EDITOR’S NOTES: Web Site Version 2…for You!
Cosmetic surgery seems all the rage these days. I must confess I just don’t get it. To me, there’s nothing more beautiful than being natural. When it comes to Web sites, however, I think an occasional facelift is necessary, and that’s exactly what we’ve done recently to www.bodyshopbusiness.com. When we relaunched the Web site a
EDITOR’S NOTES: Customer Service 101
A CARSTAR executive once told me that he advises franchisees to train their front-office staff to come out from behind the counter and greet each customer warmly and enthusiastically when they arrive at the store. That might seem trivial to some, but I’m a firm believer in that approach based on a recent experience I
Don’t Wait for Waterborne
I recently asked a shop owner if he had switched over to waterborne or low-VOC basecoats yet, and his response took me by surprise. “Tailpipe’s this big,” he said, making a circle with his thumb and index finger. “A spray gun nozzle is this big,” he then said, making a much smaller circle. “EPA’s always
Get Busy When Slow
All I keep hearing out there is how everyone has been so busy due to the harsh winter weather we received in many parts of the country this year. But I suspect that when spring breaks and gas prices spike this summer, there will once again be a dearth of repair work and many shops
Follow These Instructions
Call me completely naive or totally misinformed, but there are certain things that I assume all people do. For instance, I assume that all people wear seat belts. For me, it’s automatic, even when I’m simply crossing a parking lot. I know, perhaps that’s a little over-cautious, but I just feel safer. So I was
Who Will Weather 2009?
How do you feel about your business prospects in 2009? Well, I can tell you how some of you feel based on a recent survey we conducted. Approximately 39.1 percent of you said that you feel your business will be equal to what it was in 2008. 32.3 percent of you said business will be
Let’s Be Real, Folks
I would sure love to see an empty stadium at the Cleveland Browns’ home opener next season as a protest against outrageous NFL ticket prices. Maybe then my son and I could afford to go to a game. But are fans ever going to band together and make such a collective statement? No. Cleveland will
You Get What You Give
You get what you give. Every so often you hear one of these wise old sayings about life, but to me, the one above is proven to be true every day. To me, it means that the more effort you put into life, the more you’ll get out of it. “You reap what you sow”
It’s All About Attitude
I think Doug Goethe got it right in this month’s story about his personal transition to waterborne basecoat when he said, “It’s all about attitude. Everything’s about attitude.” It is all about attitude. Specifically, having a positive and open-minded attitude. When you were down 5-0 after the first inning in your league softball game, there
Green and Mean
Green is in today. Troubles with the Earth’s environment are being highly publicized these days, and some of the evidence is disturbing. Even if you’re skeptical about such a thing as global warming, it’s not hard to be convinced that our huge population is finally taking a toll on the planet. There are more people
Young Guns
Ray and Clare Santiago are hoping to set the industry ablaze with radical new ideas and a unique business philosophy.
Laying Down the Law
When Michael Trinagel’s twin daughters were born 16 years ago, he drove them home from the hospital in a Rolls-Royce. Today, the only reason his shop, Personal Touch Auto Body in the Bronx, is still in business is because he took out a loan against the equity he has in his house – one part of