► Customized vendor support coordination
Every shop is inspected annually by Summit Consulting International and by our Collision Consultants.
► TCCC performance group meetings
Q:
► Monthly KPI Financial and metrics reporting
► Training programs are no charge for Certified Shops ► Toyota-dedicated training facilities are used.
Q: A:
What shops are eligible?
Our program is for U.S. dealerowned shops only—no independents.
Q: A:
Are any shops specifically ineligible?
Toyota operations in Hawaii are not controlled by TMNA. Toyota Canada has a separately run program.
Do you have any program partners such as Axalta, VeriFacts, Summit, Assured Performance or other? If so, what role do they play?
Q:
Summit Consulting International handles all audits for us and they assist with the follow-up if a shop has a gap item. In addition, we have eight Toyota employees that are dedicated to this program. That includes myself, our manager and two administrative people at the national office, plus four field people who work with our dealers and District and Regional Managers. Each field person handles three of our regions. Our four consultants assist with the onboarding process for certified shops and support their success implementing the program.
A:
What is the fee for the program? Does the program run on an annual basis?
Q:
There is an annual fee for the program, but that information is proprietary.
A: Q:
30
Do you inspect every shop and if so, who does the inspections?
A:
Is there an optimum number of shops you want to have and if so, how close are you to reaching that number?
We are just south of 225 shops. There are about 300 Toyota dealers that have body shops, so an optimum number would be closer to 300.
A: Q: A:
Have you had any shops drop out and if so, why?
The program has been around for 20 years and several program administrators have come and gone in those 20 years. I have been with the program since late 2015, so I can’t really speak to what happened before. I would guess that a few shops left when a dealership buy/sell took place and the new owner either was not interested in the program or closed the body shop altogether. The only shop that has dropped the program on my watch is a dealer in Alaska. They had a very tough time keeping technicians. A tech would no sooner get trained, at great expense to the dealership, and then they would leave and the dealer would have to start all over again. Techs were leaving the shop to work on fishing boats.
Q: A:
How long does it take for a shop to become certified?
That depends on a lot of factors. All Toyota collision shops in a dealer’s market are eligible to earn certification. Once shop location is confirmed, the initial review is conducted. Then the techs need to take the requisite training, the shop may need to buy some equipment and all standards must be achieved. So the whole process can take three to six months.
Does Toyota offer any brandspecific training as part of the certified program?
Q:
Yes. We do require repair & refinish technicians at the shop to be Toyota-specific trained at one of
A:
MAY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com
our four training centers in the U.S. where we offer hands-on training. In addition to training the personnel at our certified shops, we also train, at those four centers, any independent shop. An independent shop only has to be sponsored by a Toyota dealer. These would likely be shops that work closely with the dealer, especially those dealers who do not have their own body shop.
Does Toyota do any marketing or promotion to Toyota owners to make them aware of the Toyota-certified shops?
Q:
We have several customer communication programs and in almost all cases, we tag-on some sort of message about our certified network. The program has a specific page on the Toyota Owners website: (collision.toyota.com)
A:
Does Toyota have a magazine or some sort of communication piece for the certified network?
Q: A:
For years, we have produced a quarterly magazine called
CollisionPros. It is distributed as a ride-along with ABRN magazine. All industry shops may obtain a free digital subscription by enrolling at Toyota.com/wholesaleparts. Also, our certified dealers can get extra copies if they want.
Q:
work?
What is your biggest challenge in maintaining the net-
I see three things. First, making sure shops keep up with their training. Second, having the shops attract, find and keep quality technicians. And third, growing the next generation of technicians. I see many quality technicians aging out of the industry. We need to find others to replace them.
A:
Based on the recent John Eagle verdict, will you make any changes to your program?
Q:
I don’t foresee making any changes based on that. However, the John Eagle verdict is certainly a turning point for the auto
A:
See Toyota, Page 69
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