What Advice Do You Have for a New Shop Owner?
I recently opened up my own body shop and was slightly concerned after reading the statistic in your December 2012 cover article, “Opening a New Shop,” that revealed that only 33 out of 100 new businesses that open today will still be open in five years. How do I make sure I’m not one of the 67 that close?
Opening a New Auto Collision Repair Shop
Starting a collision repair business requires a complete, written business plan.
What Do I Do After I Get a Claim Number?
I just opened a body shop in Portland, Ore. What are the steps I need to take once I get a claim number?
How Do I Implement Flat-Rate Pay at My Shop?
I have just put flat rate into my body shop and I need help on how to pay at different stages of the jobs. As the techs start the job, they would like to pull hours off for the pay week. They think that if they start the job, they should be paid 75 percent of the labor. What should a tech be able to take from the job hours as they’re working on it?
Selling Customer Pay
Properly implemented, a good customer pay sales strategy can bring significant volume and profit to most collision repair facilities.
How Much Should a Body Shop Estimator Write Each Month?
What is a solid target parts/labor sales dollar figure a body shop estimator should write each month?
Body Shop Marketing: Driving Customers to Your Door
If you were to start a new shop today, what would you do to drive customers to your door?
Calculating Vacation Pay for Employees with Commission-Based Pay
How do you calculate vacation pay for techs and painters who work on commission?
Body Shop Location: How Much Does It Matter?
I’m thinking about moving to a better facility for my body shop, and I was wondering how much emphasis should be put on the location. It seems it really is just a destination-type business, and I don’t want to spend more than I have to just to be on a high-traffic road if it doesn’t matter much.
Targeting a DRP
How do you get DRPs in a market where insurers already have enough shops on their lists?
Back to Basics: Customer Service
Is there anyone more important in a collision repair facility than a customer? No – which is why you have to do a better job of focusing on managing the customer’s experience, not just the repair.
Capturing the Job by Closing the Sale
Reader’s Choice question: “With the current economy, how would you address the importance of capturing the job during the repair estimate? With volume down and shop efficiency increasing, what are the main issues we need to focus on to increase sales?” – Mark Levell, marketing director, Precision Collision Auto Body, Seattle, Wash.