FOR CYNTHIA VILEZ, CSR AT CARSTAR TORCAM GROUP, EVERYDAY IS ABOUT SHOWCASING BEST PRACTICES
FOR CYNTHIA VILEZ, CSR AT CARSTAR TORCAM GROUP, EVERYDAY IS ABOUT SHOWCASING BEST PRACTICESBY SARAH PERKINS
In an industry traditionally dominated by men, achieving excellence often requires not just skill and dedication, but also an unwavering commitment as a stand out woman.
This is particularly true in the collision repair industry where technology and innovation are driving transformative changes. At the forefront of this evolution stands Cynthia Vilez, CSR at CARSTAR Torcam Group, whose contributions are not just helping to shape the industry but also setting new standards of excellence.
Like so many who come to find themselves developing a long-lasting passion for the collision repair industry, Cynthia originally started her role by taking a chance on a new opportunity. “I originally got into the industry through a friend,” she reported to Collision Repair magazine. “He was hired at another shop associated with CARSTAR Torcam Group and he told me that I would be a good fit for helping to run the front of a shop.”
“I’ve been in customer service for a long time,” Cynthia further reported, “and I ran the front of a hair salon for years before beginning to work in the front of CARSTAR Torcam Group . But, when I first entered the industry 15 years ago, I didn’t start with a strong knowledge base of collision repair and so that has definitely been a continuous learning curve.”
As a result, when she first began in the role, Cynthia worked hard to build up a strong knowledge base and notes that her expertise today would not have been possible without the help of coworkers and the collision repair community.
“Having originally entered the collision repair industry without a lot of background knowledge, I’ve found that there are always a lot of people willing to help and to offer support.”
“At CARSTAR Torcam Group, we have a great team, and we always work together to help customers.”
When looking at a typical day in the industry, Cynthia outlined how while “there’s a lot of paperwork involved, the interaction with customers is always a high point.”
Here, Cynthia and Sebastian Torres, owner and General Manager of CARSTAR Torcam Group even jokingly discussed how one long term customer occasionally brings the shop wine to thank them for their quality service and then later comes back to retrieve and return the bottle.
And, in having been a part of the collision repair scene now for almost two decades, Cynthia has also been able to observe noticeable shifts in the industry.
One of the main differences that she has seen is shifts in generational expectations between older generation customers versus younger generation customers’ expectations of service.
Another notable shift has been in the diversity of vehicles now entering the shop’s doors, such as an increase in the number of electric vehicles needing repairs.
However, for Cynthia, rather than customer interaction or changes in technology, the biggest challenge in the industry has been being a woman in a traditionally male dominated space. “While it’s not so much a challenge now, when I first started out, I found it difficult to be a woman in the industry. This was especially the case with more traditional clientele who were used to, at the time, interacting with a man.” “This is something that has definitely shifted in a more positive direction,” Cynthia commented. “The office at CARSTAR Torcam Group is now mostly women and we’re currently trying to grow the back and get more women here too.”
On this note, Sebastian further commented that “in my experience, some of the best managers I have seen over the years have been women. We really lean into this because the women we have at CARSTAR Torcam Group right now can do it like no other.”
And, in doing it like no other, Cynthia has successfully grown the shop’s charity initiatives into a large-scale event.
“My biggest achievement is definitely getting to work on our charity initiatives. At the shop, we do an annual car wash every year and we’ve watched it grow from me being alone, essentially running and organizing the car wash to Sebastian and I running the car wash today with a committee.”
As part of the CARSTAR banner, CARSTAR Torcam Group raises money for Cystic Fibrosis Canada, and this year, the shop raised $12,000 for the charity.”
In describing her efforts, Sebastian was quick to make sure that Cynthia refrained from selling herself short.
“It wasn’t until Cynthia started at the shop and started running the committee that we really started to see the increase in the amount of funds that we’ve raised for Cystic Fibrosis Canada. It’s been all through her relationship with vendors and customers. Cynthia is and always has been someone who shows what best practices are to achieve success.”
In looking towards the future, Cynthia hopes to continue cultivating her collision repair knowledge and using the best practices that have for so long made her a vital part of the CARSTAR Torcam Group team.
“Going forwards, I am definitely looking to go into a leadership role with Sebastian, who is in the process of developing a back office, and I would love to be part of it in order to continue growing with the company and do a customer service management role.”
“We’ve just acquired a fourth location to the group,” Sebastian said. “With that fourth location, we’ve found the need for shared centralized services. One of the main things we were talking about was ‘what does a training centre look like?’ and this year, we’ve started performance groups for different aspects of the business. Where Cynthia will come in is that we’re going to be doing a performance group for CSRs and I asked her to help me lead it. As early as November this year, Cynthia is going to help me teach best practices so that everything is consistent among the stores.” Finally, when asked about advice she has for those looking to enter the collision repair industry, whether this be as a repairer or on the customer service end, Cynthia concluded that it’s all about “just being positive.”
“My advice would be, don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s always okay to ask questions and to remember that everyday is a learning curve. I still learn something new everyday and have found that knowledge is everything.”
