I  have a passion for what I do. I love my job because I welcome the challenges that the collision industry creates. I am never bored. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been in a battle all day, either with an employee, an insurer or even the customer, but I never find the day-to-day business activities tedious. Some days I could easily erase from my memory, but overall I like the challenges that must be overcome to survive this crazy industry. 

    I have been receiving e-mails from other shop owners that I find supportive. While many ask for advice, I must confess that I really don’t have all of the answers for everybody. We are all so different in our approach to collision repair; we don’t see eye-to-eye on so many issues. So what works for me may not work for you, but I try to talk about fundamental business practices and issues that most will find helpful — such as “counting the cost.”.
    As businessmen, we should be concerned about the cost of doing business. But “counting the cost” is something different. The “counting the cost” I’m talking about is counting the price that you are willing to pay for something – things like standing up for yourself, not selling yourself out, taking a stand for what you believe to be right. How far are you willing to go to make your point?
    As part of the collision industry, we are each affected by what the other does. My repair practices and labor rates are determined by what other shops are doing more than what I am doing. Some tolerate DRPs, while others embrace them and still others hate them. As an industry, we don’t have to agree on every issue in order to make changes.

The Chicago way
In the movie “The Untouchables” starring Kevin Costner and Sean Connery, Costner was going after the “mob” and Connery was a cop teaching him the ropes (the “Chicago” way). Connery asks Costner: “What are you willing to pay.”
    In this case, are you willing to pay with your life? If you aren’t willing to pay the ultimate price then quit now, because your stand may cost you everything. He went on to say that once you open up this door, there is no going back. Connery got right in Costner’s face and screamed at him, “What are you willing to pay?”
    I’m asking you to count the cost and ask yourself the questions: What am I willing to pay? Am I willing to put everything on the line? If you are, fine, but if not, it is better to find that out before it’s too late. After many hours of soul searching and cost counting, I committed to stand up for myself and for what I believe is right rather than sacrifice my dignity and principles.
    This attitude may mean paying the ultimate price of “taking someone to the mat.” Like Sean Connery said, in a nutshell, bring the battle to the enemy. If they mess with you, you mess with them more. He went on to say that “if they put one of your guys in the hospital, you put one of their guys in the morgue.” Teach them that if they mess with you, they will pay the maximum price for doing so.