see a bad review come across, even on a weekend, I will respond to that immediately. If it’s a positive review, I’ll wait to respond to that. I’ve had some of the negative reviews that were changed to positive reviews because I was able to explain our processes and policies. When someone responds to them right off the bat, you actually get a better chance of saving that review, right?”
Handling Returns
The return policy and warranty are posted everywhere at the location. If they return a part, they get the money back in a gift card, usable at any of the three locations. “There is always an exception, and that was a hard one to get some managers to understand. If the person makes it into the back office complaining, not just at the cashier’s desk, then we write them a check and refund them. That’s my policy. Underneath the old leadership, it was a hard no, they lose the money.”
The gift card expires in six months. If someone is at the end of the time frame, and brings it back in because they haven’t used it, we will give him another gift card. “You know, if it’s over 50 bucks, it’s a liability to me to have it out there,” he says. “If someone travels 125 miles to pull a part with us, and it doesn’t work, then they went elsewhere to get it and they come back with the part, we will refund them the money. The bottom line is, take care of the customer, so they are more willing to come back because of the extra attention.”
Parts Guarantee
“Listening to other self-service yards speak at ARA, especially guys like Dan Snyder of Snyder’s Certified Auto & Truck Parts and Wrench A Part, our per-warranty purchase percentage is probably double the industry standard,” says Welty. “We run about a 6% to 7% warranty purchase rate a month,” he says. “After hearing from other recyclers at ARA speak most self-service yards run from 2.5% to 3%. Our standard is that cashiers quote the parts with the warranty already in the part price. So once everything is rung up, they have to say, ‘this includes a 90-day warranty.’ Then also they get a commission on selling warranties as part of their bonus program.”
Processing Vehicles
When Pick-N-Pull brings in new inventory, the cars are cleaned out with a pre-cleaning crew, something that is a bit different than other self-service yards. The crew removes batteries, license plates, mercury switches, airbags, and cleans out the car. The vehicles then go to processing and depollution and are finally put in a holding area by make and size, keeping foreign SUVs separate from the cars. “These teams are very efficient; last week they did 81 cars in a day,” says Welty. “Then my set crew comes to pull the old stock, a row at a time. We put the dates of vehicles on the ends of the rows to identify them easily. Last week, we set 223 fresh cars in our yard. I strive to set roughly 200 a week. I would venture to say right now, our average age of stock in the yard is probably about 120 days.”
Parts Pullers for Hire
While Pick-N-Pull does not offer tools to customers, they do offer the services of experienced parts pullers. “We have a list of five independent parts pullers available to help customers. They contact them directly to arrange to meet, and they work a deal with them,” he says. “The parts puller will work to find a good engine, let’s say, and then pull it. The customer pays them for their labor and pays us for the part. The parts puller comes with them to the cashier, it is noted that they helped that customer, and he gets a slight commission off the sale of that part.” The parts pullers also are required to discuss the warranty with the customer. “It’s been a pretty successful program.”
Efforts Pay Off in Ratings
Since 2014 Welty has been implementing changes to Pick-N-Pull. He notes that the Google rating in 2014 was 1.2 and they are now at 4.8. The Yelp rating was around a 1.1 and now it is around 4.3. Facebook’s rating was in the low twos, and now they have a 4.8/4.9. “So overall, I would say the changes made a lot of difference,” says Welty. “Plus, some of that is advertising, but a lot of it is taking care of the customer, right? One of the things I would say has made the biggest impact is the change in attitude about the customer. I don’t believe the customer is always right. Yet, I believe the customer needs to be treated like they’re always right. It also depends on the customer’s attitude towards us on how we respond.”
Advice for Others
Each year, Pick-N-Pull has increased their customers by about 5,000 to 10,000 customers year over year. They have also seen an uptick in first-time customers. Something is working!
“First, in giving advice to others, I would tell them they need to advertise. Number two, if they’re having problems with their brand perception, then they have a customer service issue.” Welty advises that businesses do what they say they will do, down to keeping to the hours of business you advertise.
“While I believe that we need to serve the customer to our best ability, I’m also a firm believer that you can fire a customer. They are tagged in our system, when they enter their phone number as a ‘Do Not Enter’ customer.” Thankfully they are few and far between.
Visit their website at picknpullsa.com.
Caryn Smith is the editor of Automotive Recycling magazine, and has been covering the industry for over 20 years. She is a freelance writer for industry publications, such as Recycling Today.
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