Auto Body Repair Industry in Need of Unity

The auto body repair industry is in a major need of a communication overhaul.  Seems everyday you hear one another bash each other. Wither it is a repair shop bashing an insurance company or an insurance company bashing a shop. We need to form a line of communications and avoid all this nonproductive yak. If you look at the whole picture, we are all in this together, and our job is to get the customers vehicle back to pre-accident condition.

My intentions of this article is to bond our industry, not hold hands and talk about our feelings, but get the pessimistic view cleared of each trading partner. Need to overhaul our communications to make the complete claims and repair process run more smoothly.

DRP (Direct Repair Programs); To start with, I think DRPS should be banned. Curbing and labor rate suppression are the two biggest issues at this time. DRPS can destroy a shop. This brings me to my first point of unity, unity within the auto body shop owners. If they where able to bond and refuse the direct repair programs than the marketplace would force the DRPS out, and go back to free markets, of which our great country was founded on.  I know there are some good DRPS out there, but the majority are bad for business. I understand that the penetration with these programs have given some shops no choice, they need volume. By giving in, you make them stronger and you weaker. The old days where much better, better margins, etc.

Auto adjusters and the shop; Seems there is always some adomosity in this relationship.  A shop’s objective is to repair the customers’ vehicle for a reasonable amount, via industry standards, and make some money. This is the same motive for any business. An insurance companies objective is to sell a customer a policy, if an accident occurs, put them in the position they where in prior to the accident. The conflict normally occurs in the adjuster and shop dealings. The adjuster writes an estimate according to the policy, industry, and state guidelines. The shop might do the same. The shop might review the adjuster’s estimate and just flat out say no way. This could be the result of many issues. An incompetent adjuster, there are numerous adjusters in the field with 0 days of shop experience. A shop has a hard to time trying to deal with someone that has never done the work they are expecting an experienced technician to perform.  This is probably the most frustrating issue a shop deals with. Especially when it comes down to labor times on repairing panels. On the flip side, the adjuster feels that shops have lost most of their talents, and are pretty much just part changers. Adjuster’s might also feel, that the shop is trying to maximize there profits at their companies expense. What is wrong with that? That is what any good business does. This is assuming it is legitimate. What about alternative parts, sometimes the adjuster might find lower priced parts from vendors the shop does not use, this is hard to expect a shop to use an outside vendor. Especially if they have had problems with that vendor in the past.

Let’s get these issues resolved; there is such a mix of auto body shops out there. There are massive chains, mom & pop shops, and dealership shops. They are all ran differently, all have different objectives, and all compete with each other on some scale. DRPS, etc. First off, the body shop owners need to bond together and fight some of these ludicrous industry changes. If this does not start now, it is only going to get worse and worse, you margins will shrink and shrink. I was also reading about an insurance company in Texas that was buying shops, the law has since stopped them. But when will it end? The associations out there are helping, but seems like they need much more. Shops seem too independent, they need to get together.

Shops and adjusters; Shops need to be more descriptive with the adjusters. If problems arise, explain why you need the part or time. The shop needs to keep in mind; this adjuster is the one writing the check. Show the adjuster why this panel could not be repaired, or why this panel could be repaired. The first person that raises their voice losses. The adjuster needs to do the same, show the shop why they think this repair procedure is appropriate. There are numerous stories out there of shops throwing out adjusters, this will resolve nothing. Better to hash out the estimate and get working. The most important part of this whole transaction is the customer. If the shop decides they are not able to repair for the adjuster’s estimate, they should tell the adjuster to please move the vehicle off their property to another repair facility. If the adjuster is unable to resolve with the shop, it might be a good idea to see if the customer has any other repair facilities in mind. This obviously is for extreme situations. The bottom line is we need to all work together. We are all from different sides of the transaction, but need to realize we all need to make a living. Please share your stories and discussions on http://www.CrashChat.com