For Karen and Kevin Redman, the automotive industry has been a part of their lives practically since childhood. Karen’ s father, David Pridham, was a shop teacher and football coach well-known in the Gilroy community for his dedication to teaching others. He made sure that Karen and her siblings all knew how to work with car parts and how to change the oil and tires. Meanwhile, Kevin came more from the mechanical repair side of the industry. A jack-of-all-trades, his talents extend to a variety of things including being an aircraft mechanic and pilot, a builder, and an upholsterer. Their skills and know-how complimented each other so perfectly that opening Redman’ s Automotive came as a no-brainer.

From the start, Kevin and Karen knew that they wanted integrity and honesty to be on the forefront of their business. They had seen how easily people could be tricked or lied to within certain parts of the automotive industry and the injustice of it really bothered them.

“ Nobody knows everything about cars, especially the technology that’ s in them today. So it’ s very difficult for the customer to know if they are being taken or not,” explains Karen,“ For us it’ s like building a relationship. We want to ensure that we’ re doing the best that we can for you and be honest and up front.”

The fact that Redman’ s Automotive is family run ads a great deal of warmth to their business and how they treat their customers. Karen and Kevin raised their son and daughter in the shop, and now their grandchildren are being raised there as well. The atmosphere is so cozy and inviting that it’ s almost as if you’ re walking into your own home, which is exactly the type of feel that they want for anyone who stops by.

“ We have single moms come in here and we know their struggle. I think they feel more comfortable in here because I’ ve got my wife in here, my daughter’ s in here and now the grandkids are here,” Kevin says. The love that they have for one another shows and they extend that same care and compassion to their customers, going so far as to offer their personal number for times of emergency. On more than one occasion Kevin and Karen have driven out to their clients to help with a broken down car or to help them get wherever they need to be. They recognize that these types of situations can be very

dangerous, especially for wives and single mothers, and they make the customer’ s safety their top priority.

This familial spirit also extends to the business’ hardworking crew, most of whom have been with Karen and Kevin for ten years or more. Since vocational arts such as carpentry, plumbing and mechanics are no longer taught in schools, many of their newer employees require a lot of on-site training. Kevin and Karen often refer to Redman’ s Automotive as a reallife classroom, where they are able to act as mentors for their employees.“ You tend to take your employees under your wing and encourage them in many ways. My daughter told one of our employees one time,‘ You’ ll know that she’ s not just your boss, she’ s the shop mom,’” Karen laughs. The couple love that they are able to teach a new generation about the essential basic skills and integrity that comes with the industry.

If there’ s anything to be taken from the Redman family, it’ s that they are caring people who enjoy good conversation and helping the people of their community. They see their customers not as numbers on a list, but as people whom they genuinely want to get to know.

“ We try to build relationships and know who you are. I like that I can call my customers by first name and that I can go to the grocery store and run into people that I know and serve,” Karen says. The family also makes a point of being approachable. Whether you’ re a current customer or you just have automotive questions, they are always willing to talk with you and help you figure out viable solutions.

Karen and Kevin intend to keep the business in the family and they look forward to passing Redman’ s Automotive down to their son, Jason, and their daughter, Julia. They know that their children will continue the tradition of being an honest, affordable place that people can rely on.

Karen Redman with Mel Reed, Service Manager

GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN MARCH / APRIL 2016 gmhtoday. com

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