“I Can’t Make Money On Paint!” (a.k.a Why Johnny Kicked The Dog)
At first, this shop owner thought his problem was paint, but after working with his jobber and accountant, he realized it was actually a sales problem. Now he’s making good money on paint and focusing on improving other areas of his business as well.
Understanding Airbags
Many shop personnel say ‘it’s not my job’ to know the basics about how and why airbags work. I disagree. Not only do we owe it to our customers, but we can use this knowledge to differentiate ourselves from the competition and get the job.
A Few Good Techs
Is there really a technician shortage or just a misappropriation of qualified techs? Is the pool of technicians shrinking faster than the collision repair market?
Will the end result be higher door rates?
Re-Thinking the Shop Manager Role
In ‘lean’ organizations, the process itself is the ‘manager,’ freeing up your actual shop manager to be a leader instead — someone focused not on problem solving and putting out fires, but on building a better business.
Democracy in Action
Back in early November, a series of e-mails began to circulate at a rather hectic pace among several industry people (shop owners, industry advisors, various media types, association and committee representatives, etc.). Typically, when you find yourself among the many who are copied on these e-mail strings, the tendency is to drop out quickly so
The Insurer Made Me Do It?
Historically, our industry’s associations have been about as highly regarded as government employees — and thought to work just as hard. But during the past few years, some associations — especially on the state level — have become much more active, vocal and unified, making it possible for them to actually accomplish something. But with
The Process of Efficiency
Our industry has focused on gross profit issues for far too long. The key to success lies in the way we work, not in what someone else is doing to us. It’s time we shift our focus to ‘fixed’ costs — repairing more cars with the same ‘fixed’ cost or repairing the same amount of cars with a lower ‘fixed’ cost.
Repairers Take Action
"Ditching this disingenuous ad is a victory for consumers — and a better business practice for GEICO. This incident should send a message that higher standards in insurance industry dealings are appropriate and necessary." — Connecticut State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, after GEICO complied with his request to pull a TV ad that features actress
Examining the State of the Industry
Too many shops, not enough work, not enough profit, too much insurer involvement and not enough business expertise on the part of shop owners are all contributing to the sorry state that is the collision repair industry.
“I Can’t Make Money on Paint!” (a.k.a. Why Johnny Kicked the Dog.)
Too many shops post their entire jobber bill to materials – even though much
of it isn’t paint. Shops then sell these items as miscellaneous parts, with the sale going to parts and the cost to paint. To make matters worse, shops are working off adjuster estimates – which can easily cost them hundreds of dollars per RO.
A Different View of NACE
A year ago as I prepared for my first NACE show as an overwhelmed publisher of a magazine that reaches just about every collision repair shop across America, I wrote a column about leadership (or lack thereof) in our industry. Now, as I prepare for my second NACE next month in Las Vegas and reflect
Is State Farm’s New DRP Good or Bad for the Industry Long Term?
Point CounterPoint