RAINELLE W.Va. (WVDN) – In the small town of Rainelle, life is a little different. One stoplight controls the easily flowing traffic, the bank where every face is a familiar one and store employees who know their customers so well that they seemingly know when you’ve forgotten something on your shopping list. “Did you forget coffee today?” they ask.
As of August 1, there’s a new business owner who fits right into that small town charm. Jack Mason, who moved from North Carolina with his wife, opened Keystone Automotive to a welcoming community. “I’m the guy who has to have something to do,” Mason says. “I’m a workaholic, but it’s not all about money. I want to help people, and that’s the whole idea of me being here.”
As the owner and manager of the new one-stop shop auto center, Mason prioritizes customer service. “People want to be treated like family,” he says. “Nobody wants to be talked to or treated like a number. If I came to your business, I would hope you’d talk to me like a person and explain how things work. If you come to me, I’m your guy. I’ll take the time to help you understand what’s going on with your car.”
When asked about the services offered at Keystone Automotive, Mason admits that there is only one thing he cannot do. “You name it, and I can do it,” he says. “The only thing that I cannot do at this moment is a front-end alignment. I ordered the machine, but it’s coming from overseas. I can do anything your mind can imagine, but I just can’t align the front-end yet.”
With plans to expand his business to include house calls, Mason hopes to offer light diagnostics and tire changes to his customers in the near future without them having to leave home. “I want to get into road service,” he says. “Changing tires on the road and helping people at their house.”
With the exception of Saturday, which is by appointment only, Mason prefers a different approach to scheduling. “I don’t work by appointment,” he says. “If you’ve ever had an appointment and something goes wrong, you hate being late. I just tell people to bring their vehicle in and get a ride back home, go back to bed, or go to work, and I’ll have it ready by the end of the day. I can usually get them in and done in the same day if they’re here early enough.” Getting vehicles in and out efficiently has to do with not only the knowledge of the technicians, but also their ability to work in a comfortable environment. To that end, Mason has installed both heating and air conditioning so that his team can operate comfortably in all weather conditions. “My guys can work inside comfortably, and that makes a world of difference in getting the vehicles in and out,” he says.
With winter just around the corner, Mason admits that moving from North Carolina has been a learning curve. “I’m not from up here, and it gets cold. I got caught off guard a lot last winter,” he says with a laugh. “One thing I can say is to undercoat your vehicle before the first snow and ice. Salt will cause it to rust, and I see a lot of that on my lift. I can tell the cars that are from up here,” Mason says. Another important area that many people overlook is transmission, which Mason recommends be serviced every 50,000 to 70,000 miles. “Folks can check their owner’s manual, but that’s a general guide. Everyone thinks to change their engine oil, but not their transmission fluid. It needs flushed, have the filter replaced and new fluid added as preventative maintenance,” he says. One of the most important aspects of maintaining a vehicle is to try to prevent a problem before it occurs.
As an analogy, Mason offers the following thought. “For example, you can never change your engine oil too soon, but you can change it after it’s too late. It’s not just me selling an idea or making money doing a flush or an oil change,” he says. “It’s trying to get people to understand that preventative maintenance will save you so much money in the long run. Raise the hood and check the fan belt, steering fluid, engine oil and transmission fluid.”
In closing, Jack Mason hopes that customers will choose his shop not only for the quality of work, the customer service or the helpful advice that he so freely gives, but for a combination of all this and more. “Don’t be afraid of the new shop,” he says. “Sometimes, new shops have the best service, best attitude and even the best ideas on how to help you.”
Keystone Automotive is located on 1151 Kanawha Avenue in Rainelle. Business hours are Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays by appointment. For more information, call 304-438-5535.
