The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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  • C.L. Garvin

    auto parts
December 5, 2009

ACT Auto Parts wants to ‘treat everybody as family’

By Jessica Farrish

ACT Auto Parts in Beckley is the place where customer service comes first, said owner Eddie Fernatt.

ACT sells Wagner brake pads and rotors, Gates belts, Wix filters, Exide car batteries, and an “excellent line of starters, alternators, from cars to heavy equipment.”

The store also carries welding supplies, mixes Sherwin-Williams automotive paint and makes hydraulic hoses.

The body parts shop serves local auto repair garages, individuals, and others who are in need of hoses, parts or paint.

The most unsual aspect of ACT, Fernatt adds, is the level of service that customers get when they walk through the door.

“I’m real big on customer relations,” Fernatt said. “I want to treat everybody as family that comes through the front door — not just as a number.

“I’ve dealt with people since I was 18 ... we really let people know they are appreciated.”

Fernatt has been in the auto parts business for more than 25 years, working at both Davis Auto Parts and Lewis Chevrolet, he said.

From 2000 to earlier in 2009, Fernatt operated Eddie’s Paint and Auto Parts in Hinton.

He moved his business from Hinton in the fall, opening ACT in Beckley at 502 Second St. on Sept. 14.

“We had an opportunity with the building here, and we felt we had more to choose from here in Beckley,” Fernatt said. “Hinton’s a great little town, but it’s a matter of the economy.

“You’ve got more garages (in Beckley).”

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Mayor Emmett Pugh praised ACT and identified it as an example of the revitalization of uptown Beckley.

“We’re very interested in any business who wants to locate to the city,” Pugh said then. “This building had been empty for a while.

“It’s been redone, and it’s an attractive component,” he said. “ACT is a benefit for the city.”

Since the grand opening, Fernatt said, business has been good.

Fernatt said he carries a full line of inventory, and it’s likely that customers will find the parts that they need inside the store.

If ACT doesn’t carry a part, it can be available the next morning.

“If it’s something I don’t have in inventory, if I know by 6 p.m. tonight, I can have it by 7 a.m. the next morning,” he said. “I have a real good support from Auto Value Warehouse, and they’ve got plenty of inventory to pull from.”

ACT purchases parts from six different warehouses, Fernatt added.

The store also works with three salvage yards to offer used parts.

“I’ve got an 800-line I could run, and we could always have a part from all over the East Coast,” he said.

The special order service is offered seven days per week, he added.

ACT offers free delivery, according to Fernatt.

“All you have to do is call,” he added. “(We deliver) not only to shops. If somebody is at home and needs something, we can deliver it.”

The free delivery is part of a customer service plan that shows appreciation to customers, said Fernatt.

ACT offers a line of Grasshopper Zero-Turn lawnmowers

For those who need assistance, customer service representatives Nick Hart and Jeff Edwards — who has 14 years of experience in the auto parts business — are available to answer questions and take orders.

“I’ve got excellent help here,” said Fernatt. “My countermen know what’s going on.”

ACT is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

The store also offers convenient parking on the lot.

More information on ACT parts and services is available by calling the store at 304-929-2551.

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