“What Am I to Do?”
It’s a familiar plea to me now. Whether it comes by fax, e-mail, telephone or the good ol’ United States Postal Service, the message is basically the same: “I’m a small, independent shop and I’m at my wit’s end. There are two or three shops in my area that get all the work, and I can’t get on a direct-repair program to save my life. What am I supposed to do?”
DRPs, Here We Come?
Doing good work and counting on referrals will only get collision repair shops so far. At some point, we need to step up our marketing efforts. Part 12 of a series.
Dirty Little Secret No. 3: Shops Can Steer Too
Despite what you’ve been led to believe, you can legally steer your customers away from ‘problem’ insurers and toward ones that know how to fairly settle claims.
Making Beautiful Moose Together
Move over Bullwinkle, the most famous moose in the Land of 10,000 Lakes sits proudly in front of Quality Paint & Auto Body, and it’s the creation of shop owner Don Lindgren, a.k.a. the “Moose Man.” Unfortunately, we can’t call him that. “I tried to use ‘The Moose Man’ as a logo, but the title
Escape Hybrid: An SUV For The Reluctant Activist
Score one for the activists. I suppose after infamous misses (such as animal rights, which denies you your right to enjoy a slab of meat like your Cro Magnon forefathers and guilts women into looking like the living dead because it would be “cruel” to test makeup on animals), the odds were in the activists
Road Kill Reborn
Marion Waldo McChesney is bringing back the dead. Sort of. In her artwork, she’s giving new life to animals smashed by speeding motorists. So the next time you see a flattened frog in the road or squished lizard on the sidewalk, remember, there’s road kill and then there’s art.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger! Ohio’s Jack Lundberg
Faced with the challenge of registering Ohio’s collision repair facilties, Jack Lundberg has been called a savior by some, the devil by others. Throw in a few death threats, and you know how Lundberg feels by 10 a.m.
Halfway Around the World in One Article
After BodyShop Business’ roving reporter Mike Lawrence returned from his two-day, 17-country whirlwind trip – in which he studied collision repair markets around the globe – he determined that while each country’s market is unique, it also sounds strangely familiar.
Office Procedures to Prevent Chaos
Don’t run your business reacting to problems as they occur and lose time trying to solve them. Taking certain precautions on the front end of a job help to cover your back end — and to ensure your operation runs smoothly and professionally.
Perception of Color
Although color theory is detailed and complicated, it’s crucial to collision repairers. And, if things get too difficult, you can always call in the Mud Monster.