SCRS Leaders Highlight Growth, Benefits and Positive Results

by Alana Quartuccio

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) never stops working to better the industry. Every conversation and every bit of research conducted ultimately finds its way toward progress.

As Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg put it during the organization’s most recent Open Board Meeting in Denver, “Growth comes from repetition. I talk with a lot of very successful repair businesses who have figured out that the things so many other people in the industry believe are impossible aren’t impossible. They just do them, or they do them routinely enough – or with enough repetition – that it’s no longer something they have to deal with or overcome because it’s just become routine. It’s become practice.

 “The repetition matters,” he continued. “People hear you when you speak over and over again of the things that you believe are authentic and are the right thing. They may not resonate with it right away. They may not react to it immediately, but they hear it over and over again. When you share those messages with your customers or in your marketplace, when you’re visible and doing the right thing, when you’re always being honest and helpful and courteous, when you’re being brave because you know that other people don’t see the world the way you do, people hear that. They might react to it later, but it’s definitely something that colors their picture of this industry.”

One of the many ways SCRS seeks to improve the industry is through education. In addition to their Repairer Driven Education (RDE) Series which they hold at SEMA every year, Board members also work behind the scenes testing out some of the latest tools and software. Members of the Education Committee spoke of increasing repair plan efficiency by demonstrating how technology can play a role. To illustrate, the committee demonstrated how they were able to combine the CCC Mobile Jumpstart tool, and the SCRS Blueprint Optimization Tool (BOT) to increase the efficiency of mapping basic estimate needs. Andrew Batenhorst (Pacific BMW Collision Center; Glendale, CA) explained how the Jumpstart software uses AI technology to help “give repairers a little bit more leverage in some of the redundant tasks that one does when assessing basic damage to a vehicle. It helps identify some of the low-hanging fruit to let us make a very quick determination in terms of what a repair cost might be.”

Schulenburg stressed the idea behind the demonstration wasn’t to promote any particular tool, but to “help people think about ways in which [technology] can have an advantage, [but is not meant] to replace what we do because we are firm believers in the skill set of the repair profession that we have.” 

RDE pre-registration numbers are already an indication this will be one of the strongest years yet, according to Schulenburg. (See page 22 for details about the 2024 RDE series.) He reminded the audience that the digital RDE series is also available and designed so that repair professionals can share these valuable educational opportunities with those who aren’t able to attend in person. 

Testimonials speak volumes, especially in the case of SCRS’ healthcare plan. Roughly 80 businesses and 2,100 participants are on this plan, and SCRS wants to continue to grow those numbers. Schulenburg emphasized the importance of spreading the message to “help other shops understand how we can make a difference within their facilities and for their people.” The audience heard video testimony from a woman who praised the amazing care she is receiving and indicated how grateful she was to her employer for switching to this plan. The absence of upfront expenses have made a world of difference for this single mother battling breast cancer, who stressed, “Every single visit that I’ve gone to – from my CAT scans to my MRIs to my bone scans, my biopsy, my mammogram – not once have I paid a penny. Not once yet.”

The most telling was when she stated, “I would stay with this employer for life, no doubt.” 

“Now that’s good shop culture right there,” Schulenburg pointed out. “To have an employee say, ‘I’d stay here forever because of how good they take care of me,’ that is someone who feels valued despite going through really difficult circumstances.” 

On behalf of Decisely, the healthcare solution provider SCRS partnered with to make this program possible, Richie Seaberry said he’s encountered many collision repairers who “don’t believe this type of program exists or think it’s too good to be true.” He too questioned it upon first review, but “there is no catch. Your employees are going to get the best health insurance they’ve ever had in their entire life.” 

The SCRS 401(k) plan is also continuing to grow. “As we pull in businesses, large or small, we continue to affect positive change for everybody involved in the plan,” according to Schulenburg. 

The Media Committee announced the latest series of Quick Tips videos that explore five in-process scans tending to a blendable match, trim levels, customer service versus customer experience and culture in the business, reported Andy Tylka (TAG Auto Group). 

Schulenburg pointed to the added value they discovered upon making this particular series. “We ended up interacting with a number of the paint companies talking about the process of tinting to a blendable match, talking about some of the things that come out of the repair facilities and the challenges they’re facing. And as a result, we had two companies that have actually updated their documents relative to this. If you go to our website, scrs.com, under resources, you’ll see an area for refinished manufacturer technical information. You’ll see AkzoNobel has a new document for color tinting and color blending recommendations and best practices. And BASF has a document for adjusting color tint and blend. 

“The video itself actually led to conversations with technical team members who updated documents as a result, which then led to updated I-CAR curriculum to answer for those updated documents as well,” he added. “It circled toward giving back to the industry. Creating a video led to more technical information that helped lead to more curriculum that will help people better understand how to communicate it.”

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