Don’t Be Another Face in the Crowd
“How can I make a higher profit margin in the body shop as the insurance companies are paying less and less?” – John Thompson, shop manager, Fix Auto Mall, Auburn, N.Y. There are only two ways to increase gross profit on a given sales volume. The first is to increase your bottom line, i.e. charge
Never Lose Sight of the Goal
Giving away business? In today’s competitive and consolidating marketplace, how could such a thing happen?
From Classroomes to Computers
Employee education has evolved from printed manuals to virtual classrooms. But is virtual as good as the real thing?
How Feds Dodged the Consent Decree in ’93
A group of shop owners – armed with reams of documentation and the 1963 Consent Decree – visited the Department of Justice in ’93 to provide what they considered proof of insurance industry wrongdoing. For whatever reasons, the DOJ dismissed their allegations, sweeping the Decree back under the rug. But how long can the dirt remain hidden?
The Fraud Triangle
Anticipating possibly getting something for nothing – and convincing themselves they’re entitled to it – repairers, insurers and consumers commit fraud on a daily basis, assuming that if they don’t get caught, no one gets hurt. But nothing comes without a cost.
Price Fixing or Price Negotiating
“Why do insurance companies control a shop’s labor rates? Isn’t this price fixing?” –– Ron Humphress, former parts manager, Good News Auto Body Shop, Salisbury, Md. Black Law Dictionary, 7th Edition, defines price fixing as an “artificial setting or maintenance of prices at a certain level contrary to the workings of the free market.” Price
Antitrust in Insurer- Repairer Business Relations
‘Antitrust’ is spoken of frequently in the collision repair industry but is still often
misunderstood. Here’s a clear definition of what it is and how it relates to insurer- repairer business relations.
Ditch Your One-Dimensional Ways
Only selling collision repair service these days? Diversification is the answer
to getting your profits back and making your business worth owning.
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme: Better, Cheaper & Faster
Years ago, the belief in business was that you could provide a product better, cheaper or faster — pick two. But to achieve success today, you must offer all three. Customers expect more, for less money and want it yesterday.
Balanced Budget
As more white collars enter the industry, shop owners need to become better business people by learning how to better manage their money.