Standards Program in the UK Offers Lessons for the U.S.
Written by John YoswickAs the discussion of how and whether the industry should develop some sort of formalized collision repair standards continues, Paul Gange brings a somewhat unique perspective on the topic.
Gange is the president and chief operating officer of Fix Auto USA, which has 48 franchise locations in four U.S. states, as well as 151 shops around the country using the company’s services as part of a more loosely-knit “network.”
But Fix Auto also has a similar organization in the United Kingdom, with 68 franchises in a market that has implemented a repair standards program that is most often mentioned as a potential model for one in the United States.
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After high school I made the choice to join the Marine Corps. It was a big step for a young guy who really didn’t have a direction, nor thought about the future. So, off I went to boot camp. I’ll admit it was tough, it was physically demanding and very mentally challenging. But, I did very well, got a lot of good marks and even a couple of special awards.
One of the biggest surprises was when my platoon was on the “mess and maintenance” week. I was assigned to the commandant’s headquarters building. I was to shine all the brass, wax the floors, and general building maintenance. One day the Sargent in charge said it was time to mow the grass. He sent me and two other recruits out with scissors to clip the lawn in front of the headquarters building. Really, I’m not kidding…scissors, and I’m not talking about a large pair of scissors, no… more like the kind you'd find in any home office or school desk.
By Tom Franklin
Last year, as summer approached, I wrote an article about holding an event in the summer to bring in new business. I was pleased recently to learn of an event put on by a shop in my area. "POWER BABES," a professional womens' networking group in the vicinity of the shop, meets regularly to explore and discuss issues of interest and importance to the members. The location of the meeting is different each time, and often held at a place of business of interest to the members. The marketing lady at the host shop learned of this group of about forty women and invited them to hold their next meeting at the shop.
CAFE Standards Will Affect More Than A Shop’s Miles Per Gallon
Written by Toby ChessAsk most people about CAFÉ standards and they would immediately think of food quality control. There is another meaning that you probably know and it will drastically impact your business, but you may not be aware why it will.
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
CAFÉ stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy-- the average miles per gallon on an OEM’s passenger cars and trucks. The standards for passenger vehicles will rise from the national current 27.5 mpg to 35.7 mpg by 2015, while light trucks will go from 23.5 mpg to 28.6 mpg. My next question is how will the OEMs accomplish these figures? Car and trucks will be lighter and smaller, with a greater use of aluminum, plastics, carbon fiber, magnesium and advanced high strength steels (60 percent of all steel in today’s vehicles is AHSS). These exotic materials are the reason that fuel economy will impact body shops.
Aluminum is being used on virtually all makes and models built today, not only on upscale import sports cars. The hood on a Toyota Prius for example is made from aluminum. You will need to invest in new tools and training to work with increasing use of this metal.
Even with an increase in the use of aluminum, the percent of usage is relatively small compared to the use of Advanced High Strength Steels. Steels (AHSS) will pose the biggest problems for repairers and we need to look at the challenges for these steels. The first area is we need to understand is the effect of heat on metal.
What If You’re Looking for More than One Waldo?
Written by Gonzo WeaverOK, I really do fix cars for a living. I take a car that’s acting up, locate the problem, and make the appropriate repair. Sometimes I haven’t a clue where to look when I start, but with a few proper tools, a little ingenuity, and a whole lot of experience I’ll find the problem eventually.
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
It’s like finding Waldo, that nerdy little guy dressed in red and white who travels a lot and specializes in challenging people to locate him. He sometimes hides in plain sight. You’ll usually have to look closely to find him. Except my “Waldo” doesn’t wear a red and white cap to give himself away. My Waldo is usually something to do with a component or part that has failed, or has decided to be difficult. I sometimes think that these weird repair jobs that end up at my shop are like an elaborate game of “who can find Waldo first?”
I’m not always the first guy to try and find Waldo. A lot of times a customer will take their car to a relative or next door neighbor, or they’ll find the cheapest shop or the closest garage in their area. I’ll hear a customer tell me they always go to a certain shop for all their repairs, so they think nothing of going to a specialist for repairs. But, when that doesn’t work it’s time to ask for a recommendation for a shop that can make the repairs. Now, of course, this isn’t true of everyone. A lot of people have a family mechanic they have used for years, while others believe the dealership is the only place to go for repairs. Whichever or whatever way works for each and everyone is just fine with me. One way or another somebody has to find Waldo.
‘Survival of the Fittest’ Also Applies to Collision Repairers
Written by Insurance InsiderThe collision repair industry has too many body shops. I’m not sure anyone would seriously dispute that. The sooner we can rid ourselves of 15,000 body shops, the better all of us will be. Yes, it’s true, all of us will be far better off. This includes insurance companies, vendors, body shops themselves and consumers.
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
How can we make this happen at a faster pace? That may be beyond the limited scope of this mastermind, but it wouldn’t be an Insider article without a recommendation or two, so buckle up and get ready.
The car manufacturers should further develop their certification programs and join together as one voice to educate consumers at the point of purchase. “If your car is in an accident, you must take it to an OEM Certified Repair Facility to guarantee a proper repair. Taking your vehicle to a body shop outside the Certified program could result in an improper repair and compromise your safety.”
Sadly, that statement isn’t some trumped-up idea to scare people. It’s a fact and the motoring public should know that while there are more than 35,000 body shops in the country, too small a percentage are prepared to repair aluminum, identify substrates, weld “exotic” metals and use proper-sectioning procedures.
It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Yet, with today’s digital cameras in cell phones, even, pictures are worth less than a dime a dozen. Yesterday’s promotional pieces, flyers, brochures and even website pages, all may have nice photos, but people are less impressed with them these days. To really make an impact on a potential source of referral business, you need to get them to come to the shop and see the real thing. One live contact is easily worth more than a thousand pictures.
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
With spring arriving, this could be a good time to spruce up the shop and push for some live visits by referral coordinators you’ve been chasing. Over the winter some aspects of your shop may have fallen into disrepair or worse. Getting an entire shop showcase-ready is generally not an easy task. Spare parts storage and the paint mixing room may have become major eyesores. Walk through the shop and imagine you have an insurance executive or dealership owner walking along with you. Try looking at your place from his or her eyes and take some notes. These could be the improvements that make the difference in how your shop is valued as a place to refer customers.
A few standard interior-decorating measures can make a major difference in how your shop is perceived. If you often have spare parts or some other eyesore in your office or waiting area, a useful device to hide that kind of thing is the room divider. These are generally just a couple of free-standing 2’x 6’ or 3’x 6’ panels hinged together, but depending on how they’re painted or covered with fabric or used to display promotional posters, they can be a significant visual asset in an otherwise drab room. If the office or waiting area is uncomfortably small, a mirrored wall gives an illusion of larger space and also reflects light to brighten a dimly lit room.
Although a body shop is in the automotive painting business, it’s surprising how many shops fail to adequately paint their buildings, driveways and equipment. Just painting the spray booth doors makes them look newer and better maintained at a glance. The same is true of the paint storage room. Older equipment like ancient frame machines and welding equipment can be spruced up quickly with a coat of the metallic paint you use on vehicles every day. Dealership shops are more likely to have identifying signs over bays indicating body work, frame work, welding, etc.
Dealership driveways also usually have painted lines to direct customers to various parts of the facility. But an independent shop can add a perspective of professionalism by adding a few signs around to designate how various bays are used and perhaps some painted lines on driveways. These simple cosmetic measures will make a major difference to visitors accustomed to well organized and generally very clean offices.
While these improvements might be made to impress an insurance executive or dealership owner, other changes might be added for more specific visitors. Some shops have begun to take advantage of the “baby boom generation” achieving the status of “seniors,” and looking for ways to alleviate physical problems that can come with aging. Special handicap access elements around the shop can assist an older person taking a shop tour and the shop could profit from offering and installing handicap-assistance devices like power running boards. Driving schools have begun to multiply as public schools drop driver training classes. Some shops invite student drivers in to look at heavy hits to alert them to what can result from hazardous driving. A shop showcase might add a display to that effect. Also a shop that caters a bit to mothers and parents should consider adding some child-entertainment items that could be emphasized when showing a mother or parent around the shop. This kind of convenience can make a major difference when a prospect is comparing competitor shops in your area.
While all of these improvements would significantly help sell your shop to prospective referral source visitors, the impact on shop personnel shouldn’t be overlooked. Sprucing up a work bay and perhaps making some improvement in the appearance of standard worker clothing tells a technician his or her work is valued and especially appreciated at this time. This same technician is likely to also present a better P.R. image when people are coming through on a tour. Efficiency studies have shown that personnel in general perform better in well organized, attractive spaces. You may have started out to simply make improvements to impress anyone coming through on a shop tour, but you could also be pleasantly surprised to find that your improvements have reduced cycle time and made a major difference in your financial bottom line.
Code Talkers: It Takes More Than Reading Codes to Be a Good Automotive Technician
Written by Gonzo WeaverDuring World War II the US used a secret type of language to send and receive messages, so the enemy couldn’t find out what they were talking about. They enlisted the help of Navajo and Comanche Native Americans as radio operators. These guys used a combination of their language and relative terms as a way to disguise the real message over unsecured radio waves during World War II.
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
Most of the coding was done by using a native word for each letter of the message. Such as, if you were going to say the word “ARMY” they would pick one of the native words that represented a word in English with the first letter “A” and the same for each letter after that. In other words the letter “B” would be sent over the radio waves as, “Toish-Jeh” which means, “barrel” in English.
So the word “ARMY” would have been transmitted something like this: “Wol-la-chee” (Ant) – “Gah” (rabbit) – “Tsin-tliti” (Match) – “Tsah-as-zih” (Yucca)
Thus the word Army would have been spelled out and easily translated at the other end. A lot of times an entire phrase could be stated with one word, or a word that was often used had a selected native word that was used as a substitute. Then on other occasions an English word was thrown in just to confuse the whole thing even more. It was quite ingenious, and believe it or not, the code was never—ever—broken. To quote General Howard Connor (while at Iwo Jima), “Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would have never taken Iwo Jima.”
Trying to sound out those four Native American words (correctly) and translate it into the actual word was easy for these guys. They understood it, it’s their language and they could send/translate and relay an answer faster than any machine available back in the day. They truly were code talkers.
This has been a year of extreme weather. Recently, fierce winds blew down hundreds of trees in one area I’m familiar with. Many of those trees damaged vehicles parked on the street or in driveways and those damaged vehicles wound up in a local collision center to be repaired. Those local shop owners obviously were pleased to get the business, but only one that I know of took the time to get some photos and get the story to a local newspaper to get the name of their shop in print. Perhaps if they had acted a bit faster, they could also have gotten their shop featured along with some of the TV news coverage of the wind damage, but any coverage is better than none. To take full advantage of a situation like this requires a real nose for news. Most shop owners are too busy taking care of business to constantly ask, “Is something happening that might get us free publicity and our name and picture in the news?”
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
The amazing thing is every shop owner, manager or estimator is presented with potential news stories most every day. Many vehicle owners who bring a crashed vehicle in for repair have a story to tell. And many of those stories are bizarre and often funny. If the customer is willing to have the story told— and better yet if he or she has some photos—there could be some great material to pass along to the evening news or the morning paper.
Getting a Guess-timate From the Real Experts
Written by Insurance InsiderBefore you can begin repairing a vehicle, you need an estimate. It’s the easiest part of this whole deal, right? You have a computerized estimating system that allows you to accurately document everything that is needed to fix the car.
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
Some say it’s so easy that you can do it remotely by merely looking at a picture. Now that does sound easy! Almost as easy as going fishing with the “Pocket Fisherman.” Ah, the memories. For those not old enough to remember, every man in the world wanted one of those little babies nestled in their glove box.
Why do I reference the inspirational and ageless Ron Popeil and his company, Ronco? It has nothing to do with getting a sales commission. I mention him because he made the impossible seem possible. The trivial and difficult became simplified and logical.
I believe that repairers and insurers view estimating through the never-invented “Ronco Goggles.” (Sorry for another pathetic Popeil reference. If you can’t tell, I’m a big fan and proud owner of an original Pocket Fisherman and Mr. Microphone.)
If estimating is so easy why is it the most misguided, challenged and subjective part of the process? There is an easy answer: It’s not really that easy. Repairers and insurers argue all the time about the estimating process. I’ve heard repairers say, “The cost to repair the car is the cost to repair the car. Insurance companies are just trying to write a low-dollar estimate. Let the experts write the estimates and repair the vehicle.”
Does that sound familiar to anyone? It should.
‘Standards’ Replace Non-OEM Parts as Focus of Debate at Latest CIC
Written by John YoswickA report at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) on the findings of a study into what consensus exists within the industry about the development and implementation of formalized repair standards led to as much discussion about the value and validity of the study as it did to discussion of standards themselves.
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
“I do believe this has set us backward instead of forward,” Dusty Womble of Roger Beasley Collision Center in Austin, Texas, said of the study. “I’m sorry, but honestly, I don’t see any value in the research that has been done.”
But Massachusetts shop owner Chuck Sulkala—who has not participated on the committee that organized the study but was one of those interviewed by the consultant conducting the research—said some at CIC were incorrectly presuming that the committee was trying to make more of the report than it was.
“Some of the conversations here are getting us down into the weeds right now when I don’t think we’ve even gotten in the boat yet,” Sulkala said. “We’re still looking to see where the boat and lake is, to see what’s going on rather than trying to catch fish. I think we’re still in the very beginning stages.”
Charlie comes in every now and then. I guess you could say he’s a regular but I think I would call him more of an opportunist when it comes to his car repairs. He’ll go to an oil change place for oil changes, a tire shop for tires, a transmission shop for transmission, so on and so on. If there is an opportunity to get his car into a shop he’ll make an appointment and get it in. But, the one thing he seems to always use me for is the check engine light.
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
Normally, most people don’t pay that much attention to the check engine light unless it’s staying on. Not Charlie, he’s absolutely paranoid it will come on and stay on.
Somehow, some way somebody has told him that the check engine light is not a warning of a problem with the exhaust emissions or related engine/transmission problems but the precursor to a ticking bomb that will bring an end to his ride of rides. It’s as if the check engine light is the trigger to the doom and gloom of his car.
At times, Charlie thinks the check engine light has stayed on a longer than it should when he starts it up in the morning. This prompts an immediate phone call and a trip to the repair shop. With all these trips he’s seen me use several different code readers, scanners, O-scopes, and laptops that I have at my disposal to check codes and related engine systems.
Legislating the “Bible” Not the Answer for Shops Tired of Being Told “No”
Written by Insurance InsiderWhen the repair industry (later than most) finally moved into the 21st century and started writing estimates by computer, shops and insurance companies alike likened computerized estimating to the advent of the washing machine. Why a washing machine?
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
Some of you might be old enough to remember the days of washing your clothes by hand. Although I never had the pleasure, I recall my parents talking about the painstaking process of washing clothes in a bucket when they were kids. It was an arduous process that consumed a lot of your time if you did it right.
I did write estimates by hand and I can assure you that it too was a long painful process. What made handwritten estimates worse was having to go back and try to translate what you scribbled while clutching a clipboard.
If you are a member of Generation X or Y (or any other letter of the alphabet), you probably can’t relate to these old-man war stories. That said, I will try to offer a correlation you can appreciate. That’s what we’re supposed to do with the younger generation, right? Entertain them and cater to them and give them a ribbon just for participating even if they finished in last place. So for them: Handwritten estimates is like having to get up and change the channel on the TV because you can’t find the remote control.
I recently received an advertising booklet in the mail. Most of the ads in the booklet were for local cleaners and various personal and home services. There was also one ad for a collision repair shop, but the shop was located many miles from my mail service where I received the booklet.
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
The shop owner had obviously been pressured into buying an ad that was being delivered far out of his effective neighborhood. And even worse than that, it was buried in a booklet that is mostly read by housewives looking for household deals at local businesses. The shop’s ad didn’t even have a coupon that might have gotten at least a couple of people to notice it. The odds of the shop getting a single job out of this ad were probably as remote as the chance of winning the Publisher’s Sweepstakes.
Unfortunately, even if this ad had appeared in a newspaper or other widely read publication, it was still unlikely to get many people reading it. There were several reasons for this. First of all, most of the print was too tiny for mature readers to read without a magnifying glass. In a space three and a half inches wide by one-inch deep, fifty-two words were crammed closely together. The shop owner had probably provided the advertiser with a list of services he wanted included in the ad. Ad sales people just want to sell the ad. They’re practically never professional ad design people, so they’ll cram anything into the ad the buyer says he wants.
There could have been more space for showing the shop’s many services if half the ad hadn’t consisted of a huge photo of a late model new car.
Sure, OEMs Set the Standard, But Who Fills the Gaps Left by OEMs?
Written by Insurance InsiderThe debate continues to rage: What is the standard for collision repairs? Who develops the standard? Is it possible to deviate from the standard? If you can deviate, what entity can provide an alternate to the standard?
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
As such, people, committees, associations, not-for-profit organizations and corporations are lining up quicker than adults outside of Toys R Us on Black Friday to offer their two cents on the subject. Sadly, most of their opinions aren’t worth a single copper Lincoln penny.
Why not? Because most of those offering an opinion are basing their decision upon something other than being experts on the topic.
I’m not professing to be an expert or proficient enough in repair methodology to offer an opinion worthy of your consideration. While that may be the most humble thing you will ever read in one of my articles, I am going to give you my opinion anyway. The way I see it, if you are reading and listening to alleged industry experts weigh in, why not an insurance executive who has never actually repaired a vehicle? Maybe I’m the best person to offer an opinion because I don’t stand to gain anything.
Although I’ve never repaired a vehicle, don’t discredit the wisdom I’m about to impart upon you. Sometimes the best ideas come from the most unlikely of places. Do you think Moses knew what was going to happen at the top of the mountain? If you happen to be a good church-going boy or girl, you know that is where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Who could have guessed sectioning procedures were even an issue back then?
Yelping Back, an Interview with Yelp’s Business Outreach Manager
Written by Ed AttanasioBack in July I wrote an article about Yelp—the well-known review website where customers can comment about businesses and rate their performance. My article was about body shops having a love-hate relationship with it. See www.autobodynews.com and search ‘yelp’ if you missed it. Like any business, shops appreciate postive reviews from customers and bristle at negative ones, but the issue we were addressing is what shops can do to mitigate negative reviews. Since then there have been some developments.
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
Darnell Holloway is Manager for Local Business Outreach for Yelp, the on-line review site. Holloway recently spoke at a Santa Clara California Autobody Association meeting and Autobody News subsequently interviewed him about what he said in more depth.
ABN: If a shop receives a bad review, what options does it have to respond?
DH: Generally speaking, the business owners who have the most success with reputation management on Yelp are the ones who are dedicated to providing a great customer experience in the offline world. Beyond that, we provide a free suite of tools via www.biz.yelp.com that allows business owners to respond privately as well as publicly to reviews, upload information about themselves and add photos, among other things. Once a business starts receiving reviews, it’s important for business owners to join the conversation. We provide a whole host of information on Yelp for business owners, including how to respond to online critics. We also recently released a video featuring business owners as they share their thoughts on this subject. The most important takeaway for business owners is: 1) Remain calm. 2) Think about the complaint in relation to our existing customer service policy and then respond diplomatically.
