Meet John Eppstein | John’s Automotive Care

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Eppstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
John’s Automotive Care was built on amazing customer service and community involvement. We have a positive impact on our community every day. Our customers rely on us to help them manage their automobiles which they use for things like going to work, running family errands as well as all the community service that they do. We not only keep their vehicles on the road, but we help them with anything that they ask us for. When the pandemic started, we offered free disinfectant, toilet paper, gloves and masks to anyone who needed them. These are just a few examples of what we do for our customers. We also work with many nonprofits throughout our community. Becoming a board member of The Boys & Girls Clubs of East County was the first step back in 1998 that we took toward working within our community. We support a couple different events put on by the club every year and we also run a vehicle donation program where 100% of the proceeds go to the club. I also put on my own event every year. This year was the 18th annual “Quarantine” Casino Night where we raised almost $35,000. Our toy drive supports The Boys & Girls Clubs of East County, Marvin Elementary School and Children’s Hospital Heart Ward. We also provide school supplies (pens, pencils, notebooks, backpacks, etc….) We buy Girl Scout cookies and send them to the troops and then we support any charity that our customers ask us to. I am also on the Cuyamaca/Grossmont College Foundation Board where we are trying to provide free Community College for all students. Being part of The Automotive Service Councils Educational Foundation, we raise money to give scholarships to students looking to get into the automotive industry. I am also part of another foundation that gives support to several not profits including Lions, Tigers & Bears and Operation Greyhound. We collect pop tops for The Ronald McDonald House and the list goes on and on. Also during the pandemic we have supported a couple local restaurants by giving out gift certificates to our customers that we pay for. If we hear of people in our community that need a hand, we do our best to help.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
By looking at our Google & Yelp reviews you can see that we shine brightly in two areas. Our customer service and our safety protocols concerning COVID-19. We go to great strides to help our customers get through their car repair’s as painlessly as possible. From the detailed reports with pictures to the willingness to help people work within their means and providing honest information and recommendations so they can make the best decision possible for them. From the big things to the little things, we want your visit to be memorable for the right reasons. During the pandemic we implemented a lot of safety protocols to ensure the safety of our employees as well as our customers. We offer the ability for our customers to drop off their cars and pick them up without stepping a foot in the building. We have a safe place to drop keys and leave us notes as to what their needs are and then after paying over the phone or through our contactless payment option, we leave their car parked out front and we put the keys in a secure lockbox that we provide them a code for. Every set of keys is sanitized at drop off and again before we give them back to the customer. We sanitize every car when dropped off and then we put plastic covers on the floor, seat, steering wheel, shifter, light and turn signal arms. When the customer comes to get their vehicle we wipe it down completely again and remove all the plastic. Our ASE certified technicians wear gloves and masks anytime we move a car for that added safety. Being in San Diego we are lucky enough to have great weather most of the year, so we relocated a rose bush from out front of our building and built a waiting area outside since we had to close our inside waiting area. I am very grateful to be able to solve the problems that our customers are facing every day in a professional manner that our customers are happy to tell their friends about. I started out as a one man shop back in 1998 and today, we have grown to two locations. I was a great technician but did not know much about running a shop. Good news is, I was smart enough to admit that I wasn’t that smart, so I asked questions, joined organizations and took a lot of classes and have managed to learn enough to get us this far. Never stop learning and seeking knowledge and then make sure you share your knowledge as you will learn even more as you do. I have worked hard all my life, treated people with care and compassion and have never made a decision based on making money. If you make decisions for the right reasons good things will always follow. We always offer what is best for our customer even if it is not what is best for us. This is how you take care of people

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The Local Downtown, Osaka’s in Mission Valley, Corbin’s Q, Brothers Family restaurant, Brigantine, Chai Waii Chinese Food and Outback Steakhouse. Zoo, SeaWorld, Balboa Park, Petco Park, Belmont Park, Torrey Pines, Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego Auto Museum, Pine Valley, and Del Mar. Over The Line Tournament, Local sports teams (Sockers, Gulls and Padres) Museums across the city. The beach, The mountains

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have been a member of The Automotive Service Council of California since 1999. Through this organization I have made some great friends who have shared their experiences in their business that I have been able to take back to my business and make changes and improvements. Through sharing our thoughts and ideas we have all been able to grow and become better at what we do which has allowed me the ability to give back to my community at the level that we do.

Website: johnsautomotivecare.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnsAutomotiveCare

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/johns-automotive-care-san-diego?osq=Auto+Repair

Image Credits
Sarah Morgan Photography