“I don’t take much guff from anyone,” Mike said. “We call them like we see them.” His shop is completely non-DRP, and is classified as a Wreck Check post-repair inspection (PRI) shop. Their contracts are written by attorneys and the shop supports industry groups such as CCRE. Orso listens closely to legal analyst Erica Eversman and regularly refers to her website, www.vehicleinfo.com.
    Mike Orso is nobody’s fool, but in America that doesn’t make him or any of the rest of us immune to lawsuits, regardless of the size of our shop. What follows is a true story, well worth the read, concerning how the Internet has great potential to damage or totally destroy the business you have painstakingly built up over the years.
The “customer from hell”… in sheep’s clothing
    Even well-oiled businesses will occasionally have to deal with an unreasonable customer. You know the kind. It is typically the spouse or boyfriend of a customer who is trying to make himself out as more of an expert/hero than you. This often turns into abuse and Orso can attest to that.
    A hundred repairs go through your shop without a hitch. Then, somewhere in the repair process one of these seemingly content customers turns into ‘the customer from Hell!” We’ve all been there. We do a great repair, cover all the angles, and yet one customer just won’t take our advice or heed our warnings. Deep into the repair, backing out is sometimes not an option.
    After every best effort, the customer’s boyfriend or spouse jumps in with both feet where he has no right to be. A tiny speck or flaw can turn into all out war. Owing to the fact that every shop owner is only human, and that this trade has absolutely no ‘standards of repair,’ each shop sets its own standards, Orso said.
    Of course, there are some iffy areas in this industry, Orso continued. This includes questions such as how much caulking is too much or too little? If I pug weld a frame rail, am I really returning the vehicle to pre-loss condition? If I repaint a panel, is the film build equal to OEM? If I straighten any frame or uni-body component because an insurer won’t allow for a new part, am I following OEM instructions, or do I become liable? Do I have written proof on file of manufacturers recommended procedures? Once attorneys get involved in your business it’s too late to go back and make changes.
    Orso prevailed through a very expensive, time-consuming situation that every body shop should be prepared to face, and many have. The fracas surrounding this particular incident dragged on for four years and cost the Orso’s $50,000 in attorney fees and more than 400 hours of their time. It all started innocently enough as a simple warranty claim, which all shops get from time to time. Every conscientious shop owner takes care of a number of these on a daily basis, many having nothing to do with the repair, but we often go out of our way to ensure a happy customer.