Randy Pickering

Business Development Coach - Elite Top Shop 360

Not only has Randy Pickering run one of the top shops in the country since 1976, but he’s a 4th generation shop owner whose family has been serving their communities for over 100 years! When Randy first took over the family shop, Pickering’s Auto Service, it was a 2-bay operation. Randy soon grew the business to an 8-bay, leased-building operation, and continued its expansion until it became the 15-bay, state of the art, property-owned shop it is today. In 2010 Randy was able to open up a second location, and today his 2 shops have a total of 25 bays, employ 17 superstars, service more than 500 vehicles per month and bring in over $2.7 million in annual sales.

Randy is a past ASA National Mechanical Division Director, a past president and board member of the ASA of Colorado, and today his shops are affiliated with the AAA as AAR’s, are NAPA AutoCare Centers, and he is a 30+ year member of the Better Business Bureau. When asked about his shops, Randy replied, “We’re not in the business of fixing cars, but more in the business of building relationships through honesty and integrity, quality work and superior service”. With an outlook like this, it’s no wonder that his shops have been so successful. As an independent contractor with Elite for over 7 years, Randy lives in Colorado with his wife, Lynette, and his three children, Trent, Brandon, and Taylor, and 2 grandchildren. Trent & Brandon, now own the family business.

Joe Marconi

Executive Council Member

With over 36 years of shop owner experience, Joe has accomplished what most others could only dream of. In addition to being a multi-location owner/operator of one of America’s most successful auto repair shops, he is a graduate of the Automotive Management Institute, an ASE Master Tech, and he is a recipient of the coveted CARQUEST Excellence Award and the Putnam County NY Entrepreneurial Award. He has also served on the Car Care Council, the Tech Net Advisory Council and the CARQUEST Advisory Council, he participated in the development of the ASE Engine Performance Certification test, and he is a cofounder of AutoShopOwner.com. Not only is Joe a regular contributor to national industry publications and a monthly columnist for Ratchet & Wrench magazine, but Shop Owner magazine dedicated an entire article to his shop and his success.

In addition to all that he does for our industry, Joe and Osceola Garage are heavily involved in the local community, as Joe supports all local youth sports, is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and donates to several charities (Toys for Tots, Heart Association, The HOPE Foundation, Women’s Resource Center, Friends of Karen, Local Veterans and local Senior Centers, to name a few). Osceola Garage was founded on the principle that the shop will always do what is in the best interest of their customers, employees and the community, so he fit into Elite’s culture perfectly from day one, and we are proud to call him a member of the Elite family. As an Executive Council Member, he also provides his professional insights on the ongoing development of our services, our Quality Assurance Programs, our staff and client training curriculums, and the creation of new services to better serve the growing needs of our industry. We are also pleased to say Joe presents many AMI accredited courses for us, and he plays a leading role in the ongoing development of our services. As one of our Business Development Coaches, he is constantly working with our other coaches for one simple reason: To better ensure the success of each and every Elite client. Joe and his wonderful family live in beautiful Patterson, New York.

Jim Butitta

Business Development Coach - Elite Top Shop 360

Jim Butitta grew up in his family automotive business, a radiator shop and W.D distributor for more than a dozen OEM and aftermarket manufacturers. Over the years his entrepreneurial spirit drove him to add full service automotive repair, and he soon grew the business to six locations that included 56 automotive service bays, a full service radiator shop, a gas tank rebuilding facility and a parts distribution system. Jim now has over 44 years of industry experience, and attributes much of his success to his business philosophy, taught to him by his father, which includes honesty, integrity, respect, great customer service, and running the cleanest, best maintained shops in the country.

Jim has a strong background in financial analysis, budgeting and putting systems in place to insure financial stability, and has shared his expertise with several multi-shop owners to help them become more successful in both their business and personal lives. He has also given back to the industry by authoring articles for a national trade magazine, serving on regional and national boards for over 30 years, serving as President of local ASA group, and serving as National President and Chairman of the National Automotive Radiator Service Association. In addition to working with Elite, Jim gives back to his community by contributing his time and talents to “not for profit” organizations, as he was a past president of a local food bank, and served on finance and building committees for a domestic violence shelter for women and children.

Jim sold his business after 33 years so he could enjoy some of the fruits of his hard work, and spend more time with his wife, Jody, three sons and seven grandchildren. Jim loves to golf, is an instrument-rated pilot, and is a lifelong Harley Davidson rider.

Kevin Vaught

Executive Council Member

After starting his work in the industry at age 15, Kevin had opened his own shop by the time he was 22! His shop, Autotire Car Care Center, was an immediate success, and Kevin was able to open up 4 locations over the next 15 years. One of the reasons Kevin was so successful as a shop owner was because he understood the importance of his people and his processes. He believed that he couldn’t provide great external customer service without first providing great internal customer service (to his employees), and that hiring the right people, giving them the tools, systems and procedures that they needed, and then getting out of their way would be a huge key to his success. This business philosophy certainly paid off, as Kevin’s shop was featured in Modern Tire Dealer, and received an award for being the best shop in Indianapolis (voted on by consumers).

Kevin received ASE certification, as well as an ABA degree in Business Administration while he was running his shops. He served on the Kelly Springfield Dealer Council, the Michelin Dealer Council, and chaired the advisory board that designed the “Tech Prep” curriculum for local high schools. He has 43 years of industry experience, and was a highly profitable multiple location owner-operator for over 30 years until he finally sold his company so he could focus on another one of his passions: Helping other shop owners build more profitable businesses. As an Executive Council Member, he also provides his professional insights on the ongoing development of our services, our Quality Assurance Programs, our staff and client training curriculums, and the creation of new services to better serve the growing needs of our industry.

Before working with Elite, Kevin started his own small consulting company where he helped auto repair shop owners improve their operational processes, customer service, and net profit (among other things). He is truly committed to the betterment of the industry, and was recently published in Ratchet & Wrench. Kevin is also committed to his continuing education (as is evident through his completion of courses on financial management, time management, customer service, sales and marketing) and to helping his community through his work spreading breast cancer awareness. There’s no question that Kevin is an industry leader, and we are honored to call him one of our Elite Business Development Coaches. Kevin is an avid golfer, and lives with his wonderful wife in Bonita Springs, FL.

Mike Kost

Business Development Coach - Elite Top Shop 360

Mike Kost began his career as a technician (ASE Master Certified), but soon realized his dream of becoming a shop owner when he purchased his first Precision Tune store. Mike was able to utilize the skillset he picked up from business college to both start up new shops from scratch and make failing shops profitable, and within 5 years of purchasing his first store he found himself running 4 profitable locations. As a franchisee Mike has been awarded Precision Tune’s Top 10 Presidential Award, received an award for creative marketing, and for 15 straight years has received an award for achieving the highest sales volume in his area.

For over 20 years Mike has continued his education by attending numerous industry sales, management and customer service courses, and the knowledge he’s obtained has helped him create systems and processes that have enabled him to run multiple successful shops from over 300 miles away as an absentee owner. In the last 13 years he’s spent as an absentee owner, Mike has enjoyed helping other shop owners understand the importance of customer service and create proven processes to become more successful, so needless to say, we couldn’t be happier to have him as a member of the Elite family. Mike, his wife Tammy and his 4 wonderful kids live in Aberdeen, South Dakota.