83 Years In Collision Repair: Gold Class® Shop Owner Pinkey Feest Would Do It All Over Again

02/17/2022 by Val D'Anna

“Pinkey Feest is in a class of his own among Gold Class collision shop owners,” says Todd Bonecutter, I-CAR’s North Central Region Business Development Principal. “His passion for our industry still burns bright at age 97, and his commitment to repairing vehicles the proper way comes from a deep devotion to his customers. On behalf of I-CAR, I thank him for his exceptional, lifelong dedication to the collision repair industry.”

If time gives you perspective, you’ll never meet anyone with more perspective on the rewards and challenges of working in collision repair than Richard H. Feest, the 97-year-old owner of Pinkey’s Capital Auto Body, a Milwaukee Gold Class® shop. Since opening his shop in 1956, Pinkey, as he’s known to family, friends and customers, puts in a full day’s work every day. That’s Monday through Friday, and often weekends too, for 65 years, with a workday that starts at 6:30 a.m. Then there’s almost 20 years of experience pre-dating Pinkey’s Capital Auto Body, that start with a 12-year-old Pinkey learning his beloved trade in a garage owned by a cousin’s husband. Invited to observe, Pinkey recalls, “I was fascinated watching the guys work. I saw what I could do with my hands. I started working on cars on Saturdays and after school until nine at night. My dad used to say, ‘When are you going to slow down, Pinkey?’ I didn’t go to dances. I didn’t go out. I was learning. Learning to love collision repair work.”

Loving your work is something Pinkey talks a lot about. With 83 years spent in collision repair and no plans to ever retire, Pinkey likes to say, “If you love your job, you’ll never work again.” He was lucky to discover an interest in collision repair at a young age and to have an opportunity to learn from a master tradesman. Yet luck was only a small part of it. Even at age 12, he put the hours in and paid close attention to his mentor’s instruction, all the while stoking his interest into a full-blown passion for collision repair.

Love of family is inseparably linked to Pinkey’s love for his vocation, like two sides of the same coin. The importance of family is literally part of Pinkey’s identity. It was his sister who greeted him, “Such a cute little baby. I’m going to call him Pinkey.” He’s been happy to answer to his sister’s affectionate nickname all his life, even while serving in the Army overseas for three years during World War II.

Over the years, Pinkey brought his late wife, two sons (one now retired), daughter, two granddaughters, and two grandsons into his business. “I wanted to build my business for my family. That was my goal. That’s what I’ve done. My grandsons will run it one day.” He adds that just as he did with his sons, he started his grandsons out with “the dirtiest jobs. The dirty jobs have to be done too. They learned from the bottom up.”

Operating as a Gold Class shop is part of Pinkey’s plan to keep his business running at its peak when it’s handed over to the next generation of his family. The shop has remained busy even during the pandemic. It repairs 2,000 cars annually, and work is booked out for four to six weeks. The shop’s already worked on electric vehicles, and Pinkey says meeting the Gold Class standard helps keep his shop up-to-date. It also helps the shop hold its own against the strong competition in the metropolitan market where it operates. Pinkey displays his Gold Class plaque in the customer waiting area. “I always want to be on the ‘top shelf.’ That’s why I’m Gold Class.”

Although it’s a single independent shop, Pinkey’s Capital is well-known in its market. The body shop is the oldest bus advertiser in town, and its logo is a familiar sight on the back of city buses. The shop also enjoys media attention, thanks to its owner’s extraordinary work ethic. A local television station has interviewed Pinkey three times, twice on milestone birthdays and most recently broadcast a feature on his 65-year-run at his shop.

Being a one-and-only location, the shop can bank on something no one else can offer: service from the one and only Pinkey and his long-time, loyal team of 15 employees. Turnover has never been a problem for Pinkey’s shop. Two technician retirements in the past few years marked the end of careers spanning over 40 years in one case and over 50 in the other. According to Pinkey, job satisfaction runs high “because our techs do a job from start to finish.” Breaking down a repair so that employees can specialize in certain tasks might make them faster at those tasks, “but if all you do is put fenders on, you won’t feel pride in getting a job done.”

“I believe in quality, and I believe in customer satisfaction,” Pinkey says. “We don’t take shortcuts. My employees know what I want, and they do it right.” While KPIs matter, Pinkey trusts his technicians, who are perfectionists just like their boss. “If a technician spends more time on a job, I’m not worried. It’s not about making as much money as we can. My job is to make the customer happy.”

Customers may not be familiar with all of Pinkey’s philosophies, but they know where they’re treated well. Complaints are very rare, and referrals keep the shop busy. A past customer stopped in and sought Pinkey out to tell him: “If I ever would have had another accident, I would have brought my car in to you.” Though she fortunately had been accident-free, she did bring in a friend in need of a collision repair.

“This is what makes my job so nice, the customers,” Pinkey says. When fire destroyed one of his buildings a dozen years ago, “I got calls from California, New York, North Carolina and Florida,” Pinkey says. “They heard about it on the Internet and wanted to make sure we were alright. They hoped it didn’t put us out of business. I love my customers.”

Pinkey’s Capital has withstood many trials since opening in 1956 – fire, the typical frictions that arise in family-run businesses, the ongoing pandemic, and the constant pressure to stay ahead of technological changes. Keeping the business going, however, is not any more remarkable than getting it off the ground. After his World War II service, Pinkey eventually wound up working at the body shop he would purchase. Although the shop was not for sale, Pinkey approached the owner who had oil and many other business interests. “I told him I didn’t think he had a desire to be in the (auto body repair) business, and I wanted to buy it.” Pinkey read his boss right, but convincing the bank to give him a business loan was another thing. He met with the bank’s vice president who asked for collateral. “I told him I had a $500 life insurance policy and a $21,000 house with a $20,000 mortgage,” Pinkey recalls. “I told him I knew I could make a go of the business.” After background checks and a special meeting of the bank’s board of directors, Pinkey was called in to see the vice president. “He told me it was very unusual what I had asked for and that the board agreed I didn’t ask to borrow enough money, so they approved a bigger loan. He slid his chair back, opened his drawer and pulled out blank checks for my business.” With nothing more than his personal attributes and confidence as “collateral,” Pinkey was in business.

Building his business “from nothing” is an immense source of pride for Pinkey. Staying involved, at age 97, fills his day with purpose, whether he helps with invoices and mail, gives pointers to his grandsons, or visits with customers. He laughs that his children just renewed his employment contract for the next 100 years. “I love to be here.”