Shop Profile: Working Smart
Shop Name: Quality Collision Repair Inc. Location: Rockledge, Fla. Established: 1983 Square Footage: 6,642 Owners: Everette and Sandy Sharpe No. of Employees: 10 Repair Volume/No. of Cars Per Month: 60 cars per month Average Repair Cost: $1400 Shop Layout Working on his business – rather than in his business – has allowed this shop owner
Respect: The Customer’s Auto When in Your Possession
Do not smoke or eat in (or on) a customer’s car. Do not steal the Viagra. And never use the test drive to take a carload of techs to a local lunch spot (or to solicit a prostitute). When a customer drops off his vehicle at your shop for repairs, it’s common knowledge that he
The Right Thing For the Wrong Reasons
The Americans with Disabilities Act
Do You See What I See
Does anyone find it the least bit surprising that the general public doesn’t trust the collision industry?
I’ve Got Something You Want: the Barter System
Shop owners are using the barter system to turn their down time into a way to accumulate trade dollars and attract new business. Just because you’re short on cash doesn’t mean you have to go without. More and more body shop owners are turning to bartering – and finding that it can be good for
Insurer-Owned Shops: Anomaly or Trend
er relationships?”– Johnny Reyes, operations specialist, Pacific Collision Center, Inc., Placentia, Calif. Question answered by: Charlie Barone Among the greatest concerns of body shop owners in the United States is the possibility of a developing trend toward insurance company ownership of body shops. While the advancement of the Sterling/Allstate venture appears to be rapid in
Charge for What You Do: Replacing a Quarter Panel
What’s a quarter worth these days? No, I’m not asking the value of an American quarter dollar. I’m asking you to consider what you should be charging to replace a quarter panel. Are you charging enough for the amount of work involved in a good quality repair? A lot of shop owners and managers insist
Selling Services
Some shops are making it standard practice to bill insurance companies in dollar amounts with no reference to the number of hours spent on a repair. As much as insurers fight this practice, the shops – which could include yours – are within their rights.
Better Safe Than Liable: Check the Safety Features
Hurried techs sometimes forget to – or just simply don’t – check the safety features on a collision-damaged vehicle. But being rushed is no excuse.
Give Yourself a Raise: Working Together
Insurers know a local shop environment is very competitive, and they use this to pit local shop against local shop. But what if repairers refused to play this game and started working together instead of against one another?
