Top Shop Marketing, Inc. is announcing a call to action for its 231 partner shops to achieve the I-CAR Gold Class designation. Top Shop Marketing partner facilities will join a growing list of Gold Class repair facilities, which currently numbers more than 3,600 shops nationwide. Approximately 10 percent of all collision repair businesses have achieved Gold Class.

“With the rapidly accelerating advancements in vehicle technologies and materials facing collision repairers, earning the Gold Class designation is becoming increasingly valuable to a shop’s ability to perform proper repairs,” said John Van Alstyne, I-CAR CEO & president. “Not only are Gold Class shops better prepared to perform complete, safe and quality repairs for the ultimate benefit of the consumer, I-CAR research shows that Gold Class shops realize improved measurable business performance.”

In a recent I-CAR study, new Gold Class shops achieved a 14-percent reduction in cycle time, supplement frequency dropped 11 percent, touch time improved 33.75 percent and customer satisfaction scores (CSI) went up 5 percent.

“Top Shop has a strong commitment to excellent service and training, and Gold Class goes hand-in-hand with the company’s values,” said Top Shop Vice President of Operations David Herbert. “As Top Shop seeks to help our partner facilities establish and improve upon Direct Repair Program (DRP) relationships, they will be properly equipped with knowledge that can sharpen their skills and help keep pace with our evolving industry and the future of vehicle technology. We look forward to working with I-CAR to add value in training for our facilities and ultimately our customers.”

Top Shop Marketing specializes in marketing the body shop community to DRP managers, and to date, about 30 percent of its facilities are Gold Class.