FenderBender - August 2020

FENDERBENDER.COM / AUGUST 2020

PAINT BOOTH MUST-HAVES PAGE 66

PUSH YOUR TECHS’ PROFITS

PAGE 37

Strategies & Inspiration for Collision Repair Success

Stay Involved Ask Doug Martin the key to continued success at Martin’s Body Shop and he’ll tell you it boils down to staying connected to the industry.

5

TIPS FOR CONSIDERING CONSOLIDATORS PAGE 38

BUSINESSDISRUPTING LESSONS PAGE 24

CONTINUOUS

CONNECTION Community holds the key to future growth PAGE 30

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ADAS

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MA600

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ADASCAL2 EXPANSION PACK TOYOTA-AVM

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HONDA LANE WATCH

REAR COLLISION WARNING

2X 2X

NISSAN RCW

AROUND VIEW MONITORING

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LANE WATCH

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HITACHI RADAR PLATE

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RADAR SYSTEMS

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August 2020 | fenderbender.com 3

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august

08.20 / VOLUME 22 / NUMBER 08

Lifting Each Other Up Indiana shop owner Doug Martin (right) feels any shop operator can refine their leadership skills by taking part in industry organizations.

F E AT U R E

PROFILE

C A SE STU DY

24

30

62

LESSONS LEARNED

Take your business to the next level by learning from the mistakes of once-powerful companies that faded from glory.

BY KELLY BEATON

WORKING IN CONCERT

Doug Martin, a recent president of the Indiana Auto Body Association, explains the keys to making industry connections.

BRAND EXPANSION A Pennsylvania shop owner notes why expanding his facility’s footprint might be the best marketing decision he ever made.

BY GABE HOLZMER

JUSTIN CASTERLINE

BY GABE HOLZMER

Printed in the U.S.A. COPYRIGHT ©2020 BY 10 Missions Media LLC. All rights reserved. FenderBender (ISSN 1937-7150) is published monthly by 10 Missions Media, LLC, 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104. FenderBender content may not be photocopied, reproduced or redistributed without the consent of the publisher. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTERS Send address changes to: FenderBender, 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104.

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 5

TAB LE OF CONTENTS

AUGUST

QUICK FIX

11

16

20

Pandemic-inspired shop processes

Why shop social media policies are imperative in 2020

Fix Auto Vallejo in northern California

PAST THE PAGE

ANALYSIS

12

19

NUMBERS

ADAPT

The merit of shop associations

The importance of documenting ADAS calibrations

14

SNAP SHOP

23

THE BIG IDEA Work toward your comeback

BY KEVIN RAINS

DRIVER'S SEAT

No Stone Unturned Fix Auto Vallejo has largely weathered the COVID-19 storm by reassuring customers of the shop’s thorough cleaning measures.

COURTESY FIX AUTO VALLEJO

How to recognize innovative thinking

20

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TRAINING • SUPPLIES • TOOLS • FILLERS • PRIMERS • EVERYTHING FOR PLASTIC

Call us at 800-633-3047 or visit polyvance.com 6 fenderbender.com | August 2020

S T R AT E G Y

37

61

68

The keys to boosting technician productivity

How to embrace the new normal of COVID-19

A top-10 wish list for the industry

IDEA SHOP

38

FINANCE+ OPERATIONS Valuable advice for operators who get approached by a consolidator

PROCESS DRIVEN

OUTSIDE THE LINES

BY JASON BOGGS

BY RYAN CROPPER

66

TECH+TOOLS Prerequisites for paint department growth

GET T Y

38

“BECAUSE I’M A TECH...

I PUSH THE LIMITS AND DO WHAT I LOVE.

”

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 7

TAB LE OF CONTENTS

ONLINE EXTRAS

CLICK ON THE LOGO BELOW FOR PRODUCT INFORMATION

ADAPT

CAPA

Mitsubishi

PPG

AUTEL

CCC Information Services

OEConnection

ProSpot

AutoNation

Industrial Finishes

OpusIVS

SATA/Dan-Am Company

BASF

LKQ Corporation

Polyvance

TechForce Foundation

8 fenderbender.com | August 2020

EDITORIAL Bryce Evans Vice President, Content and Events Anna Zeck Editorial Director Maraya King Staff Writer Miranda Jama Marketing Services Manager Nora Johnson Special Projects Editor Jordan Wiklund Special Projects Editor Gabe Holzmer Editorial Intern Jason Boggs Contributing Writer Ryan Cropper Contributing Writer Steve Morris Contributing Writer Kevin Rains Contributing Writer Melissa Steinken Contributing Writer Kelly Beaton Contributing Writer

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Jason Boggs Boggs Auto Collision Rebuilders Ryan Hillenbrand Urb’s Garage and Collision Center Jesse Jacobson Heppner’s Auto Body Tiffany Menefee Pronto Body Shop Bob Pearson Pearson Auto Body Louie Sharp Sharp Auto Body Doug Voelzke Doug’s Custom Paint and Body

ART AND PRODUCTION

COLLISION C A S T

FenderBender’s

PODCAST NETWORK SERIES WITH NEW EPISODES EACH MONTH. Explore the industry’s biggest trends & most pressing topics.

Zach Pate Art Director Mitch Bradford Graphic Designer Morgan Glisczinski Graphic Designer Fue Vang Graphic Designer Lauren Coleman Production Artist

SALES Chris Messer Vice President and Publisher 651.846.9462 / cmesser@10missions.com Andrew Johnson Associate Publisher 651.846.9459 / ajohnson@10missions.com Nathan Smock Marketing Strategist 651.846.9452 / nsmock@10missions.com Jennifer Pullin Sales Manager 651.846.9551 / jpullin@10missions.com Ross Kirgiss Regional Advertising Sales 651.846.9485 / rkirgiss@10missions.com Shayna Smith Customer Success Representative 651.846.9460 / ssmith@10missions.com Jen George Client Service Specialist 651.846.9465 / jgeorge@10missions.com

10 MISSIONS MEDIA Jay DeWitt President Mariah Straub General Manager and Production Manager Meghann Moore Bookkeeper and Client Service Specialist Kate Fahlen Event Producer Tiffany Fowler Senior Digital Media Strategist Kasey Lanenberg Marketing Communications Specialist Corey Steinhoff Administrative Assistant HOW TO REACH US 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104 tel 651.224.6207 fax 651.224.6212 web 10missions.com The annual subscription rate is $72 (U.S.A. only) for companies not qualified to receive complimentary copies of FenderBender.

BACK ISSUES Past issue single copies are $8.

Go to fenderbender.com/backissues LETTERS TO THE EDITOR editor@fenderbender.com ARTICLE REPRINTS For high-quality reprints or e-prints of articles in this issue call 651.846.9488 or email reprints@fenderbender.com.

Opinions expressed in FenderBender are not necessarily those of 10 Missions Media, and 10 Missions Media does not accept responsibility for advertising content.

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PAST THE PAGE DISCUSSIONS, FEEDBACK, CONTENT AND MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB

REPORTER'S BLOG

FORGING AHEAD Frequently, FenderBender produces blog posts designed to help shop owners take their business to the next level. A recent post (accessible at fenderbender.com/pandemic), noted new procedures shop operators throughout the nation have implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The processes were gathered from a survey that FenderBender sent to shop operators earlier this summer.

New processes being utilized at shops included the likes of text to pay, PDR, vehicle disinfecting, and pick-up and delivery. See the full, extensive list online.

GETTY IMAGES

COVID-19 RESOURCES

Speaking of the lingering COVID-19 crisis, FenderBender frequently updates information regarding that topic on a dedicated webpage: fenderbender.com/COVID-19.

On that page, you can find news, blogs and podcasts with tips from experts that can help shop operators overcome challenges.

PODCAST PRIMER

COLLISION C A S T

Corner the Market

FenderBender is producing more podcasts than

ever these days, in an effort to aid those that run body shops. Among the handful of podcast episodes that are produced each month is a “Vision” episode in which marketing expert Megan Williams, of 3P Marketing Solutions, offers tips for helping your shop stand out from the crowd.

You can access Williams’ monthly podcast, as well as any CollisionCast track, at fenderbender.com/topics/616-podcasts.

JOIN US ONLINE fenderbender.com fenderbender.com/facebook • twitter.com/fenderbendermag fenderbender.com/linkedin • instagram.com/fenderbendermag

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 11

BY THE NUMBERS THE TOPIC S, TRENDS AND METRIC S DRIVING YOUR OPER ATION

THE VALUE OF INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS The 2020 FenderBender Industry Survey shows that the majority of shop operators (59 percent) don’t take part in industry organizations.

It appears they’re missing out.

A glance at survey statistics suggests that taking part in state, regional, or national industry organizations helps shop operators with their decision making. Survey data indicate that shop operators taking part in industry organizations tend to run facilities with stellar annual revenues and CSI scores. Here’s a closer examination of such statistics.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

I N VO LV E D I N A N I N D U S T R Y O R G A N I Z AT I O N ?

Annual revenue of $2.5M+ Average cycle time of 7 days or less

41%

59%

Yes

No

Avg. CSI of 90%+ INVOLVED IN AN INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION

NON PARTICIPANTS

A while back, a FenderBender article analyzed the benefits that getting involved in the industry offers collision repairers. The article noted that participation in industry organizations helps educate shop operators about industry trends and issues, and also provides perks such as networking opportunities. To learn more, visit fenderbender.com/GetInvolved.

12 fenderbender.com | August 2020

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August 2020 | fenderbender.com 13

DRIVER ' S SE AT

Simplifying Innovation It’s time to rethink what we consider innovative ideas As a leader, there are a few phrases that, no matter the context,

really grind my gears. I’m sure you have some, too. “I forgot”, “That’s not my job” and, “I’ll do it tomorrow” might be at the top of your list. One of the worst offenders to me? “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”

I usually counter that with a blank stare and a very simple question: “So?” Over the past few months, we’ve talked a lot about evolving.

For many of us, this year has forced us to evolve in a number of different ways. Simply doing things the way we’ve always done it is surely the quickest way to remain static and, eventually, stale.

That’s made all too evident in this month’s feature, “The Innovator’s Dilemma.” Associate Editor Kelly Beaton took a look at some of the titans of the past—Blockbuster, taxis, Microsoft— and why their failures to innovate created gaps that allowed disruptors to take over.

The concept, “The Innovator’s Dilemma”, comes from a book (of the same title) by a Harvard Business School professor who posited that great companies can fail simply because they do everything right. Why? Because by meeting customers’ current needs, large companies reject breakthrough thinking, innovations and technologies that create the products and opportunities of the future. In other words, they don’t consider the customers’ future needs.

The trick is that sometimes it does feel like the way we’ve always done things is sufficient. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, right?

It’s hard to recognize innovation—and the need for it—when it’s happening. Really, how is anyone supposed to know what will be a passing fad or a truly revolutionary concept that will disrupt the industry?

What struck me most while reading this month’s feature was just how much we overthink innovation. It doesn’t have to be a scary disruptor coming from a Silicon Valley startup staffed by millennials. What innovation boils down to is the following: finding a solution to a need. That could be as simple as a new process for texting customers or maximizing an additional profit center.

It’s what you’ve done for years, and will continue to do. The disruptors might be different and the technology may change, but the strategies and keys to implementation remain remarkably the same moving forward.

14 fenderbender.com | August 2020

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QUICK FIX

THE IMPORTANCE OF SHOP SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES A look at why businesses like body shops need to have clear, detailed social media policies these days B Y K E L LY B E AT O N

Pat Callahan’s Colorado shop boasts a sterling, 98 percent CSI score. And he'd

like to keep it that way.

That’s why Callahan, who runs Hopp’s Auto Body in Sheridan, Colo., has told his employees to be extremely careful about what they post on social media these days, specifically on the shop’s Facebook page, for example. During a time of great divisiveness and civil unrest in America, businesses like body shops simply can’t afford to offend current or potential customers.

“Our employees, I’ve expressed that I don’t want them doing anything racial or political on our Facebook,” Callahan, a 30year veteran of collision repair, told FenderBender. “I tell them that this is a place for people to come and look at what we’re doing, and if you put something on there that’s political or racial, I tell them don’t do it; You’re representing our company.”

16 fenderbender.com | August 2020

In 2020, it’s imperative for businesses to have a social media policy, as noted in a recent San Diego Union-Tribune article.

The article notes that anything posted by a business’s employee can spread like wildfire on the Internet. Next thing you know, your business could have some troubling reviews on websites like Yelp or Google.

As noted in a recent National Law Review web post, although employees are generally posting on their personal social media pages and are often doing so outside of work time, coworkers and even community members are increasingly complaining about offensive comments employees are posting on various social media platforms. While sometimes the conduct is so severe that employers can easily determine the appropriate consequences, in other cases employers must balance a variety of legal requirements, employee and public relations concerns.

Consider the following legal issues— and the specific factors that must be considered and weighed by employers—regarding employee social media posts, as noted by the Union-Tribune: • An at-will employee is at the greatest risk of losing his or her job, without legal recourse, when he or she sends an offensive, legally unprotected message through his or her employer’s electronic communications system during work hours.

• It is where an employer terminates an employee for posting comments on the employee’s personal social media account—on the employee’s own time, on a matter unrelated to work—that the employer faces the greatest legal risk. For example, California law prohibits employers from punishing an employee for engaging in lawful, off-duty conduct; hateful or otherwise offensive speech without more is not unlawful though it may be criminal conduct where the speaker intends to threaten or intimidate the target of the speech because of the target’s race or other protected characteristic.

The solution seems fairly clear: businesses like body shops need to have clear, detailed social media policies, now more than ever.

John Terrizzi, Jr., who operates two Maaco facilities in Pennsylvania, says it pays, as a shop staff, to keep any social media posts moderate and largely supportive of your community. For example, his shops are providing discounts to first responders.

“We don’t want anything associated with our business other than positive messaging,” Terrizzi, Jr. said. “We refuse to get involved with anything divisive.”

Everybody’s entitled to their opinions, the veteran shop owner added, but most shops simply can’t afford to have their staff make social media posts that shine their business in a negative light. Not in 2020, during a time of significant divisiveness throughout much of the country.

“If someone says anything negative and they’ve associated themselves with me, that’s a problem with me,” Terrizzi, Jr., said. “We’re not playing that game.

We’re using (this time), as a company, to be kind of uplifting, and we’re hoping that our employees follow suit.”

PEXELS

ANALYSIS

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HERE ARE A FEW HIGHLIGHTS OF WHAT’S TO COME: OEM DISCOUNT PRICING UPFRONT AND QUOTE TO ORDER Expedite your ordering process by eliminating the back and forth negotiation between you and the dealer PATENTED PARTS NOTIFICATIONS Notifies you if a part you are ordering is violating an OEM patent VIN VERIFICATION Flagging of incorrect parts helping you avoid ordering wrong parts CATALOG ACCESS See all the parts you need directly from OEM Catalogs available in CollisionLink (participating OEMs only) DEALER INVENTORY Notifications of parts not in stock to help you save time

For up-to-date information, please visit OEConnection.com/CollisionVision

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K E Y I N S I G H TS , TR E N DS A N D S TR ATEG I E S F O R TO M O R ROW ’ S I N D U S TRY—TO DAY A D A P TA U T O M O T I V E . C O M

A D A P TA U T O M O T I V E . C O M / F A C E B O O K

T W IT TE R .CO M /A DA P T_ AUTO M OTI V E

The ADAPT Interview Check out the growing list of multimedia on the ADAPT site.

When it’s a collision operation or a mechanical repair shop, ADAS is emerging as the technology disruptor that affects so many repair processes. This technology presents not only a challenge, but an opportunity as well.

ADAPT dove into that subject in a podcast episode called “Telematics for the Repair Shop.” Isaiah Taylor, founder and president of Hoodhub, a company that has created a device to connect shops with customer's vehicle information through an OBD-II port, shares how independent shop owners can differentiate themselves and create a more meaningful relationship with customers.

Listen to these and more episodes at adaptautomotive.com/podcasts.

GETTY IMAGES

PIONEERING THE PROCESS In the aftermarket, shops that are first to deal with ADAS are on the leading edge of developing the safe diagnostic, repair and calibration processes that will be the bedrock of future vehicle work.

One of the most popular articles at the ADAPT website has been about the importance of documentation during calibration. Your shop might be doing all the testing necessary, but are you leaving a paper trail to prove your work?

Shop owners told ADAPT that documentation will only become more important as the number of ADAS-equipped vehicles grows in the coming years.

“We, as repairers, need to recognize that this is part of what we need to do for our client,” said Jim Byron with Patterson (NY) Auto Body.

To read the article and learn more, head to adaptautomotive.com/documentation.

ADAPT Trend Report Head to the ADAPT website to sign up for the ADAPT Trend Report newsletter to have the latest news, strategies and transportation trends sent to your inbox every week. adaptautomotive.com/newsletter

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 19

QUICK FIX

SNAP SHOP

1

FIX AUTO VALLEJO

BY KELLY BEATON PHOTOS COURTESY FIX AUTO VALLEJO LOCATION:

Vallejo, Calif.

CO-OWNERS:

Tim Rose and Katie Rose SIZE:

9,000 square feet STAFF:

7

AVERAGE MONTHLY CAR COUNT:

30

ANNUAL REVENUE:

$1.2 million

1. COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS In recent months, the crew at Fix Auto Vallejo has left no stone unturned in the name of coronavirus prevention. Simply put, notes co-owner Katie Rose, “Our rubber glove bill has gone up tremendously.”

The California shop’s staff has adhered to governmental guidance, and is using Lysol and Clorox disinfecting wipes at every turn, wiping down high-touch areas in vehicles thoroughly with bleach-free wipes before returning them to customers.

As required by Fix Auto USA’s leadership, the entire facility is disinfected twice daily, vehicle steering wheels and seats are covered in plastic, and customers are typically provided emailed receipts.

2. INSPECTION AREA One factor that helped the Roses’ shop withstand the coronavirus pandemic is the consistent revenue brought in from its

20 fenderbender.com | August 2020

3

2

Submit Your Shop

Proud of your shop and want to show it off to your peers? Tell us about it at

submissions@10missions.com.

dedicated smog inspection area, a portion of the shop equipped with its own entrance.

The state of California mandates that vehicles receive such emissions testing every other year, which means that, even during the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak, Fix Auto Vallejo still did roughly 15 smog inspections per day. Under normal circumstances, Tim Rose performs about 25 such inspections per day.

“The smog shop is actually more profitable than the body shop right now,” Tim Rose, a 30-year veteran of the industry, noted recently.

3. LENDING A LIFT

4

Shop staff members utilize a dedicated Dodge Journey midsize SUV to pick up customers within a roughly 5-mile radius of Vallejo. The service is available to customers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and by appointment on Saturdays. It’s a little thing that customers take note of, Katie Rose notes. It also tends to inspire customers to recommend Fix Auto Vallejo—which boasts a 4.7-star average rating on Google—to others.

“When you go the extra mile for customers, they tend to remember that,” Katie Rose says, “and they’re going to want to come back.”

4. OFFICE CHALK TALK Years ago, one of the Roses’ employees inspired the idea of “High Five Fridays.”

Thus, to this day, each work week at Fix Auto Vallejo is punctuated with donuts and pastries at the shop’s front-counter area.

Katie Rose even traces her hand on the box of donuts, to offer each employee a symbolic high five.

“It’s a spot where we have a moment to get together,” she says, “and it’s a wonderful way to show that we appreciate them.

Seems simple, but it’s kind of awesome.”

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 21

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22 fenderbender.com | August 2020

COLUMNS

THE BIG IDEA KEVIN RAINS

The Art of the (COVID) Comeback How to stay in the rink—and win

MICHAEL HOEWELER

One of the good things about this sea-

son of the COVID shutdown for me has been extra time to spend at home with my teenage daughter. Now, I’m not sure it’s been great for her but the extra time has allowed me to introduce her to one of my favorite things: the Rocky movies.

Yep, that’s right.

We planted ourselves on the couch for one entire weekend and watched every Rocky movie. What I love about each and every installment is that Rocky is the underdog and somehow through grit, training and perseverance he comes out on top. Classic comeback stories, every one!

As shop owners and managers, we are living in a time where a comeback is needed. Like many other small businesses, we are fighting for the livelihoods that we have worked for over many years. Unlike a movie, though, this fight is real and the stakes are high. Many even in our industry will lose this battle and, with it, all they have worked toward for a long time.

Because of that, I want to be careful here not to trivialize that reality with “5 lessons from a movie that will guarantee a comeback.” This is not a movie. There are not five easy steps. And there is no guarantee.

What I want to do, though, is to provide a framework that I developed with several advisors to navigate my shops out of this time. I will say, at the outset, some of these ideas are counter-intuitive, some may not apply to your context, and none of these are formulas with guaranteed outcomes. This is a work in progress and I’m in this fight with you. We are all just navigating this as best we can.

So, cue the Rocky soundtrack, and let’s get to it.

First, training. What I love about the Rocky movies is the training sequences.

Yes, the fights are the climax of each movie but it’s the training that is decisive.

How do we train when we’re just holding on for dear life and trying to stay afloat?

There are some basic habits and routines that we can put in place. I’ve written about this before but if we win the morning, we can win the day.

• Spiritually, is there a routine of prayer or connecting with a higher power or, for some, simply a higher purpose?

• Relationally, are you encouraging your spouse and connecting with your team in ways that inspire them?

• Mentally, what does your mental diet consist of? Is it surfing the internet or social media only or are you intentionally engaging good books, articles, and podcasts?

• Physically, how are you fueling your body with food and movement?

I have a morning routine that touches each of those domains and only takes me an hour but sets up the rest of my day and ensures that I start the day energized.

Next, mash the gas pedal. This is not a time to be timid. I have one advisor who, in the early days of running a shop, made very little money on his best months and, most months, lost money.

But he refused to play it safe and decided he was going all in. With borrowed money, he decided to get OE-certified for several luxury car brands. He spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on new equipment and all the training for his technicians. But it paid off! Over time his shop grew from a million-dollar shop to a $5 million shop and he was able to keep his net profit margins close to 20 percent before selling his shop at a nice multiple to another independent, non-MSO owner.

I decided to do the same. This past month I hired a COO to oversee my operations; improved the front of two locations with new landscaping and a fresh coat of paint; and we’re in the final stages of getting all four of our locations OE-certified. Do I think this is going to pay off?

Yes. Did these decisions come at a time when our workflow was at an all-time low? Yes. Were they expensive? Yes. Are there guarantees that this is going to lead to future profits? Nope. But stayed tuned.

Finally, stay in touch with your “Why?” I know this is almost a cliche and it’s something that I have spoken about and written about for years. But without a guiding north star, a purpose that is bigger than just “making the donuts” or “fixing the cars”, we will burn out.

For Rocky, in the second movie, it was winning. Not just for himself, but for his wife and newborn son, too. As Adrian, his wife, laid sick in bed, waking from a coma right after the birth of their son, she whispered to him, “There’s one thing I want you to do for me… Win!” That’s when Mick, his trainer, yells in his gruff, East Coast voice, “What are we waitin’ fer?” and the final round of training begins to beat Creed.

I want you to win. I want you to play offense even when the chips are down. Get in touch with your deepest reasons for why you do what you do. Let that north star of purpose guide you and propel you to do the foundational work of training.

And then fight for the win.

KEVIN RAINS Kevin Rains is the owner of Rains CARSTAR Group with locations in Cincinnati, Ohio, West Chester, Ohio and Lexington, Ky. He is also an industry consultant and founder of Body Shop 2.0.

E M A I L : kev i n r a i n s @ g m a i l .c o m A R C H I V E : f e n d e r b e n d e r.c o m /r a i n s

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 23

24 fenderbender.com | August 2020

The biggest lessons anyone can learn from failed titans of business and the disruptors that took over

GETTY

B Y K E L LY B E AT O N

In Camille Eber’s opinion, Polaroid’s fade from prominence offers a valuable lesson.

Eber, a successful, longtime body shop owner and a member of Fix Auto USA’s franchise advisory board, can vividly recall when Polaroid was an integral element of the repair process. Early in her career, sending Polaroid pictures to insurers was instrumental in getting reimbursed for supplements.

“When we first got a fax machine, we had little sleeves that we could put Polaroid pictures in,” explains Eber, who owns a pair of Portland, Ore., area shops with CSI scores near 100. “We could fax those Polaroid pictures to insurance companies and prove that we had a broken part. That way, we could get a supplement approved in a matter of a couple days, rather than a couple weeks.”

But Polaroid eventually filed for bankruptcy twice in the early 2000s and, while the company is still in existence, it’s not as powerful as it was at its peak in the late 1970s when it employed over 20,000.

And Eber took note.

“We can learn from Polaroid not adapting,” she says. “In retrospect, they didn’t adapt well to the changing business world. These days, as business owners, we really need to adapt to the way the customer wants to communicate with us.”

The morale of that story is evident throughout the business world at large. To name just one example, Netflix became a disruptive, innovative force in the entertainment industry by willingly reinventing itself, first as a company that mailed customers rental DVDs, and now as a Hollywood power-player that creates acclaimed TV series.

Netflix serves as an example that now, more than ever, businesses need to find a way to meet evolving customer demands—and that’s just as true for collision repair shops as it is for entertainment companies.

In that spirit, here’s a look at some truly disruptive companies—innovators that created a new market and value proposition for consumers—and what body shop operators can learn from them to take their business to the next level.

This article was inspired by the book The Innovator's Dilemma, by Harvard professor Clayton Christensen. The respected business expert's 1997 work analyzed what caused many oncegreat businesses to ultimately fail (technology, in most cases). The book received multiple awards and is widely considered one of the most important business books of its time. Earlier this year, Christensen succumbed to cancer at the age of 67.

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 25

FE ATURE

NETFLIX: The Value of Reinvention

Paul Seaborn, an assistant professor at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, has studied Netflix’s success. And the key, he says, has been Netflix’s ability to reinvent itself.

“One of the fascinating things about Netflix is they’ve had to reinvent themselves three or four times,” Seaborn says. “Think back to the early Netflix: it was this idea of getting discs in the mail. And there was a real back-end logistical expertise that they had, about, ‘How do we turn things around quickly, where do we locate distribution centers,’ and all those types of things were very hard for someone else to figure out or replicate. But even still, that model was completely wiped out by the Internet and the ability to stream” video content.

That could’ve been the end of Netflix.

Instead, Seaborn says, Netflix was “willing, at a relatively early stage, to make a bet on online distribution, basically cannibalizing their disc-by-mail business. And that got them a few more years, and eventually that got pretty challenging; people who 26 fenderbender.com | August 2020

LESSON LEARNED: “You have to constantly evaluate if you're meeting customers’ demands.

Otherwise you’re going to end up playing defense, and somebody else will offer something that’s compelling to the customer.”

—Gary Bagwell, manager of operations, Fix Auto USA

owned the content started to look at Netflix as more of an enemy than a partner.”

That, however, inspired Netflix’s third, and extremely successful, reincarnation.

In 2018 alone, the company hauled in nearly $16 billion in net revenues. This year, the media company boasts 167 million subscribers worldwide, and 60 million within the U.S. As Portland shop owner Eber alluded to earlier, body shops need to take a cue from successful companies like Netflix and accommodate the evolving desires of today’s consumers.

“We have learned,” Eber says, “that we need to adapt to what the customer wants and not necessarily what we wanted to deliver.”

Seaborn adds that Netflix is “now

PEXELS

THE INNOVATOR’S DILEMMA

ADJUSTING ON THE FLY SOMETIMES, IN ORDER TO ENSURE A BUSINESS’S SURVIVAL, AN OPERATOR HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO ALTER ITS BUSINESS MODEL. NICK EGELANIAN, THE PRESIDENT OF CONSULTING COMPANY SITEWORKS RETAIL, NOTES TWO COMPANIES THAT FAMOUSLY—AND SUCCESSFULLY—PIVOTED AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME.

APPLE: For the longest time, Apple was little more than a computer company, Egelanian notes. But, when Apple began making iPods, the company’s leadership quickly realized that cellphone companies would likely attempt to copy the technology.

As a result, Apple CEO Steve Jobs “simply jumped ahead of them and said, ‘I’m going to develop that phone before they do. And the rest is history,” Egelanian says, alluding to the nowpopular iPhone.

VERIZON: In 2020, Verizon is one of the most successful telecommunication companies because it has aggressively sought to acquire wireless carriers like Alltel.

To shift its business model, Verizon “largely had to invent a whole other structure to handle mobile phone transmission,” Egelanian explains, “which involves towers, satellites, etcetera. Had they not been planning for that, though, they’re a brand that would’ve been out of business.”

creating a lot of content and exclusive offerings. Now people subscribe to Netflix because it’s the only place you can get certain series.”

And that, he says, is a powerful example of a company embracing what’s next in customer service, and reinventing itself.

UBER: The Value of Convenience

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, Gary Bagwell couldn’t help but notice something at the airport.

More customers than ever were clamoring to use Uber.

“There was a huge line of people waiting for Ubers,” recalls Bagwell, Fix Auto USA’s manager of operations. “Customers had decided they wanted to use Uber, and they weren’t necessarily lining up to use taxis.”

The reasons for Uber’s popularity are rather simple, Bagwell says. When he uses that ride-hailing company he knows in advance what the cost of his ride will be, he knows what time he can expect to arrive at his destination, and he can follow his route online to ensure the driver isn’t roaming around in circles to run up the bill.

LESSON LEARNED: “The more convenience that we can provide the customer, the better the user experience, whether it’s communication or the pick-up and drop-off of the vehicle.”

—Gary Bagwell, manager of operations, Fix Auto USA

In short, Uber—which brought in over $14 billion in revenue in 2019—provides a modernized, pain-free experience for its users.

“It’s those types of experiences that we need to try and implement as best we can into the body shop experience,” Bagwell says. “Because that’s what the consumer’s asking for.”

It’s imperative, in 2020, to give customers what they want, how they want it, and when they want it. Bagwell says that’s why his employer now offers valet pick-up service, for example.

“Make things as convenient as possible, and provide (customers) the level of information that they want, in a forum that’s easy to digest and convenient for them,” he says.

“You probably wouldn’t want to get a phone call when you’re eating lunch, right?” Bagwell says. “But, if you got a text, you could see it, and recognize what’s being told to you without necessarily interrupting your lunch, people like that now.

“And you have to be able to adapt,” he adds, “to the marketplace.”

AMAZON: The Value of Forging Relationships

Nick Egelanian teaches a 16-week, graduate-level business course at the University of Maryland.

He could talk about the virtues of Amazon’s business savvy for far longer than that.

“In the mid-’90s it was just a book company,” Egelanian says of Amazon.

“They started out delivering books in a garage. But these guys were dreaming big. They thought on a macro level regarding strategy.”

Egelanian—who also serves as the president of consulting company Siteworks Retail and runs a business advisory board called SWA Affiliates—says Amazon’s emergence illustrates the importance of having a vision as a business owner. That’s what founder Jeff Bezos did with Amazon, and it’s a key reason why he’s currently the richest person on the planet, with a net worth of more than $110 billion.

“Bezos is putting together some of the great executors in the world,” Egelanian says.

Now, he adds, Amazon is deeply embedded in the everyday lives of consumers, August 2020 | fenderbender.com 27

FE ATURE

THE INNOVATOR’S DILEMMA

INNOVATION, in Summation

So, how can someone like an independent body shop owner become a disruptive innovator and shake up their market? In the opinion of Farzam Afshar, the CEO of VeriFacts Automotive, it comes down to taking two rather simple steps.

1) Never rest on your laurels.

Afshar subscribes to the theory that a sacred cow is often good for little more than hamburger. In other words, nothing is sacred in today’s ever-changing world, and past results don’t guarantee future success.

As a result, it’s important to have an open mind and be receptive to change, as well as taking the occasional risk.

28 fenderbender.com | August 2020

LESSON LEARNED: “These days, customers like a more modern, contemporary user experience.”

—Gary Bagwell, manager of operations, Fix Auto USA

“Technology is disrupting everything,” he says. “To be a company that avoids going out of business, go out and taste your own food, but other people’s food, as well, so you can have that perspective.

“Don’t be like Kodak. You know, the guy who created digital cameras worked at Kodak, but they said, ‘Get out of here; we don’t make digital cameras.’”

2) Consider ‘yes men’ a no-no.

Yes-men, Afshar notes, are often the enemy of innovation. If you want to be innovative and alter conventional thinking, it’s imperative to listen to a wide array of opinions.

Though it might be gratifying to hear employees agree with your every move, that often limits businesses in the long run.

At VeriFacts, Afshar seeks feedback on his ideas not just from his own employees, but from outside consultants, too. It’s often invaluable, he says, to receive unfiltered feedback.

“There’s a distinction between the people that don’t care,” Afshar says, “and the people who do care but they’re big enough to raise their voice and say, ‘You’re wrong, and here’s why you’re wrong.’ And I love the latter group.”

PEXELS

who utilize the company for video streaming services, or to utilize a virtual assistant like Alexa. In recent years, Amazon has also become nearly as powerful of an advertiser as Google, due to the vast amount of information it has collected on customers.

“Visionary leaders,” Egelanian says, “look at their businesses and plan ahead for things like that.”

Owners of far smaller businesses, like independent body shops, can still learn from Amazon’s success. For example, Amazon illustrates the value of businesses occasionally utilizing “loss leaders” to secure customers (like delivery, in Amazon’s) case. But, more than anything, Amazon’s emergence proves just how much it can benefit a business to forge relationships with customers.

“Successful businesses, they reduce anxiety for customers,” Egelanian says. “And, the best businesses create an ongoing relationship with their customers.”

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Tight-Knit Culture

After years of industry experience, Doug Martin (right) knew exactly the kind of culture he wanted to develop: one of constant collaboration.

30 fenderbender.com | August 2020

Rising Tides Raise all Ships Why industry connections can make a major difference for shop owners

BY GABE HOLZMER PHOTOS BY JUSTIN CASTERLINE

Think back to your first few years owning or managing your shop. Did you have someone to rely on, maybe a close friend or relative that mentored you? If so, you’ll hopefully have good memories of working with them and trusting them. They could still be in your life now, helping when it’s necessary but admiring your own progress.

“We need to work together,” Doug Martin, owner of Martin’s Body Shop in New Salisbury, Ind., says.

It’s a short statement, but a powerful one.

It’s one of Martin’s core beliefs that when working in the auto industry, people and a variety of shops working together isn’t just

something they should do—it’s something they need to do.

Reasons like these were why Martin joined the Indiana Auto Body Association in the first place. He felt so strongly that shops needed to work together in order to support the multiple roles they and their techs must take on. He recalls connecting with other shop owners in his early years as manager and the positive relationships he formed with them.

Martin has continued to uphold those beliefs along with the association. Although his role has changed, his commitment has not. Martin rose quickly to the position of president and remained there for four years, and recently stepped down to continue as the vice president where he retains a great deal of influence among his peers.

Not only is he involved in the association, he also values working together with his staff and is committed to ensuring the creation of real interpersonal connections.

Martin has taken all these aspects of his life and combined them into a strong ideology. It’s one that’s been with him almost since the start of his career, and continues to this day. His philosophy is that we all need to work together.

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 31

Eye on Training

Repairing today’s hightech vehicles requires a wholly different skillset, one which Doug Martin (left) has invested in for his staff.

First Steps

Martin has been the owner of his shop for just over a year now—since April 2, 2019, when his father signed the shop over to him. Before that, he had been managing the shop since 2010.

Martin worked part time in the shop throughout high school, but always planned on working in his family’s shop.

He graduated from college in 2007 and started as an estimator while his father and uncle ran the office.

“It’s kind of a funny story, how I started in a managerial position,” Martin says. “My dad and uncle decided they were going to go on vacation for a few days, so they made me manager and I hit the ground running from there. Kind of a ‘baptized with a fire hose’ type thing.”

From there, he learned how to use various softwares and started to develop his own managerial style. He also tried to immerse himself in the industry as much as possible in order to continue learning. He did so by going out and meeting other shop owners; additionally, once he was part of the 32 fenderbender.com | August 2020

state association, attending conferences became an integral part of his role and served as a great way to communicate with other shops.

“I’m so lucky to have been able to meet such gracious shop owners,” he continues. “They’ve been successful and I’ve tried to align myself with them, build relationships with them.”

The Makings of a Team

Martin’s early experiences with other shop owners were essential in developing his belief in shops working together, but the staff members he worked with shaped his focus on interpersonal connection.

Many of Martin’s coworkers have been with the shop for a long time. Several members have been there for decades, with the lead technician—the person Martin considered his mentor at the shop during his early years—having been there since 1985.

“Actually, I was born in April 1985, and he started working there in July of 1985,” he says, with a laugh.

He describes his first years being a manager as rocky, but he wasn’t alone.

“At first, you don’t trust yourself and all the decisions you’re making,” he says. “You have some small wins and some victories here and there. You get knocked down and realize there’s more to learn, and you continue to learn.”

Having good, hard-working people around to help him back up, to learn from the defeats, played a huge role in his development. Forming long-term bonds with these folks was central to his collaboration and communication-focused managerial style, and

DOUG MARTIN’S TIPS FOR MANAGING TIME It’s clear that Doug Martin has quite a bit on his plate. From fostering authentic bonds with his team, to working with the state auto body association, to giving back to the community, there’s definitely a lot with which to keep up.

How can one manage so many responsibilities at once? He shares three of his best tips for helping everyone stay on top of things.

arguably led to his advancement with the state auto body association.

Whereas his father used a much more ‘my way or the highway’ approach to managing, Martin prefers to keep an open line of communication, and encourages his employees to focus on cooperation as well.

Just like himself, Martin asks his team to rely on each other and to ask a coworker if they need help. Martin feels that when his team can put their heads together to solve a problem, it’s much more effective than a single, forced approach.

He prides himself on being able to lead his team in a way that allows for this kind of teamwork.

“The leadership role is critical,” he says.

“I’m the one that’s got to say to my team, ‘let’s figure out the best way to get this done as efficiently as possible’, you know?”

From VP to President (And Back Again)

MARTIN’S BODY SHOP

1. Stay focused on the outcome. Know specifically what tasks you want to achieve every day you walk into the office, and keep a laser focus on getting that done.

OWNER:

DOUG MARTIN LOCATION:

NEW SALISBURY, IND. SIZE:

19,000 SQUARE FEET NUMBER OF LIFTS:

7

STAFF:

16

AVERAGE MONTHLY CAR COUNT:

110

ANNUAL REVENUE:

$3.5 MILLION

2. Ask for help. Go to other shops if it’s necessary. Talk with your employees to see if they have ideas to solve a problem. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people.

3. Be resourceful.

Be aware of your skills and what tools (literal or otherwise) you have at your disposal… and ask someone for help if there’s a problem you know you don’t have the skills to solve.

Martin first got involved with the state auto body association because he felt there was so much need for shops to work August 2020 | fenderbender.com 33

PROFILE

RISING TIDES RAISE ALL SHIPS

together. He felt that the association was one of the best ways to reach that goal.

“There's so much information out there that shops need to know,” he explains. “It’s not just fixing cars, they need to be engineers, attorneys, there’s so many hats we need to wear.”

Martin describes his quick ascent to the presidential position as being the result of a transitional period—the executive director brought in new board members, he got voted in as the vice president after the first left, and shortly thereafter he moved up to president.

But that doesn’t detract from his impact—he was still able to bring the community together. Though the board of the association was in a bit of a jumble after all the transitions, Martin was still able to gather local shops.

“Several others helped us pull the whole thing together, and we now have a very strong board of directors,” Martin explains.

After roughly four years as president, he stepped down to vice president this past January. A big part of the decision involved managing his time— he wasn’t able to travel as much as the position necessitated, and he wanted to make sure that the association had someone who could be properly involved.

He still works in much of the same capacity, however, and luckily the board is as effective as ever. Martin is proud of what he’s been able to do for the community and the local shops as a whole.

“It’s amazing what we can do when we pool our resources together.”

34 fenderbender.com | August 2020

JOINING AN ASSOCIATION Doug Martin isn’t the only one who can join a state auto body association—you can, too. Follow these steps to start on your path of teaming up with shops around you.

1. Do a quick google search for “[state name] auto body association”. If your state has an auto body association, they will likely have a website. If that search doesn’t yield any results, consider expanding your possibilities. For example, autobodyassociation.org is a nationwide association.

2. Check out the website. If you managed to find an association specific to your state, fantastic! Look on their site to see if they have steps on the homepage that lay out how to join. If not, continue reading!

3. Get in contact with the site’s moderators. Go to the contact page, where there will hopefully be a phone number or email. Reach out with a query about joining, and go from there.

THE 2020 INDUSTRY SURVEY

WHERE DO YOU STACK UP? Compare your shop and find the most compelling data with the 2020 FenderBender Industry Survey: Complete Report Get yours today when you visit fenderbender.com/products August 2020 | fenderbender.com 35

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STR ATEGY

IDEA SHOP

Produce More Each Day

Taking these steps can increase gross dollars produced, per tech, per hour Have you asked yourself today, “What’s motivating me?”

A shop operator should reflect on, or work toward, a goal every single day. What carrot is dangling in front of you today?

Kelly Bennett, business management coach for the automotive industry, says that when it comes to a body shop owner increasing gross dollar produced per technician per hour, aiming for a goal of increasing work by an hour each day can make a huge difference in annual revenue.

Stop simply looking at sales reports and thinking, “I need more money.” Rather, start setting a specific goal to increase sales.

“Most shops don’t even track how many hours sold in a day and they should,” Bennett says.

Meanwhile, industry veteran Craig Amundson says that, a few years ago, his shop technicians were producing $300 per technician per hour. At the time, that number was $100 higher than what most shops produced.

Amundson, managing and operating partner for Raymond Auto Body in St. Paul, Minn., says his process for increasing gross dollars produced per tech per hour is best used when a crew is paid hourly (See Sidebar: Staging the Vehicle).

“For flat rate, your specific cost is going to be the same on every car,” Amundson says. “If your guys make 40 percent, no matter how many hours on a job, they’re still going to get 40 percent.”

Below, Bennett shares his process for increasing the aforementioned shop floor metric.

AS TOLD TO MELISSA STEINKEN

1) Track labor gross profit.

Labor sells everything else. Paint does not sell labor. The labor portion should by far be the highest in sales and the highest gross profit.

To track labor gross profit, determine what your labor rate is, what you pay your average technician per hour and know what your cost is. For example, if you pay a technician $25 per hour and the labor rate is $100 per hour, the technician is getting 25 percent of the hourly rate. So the gross profit is the difference. In this example, the gross profit is 75 percent.

The problem is if the hours aren’t sold.

I always say that you’re buying and selling time from your technicians. I buy hours from them and I sell hours to customers.

2) Calculate the financial advantage of selling one more hour.

It doesn’t mean spending an extra hour per day. It means getting paid for everything you do at the right amount of money. Too much work is given away that shops should be charging for.

I call this the carrot, or the goal, that motivates you. All you have to do is take what the labor rate is, multiply it by the number of technicians. If they have three technicians and they could sell one extra hour per technician per year, then that would be three extra hours a day. Take the three hours multiplied by the labor rate. That’s $300 per day.

It might not seem like a lot of extra money but once that extra $300 is multiplied by how many days a shop is open during the year, then it adds up. Most shops are open about 250 days out of the year. That’s an extra $75,000 for gross profit each year.

3) Track “E” time.

It’s impossible to aim for 100 percent technician efficiency and having them touch the car because a technician needs a lunch break and other breaks in the day.

So, I suggest aiming for a goal of 90 percent. Then, track all of the “E” time, or expense time.

Expense time is how many hours, out of eight hours in a day, the technician spent touching the car. Track the time being spent and when the technician takes a break or walks away from the car and for what reason. How long did they spend away from the car?

If a technician is spending too much time searching for parts across the shop, walking back and forth, then maybe have that technician shadow a more organized employee. Or, ask the technicians, in an all-team meeting, what steps can be taken to improve efficiency in those eight hours.

Staging the Vehicle Craig Amundson says changes can be made at the beginning of the repair process to create an opportunity for the technician to spend less time on the car. If a technician turns in 40 cars per month and could spend 20 minutes less on each car, he or she saves 800 minutes in a month.

Those minutes can be spent working on more cars or being productive elsewhere.

Follow these steps to stage the car: 1. The car comes in at 8 a.m. Wash the car first and identify all the damage. If there are chips, marks or scratches, address those up front.

2. Go over the insurance estimate and make sure the technician has everything he or she needs to fix the car. If a part or tool is missing, put a supplement order in right away.

3. So, when it finally does get to the technician, glass is pulled, parts are there, supplements done and the frame guy might do a pull on of it before it gets a stall.

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 37

STR ATEGY

FINANCE+OPERATIONS

Approaching the Negotiating Table

What to consider when approached by a consolidator B Y K E L LY B E AT O N

industry consolidation from virtually every angle.

He opened his first shop in 1981, began consolidating shops four years later, and currently serves as the president of the 1Collision Network—a 40-location business based out of Milwaukee.

As such, Keller has no qualms about offering advice to independent shop owners who have been approached by a consolidator. After all, he has seen a few colleagues soured by the experience.

“I have witnessed shop owners that I know sell to consolidators, retire, and enjoy life,” Keller says. “And, I have seen friends sell and not have a positive outcome. It won’t always be a win-win.”

Ron Reichen, an Oregon shop owner with 45 years of experience, notes that consolidators typically have vast business experience and legal savvy, with expert accountants at their disposal. Therefore, he adds, those powerful companies know how to protect themselves in business transactions.

All businesses are sold at some point, so how can an independent shop operator protect themselves when approached by a consolidator? There are countless variables to consider. Below, industry veterans with nearly 85 years of combined experience offer their advice.

1. Seek consultation.

Just as shop owners would typically seek feedback from colleagues before investing in a welder or a 3-D measuring machine, it’s advisable to speak with others throughout the industry before selling a business. Speak with others who have dealt with the consolidator in question, for example. And, Reichen suggests, consult with a competent law firm and accountant.

38 fenderbender.com | August 2020

Small shop owners need to do as much due diligence as they can before approaching the negotiating table.

“Don’t think that you can do it yourself, without having a good CPA and a good business attorney,” says Reichen, the president of three Precision Body & Paint locations. “It’s not going to end well if you don’t have good representation— that’s Russion roulette.

“Definitely get a good attorney that has a track record of negotiating business sales,” adds the Oregon shop owner, who has been approached by consolidators more than once in his career.

2. Consider all options.

Independent shop owners who are considering changing their business model are faced with the following options, Keller notes: • Continue operating as an independent • Take on a partner • Affiliate with a network or franchise • Sell to a consolidator And partnering with a consolidator, network, or franchise certainly can bear fruit for independents, provided they enter the business arrangement on solid financial ground.

“For a shop doing $2 million per year or more in sales and perhaps having multiple locations,” Keller says, “affiliating with a network or franchise makes great sense, (due to) the marketing support, insurance connectivity, OEM relationships, large-scale vendor relationships, coupled with training and recruiting …”

And, he adds, “if a shop doesn’t have a succession plan, selling to a consolidator can be great.”

3. Remember the value of real estate.

Much of the equity an independent shop owner has in their business portfolio

pertains to their real estate, Keller explains. And, he notes, many consolidators don’t want to purchase real estate.

“Shop owners should think through, very carefully, (when) making a deal with a consolidator, to lease the building after the sale,” he says. “In many cases, it makes a great business deal to lease the building you own for anywhere from five to 15 years.”

Reichen suggests that, if negotiating with a consolidator, that shop owners completely separate their business operations from “the dirt” that a location sits on.

“That should be two separate negotiations, from the get-go,” Reichen says.

“Because (consolidators’) attorneys and CPAs like to blur those lines. So I would

GETTY

Jim Keller has witnessed collision repair

Looking Within Jim Keller, the founder and president of 1 Collision Network, breaks down the main questions independent shop owners should ask themselves before selling their business.

• Is the business hopelessly unsuccessful?

• Do I have a fear of the future?

• Is the investment required to train for the complexity of modern vehicles too much?

• How is my health, and how long is it until my ideal retirement age?

absolutely recommend that they look at those as separate entities.”

4. Understand the buyer’s business model.

Before any business transaction, it’s valuable to consider the other party’s motives.

And, when an independent shop operator is approached by a potential buyer, an MSO may simply want to add to its profitability, while a national consolidator might have bigger plans. All that should be considered prior to negotiations.

“If it’s a national consolidator, they’re looking to build their brand and get a return on investment,” says Keller, who has closely monitored consolidation

over the last 25 years. “The primary purpose of an investment company (is) to increase the value of their company and provide shareholders value and returns.”

It’s also important to consider the future of a shop’s culture following such a transaction. In a merger or acquisition, existing staff members are often retained, for example. But a consolidator, Keller notes, has its own SOPs, product usage and the like, that it will plan on implementing.

5. Consider your next step in life.

The goal when making any business transaction is to leave the deal in a better position than when you were first

approached with it. So, it’s imperative to consider how selling your shop might position you for what’s next.

Consider your goals, and how they might be impacted by major professional upheaval.

“If you are offered a position in an acquisition, understand that your world will change,” Keller says. “The consolidator will have their own operating procedures, and people in positions that you won’t always be in agreement with.”

It’s also important to consider what you’ll do, as a longtime shop operator, with your assets when you pass on, Reichen says.

“Always bear in mind what the tax implications are,” he says. “Once (a shop sale) is all done and has gone through, you’ve worked years to build your nest egg, and you want to leave something for your family.”

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 39

FENDERBENDER’S READER’S CHOICE: OEM Parts Dealers

40 fenderbender.com | August 2020

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 41

FenderBender’s Reader’s Choice: OEM Parts Dealers

Special Promotion

READER'S CHOICE: OEM PARTS DEALERS As OEM repair requirements grow more stringent and the vehicles of the modern world more complicated, knowing where and how to find a reliable parts dealer will be critical to your shop’s success. The FenderBender Reader’s Choice: OEM Parts Dealers is here to help you navigate the process.

Based on input from 245 survey participants sampled from the qualified circulation of FenderBender in February 2020, the findings showcase the role of OEM parts buying in the collision repair shop, identify top OEM dealers and indicate the reasons shops choose the dealers they buy from.

A DIVE INTO THE RESULTS

The most pressing takeaways from the 2020 Reader’s Choice Survey

OF PARTS ORDERED BY SHOPS ARE OEM

Shops predominantly order OEM parts while aftermarket, salvaged/recycled, and refurbished parts make up only 26% of all orders.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

HOW SHOPS TYPICALLY SOURCE AND ORDER OEM PARTS Repairers shared how they typically source and order their OEM parts. Over half of the respondents answered that they utilize online ordering platforms.

Online

51%

42 fenderbender.com | August 2020 42 fenderbender.com | August 2020

Telephone

32%

Other

13%

Fax

4%

WHO IN THE SHOP HANDLES PARTS ORDERING Participants were asked who in their shop takes on this role, and a majority answered their “parts or production manager.”

Parts/production manager

41%

Service writer/advisor

27%

Shop manager

22%

Other

9%

Technician

1%

THE FACTORS INFLUENCING WHO COLLISION REPAIRERS CHOOSE TO BUY FROM Shops rated the following factors with a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) on how much each influences their buying decisions. Below is the rating and average score participants gave each factor.

#1

DELIVERY

8.9

#4

PRICE/DISCOUNTS

8.4

#2

INVENTORY

8.8

#5(T)

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

7.6

#3

KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE

8.8

#5(T)

ONLINE ORDERING

7.6

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 43 August 2020 | fenderbender.com 43

FenderBender’s Reader’s Choice: OEM Parts Dealers

Special Promotion

THE TOP OEM DEALERS: READER’S CHOICE AWARD WINNERS

The OEM parts dealers recognized by FenderBender readers MIDWEST REGION: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin

94 Nissan of South Holland

Bob McCosh Chevrolet

Frank Leta Auto Group

Acura Columbus

Bob Rohrman Automotive Group

Fred Lavery Company

Acura of Omaha

Bommarito Auto Group

Fred Martin Auto Group

Acura of Troy

Bosak Auto Group

Friendly Chevrolet

Airport Inf initi

Boucher Automotive Group

G & G Kia

Anderson & Koch Ford

Brad Deery Motors

Gandrud Auto Group

Anderson Automotive Group

Broadway Automotive

Ganley Automotive Group

Andy Mohr Automotive Group

Brown Honda

Garber Automotive Group

Apple Autos

Brunswick Auto Mart

Gary Force Honda

Arlington Auto Group

Bud Weiser Motors

Gateway Automotive

Audi Hoff man Estates

Buerkle Automotive Group

Germain Automotive Group

Audi Minneapolis / Porsche of Minneapolis

Burger Chrysler Jeep

Glassman Auto Group

Audi of Rochester Hills

Burnsville Toyota

Gorges Volvo

Audi St. Paul

Cain Motors

Grand Blanc Motorcars

Autobarn of Countryside

Capitol City Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

Grand Forks Subaru Kia

Autohaus BMW/MINI of St. Louis

Carousel Auto Group

Great Lakes Ford

Autohaus of Peoria

Cascade Auto Group

Greg Hubler Automotive Group

AutoNation

Castle Mitsubishi Subaru

H & H Kia GMC

Bachman Auto Group

Chilson Motors

Hare Auto Group

Barnett Chrysler Jeep Kia

Classic Auto Group

Harvey Lexus Cadillac

Basney Automotive Group

Columbia Honda

Hawk Auto

Baxter Auto Group

Columbia Hyundai Acura

Hesser Toyota

Berger Chevrolet

Community Honda of Orland Park

Hiller Ford

Bergstrom Automotive

Community Mazda

Hillsdale Buick GMC

Berman Inf initi of Merrillville

Continental Motors Group

Hodges Subaru

Biggers Auto Group

Corwin Automotive Group

Honda Cars of Bellevue

Bill Jacobs Auto Group

Coyle Automotive Group

Honda of Grand Blanc

Bill Marsh Automotive Group

Crown Cars Dublin

Huber Chevrolet Cadillac

Bill Snethkamp Chrysler Jeep Dodge

Dave Wright Auto

Hubler Automotive Group

Billion Automotive

Dean Team Automotive

Husker Auto Group

Blossom Chevrolet

Don Brown Chevrolet

INFINITI of Grand Rapids

BMW Jaguar Cleveland / Land Rover Solon

Don Moore Automotive Team

Inf initi of Naperville

BMW of Minnetonka

Dorsch Ford Lincoln Kia

Inf initi of Omaha

BMW of North Liberty

Dorsett Automotive

International Autos Orland Park

BMW of Peoria

Eich Motor Company

Inver Grove Ford Lincoln Hyundai

BMW of Rochester Hills

Elder Ford

Inver Grove Honda

BMW of Schererville

Express Auto Group

Inver Grove Toyota

Bob Brady Auto Mall

Fox Automotive Group

Isringhausen Imports

Bob Lindsay Acura Honda

Fox Valley Automotive Group

Jack Demmer Ford

44 fenderbender.com | August 2020 44 fenderbender.com | August 2020

Jaguar Land Rover Farmington Hills

Midwestern Auto Group

Southlake Kia Nissan

Jaguar Land Rover Minneapolis

Mike Miller Auto Park

St. Cloud Subaru

Jaguar Land Rover of Peoria

Mills Automotive Group

St. Cloud Toyota

Jaguar Land Rover of Troy

Milosch's Palace Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

Stew Hansen Dodge City Hyundai

Jim Knox Chrysler Dodge Jeep

Mitsubishi of Clarksville

Suburban Chevrolet

Joe Machens Automotive Group

Montrose Westside Automotive Group

Suburban Collection

Joe Rizza Auto Group

Moran Automotive

Summit Automotive

Jordan Automotive

Morrie's Auto Group

Sunshine Toyota

Joseph Airport Hyundai

Motor City MINI

Suntrup Automotive Group

JP Motors

Motorwerks BMW MINI

Superior Honda of Omaha

Junge Automotive

Moxie Mitsubishi

Team Auto Stores

Kahlo Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram

Mungenast Automotive Family

Team Imports

Kempthorn Motors

Muscatell Subaru

Terre Haute Chevrolet

Ken Stillwell Ford Lincoln

My Auto Import Center

Terre Haute Kia

Ken Vance Motors

Napleton Automotive Group

The Autobarn Auto Group

Kennedy Mazda

Neil Huff man Automotive Group

The Kia Store

Kia of Columbia

O'Brien Automotive Team

The Sharpe Collection

Kia of St. Cloud

Orrin B Hayes Auto Group

Thompson's Honda

Kline Auto World

Page Toyota

Tom O'Brien Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram

Kocourek Automotive

Park Chrysler Jeep

Tom Wood Group

LaFontaine Automotive Group

Patrick Dealer Group

Toyota of Louisville

Land Rover Jaguar Hoff man Estates

Pearson Wholesale Parts

Toyota of Merrillville

Landers Chevrolet

Penske Automotive Group

Toyota of Muncie

Larry Hillis Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat

Plaza Motors

Toyota of Terre Haute

LeMieux & Son Toyota Scion

Porsche Audi of Grand Rapids

Toyota of Wausau

Lexus of Lincoln

Porsche of the Motor City

Toyota Scion of Iowa City

Lexus of Louisville

Preferred Chrysler Dodge Jeep

Uftring Auto Group

Lexus of Maplewood

Prestige Kia Mitsubishi

University Subaru

Lexus of Merrillville

Pugi Hyundai Mazda Volkswagen

Valley Imports

Lexus of Omaha

Randy Kuehl Honda Cars

VanDevere Chevrolet Kia

Lexus of Orland

Resnick Auto Group

Van's Honda

Lexus of Wayzata

Richf ield Bloomington Honda

Varsity Ford

Lou Fusz Automotive Network

River Front Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

VerHage of Holland Mitsubishi

Lunde Lincoln Mazda

Riverside Chevrolet

Victory Automotive Group

Lupient Automotive Group

Rock County Honda

Volkswagen of Inver Grove

Luther Automotive / Luther Parts Express

Roesch Cars

Vyletel Buick Volkswagen

Mad City Mitsubishi

Roseville Midway Ford

Walser Automotive Group

Maple Hill Auto Center

Russ Hubler Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

Watermark Auto Group

Maplewood Imports

Ruxer Ford

Webb Auto Group

Maplewood Toyota

Rydell Auto Group

Weber Chevrolet

Matteson Auto Mall

Saint Cloud Hyundai

Webster Groves Auto

Meade Lexus

Schepel Buick GMC

Weir Parts Center

Mentor Mitsubishi Kia

Scherer Automotive

White Bear Lake Superstore

Mentor Nissan

Schmelz Countryside

White Bear Lincoln

Mercedes-Benz BMW of Ann Arbor

Schwieters Chevrolet of Cold Spring

White Bear Mitsubishi

Mercedes-Benz of Akron

Sears Imported Autos

Williams AutoWorld

Mercedes-Benz of Hoff man Estates

Seelye Auto Group

Williams Traverse City

Mercedes-Benz of Naperville

Serra Automotive

Willis Auto Campus

Mercedes-Benz of Omaha

Shaheen Chevrolet

Witham Auto Centers

Mercedes-Benz of Orland Park

Sharp Parts

Woodf ield Nissan

Mercedes-Benz of St. Clair Shores

Shirey Cadillac

Woodhouse Auto Family

Mercedes-Benz of Traverse City

Shottenkirk Automotive Group

Young Chevrolet Cadillac

Mercedes-Benz of Westmont

Showcase Mitsubishi

Zeigler Automotive Group

Merit Chevrolet

Smart Automotive of Davenport

Zimbrick Automotive Group

Metro Toyota

South Oak Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 45 August 2020 | fenderbender.com 45

FenderBender’s Reader’s Choice: OEM Parts Dealers

Special Promotion

THE MIDWEST DEALER PERSPECTIVE: AN INSIDE LOOK

JASON BARRENGER

Parts Manager Shaheen Auto Sales & Service Inc. Lansing, Mich.

DALE ZIMMER

Parts Director Billion Automotive Group Sioux Falls, S.D.

TOM WILKINS

Corporate Fixed Operations Director Shottenkirk Chevrolet Fort Madison, Iowa

FenderBender reached out to top OEM parts dealers in the Midwest to take a deeper look at who these suppliers are, what makes them stand apart and what they see happening in the next few years.

46 fenderbender.com | August 2020 46 fenderbender.com | August 2020

WHY DO YOU BELIEVE COLLISION REPAIRERS CONSIDER YOU A LEADING PARTS DEALER? JASON BARRENGER: Honestly, I hear a lot of feedback from our customers and many of them are MSOs. It’s our service.

Our staff, from sales associates all the way to our stockers and pullers, our dispatch and drivers, have all made the process so efficient and get the parts to our customers in a timely fashion. We process returns and damages within 24 hours. Our staff makes the whole process quick, efficient, and precise. We mess up every once in a while like everyone else, but it’s our service that we offer the customer.

DALE ZIMMER: Our heavy inventory of parts for late model cars and over 40 delivery trucks.

TOM WILKINS: Customer service is No. 1; I have six guys strictly in wholesale and between them they have 100 years of experience. The level of inventory we stock means we can also fill orders the next day.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY, AND WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE DURING THAT TIME?

WHAT CHANGES DO YOU SEE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS FOR THE INDUSTRY?

JASON BARRENGER: I’ve been in the industry for 25 years. Much has changed on so many different levels; with our customers, the technology that GM has developed with different platforms and integrated with CollisionLink and RepairLink to combat the aftermarket has been remarkable. It’s so detailed. They can do strategic pricing by geographic location. We have the programs that allow the customers to get the best value and best gross profit out of an OEM factory part compared to an aftermarket part, all while allowing the dealers to maximize our profit as well.

JASON BARRENGER: What I see is the larger wholesale dealers, like ourselves, that will actually be supplying more of the smaller dealerships’ inventories.

DALE ZIMMER: I’ve been in the industry for 46 years, and the biggest change is the increasingly demanding expectations upon the dealerships from customers, insurance companies and even the employees.

TOM WILKINS: I’ve been in the industry for 37 years. I would say the electronic ordering has been the biggest change; we do about 97% of our work with RepairLink and CollisionLink via OEC.

DALE ZIMMER: The cost of doing business is going to rise beyond revenue, and technology will make automotive repair more complicated.

TOM WILKINS: I would say less shops to do business with. The shops that survive and stay in the industry will have more opportunities, and we’ll all struggle to keep up with the technology, especially with the electric car. It will be a whole new learning curve for everybody.

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 47 August 2020 | fenderbender.com 47

FenderBender’s Reader’s Choice: OEM Parts Dealers

Special Promotion

THE TOP OEM DEALERS: READER’S CHOICE AWARD WINNERS

The OEM parts dealers recognized by FenderBender readers NORTHEAST REGION: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia

Acura of Peabody

BMW of Tenafly

Cooper Kia

Alan Byer Volvo

BMW of the Main Line

Country Club Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM

Apple Automotive

Bob Johnson Chevrolet

Courtesy Mitsubishi

Asbury Automotive Group

Boch Automotive Group

Crest Auto Group

Audi Albany

Boston Volkswagen

Crest Automall

Audi Erie

Boston Volvo Saab Village

Crestmont Toyota Volkswagen

Audi Porsche Bentley Mercedes-Benz of Warwick

Bowser Automotive

Criswell Auto

Audi Porsche of Conshohocken

Brown-Daub Dealerships

Crown Auto Group

Audi Porsche of Westwood

Bryner Chevrolet Inc

Dan Cavas Toyota World

Audi Volkswagen of Clarksburg

Burdick Automotive

Daniels BMW MINI of Allentown

Auto Express Kia Mazda

Burne Honda

DELLA Auto Group

AutoNation

Carbone Auto Group

Ditschman Flemington Automotive

Bald Hill Kia Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram

Cavalier Ford Lincoln

Dorschel Automotive Group

Balise Auto Group

Champion Ford Volvo

Faulkner Auto Group

Bell Audi

Chapman Auto Group

Fette Ford Kia Inf initi

Bennett Automotive Group

Cherry Hill Dodge Chrysler Jeep

First Acura

Bergey's Auto Dealership

Cherry Hill Imports

First Auto Group

Bernardi Auto Group

Cherry Hill Kia Mitsubishi Suzuki

Fitzgerald Auto Mall

Bianchi Honda

Cherry Hill Nissan

Flood Auto Group

Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships

Cherry Hill Volvo

Fred Beans Auto Group

Blevins Motors

City Side Subaru

Freedom Automotive Group

BMW MINI of Annapolis

Classic Audi

Frenchie's Chevrolet Ford

BMW MINI of Manhattan

CMA's Colonial

Fuccillo Automotive Group

BMW MINI of Warwick

Colonial Volkswagen

Garber Automotive Group

BMW of Bridgeport

Columbia Ford Kia

Gary Miller Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

BMW of Catonsville

Commonwealth Motors

Gates GMC Buick Nissan

BMW of Peabody

Conicelli Autoplex

Goldstein Auto Group

BMW of Rochester

Contemporary Motorcar Ltd.

Haley Automotive Group

48 fenderbender.com | August 2020 48 fenderbender.com | August 2020

Harte Auto Group

Lion Country Kia

Roth Cadillac

Hendrick Automotive Group

Long Auto

Route 44 Hyundai Toyota Scion

Herb Chambers

Loyalty Automotive

Schaller Auto Group

Heritage MileOne Autogroup

Luther Ford Lincoln

Scott Ford

Hillview Motors

Lynnes Auto Group

Scranton Motors, Inc.

Honda Village of Newton

Mastria Auto Group

Security Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram

Hyman Bros. Automobiles

McGovern Automotive Group

Shaker Auto Group

Hyundai Volvo Village

Mercedes-Benz of Annapolis

Sheehy Auto Stores

Inf initi Nissan of Williamsville

Mercedes-Benz of Burlington

Springf ield Ford Lincoln

Inf initi of Norwood

Mercedes-Benz of Flemington

Springf ield Hyundai

Inf initi of Syracuse

Mercedes-Benz of Fort Washington

Springf ield Mitsubishi

Inf initi of Warwick

Mercedes-Benz of Manhattan

Steet Ponte Auto Group

Ira Auto Group

Mercedes-Benz of Paramus

Stephen Auto Mall

J.L. Freed Honda

Mercedes-Benz of Richmond

Subaru of Keene

Jack Daniels Motors

Mercedes-Benz of State College

Superior Toyota

Jaguar Land Rover Annapolis

Mercedes-Benz of Westwood

Sussex Honda

Jaguar Land Rover Cherry Hill

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter of Wilmington

Sussman Automotive

Jaguar Land Rover of Warwick

MINI of Alexandria

Tasca Automotive Group

Jaguar Morris County

MINI of Peabody

The Autosport Group

James Mitsubishi

MINI of the Main Line

Thomas Automotive Family

Jeff D'Ambrosio Auto Group

Minooka Subaru

Thompson Organization

Jerry's Auto Group

Mirak Automotive Group

Tom Hesser Auto Group

Karp Automotive

Mitchell Auto Group

Toyota of Hackensack

Keeler Motor Car Company

Montgomeryville Acura Nissan

Toyota Volvo of Keene

Kelly Auto Group

MotorWorld Automotive Group

Tri-Star Auto Group

Ken Pollock Auto Group

New Motors

Victory Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Rome

Keystone Motors

Nissan of Bowie

Vision Automotive Group

Kia of Bowie

North Penn Imports

Volkswagen of Kingston

Ko Automotive Group

Northstar Kia

Volvo Cars Midlothian

Koons Automotive

Nucar Connection

Wayne Auto Mall

Kutztown Auto Sales

Nye Motors

West Herr Auto Group

Lamacchia Honda

Open Road Auto Group

Whitten Brothers Auto Group

Land Rover Jaguar Albany

Ourisman Automotive Group

Wyoming Valley Motors

Land Rover Jaguar Peabody

Packer Norris Parts

Land Rover Jaguar Richmond

Page Auto Group

Land Rover of Princeton

Paul Miller Auto Group

Land Rover Parsippany

Peruzzi Automotive

Land Rover Willow Grove

Pohanka Automotive Group

Lannan Chevrolet

Porsche Annapolis

Laurel Auto Group

Porsche Pittsburgh

Lawless Chrysler Jeep

Price Automotive

Lehman Motors

Quirk Cars

Lexus of Cherry Hill

Raceway Kia of Freehold

Lexus of Richmond

Radley Chevrolet Cadillac

Lexus of Towson

Rafferty Subaru

Lexus of Warwick

Ralph Honda

Lexus of Watertown

Richmond Ford Lincoln

Lia Automotive Group

Rosenthal Acura

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 49 August 2020 | fenderbender.com 49

FenderBender’s Reader’s Choice: OEM Parts Dealers

Special Promotion

THE NORTHEAST DEALER PERSPECTIVE: AN INSIDE LOOK

HOWARD MEEKS

Parts Director Flemington Car & Truck Country Flemington, N.J.

DENNY LOUX

Operations Director Fred Beans Family of Dealerships Doylestown, Pa.

DENNIS ELLIOTT

Parts Sales Manager Packer Norris Parts Essex, Md.

FenderBender reached out to top OEM parts dealers in the Northeast to take a deeper look at who these suppliers are, what makes them stand apart and what they see happening in the next few years.

50 fenderbender.com | August 2020 50 fenderbender.com | August 2020

WHY DO YOU BELIEVE COLLISION REPAIRERS CONSIDER YOU A LEADING PARTS DEALER? HOWARD MEEKS: We have built our brand on the philosophy first started over 40 years ago by our founder, Steve Kalafer. It was a simple statement but holds true today as strongly as it did then: Do the right things and success will follow. I came up and was educated by some of the best dealers in the industry and the one characteristic they all shared and expressed to me is that everything matters— every phone call, email or text message was initiated by someone who had a concern or issue and that was an opportunity to shine. Simply, respect everyone and they will respect you.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY, AND WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE DURING THAT TIME? HOWARD MEEKS: I’ve been in the automotive parts industry for 40 years, 34 years in management. The change that has had the biggest effect on our industry is the huge influence of insurance companies and their involvement in the operation of the collision repair shops. Direct repair, the high demands and the use of aftermarket and used auto parts have greatly reduced the opportunity for profits for collision shops and dealerships.

DENNY LOUX: I’ve been in the industry for over 35 years and the biggest change I’ve seen is the technology with the vehicles. The build level and complexity, too—when you think you’ve learned one thing about a vehicle, the next thing you know there’s something new coming out. The evolution outpaces your ability to keep up, so to speak.

DENNIS ELLIOTT: I’ve been in the industry 40–plus years.

Biggest change during that time has been ecommerce.

DENNY LOUX: There are a few reasons. We have over 40 sales guys and the average tenure of our sales staff is over 20 years. Their knowledge is extensive. Our delivery service is also key, our one-stop shopping, our ease of doing business, our inventory selection–we have over $25 million of inventory that we stock. When the manufacturers are on strike, we’re able to service that vehicle even when the supply chain breaks down. We probably represent over 70 percent of the rolling stock out there spread over about 19 manufacturers.

DENNIS ELLIOTT: I believe we are considered a leading parts dealer because of our large inventory and excellent service.

We have 30 parts trucks and a $5 million inventory. The main reason is we have the parts.

WHAT CHANGES DO YOU SEE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS FOR THE INDUSTRY? HOWARD MEEKS: Well, that is interesting to think about during these unprecedented times. Through the years I have seen the ups and downs of the industry but no one has ever seen anything like the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have had to do some major adjustments to our business model and, like every essential business, keep a safe working environment for our associates, vendors and customers.

Call it luck or strategy but we are proud to say we had no one test positive for the virus at our warehouse as of the middle of May and were able to take orders and deliver parts every day without interruption.

Five years is a lifetime in this business and I would be crazy to predict that far in advance. I am sure there will be a continued push for electronic orders and less customerto-parts-representative interaction.

What I know for sure is that people still like some interaction. They want relationships and to deal with people they like and feel are respected by. They still love to talk about the business, the family, the sports— everything matters!

DENNY LOUX: Less human interaction, unfortunately, because of the technology. The insurance companies won’t be writing estimates face to face. With Ford and other manufacturers, when a car is in an accident it will tell you what needs to be fixed and order it. I see the human factor going away a little bit and the technical side emerging.

In 35 years, my whole thing has always been about relationships, that quality time, and it’s going away. The industry is forcing us to move at 100 miles an hour.

DENNIS ELLIOTT: With autonomous cars, there’s no telling where it’s going. I’m confident we’ll still grow.

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 51 August 2020 | fenderbender.com 51

FenderBender’s Reader’s Choice: OEM Parts Dealers

Special Promotion

THE TOP OEM DEALERS: READER’S CHOICE AWARD WINNERS

The OEM parts dealers recognized by FenderBender readers SOUTH REGION: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas

Acura of the Rio Grande Valley

BMW of Tulsa

Dyer & Dyer Volvo Cars

Allan Vigil Ford Lincoln

Bob Boyte Honda

Family Toyota

Ancira Auto Group

Bob Howard Auto Group

Ferguson Superstore

Athens BMW

Bob Mayberry Hyundai

Fiesta Chevrolet

Audi Cary

Bob Moore Auto Group

Fort Myers Inf initi

Audi Fort Myers

Bobby Beck's Volkswagen

Fowler Auto Group

Audi Grapevine

Braman Motorcars

Freeman Buick GMC

Audi Knoxville

Bruce Lowrie Chevrolet

Fuccillo Automotive Group

Audi Northlake

Cannon Motors of Mississippi

Gary Force Acura

Audi of Charlotte

Capital Eurocars

Gastonia Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM

Audi Plano

Carey Paul Honda

Gem Mazda

Audi Porsche of Nashville

Carlock Auto Group

Gene Messer Auto Group

Audi Raleigh

Cass Burch Automotive Group

Gillman Automotive Group

Audi San Juan

Chatham Parkway

Global Imports

Audi Sugar Land

Clark-Knapp Honda

Golden Circle Ford Lincoln

Audi Tulsa

Classic BMW

Gossett Motor Cars

Autobahn Motorcars

Clay Cooley Auto Group

Gray-Daniels Auto Family

AutoMax Auto Group

Crain Automotive Team

Greenway Tennessee Kia

AutoNation

Crest Auto Group

Grubbs Family of Dealerships

Bartow Ford Co.

Critz Auto Group

Gunn Automotive Group

Bay Cars

CrossRoads Ford

Hallmark Automotive Group

Beaman Auto Group

Cumberland Auto Center

Hanania Automotive Group

Benchmark Automotive / Overnight Parts Alliance

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet

Harper Auto Square

Bert Ogden Auto Group

Dallas Dodge Chrysler Jeep

Hayes Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac

Bill Knight Automotive

Darrell Waltrip Automotive Group

Helf man Motors

BMW MINI of Arlington

David Stanley Auto Group

Hendrick Automotive Group

BMW MINI of Dallas

Don Carlton Auto Group

Hennessy Auto

BMW MINI of Nashville

Don Herring Mitsubishi

Heritage Auto Group

BMW MINI of South Atlanta

Don Thornton Automotive Group

Herrin-Gear Automotive Group

BMW of Little Rock

Downtown Nashville Motors

Hiley Automotive Group

BMW of Southpoint

Duval Motor Company

Hilton Head BMW

52 fenderbender.com | August 2020 52 fenderbender.com | August 2020

Honda of Fort Myers

Mercedes-Benz of Baton Rouge

Roadshow BMW MINI

Honda World

Mercedes-Benz of Cary

Robinson Toyota

Huff ines Auto Dealerships

Mercedes-Benz of Collierville

Rogers Dabbs Chevrolet

Hyundai of Cookeville

Mercedes-Benz of Coral Gables

Russell Chevrolet Honda

Hyundai of Cool Springs

Mercedes-Benz of Fort Myers

Sam Pack Auto Group

Inf initi of Central Arkansas

Mercedes-Benz of Jackson

Scoggin-Dickey Dealerships

Inf initi of Charlotte

Mercedes-Benz of Little Rock

Scott Clark Auto Group

Inf initi of Hilton Head

Mercedes-Benz of Nashville

Serra Automotive Group

Inf initi of Memphis

Mercedes-Benz of Northlake

Shottenkirk Automotive Group

Jackie Cooper Imports

Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma City

South Pointe Automotive

Jaguar Land Rover Austin

Mercedes-Benz of Plano

Southern Motors Automotive Group

Jaguar Land Rover Bluff City

Mercedes-Benz of San Antonio

SouthWest Auto Group

Jaguar Land Rover Charlotte

Mercedes-Benz of South Atlanta

Spikes Ford

Jaguar Land Rover Fort Myers

Midtown Kia

Sport Durst Automotive

Jaguar Land Rover Hilton Head

Mike Johnson's Hickory Toyota

Sterling McCall Group

Jaguar Land Rover of Jacksonville

Mike Whatley Honda

Steve Landers Auto Group

Jaguar Land Rover of Tulsa

MINI of Fort Myers

Stivers Decatur Subaru

Jaguar Porsche Volvo of Greenville

Mission Chevrolet

Stone Mountain Nissan

Jaguar Volvo of Oklahoma City

Modern Toyota

Subaru of Gwinnett

James Corlew Automotive

Momentum Motor Cars

Subaru of Pembroke Pines

Jim Ellis Automotive Group

Moritz Dealerships

Subaru South Blvd

Jim Hudson Automotive Group

Nalley Automotive Group

Superior Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram

Jim Norton Auto Group

Napleton Clermont Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram

Sutherlin Automotive

Keffer Auto Group

Nelson Automotive Group

Tom Bush Family of Dealerships

Kelly Auto Group

Newton Motor Group

Town & Country Ford

Kia of Greenville

North Freeway Hyundai

Toyota Greenville

Kraft Nissan

North Star Dodge

Toyota of Gastonia

Lake Norman Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

O'Brien Auto Park of Fort Myers

Toyota of Irving

Lance Cunningham Ford

O'Steen Automotive Group

Toyota South Atlanta

Land Rover Frisco

Palmer's Airport Hyundai

Troncalli Automotive Group

Land Rover Greenville

Palmer's Toyota Superstore

University Ford Durham

Land Rover Hilton Head

Park Place Lexus Plano

University Volvo

Land Rover Jaguar Columbia

Parker Automotive Group

Vaden Automotive Group

Land Rover Nashville

Parkway Ford

Valdosta Nissan

Land Rover San Antonio

Payne Chevrolet

Valley Auto World

Land Rover South Dade

Peacock Automotive

Vandergriff Automotive

Langdale Chevrolet

Porsche Fort Myers

Volkswagen of Fort Myers

Larry Jay Mitsubishi

Porsche of Hilton Head

Volkswagen of South Charlotte

Legacy Toyota

Porsche Plano

Volvo of Cary

Leith Automotive Group

Potamkin Automotive Group

Volvo of Fort Myers

Lexus of Jacksonville

Price LeBlanc Automotive

Volvo of Savannah

Lexus of Memphis

Prince Automotive Group

Weaver Brothers

Lexus of Nashville-North

Proctor Dealerships

Werner Auto Team

Lexus of Tulsa

Randy Marion Automotive Group

Wilson Auto Group

Mac Haik Auto Group

Red McCombs Automotive

Wolfchase Chrysler Dodge Jeep

Marc Miller Buick GMC

Regional Hyundai

World Ford Pensacola

Mazda of Gastonia

Reliable Chevrolet

Wyatt Johnson Automotive Group

Mazda of South Charlotte

Rick Case Automotive Group

McLarty Daniel Automotive

Riverside Ford Lincoln

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 53 August 2020 | fenderbender.com 53

FenderBender’s Reader’s Choice: OEM Parts Dealers

Special Promotion

THE SOUTH DEALER PERSPECTIVE: AN INSIDE LOOK

ALAN RUDOLPH

Parts Director Tom Bush Family of Dealerships Jacksonville, Fla.

TERRY HAWKINS Parts Manager Gossett Motorcars Memphis, Tenn.

JOE McBETH

Parts Director Dallas Parts Distribution Center Garland, Texas

FenderBender reached out to top OEM parts dealers in the South to take a deeper look at who these suppliers are, what makes them stand apart and what they see happening in the next few years.

54 fenderbender.com | August 2020 54 fenderbender.com | August 2020

WHY DO YOU BELIEVE COLLISION REPAIRERS CONSIDER YOU A LEADING PARTS DEALER? ALAN RUDOLPH: I think we are so popular with our collision centers because of our vastly experienced team. We also have a big inventory with a large variety of parts.

Another advantage is that our PDC is located less than 20 miles away, offering three deliveries a day. So I can order parts by noon and have them delivered by the next morning.

TERRY HAWKINS: We deliver the goods— we’re reliable, we have the inventory and we cover 10 states. Customers can get their part the next day. We also have 10 professional wholesalers dedicated to selling parts.

JOE McBETH: They consider us a leading parts dealer because of the quality of our people, our knowledge, and our large inventory. We’ve been dedicated to wholesale for 15 years and run it as a separate business, we take pride in making it stand on its own.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY, AND WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE DURING THAT TIME? ALAN RUDOLPH: I’ve been in the business since 1979. This may sound old-fashioned, but the biggest change in the industry from when I started is computers and electronic parts catalogs. When I started with Tom Bush, we had no computers. John Bush was brought in to computerize our company shortly after I started, to much dismay. We didn’t think we needed them.

WHAT CHANGES DO YOU SEE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS FOR THE INDUSTRY? ALAN RUDOLPH: The next f ive years will probably be a continuance of what we are seeing now—price matching, improved customer service, and more online ordering.

TERRY HAWKINS: I’ve been in the business for 40 years, and the biggest change in that time has been electronic parts procurement.

TERRY HAWKINS: Autonomous cars are coming down the pike, I see those being more in the market in the next five years.

JOE McBETH: I’ve been in the industry for 32 years. I think the biggest change in the industry has been the technology—the ordering process and how we interact with customers.

JOE McBETH: I think some new challenges will arise, including getting more people into the industry.

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 55 August 2020 | fenderbender.com 55

FenderBender’s Reader’s Choice: OEM Parts Dealers

Special Promotion

THE TOP OEM DEALERS: READER’S CHOICE AWARD WINNERS

The OEM parts dealers recognized by FenderBender readers WEST REGION: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

Acura North Scottsdale

BMW of Idaho Falls

Findlay Auto Group

Acura of Bellevue

BMW of Roseville

First Auto Group

Acura of Fremont

Browning Automotive Group

Ford Store San Leandro

Acura of Serramonte

Bunnin Automotive Group

Friendly Ford

Albany Subaru

Butte Auto Group

Future Automotive Group

Alexander Auto Group

C H Urness Motor Company

Gaudin Motor Company

Audi Bellevue

Camelback Automotive

Gold Coast Acura

Audi Fremont

Capistrano Mazda

Golden State Nissan

Audi Lamborghini Henderson

Capistrano Toyota

Guaranty Chevrolet

Audi Mission Viejo

Capistrano Volkswagen

Haddad Kia Dodge

Audi North Scottsdale

CardinaleWay Automotive Group

Hanlees Automotive Group

Audi Oakland

Chapman Automotive

Hayward Mitsubishi

Audi Wilsonville

Christopher's Dodge Ram

Hayward Nissan

AutoNation

Cole European

Henderson Chevrolet

Baker Garage

Coliseum Lexus

Henderson Hyundai Superstore

Berge Auto Group

Columbia Gorge Honda Toyota

Henderson Nissan

Big Mike Naughton Ford

Concord Chevrolet

Honda of Oakland

Bill Pierre Auto Centers

Crown Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram

Honda of Serramonte

BMW MINI Concord

DCH Auto Group

Inf initi of Denver

BMW MINI North Scottsdale

Del Grande Dealer Group

Inf initi of Las Vegas

BMW MINI of Portland

Desert BMW of Henderson

Inf initi of Marin

BMW MINI of San Francisco

Doug's Lynnwood Hyundai Mazda

Inf initi of Oxnard

BMW Northwest MINI

Dublin GM Superstore

Inf initi of Scottsdale

BMW of Bellevue

Emich Automotive Group

Irvine Subaru

BMW of El Cajon

Fairview Ford

Jack Powell Chrysler Jeep Dodge

BMW of Fremont

FH Dailey Chevrolet

Jaguar Land Rover Las Vegas

56 fenderbender.com | August 2020 56 fenderbender.com | August 2020

Jaguar Portland

Norm Reeves Superstores

Tempe Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram

Jim Fisher Volvo

Oakland Acura

Tempe Honda

Jim Vreeland Ford

Oakland Mitsubishi Kia

Tempe Kia

Ken Garff Automotive Group

Oakland Volkswagen

The Fremont Auto Mall

Kia of Irvine

One Toyota of Oakland

Tonkin Family of Dealerships

Kirby Auto Group

Orange Coast Automotive Group'

Toyota of Santa Barbara

Kuni Automotive

Pacif ic BMW

Toyota of Surprise

Land Rover Denver

Paradise Chevrolet

Tustin Auto Center

Land Rover Jaguar of Mission Viejo

Peak Kia

Tynan's

Land Rover Jaguar Scottsdale

Penske Automotive

United Nissan

Land Rover Portland

Perry Ford Mazda

Universal Mitsubishi Subaru

Land Rover Redwood City

Pinnacle Nissan

Ventura Toyota

Landmark Ford

Porsche Marin

Ventura Volkswagen

Lanphere Auto Group

Porsche North Scottsdale

Volkswagen North Scottsdale

Larry H. Miller Dealerships

Porsche of Bellevue

Volvo Cars Gilbert

Legacy Ford

Power Ford

Volvo Cars Mission Viejo

Lexus Carlsbad

Prestige Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

Wasatch Front Kia

Lexus of Chandler

Prestige Imports

Weatherford BMW

Lexus of Henderson

Price Ford Lincoln

Wilder Auto Center

Lexus of Portland

Rickenbaugh Auto Group

Lexus of Serramonte

Roger Kehdi Mitsubishi

Lexus of Tacoma at Fife

Royal Auto Group

Magnussen's Dealer Group

Ruddell Auto

Maita Automotive Group

Sacramento Hyundai

Mark Christopher Auto Center

San Francisco Toyota

McKenna Auto Group

San Leandro Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram

McKevitt Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

San Leandro Hyundai

Menholt Auto Group

San Leandro Kia

Mercedes-Benz of Bellevue

San Leandro Nissan

Mercedes-Benz of Chandler

Santa Barbara Auto Group

Mercedes-Benz of Draper

Santa Barbara Honda

Mercedes-Benz of El Dorado Hills

Santa Barbara Nissan

Mercedes-Benz of Farmington

Santa Margarita Ford

Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel

Santa Margarita Toyota

Mercedes-Benz of Oakland

Schomp Automotive Group

Mercedes-Benz of Oxnard

Serramonte Ford

Mercedes-Benz of Portland

Serramonte Volkswagen Subaru

Mercedes-Benz of San Francisco

Servco

Mercedes-Benz of Westminster

Sierra Autocars

Metro Honda

Skyline Mitsubishi

Michael Hohl Motor Company

Smith Volvo

Mile High Imports

Sonnen Motorcars

MINI of Camarillo

Stevinson Automotive

MINI of Marin

Stewart Chevrolet Cadillac

Missoula Nissan Hyundai

Stewart Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

New Century Auto Group

Sunroad Automotive

Newport Beach Porsche

Sunset Porsche Audi

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 57 August 2020 | fenderbender.com 57

FenderBender’s Reader’s Choice: OEM Parts Dealers

Special Promotion

THE WEST DEALER PERSPECTIVE: AN INSIDE LOOK

MIKE McQUARRIE

Director of Parts Operations Larry H. Miller Dealerships Sandy, Utah

MARK MARLATT

General Manager Autonation Parts Center Spokane Spokane Valley, Wash.

TED HAWKINS

Parts Director Cerritos Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Cerritos, Calif.

FenderBender reached out to top OEM parts dealers in the West to take a deeper look at who these suppliers are, what makes them stand apart and what they see happening in the next few years.

58 fenderbender.com | August 2020 58 fenderbender.com | August 2020

WHAT CHANGES DO YOU SEE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS FOR THE INDUSTRY? MIKE McQUARRIE: It’s going to tighten up, especially with COVID-19, and become a very service based-business, even more than it already has been. We’re going to have to think outside the box with the way we deliver parts. We’re going to see a little diversity in the insurance companies spreading out their work a little differently.

MARK MARLATT: I see continued digitalization in ordering systems.

Additionally, I believe we’ll see technology changes within the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), as well as in hybrid and electric powered vehicles.

Because of the technology, vehicle repairs will be more complex.

TED HAWKINS: I see it getting tougher for dealers and shops in the future. Insurance companies are going to continue to try and push aftermarket parts, and make dealers and repairers jump through hoops to use OEM parts. Manufacturers are going to change discount structures for them to benefit from and make it harder for the dealer to make a decent profit.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY, AND WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE DURING THAT TIME?

WHY DO YOU BELIEVE COLLISION REPAIRERS CONSIDER YOU A LEADING PARTS DEALER?

MIKE McQUARRIE: I’ve been in the industry since 1976, and the biggest change has been all of the electronics that procurement of parts is now through. Back in 1976, we would use a telecomptor to order parts, and a week later they would either show up or they wouldn’t show up.

Now, we have parts coming from manufacturers daily.

MIKE McQUARRIE: We really try to strive to do the best we can for our customers. Our values are integrity, hard work, stewardship and service, and we strive to live by the values. We stock pretty heavy, we carry a good size inventory so we can give our customers their parts, daily.

MARK MARLATT: I’ve been in the business for 33 years.

The biggest changes have been technology changes resulting in multiple electronic ordering platforms, complexity of the vehicles, and additional aftermarket competition with OEM.

TED HAWKINS: I have been in the industry for 32 years.

The biggest change has been the insurance companies controlling repair shops’ decisions on purchasing.

MARK MARLATT: We’ve taken a customer-centric approach to our business.

By separating our wholesale department from the retail environment, we’ve been able to focus directly on the business-to-business portion of our parts operation. Consolidation and cross-training our counter personnel has allowed us to have a consistent message and experience for our customers.

TED HAWKINS: We have been in the wholesale business for a very long time.

We are active in all parts platforms, have very experienced salespeople, and hold over two million dollars in inventory. Our staff understands turnaround time that insurance companies hold collision centers to. We care.

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 59 August 2020 | fenderbender.com 59

WEBINAR

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Perfect Your Blueprinting Process STEVE MORRIS FenderBender Columnist and Operations Director of Pride Collision Centers

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COLUMNS

PROCESS DRIVEN R YA N C R O P P E R

Embracing “The New Normal”

A look at policies that my shop will never go back to after the pandemic

FUE VANG, GETTY

For me, the theme of 2020 has been

“change.”

That’s the environment we’re in right now at my shops: Things are weird, they’re different, but business hasn’t completely come to a halt. Things are just changing.

Right now, in my neck of the woods— Anchorage, Alaska—we’re finally starting to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business. We’re starting to see a slowdown right now, although we usually do during this time of year, to a large extent.

Whereas tourism typically drives a lot of the claims during summer months, that’s not happening this year. We have no tourism up here at all right now. Yet, the locals are getting out much more. So, things are different, but business is starting to come back.

One silver lining during the coronavirus pandemic: This slight slowdown has given my staff time to reflect on our processes. And we’ve learned that there are a few habits we’ll never rely on again.

One of the biggest things I’ve noticed is that the way we communicate has changed very, very quickly into a digital model. Whether we communicate through Podium, or CCC, or even by email, it has really changed quite a bit from what I expected. The amount of time that it took for us to go to almost no face-to-face communication with customers happened overnight. And I don’t believe that it’s going to go back. I think the idea of us doing photo estimating and communicating by text or email is probably going to stick, though

photo estimating technology still needs to improve a bit.

It’s amazing: The shift in technology that might’ve taken five years just happened in about two months.

We’ve made one particularly large switch that I think the coronavirus pandemic probably pushed us toward. At our biggest repair facility we’re going to be open seven days a week. We’re going to do split shifts with our admin staffers.

Traditionally our shops have been open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but we know that a lot of accidents happen on the weekends, and a lot of customers want to deal with it in a timely manner. So, now our staff is going to work four “10s”; during the week our hours of operation are going to be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. , and on the weekends they’re going to be from about 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. It makes sense to me, because half the time employees were staying until 6 anyway, because customers get done with work at 5 and usually want to pick up their car right away.

So, we started that new schedule in early July. Our goal is to perfect this new schedule during the remaining summer weeks, which, for us, are usually pretty slow. That way, when the winter comes, we’re rocking and rolling.

I can tell you this: Aside from the occasional tweak here or there, we’re not going to turn back.

One part of our staff will work Sunday through Wednesday, and the other part will work Wednesday through Saturday, so each of them get a three-day weekend with one weekend day in there.

My employees came up with this scheduling change during the springtime.

I think the coronavirus pandemic made us look at things and say, “Look, let’s do it now, when we’re usually seeing a reduction in claims. Why don’t we just build it into the schedule, and build in some quality of life at the same time?”

As a shop owner, that’s change I can embrace.

RYA N C R O P P E R is the owner of Able Body Shop, with four locations in Anchorage, Alaska, and Total Truck Accessory Center.

E M A I L : r c r o p p e r @ ab l e b o d y s h o p .c o m

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 61

STR ATEGY

CASE STUDY

ANOTHER BUILDING CATCHES THE EYE

BY GABE HOLZMER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL J. SMITH

62 fenderbender.com | August 2020

Rebrand Rethink After acquiring a second building, Jensen's Target Collision needed to rethink its branding in order to better stand out to potential customers.

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 63

STR ATEGY

CASE STUDY

CONSIDER THE VISIBILITY OF YOUR SHOP. IS IT EASY TO SEE, WITH A LARGE SIGN OR VIBRANT LETTERING FACING A RELATIVELY BUSY ROADWAY? IN THE END, THE HOPE IS THAT YOUR SHOP IS NOTICEABLE TO POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS.

But what if your building isn’t easily visible from the road—or, worse. What if it’s being blocked by another building altogether?

Rick Howell, the owner of Jensen’s Target Collision in Erie, Pa., found himself in just such a situation. His shop was situated far back from the road and a car wash that was no longer in business blocked any visibility he did have.

Howell knew he needed to make a change in order to stay in front of potential customers and at the top of their minds, should they ever need collision repair work.

The Backstory

Rick Howell has been the owner of Jensen’s Target Collision for a little over 20 years, having taken over ownership in 1999 from original founders Art and Dick Jensen.

Howell, with nearly 40 years of experience in the trade, has encyclopedic knowledge of the repair industry. His shop originally had a focus on standard collision repairs, but they’ve since branched out to include as much as possible.

It’s important to Howell that his shop has the capabilities to allow employees to work on as many issues as possible, and to focus on what they find most important or interesting.

“We’ve expanded our services to include not just bodywork, but also to working on truck bedliners, rust-proofing, and overall increased mechanical abilities,” Howell says.

So, when he decided to expand Jensen’s Target Collision a few years ago by 64 fenderbender.com | August 2020

JENSEN’S TARGET COLLISION OWNER:

RICK HOWELL LOCATION:

ERIE, PA. SIZE:

15,000 SQUARE FEET STAFF:

12

NUMBER OF LIFTS:

4

AVERAGE MONTHLY CAR COUNT:

80

ANNUAL REVENUE:

$2 MILLION

purchasing another building, the decision was not made rashly. In fact, it was his second attempt at fixing a problem.

The Problem

Jensen’s Target Collision’s small storefront, combined with its relative placement further back from the adjacent road, made for low visibility from the main road. Additionally, an old car wash building right next to it effectively blocked the view from its direction, reducing visibility further.

This resulted in a lack of curb appeal.

The storefront had an overhang advertising the business, which made the shop appear rather dark. And, the overhang itself didn’t do much to attract attention, as it was only a few feet tall and was impossible to see for cars that were coming from the direction of the car wash.

All those factors made seeing the shop’s logo and the interior of the building itself quite difficult. Potential customers were often denied the possibility of

seeing the shop and going there for business, and previous customers didn’t always have an easy time finding it.

The fact he was losing out on potential customers didn’t sit well with Howell.

The Solution

Since his shop needed more signage to draw customers, Howell decided to solve his issue by purchasing the car wash and expanding his business to two storefronts.

The former car wash, which was already blocking part of his shop from sight, made perfect sense for a new building.

One of the biggest reasons Howell bought the car wash was because it was a building about the same size as the one he already owned, but about 30 years newer, with a larger side facing the connecting street.

The extra parking and easy access between the two buildings gave Howell so many more options than that he had with just the one building.

THREE TIPS FOR CURB APPEAL DO YOU NEED TO INCRE ASE YOUR SHOP ’S CURB APPE AL , BUT ACQUIRING A SECOND BUILDING ISN’T VIABLE? TRY THESE TIPS TO DR AW IN MORE CUSTOMERS.

Facility Upgrade The 15,000-square-foot building for Jensen's Target Collision now stands out to customers and has an eye-catching logo.

1. Increase signage. Make sure your sign is sizable. It needs to be visible from the street.

2. Light up your shop. If the interior of your shop is dark, it can appear closed or intimidating. Make sure the entrance is well-lit.

3. Spruce up the waiting area.

Customers want to see something that looks inviting. Add comfy-looking chairs, or vibrant plants and flowers.

Suddenly, the obstacle holding Jensen’s back had been scaled.

“It was really a no-brainer,” Howell says.

The new building not only increased the amount of space available for the shop’s logo, but it also brought Jensen’s closer to the road. It’s difficult enough to see a small sign while you’re driving, but a small sign that’s far away makes it even more of a challenge.

By acquiring the new building, Howell was able to bring his business to the forefront.

However, Howell didn’t stop with the addition of a new building. The longtime shop owner also wanted to drum up business and make it clear to his existing customers that the new building would be an asset and alert potential customers that he was there.

He started advertising through television, newspaper, radio, magazines, and had a grand opening with the new building. When decorating the new building, he

chose to stick to a theme and use stone for much of the customer-dedicated areas.

“It’s got a warm feeling with the stone we put in, like the granite countertops.

We’ve also got snack machines and some really nice mirrored areas,” Howell says.

“If customers are stuck somewhere for an hour, there are worse places they could be.”

In truth, the shop floor’s quality was enhanced overall. Howell notes that they let Rent-a-Car reserve space within the shop for interested customers, and while his shop also had a rental option, the increased space allowed them to work better together for the benefit of the customer.

The Aftermath

The shop’s visibility increased with the purchase of the new building. Since it was a former car wash, it had larger sides, and on the side facing the road they were able to place a banner announcing the new opening, which greatly increased visibility.

In fact, within two years of the refinishing, car count had risen by a solid 30 percent.

Howell says that some of his newer customers he acquired after adding the second building told him they had driven by the original shop for 20 years and never noticed there was a body shop there.

Combined with the push for media advertising when the second building opened, more customers were able to find the shop and bring in cars for repairs.

The Takeaway

Overall, Howell found there was an increased draw for customers.

“Anytime you do an expansion, it gets people talking,” he explains. “The competition is talking, people that live nearby are talking about it. It’s like free advertising.”

For those in a similar position where the shop seems unnoticed, buying extra space could help push the business to the forefront, and capture new customers as a result.

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 65

STR ATEGY

TECH+TOOLS

5 Must-Haves for Your Paint Department Paint department tools determine if you operate at maximum efficiency

BY MELISSA STEINKEN

Traffic

jam.

Congestion.

These are words you may have used to describe struggles in your paint department. But, often, roadblocks are simply ways to learn lessons.

The paint department is one area of body shops that can experience roadblocks, thus slowing the repair process.

Or, it can be an area that contributes to a lower cycle time.

Mark Duliba would know: his refinishing team operates at nearly 200 percent efficiency. Duliba has over two decades of experience as a painter in the automotive industry. He began his career painting custom cars, and then moved onto restorations of old, classic Chevys.

Duliba, the general manager for Salinas Collision Repair in Salinas, Calif., rotates his team between painting and prepping cars in order to reduce burnout on the job.

But, rotating teams is just one secret to a paint department’s success. Duliba says his team would not be nearly as successful without the proper tools and equipment.

Derick Ware, head painter at Glaser’s Collision Centers’ four locations in Kentucky, says success is less about the tools and more about time and how the team uses their time. Ware, a 2018 FenderBender Award winner, has an efficiency of 220 percent. He’s efficient and he’s able to get coworkers to reach his level (See sidebar: A Look at the Paint Teams).

Duliba and Ware share their top five essential items every paint department needs to succeed in 2020.

Focusing on the Basics 1) PAINT BOOTH MAINTENANCE “If the equipment isn’t working properly then you simply cannot do your job,” Duliba says.

Duliba has a Blowtherm paint booth at his disposal and he stresses 66 fenderbender.com | August 2020

the importance of consistently performing maintenance on it. The shop has four paint booths total, with one able to do “jamming and priming in,” he says. Yet, all of the booths are over 20 years old.

Duliba is able to maintain a wellrun booth by having the booth checked for maintenance at least once every six months. He completely cleans the booth.

His shop is also equipped with a central vacuum system to help control dust.

“Having good housekeeping makes for a safer environment,” Duliba says.

Ware agrees it’s vital for a paint department to stay on top of maintenance.

His team changes its GFS paint booth’s filters and prep station filters at least once per month.

2) EXTENSIVE COLOR LIBRARY Duliba and Ware each recommend organizing a paint department’s color library so finding a color is as quick as possible.

Ware color-coordinates his color library in a binder and organizes it not

A Look at the Paint Teams SALINAS COLLISION REPAIR OPERATOR: Mark Duliba SIZE: 18,000 square feet STAFF: 5 painters (2 head painters) SCHEDULE: A painter is rotated once per week in a booth, and then every other team member in the department that week preps.

GLASER’S COLLISION CENTERS OPERATOR: Derick Ware SIZE: 3,500 square feet STAFF: 2 (1 prepper and 1 head painter) SCHEDULE: Both team members work a regular, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule every week.

GETTY

Bottleneck.

use the tool, which he believes helps match paint colors well.

In order to use the tool correctly, the surface the picture is taken of has to be completely free of any imperfections. And, polish out the existing paint color as best as possible, he says. Once the surface is swirl free and clear, take pictures of it and see what reading it shows.

Ware feels a spectrophotometer is most useful when a vehicle has a color that was sprayed on by someone else and doesn’t match his color library.

Speeding up the Process 4) UV PRIMERS When a job has to be delivered quicker, Ware recommends using UV primers to help accelerate the priming process. A normal primer might take about 20 to 25 minutes to dry, he says. When a painter uses a UV primer, it can take only a few minutes.

For other paint-drying processes, Ware also says a painter should be using air blowers in a paint booth to dry waterborne base paint.

The team at Salinas Collision Repair has experimented with UV primers with solid results.

by make and models but by color so, for example, reds are with reds. Every color is labeled for the OEM but is organized lightest to darkest. Also, he uses PPG’s color library, which is located in the shop’s computer system.

Duliba uses his paint company's online database to access colors. They can enter the vehicle’s paint code and different formulas come up.

“Spray-out cards are done early in the repair process to verify color, usually in the blueprinting process,” Duliba says.

“They’re labeled and kept in binders as tools to use for future reference.”

He organizes his color library chromatically. He says a painter needs to have

his or her own color library for times when the paint company’s formula is not the best match. The painter might have to use a completely different formula from a different vehicle maker. This happens often when the car was refinished from a previous repair.

“Over a period of time we usually run into the same type of vehicles in our markets with the same paint codes,” Duliba notes, “so having your own library will only make your paint department stronger.”

3) SPECTROPHOTOMETER Duliba often notices the spectrophotometer tool collects dust on some painter’s shelves.

Why? Painters don’t know how to properly

5) HEAT LIGHTS The type of lighting used in the paint department is critical. One of Ware’s most essential items for the department is heat light.

“It’s important to use heat whenever possible,” Duliba says.

His shop is equipped with heated paint booths and the team uses short wave infrared heat lamps to preheat panels prior to priming. They’re also used to cure primers after application to speed up the process.

“If the primer is applied with the panels cold and the primer isn’t allowed to come up to the recommended temperature (usually 70-80 degrees) for the product to perform as desired, the primer will not fully cure,” Duliba says. “This will result in gloss die back and possible mapping around the repair areas. The primer will not sand well and usually will finish curing in the bake cycle for the paint.”

Duliba stresses that, for tasks like colormatching, painters should use natural light.

In the rest of his paint department, there are LED lights.

August 2020 | fenderbender.com 67

COLUMNS

OUTSIDE THE LINES JASON BOGGS

10 Wishes for the Industry

that don’t allow this to happen and it should change immediately.

The keys to elevating the future of the industry

but I’m writing it in July so I’m going to borrow an idea from a mentor of mine and the guy who used to occupy this space: Mike Anderson, owner of Collision Advice. He is one of the most passionate people in our industry and has been helping shops become better operators for over 20 years.

He is one-of-a-kind and cannot be mimicked or imitated, even though I’m going to attempt that impossible feat right now.

Mike started off with his wish list each January. While it’s the middle of the calendar year, we are all experiencing a new normal, so I figured no time like the present. Call it a “Christmas in July” top 10 wishes for our industry.

While I could pick many more items to include on this list, I picked what was top of mind most days. 2020 is going to be remembered for many things, and most people have felt helpless over the past several months. The good news is half of this wish list is completely in our control.

1. Increase the labor rates: The likelihood of this happening industry wide is almost zero. There are too many down pressures on our labor rates. However, each individual shop has control over its rates, and if you want to increase your average labor rate, you can. It starts with asking for it and then being able to justify it. There are many success stories in the country, and you could be the next one.

2. More available online technician training: We’ve finally arrived at a place in our industry where shops are willing to train their technicians. One of the best things to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic is companies improved their abilities to reach people remotely. While I appreciate the third parties that are offering this now, it’s time for the manufacturers to jump in with both feet. They want us to protect their brand and we need their help.

3. One-hundred percent compliance with following OE procedures: We have a long road to accomplish this. OE websites 68 fenderbender.com | August 2020

are the best and, (should be) only, place to access these procedures. Vehicles have changed drastically; it’s time we change with them.

4. Miles driven return to pre-pandemic levels: There are predictions that July’s miles driven will be 130 percent compared to recent history. Reasons given are people will be hesitant to get on planes or cruises, so they will get in their cars and drive to their destinations. Like other industries across the country, we have felt the impact of the shutdown. Here’s hoping that things will continue to open up and people get back on the road.

5. ADAS features to get uniform names: Currently the OEs are trying to differentiate themselves from competition by providing unique names to certain ADAS features even though the hardware in their vehicles are identical. The wheels are in motion on this, but it could use more support from our industry. It’s one thing when a “fender liner” is also called a “splash shield” or a “skirt”. But ADAS features are critical to the safety of those on and near the road. Having them named the same across different manufacturers would be a big step in helping us understand the functionality of those features.

6. All insurance companies allowing direct importing into CCC: Those who remember the days of rekeying each estimate can still feel the pain of doing such mind-numbing work. While we have come a long way, there are still a few companies

8. New reports from CCC: As they have arguably developed the best management system in the industry, most shop operators agree they are still lacking in providing some crucial reports. Most reports we want use data they already collect, but we still don’t have the option to configure reports from that data. Knowing how much work was completed, not delivered, is top on that list.

9. Office staff and techs come together: A successful shop is one where the dividing wall between the techs and the office staff disappears. We must realize we are on the same team. No one wins unless we all win. We are moving in the right direction, but there is still work left to do.

10. Respect for our industry: While most of us want this to come from the outside, it must start internally. It’s time we start acting like the professionals we’ve become.

We are highly skilled teams working on technological marvels. The next couple of years will bring so much new technology that it will be time for us to wear lab coats while we repair “computers on wheels”.

Outsiders will not start respecting our industry until we begin respecting ourselves and our competitors.

JASON BOGGS is the owner of Boggs Auto Collision Rebuilders in Woodbury, N.J. He has attended the Disney Institute and Discover Leadership, and has studied lean manufacturing processes.

E M A I L : j a s o n @b o g g s au t o .c o m A R C H I V E : f e n d e r b e n d e r.c o m / b o g g s

FUE VANG

This might not go to print until August,

7. Aftermarket parts to disappear: In 22 years, we’ve installed three aftermarket parts and they all failed before the vehicle left the shop. I know they help keep the OE list price in check, but if our goal is to put the vehicle back into pre-accident condition, we should replace apples with apples. Aftermarket parts are in no way like, kind, or quality.

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