Customer Care to the Max
Fred Haas Collision Center earns accolades through a customer-centered approach and continual process improvement.
ALLDATA Celebrates 70,000th Customer
It was pretty raucous for the morning, but there was something big to celebrate. Gwen Stefani of the rock band No Doubt was screaming from the loudspeakers that she wanted to “keep on dancing,” and the employees of ALLDATA no doubt felt the same way. The night before, they had notched their 70,000th customer, and
GEICO No. 1 for Customer Loyalty on Brand Keys Index
For the second consecutive year, GEICO earned top honors among car insurance companies for its ability to create loyal customers in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. GEICO led auto insurers, ranking ahead of State Farm, Allstate, Nationwide and Progressive. The annual study examines consumer relationships with 382 brands in 57 categories to
Profiting from Customer-Pay Repairs
Afraid to make an insurance claim, many consumers are paying out-of-pocket. This trend not only presents some challenges for collision repairers, but also some opportunities.
Is the Insurance Company Also the Shop’s Customer?
Rick Little, Owner Rick’s Auto Sales & Service Inc. Coshocton, Ohio Viewing insurance companies as your customer is an unhealthy and dangerous thing to do and will only lead to giving them complete control of the industry. We need only to look at the healthcare industry to see how subtly and completely this is
Know Your Customer
Insurers are contractually responsible to reimburse their insureds for the reasonable costs of repair. Shops are contractually responsible to the owner of the vehicle for performing a repair as per the estimate/RO. In other words, you have no legal obligation to negotiate with insurers.
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
You CAN Create Customers
Shop co-owner Chuck Logan asks whether he can tell DRPs to take a hike and still stay in business.
If Customers Ain’t Happy, Ain’t Nobody Happy
While progressive collision repairers are relying more and more on computerized equipment, paperless processing and electronic transactions, old fashioned customer care – friendly, timely, convenient and cost-effective service – is still the key to repeat and referral business.
Play Nice: repairers and insurers can improve their relationships
“All appraisers should intern in a shop for one year,” says one respondent to BodyShop Business’ annual Industry Profile regarding what should be done to enhance relations with appraisers and insurance companies. Other suggestions on how repairers and insurers can improve their relationships include: “All prices should be determined and negotiated on location at the