CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts announced it is expanding its proprietary EDGE Performance Group (EPG) training program for body shop owners in its network that’s teaching business practices and financial management. CARSTAR claims it is the only program of its kinds for shop owners in the country.
The program, now in its third year, evolved from the “20 Groups” that CARSTAR has offered for nearly 25 years. CARSTAR states that it has helped many of their stores achieve the industry’s highest KPIs and industry-leading customer satisfaction.
For 2016, the CARSTAR Operations team has expanded its EPG platform, with the goal of continuing to raise the bar in the CARSTAR Three C initiative, which is Closing Ratio, Cycle Time and CSI/NPS scoring:
- Over 70 CARSTAR store owners and managers, representing over 85 locations, met in Glendale, Ariz., for the first EDGE Performance Group (EPG) meeting of 2016.
- The four EPG groups met separately throughout the week, doing store financial reviews for year-end 2015 numbers, reporting on goals accomplished since the meeting held last September and setting new goals for 2016.
- The groups also visited CARSTAR Liberty Good Wrench, a franchisee in Peoria, Ariz.
- A guest speaker from General Motors, John Eck, met with the groups to discuss MyPriceLink and the new Cadillac CT-6 repair program.
- On Wednesday, all four groups met with Jose Costa and the CARSTAR team to discuss the changes that have taken place since the purchase. Bob Keith and Melissa Miller then led a hands-on group session on goal-setting strategies for strategic planning and tactical processing. The day was wrapped up with Scott Paul and Keith Going presenting on improving and maintaining DRP KPIs and relationships.
“The collision repair industry is continuing to consolidate and become more sophisticated, so our store owners are tasked with becoming better business operators to meet the industry’s performance demands,” said Jose Costa, brand president, Paint & Collision Division, for Driven Brands. “We’ve combined the business management principles taught in most business schools with an industry-focused curriculum that addresses the unique financial, consumer satisfaction and performance metrics of the collision repair industry. As the industry’s largest MSO network, we want to have the best operators, and can provide them the most advanced training and resources to run their businesses.”
CARSTAR claims that many of its locations repeatedly have a Net Promoter Score (NPS) exceeding 90 percent – 10 points higher than the industry average of 79 percent. CARSTAR is not only working to uphold those numbers but is also focusing on length of rental as measured by insurance companies. With the understanding that insurance companies are seeking to drive down car rental cost and drive up customer satisfaction, another goal of the EPG is to help stores reduce their length of rental.
New additions to the EPG program include more substantial content in each tier of the program, a technical competence around aluminum, and the addition of OPGs, or Operational Performance Groups that will be held regionally to support GM training, and new MPGs, or Market Performance Groups.
CARSTAR hosts EPGs three times per year in strategic areas throughout the country. The next event is planned for Overland Park, Kan., in May.
