Time Is Money
Prefer aftermarket crash parts or used parts?
Pick Me! Pick Me!
If you want to close the sale, you need more than a well-written estimate and a “Give us a call if you decide to schedule it.” You need to develop a system tailored to customer needs and train your estimators and front desk personnel to sell.
Hey! Didn’t You Used to Work for Me?
Too bad someone out there doesn’t have a collision industry crystal ball – filled with answers about where future technicians are going to come from and the secrets of hiring and retaining them.
Jumping on the E-Commerce Bandwagon
Though the dotcoms have had a rough few years, doing business over the Internet isn’t a bust. Quite the contrary. Though it’s wise to look before you leap, repairers who take advantage early will claim a huge share of the market and reduce their costs. Repairers who refuse to get on and stand in the way of progress may simply get run over.<
Tell It Like It Is
If you lost a diamond, would you want a cubic zirconia without knowing it until you tried to sell it?” asked one 2001 BodyShop Business Industry Profile respondent when asked if the vehicle owner has an unequivocal right to know when aftermarket or used parts are used in repairs.
The Need For Speed: Quantity Over Quality May Cost You
A shop manager who chooses quantity over quality may cost you more than a few dollars in comebacks. He may also cost you a few good technicians.
Dealing With Mr. “I-Can’t-Pay-My-Deductible”
It may be tempting to do your customers a favor when they threaten to take their business elsewhere. But when you see how this adversely affects the industry and your own shop, you’ll realize that you’re a moron if you allow some whiner with a eductible problem to peer pressure you.
Not All Parts Are Created Equal: Aftermarket (A/M) Parts
With the State Farm aftermarket (A/M) parts suit still in appeal, the ultimate fate of alternative parts is still up in the air.
A List of Five Suggestions from Repairers to Insurer
1. Hire people with experience instead of college kids who’ve never been around cars.
2. Stop steering and stop lying.
3. Pay for necessary operations and materials to properly repair vehicles.
4. Don’t take so dang long to approve supplements.
5. Accept the fact that it costs money to repair an accident, and quit trying to cut corners.
The DRP Decision…
Are DRPs marriages made in heaven or pacts with the devil? It depends on whom you ask