Your Fearless (ASA) Leader
Geralynn Kottschade has gone through basic training and childbirth. Comparatively speaking, her new role as ASA Chair should be relatively painless.
The Definition of Success
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
– Theodore Roosevelt
Blending Paint Right the First Time
Because nearly every repair ends up needing blended, you need to get it right the first time or you can kiss your profits goodbye.
The Jury’s In: An Epiphany
After getting out of jury duty, I had a epiphany: I’m an idiot. Reasonable people like me and you) should serve on juries. If insurers didn’t pay out millions to attorneys and “victims,” maybe – just maybe – they wouldn’t nickel and dime shops so much. Every now and then, all the bits and pieces
How NOT to Repel Women
Make a good first impression and then treat them right.
Invoking The “Appraisal” Clause
Scenario: A first-party insured with collision coverage brings his damaged car to you for repairs. Your estimate comes to $3,501. The insurer has “appraised” (a.k.a “estimated”) the cost of repair at $2,255. Reinspections and supplementals have been exhausted, and there’s still a sizeable gap between the actual cost of repair and what the insurer is
Somebody’s Watching Me: “Spy Cam” Teddys
Secret “spy cam” teddys aren’t the answer. Techs produce at least 50 percent more when they know you’re watching them. Implementing a production tracking system – along with productivity bonuses – has saved one shop owner $87,200 per year and increased his net profit by 10 percent. A worker produces at about 50 percent of
Stuck: Adhesion
I LOVE GLUE DEAR… I love glue, too… Sounds like a sticky situation to me. When I was assigned the task of reporting on the current state of adhesive use in the vehicle repair process, I had no idea where the story might lead. For the easy, logical side of the story, I talked to
The Evolution of DRPs
“To every thing – there is a season – and a time – for every purpose – under heaven.” Those lyrics have been repeating in my head since I began outlining this article examining direct-repair agreements. Why? Because to examine DRP agreements without examining their history and evolution would – in my opinion – be
Trade Secrets
Unusual, everyday tools commonly used in the collision repair industry.