Collision P.R.E.P. Engages & Inspires SCC Attendees For Better Tomorrows

by Alana Quartuccio

Future-Proofing Your Shop

Achieving success in the future starts with changing things today. 

“You know that old saying, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Well, I’m telling you to break it. Try new things. Innovate. Encourage your employees’ new ideas.” 

Those wise words were shared by the one and only Mike Anderson (Collision Advice) as he challenged collision repairers to be open to new ideas, embrace technology and understand the changing needs of consumers during “Future-proof Your Shop: Tomorrow’s Success Starts with Today.” 

Dollar signs can be deceiving, giving shop owners a false sense of security. The only true way to define success lies in the hands of the business. “We have to get back to writing a more accurate estimate, as that is really critical to success.” 

Consumer needs are changing, which is reshaping the relationship between vehicle owners and automotive manufacturers. “Today’s consumer wants a personal experience. OEMs have found out that some people don’t want to drive the same car all the time. They want flexible ownership.” As Anderson explained, vehicle subscription service is the way of the future. In fact, it’s predicted to generate $1.5 trillion globally by 2030 and projected to rise to $3.5 trillion by 2040. 

Software as a service is also causing a paradigm shift with OEMs, Anderson said. “OEMs are going all in. People are going to be so used to personalizing their vehicle, the first place they will go to is the app on their phone.” He emphasized the benefits of becoming an OEM certified collision center.

Being open to benchmarking your business is the best thing one can do for their business, Anderson suggested. “You’ll never know how well you are doing until you compare yourself to others.” 

Anderson left the audience with much to consider, both now and in the future. 

“Tomorrow’s shop will understand that employees’ expectations will change, so they will offer an extraordinary customer experience and have an extraordinary culture, embrace technology by giving it a chance and giving it feedback.  Those who fight technology will be left behind, but those who embrace it will be there when the dust clears.” 

100 Percent Disassembly

Anderson continued to motivate and educate SCC attendees on the second day of SCC with “100 Percent Disassembly,” addressing a full room of collision repairers that they can, in fact, do a 100 percent disassembly of a vehicle regardless of how large or small their facility may be.

“When I tell a shop they need to do a 100 percent disassembly,” Anderson stated, “the first thing they tell me is ‘I can’t, because I don’t have enough room.’ Let me help you understand what caused me to dive so deep into 100 percent disassembly. My first shop was 8,200 square feet, with everything under the roof. My second shop was only 5,000 square feet, everything under the roof. My third shop was only 1,500 square feet, everything under the roof. That 5,000-square-foot shop cost me $4 million. I had to figure out how I was going to generate $400,000 a month in 5,000 square feet, because that was the only way I could afford the mortgage. When you have that small of a footprint, you have to figure out how to maximize space. I didn’t have a lot of floor space, but what I did have was a lot of wall space. I had to learn to get creative.”

Anderson provided visuals to show the audience how space saving, organization and mirror matching can be done to perform 100 percent disassembly, while also detailing the benefits that come from embracing it. 

Having a dedicated parts person is also key in keeping everything organized. When it comes to mirror matching, this should be done on a table, never on the floor. As Anderson noted, even an old ping pong table can be repurposed for this, and put up against a wall when not in use.

Rethinking Roles in Collision Repair

Michael Bradshaw (K&M Collision; Hickory, NC), Barry Dorn (Dorn’s Body & Paint; Mechanicsville, VA) and Kris Burton (Rosslyn Auto Body; Alexandria, VA) inspired fellow collision repairers to rethink the way their businesses operate during “Efficiency Unleashed: Rethinking Roles in Collision Repair,” a panel where each gave a glimpse into their own shops, where they have improved efficiency by giving employees roles that play to their specialities. 

“The key is to define responsibilities and allow your technicians to specialize within their specific roles,” explained Bradshaw. 

Typically, a shop employs a body technician(s), a painter or refinish technician, a detailer and an estimator – but what if that structure was broken down into segments? A segmented collision shop has people devoted to specific roles, such as blueprinter, CSR, glass technician, structural technical, mechanical technician, ADAS tech, dedicated parts team, refinish prepper, refinish technician and diagnostic technician. 

“If you have someone on your team who welds every day, who do you think is better at welding?” Bradshaw queried. “If you have a technician dedicated to glue pull repair, that technician will grow and become more efficient in that skill versus only touching that tool once every few weeks.” 

“We segregate our blueprint team from the carrier,” Dorn said of his operation. “The blueprinter only deals with the technician and the car; someone else has the responsibility of selling it to the insurance company.”

“We’ve got to stop looking at training as a bad thing,” suggested Bradshaw. “Many times, we may see it as a cost and an interruption in production when a technician is out for a week, but we have to figure out how to manage that.” 

Burton’s shop is fortunate to have great longevity with many of their workers, as well as fresh faces. “We have four technicians and four apprentices,” he shared. “Our ADAS technician is 19 years old. I’ve been sending him to training. Invest in your staff, and they will trust you and know that you have their best interests at heart.”

Building Value in Your Shop

Even if a business owner isn’t planning to step away from their shop in the immediate future, having a plan in motion for when that time does arrive is imperative, advised Matt DiFrancesco (High Lift Financial) through “Building Value in Your Shop”. 

“Everyone is going to exit at some point,” he unveiled, listing retirement, death, disability, divorce, a business dispute or bankruptcy as examples.

“Too many times, I run into shop owners who say they plan to step away in five years, and then five years later, they say they will step away in five years. It’s a revolving five-year plan because basically they have never had a plan.

“You should be planning your succession from the moment you start the business,” he added. “You don’t want to wait until the last minute.” 

Increasing the value of the business is key toward that future succession. The shop’s reputation can help increase the value of the business. 

One very important consideration is the owner’s involvement. “This is huge: Many shops I talk to are very dependent on the owner,” he shared. “If you have an internal succession plan to a family member or an employee, and they see you working 70-80 hours a week, how keen are they going to be to want to do that?” 

It’s in a shop owner’s future best interest to be what is known as an incidental owner over being an essential business owner. “The more you play the role of an incidental owner, the more you raise the value of the shop. This will enable you and your family to obtain financial security.” 

One should be thinking about the legacy they want to leave behind. “We live on this earth for a short period of time. What can we do to create a legacy that lasts for generations?” DiFrancesco challenged. 

“We have to put a picture on the box before we put the puzzle together,” he stressed. One needs to think about what they want their exit plan to look like, as he compared succession planning to how one uses GPS. “The first thing you do is put in where you are going. We can’t get anywhere if we don’t know where we are going.”

Blend Study Conversations Continue

One of the most widely talked about findings to come out of the collision repair world in recent years has been the blend study conducted by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) with DEKRA and five leading automotive refinish manufacturers. 

And those conversations continue. In fact, they are ongoing – or should be – as SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg addressed while updating the audience right on the Southeast Collision Conference trade show floor.

The whole idea of the study was to provoke conversations that would eventually lead to positive changes. “The study opened the door for a more honest and thorough conversation,” offered Schulenburg, who stressed that changes made by information providers,  like CCC One/MOTOR and Solera/Audatex, happened because they themselves “did a revaluation and realized there are variables in the marketplace that were not there previously as they had been using a study that was now 30 years old. 

“It’s not about what the study said; it’s about the tasks being done by the auto repair facility,” Schulenburg stated. 

Repair Plan Writing with Self Confidence

Danny Gredinberg (Database Enhancement Gateway) and Kyle Motzkus (Hunter Auto Body; St. Louis, MO) encouraged repair planners to ignore anticipated pushback and be confident in writing for every item necessary to perform a safe and proper repair. 

The customer is the one who has to authorize the repair, yet many repair planners find themselves worrying about what will be covered or not covered by an insurance carrier, and as a result, they fail to be transparent with the customer about the needs of their vehicle repair. 

“We have to change that mindset,” proposed Gredinberg. “What we do is for the customer. We may be doing a courtesy by submitting that repair plan to the insurance company, but it is not our fight, and it shouldn’t have to be our fight.” 

“Are we making sure the customer understands what is on that sheet?” Motzkus challenged, emphasizing the value of being candid with the vehicle owner. 

Pointing to the many resources available, including the DEG website (DEGweb.org), which provides access to vehicle owner manuals and other tools, Gredinberg reminded, “We have resources to document your repair plan to build your confidence. Don’t get discouraged when told no.”

“No is your entry to the word yes. You have to do the operation, so why not ask for it?” Motzkus added. 

Filling Profit Leak Holes

OEConnection’s Taylor Moss opened repair professionals’ minds to various ways they may be losing money while helping them understand how they can plug those holes to increase profitability. 

Various factors could be contributing to profit loss, such as price increases with parts and materials. “Are we charging more when we ourselves are being charged more for these materials?

How a shop communicates with customers could be a profit leak. “Good customers could be slipping through the cracks.” 

Moss challenged the audience to think about their first point of contact. Research shows that out of 100 people, only 57 make it past the first point of contact, and out of that group, only about 32 make it to a sale. “How can we get better at that?” he queried. 

“Forty-three percent of customers abandon a shop after the first phone call. Whatever we said to them on the phone wasn’t good enough. Whatever we said made them go elsewhere.” 

Shop owners must also realize that 41 percent of customers expect to do business with their shop after hours. “What are you doing to capture people when they want to talk to you when they are done with work, which is also when we are done with work?”

Moss discussed Body Shop Booster’s Phone AI, which has the capability of capturing a consumer at first contact. 

“This isn’t meant to point fingers,” Moss stressed. “It’s meant to shine light on areas for improvement.”

Nurturing the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg

“A big part of ‘nurturing the goose’ is to give yourself a chance to think about who you are as an individual,” Bruce Schronce (StrongLead) put forth, as he and Kyle Bradshaw (K&M Collision; Hickory, NC) led an interactive discussion about leadership and business growth during “Nurturing the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg.” 

“Where do you want to go? What do you want to accomplish? Think about the people who are most important to you and about what is most important to you. If you can get those things in the right perspective, when things go wrong, you will still show up well in the process.”

The interactive session stimulated repair professionals to think about their own personal values and what they want to work toward most. 

Schronce got the audience thinking about what types of messages they are sending to the people around them. 

“Influence can never be neutral because it’s about moving people from one place to the next, so your leadership is going to be positive or negative, for yourself, family, your work team and your community.” 

“Sometimes you have to be the one who shows up,” Bradshaw pointed out. “You have to be on your A-game. Whatever it is you want to be, you have to model it. You have to be intentional in how you show up. Some days, you may miss the mark, but when you are a leader and you try to model others to go in a certain direction and you don’t act in a way that supports your vision, you are undermining it. If I expect others in the community to act in a certain way, I have to communicate that way as well.” 

Increasing Profitability through Proper Documentation

Keith Manich of the Automotive Training Institute left repairers with the powerful message that they can reverse the pushback and challenges and effectively take control back of their businesses. 

Insurance pushback is surely nothing new, but it has evolved with more ‘nos’ than ever before. Manich brought light to something many may not have considered. “Since COVID-19, the more experienced people at the insurance companies started walking out, and they have been replaced by folks who only want to take the job for a year or two. We are seeing less experienced people who are getting paid less than those who left. It’s a concern. 

“I don’t say negotiations anymore…it’s presenting the best facts. The only thing I can negotiate is judgment time. That’s what we need to do to help insurers understand what we need to do.” 

A big advocate for automotive associations, Manich stressed that shops really need to be a part of associations like WMABA. “Collision repair shops have to work with associations. Support them so they can get a group of folks together to help move things forward,” he said, adding that many associations are working with legislators to try to bring change in areas of need. He also stressed that networking with peers is a huge benefit. 

“Regain control from insurance company influence,” he encouraged. “It may sound easier said than done. Invest in technology and training to ensure high-quality repairs that meet manufacturer standards. If you are not, you are playing with fire. You are re-engineering that car. Think about that shop in Texas. You could wind up footing a huge bill.” 

OEM-Centric Calibrations 

There is only one way to do calibrations according to OEM standards, and that is to do them according to OEM standards. 

Greg Peeters (Car ADAS Solutions) gave various examples of how important it is to correctly calibrate, making the world a safer place to drive, during “The Critical Steps Involved to Achieve an OEM-Centric Calibration.” 

“I like to feel we inspire a lot of technicians to do it right. We have 218 technicians, and I believe that they really are focused on calibrating cars correctly. In addition to training, following the OEM process, using the right equipment and the documentation component, we believe you have to follow up and hold everyone accountable. Make sure they do it right.” 

Peeters stressed how important it is to have the right components in place, such as having a level floor and documentation that measures it at certain points and says it is within that tolerance.

 He also reminded repairers that optical cameras on these vehicles are “incredibly sensitive to shadows or bright spots or patterns. A black toolbox against a white wall would confuse a camera as it is looking for a black and white pattern. A window shining a bright spot on the floor would confuse a camera during calibration.”

He emphasized the need for documentation. “The liability for calibration and repairing the car safely is gigantic. You have to validate every step from tire pressure to alignment, fuel, fuel weight. The setup of everything. It all has to be documented. Someone will have to prove at some point that you did everything to an OEM standard.” 

Touching on revenue and profitability, Peeters gave a brief overview of all the capital one would need to build a calibration business. He also indicated that self-calibration is not likely to be something that will come along in the near future. 

Recruiting and Retaining Technicians

The tech shortage continues to weigh heavily on the industry, but there is hope! Jay Goninen (WrenchWay) gave body shop owners lots of insight on how to navigate around the challenges to help bring new people on board. 

“Something we really have to understand and come to grips with is that you can’t find technicians because there just aren’t enough. We have to work on keeping the ones we have and bringing a new pipeline in,” he informed. 

Putting the work into employee retention can feel overwhelming at times. 

“Staying on top of it can be really hard. I think we truly don’t put the time into it like we should. It takes a lot of effort, but it’s worth the effort.” 

Compensation is a major factor. “If you don’t pay well, it’s not going to end well for you. It’s really hard to find people, so you need to figure out how to do that. If you are not profitable enough to be able to pay the people you need to, you may need to find a coach to help you get there. When a business is run the right way, it can really be a great thing. We are so used to running around like chickens with our heads cut off, we don’t really get to take the time to structure our business the way that we should.” 

Employee satisfaction is key in employee retention. Goninen suggests business owners take the time to talk with their staff members, share their own vision and be transparent. 

“We want people to want to work for us. When people leave, they aren’t leaving one shop for another; they are leaving the industry altogether, and that is very hurtful to the industry.” 

Understanding technicians’ needs is another important consideration. Goninen learned that proper equipment in the shop was the number one thing technicians sought from an employer. Paid vacation is another. “They want to have more work/life balance.” 

Repairer to Repairer: RTAs and PRIs

WMABA’s Immediate Past President Steve Krieps (Collision Safety Consultants of WV) moderated an engaging panel discussion featuring Adrian Mora (Collision Consumer Advocates) and Barry Dorn (Dorn’s Body and Paint; Mechanicsville, VA), who focused on the role the body shop plays when it comes to Right to Appraisal (RTA) and post-repair inspections.

Considerable time was spent on Right to Appraisal as panelists stressed that it’s not a “magic wand.” 

“A lot of repair facilities know very little about the Appraisal Clause,” Krieps stated. “They may have seen a few things about it online or have had some discussions, so they think it’s a way they can get their bill taken care of, but this has nothing to do with you [the shop]. It’s not a magic bullet that fixes your problems.”

Body shops need to educate their customers about the repair plan. If there is a disagreement between the vehicle owner and the insurer over the claim, it’s up to the customer to take action via the Right to Appraisal if it is included in their insurance policy. 

“Nine times out of 10, the customer doesn’t even know what the dispute is about,” Mora relayed. “So it’s crucial for a repair facility to explain the repair plan to the customer. Lay the groundwork with them before you explain to them that there are tools in their policy to use, if there is a disagreement. At the end of the day, they are your customers. You are in the business of selling repairs. You have to sell to your customer, before you can recommend policy tools.” 

Want more? Check out the July 2024 issue of Hammer & Dolly!