Keeping rigs on the road
Sep. 18—Mike Poirier waited 150 days to obtain an exhaust system for a Honda before he gave up and paid for a muffler shop in the community to make one custom for the vehicle.
"It cost me more money, (but) I don't care as long as the customer is happy," said Poirier, an owner of All About Auto Body in Clarkston.
Lengthy delays and complicated searches for parts are one of the challenges Poirier has faced since the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on supply chains.
His business fixes cars, pickup trucks and vans when they've been in collisions or been around long enough that the owners want the exterior refreshed with a new coat of paint.
His business and others like it are playing an important role in the economy right now, even though they are facing unprecedented challenges obtaining materials, parts and tools.
The repairs they complete give employees transportation to their jobs and businesses a way to deliver products without having to purchase replacement vehicles at a time when prices for new and used vehicles are escalating, Poirier said.
The trend has helped All About Auto Body grow, something it's been doing since Poirier founded the business a decade ago.
He credits its success to hard work and bringing honesty, respect and humor to his interactions with customers, insurance adjusters and suppliers.
He traces the venture's origin to his wife's grandfather, who owned an auto body shop in California before he retired to this area.
Poirier was doing yard work for him when her grandfather asked if he wanted to help him work on a car.
"I'm always ready to learn something, so he started teaching me," Poirier said. "Obviously, I've learned a lot more since then."
The informal apprenticeship continued while Poirier earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice at Washington State University.
His classes were on Tuesdays and Thursdays, leaving him Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for car projects.
After he graduated, he decided to make collision repair his profession because he enjoyed the process of taking a "mangled mess" and turning it into something that looked brand new.
It started small. Initially he was located in the back shop of Cook Brothers Electric at the Port of Clarkston with two bays.
He maintained a full-time job as a Transportation Security Administration screener at the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport, completing a shift that went from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m.
"Then I would go to my shop and work until I was done," he said.
Demand has been steady, fueled by collisions with deer and other vehicles. The jobs range from repairing minor dings on bumpers to, in one recent instance, replacing the entire front end of a Subaru.
That repair involved removing the engine then putting it back after the body was fixed.
"It's just intensive, making sure every nut and bolt is wired and back to factory standards," Poirier said. "I guarantee my work for the life of the car. If they have a problem, it's coming back to me and I'm fixing it for free."
The space that All About Auto Body now occupies at 2461 Appleside Blvd. is larger, with eight bays at the ready. His staff has grown to include three employees.
Poirier's customer base is constantly growing, partly because people are finding it more affordable to pay for repairs than buy new or used vehicles, he said.
"I just did a complete paint job on a 2004 Chevy pickup, for a lady that said she would rather spend the money to fix that up than go put $60,000 on a brand new truck," Poirier said.
He still works long hours, starting as early as 4 a.m. and leaving around 6 p.m. Once he has insurance approvals and has procured parts, he doesn't like customers to wait longer than a week to get their vehicles back.
Finding products consumes an increasingly large share of his time, as one shortage ends and another starts.
Right now, black primer, something he uses on any black or navy vehicle, is hard to locate, as are certain types of clear coats.
"The supply chain shortage has been a mess," he said.
Whatever challenge he faces, Poirier said, his sense of humor is one of his biggest allies.
"I try to treat everybody that comes in here the way I would want to be treated, not with a scowl on my face," Poirier said. "You know you've got to smile and laugh and have a good time while you're doing it."
Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
All About Auto Body is owned by Mike Poirier, 35, and his wife, Marie Ferrigno, a speech therapist. The two met and started dating when they were students at Clarkston High School. Her grandfather introduced Poirier to the auto body industry. Poirier founded the business 10 years ago in a back shop of Cook Brothers Electric at the Port of Clarkston and later purchased its present location at 2461 Appleside Blvd. in Clarkston. It's open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Its telephone number is (208) 791-6959. When he's not working, he likes to golf and fish.
