Sam Burrage founded Santa Rosa Transmission & Car Care in 1999. He started the business in a small, out of the way location in Santa Rosa, California, with financial help from his parents who concurrently owned B&E Transmissions. Originally, Sam and his wife operated the company, but it steadily grew, and in 2004, they moved to its new larger, more convenient location.
In addition to performing ownership functions, Sam is a transmission specialist and auto repair, technician. He’s ASE Certified with the National Institute for Automotive Service of Excellence, and he’s also a member of and certified by the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association, ATRA.
Sam stays current with today’s ever-changing high-tech vehicles by regularly attending technical training seminars. Moreover, he takes part in business seminars and workshops that teach “best practices” and how to nurture customer-centric service cultures. Sam says, “Our customer-first culture inspires our team, and we love helping Santa Rosa area residents with all of their car repair and service needs.”
Santa Rosa Transmission & Car Care is a third-generation automotive business, but unlike most multigenerational enterprises, it’s the third in a line of three separate family-owned repair shops. Sam started working in his parent’s transmission shop, B&E Transmissions before he could legally drive. Just like Sam, his dad, Bill Burrage, learned how to run a transmission business from his father, William Burrage, who owned shops in Northern California back in the 1950s.
Sam says, “I learned the importance of putting customers first during those years in my Dad’s shop. My father and grandfather were customer-centric before customer-centric was even a word. Of course, the term customer-centric is popularly used today to describe an outstanding customer service culture.”
Sam attributes much of the family’s customer-first culture to his mom, Linda Burrage. As a memorial to Linda’s contribution, the company’s website includes the following tribute to her.
… Linda worked in and ran the office at B&E Transmission for over twenty years. Linda’s expertise and experience at handling the behind the scenes and sometimes forgotten aspects of running a business were key in getting Santa Rosa Transmission up and running.
Linda’s loving, supporting demeanor was one of the most influential aspects of leading the Burrage family through life transitions and business endeavors. Linda will always be remembered for her friendly, inviting smile and willingness to give of herself to others.
After a long hard-fought battle with breast cancer, Linda left us but left an enduring legacy that still lives on in every aspect of SRT’s company philosophy and family legacy.
When I asked what sets Santa Rosa Transmission & Car Care apart from other shops, without hesitation, Sam replied, “We have a top-down, bottom-up customer-centric service culture. That means our customers can count on being the focus of our attention and our desire to satisfy them every time. We want our customers to know we care by the way we treat them, not just by what we say. Our business revolves around them – that’s the essence of customer-centricity.”
Sam added, “It’s too bad that today, the phrase ‘good service’ usually describes the quality of the work we receive from businesses like auto repair shops, plumbers, electricians, and professionals like doctors, lawyers, and accountants rather than describing how they treated us. That’s probably why business experts invented the word customer-centric.”
About the Team
Rick Burrage, Sam’s uncle, is also a product of B&E Transmissions. He started working with his brothers, Bill and Ed when he was 15 and stayed with them for nearly 28 years. He’s been with Santa Rosa Transmission & Car Care for about 20 years.
Like Sam, Rick is an ASE certified automotive mechanic, and he’s an ATRA certified transmission technician. His depth of training and experience make him an expert in diagnosing automatic and manual transmissions. His auto repair skills make him a valuable member of Santa Rosa Transmission & Car Care and a top professional technician in the auto repair and transmission industry.
Tom Brown is described by his peers and by customers as a technician with pride. He’s also an ASE certified mechanic. He enjoys knowing that every customer who brings their automobile in for repair or service leaves feeling confident that they’ve received the best automotive care and service available in the surrounding area.
Aaron Nelson is a 20+ year veteran of the auto repair trade. He’s also ASE certified and qualified in electronic and computer diagnostics. Before joining the team, Aaron spent the previous five years working as an engine cooling specialist and HVAC repair technician. He has very high standards in customer satisfaction and brings a wealth of knowledge to the team.
Damon Spiva, Sam’s nephew, joined the company as a customer service advisor about a year ago. He’s already taken part in service advisor training programs offered by several recognized industry trainers. Due to his family ties, Damon has been in and around the industry most of his life. Before joining the SRT team, he spent about five years in the well-drilling business as a heavy equipment operator. Damon’s people skills have exceeded Sam’s expectations, and he’s fully committed to the customer-first service culture. It will be interesting to see if Damon eventually carries the family repair shop legacy on to a fourth generation.
Shelby Brooke was hired to take care of the bookkeeping responsibilities and help the service advisor, as needed. Sam observed, “Shelby earned a degree in accounting from Chico State; so, I knew she’d have no problem with doing the books, but she was so good with people that she quickly started working with customers much more than we planned. The customers love her, and she’s a great communicator between techs and customers.”
Trust and Respect Between Competitors
Sam emphasized that he maintains good relationships with his competition. Even without a formal Outside Sales Program, he’s always enjoyed a steady flow of referrals from other local general repair shops who trust their customers to Santa Rosa Transmission.
He admits that when he decided to go from strictly transmissions to adding general repair, he feared he’d lose those referrals. However, Sam says, “With few exceptions, that didn’t happen. We assure the referring shops that we’ll prop up their relationships with their customers. Moreover, true to our word, we do everything we can to reinforce those relationships. That builds trust between the referring shops and us.”
Another example of the strength of Sam’s character and relationship-building ability occurred when Chuck and Barbara Baker, owners of A&A Transmissions in Santa Rosa decided to retire a few years ago. (You might remember Chuck and Barbara from their days as ATRA Board members.) Anyhow, before they retired, Chuck and Barbara asked Sam if he’d take on the remaining warranty time and mileage responsibilities for their customers. In exchange, they gave Sam their entire book of customers and encouraged their customers to switch to Santa Rosa Transmission & Car Care. That arrangement demonstrated how much trust existed between the two companies as well as their mutual commitments to putting customers first. By the way, Chuck and Barbara are now Sam’s customers – that also says a lot.
The pictures in this article are the result of another interesting coincidence. A professional photographer by the name of Will Bucquoy took them. While that’s not particularly interesting, what’s interesting is that Will once owned a competing transmission shop in the Santa Rosa area. He retired a few years ago to pursue his passion as a photographer. Today, Sam and Will are customers of each other. When competitors become customers, that’s a testimony to their mutual respect.
Spared from the Fire
I’d be remiss if I didn’t address the elephant in the room. As you’re probably aware, the Santa Rosa area was devastated by the Northern California fires last year. Sam said he knew many people – friends, family, and customers, who lost their homes. While he was forced to evacuate, Sam escaped damage to his home or the shop. Furthermore, the broader effects of fire only minimally affected the business.
Meet Sam Burrage at Powertrain Expo
Sam regularly attends the Powertrain Expo, and this year he’s bringing his team. I encourage you to look for him and spend some time visiting with him. He’s very engaging and has a lot to offer in terms of ideas and encouragement. Sam and his company are a credit to our industry.
