Walking in to Circle & Square Auto Care, one might notice an unusual sign on the front door.
"Every day is Earth Day," the sign reads. It's green, of course, and sports an EnviroStar logo.
Customers appreciate Circle & Square Auto Care's customer service and reliability, but they might not know about the innovative design elements that make Circle & Square one of the greenest auto shops around.
Circle & Square Auto Care was started by Alex Fowler 30 years ago. It began as a one-stall shop in Cape George and eventually became the first AAA Approved Auto Repair facility in Jefferson County. Fowler named the shop after Leonardo DaVinci's Vitruvian Man, the famous sketch of a man inside a circle and square.
Fowler explained the naming story in a 1998 letter: "I learned ... of the symbolic use of the two forms to gesture toward the hard-edged, earthbound on the one hand and softly curved, all-embracing spiritual on the other. All these influences anchored the circle and the square, and their relationship to each other, more and more firmly in my mind as a metaphor for an effort of high integrity in a world (and in a business) dominated by the exploitative and mediocre."
Ten years later, Fowler sold the business to Jana and Reto Filli. Ten years after that, the Fillis moved from Cape George to a more visible and accessible location: their current spot on Rhody Drive (State Route 19) in Port Hadlock.
That's why the Fillis have named this celebration their "10-20-30 anniversary."
Sadly, Fowler - who expressed great respect and gratitude for what the Fillis had done with his business - died several years ago.
"Our celebration is bittersweet," Jana Filli said. "We wish he could have been here to celebrate with us."
Customer service
Jana Filli believes that strong customer service is a primary reason for the business' success.
"Employees are a big part of that," Filli said. She cited John Holloway, who has been the front desk service manager for seven years.
Filli added, "We try to explain things on a level that everyone can understand them. Today's customers want to understand what they're paying for."
Circle & Square does advertise, but much of the business, according to Filli, comes from word of mouth. "When people want a doctor, or a dentist, or a vet, or a car mechanic, they ask friends for recommendations. If they're new to the area, they'll ask a new acquaintance."
That's when committed customers come in handy, recommending Circle & Square to others.
"We'd especially like to thank our longtime and loyal customers. We have a lot of customers who've been with us for 20 years," Reto Filli said.
He noted that Circle & Square's shuttle service, loaner cars and car washes are also part of the company's commitment to customer service.
"We wash and vacuum every car," Filli said.
Sometimes customers come asking if they can just pay for a car wash - but unfortunately, Circle & Square simply doesn't have the capacity to handle those requests.
Environment
Building a new auto care facility from scratch - as a part of the move 10 years ago - enabled the Fillis to become one of the most environmentally friendly mechanics in town. Circle & Square has won numerous environmental awards. It is recognized by Jefferson County as an EnviroStar "Five-Star" business; it has received the Environmental Protection Agency's "Evergreen" award and the Governor's Award for Pollution Prevention and Sustainable Practices.
The reason, the Fillis say, is that Circle & Square is green from the ground up - literally.
Let's start with the floor of the facility. It is sculpted into a gentle, barely noticeable bowl shape. If a spill were to occur, this bowl could hold 2,000 gallons of liquid so that nothing would leak out into the meadows that skirt the property.
There's something else that's special about the floor: In cooler months, heat comes from it. Radiant heating - via tubes that are laid into the cement as the floor is being constructed - is one of the most efficient ways of warming a space, and it's a popular element of green buildings.
And, if that weren't enough, the heat energy derives from the burning of used engine oil. The only time the Fillis have to send oil away is during the summer, when they're not using the heat. The rest of the year, the oil is consumed onsite.
"A lot of other people in the industry have toured our shop to see the innovations here," Jana Filli said. As far as she knows, Circle & Square was the first auto shop to put this technology to work.
Recycling efforts
Circle & Square is also proud of its commitment to recycling. The business recycles everything it can, from paper to oil filters to water.
Dirty water from the car wash drains into an underground trough and then goes through two different purification tanks. The water is reused to wash other cars. Thanks to this, the business's monthly water bill is only $25 to $30, despite the fact that employees clean 10 to 15 cars a day.
Circle & Square also recycles antifreeze and all metal parts, including catalytic converters. Of course, it also recycles the usual assortment of soda cans, plastic bottles, paper and cardboard.
Facing challenges
The business's biggest challenge, the owners say, is keeping up with technology.
"We're constantly sending guys away to classes to keep up," Reto said.
One of their technicians, Zach Stratton, is certified by Toyota to work on hybrids.
From the ground floor to the customer service, Circle & Square certainly seems as if it's keeping up - and maybe even setting a few trends.
For "the rest of the story" and full coverage of all Port Townsend and Jefferson County news, events and people, subscribe to our award-winning weekly newspaper.
