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Recent Columns
- Survey Finds Shop Sales Down, But Employment Steady, Optimism Improving
- Bay Area MSO Celebrates Two Decades of Benevolence
- In Reverse: The Advent of the Computer Age
- From the Desk of Mike Anderson: More Best Practices to Make the Most of the ‘Parts’ Portion of Your Business
- CCC Photo Estimates and AI-Supported Claims Spike in Response to COVID-19
Ed Attanasio
Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco. Ed enjoys sports of all kinds and is a part time stand-up comedian.
He can be reached at era39@aol.com.
Body Shops Giving Back: KY Shop Pulls Its Weight for Local Special Olympics
The annual Kentucky’s Big Brown Truck Pull in Paducah, KY gets sponsors from all over the state, and Randy's Body Shop has been involved since its inception eight years ago.
Randy's Body Shop in Paducah, KY has been in existence since 1982, when Randy Wiersma opened his doors with just five people, including two co-op students from a local trade school. Randy's wife, Dianne, ran the front office, and Randy jokes that his two young sons, Brad and Kyle, were also there as "part-time helpers," with their principal roles being to interrupt production.
How Do You Get the Customer from the Street to the Shop?
This scenario probably happens literally every other minute at body shops all over the country.
Day Job/Night Job: Writing Estimates By Day and Rocking it All Night Long
Tom Spencer is an Estimator/Manager at Mathews-Carlsen Body Works in Palo Alto, CA and also a very talented guitarist and song writer.
"Get a second-hand guitar. Chances are you'll go far if you get in with the right bunch of fellows." These are lyrics from an old Bachman Turner Overdrive song ("Taking Care of Business"), and although it's not quite that easy to get into a rock band and make it in the crazy world of music today, it's still a dream for many people.
Sales Manager for FinishMaster Once Painted Air Force One
McKenzie's nine-year stint in the Air Force had him working on a wide range of different military aircraft before getting to paint Airforce One. Here he is during his first year in the Air Force.
Mike McKenzie has more than 23 years of experience working for several paint companies and currently he is a Sales Manager for FinishMaster, overseeing New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Today, he calls on body shops and supports a sales staff, but his career began in the military, when McKenzie was painting airplanes for nine years while in the Air Force.
5 Areas Where Body Shops Fail to Be Green
Everyone wants to be green, or at least believe that they are running a green shop that is playing by all the rules. But are body shop owners really willing to spend the time, money and effort to be as green as possible? And are they willing to hire an expert to get them there?
Mike's Auto Body's Training Program in Full Swing
Mike’s Auto Body will soon be holding their first graduation from its new training program at its Auto Damage Assessment Center (ADAC) in Antioch, CA.
To fill a growing need for new, fresh talent and to create the metal technicians and estimators of the future, Mike’s Auto Body will soon be holding their first graduation from its new training program at its Auto Damage Assessment Center (ADAC) in Antioch, CA.
Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly Enough Yet?
Google's handy mobile-friendliness test is an excellent tool to check if each page on your website is mobile-friendly.
"I searched for you on my smartphone and some other shops came up."
"I couldn't read your website from my cell phone, so I didn't call you."
"I want to be able to call you quickly and going to your website is too time-consuming."
Industry Veteran Talks Candidly About Life as an MSO
Frank Quadrato has 35 years of experience in the collision repair industry in northern California. He credits much of what he learned about the industry to what took place at Contra Costa College, where he graduated from in 1986.
Student Returns as Teacher at Contra Costa College
Laura Salas, co-owner of Black Diamond Collision Center in Pittsburg, CA, was recently hired as an instructor at Contra Costa College's Auto Tech School, the same college from which she graduated in 2010.
Laura Salas graduated from Contra Costa College's Automotive Collision Repair Technology Department six years ago, and now she is returning the favor by going back to the school as an instructor.
Day Job/Night Job: Body Shop Office Manager Racing Toward Her Dreams
Cynthia Torp is the office manager at Classic Autobody in Berkeley, CA--her father's shop--but when she is not coordinating ROIs and DRPs, she is going for the gold in the world of car racing.
You might say she's on a fast track, because Cynthia Torp, 26, surely doesn't travel half-speed with anything she does. Whether it's running the front office at Classic Autobody in Berkeley, CA, or reef diving, riding dirt bikes, river fishing in Montana, or hiking, she goes all-in 24/7. And now, this includes her latest passion: car racing!
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Origins of the California Autobody Association as it Celebrates 50 Years
Art D'Angelo, Sr. (third from left) worked as a 3M sales representative for many years before purchasing an existing paint company with two stores. He was the CAA's first president and many consider him the founder as well.
The California Autobody Association (CAA) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year after serving the collision repair industry in the Golden State since 1966.
Grateful Body Shop Owner Ready to Give Back
Jose Esquivel, the owner of Midwest Auto Body in Melrose, IL has survived and thrived by working with family, embracing education and stressing customer service above all.
Jose Esquivel, the owner of Midwest Auto Body in Melrose, IL, entered the collision repair industry at the top--as an owner.
Some Shops Hate Him, but Consumers Love Him: The Wreck Check Story
Wreck Check Car Scan Centers were founded in 1997 by Rocco J. Avellini. The company helps consumers who get shoddy repairs from body shops nationwide.
If someone gets into a car accident, takes their vehicle to a shop, and then later discovers that they are the victim of a shoddy (and possibly unsafe) repair, what is their next step? What if that customer then takes the car back to the same shop and does not get any satisfaction? People all over the country are in this predicament every day, and that is why more and more disgruntled body shop customers are visiting one of 35 Wreck Check Car Scan Centers throughout the U.S. to find answers to their questions and remedy the associated issues.