SCRS’ Repairer Driven Education Innovates & Engages
by Alana Quartuccio
Every year, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) puts together an engaging educational experience for collision repair professionals, and the 2024 Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series certainly did not disappoint.
Some of the industry’s top professionals led discussions about Artificial Intelligence (AI), negotiations, improving the customer experience, innovations in repair and so much more!
The results of SCRS’ blend study continue to be widely discussed throughout the industry. While conversations and changes have taken place since the big reveal during SEMA 2022, Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg took to the 2024 RDE stage to deliver the thorough presentation, “Blend Outcomes in Black and White: Using Documentation to Drive Informed Conversation about Blending.” Schulenburg went over all the important factors behind this research while emphasizing that the study was done to reaffirm what one does in their repair facility versus doing what one is told.
“The blend study was never designed to be something one points to and it changes your world,” Schulenburg professed. “It was designed to open a conversation that had been previously closed. We had gone to the information providers (IPs), and they had said they performed their own studies and wouldn’t budge. That was the end of the conversation. We wanted to perform research to open the door to more conversation, and as a result of that research, the IPs went in, re-evaluated and made changes. Now, we can have a different conversation than we did two years ago. It wasn’t designed to be ‘Well, the study says this, and so I get xyz.’ There is work involved. It’s not an easy solution, but if you make a pathway to how you are going to use this information – and it’s not just relative to blends – but you as the repair professional share resources with others, make them more informed, make them more well trained. Make them understand how to think critically and engage in critical debate, and I think you will be in a good position to see a different outcome at some point.”
He reminded repairers that the outcomes they want lie in their own hands. “I encourage you to take the information you gained, bring it back, evaluate it and make your own decision in your business of what you’d like to see happen and figure out ways to implement that.”
Mike Anderson (Collision Advice) gave attendees so much insight about how to rethink the way they ask for what they want. Using inspiration from the Chris Voss book Never Split the Difference, Anderson presented best practices for negotiations. “Whose job is it to make an insurer say, ‘yes’?” he asked the audience, reminding them they have power and influence.
He reminded them of how free resources like the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEGweb.org) are beneficial in determining labor times. He also encouraged them to look for missing labor times. “Clicks are free. It doesn’t cost you anything,” he reminded the audience. “So, why wouldn’t you want to write R&I (remove and install)? If it helps you capture more labor hours, it’s worth it.” Anderson also got repairers thinking about how labor times are based on the time it takes an average technician to get the tools, equipment and supplies together, perform the task in a safe and proper manner and put it all back and clean up afterwards.
The industry has been brainwashed to think insurers won’t pay for things, but according to Anderson, “Never underestimate the power of .01.” Small wins have the ability to grow over time.
Anderson invited his Collision Advice teammate Sheryl Driggers to join him in demonstrating how emotions affect one’s decision making. “If someone comes in with negative emotions, you need to address the elephant in the room,” Anderson suggested.
“If an adjuster, customer or an employee is stressed or frustrated, apply ‘looks like, sounds like or feels like,’ and label whatever emotion you see or hear. When you label emotions, it makes the person feel heard,” said Driggers.
People are actually 31 percent smarter when in a positive frame of mind. “If we can help them get into a more positive state of mind, that will help us get a more positive outcome.”
Earlier in the day, Driggers spoke to collision repairers about the benefits of “Creating an Extraordinary Customer Experience.” That extraordinary experience begins with the environment in the body shop itself. Good shop culture and effective communication are key in running a successful operation.
Barry Dorn (Dorn’s Body and Paint; Mechanicsville, VA), Kris Burton (Rosslyn Auto Body; Alexandria, VA) and Michael Bradshaw (K&M Collision; Hickory, NC) drew a huge crowd eager to hear their success stories with role segmentation during their session, “Efficiency Unleashed: Rethinking Roles in Collision Repair.”
Each body shop owner has achieved success by segmenting their collision shops and putting people in roles that best suit their skills, which helps make for happier employees and also approves efficiency. Throwing people into the shop and expecting them to work out isn’t the right way, according to Dorn. He suggests, “Grow your own team.”
Bradshaw indicated having one person devoted solely to disassembly is “an easy world to live in.” It’s an easy skill set for someone to develop, and he’s also known some former dealership technicians who are happy to have a job just doing disassembly; he’s encountered some who were burnt out by the long workweek of the dealership world.
The world is changing fast, according to Ryan Taylor of Bodyshop Booster, who led the eye-opening presentation “AI is Here: How Others are Leveraging AI Interactions with Automotive Consumers.”
“Big will not beat small anymore; it will be the fast beating the slow,” offered Taylor, who showed the audience how much opportunity lies in AI. Whether it’s swiftly creating marketing materials in minutes for under $20 (materials that once took a week and cost four figures) to capturing business after hours and improving customer service, these technologies are already helping people achieve success, and they will only get better.
“I want you to stretch your minds, try to think a little bit differently. It will allow you to pass the competition, and they won’t be able to catch you,” he put forward.
Sixty-three percent of employees are afraid to ask for help, to which Taylor suggested, “What if we could leverage AI to help train employees?”
The insurance industry has been feeling the pressure from various factors, so they are working hard to bypass the total loss charge. One of those ways is to use AI to give customers the option to instantly take a payout or send the car to the body shop. Therefore, it’s crucial for body shops to think about how they can improve their customer experience the same way.
“The customer experience is going to be your major differentiator,” Taylor noted. “You need to spend more time educating your customer, so they don’t go looking to find the cheapest shop possible. Good shops aren’t going to fall through the cracks.”
The RDE series also offered attendees the opportunity to learn about innovations like KECO Body Repair Products’ L2E Glue Pull Repair Collision System. “We want to get the word out about glue pull repair,” said KECO’s Chris White, who encouraged all to learn about this less-invasive repair system.
Want more? Check out the December 2024 issue of Hammer & Dolly!