No Bonding Allowed
It wasn’t long ago that the only choice a repair technician had to replace a quarter panel, roof or door skin was to cut it off and weld it back on.
Blueprints for Success: A Plan for Profits
Floor plans lay the groundwork for production, but other factors build on this foundation. To construct a solid business – brick by brick – learn how four shops implemented a plan for profits.
Under Construction: Remodeling for Optimization
Three shop owners remodeled to optimize their operations. Was it worth the cost and aggravation? Absolutely
Shop Gone Bad
Good shops utilize their facilities and technicians efficiently. Bad shops don’t. Surprisingly, profitable shops are often the worst
Rains, Planes and Dames
Name: J&L Auto Body Location: Summerville, S.C. Owners: John and Linda Disher Established: 1981 Square Footage: 10,000 Number of Employees: Nine Repair Volume: 12 cars per week (collision) Average Repair Ticket: $2,000 September 1989: The winds picked up. The heavy rains came. The ocean went crazy. Wreaking havoc on lives and properties, Hurricane Hugo stormed
From Wreck to Right
It’s a dark stormy night. You realize that you’ve strayed from the main paved road and are now traveling down a gravel one. The road is soft. Your vehicle isn’t handling well. It’s raining so hard that the car’s windshield wipers can’t keep up, and the ditches on both sides of the road are very
Aftermarket Crash Parts vs. OE
Some people view the aftermarket crash parts vs. OE parts debate as a war, with the sides being the collision repair industry (wearing the armor of the OEMs) battling the insurance
industry (sporting aftermarket armor).
A Well-Rounded Painter
If your customer-service index is high and your marketing efforts are giving your shop a healthy backlog of work, you know that what happens when vehicles reach your paint
department is critical to your continued success. And what goes on in your paint department is highly dependent upon the quality.
of painters you employ.
The Tale of One Shop Continues…
….with Paul and Teresa Slate
More Than an Estimate
It used to be so easy to write an estimate. Easy, that is, until the ARMS people announced to the country: "A customer doesn’t need an estimate. The customer is in pain and wants his vehicle made whole again." This tiny piece of information had a huge – and dramatic – effect on many leading