FenderBender - September 2021 by EndeavorBusinessMedia-VehicleRepairGroup

FENDERBENDER.COM / SEPTEMBER 2021

Strategies & Inspiration for Collision Repair Success

A CUT

ABOVE

THE INNOVATORS OUT FRONT IN A CHANGING INDUSTRY PAG E 12

ONBOARD WITH EASE

PAG E 62

CROPPER:

INSIDE A SALE

PAG E 65

On the Rise Wisconsin shop owner Scott Fabel’s commitment to diversification—and investing in his team—has created a bulletproof business that won’t stop growing.

BECOME A SOCIAL MEDIA SUPERSTAR

PAG E 6 0

BET ON ONE COLLISION SOLUTION

THAT DOES IT ALL

Staying up to date with advances in vehicle technologies is a huge industry challenge. Your best bet is DriveSafe™ + IVS 360™ Live Expert Support. It’s one collision solution that does it all – scanning, ADAS calibration and programming – backed by on-demand access to brand-specific Master Technicians.

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collision@opusivs.com 844-727-7226

opusivs.com

PRO SPOT CONTINUES TO DRIVE VEHICLE COLLISION REPAIR INDUSTRY FORWARD An Industry Update from Ron Olsson, President, Pro Spot International In a year that we continue to press forward and run fast, we’ve achieved a number of exciting milestones so far in 2021. First, we’ve fine-tuned our i4S Smart Spot Welder to make it the best in its class and it leads the industry in technological advancements. We’ve also added an industry first 5-year warranty to the i4S, as we believe it is the best spot welder in the business. We are proud to stand behind this product with this warranty. Additionally, we’re continuing to develop new products and services. We’ve added new authorized distributors in our Northeast Region, opened up training centers in Florida, Tennessee and Colorado, signed, and will continue to sign, new OEM approvals, and strengthened our leadership teams in manufacturing, engineering and marketing at our Carlsbad, CA headquarters. I’m very proud of our team and our current product offerings that have been leading our industry for so many years. Knowing what we have in development and the new technologies that we are working on, we will continue to revolutionize the collision repair industry for many years to come. And it means so much to all of us at Pro Spot to be a “Made in America” manufacturer because of the competitive advantage that this brings. We’ve been through a lot together and today, we’re stronger than ever. We appreciate your business over the last 30 years and know that we are behind you 100%...we will never let you down. Please do not hesitate to contact our team, or me directly, and let’s continue to build the future together! Sincerely, Ron Olsson, President

Meet us at: NORTHEAST® 2021 Sept 10-12 | Secaucus, NJ FABTECH 2021 Sept 13-16 | Chicago, IL FenderBender Management Conference Sept 13-15 | Minneapolis, MN SEMA SHOW Nov 1-5 | Las Vegas, NV

Contact Us Today! Pro Spot International, Inc. 5932 Sea Otter Place Carlsbad, CA 92010 877-PRO-SPOT www.prospot.com info@prospot.com

Automotive Technology Summit DECEMBER 5-7 • NASHVILLE

J O I N T H E CO N V E R SAT I O N ENGAGE IN PRESENTATIONS, DISCUSSIONS AND Q&As WITH

S E E T H E F U L L S P E A K E R L I S T AT A D A P T S U M M I T. C O M / S P E A K E R S

THE ADAPT: AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT IS A THREE-DAY EVENT PROVIDING SHOP OWNERS AND OPERATORS WITH A UNIQUE, UNMATCHED OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN DIRECTLY FROM INDUSTRY LEADERS ON THE MOST PROGRESSIVE AND PRESSING TECHNOLOGY TRENDS DISRUPTING THE AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET

2021 ADAPT: AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY SUMMMIT SPONSORS: PLATINUM SPONSOR: OVERALL PARTS SOLUTIONS GOLD SPONSORS: CTI+WTI, MOTOLOGIC, NISSAN, TECHNET SILVER SPONSORS: ASTECH, AUTOLEAP, AUTOMOTIVE TRAINING INSTITUTE, AUTOVITALS, BROADLY, CARSTAR, FORD MOTOR COMPANY, HUNTER ENGINEERING, KUKUI, MITCHELL 1, NAPA, OPTIMIZE SOCIAL MEDIA, RELIABLE AUTOMOTIVE EQUIPMENT, REPAIRPAL, SHOPMONKEY, SHOP-WARE, SOFTWARE STATUS SOLUTIONS, SOLID START, TEKMETRIC

CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 0 9 . 2 1

V O L U M E

2 3

N U M B E R

0 9

BEST OF THE BEST

Wisconsin shop owner Scott Fabel has made a career out of taking the path less traveled—to great acclaim. Learn more about this year’s FenderBender Award winner.

CRAIG AUGUSTINE

BY PAUL HODOWANIC

Printed in the U.S.A. COPYRIGHT ©2021 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.

September 2021

fenderbender.com

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TAKE A PHOTO OF THIS AD. DISTRIBUTE TO YOUR ESTIMATORS AND PARTS PERSONNEL.

SEND PHOTOS TO LABELS@ AUTODATALABELS.COM

CONTACT YOUR LOCAL LKQ / KEYSTONE SALES REP

VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW. AUTODATALABELS.COM

R CO KG MOTO / 266725LB WITH TIRESS FORD 5880LB R: 33 RIM LD D. BY GVWR: REAR GAKWG 6SL 1508 70R1 LE MF PSI CO VEH01IC/ 03 27 35LB WITHES P1263X57/.0J kPa/35 TIR 40 2 DATE:NT GAWR: TOR RIMS D AT L AL MO G FRO S L R K E 6 D PSI CO 1240 /70R1 5 BLE FE . PLICA F001883 P235 .0J a/30 ABOVE P LL AP k T0 16X7 5 HOWN S TO A 0 2 FORM S IN URE S AT E CON DARD UFACT EHICL Y STAN OF MAN 0000 THIS ICV LE SAFETHE DATE 0 000 VEH ON T 000 0 T EFFEC 00000 B 3U51 VIN: E: MPV F05 TYP Length of rental update

Leadership books that inspire

Prepare for telematics increase Is pre-ordering parts worth it?

Look for the helpers

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

WHAT I’M READING

53 10

fenderbender.com

September 2021

ADAPT

DRIVERS SEAT

Drive business during slow times

Exclusive interviews online

General Motors updates its policies

THE LIST

51 43

BREAKDOWN

PAST THE PAGE

ADL OFFERS 3 EASY ORDERING OPTIONS

GETTY

SEPTEMBER CONTENTS

QUICK FIX

STRATEGY

COLUMNS

TECH+TOOLS

Add social media savvy

THE BIG IDEA

Dream big—then act on it BY K E VIN R AIN S

IDEA SHOP

All about onboarding

CASE STUDY

How to actually increase your labor rates

PROCESS DRIVEN

Inside a sale

BY RYAN CROPPE R

IN THE TRENCHES

Look at the solution, not the problem BY STE VE MORRI S

OUTSIDE THE LINES

Why processes don’t stick BY JASON BOGG S

LEADERSHIP

Coaches can change your shop

GETTY

GET HANDS ON. Sitting behind a desk all day? That's not you. Jump start your technical career in the transportation industry at � TECHFORCE.ORG/CAREERGUIDE

:llf TECHFORCE

September 2021

FOUNDATION

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CONTENTS

ONLINE EXTRAS

CL ICK ON THE L OGO BEL OW F OR PRODUC T INF ORMATION 3M

CAPA

Innovative Tools & Technologies

ProColor Collision

Accudraft

Car-O-Liner

Keco Body Repair Products

Pro Spot

LKQ Corporation

SATA/Dan-Am Company

ADAPT CARSTAR

AkzoNobel

Collision Quest

Mitchell International

SEMA

AUTEL

FinishMaster

Opus IVS

Spanesi Americas

Auto Job Central

Garmat

Polyvance

TechForce Foundation

AutoNation

Axalta Coating Systems

Global Finishing Solutions

PPG

Induction Innovations

Precision Diagnostics

EDITORIAL

Bryce Evans Vice President, Content and Events Anna Zeck Editorial Director Paul Hodowanic Staff Writer Noah Brown Digital Multimedia Editor Nora Johnson Special Projects Editor Caleb Brooks Editorial Intern Jason Boggs Contributing Writer Ryan Cropper Contributing Writer Steve Morris Contributing Writer Kevin Rains Contributing Writer Mike Munzenrider Contributing Writer

PA ST T H E PAGE

VIDEOS

PODCASTS

WEBINARS

NEWS

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Sheryl Driggers Universal Collision Jesse Jacobson Heppner’s Auto Body Greg Lobsiger Loren’s Body Shop Tiffany Menefee Pronto Body Shop Stan Medina Certified Collision Works Louie Sharp Sharp Auto Body

ART AND PRODUCTION

Zach Pate Art Director Olivia Curti Graphic Designer Morgan Glisczinski Graphic Designer Emme Osmonson 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 Marianne Dyal Marketing Strategist (National Accounts) 706.344.1388 / mdyal@10missions.com Bob Marinez Marketing Strategist (National Accounts) 216.533.8747 / bmarinez@10missions.com Martha Severson Marketing Strategist (National Accounts) 651.846.9452 / mseverson@10missions.com Kyle Shaw Marketing Strategist (National Accounts) 651.846.8480 / kshaw@10missions.com Dan Thornton Marketing Strategist (National Accounts) 734.676.9135 / dthornton@10missions.com Sean Thornton Marketing Strategist (National Accounts) 269.449.0257 / sthornton@10missions.com Matt Harper Regional Sales Manager 651.846.9551 / mharper@10missions.com Melody Todd Senior Marketing Strategist (Regional Accounts) 651.846.9468 / mtodd@10missions.com Erik Gustafson Marketing Strategist (Regional Accounts) 651.846.9485 / egustafson@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 Meghan Horan Community Development Associate Tiffany Fowler Senior Digital Media Strategist Nina Kayfes Digital Media Assistant Kasey Lanenberg Marketing Communications Specialist Corey Steinhoff Administrative Assistant

HOW TO RE ACH 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.

SPECIAL EDITION: FENDERBENDER AWARD HONOREES M A K E SUR E YOU CATCH OUR special podcast episodes and video interviews that feature this year’s FenderBender Award honorees, including winner Scott Fabel! Also catch runners-up Helmuth Mayer and David Caulfield in exclusive podcast interviews to follow up on their magazine stories. Be sure to subscribe to CollisionCast on your platform of choice to have these episodes and more automatically delivered to your feed.

BACK IS SUE S

Past issue single copies are $8. Go to fenderbender.com/backissues

LET TE RS TO THE E DITOR editor@fenderbender.com

ARTICLE RE PRINTS

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.

Behind the Sale

Inside FBMC

Wondering what goes into the sale of a shop? FenderBender talked to DJ Mitchell, who recently sold his business, MITCHCO Collision Repair, to Classic Collision about the aftermath of the sale. Check out the episode at fenderbender.com/podcasts.

Unable to join us in Minnesota for the FenderBender Management Conference? Head to FenderBender’s Facebook page to catch the highlights and best moments from this year’s conference.

CRAIG AUGUSTINE

AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

@fenderbendermag September 2021

@fenderbendermag

@fenderbendermag 9

fenderbender.com/linkedin

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DRIVER’S SEAT

THE SUNNY SIDE

Recognizing the brightest in the industry

T H E R E ’ S A Q U O T E F R O M Mr. Rogers— of all people—that’s been on my mind lately. Maybe you’ve heard it; it circulates online every once in a while. It’s actually attributed to his mother, who told him the following anytime he was frightened by upsetting events on the news: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Frankly, after the past 18 months we’ve all experienced, it’s not hard to understand why so many people feel disillusioned. Even

September 2021

within the industry, the challenges have felt greater and the limitations even stricter. That’s why I believe now is a great time for our annual FenderBender Award issue. The process of choosing the winner of the FenderBender Award is always a matter of great debate on the editorial team, but doing so the last two years has become an even bigger undertaking—thanks to the phenomenal nominations we receive from the industry (Anyone can nominate by filling out a form at

fenderbenderawards.com that asks for details on business achievements, industry and community contributions, personal influence and any other relevant information). Reading nomination after nomination outlining the ways in which someone has made an impact in his or her business, industry and community is beyond inspiring, particularly given the context of the past two years. The people nominated define what it means to be a “helper.” As you’ll

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note in the profile on p. 14, winner Scott Fabel’s business was affected this year, too. He had to make numerous adjustments and adapt in order to maintain the goals he set for himself. But that didn’t stop him from looking beyond his shop and helping his community and industry at large. It’s impressive to see and reflective of all the good taking place in collision repair. It’s proof that this industry is full of hardworking individuals dedicated to the future of this industry. I hope it inspires you, and maybe even provides a takeaway or two for you as we head into the last few months of the year. There’s lots more available online, too—podcasts, video interviews, exclusive articles—at fenderbender.com/awards. Above all else, the message throughout is this: We all have problems, challenges and unforeseen circumstances. We can dwell on those—rightly, even!—but we can also take action. We can create the businesses we’ve dreamed of, and we can make an impact. Just take it from our 2021 FenderBender Award winner.

ANNA ZECK

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

azeck@10missions.com

PLASTIC REPAIR YOU CAN COUNT ON Polyvance® equipment and training will help you repair more plastics, keep more labor hours in your shop, and improve your cycle time.

September 2021

polyvance.com 800.633.304711

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Stand Out Success Scott Fabel, owner and operator of Fabel’s Carstar in Appleton, Wis., has dedicated a long and loyal career to building a successful operation with a true community impact.

September 2021

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By PAUL HODOWANIC | Photos by CR AIG AUGUSTINE

September 2021

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Lifelong Learner As a young car enthusiast with his sights set on a future in the auto industry, Scott Fabel remains eager to learn and tackle challenges head on.

S I N C E S C O T T F A B E L W A S 8 years old, the only thing he’s ever wanted to do was work on cars. As a child, the highlight of his week was Saturday morning, when his father took him to the family-owned heavyduty truck dealership and let Fabel clean the floors, organize parts, and be around the trucks. It took until age 15, and a state permit allowing him to work, before he ever sniffed a dollar for that hard work at the shop. That was quite fine for him. It’s the only career he’s ever had and the only one he ever wants to have. “I just loved trucks,” says Fabel. “All the equipment and all the parts. Everything was exciting.” From starting his own business to continuing the family legacy when his father passed, Fabel’s passion and dedication to the industry have fostered success for his Wisconsin-based Fabel Repair and Collision Center. It’s hard enough to run a successful auto body repair business. A whole different set of challenges are baked into running a thriving heavy-duty collision repair business and a flourishing general repair business for heavy-duty vehicles along with the light-duty auto body repair. Fabel has done it all, and he’s manned the ship the entire way. That diversification has been a proponent of the businesses success, not a detractor, and his commitment to his employees and the surrounding community have kept them going through times of expansion and hardship. Fabel’s ability to grow, diversify and withstand, all while prioritizing his employees and community, have led him to be named the 2021 FenderBender Award winner.

September 2021

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September 2021

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A Legacy in the Making While following in his father’s footsteps, Scott Fabel has worked hard to pave his own way.

September 2021

Like Father, Like Son

After attending and graduating from Northwood University in Midland, Mich., studying automotive marketing, Fabel returned and started a leasing company for heavy-duty vehicles. Within three years, the company was competing locally with the big names like Penske and Ryder, and generating $6 million annually in revenue. It was during that experience that he built the foundation of shop management, leadership, and business expertise that he would use when he ultimately branched out

on his own two years after his father passed away unexpectedly at age 55. Fabel was 26 at the time of his father’s death. Because of circumstances with the ownership group, Fabel was unable to continue the business that his dad owned. Instead he started his own business, beginning with a strictly heavy-duty truck repair and collision business in 1991, opening a single location in Appleton, a 12,000-square-foot facility. Two years later, Fabel added 10,000 square feet to capitalize on the “lucrative” trailer repair market. Then, in 2000, he

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A X A LT A C O A T I N G S Y S T E M S

Congratulations to CARSTAR Fabel Repair & Collision Center ®

2021 Top Operator of the Year

Out of 45,000 collision repair shops across the country, CARSTAR Fabel Repair & Collision Center in Appleton, Wisconsin, has been named the Top Operator in the U.S. by the FenderBender editorial team. With a commitment to quality, training, and technology, Fabel continues to thrive in both light and heavy-duty collision repair work. From all of us at Axalta, we’d like to congratulate Scott and the entire Fabel team on this award, and thank them for choosing to get the job done with Axalta. ®

BY THE NUMBERS 10%

MINIMUM ANNUAL GROWTH

YEARS IN BUSINESS

EMPLOYEES

100%

NUMBER OF EXPANSIONS

TRAINING COSTS COVERED

added an additional 10,000 square feet and, more importantly, expanded into general collision repair for everyday vehicles for the first time. It was the first venture away from heavyduty vehicles. In his operations up until that point, Fabel worked on truck repair and body work, RV repair, alignment work, and towing, but never regular auto body. In 2017, that location became part of the CARSTAR franchise. Fabel also expanded outside of Appleton, acquiring a heavy-duty repair

September 2021

business roughly 40 miles east in Waupaca in 2010. That location has been solely used for heavy-duty repair and body work. All in all, Fabel has three locations. The heavy-duty truck repair and body shop in Appleton, the CARSTAR location just across the street and the collision repair center in Waupaca. He estimates roughly 70 percent of his business is tied up in the commercial industry with the other 30 percent in the general automotive collision repair industry.

“I wonder sometimes how he’s able to juggle it and maintain it but he’s able to do it,” says Amanada Ashline, the company’s body parts manager and Fabel’s nominator. “I don’t know how he does it.”

Recession Proof

With his hands in the heavy-duty auto body and repair spaces along with the CARSTAR facility, Fabel has strategically diversified his business to withstand hardship. His system was put to its first

fenderbender.com

FABEL

REPAIR & COLLISION CENTER

CONGRATULATIONS Scott Fabel and the entire Fabel Team on their recognition as “The Finest in Collision Repair”! FinishMaster is proud to serve as your distribution partner for more than 15 years. Working with you to provide quality service to customers and participate in annual community projects has been an honor. We are grateful for the opportunity to continue providing you premium products and services through your continued success in the coming years.

WE ARE HERE TO HELP, FROM START TO FINISH Follow us on social: /finishmasterinc

866-711-5235 • finishmaster.com/wecanhelp

SUCCESSION PLANNING ALREADY ON THE MIND Scott Fabel hopes his business will continue as a family business once he’s gone. At 58, he’s still got plenty of work days ahead of him, but he’s already setting up a succession plan for his son Shea and his son-in-law Jake to take over the business, both who are still in their early 20s. Fabel bought 52 acres of adjoining property at his Appleton locations that he intends to build on and allow his sons to grab a stake in the business. Still, Fabel’s presence won’t be gone anytime soon. “I’m probably going to be here awhile,” Fabel chuckles, “I love coming to work every day. Why would I stop?”

September 2021

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Looking Ahead Emerging from the industry challenges COVID-19 presented, Scott Fabel is working to expand his operation to build a brighter future.

real test when COVID-19 hit. The CARSTAR location took a major hit as accidents plummeted and service slowed. However, Fabel never cut hours or laid off a team member at the CARSTAR location. Instead, he transferred all his technicians to the heavy-duty collision repair shop across the street. Because of large contracts he had with several major manufacturers, the commercial business stayed strong. Goods still needed to be delivered, which meant semi-trucks had to run, leaving Fabel’s shop in an advantageous spot.

“I’m sure I’m like many shops struggling with the auto body shop. But with the diversification I had, that’s really what saved me,” he says. Fabel has long hoped to become a “onestop shop” in the automotive aftermarket world. In the heavy-duty space he has just that, with both the mechanical and collision repair businesses along with a truck wash. He’s found in the heavy-duty industry, specifically, businesses get frustrated with having to down the vehicles for multiple reasons and visit different vendors for those services. Being that BUILT IN THE

September 2021

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Thanks for Innovating With Us!

outlet was more important than ever in 2020, Fabel says, as businesses struggled and looked for ways to streamline operations. With Fabel’s capabilities, jobs could be completed quicker, allowing trucks to get back out on the road.

Out Front in a Changing Industry

Congratulations to everyone at Fabel Collision Center on your award-winning 2021 Achievements! We truly appreciate your partnership and wish you many more years of success.

VISIT INNOVATIVETOOLS.COM TO VIEW VIDEO DEMONSTRATIONS AND TO FIND A DISTRIBUTOR NEAR YOU

September 2021

Fabel continues to look for his next innovation. When he opened his first shop, it was because the area was in serious need of a shop that specialized in alignment work. The idea to become a one-stop shop, or as Fabel deems it, the “Wal-mart” of the automotive aftermarket, was his next idea. Within the auto body shop, his attention has focused on certifications. The shop has certifications for Ford, GMC, Jeep, Nissan, Infiniti, Subaru, Kia and others, most notably Tesla, which the company achieved in June. “I wanted to be on the cutting edge and ahead of everybody else,” says Fabel, who approached the EV giant about getting certified. “I feel it’s such a changing industry, I’m always going to try and stay ahead of the curve.” While there aren’t too many Teslas in his area quite yet, he hopes the knowledge they gained through the certification process will be useful for any type of EV that comes through the door. It also positions him well for when Tesla enters the heavy-duty market. With the knowledge the shop already has from going through the Tesla certification, Fabel plans to jump on the heavy-duty Tesla market right away. “I haven’t seen anyone so focused on the future without losing the present,” Ashline says. Fabel said the returns on all the certifications have been mixed so far. Some have worked more effectively than others. Still, with the sophistication of vehicles increasing by the day, Fabel believes the certifications will be a feather in his cap. “As cars develop, we want the customers to be assured that we know what we are doing,” he says. Fabel also nearly pulled the trigger on installing an ADAS calibration center at the body shop after continual poor experiences at the local dealership, who also happens to be a competitor. Fabel was working on final details before a small tire shop nearby splurged

FABEL’S FAST TIPS FOR HEAVY DUTY Scott Fabel has spent the majority of his career working on the heavy-duty side of the collision repair world. From that he’s heard many stories from friends in the light-duty industry regarding concerns of entering the heavy-duty market. His top tip for any body shop looking to make the jump to heavy duty or commercial? Don’t be afraid of it. “I think that because of the size of these vehicles, a lot of the shops just get a little bit intimidated,” Fabel says. “And I would say that there's not a lot of differences in the body aspects of it and the repair aspects of it.” When COVID struck and the CARSTAR location saw a decline in car count, Fabel transferred his body technicians over to the heavy-duty side. And despite some initial hesitancy, those technicians turned out to be very useful in enhancing the heavy-duty side of the business.

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Congratulations, Scott, and the entire Fabel team. We are proud to be your partner in paint.

CARSTAR FABEL WEST OWNER:

SCOTT FABEL

L O C AT I O N :

APPLETON, WIS.

SIZE:

35,000 SQUARE FEET

S TA F F S I Z E :

16–12 TECHNICIANS, 2 ESTIMATORS, 1 PARTS MANAGER, 1 SHOP MANAGER

NUMBER OF LIFTS:

SIX LIFTS, FOUR PAINT BOOTHS

A V E R A G E M O N T H L Y C A R C O U N T:

150

For Scott Fabel’s business and its numerous services to work, the proper facility is a vital component. At all three of his locations, he’s made significant investments in tools and equipment in order to service both light- and heavy-duty vehicles. At his CARSTAR shop, a front lobby and office designed with the customer experience in mind feels spacious and modern. It’s all part of Fabel’s plan to build a sustainable, growing company that’s ready to meet the future demands of the industry.

September 2021

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September 2021

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FABEL’S FAST TIPS ON LEADERSHIP Through the development of three locations that span from heavy-duty repair work to body work for both light and heavy-duty vehicles, Fabel can’t be everywhere at once. He learned early on that he was going to need to delegate, even as hard as it can be. “I’m so passionate about the business and I feel like at times you want to do a lot of it yourself to make it what you want to be,” he says. “But as you trust your managers to fulfill your vision and philosophy of running the business, it becomes easier and easier to step aside.” Fabel has a weekly meeting with all of his managers, which allows him to continue to give input into the operations without needing to micromanage the day-to-day. That has given him much more time to work on the business, rather than in the business. In doing so, he’s realized two things. Communication and delegation have been the keys to keeping a cohesive and productive work environment.

and purchased all the necessary equipment. Instead of competing with them, Fabel saw an opportunity. The tire shop needed business and he was one of the biggest in town. Fabel negotiated a reasonable price in exchange for sending work its way, and he avoids the liability that comes with owning and operating an ADAS calibration center. “It’s the best of both worlds right now,” he says.

More Than a Cliche

One of the ways Fabel sticks out above any other employer that Ashline has worked for is his personability. He’s quick to give advice about personal or professional issues and makes training a priority. The “my door is always open” cliche is true with Fabel. It’s something past owners have said to Ashline, but she hasn’t believed it the way she does with Fabel.

September 2021

“Out of everybody I’ve worked for, he’s different. He’s more personable. He treats everyone here like family,” she says. “Don’t get me wrong, he keeps a focus and passion with his business but he’s also a very personable person.” The shop maintains its I-CAR Gold Class status, giving its employees that resource to learn and train. Fabel uses a tier system instead of a class system at his shop and employees can move up tiers—which come with pay raises—based on their level of training. When I-CAR training is required outside of working hours, Fabel pays for it. “He wants to see you grow. He wants to see you expand. He doesn’t want you to just stay content with where you are,” Ashline says. “There’s a lot of things he’s done that I’ve never seen another employee do.” With that, Ashline says Fabel often lends a hand or a piece of advice for employees starting a side business.

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Scott! For one of his employees, a veteran who deals with bouts of PTSD, Fabel sent their direct supervisor to training on how to respond when someone has an episode. “It’s very important to give your employees the knowledge and belief that you’re going to invest in them,” Fabel says. That translates to his pay system as well. Fabel’s employees work on an hourly rate with an incentive commission. If the shop hits a sales goal for a given month, all employees are then eligible for a bonus, which is determined based on productivity numbers. This both incentivizes personal

September 2021

and group success, he says. Likening it to a football record, Fabel says the company usually goes 10-2 over 12 months.

More Than a Shop

Despite maintaining a steady overall workf low during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fabel says he donated roughly 70 percent of his mask inventory to the local hospital. When he saw several of his family members who work in dentistry were struggling, he sent sanitizer to them and surrounding local dental offices.

3M is proud to recognize CARSTAR Fabel Repair & Collision Center for their leadership in our industry and in your community.

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“Our cabinets were pretty much bare,” Ashline says. In 2017, Fabel donated a vehicle to Harbor House Domestic Abuse, a nonprofit organization in Appleton that helps victims of abuse, and created a separate repair business used to provide free repairs to abuse victims. The vehicle Fabel donated is used as a loaner for the business. He’s also given away several refurbished vehicles to veterans through the Recycled Rides Program. “I just want to find some way to help,” Fabel says. “What’s the point of being part of the community if you aren’t helping when it’s needed?” Fabel is also very active with his local church, running ads in the bulletin and volunteering his personal time. He donates heavily to the Greenville Fire Department and also sponsors several baseball teams and four race cars at the Wisconsin International Raceway. “I’ve never worked for someone who’s got such a big heart,” says Ashline.

September 2021

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September 2021

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A WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT In Fabel’s continuous quest to innovate and modernize, he invested more than $100,000 for gas catalytic drying equipment for his CARSTAR location roughly two years ago. His shop is just one of two shops in Wisconsin to have the equipment and it has been a “game changer,” Fabel says. While the initial investment was hefty, Fabel estimates it saves his team 15-20 production hours every day. The equipment is set up in the shop’s dual prep station, sitting on a programmable track that can run in both bays. Its arch shape features 12 separate heating panels that can be programmed to work on the whole car or just a small area. Fabel says his Gascat equipment cures paint in about eight minutes. Then within 10 minutes the team can begin working on the car again and buff it. “It gives us a tremendous amount of throughput,” Fabel says. It’s been a pivotal addition to the shop and one Fabel raves about, despite it struggling to gain widespread adoption. It tracks with Fabel’s hope to be on the cutting edge, willing to jump into a new idea or technology. Some investments, like the shop’s extensive list of OEM certifications, have not produced a clear answer on whether or not it was “worth it.” However, the gas catalytic drying equipment is not one of those cases. Fabel says it has been an invaluable part of the business. “It’s really efficient. It’s unique. It’s state of the art,” Fabel says. “I’m happy with the investment.”

Investing to Innovate From specialty equipment to certifications, Scott Fabel is willing to spend to help his operation stay ahead of the curve.

September 2021

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THE

F I NEST

AWARD A

LLISION REP

Polyvance congratulates Scott Fabel and the entire team at Fabel Repair & Collision Center for winning the 2021 Fender Bender Top Operator award! We are proud to be your partner for plastic repair.

"We repair a lot of big vehicles -- The Polyvance plastic welder is great for repairing the expensive and hard-to-get parts on RVs and coaches." - Scott Fabel

polyvance.com 800.633.3047

September 2021

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THE INTERVIEW

From cleaning the floors at his dad’s dealership as a child to celebrating 30 years in business, Scott Fabel’s career has been one based on near constant growth. As he reflects back, he shares the biggest lessons he’s learned. Your business is obviously really impressive; why has diversification always been so important to you? My idea was to make my business diversified so that the customers wouldn't have to shop for different services from different vendors. They could stop at my business and create the relationship from a long-term standing basis. That’s really what we’re trying to accomplish: having customers that stay with me for a long time. And so what we're really excited about is we actually still have customers that started with us 30 years ago and are still coming here today. You have so many certifications, including Tesla, which you just got. Take me through the thought process of that one, because one of the reasons that you were chosen was that ability of staying ahead of the game. How has it been so far? We’re one of the first ones in Wisconsin that got certified with Tesla so that we would capture more of that market ourselves. We felt that our market here is lacking in sophistication from the customer perspective, especially because the sophistication in the new cars right now is so critical. We wanted to show customers we were going to repair their cars correctly. Tesla, being one of the leaders on the electrical part of things, I felt it's very, very important that we stay up on the new vehicles coming out to the public. And potentially capitalizing on any sort of heavy-duty work from the EVs was also kind of in consideration for you there, right? Yes, definitely. That's in the forethought of it all is, if we’re centerfire in the Tesla cars, that would transcend right onto the heavyduty lines as these commercial vehicles are now entering the market with electric cars capabilities. We're ready for them to buy those vehicles and to take care of whatever needs they have with them. September 2021

HEAR THE FULL CONVERSATION WITH SCOTT AT FENDERBENDER.COM/ PODCASTS.

You've spent so much time in the light-duty and heavy-duty segments, so you’ve seen the differences and challenges of managing both. For people who maybe want to take that on, what tips would you give them? What I would say is don't be afraid of it. A lot of the shops just get a little bit intimidated, but what we realized last year with COVID was that diversification was really instrumental because a lot of the vehicles weren’t on the road and so claims went down quite a bit. Well, the trucks had to be on the road, delivering goods to us. So our commercial side kept the business strong and it didn't miss a beat. You're at the helm of all of this, and I know you're very much involved in everything that's going on. What have you learned about how to manage a bigger team and one that's doing a lot of different things? Well, what I have found is that giving the managers the freedom to lead is vital. It's allowed me to have more freedom to keep working on the business itself. At first, it was a big challenge because I'm so passionate about the business. As you trust them to fulfill your vision and your philosophy of running the business, it becomes easier. I'm very excited about the growth that we've had; this year we're up about 23 percent over last year.

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Congratulations Scott Fabel and the 2021 FenderBender Award Runners-Up!

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Fabel Repair & Collision Center on being chosen 2021 collision repair shop

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September 2021

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THE FENDERBENDER AWARD RUNNERS-UP Every year, the FenderBender team undertakes the arduous task of selecting its FenderBender Award winner. It's not an easy choice, thanks to the incredible nominations submitted by the industry. Included in FenderBender's final picks are runners-up David Caulfield and Helmuth Mayer, profiled on the following pages.

RUNNER-UP

Sharing in Innovation By MIKE MUNZENRIDER

CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN comes up as David Caulfield describes some of the thinking behind the design of his body shop. “People were amazed they got to see the pizza being made,” he says of the successful restaurant chain and its open kitchens. When it comes to Caulfield’s shop, Fix Auto Anaheim North, which brings in $4.8 million per year, similar thinking is at play in the shop’s design, where glass walls allow customers to see onto the shop floor. “Auto body, to a certain extent, is entertainment,” he says. “People are fascinated with the reconstruction of something.” So is Caulfield, a 2021 FenderBender Award runner-up. A self-described painter by trade, Caulfield entered the collision repair industry in the mid-’70s and by 1988 had opened his first shop, shortly thereafter becoming Fix Auto Network’s third franchisee. “I always wanted to be a shop owner and have my own shop—I craved it,” he says. “It was just the fascination with it and the passion, and taking something

September 2021

broken and fixing it, always focused on the task and not the money. I knew the money would come.” In a wide-ranging conversation with Caulfield, California Pizza Kitchen is just one of the many noncollision repair-lated businesses that comes up. He name-checks Best Buy for its use of departmentspecific customer service reps; Apple for the way it rolls out products; a fast food restaurant for its segmented service. “I’m fascinated with Wendy’s,” he says, describing how he learned after a trip through the burger joint’s drive-thru lane that the person who took his order was working thousands of miles away, a division of work he describes as separating the customer experience from the plant. Segmentation is vital, he says, because “you can go right to the problem and address it and not involve everyone.” Fix Auto Anaheim North, which Caulfield opened in 2018, is split between a specialized collision repair center and an express collision center.

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Double Time David Caulfield’s 25,000-square-foot shop houses both a specialized collision repair center and an express collision center.

He says it’s segmented between heavy and light work, with the aim of boosting efficiency for each type of job by separating those that are time-consuming from those that are not. “If you have a vehicle that has structural damage or the need for a welded panel, an extraordinary amount of mechanical work that needs to be done on the car, it’s going to tie up the smaller repair that takes zero to three days to fix,” he says, noting that roughly 85 out of 100 collisions don’t result in structural damage. “It’s no different than going through a drive-thru craving a hamburger,” he says, “but the person in front of you ordered a Thanksgiving dinner.” Caulfield’s division of work has resulted in the majority of his 25,000-square-foot shop being devoted to those structural and welded panel high-severity repairs, which have an ARO of $5,600 and a cycle time of 12.9 days. The remaining 4,500 square feet of the shop are devoted to low-severity repairs, which have an ARO of $2,200 and a cycle time of 4.6 days.

Quality is Perception

When not drawing inspiration from outside the industry, Caulfield is likely trying to spread information within it. The urge to do so goes back to his early experiences as a shop owner. “I used to go to other body shops and ask questions and they didn’t want to share,” he says. “I decided I would share my experiences so I could help [other operators], and maybe some day they’ll help me back.” By the late-’90s, Caulfield says the industry had changed as those within it started “seeing there was a benefit in being introduced to new ways and not being boxed-in in their business.” Building on that sharing economy, Caulfield has created a number of what he calls “inventions,” software and web-based applications that can help

September 2021

improve processes and efficiency, manage quality, and share shops’ KPIs. “David is a very high-level innovator,” says Jim Huard, owner of Painters Collision Centers, an Arizona startup, who has worked alongside Caulfield in collision repair and says he considers him a close friend. Huard says Caulfield is driven to improve the industry, doing it in a distinctive way, with fun and humor. “I just think he brings a different taste, I just don’t think there’s anybody out there who thinks or operates like him,” Huard says. When it comes to Caulfield’s shop, Fix Auto Anaheim North, Huard says it’s gorgeous, “one of the most modernized body shops I’ve ever seen.” He even brings it back to food, noting Fix Auto Anaheim North’s cleanliness. “Dave’s facility?” Huard says. “You could literally eat off the floor.” Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Caulfield says his shop employed a full-time housekeeping crew. “All they do is clean, morning to night.” Caulfield says that added level of sanitary assurance played out as a post-COVID spike in sales, simply because people felt safe at his facility. Perception is an important part of a customer’s experience, reminds Caulfield, who says he would have liked to become an interior or exterior designer had he not caught the collision repair bug. “Quality is not about the weld all the time,” he says. “Quality goes as far as what the customer’s perception of quality is.” It’s through that lens, perhaps, that Caulfield sees a possible future idea—Huard refers to it as a boutique-style body shop. “I envision one day that there’s no reason that collision repair and a dining experience couldn’t be put together,” says Caulfield. It’s hard not to wonder: Why not?

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RUNNER-UP

Find Your Niche

By MIKE MUNZENRIDER

H E L M U T H M AY E R WA S supposed to be a doctor—he even got into medical school. “I just decided not to attend,” says Mayer, a 2021 FenderBender Award runner-up whose varied career path has led him to excel as co-owner of five Dallas-Fort Worth-area Maaco locations, which last year generated $6.5 million in sales. He opened his first shop in 2017 and by this year had been awarded Maaco’s Syl Young Award, considered the brand’s highest recognition, named after one of its first franchisees. Mayer has some 50 employees and along with his silent partner, a veteran of the copart world, plans to open up to 15 more shop locations. And while the Maaco franchisee profile is varied, Mayer’s is unique. His med school path led him to an internship with GE Medical in Chicago, which turned into a job. Mayer says his next challenge was an MBA, which he completed while still with GE. With his master’s degree in hand, he landed a leadership role within the semiconductor industry; next was a nearly seven-year stint with Dave & Busters, the bar/arcade chain, in strategic leadership, a job he says he loved, though he eventually decided to make a go of it as his own boss.

‘We own our success.’

Mayer says he and his partner looked at many business models, but Maaco was the best fit for the sprawling DFW area, to which he’d relocated to be near family. He says they liked Maaco’s structure, as well as that of Driven

September 2021

Brands, on up to Driven’s holder, Roark Capital, which he says has a profile similar to other companies he’d followed. “We own our own success at a franchisee level,” he says, “but it’s so much easier that it has a corporate structure that’s supportive of and aligned to the right mission.” An admitted non-car guy who’s now half a decade into being an automotive business owner, Mayer says his strategic knowledge, skills, and ability honed in other industries would have served him well in any other field, and they’ve been effective in collision repair. His strategy for his shops in the coming years, he says, is to be very closely aligned with electric vehicles, especially as fleets become electrified. He says he’s going to do so by leveling up the training at his stores, seeking out necessary certifications, and through targeted investment. “I don’t want to touch any of it before we know we’re fully trained,” he says of the added complexities of working with high-voltage vehicles. “We want to be ahead of the curve when it comes to the ability to repair.” Mayer says he’s betting on a degree of specialization—being a string of Maaco franchises that have EVs cornered—for continued success. “To run a successful business in the automotive world, sometimes it just takes a niche,” he says. “Understand the changing of trends, and if you can get ahead of the trend and be an expert, that can typically lead you to success.”

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BEST-KEPT SECRETS FROM THE FENDERBENDER AWARD HONOREES Diversifying—even within a specialty—increases the resiliency of your business. Look for gaps in your market and develop a plan to capitalize on it. Find ways to organically integrate within your community. Building the culture you want should be a daily pursuit. Invest in your people—they’re your biggest asset. Looking outside the industry can be a valuable source of inspiration. Keep your eye on the future; being an early adopter often pays off in the long run.

September 2021

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GREAT

JOB!

Car-O-Liner® congratulates Scott and his team on being named the 2021 “Top Operator” in the country out of 45,000 collision repair shops. Fabel Repair & Collision Center sets the standard for impeccable customer service, commitment to excellence, and willingness to go above and beyond. We are proud to be your partner and look forward to your continued success!

Visit: CAR-O-LINER.COM to learn more. Call: 1-800-521-9696 September 2021

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Nov. 2-5, 2021

Starring Booth 31145 Upper Level South hall

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NEWS

Q U I C K

IDEAS

PEOPLE

TRENDS

F I X

BREAKDOWN

GM TOUTS REVISIONS TO POST-CRASH INSPECTION POLICIES

L A S T M O N T H , General Motors (GM) updated its post-crash inspection guidance documents for repairers. Instead of rigorous inspections after any accidents, the company now says checks are only required after “any collision that exceeds minor outer body panel cosmetic distortion.”

GETTY

Changes seen as kickoff to industry-wide trend By NOAH BROWN

September 2021

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QUICK FIX

TP/ PS

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ORMAT FRONT 3

REAR 0

REAR P265/70R17

SPARE P265/70R17

VEHICLE MFD. BY : SAMPLE MANUFACTURER 09 ⁄ 07 GVWR 3945LB GAWR FR 2130LB RR 1835LB TH I S VEHICLE CONFORMS TO ALL APPLICABLE FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY , BUMPER , AND THEFT PREVENTION STANDARDS IN EFFECT O N THE DATE OF MANUFACTURE SHOWN ABOVE. PASS. CAR 00000000000000000

C ⁄ TR:1F7 ⁄ FD14 ANT10L -ALPGKA A ⁄ TM: -01A ⁄ U241E MADE IN JAPAN

270

COLD TIRE PRESSURE SEE OWNERS 303kpa 44psi MANUAL FOR 303kpa 44psi ADDITIONAL 303kpa 44psi INFORMATION

WARNING

ROTATING SHAFTS ARE DANGEROUS

LIFTGATE HAZARDS CAN RESULT IN CRUSHING OR FALLING

YOU CAN SNAG CLOTHES, SKIN, HAIR, HANDS, ETC THIS CAN CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.

KEEP HANDS AND FEET CLEAR OF PINCH POINTS

– EXPOSED ROTATING SHAFTS MUST BE GUARDED.

– DO NOT WORK ON OR NEAR AN EXPOSED SHAFT WHEN ENGINE IS RUNNING.

– SHUT OFF ENGINE BEFORE WORKING ON POWER TAKE-OFF OR DRIVEN EQUIPMENT.

DO NOT PAINT OVER THIS LABEL!

MAXIMU M CAPACITY

2000 LBS.

IF RIDING LIFTGATE, MAKE SURE LOAD IS STABLE AND FOOTING IS SOLID

READ P.T.O. OWNERS MANUAL FOR MORE SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING

READ AND UNDERST AND ALL INSTRUCTIONS AND W ARNINGS BEFORE USE.

DANGER

WARNING Crush Hazard.

MA XIMUM 18”

Do not exceed maximum capacity of the liftgate. Overloading may cause sudden liftgate failure o r malfunction causing serious personal injury o r property damage. The maximum capacity of thi s lift is 969 kg or 2000 lb. when the load is centered no more than 18” from the hinge center line of the platform .

COMMERCIAL LABELS Kg

TOTAL 3

ATION FORM OL IN ONTR

ABZ

TIRE AND LOADING INFORMATION

SEATING CAPACITY

HEAVY TRUCK LABELS

The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 505 Kg or 1114 Lbs.

TIRE SIZE FRONT P265/70R17

Stay clear of raised cab.

00 0000

Before working under cab engage prop support. Falling cab may injure o r kill.

Do not paint over this label. Replace if damaged or lost.

N ATIO ORM AR 0 G INFONT 3 RE or 1114 Lbs.

VEHICLE EMISSION CONTROLINFORMATION

SION N EMIS MATIO e ICLE OR lin VEHROL INF Fuel: Gaso T CON

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Some have called the revisions a “scaling back” of the inspection procedures, but Mike Anderson of Collision Advice says that really doesn’t describe the changes well. “Some people have said, ‘Hey, maybe we went backward on this,’ but I don’t

SRS

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Revision Misunderstandings

UA TR T NT: EXT P BRK IN GP WB 4 114

The move has been a long time coming according to GM collision manager John Eck, who says the company has been in talks with the repair community for quite some time now about the state of their protocols. Eck says GM started the revision process in the first quarter of 2020. “We took that as direct feedback from the collision industry as to what they’re looking for in terms of additional help and support, and so we took advantage of that opportunity knowing it was going to be a big hurdle to overcome. We had a great team of people and a project leader who really carried the ball for us and helped us navigate those waters.”

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GETTY

think we did. Before, the statement was all-encompassing. Now it has parameters around it. So they didn’t change the inspection process, they just changed the circumstances around when the inspections need to be done,” Anderson says. “I don’t think they’ve sacrificed safety at all. If anything, because it’s less invasive, you don’t have to worry about whether you reinstall things properly or retorque things to the proper specs, all things that could be the result of human error. They haven’t compromised safety, they just put some common-sense logic around it.” Eck says the updates will help keep GM near the front of the pack in terms of having comprehensive and easy-to-use inspection guidelines following a collision. As the technology inside vehicles becomes more complex, so too do the necessary procedures that are in place to fix those vehicles. Not only has GM updated the content and guidelines for repairs but also the way in which that information is presented.

The Before and After

The old GM procedures were, essentially, long bullet-pointed checklists. The revised document now includes shaded 3D graphics, video elements and an overall more userfriendly workflow that Eck says “takes a look inside the engineers’ heads” to really get a good idea for the best repair practices for any specific incident. That, Eck says, isn’t just a “win-win,” but rather a “win-win-win-win” for the customer who gets repairs done more efficiently, the repairers who don’t have to wade through countless protocols for what could be minor damage, the insurers that don’t have to pay for the disassembly of a car that isn’t necessary, and for the OEM itself. “We’ve updated it to ensure that we’re giving the technician the appropriate measures they need to take to ensure a safe inspection. It’s a refinement of what you need to do and when you need to do it. It’s not a scaling back,” Eck says. “We’re not telling you that you can do a less-safe inspection; we’re

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QUICK FIX

Congratulations to CARSTAR owner Scott Fabel on your Operator of the Year Award!

just telling you, based upon the type of deployment, these are the minimum things that need to be inspected and replaced relative to the technology. We updated it based on the technology of the vehicle.”

The Beginning of a Trend?

GETTY

Anderson adds that the revisions GM made aren’t an isolated instance but will soon be an industry-wide trend. “There are two or three OEMs I’m talking to that I know are looking at their statements. They’re not saying they don’t need to be done, they’re just providing clarity as to when they need to be done. There still are some OEMs that have come back and said, ‘We still want it done, no matter how minor.’ And until somebody says something different, a shop still has the obligation to do that,” Anderson says. “I think it’s important to understand why (an inspection) needs to be done. Sometimes it’s just knowing why the engineer wants it done so we can be more educated about it.”

That education, Eck says, is a two-way street; while it’s important for repairers to know how an OEM has designed a vehicle and what it says are the proper steps for inspecting and repairing following a collision, it’s also important for that same OEM to listen to the repair community and make sure its protocols and guidelines are as effective and efficient as possible. “We, as an OEM, design, build and manufacture those vehicles, but we work very closely with the industry to make sure there’s repairability, that there’s a cost of ownership component and to make sure that our vehicles can be repaired,” Eck says. “It’s critical that we stay close to the industry, we get their feedback and we deliver to them the content, the information, the technical support that they need to repair our vehicles properly and safely, and that the customer and the vehicle are getting back on the road as they were designed to.”

September 2021 FabelCollisionAd.indd 1

46 2021-07-21 9:25 AM

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QUICK FIX

NUMBERS

THE ADVANTAGE OF ALL PARTS AT ONCE? A C C O R D I N G T O T H E 2021 FenderBender Industry Survey, roughly one-third of responding shops require all parts for a given job to arrive at once. Such a policy seems like it could lead to greater efficiency, though that isn’t borne out by the survey by any large KPI gains for that 30 percent of shops, including when it comes to supplement ratios, touch time, and keyto-key cycle time.

KEY-TO-KEY CYCLE TIME

Shops that require all parts at once

Shops that do not require all parts at once

18%

17%

11% 60%

September 2021

64%

13%

10%

Up to 4 days

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Up to 4 days

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Don’t track cycle time

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September 2021

Everybody Needs a Coach in Life by Micheal Burt

I F Y O U ’ V E H A D T H E C H A N C E to meet Doug’s Custom Paint and Body owner Doug Voelzke, you know his love for quotes. We mean that literally—Doug is a fountain of quotes, lessons from entrepreneurs, and even a poem or two. But those quotes aren’t hollow; they’re actually the words that Doug lives by and what makes him such a successful business person. Recently, he read Everybody Needs a Coach in Life by “super coach” Micheal Burt, a lifelong coach and former head women’s basketball coach. He has infused his coaching acumen with his business and entrepreneurial mindset. Burt embraces the concept of intense but, positive and brings a level of creativity, depth, and energy that very few coaches possess. He has the ability to cross over from the locker room to the board room and infuses ideas from both sport and business into each other’s arena in ways that only a championship coach can. Everybody Needs a Coach in Life takes three decades worth of coaching and condenses it into a book that can change the way you see every area of your life by someone that knows how to get the most out of you.

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THE LIST

THREE WAYS TO RAMP UP END-OF-SUMMER BUSINESS

By FENDERBENDER STAFF

N O W T H A T S C H O O L I S back in session, it’s possible that business is starting to get back to normal for you. But, if you’re still easing out of a slow season, that’s perfectly fine, says Megan Williams, managing partner of 3P Marketing Solutions and an all-around industry marketing expert. “Whenever I was in a shop, we tried to kind of capitalize on this time because we know once school is in session, things will be back to normal,” she says. “So, we really try to use this time to capitalize on sprucing up our buildings, doing some community outreach and marketing activities.” She offers three easy ways to not just get through those periods, but to also capitalize on them:

1) Spruce up the building.

2) Do some community outreach.

Take advantage of opportunities in your area to get out and meet your community. When Williams was the CMO of Lefler Collision, prior to its sale, every summer the team participated in events the local parks department hosted at places like the city pool. They brought in a grill and hot dogs and wore their Lefler Collision t-shirts and passed out food to the patrons of the pool.

She recommends calling up your parks department spokesperson or someone active within the community and simply asking about available opportunities.

3) Work on your culture.

If you haven’t already, now’s the time to start implementing culture-building initiatives. Celebrate employee birthdays and anniversaries, even if it’s simply a monthly celebratory lunch. “That’s a good way to at least get people together and do something where you know not every single person is going to eat lunch separately,” Williams says. If you can swing it, close the shop early on a Friday and all do an activity together (escape rooms were a big hit at Lefler) or host a chili cook-off. Williams says it’s not as much about what you do, but about providing opportunities for team members to bond.

UNSPLASH

Start by doing a deep clean of the building, including having everyone clean their bays. Then, power wash the concrete, have the

exterior of the building and the windows cleaned, refresh the flowers, etc. Also, do a sweep through your waiting room and make sure there aren’t any old magazines tucked away, the bathrooms are clean, and nothing is expired. In addition, Williams says if you’re not in the shops every day, make a point to take your location manager or administrative team and visit the shops to take a visual inventory.

September 2021

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ADAPT

CIC: TELEMATICS USAGE TO INCREASE RAPIDLY

Industry leaders agree consumer education is vital next step By NOAH BROWN

a telematics system is designed to take data from sensors and cameras and turn that into useful information for a driver, manager or repairer. It seems to make sense, then, that one of the largest conversations surrounding emerging telematics technologies in the collision industry focuses on communication. During a recent seminar hosted by the Collision Industry Conference, several experts in the field discussed not only how telematics systems should communicate with a driver, but also how insurers, OEMs and repairers should communicate with drivers about their telematics systems. IN VEHICLES,

The Rapid Acceleration

Scott Biggs, CEO of Assured Performance, likened the evolution of technology in vehicles more closely to the progression of cell phones than what the development of automobiles has been like in years passed. Telematics enables consumers to connect to their car, and most of the telematics

September 2021

will be an evolution like smart apps that are intuitive, automated and push information that will be useful, so long as there aren’t incumbents that control the data right now who put up roadblocks to progress. “When you have technology that can do a lot of things, there will be innovators…and it will become much more pervasive through everything, but it has to be intuitive,” Biggs says. “If it isn’t intuitive, people won’t use it.” Because of that, the panel agreed, the focus on emerging telematics in the collision industry should be on how customers are educated about their vehicles, what their telematics systems do and how they should operate in the event of an accident.

Winning the Customer

There are numerous of options that exist today that are built into your car and into your phone. In the case of an accident, are you getting notifications from your car, from your phone, from a specific app, or all of the above?

Many different tech companies are figuring out solutions through a variety of different ways to capture that info and to identify when an accident has occurred. Because of that, it can be hard for a customer to know where their data is being sent. “Telematics in the shop is a daily conversation with the customers. We need to have a process of educating the guest, letting them know what we’re doing to their vehicle,” says Rob Grieve, owner of Nylund’s Collision Center. Due to that lack of clarity, the field of telematics is almost like the Wild West. Biggs says the industry is still in the early stages of what telematics can do and how they can be used efficiently. OEMs, insurance companies and repairers all want to be the first to receive notification of damage and control where a car goes, but that isn’t always the best option for the driver. There is a push for customer-first practices, but Biggs says that needs to become more widespread. “There may be perceived competition right now about who gets first notice of loss, but we’re starting to see those lines blur,” he says. “Ultimately, the goal should be getting the consumer to a place where they can fix their vehicle and make that as easy as possible.”

Working Together

Instead of debating where the car goes first between themselves, all parties agreed that OEMs and insurance should work with the driver to make sure their vehicle gets to the right shop the first time, that they only have to have it towed once instead of multiple times and that the driver is assured their car is sent to the shop that is best equipped to fix it. Essentially, the ultimate goal should be to get the car back to the consumer as fast, efficiently and affordably as possible. “What if the consumer had the first notification of loss? What if telematics worked to make sure it told the customer their car is safe to drive and everything was in working order?” Biggs asks. “When that happens, it’s going to force insurers, repairers and OEMs to get on the same side and start fixing cars correctly. Then they can negotiate and argue about price. You have to unbuckle the ‘how to’ from the ‘how much.’ Proper repair is non-negotiable, and that will cure a lot of our industry’s problems.”

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PEOPLE | PRODUCTS | VEHICLES | IDEAS

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INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

LOR DATA REFLECTS RENTAL TROUBLES

By FENDERBENDER STAFF

ENTERPRISE RELEASED its quarterly length of rental by state report in mid-August. The data was highly anticipated with the current state of the rental market, which is experiencing a shortage nationally. The report found the average length of renta (LOR) was 13.2 for Q2 2021, an increase of 1.2 days compared to the same period last year. The increase was seen nationwide,

with only Michigan and Wyoming seeing slight declines. Similar to the overall numbers, replacement rentals associated with drivable claims had an average LOR of 11.5 days, up 1.2 days from Q2 2020. For rentals associated with non-drivable claims, average LOR in the U.S. was 18.7 days, an increase of 0.7 from Q2 2020.

U.S. Length of Rental by State — Q2–2021

Alabama

14.7

Louisiana

16.4

Ohio

12.6

Alaska

15.1

Maine

11.1

Oklahoma

15.4

Arizona

13.2

Maryland

12.4

Oregon

13.8

Arkansas

13.3

Massachusetts

14.7

Pennsylvania

12.5

California

13.5

Michigan

12.3

Rhode Island

14.8

Colorado

13.5

Minnesota

10.3

South Carolina

13.4

Connecticut

13.4

Mississippi

15.0

South Dakota

11.9

Delaware

12.6

Missouri

11.9

Tennessee

14.2

Florida

13.0

Montana

13.4

Texas

14.6

Georgia

14.8

Nebraska

11.2

Utah

12.1

Hawaii

11.8

Nevada

12.9

Vermont

11.8

Idaho

12.4

New Hampshire

12.5

Virginia

11.5

Illinois

11.5

New Jersey

13.1

Washington

12.0

Indiana

12.5

New Mexico

13.2

West Virginia

14.7

Iowa

10.6

New York

13.7

Wisconsin

10.8

Kansas

11.7

North Carolina

13.2

Wyoming

13.0

Kentucky

14.0

North Dakota

9.6

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September 2021

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QUICK FIX

SNAP SHOP

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September 2021

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1. KEEPING A 40-YEAR PROMISE

Jason Lisko, owner of Coachwork Auto Body, purchased the shop in 2016 after it had already been in business since 1980. For Lisko, he didn’t want to change a shop’s logo that had a strong local recognition. “Originally, the logo and name of the shop were chosen to link the shop back to horse-drawn coaches,” says Lisko. But Lisko wanted the logo to mean something more than a historical image to his customers, so he set out to work to be the best collision shop he could be. “To our customers, the logo stands for a reputable shop that does great work and comes highly recommended,” says Lisko. This was the brand that Lisko wanted to buy into and further strengthen.

2. COMMUNICATING YOUR WORTH

Because of what the logo represents, Lisko wanted to put it everywhere a customer could see it. Above doors, on the floors, and visible from the road that the shop rests on. When Lisko first took over the shop, he was surprised by how many people said that they didn’t know there was a collision repair shop in the area. Lisko set out to remedy that issue. “The most important change to the outside of the shop that I made after taking over, was adding a sign that can be seen from the state road,” says Lisko. The sign ensures that everyone driving through the area knows the Coachwork name and logo.

3. CONVEYING CONFIDENCE THROUGH CARE

“We have been fortunate enough to work on newer and high-end vehicles,” says Lisko. “For that reason, we wanted our waiting room to look modern.” Lisko ripped out the suspended tile ceiling, replaced two walls with old barnwood, and stained his logo into the polished concrete floor. “If your waiting room looks like it’s from the ‘70s, it really calls into question the repairs taking place on the shop floor,” says Lisko. To Lisko, you are selling your shop’s repairs the moment the customer walks in the door.

4. USING BEST PRACTICES

“Our shop floor is organized like many others,” says Lisko. “But two elements really make it stand out.” The first is the video camera and computer that they use to tape every aspect of a new car, not just the damaged areas. “Nobody inspects their car more than when they get it back from a collision shop,” says Lisko. “And many times they might not have realized that they had little scrapes and nicks.” For this reason, Lisko’s shop documents the whole vehicle so they aren’t on the hook for damage that they didn’t cause and that had nothing to do with the collision. “This equipment has easily paid for itself 100 times over,” says Lisko. The second element is a brand new GFS paint booth that is 30 feet long and has high ceilings. “The booth has allowed us to service sprinter vans and trucks,” says Lisko. “Not a lot of shops can do this because of the space requirements.”

September 2021

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COLUMNS

THE BIG IDEA

From Start to Freedom The five stages of a growing shop Body shop owners and their shops go through five distinct development stages: 1. Creation: The vision stage, also known as the honeymoon stage 2. Chaos: The “What have I gotten myself into?!” stage 3. Control: The “order out of chaos” stage 4. Prosperity: The “I own a business, not a job!” stage 5. Freedom: The “Let the good times roll!” stage

JILL MATTHEWS

According to business writer Eric Dombach, these stages are predictable whether you are launching a new shop or a second (or third, etc) location. In this column, I want to look at the Creation Stage. For those of you who have graduated out of this stage, congratulations! But, keep in mind it’s a good idea to occasionally check the foundation—if there’s a crack in the foundation, now is the time to shore it up. Stage 1: Creation This is the stage where you don’t know what you don’t know. This is the dreaming stage. You don’t want to rush this stage and try to get down to the “real work.” No, this is a time to let your imagination go. This is a time before you launch to dream big. There are several things you want to accomplish during this stage. First, it’s important to establish your “Why?” Why are you going into business in the first place? Maybe you got sick of working for someone else who didn’t treat you right. Maybe you worked for someone else and you just know you can do better. While not a bad place to start, these are negative reasons. Is it about money? Freedom? What happens when you have achieved the money and the freedom? Then what? This is where you start to peel the onion of what you really want. What is your vision for this business, the big picture? How will it stand out from the hundreds of other shops? To do this really well requires both time alone and also the input of wise and trusted advisors. This is also the time to name not only your vision but also your values. What will you stand for? What will you not stand for? What do you do better than anyone else in the world? I used to think that with all the big competitors I didn’t have a lot to offer. The more I thought about it, though, I realized the opposite was true! My Big Box competitors didn’t really care about the neighborhood I was in the way I did. When I started in this industry, our first shop was in

September 2021

my neighborhood. We weren’t perfect but I fought hard to make sure we did right by every customer. Why? Because they were literally my neighbors! I had to face them on an everyday basis. I didn’t want to go grocery shopping and run into someone whose car I didn’t fix right and have to look him or her in the eye knowing I didn’t do a good job. As you define your values you’re also starting to create your culture. The culture of your business is what sets it apart from other shops. It’s the vibe, the unspoken reality that everyone knows but can’t quite put their finger on. There have been some really helpful resources developed recently that can help with the Creation Stage. Michael Hyatt’s book, The Vision-Driven Leader: 10 Questions to Focus Your Efforts, Energize Your Team, and Scale Your Business is a very approachable, actionable guide to clarifying your vision. In this book he discusses how to develop a vision script, a 3-5 page document that serves as a tangible, useful guide for your business. I also like to recommend the book Traction by Gino Wickamn. This book and the coaches in his wider organization have great tools to guide the vision and values creation stage but also simple ways to keep them alive and regularly reviewed as businesses scale. The most important thing you can do at this stage is to really understand and develop your USP, your unique selling proposition. What is it that you can do better than anyone else in your region? Is there one of those that you excel at? Is there a combination of those or even something completely different that sets you apart from your competition? This is something that needs to be front and center. It becomes your brand promise and the thing that everything else gets measured by. This is my dad’s 50th year in this industry. I’m proud of this milestone in our business! Dad’s USP many years ago was centered on speed. When a local dealership asked him to repair and paint a used car they wanted to sell, he repaired, painted, detailed and got it back to them in one day. Amazingly, he was able to do this all by himself with no other team members! They couldn’t believe he did it so they gave him another one and guess what? He did it again! Then again. And again. Eventually he had business cards printed up for “Gary’s Paint and Body” with the tagline “Same-day repairs.” And with that USP, our family got started in this industry in 1971. From those humble beginnings, we now have grown to seven shops between my dad, my sister and myself.

K E V I N R A I N S is the owner of Rains CARSTAR Group with locations in Cincinnati, Ohio, West Chester, Ohio and Lexington, Ky. He is also an industry consultant with Fire Capitals.

EMAIL:

kevinrains@gmail.com

ARCHIVE:

fenderbender.com/rains

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LEARN

GROW

WORK SMARTER

S T R A T E G Y

TECH+TOOLS

STEP UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

You’ve got the basics down, now it’s time to master it By PAUL HODOWANIC

social media for digital marketing firm Wpromote. It opens up opportunities to stand out from the competition and if done right, can exponentially increase your reach. So, what are some social media strategies to consider once you’ve mastered the basics? D’Altorio and Katie Smith, co-owner and social media manager of Rick’s Paint

and Body in Martinez, Ga., share their tips on how to take your social media account to the next level.

Make it a habit.

D’Altorio often sees a trend pop up with new social media accounts. In the first couple weeks and months, the company frequently posts unique and engaging GETTY

HAVING AN ADEQUATE social media presence has become a near necessity for any business. It helps create a community with your customers, connect with the younger generation and broaden your reach. But advancing a social media account from “adequate” or “good enough” can greatly expand a businesses earning potential, says Darren D’Altorio, head of

September 2021

fenderbender.com

content. But as the time drags on, the luster and excitement that was evident in the beginning begins to fade. As a result, the posts become less engaging and most importantly, more infrequent. “The No. 1 thing that takes an account from foundational to more advanced is the consistency factor,” D’Altorio says. It will start with daily posts, then go to three times per week, then once per week and quickly weeks and months can go by without posting. A commitment to consistency is required. D’Altorio recommends keeping a calendar that documents what you’re posting and when you’re posting. That consistency will be rewarded. The small amounts of engagement will build on itself and grow. But without building the habit of consistency, a larger, more fruitful social media presence won’t be attainable. Smith tries to post at least three times per week, if not every day. She doesn’t necessarily keep a formal calendar, but she remains committed and social media is always top of mind. For her that means doing research, googling different things to find information and ultimately getting creative. Devoting time and resources into that research process has been important and it has led to her to grow her shop’s Facebook account from 200 followers to 2,000 over the last two years.

Cater to the algorithms.

Another reason to develop consistency is to take advantage of the social media algorithms. Every social media platform has an algorithm that determines where, when, and if a certain post will show up on a user’s feed. Understanding what the algorithm is looking for and catering to it is a great way to elevate your company’s social media accounts, D’Altorio says. For “story” content, the most important part of the algorithm is views. Building video-based, information-rich content is likely to draw the most attention. The more you can get people to view the story, the more likely it is to show up at the front of someone’s story feed, he says. For all other types of posts, a “new speed” algorithm is used, D’Altorio says. This is the basic Facebook and Instagram post, tweet or LinkedIn post. The top two factors that algorithm is looking for are comments and saves/bookmarks, with

September 2021

likes being a distant third. “The importance of likes has greatly depreciated,” he says. So when you’re building a post, consider those factors. What content can be posted that will draw in tons of comments? Or what resource could you create that will lead to people bookmarking or sharing the post? For collision repair, that could be creating a checklist that lets people know the steps they should take right after getting into an accident. Then include a call to action like, “save this,” “bookmark this,” or “send this to your 16-year-old who just got their license.” “It’s thinking about what the audience needs most,” D’Altorio says.

Use hashtags wisely.

Hashtags don’t have the importance and reach that they did even three or four years ago, D’Altorio says, but they can still be valuable. However, posts shouldn’t have endless amounts of hashtags that take up two or three lines of text. To D’Altorio, that can appear “spammy” and it looks like the account is trying too hard. Instead, he suggests limiting to no more than five hashtags per post. Each hashtag should be thought through, not just a spur of the moment decision. “If you’re going to use hashtags as part of your ongoing social media strategy, you’ve got to make sure you’re consistent with those too. Find the ones that resonate with you and your audience the most and use the same ones over and over again,” D’Altorio says. Then, when users click on the hashtag, your posts will be littered throughout the page and increase the likelihood that it’s clicked on. Smith uses hashtags on every post, including #letricksbeyourfix. It’s the shop’s brand, and by using it as a hashtag it furthers the brand. D’Altorio recommends this approach, which he says helps centralize the shop and its community. By using the hashtag and encouraging customers to use the hashtag, it creates a sense of community. It’s also unique and different from basic hashtags that may be used by the other companies in the industry.

Create disruption.

Smith has noticed that if she posts a series of serious informative posts, they rarely

Debunking a Social Media Myth One big misconception of the social

media algorithm is that there is a best time of day to post, D’Altorio says.

“It doesn’t matter what time of day

you post anymore,” he says. “That’s dated thinking.”

Social media feeds have gone

away from the chronological order

timeline. Posts are now ordered be-

cause of factors like comments and shares. There is no longer a need to

post within a specific time window or

day. Focus on those factors, not time of day, D’Altorio says.

generate high engagement. However, if she posts several goofy and lighthearted videos and photos with a serious post sprinkled in, the serious post often gets much more engagement in that scenario. “The more I can get people on my page commenting and interacting, then it’s going to pop on their screen when I do serious stuff,” she says. That strategy is one D’Altorio suggests often for his clients, and it’s what he calls “pattern disruption.” As he explains, if an account starts to get predictable with similar posts at similar times, the user will begin to tune out. “Their attention is going to diminish with every single post. They know what to expect. The human brain is really good at filling in blanks,” he says. By switching it up and being unpredictable, the user will not know what to expect and will lead them to be more engaged, he says.

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STRATEGY

IDEA SHOP

HOW TO MAKE YOUR ONBOARDING ORDERLY

J U S T H O W W E L L DO you know your employees? According to Jared Rosenthal, CEO of StaffGlass, a digital company that helps small- and medium-sized businesses onboard staffers, assuming

September 2021

you know everything about your people is one of the areas in which body shops can slip up. “I know my guys; these guys are fine,” he says, mimicking the mindset of certain shop owners. “That’s the

biggest [mistake]— just making that assumption.” Employing people without proper vetting, Rosenthal says, can open up your shop to liability should things go sideways—a staffer steals a car, or

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GETTY

Background checks and paperwork—it’s best to have a process in place

Rosenthal says having SOPs in place for onboarding can save shops from headaches later, and he knows a thing or two about solid onboarding—StaffGlass aims to ease the onboarding process by housing all the needed documents in the cloud, while making it easy for employees to upload their information and schedule needed The bottom line when it comes to onboarding, he says, is to treat everybody the same and have uniform practices. Here’s more from Rosenthal on the importance of the process. As told to M I K E M U N Z E N R I D E R

Have an onboarding plan.

Dealing with the HR work is a headache but it’s one of those things that you have to do. Having procedures in place or using StaffGlass makes your onboarding less prone to errors and can put everything in the same place. The easier and the faster you can make it the better. Know what documents need to be filled out and what forms of identification you need from new hires by contacting your state’s department of labor; you’ll also want to create procedures tailored to your shop, like what situations will prompt you to perform background checks.

Perform checks that make sense.

worse, gets into a physical confrontation with a customer. Background checks and drug testing are just one aspect of the onboarding process, which Rosenthal defines as the time between the decision to hire an employee and when that person shows up for their first day of work. It involves collecting that person’s personal information, having them fill out the appropriate tax forms, and performing checks and tests that line up with the type of work they’ll be doing at your shop.

September 2021

If you don’t run a background check or drug test you’re just taking risks you don’t need to take. You don’t need to take a blanket approach, though, you want to tailor the background check to the job that you’re hiring the person to perform. If the person is going to be driving cars, check their driving record. Look out for grand theft auto on their criminal record—you want to know about that before you have a real problem with a client.

Drug tests should make sense too.

As far as drug testing goes, consider some of the same things you would for the background check. Are they driving? Will they

be operating heavy equipment? Have them tested.

First impressions make a difference.

While the benefits of reducing liability are obvious, there are others that come from an orderly onboarding process. It’s how you present yourself and your business to future employees, showing them you’re professional. First impressions make a difference, even with the people you’re hiring, it can immediately affect how they see the company. That’s a benefit to that new employee, too.

It’s all about avoiding ‘negligent hiring.’

We work with a number of high-end dealerships and they’re the model for how rigorous you can get with background checks— they’re determined to put their best foot forward for clients who will interact with their employees. A technician who doesn’t deal with the public might not need as thorough a check. If you don’t run a background check on people, here’s what can happen. Let’s say a guy you didn’t check steals a car and the owner of the car sues your shop. That person’s lawyer is going to ask, “Did you run a background check on that guy?” In that case, you’re toast, because of the doctrine of “negligent hiring.” It’s so easy to run the background check that you’re negligent not to do it, and can be held liable. We also help companies with post-accident drug tests. You want to make sure everything is on the up and up if someone gets hurt on the job. The best companies are avoiding these types of situations by making sure they’re screening.

Consistency is the message.

The bottom line is to have an onboarding procedure in place and don’t break it, even if you’re hiring family. Employees know when others are getting away with something, and they also appreciate when everybody is held to the same standards. Consistency is the message—nobody likes to feel like they’re singled out—and a consistent approach matters because it increases mutual respect.

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PROCESS DRIVEN

19 Years and Counting Insight into a very difficult decision I’m coming to you from a different

perspective this month: I’m no longer a shop owner. Well, that’s a little dramatic because I’m still involved with my shops but earlier this summer, I sold my shops to Classic Collision in a move that surprised even me. I mean, I’m 42 years old. Retirement felt far off; I thought I’d tackle that when I was 62 or something. So how did I get here? It’s been beyond interesting and also the right thing for us to do, so I wanted to break it all down for you over the next few columns so you can get an inside look. To start, here’s something you need to know about me: I’ve always taken the approach that, if we’re not growing, then we’re dying. In business, I was never going to be content with the status quo. It was always, what’s next? What’s next? That’s been one thing after another and most recently last year, it was buying our competitor out right in the middle of COVID-19. The whole thing was crazy and we didn’t hit our projection with the new acquisition, but we were still up $1 million in sales last year, which is awesome. At the end of 2020, we got approached by one of the consolidators. It wasn’t a deal that I was interested in but it got my wheels turning. If they’re interested in me, they’re surely interested in others in my market, which means they’re coming. Do I need to have that on my radar? I’ve made it through a lot as a business owner. I started at a super young age with a very, very small business—I never should have made it. Like, I would never advise someone in my situation to do what I did. But I got lucky there and I made it. Then I

September 2021

made it through a financial crisis, a massive earthquake in 2018, a health crisis, and finally, COVID. I’ve rolled the dice a lot of times here. But the other major, major factors happened when I closed on my last deal in March. The bank told me, “Look, it’s going to be a while before we fund anything for you. You’re just a single guy that isn’t part of some big corporation. You’ve got a lot of money out in real estate; you just need to really, really get this real estate paid off before we talk about more deals.” Well, at the size of real estate we’re talking about, it’s 20 years down the road before it’s going to be paid off. I had the realization of, all right, well now I have to take a different approach. If we’re going to continue to grow, I’m not going to be able to deal with traditional, SBA and bank loans. And I really, really did not like that idea. It was just kind of shocking for me to have the realization of, you’re probably as big as you’re going to get without a different way of funding. Either you have to partner or somehow raise venture capital money. That kind of got my mind going and, and that’s when we ended up talking to Classic Collision and they came up with a deal for me that really made sense. They just came across totally differently than anyone else we’d actually been approached at this point—which has been a lot over the years, by the way. That’s where I’m going to leave you for now, because next month we’re going to get into how you know if a seller is a good match for your business. As you may have guessed, I’m in the fortunate spot to have found a great fit.

R YA N C R O P P E R is the Alaska regional director for Classic Collision, formerly Able Body Shop.

EMAIL:

rcropper@ablebodyshop.com

ARCHIVE:

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OMAR ASSEF

STRATEGY

September 2021

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CASE STUDY

INCREASING YOUR LABOR RATES

Fixing the labor rates starts simple By PAUL HODOWANIC

A T T H E C E N T E R O F T H E push-and-pull relationship between insurers and collision repair shops is the ongoing fight over labor rates. Shops wanted to be charged more for their work, but just can’t seem to get the rate to rise. Dino DiGiulio, owner of two CARSTAR locations in Sonoma and Suisun, Calif., believes the issue stems from a lack of knowledge and communication within the industry. “It’s one of those subjects we don’t talk about, but we need to be,” says DiGiulio, owner of two CARSTAR locations in Sonoma and Suisun. “In all the auto body association meetings we have, we never talk about dollars, we just say to make sure the rates are posted.” DiGiulio is one of the success stories in the industry, having brought his rate up to the second-highest level in the entire country through persistence and aggression.

The Backstory

For as long as DiGiulio has been in the industry, labor rates have been an issue. He remembers attending association meetings in the late 1980s and early 1990s when he was in his early 20s and senior shop owners were struggling with how to increase rates. Many of those same conversations are still ongoing across the industry today, but not for DiGiulio, at least as it relates to his shop.

The Problem

DiGiulio recognized a low labor rate was leading to unethical repairs, consistent turnover, an overall lack of interest in the industry by young talent and unstable financial operations across the industry. And it hasn’t changed. Some shops are

September 2021

CARSTAR BODY BEST COLLISION OWNER:

DINO DIGIULIO

SHOP LOCATIONS:

SONOMA AND SUISUN, CALIF.

STAFF SIZE:

7 (SONOMA), 4 (SUISUN)

SHOP SIZE (IN SQUARE FEET):

8,500 (SONOMA), 6,000 (SUISUN)

AVER AGE MONTHLY CAR COUNT:

70 (SONOMA), 25 (SUISUN)

ARO:

$4,500 (SONOMA), $2,800 (SUISUN)

TOTAL ANNUAL REVENUE:

$2.2 MILLION (SONOMA), $800,000 (SUISUN)

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STRATEGY

back in the 1990s, he remembers deciding he wanted to try and raise them. So, he asked for $90. That’s what the local general repair shop was charging and DiGiulio knew he was doing more complex work. While he knew it would never be raised that dramatically, that quickly, it’s what he believed they should be getting paid and over time he believed it would climb to where it needed to be. The next year his rates went from $47 to $58. It’s been increasing ever since. “Look at what mechanics are doing in your area and that should be the lowest rate you ask for,” he says. “Ask for a lot. Ask for what you need.” Nowadays, DiGiulio only asks for a 3 or 4 percent increase in rates from the previous year to keep up with inflation. He has gotten zero pushback from the carriers throughout his experience.

The Aftermath

Solutions

Take the surveys. DiGiulio’s secret to increasing rates isn’t a secret at all. It’s in front of every shop owner, he says.

September 2021

“You need to be doing the surveys from the insurance carriers,” he says. Di Guilio says he talks to too many shops who don’t do training, don’t take I-CAR classes or go to conferences. Because of that, they just assume they can’t do anything about the rates so they shouldn’t take the survey. Or in the survey, they should report a low labor rate in order to get an account and be viewed positively by insurance companies. “They want a bunch of work in the shop but they don’t know how to get it,” he says. “So they fill out the survey and put a really low rate in order to get the account. That’s not how it works.” If shops post lower rates with hopes of getting accounts that will only hurt the industry at large, he says. Be aggressive. When DiGiulio’s rate was in the $40 range

The Takeaway

Taking the surveys honestly and being aggressive and adamant about the labor rates that you need is pivotal. And it’s pivotal that you get other shops involved. One shop isn’t going to successfully raise its rates without the help of many others. Encourage your local competitors to fill out their surveys and report similar results to your own, DiGiulio says. “It’s going to take all of us to band together,” he says. “If only 35 percent fill out the surveys, it’s going to take a long time for us to move it nationwide.”

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OMAR ASSEF

still stuck around a $40 labor rate that was common when DiGiulio first entered the business in 1988. “How about we just get paid honestly to do the work right?” he thought. The problem for DiGiulio and the rest of the industry has been how to make that happen. According to the 2021 FenderBender Industry Survey, 15 percent of respondents said low labor rates were the “single biggest challenge facing collision repair shop operators today,” ranking it as the third most cited issue behind a shortage of qualified technicians (30 percent) and “insurer influence on the repair process” (23 percent).

When DiGiulio entered the industry, the first shop he worked at had a labor rate in the low $40 range. Now his shop charges $120 for body and paint, $55 for paint materials and $155 for mechanical and structural work from State Farm. His lowest rates are around $110. That allows his shop to be competitive with other trades and he can worry only about if the job was done right and not if they didn’t get enough hours approved to make the finances work. DiGiulio also has his own Facebook group where he gives advice to shops looking to increase their rates. DiGiulio believes a raise in rates has helped the shop attract talent. He attributes part of the technician shortage to the low labor rates, which keeps the technician pay lower. If the shop’s rates can go up, technicians can get paid more and the industry will be more desirable.

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STRATEGY

LEADERSHIP

CONSULTANTS: STILL RELEVANT TODAY

I N T H E A G E O F massive conglomeration in the collision repair industry, many shop owners are left wondering what they can do to keep a competitive edge. There are many solutions that could capture the attention of a shop owner, but a much slept-on option is hiring a professional business coach to help your organization.

Coaches and consultants can keep you accountable to your goals By C A L E B B R O O K S

September 2021

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But is hiring a business coach still a worthwhile investment? Or has the time passed for this tool’s success? This is where John Waters, CEO of Waters Business Consulting Group, enters the conversation. Waters offers his insight on the good that a business coach or consultant still offers a business owner.

What are the differences between a coach and other solutions?

While many other solutions aim to grow a collision repair shop, none quite compete with what a business coach brings to the table, says Waters. “Many solutions require the business owner to manage their own commitment to what they are working on improving,” says Waters. But in his more than a decade of experience, Waters has discovered that attempts to grow your shop often fall to the wayside without the proper accountability mechanisms in place. “The greatest advantage that a coach offers you is how they will hold your shop accountable to your goals,” says Waters. Waters says that every client wants a roadmap of how to achieve their goals. But if you just gave them the map and left, most of the time they wouldn’t stick to it. Waters uses the DISC behavioral assessment to classify people that he encounters. Most times Waters finds that the entrepreneurial types are “high D” or “dominant” on the profile. “Simply put, this means that entrepreneurs get distracted easily, don’t focus on the details, and want to jump to the next things before the previous are done,” says Waters. Consultants and coaches are able to provide an objective and accountable voice that will keep business owners on the roadmap.

What makes a coach a good fit for your shop?

When a shop is looking to hire a coach or consultant, there are so many options that the process can become overwhelming. “An important part of this process is to find a coach that really meshes well with your organization,” says Waters. “It will make the process much easier.”

September 2021

When looking for a professional business coach or consultant, Waters says that the most important thing is ensuring that their core values are aligned with your shops. If you have spent a few years building a particular culture, imagine what hiring someone who goes against the culture would do to your team. “Much of the decision should also be largely based on whether or not the personality and character of the consultant really meshes with how you want them to act,” says Waters. Waters also goes on to say that the experience of the coach is also very important. The coach or consultant should have an extensive history with entrepreneurship. “You don’t want someone who just worked a corporate job,” says Waters. “You want someone who has started businesses, failed, tried again, and experienced the ups and downs of owning your own business.”

What does the process look like?

The process really only contains three steps, says Waters. The first step is working with the owner to identify their goals. The second is analyzing the business and the third step is creating a strategic implementation plan. “The first step is the easiest,” says Waters. “You just need to have a candid conversation with the shop owner about where they want to be in the future.” These goals can take on a variety of forms. They can be efficiency based, customer based, but most shop owners base them on achieving a certain amount of revenue, says Waters. Conducting an Analysis “Any good consultant, before creating a plan to achieve the goals, will do a full analysis on the entire business they are working with,” says Waters. Waters gives the example of going to the doctor. If the doctor says that he or she needs to remove the spleen only after talking to the patient for 15 minutes, how could he or she definitively know that? “But if the doctor conducts an MRI and then says the same thing, then the

patient knows it is a good decision,” says Waters. “Working as a coach is similar to that process.” The analysis typically includes a look at financial performance, transactions, average repair order, or marketing strategies. Really anything that the business has been doing in the past. Only after these steps have been executed can the coach move on to creating a plan or roadmap to achieving their goals. Creating a Roadmap “This typically looks like creating a financial forecast model for the business; this is essentially a scorecard for how the business is doing,” says Waters. This step is essentially calculating the amount of transactions needed to get the business to their sales goal, says Waters. “Then it entails identifying the systems, processes, people, and marketing strategy to get them there,” says Waters.

What are the benefits of hiring a coach?

“I can’t speak for other consulting firms, but I can speak to what my firm does for our clients,” says Waters. Usually clients sign up for services on a month to month basis. Waters typically sees that people who use his firm stay signed on for a couple of years. Very broadly, clients that use Waters’ firm will reap back 10 to 15 times what they invested in the coaching and consulting services. Anecdotally, Waters recounts a success story of someone who used his services. “We took on a client doing $2.7 million in sales and an 8 percent operating income,” says Waters. “When we were done with them, they topped over $10 million and a 16 percent operating income.” Waters’ firm boasts a large portfolio of businesses that accomplished the same success as the last one. The businesses they work with see an increase in efficiency, decreased stress on managers and owners, and much better margins, says Waters. “Typically our clients will double their businesses within 18 to 24 months of signing on with my firm,” says Waters.

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COLUMNS

IN THE TRENCHES

Lessons from the Islands There’s much to be gleaned from the aloha spirit

JOE GRETO

I always count it a privilege and a treat

to travel to the Hawaiian Islands. Many of you know that my son and his wife live on Oahu and being able to spend time with “Ohana” gives us the perfect excuse to travel to Hawaii as often as we possibly can. You may also know that I have many colleagues that own and operate terrific body shops in Hawaii. Places like Island Fender, Oka’s, and Kuroda’s on Oahu and Auto Body Hawaii on Big Island are some of the best-run operations and operators you will ever meet. The men and women that operate these shops deal with a tremendous amount of adversity and numerous challenges like those that you and I experience sometimes, but they deal with it on an exponentially larger scale. For example, if you need a new tech to augment your team, your resources are vast in comparison to the islands. On the Islands, the cost of living is high, and technicians are scarce because of this. In many cases, it turns out that the body shops support and finance the student tuition and supply tools and equipment so the programs can remain viable. Are you having challenges with back-ordered parts? Well, what would you do if you were faced with two- to three-week lead times on all parts orders, like the folks in Hawaii experience every single day? Over there, if a part is not in stock, it is coming on a slow boat from the Mainland or Japan. These operators have created solutions for the challenges they face, and they are an inspiration to me when it comes to dealing with the challenges I encounter in the business. They are the true epitome of the “aloha spirit” when it comes to helping us Haole’s on the Mainland. Lesson No. 1 is do not be afraid to enlist the help of a mentor to help you find a way to go over, around, or through your challenges. On a recent trip to Hawaii, I observed some other interesting ways that businesses and individuals are coping with and overcoming the challenges of our new normal environment. Once we had booked our flights and lodging, it was time to reserve a rental vehicle. We planned to stay on Kauai, which is a small and sparsely populated island, but some of the sights we wanted to see and expe-

September 2021

rience were somewhat far from the place we were staying. So, just like we always had in the past, I contacted the rental car companies that have offices on the island, only to learn that not a single company had vehicles to rent. They were either completely booked, or they had moved their fleet to neighboring islands during the pandemic. We started thinking we were going to end up riding the public bus or paying $175 per ride on Uber or Lyft whenever we ventured away from our condo. A week out from our departure, I brought up this rental car predicament to my son. He told me to sit tight, and he would ask around on the coconut telegraph to see if there were any alternative solutions. A few days later, we had a full-size SUV lined up for us to use, courtesy of a local that had a spare vehicle and was willing to rent it out. Lesson No. 2 is do not be afraid to enlist the help of family and friends when you need help going around, over or through your challenges. Toward the end of our trip to the Islands, we decided to have some Pupu’s and an adult beverage at one of our favorite restaurants in SALT at Our Kaka’ako. We were delighted to see that our restaurant was open and vibrant, even though capacity limits kept occupancy at half of normal. We were also happy to see the establishment was fully staffed with young, energetic, and smiling service staff. There was a large empty table at the corner of the restaurant with a “reserved” sign on it, but soon I started to see service staff moving over to the table and sitting down. After a short period of time, there were 10 staff members at the table and then the manager came to the table and joined them. I am pretty sure it was a start-of-shift team huddle where staff learned about the chef specials, catch of the day, restaurant events, etc. One unique thing I noticed was that every team member passed around a non-contact thermometer and checked the temperature of their neighbor. The team members behaved casually but carefully during this testing process. They were peaceful, calm, and even sometimes playful with each other as they passed the thermometer around.

I do not know how other businesses are handling mandatory temperature tests for employees that are arriving to work, but I guess I pictured some sort of lineup outside of the business where managers with rosters on clipboards herded employees into a temperature test check point before allowing them into the workplace. I asked the manager how they came up with the process for temperature testing. He said, “the team came up with it.” It was enlightening and gratifying to see how the staff at the restaurant handled mandatory testing. Here, the lesson for me was, do not be afraid to enlist the help of your team to come up with the processes and solutions that get you around, over and through challenges and unpleasant tasks. I trust that when you travel for pleasure, you can disconnect from the “day-to-day” of your work, but what I also hope is that your genuine curiosity allows you to learn lessons from whatever and whoever you encounter on your journey.

S T E V E M O R R I S is regional director for Classic Collision of California. He is an Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) and ASE-certified master technician.

EMAIL:

stevem@prideautobody.com

ARCHIVE:

fenderbender.com/morris

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COLUMNS

OUTSIDE THE LINES

Good Cop, Bad Cop The key to lasting change dle of the night when there’s no traffic in the road? Did you stop? Of course you did. What if the red light sat red for several minutes; would you eventually drive through? The reason we stop at red lights and stop signs, even when there is no traffic, is twofold. First, we know there could be a police officer lurking nearby waiting to write us a ticket. The second reason is the knowledge that if we, along with everyone else on the road, sticks to the same traffic rules, we are all better off (with the exception of the collision repair industry, of course, which benefits when people don’t obey traffic laws). I’m sure in your collision center you have all kinds of rules to be followed as well, or processes you’ve implemented to benefit all the stakeholders. The question I have is, how often do you have to reinforce those rules to make sure they are followed? I went to DCR systems in Ohio for a two-day interactive class. If you have never heard of DCR, they are less a body shop and more of a system that takes damaged vehicles and turns them into preloss condition. They are the most process-centered shop I’ve ever seen. During the class, we asked the CEO Michael Giarrizzo Jr. how long it would take for the employees to stop following the processes if they weren’t reinforced. He thought for a bit and then told us it would take about eight hours before it would start to fall apart! We were shocked by his answer and gave him a second opportunity to answer the question. After thinking it over for a minute and admitting he was wrong, he changed his answer to six hours. I have fallen into the trap many times that once we implement a new system or process, it will stick and become second nature. I can’t count how many times I’ve been wrong on that one. I believe there are two main reasons that processes or procedures don’t stick. The first one, just like the traffic laws, is that there is a lack of enforcer. If no one is around to point out when we don’t stick to the “rules of play” we’ve designed for our company, then no one will continue to follow them. Everyone will just start doing things the way they think is best. And as Michael Giarrizzo Jr pointed out, it would take hours for that to happen, not days. There is a pizza place I go to often for lunch in our neighborhood. They started out as a little mom-and-pop joint and now have over 50 locations in four different states. Their processes are

September 2021

impressive. I have probably ordered food there over 1,000 times and they’ve never gotten my order wrong. The main reason is the owner/manager is always there and reminds people when they fall out of step with the company’s processes. He is the traffic cop. The downside to the pizza place is that they have a decent amount of turnover. Just like the police pulling us over to hand out a speeding ticket, no one wants to see them. Can you imagine the stress of a road trip if a cop car was behind you the entire way? Turnover in a pizza place is a little easier to deal with than the collision industry; it takes far less time to train a person to run a cash register than it does to weld on a quarter panel. So before we put on the badge and start writing tickets in our place, we should take a deeper look into the second reason. The second reason that processes don’t stick in a business is that the value of the process is not adequately explained to everyone. We all know the value of everyone stopping at red lights when driving. Can you imagine the instant worldwide chaos if people stopped obeying traffic lights? It’s not so obvious when we implement a new process in our shops. Far too often, the leader who is implementing the new process is keenly aware of the value that will come from the change. However, it’s easy to skip the task of explaining the value to the very people we rely on to carry out the implementation. If we take adequate steps to give the reasons behind new changes, those changes are more likely to last than if we just ask people to do it blindly or “because we said so.” For some of our teammates, this can be a multi-step process. It may take a while for people to comprehend the new change. There will be a huge payoff if you are willing to take some extra time to explain it several times to people who might not be on board at first. Remember that as you set up new road signs and traffic lights in your shop that you will be faced with the choice to either be a traffic cop who is always on duty, or a salesman who needs to go the extra mile to make sure everyone is buying what you’re selling.

J A S O N B O G G S 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.

EMAIL:

jason@boggsauto.com

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fenderbender.com/boggs

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block side air bag deployment. See owner’s manual for more information.

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