Six body shops in the Temple, Texas, area have dropped out of State Farm’s Select Service program after becoming fed up with the way the company treats shops and consumers, CRASH Network reported.
The last straw for Mark Holladay, Don Ringler Chevrolet body shop manager, was when State Farm reportedly refused to postpone a training class on processing total losses while Holladay’s team was working 60- and 70-hour weeks repairing hail-damaged vehicles.
“We were all just at our max,” Holladay told CRASH Network. “We were told straight up, it was just ‘No.’”
Holladay added that there hasn’t been a significant drop in State Farm work coming to his shop.
Gene Sneed, owner of B&G Collision and B&G Paint & Body not only removed his two shops from the program but also co-sponsored newspaper ads with eight other shops telling consumers they have the right to choose who repairs their cars.
“[Insurers] will promise you the world in order to persuade you to go to one of their direct repair or network shops,” one ad says. “Don’t be steered wrong."
