Hardware and Hard Hits: The Body Shop at Sears Roebuck and Co.
Shop Name: The Body Shop at Sears Location: Hicksville, Long Island President: Bill Rich Established: February 1995 Square Footage: 10,000 square feet Number of Employees: 15 Average Repair Volume: 80 cars per month Average Repair Ticket: $4,000 When you think of Sears, what comes to mind? Seeing the innocent child-like glow on your dad’s face
Shop Owner Profile: What Kind of Men and Women Head the Nation’s Collision Repair Shops?
Are they ready for retirement or taking over the family business? We polled some of our subscribers – maybe even you! – to find out more about the people leading this industry.
From Classroomes to Computers
Employee education has evolved from printed manuals to virtual classrooms. But is virtual as good as the real thing?
Taking the Cycle Time Challenge
You’d think the simple solution to developing shorter cycle times would be to have everyone work faster. Ahh, Grasshopper, things aren’t so simple. First you have to define, measure, standardize and reward – and each one of these steps is a challenge to achieve. But the long-term gain is worth the short-term pain.
Off With the Parts!
Shuffling new parts from metal department to paint department and back again is beginning to show its age. Though industry critics insist painting parts off the car isn’t a practical alternative, some production shops disagree – and have the reduced cycle times and increased profits to prove it.
‘Til Death Do Us Part
Not all DRP marriages end in divorce. For this Chicago shop owner, DRPs have benefited his business and boosted his bottom line – making it easy to put his bachelor days behind him.
From Tow Truck Drives to Computer Drives
He says he saw a UFO, he wears flip-flops and he used to drive a tow truck, but what does shop network-owner Erick Bickett have to say about computers, consolidation and Christmas?
Those Are the Brakes: In House or Out of House?
Since no two brakes jobs are the same, some shops choose to send brake repairs out of house to avoid an extra possible headache. Others choose to tackle the repairs themselves. What’s right for you depends on how much control you want to have over what often becomes a complicated repair.
The ABCs of DRPs
Deciding whether or not to join direct-repair programs can be a daunting task. How can you be sure the relationships will benefit your customers and be profitable to your business? By spelling out the pros and cons before you sign on the dotted line.
Bedlining Your Pockets
As pickup trucks continue to grow more popular, so does consumer demand for bedliners. In fact, the spray-on bedliner aftermarket hit $90 million ’98. But how much of that $90 mil went into your bank account?