Last thing I remember, I was running for the door, I had to find the passage back to the place I was before...  

 
Todd Fox, in his lengthy lament, blames “Insurance carriers (which have) leveraged their economy of scale to implement concession-based (direct repair program) contracts and forced collision repair businesses to offer the cheapest and quickest repair possible, many times sacrificing quality, safe repairs.”

Pardon me. Did Mr. Fox state that he was “forced…  many times sacrificing quality, safe repairs”?

Since there is no reference to any insurer holding a gun to his head, his statement is just as bogus as is the same lament coming from the thousands of other DRP shops. Don’t ever use that slimiest of excuses. After greed, fear and pride apparently overcame Mr. Fox, as his extensive operation increased in size, sucking up as many customers as possible with the help of insurer referrals. No doubt it became much more difficult for him as his profit margin per job continued to shrink. That’s the nature of the beast when most businesses expand, at least where they allow insurers to be involved. But no insurer forced him, nor are they forcing you “to offer the cheapest, quickest repairs possible” at the sacrifice of safety, quality, and aesthetics.

What Mr. Fox’s 2,100-word lament really masked was his quick sprint in a rented 2008 Cadillac Escalade to his latest venture, a fine leather wrap and blanket store named Toddy’s in Aspen, Colorado, home of the rich and famous [search on autobodynews.com]. It seems that, some time before issuing his tearful lament, knowing his collision repair empire had hit the rocks, Todd Fox was busily putting the finishing touches on Toddy’s even though he had to know that his 100+ employees were working for weeks on rubber checks.
 
Plans backfire
I have no doubt that Mr. Fox would have desired to find the passage back to the place he was before. I’m sure his plan was the same as that of so many other collision shop owners that have gone out of business – to build up his business, and then sell it to a consolidator. Now that the elusive Todd Fox has been located, he will have no rest; lawsuits by enraged former employees, creditors and, most likely, insurers, are already plaguing him. I doubt that Toddy’s will live to see the light of day. But I feel no remorse for the demise of Todd Fox’s collision empire which, it is reasonable to assume, put some good local collision shops out of business. And let us not forget that other shops or consolidators will most likely rise up to buy out at least most of Fox’s locations and re-employ most of his staff. Only time will tell if anyone has learned anything from the experiences of Mr. Fox about running a profitable, above-board business.

There is a far better way of conducting business.