Dare to be different. A couple of months ago, I challenged you to be different in 2019, to somehow differentiate yourself from your competition. We all understand that is one key to business success, right? And one of the ways to differentiate yourself is through OE certification, the focus of our cover story this month.

To be clear, there are many benefits to certification beyond distinguishing yourself from your peers. Certification provides you with the training, tooling and repair information to properly and safely repair today’s vehicles – critical in light of the John Eagle case in Texas that shone a spotlight on the importance of following OE repair procedures. It seems most shops believe the major benefit of becoming certified is getting more cars in the door (which isn’t necessarily true), but it may just be the OE repair information piece that, with proper documentation, will mitigate any potential liability.

Certification may not be for everyone. As with all things, it often comes down to the best business decision for each shop. I implore you to read our February 2019 cover story to learn more.