Guest Editorial: Can’t We All Just Get Along?
Many repairers have made the mistake of going to war with insurers versus going to the negotiating table. But the loss of shop profitability is not the insurers’ fault.
Auditing Insurer Estimates
Analyzing insurer-produced estimates versus my own has led me to a better understanding of what body shops should and shouldn’t do during the estimating process.
In SOPs We Trust – Standard Operating Procedures
Standard operating procedures could offer a body shop owner more freedom and the ability to attract new insurance business by creating ‘verifiable’ trust.
9 Steps to Protect Your Shop from DV Claims
Post-repair inspectors, on average, see proper repairs one time out of every 100 inspections. Sloppy repairs are on the rise – and due to insurers forcing shops to carry liability insurance policies often exceeding $1 million, so are attorneys looking to hold shops accountable.
DRPs: Our Business Skills
Stop the finger pointing. How well we do in this trade has a lot more to do with our business skills than with how “bad” insurers are. In fact, direct-repair programs have, dare I say it, made many shops more efficient and profitable. It was more than 40 years ago, but I still remember sitting
The Jury’s In: Save their Deductibles?
They come in all shapes and sizes, but their goal is the same: They want you to save their deductible. Thirty years ago, deductibles didn’t seem to be such a big deal. In fact, 30 years ago, some insurance companies actually wrote policies with zero deductibles. In the late 1960s, I was an apprentice in
Shattered Market: The Body Shop Glass Business
NAGS list price discounts are increasing, labor payments aredecreasing and deals made behind our backs are eroding profitability. Still, you might want to consider performing your own glass installations since, ultimately, you’re the one shouldering the liability.
Staffing Your Front Office
Front-office systems come and go. Some are too complex or based on inaccurate forecasts. Others were doomed by unrealistic expectations. But it’s not an impossible goal.
Smart Strategies to Boost Production
Well, Alison, this is a loaded question. We can approach this from so many different directions, and I believe most of them would be a matter of opinion. We could address different types of production setups – like inline, fast repair and assembly line, technician combination work bays and team cells, to use a few
Market Pricing: Examining the Forces Behind It
independently of recessions and bear markets? Some industry leaders would say yes, they do. The reality is that body shop sales tend to follow meteorological trends rather than economic indicators. Hail storms and the shellacking of ice that some cities get in the winter do more to drive markets for body work than does the