John Yoswick (148)
John Yoswick is an automotive freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has been writing about the collision industry since 1988. He has a body shop in the family and is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com).
He can be contacted by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Shops and schools look for solutions to low starting wages
Written by John YoswickEric Reid wants to do his part to reduce the shortage of collision repair technicians he's always hearing and reading about. But Reid, the collision repair instructor at Northwest-Shoals Commun-ity College in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, is getting discouraged watching his top students move on to other fields because of low starting wages at body shops.
Customers to suppliers are waiting to rip off your shop
Written by John YoswickWith profit margins generally razor-thin at best these days, the last thing shops can afford to do is lose money in a scam. That's why a number of shop owners recently have come forward to share their stories of losing - or almost losing - some of their hard-earned money - as a caution against others doing the same.
While no particular issue or news event seemed to dominate the industry's attention this past year - other than perhaps the slow-down in work shops felt in many parts of the country - it hasn't been a quiet one for collision repairers. Here is the annual year-in-review wrap-up, a collection of some of the most memorable, important, interesting or enlightening quotes heard around the industry during 2004.
The International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE) may have been the main draw that attracted more than 30,000 participants in the collision industry to Las Vegas in November, but there was no shortage of other meetings and events to also occupy their time while they were there.
SF: shops should set the bar for performace measurements
Written by John YoswickThe nation's largest auto insurer has no plans to join the other insurers setting performance benchmarks for shops participating in its direct repair program - but it may do more to help those 20,000 shops understand how their performance stacks up.
Shops will still need multiple estimating systems
Written by John YoswickThe issue of shops needing multiple estimating systems to meet insurer direct repair program requirements may not be resolved soon, according to panelists at a NACE Town Hall meeting that focused on automated claims processing.
Insurer-owned shops, fraud highlight the year
Written by John YoswickFrom a crack-down on fraud to attempts to halt the growth of insurer-owned shops, it's been an interesting year for the collision repair industry. Here is our annual year-in-review wrap-up, a collection of some of the most memorable, important, interesting or enlightening quotes heard around the industry during 2003.
Improving your position with OEM parts dealers
Written by John YoswickThey can help you improve your shop's cycle time. They can offer ideas to make your shop's parts ordering more efficient. And they certainly can have an impact on your parts profit.
Larry Edwards says collision repair shop owners could think of themselves as produce managers in a grocery store.
On the surface, it probably looked like a very minor agenda item to the members of the zoning board of Blue Island, Ill., a suburb just south of Chicago. After all, the board was just being asked to grant a "special site permit" for a new 16,000-square-foot collision repair shop - not the sort of thing that generally attracts much interest in the community, let alone turn-out for the zoning board's meeting.
Insurers to offer more service; drive down severity
Written by John YoswickHe laughs when he's asked about Progressive's "Concierge" program. His shop has participated in this DRP program's trial run since last fall. "It makes me think of a twist on that old Oldsmobile ad slogan: 'This is not your father's DRP'," said the second-generation East Coast shop owner who spoke about the Progressive program on the condition that neither his real name nor his business location (not even the state) be revealed.
