Profits: Not A 4-Letter Word -You Can Only Learn Lean By Doing.
Speed Is the Key When attempting to create a continuous flow between all the steps in your process, the areas where work doesn’t flow at the pace the customer is pulling will become obvious, forcing you to correct them immediately. by John Sweigart It has always been — and continues to be — difficult explaining
The Old Blame Game
There’s been a lot of talk lately about a law firm representing Progressive Insurance Company asking an Illinois shop to reimburse the insurer $141.45 for a rental car — due to the shop causing unnecessary repair delays.
You’re Not an Order Taker
I’ve always said to ‘write our own estimate.’ But recently, something came to my attention from an insurance rep and then I checked with my attorney: If the check has the shop’s name on it, my attorney said that makes the adjuster’s estimate a contract and all the methods, procedures and parts choices are to
State Farm Ups Ante: State Farm to Replace Its DRP with New “Performance Driven” Program
The headline read: State Farm to Replace Its DRP with New “Performance Driven” Program. The news spread across the industry faster than Ebola and was about as well-received. State Farm’s Service First and Select Service — which have been touted by repairers as the best direct-repair programs out there (for whatever that’s worth) — are
New Year “Resolutions” Still Serve an Important Purpose: They Give Us Goals.
As we welcome in yet another new year, most of us made promises to ourselves — and the braver among us even made those promises out loud in front of witnesses — regarding what we hoped to accomplish this year. These “resolutions” — as they’re known — may be infamous for being broken, but they
Facing Your Fears
If you’re making decisions out of fear, you’re making bad decisions. Although this shop owner was referring to how repairers are agreeing to just about anything because they’re afraid — afraid of angering an insurer, afraid of losing work, afraid of going out of business — his comment, taken in the larger context, epitomizes a
Driving With Sharks: Off-Roading Means Being Able to Drive Your Car Into a Lake
To some people, off-roading means getting off the main roads and heading out to trails, deserts, mountains … To others, like former body shop owner Dave March, off-roading means being able to drive your car into a lake. “The idea of going fast on water in a car has always intrigued me,” says March, an
Minding Your Business: Why Can’t Insurance Companies Just Pay Whatever it Takes to Properly Repair the Vehicle – No Questions Asked?
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 naivet
What Happens in Vegas..International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE) at Mandalay Bay Convention Center Nov. 2-5.
What’s happening is NACE. Where else can you explore 2,000 trade show booths, hang out with peers and gamble away your life savings? Not to mention, marry a complete stranger with Elvis as a witness?
CYA with A/M Parts
How can I cover my @*! when installing A/M parts? When the Illinois Supreme Court overturned Avery vs. State Farm, repairers immediately began asking the CYA question. And not since “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” has one little question fueled such debate. If only the answer were as straightforward as the question.
The Bottom Line: Many in This Industry Clearly Are Struggling to Run a Profitable Business
Before billing in dollars, I performed excellent work but was only paid for 60 to 70 percent of it,” says an Illinois shop owner. “The customers and insurance companies were happy, but I was poor.”
Illinois Supreme Court Overturns Avery v State Farm
The billion-dollar judgment against State Farm for deceiving policyholders by specifying the use of non-OEM parts was tossed on a technicality — while massive amounts of evidence went unnoticed (or, as one justice contends, ignored).
