Cloudaccess - Joomla! as a service

Atlanta Dent Company, the paintless dent removal company in Roswell, GA, has expanded and grown their business to include interior restoration, full detailing, and paint. They have expanded into these other services to become a complete source for automotive reconditioning for their 250 plus wholesale accounts, including collision centers, body-shops, and automobile dealers, plus thousands of retail customers.

Owners Troy Loupe and Roy Taylor incorporated Atlanta Dent Company in 2000. With more than 40 years combined industry experience they grew the company to 14 mobile technicians specializing in dings, dents and hail. They also added a management staff and an office team.

In March 2008, Troy and Roy acquired the local franchise for Interior Magic International Inc., a complete automotive interior reconditioning company. ADC was just chosen as co-franchise of the year for Interior Magic, which has more than 40 franchises in 17 states and is recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top 500 franchises in the US for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. It was ranked as the number one “automotive reconditioning franchise” in Opportunity World Magazine in 2009. They currently have six certified technicians who service the metro Atlanta area providing highest quality work for cigarette burn repair, leather repair, stain removal, alloy wheel repair, windshield chip repair, carpet dying, vinyl repair, odor removal, headlight restoration and more. These additional services have exceeded their client’s expectations. Magic Finish, a division of Interior Magic,  offers full detailing services to new and used automotive dealerships.  With more than 30 employees, they have interior and exterior services that follow a comprehensive checklist to deliver a quality product.  “Quality First. Every Car, Every Time.” By streamlining the detail department, and providing extras like custom floor mats, they have satisfied a needed service in the automobile industry.

As a result of overwhelming interest and questions from repairers and consultants across the nation, a Collision Industry Legal Seminar is being provided for collision repair professionals by Ray Gunder of Gunder’s Auto Center and Barrett Smith of Auto Damage Experts (ADE).

This event promises to provide a unique opportunity for many as there has been a great deal of interest regarding the success repairers across the country have had in their efforts to aid their customers in the recovery of the full costs required for a proper and thorough repair.

Together, Gunder and Smith are co-sponsoring  this legal seminar and the duo’s legal counsel, Brent Geohagan, Esquire, will provide an open forum to offer information and to answer questions as to how repairers may improve their businesses and service to their customers, while lessening unnecessary interference, encumbrances and potential liabilities.

“This will not be the standard training on “how to increase work flow”, “cycle times” or “KPI’s” and such,” said Smith, “However, the information gained during this meeting will likely enable attendees to work much more effectively and to better serve the needs of their customers and their businesses through more efficient administrative processes while avoiding unnecessary legal liabilities. This information, properly employed, will likely result in greater profits and reduce operational costs and frustrations.”

The intent of this seminar will be to provide information on legal basics including an overview of the much discussed processes involving the “Power of Attorney” and “Assignment of Proceeds” (aka Assignment of Benefits). Answers to attendee’s individual questions as to how it may benefit them, their business and their customers will be available along with other topics such as:

Christian Brothers Automotive opened their first franchise location in Florida last month, located at 23650 Venezia Drive in Land O’Lakes.

The location is equipped with nine service bays and encompasses nearly 5,000 square-feet. Land O’Lakes franchise owner Larry Giannone and his wife, Cindy, of Tampa decided to invest in the company “because of its values,” he said according to the Land O’Lakes Patch.

“It’s a faith-based franchise,” Giannone said. The honesty and integrity of the business is what drew Giannone, a 20-year industry veteran, in.

The franchise prides itself on taking time for repairs and getting them done right, the first time.

“We’re not a quick-service,” Giannone said. “An oil change will take about 40 minutes.”

Giannone is on site every day, and the business’ shuttle service will drop customers off back at home or a shopping center, then return to pick them up once their service is complete.

Ray Gunder of Gunder’s Auto Center has been pressing insurers to provide full compensation to his customers for “necessary processes and materials needed to properly and thoroughly repair his customer’s vehicles” through filing litigation against the insurer, specifically State Farm, on the customer’s behalf.

The first instance required a lawsuit to be levied against the insurer by Gunder brought the matter of unpaid procedures and paint and material invoicing to court and was settled during a court ordered mediation and actual litigation was avoided. State Farm agreed to pay all the procedural and material invoicing as well as Gunder’s legal fees and costs associated with that case against them. Shortly after that settlement, once again, on behalf of his customer, Ray found it necessary to file yet another lawsuit against the nation’s largest personal auto insurer to compel them to provide reasonable compensation for necessary processes and related paint and materials. Just moments before going before the judge for the first hearing on the matter, the insurer, through their legal team, agreed to pay the entire amount due plus Gunder’s legal fees and costs.

This month, another one of Gunder’s customers was denied consideration for the necessary paint related procedures (i.e. prime, block and feathering aka fill, sand and feather) and the labor called for to re-set electronics on a customer’s vehicle.

Upon the denial, as customary, Ray contacted his customer and explained the denials and short-pay and discussed possible activities to collect. Ray’s customer became extremely agitated and immediately contacted the State Farm claim representative and expressed his dismay, both by phone and in writing via e-mail.

After several calls and discussions, three days later State Farm called the customer to advise that they would pay the paint related “Prime Block and Feathering” and related materials as well as re-setting the vehicle’ electronics, including resetting the programmed stations in the radio which were noted by Gunder’s prior to performing the repair which required disconnecting the battery.

The customer, elated wrote the following to Ray; “I am, as always…. totally satisfied with the work Gunder’s did on my Nissan. they make it an art…. and that is precisely why I have been a loyal customer since about 1976. my largest claim with Gunders, has been over $48,000.00. I had a new silver CLK55 AMG Mercedes. a work truck turned in front of me and I hit him hard. Gunder’s did such a superb job, that when my lease was up, the Mercedes rep couldn’t even tell it had been wrecked. I most certainly hope i don’t have another, but if I do, it will go right back to ray Gunder’s body shop.”

When asked for a comment Ray stated: “The customer’s comments say it all for me. That’s what we’re here for and that’s all we want to do… serve our customers with the best possible service and quality workmanship we can…it appears we have met that goal and we’ll continue to do just that  and just keep pounding that rock!”