Body Shops and Aluminum, How Did We Get Here?
The significant increase in aluminum-bodied vehicles these days is driven in part by the same gasoline mileage issue we faced in 1973. The federal government has decreed that by the year 2025, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) is to be 54.5 miles per gallon for all car manufacturers.
Protect Yourself Properly
If your lungs take in enough solvent-laden air along with your oxygen, they’ll pass the solvent into your blood stream. As the blood reaches your brain and your brain doesn’t find enough oxygen because the solvent is in there, you’ll become dizzy or lightheaded.
The Latest New Thing
No doubt you’re sure that young folks don’t know nuthin’ about collision repair. Just remember that the latest new thing they’re showing you might save you time, be healthier and offer a better, faster repair.
Another One Leaves the Ride
Each year, it gets more difficult to find folks who can play the “I was there when…” game with me. There is one less now as my friend and 38-year veteran of the collision industry is retiring. Here is his perspective on our business between 1977 and 2015.
Interacting With Customers
A in-depth look at interacting with customers and insuring you have a customer-friendly business.
Lighting, Air, Booth Filters and Signs
Buy and install more lights, re-pipe the shop with copper or aluminum air lines, buy the most expensive spraybooth filters and replace them frequently, and create attractive signs that tell the world why your shop is the best.
Enamel, Amaretto and Ill-Advised Repair Tactics
The collision business still attracts a unique blend of personalities…and I’m pleased to continue meeting them after 45 years.
Tips to Improve Sales, Production and Finance
A concerted effort to improve sales and close rates and understand and improve your repair statistics will put more money in the till than a single-minded focus on cycle times or production efficiency.
Measuring Color
Color match is painters’ most common problem. Treat the spectrophotometer your shop uses with great care, and it will make your paint shop more productive every day.
What Steps Can I Take to Resurrect a Dealership Body Shop?
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? In raising a dealership body shop from the dead, what should I do first, fix the shop or market the business? The dealer does not want to spend any money until we make some money, and we can’t make any until we spend some. Where do we start?
A Dealership Body Shop Manager’s Woes
I often have former dealership body shop managers in my educational programs. Recently, I had three current dealer shop mangers in my audience for two days. I have an opinion (no way!) on why less than 40 percent of new car dealers have a body shop. Part of my explanation includes a couple of illustrative
Does Your Shop “Wow” Customers?
In several classes I teach for paint, body & equipment (PBE) jobbers, I describe the universe of American body shops as follows: 5 percent: Ugh! These shops have no interest in calculating financial numbers of any kind, improving their production efficiency (what’s that?) or new and faster equipment. They’re too busy fixing cars to get
