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When a frustrated Texas shop owner recently asked me this question, I understood where he was coming from - he's tired of the hassles, headaches and hair loss - but at the same time, I was struck by the naiveté of his question.

"Don't you see the potential for abuse if insurers simply handed over checks to shops?" I asked.

"Abuse? We take all the abuse!" he said. "Insurance companies aren't our customer so why don't they mind their own business?"

As much as I didn't want to say it, I did: "They are minding their business."

I could've coddled this guy - sympathized, empathized and allowed him to feel victimized - but what I really felt he needed was tough love.

Granted, in the legal sense, insurers aren't your customer. They're third-party payers. The check writers, if you will.

But that's a heck of a lot of checks. Collision repair is a $25 billion a year industry, and insurance companies pay for more than 90 percent of those repairs. Love 'em or hate 'em, the insurance industry is a part of your life as long as you run a mainstream autobody business. And insurers aren't just going to "hand over checks, no questions asked." Especially to you.

Always remember and never forget: Insurers don't owe you a dime.

But this Texas shop owner didn't want to hear that. He wanted to hear how cheapskate insurers are ruining the industry. He wanted to hear how collision repairers are craftsmen, artisans. He wanted to pretend the market isn't changing.

But it is.

He isn't, but it is.

As if to exemplify why pining for the past doesn't pay the bills, I was recently contacted by a Pennsylvania shop owner who couldn't have been more different than his Texas counterpart. Rather than wax nostalgic, he discussed how being attached to the "emotional status quo" is what prevents most shop owners from changing with the times.

"It wasn't too long ago when customers were satisfied if they just weren't bitten by the shop dog, or they didn't have to pay the deductible," he says. " ... Today, expectations are much different. Insurers foot the largest percentage of the bill and have the ability to direct a majority of all work to your or your competition's shop.

"You can deny this, fight it, attempt litigation, kick, scream, 'educate drivers,' call your congressman, whatever. But the reality is the customer is now as much the insurer as the vehicle owner. And this customer wants from the repair industry what all customers want from any business - they want it better, cheaper, faster."

The question is: Using the current collision repair process, can you deliver all this and still make a profit? The answer, in most cases, is no.

"The current process was built to deliver the needs of customers 50-plus years ago," he says. "It's virtually the same system with some fancy new equipment. It's not built to deliver low cost. It's not built to deliver speed. It's not built to deliver predictability, but we still use it."

"But if a business is not delivering to the customers what it is they desire today, it won't be in business for long."

As harsh as it may sound, these shifts in the market that he's referring to happen to all industries, all the time.

Some fight the shifts and may even be able to carve out a niche for themselves.

Many will complain about the shifts - and continue to complain long after they've put themselves out of business.

A few - the "disruptive innovators" - will re-think their processes by applying such things as "lean manufacturing" principles in their approach to collision repair.

"Why should I care about these disruptive fellows?" you ask.

Because they disrupt the status quo. Because they raise the bar. Because they're your competition - and they're showing customers that their expectations can be met.

Georgina K. Carson, editor Comments? E-mail gcarson.com.