FenderBender - September 2019

FENDERBENDER.COM / SEPTEMBER 2019

HIRING MISTAKES THAT COST YOU TALENT

PAGE 64

ARE YOU A GREAT LEADER? PAGE 52

Strategies & Inspiration for Collision Repair Success

CROPPER:

BUILD YOUR TEAM’S AUTONOMY PAGE 57

Build Trust Shop manager Greg Downer has used a hands-on approach to earn the respect of his shop floor staff.

THE 2019 FENDERBENDER

Recognizing five industry professionals who define going above and beyond PAGE 34

PROFIT FROM IN-HOUSE GLASS REPAIR PAGE 58

2 fenderbender.com | September 2019

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September 2019 | fenderbender.com 3 ©2019 PPG Industries, Inc. All rights reserved. The PPG Logo and Envirobase are registered trademarks of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.

i4s - Smart Spot Welder Technician Turnover? We Can Help!

3 Ways the i4s Trains your Shop: 1. Real-Time Training at your workstation.

2. Auto Updates to stay ahead of industry changes.

3. Screen-by-Screen Instructions.

UPCOMING SHOW

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september

0 9 .1 9 / V O L U M E 2 1 / N U M B E R 0 9

A Clear Vision At Concho Collision and Auto Glass in San Angelo, Texas, the simple addition of glass repair work helped spur overall business growth.

F E AT U R E

C A SE STU DY

S H O P TA L K

34

58

68

INDUSTRY INNOVATORS

The 2019 FenderBender Awards shine a light on five of the collision repair industry's most inspiring and creative individuals.

LARAE RUSSELL

BY KELLY BEATON AND MELISSA STEINKEN

REVENUE BOOST

One Texas body shop added glass repair and soon benefited from an additional, rather consistent revenue stream.

BY MELISSA STEINKEN

TOTAL TURNAROUND

Rochelle Gotsdiner helped turn around her family's Texas shop by overhauling the staff and reorganizing parts storage.

BY MELISSA STEINKEN

Printed in the U.S.A. COPYRIGHT ©2019 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 2019 | fenderbender.com 5

TAB LE OF CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER

QUICK FIX

12

21

30

Lead Gen Z employees

Benefit from hiring military veterans

Fix Auto Alameda

14

25

Profit from OEM certifications

The future of the Women's Industry Network (WIN)

PAST THE PAGE

ANALYSIS

NUMBERS

VIEWPOINT

16

Ideally positioning your employees

BY KEVIN RAINS

Exploding Hyundai EV prompts probe Model of Efficiency Fix Auto Alameda has nearly 50,000 square feet of work space at its disposal, which lends to efficient collision repair work.

6 fenderbender.com | September 2019

30

AVANT- GARDE PHOTO

Gain inspiration from award winners

THE BIG IDEA

LIGHT HITS

Make an impact through charity

DRIVER'S SEAT

32

26

AWARDS INSIGHT

17

SNAP SHOP

S T R AT E G Y

53

64

76

Evolve into a truly exceptional leader

Tips for avoiding costly hiring errors

54

67

Advancing technician training in Hawaii

IDEA SHOP

EDUCATION+ TRAINING How to smoothly explain auto insurance to clients

HUMAN RESOURCES

UPDATE

IN THE TRENCHES

78

The value of researching a required inspection

Tips for prudent investing in techs

OUTSIDE THE LINES

BY STEVE MORRIS

BY JASON BOGGS

57

PROCESS DRIVEN Empower your staff to make decisions

54

GET T Y IMAGES

BY RYAN CROPPER

ure

e fut h t o t n i p bodysho r u o y e v to dri

1 SPRAYTRON + 1 DRYING ROBOT + 1 PAINTER

contact us: info@symach.com www.symach.com

find out more

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 7

TAB LE OF CONTENTS

ONLINE EXTRAS

CLICK ON THE LOGO BELOW FOR PRODUCT INFORMATION

3M Automotive Aftermarket

Drew Technologies

LKQ Corporation

OEConnection

SEMA

AkzoNobel

FenderBender Managment Conference

Micro Tech Resources

O'Reilly Auto Parts

Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes

2019

C O N N E C T. T H R I V E . G R O W.

AUTEL

I-CAR

Mitsubishi

Polyvance

Spanesi Americas

AutoNation

Industrial Finishes

Nissan

PPG

Symach

Axalta Coating Systems

Kia Motors America

Novus Franchising

ProSpot

TechForce Foundation

BASF

LAUNCH Tech USA

TECH USA

8 fenderbender.com | September 2019

EDITORIAL Bryce Evans Vice President, Content and Events Anna Zeck Editorial Director Kelly Beaton Associate Editor Melissa Steinken Staff Writer

COLLISION

Nora Johnson Special Projects Editor Jordan Wiklund Special Projects Editor

C A S T

Jason Boggs Contributing Writer Ryan Cropper Contributing Writer Steve Morris Contributing Writer Kevin Rains Contributing Writer

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Jason Boggs Boggs Auto Collision Rebuilders Justin Fisher CARSTAR Yorkville Bob Pearson Pearson Auto Body Mark Probst Probst Auto Body Randy Sattler Rydell Collision Center

FenderBender’s

PODCAST NETWORK

Doug Voelzke Doug’s Custom Paint and Body

ART AND PRODUCTION Zach Pate Art Director Mitch Bradford Graphic Designer

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

Fue Vang Graphic Designer Lauren Coleman Production Assistant Dylan Novacek Integrated Marketing Designer

SALES Chris Messer Vice President and Publisher 651.846.9462 / cmesser@10missions.com Andrew Johnson Associate Publisher 651.846.9459 / ajohnson@10missions.com Tyler Casey Associate Marketing Strategist 651.846.9454 / tcasey@10missions.com Nathan Smock Sales Manager 651.846.9452 / nsmock@10missions.com Ross Kirgiss Regional Advertising Sales 651.846.9485 / rkirgiss@10missions.com Shayna Smith Customer Success Representative 651.846.9460 / ssmith@10missions.com Jen George Client Service Specialist 651.846.9465 / jgeorge@10missions.com

10 MISSIONS MEDIA Jay DeWitt President Mariah Straub General Manager and Production Manager Meghann Moore Bookkeeper and Client Service Specialist

ADAPT. DISRUPT. HOW I DID IT. MSO PODCAST.

Katie Cornet Event Coordinator Tiffany Fowler Senior Digital Media Strategist Kasey Lanenberg Marketing Communications Specialist Amanda Nicklaus Administrative Assistant HOW TO REACH US 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104 tel 651.224.6207 fax 651.224.6212 web 10missions.com The annual subscription rate is $72 (U.S.A. only) for companies not qualified to receive complimentary copies of FenderBender.

BACK ISSUES Past issue single copies are $8.

Go to fenderbender.com/backissues LETTERS TO THE EDITOR editor@fenderbender.com ARTICLE REPRINTS

VISION.

A DA P T S E R I E S S P O N S O R E D BY:

M S O P O D C A S T S E R I E S S P O N S O R E D BY:

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.

LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE SEARCH “COLLISIONCAST” IN APPS FOR APPLE AND ANDROID

PODCASTS

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September 2019 | fenderbender.com 9

SPONSORED CONTENT

AKZONOBEL'S NEW TRAINING PROGRAM PAVES THE WAY FOR FUTURE TECHNICIANS AkzoNobel’s new Technical College Support Program offers hands-on training and benefits for a successful career in paint

AkzoNobel, a worldwide leader in automotive paint and refinish, is further increasing its commitment to the automotive industry by partnering with technical colleges across the country. The new Technical College Support Program will bolster the automotive paint centers of tomorrow while enabling the technicians of today to hone their skills in a variety of courses to prepare and strengthen the next generation of collision repair technicians.

With over 275 million vehicles on the road today and 1 billion more expected to be produced worldwide over the next 15 years, AkzoNobel is committed to helping stem the technician shortage by offering the resources and education too often lacking in the automotive industry today. The new training program is meant to enable schools to empower students by developing and deepening paint-related skills and will help maximize quality, productivity and overall shop profitability.

The training programs will utilize industry benchmarks and standards to anticipate future needs of the collision repair industry. The programs balance hands-on activities with classroom theories to provide best-in-class instruction.

In addition to supporting the collision repair industry through proactive recruitment, participating in trade shows and extensive training sessions, the college support program is critically important to sustaining a viable collision repair community. AkzoNobel also partners with I-CAR through its Sustainability Program, helping further the education of technicians committed to the trade.

Tony Mahon, Regional Business Services Manager for AkzoNobel, sums it up well: “We help customers understand what is important to the new generation coming in. We give the user the tools and the mindset to hire smart and hire right. What we devote to programs—whether creating personal development programs to monitor progress or helping with pay plans, for instance—we try to figure out what it will take to attract the best and brightest. We work closely with our customers on that.”

10 fenderbender.com | September 2019

Mahon says AkzoNobel is also committed to the full-circle approach of future technicians—from hiring at the beginning of their careers, training throughout and long-term incentives to keep retention high in the automotive collision repair world.

AkzoNobel offers an ever-widening suite of training opportunities to keep up with the technological tide sweeping the automotive industry, including (but not limited to): • Preparing for a process-centered environment • Implementing 5S • Principles of continuous improvement • Optimizing repair planning • Standardization and visual management • Color evaluation and selection, including the AkzoNobel digital color process • Paint system and equipment selection • Paint mixing and application techniques • Surface cleaning and preparation process • Health and safety review The Technical College Support Program provides schools with an impressive array of products to meet a variety of training goals. Schools can choose from AkzoNobel’s vehicle refinish paint lines: Sikkens (Autobase Plus Solventborne, Autowave Waterborne); Lesonal (Basecoat SB Solventborne, Basecoat WB Waterborne); Wanda (Wandabase HS Solventborne, Wanda Waterbase Waterborne); Sikkens Autocoat BT (LV650—fleet and commercial) and U-TECH (U-BASE— fleet urethane system).

The program includes the necessary mixing equipment and products, including the impressive Automatchic color spectrophotometer.

For more information on how AkzoNobel can help improve your future in collision repair and automotive refinish, please visit akzonobel.com.

Reduce cycle time by an average of 9% in your body shop Controlling cycle time is important when managing a profitable body shop. The datadriven insights from Carbeat™ will help improve communication, process transparency and overall shop floor efficiency that can lead to reduced cycle time by an average of 9%*.

Visit carbeat.com to learn more about how to reduce cycle time and take your business to the next level. *Based on initial data of body shops using Carbeat.

Carbeat Controlling the pulse of your business TM

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 11

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

COLLISION C A S T

PODCAST

Podcast Primer: Creating Time for Work and Family

THE KEYS TO LEADING GEN Z EMPLOYEES For the website’s weekly blog post, FenderBender recently spoke with Jamie White, after he was named CARSTAR’s top U.S. franchise partner. White, who operates a pair of Georgia shops, credits his largely youthful, energetic staff for much of his success.

The staffs at both CARSTAR Dalton South and CARSTAR Ken’s North feature several employees around the age of 25—right on the cutoff of what many consider Generation Z (those born between 1995 and 2005. And, the Georgia shop owner has been encouraged by the young employees’ eagerness to build careers under his tutelage.

White feels there’s a couple keys to leading Generation Z employees effectively, namely: 1. Illustrate that you hire from within. White tries to be honest with young employees and illustrate to them how, exactly, they can climb to the next rung on the business’ ladder.

“We bring ‘em in young, teach them, and let them grow,” White says. “I’m just up front from the beginning. I tell them … as long as our sales are growing, their pay is growing, and they can go from being an estimator to a manager.”

2. When possible, give employees creative license. Gen Z employees want to feel at least a little freedom to make decisions during their work day, White says.

“If you give them a goal,” the shop owner says, “and they see you reaching that goal, then they tend to tie to that and want to help you reach that. You just have to give them freedom to help you reach it with their ideas.”

Let’s Get Social

The staff at FenderBender is attending several collision repair industry events in the second half of 2019, and is documenting it all via social media.

The staff recently visited Chicago for CARSTAR’s national conference, for example, and even toured iconic Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.

Make sure to keep track of all the behind-the-scenes action by following the magazine on each of the social media platforms listed at right.

12 fenderbender.com | September 2019

FenderBender produces five podcasts per month, with topics aimed at offering advice on how to navigate life as a shop leader.

In that spirit, a recent episode of the magazine’s CollisionCast featured Chance Smith who operates Crash Depot in Auburndale, Fla. Smith leads a shop with a 97 percent CSI score, yet also makes sure to spend as much time as possible with his wife and infant son away from work.

The key, Smith says, is meticulously planning each work day.

“Every day I have a to-do list,” Smith says. “And, the first thing I do every morning is I check out that list. I look to see if I’ve got an appointment. I put that on the schedule and just block off the time to do it. Really, it’s just about organization, and putting it on a list.”

To hear more insight from Smith, access the podcast episode at fenderbender.com/ topics/616-podcasts.

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

GETTY IMAGES

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September 2019 | fenderbender.com 13

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

THE MERITS OF OEM CERTIFICATION Investing in manufacturer certifications means shop owners must devote significant sums—occasionally reaching six figures—toward annual renewal fees, training, and purchasing equipment. Yet, the investments largely pay dividends, judging by information gleaned from the 2019 FenderBender Industry Survey.

While 54 percent of survey respondents said they have no OEM certifications, the shops that had at least one certification tended to have higher average repair orders, were more likely to be recommended by customers, and had higher yearly sales figures. In fact, of the 16 percent of shops that had six or more certifications, 95 percent of that group enjoyed annual revenues north of $1 million.

Here’s a closer look at how OEM certifications are impacting shops.

SALES VOLUME OF $1 MILLION+

AVERAGE SUPPLEMENT RATIO OF 15% OR LESS

KEY-TO-KEY CYCLE TIME OF 7 DAYS OR LESS

NET PROMOTER SCORE* OF 90%+

AVERAGE REPAIR ORDER OF $3,000+

NUMBER OF OEM CERTIFICATIONS

0

1

2-3

4-5

6+

*percentage of customers who would refer a shop

14 fenderbender.com | September 2019

GETTY IMAGES, STAFF GRAPHIC

LEARN MORE

A while ago, FenderBender spoke to collision repair experts, seeking their insights on how shops can boost their business by obtaining OEM certifications. While the industry veterans stressed the importance of researching your shop’s market first and foremost before investing in certifications, they stressed several additional considerations, too. Read about them all at fenderbender.com/certifications.

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PartsAdvantage.NissanUSA.com *Discount off MSRP for eligible popular part categories only. MSRP excludes all applicable taxes. Dealer sets actual price. See participating Dealer for details. Exclusions apply. Subject to part availability. Dealers not required to support all tools. Contact your Dealer for available parts ordering options that best meet your needs. Always wear your seat belt and please don't drink and drive. The Nissan names, logos and slogans are trademarks owned by or licensed to Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and/or its North American subsidiaries. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners. ©2019 Nissan North America, Inc. All rights reserved.

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 15

DANIELLE MOODY—

CO

LLI

AI

R

AWARDS IN

HEAD OF RESOURCE MANAGEMENT MOODY’S COLLISION CENTERS 13 LOCATIONS IN MAINE

FINES HE

T

AWARDS NOMINEE:

T

AWARDS INSIGHT

P SION RE

FenderBender Awards Insights feature past FenderBender Award nominees. For more information, go to fenderbender.com/awards.

Charity that Benefits Your Shop and Community B Y K E L LY B E AT O N

Start small, think big.

When Moody’s created what became Maine’s Blue Collar Scholarship program in 2014, the company focused on growing it incrementally. The program, which provides youths hoping to enter trade industries with scholarship money, began when the MSO started reaching out to area schools, providing application forms, and speaking with academic counselors to note students in financial need.

These days, the collision repair company will occasionally give out as much as $50,000 in scholarship funds.

“We’re really now trying to focus some of our energy on the mainstream schools,” Danielle Moody explains, “because we want to show them that the trade schools are a viable option [for students]. It’s just trying to raise awareness of this opportunity.”

16 fenderbender.com | September 2019

Sing your brand’s praises.

In order for a charitable endeavor to resonate with a community, of course, they need to be made aware of it. That’s why staff members from Moody’s often update their website with information about Maine’s Blue Collar Scholarship. It’s why staff members do interviews about charities with local media outlets, and spend time posting promotional photos on social media—“to show what the charity’s all about, and what we’re looking to achieve,” Moody notes.

When Moody’s staff members make appearances at charitable events, they mix in messages about the company and how it has enriched their lives.

“Weave in who you are and how you got to where you are,” Moody suggests.

“Because everybody has a path. … And, I

don’t know if it’s generational, but [young] consumers care about what companies are doing for their communities. So, we definitely want to get that out there.

“Presenting the scholarships helps,” she adds, “because you have a captive audience that could be 1,000 people—parents, students, faculty, administrators. So, you have the audience to speak for a couple minutes about your company. That’s really helped a lot, and it has gotten the buzz going.”

Get all employees involved.

While Moody spearheads much of the charitable work, she certainly gets assistance.

And, she knows endeavors like Maine’s Blue Collar Scholarship program couldn’t be successful without buy-in. Fortunately for her, that’s not an issue at Moody’s.

“Everybody at Moody’s does more, and goes above and beyond the typical 9-to-5 day,” Moody notes, adding that she often delegates charity-related tasks to coworkers so that her business work doesn’t suffer.

“The more my coworkers know, understand, and have a better grasp, it’s only going to help” the charitable efforts, she explains. “It doesn’t matter what we’re working on. If we’re working with the Blue Collar Scholarship, or if it’s with Junior Achievement, it’s [important to] bring people into the loop, sell them the big picture, macro vision.”

While charity work occasionally lengthens Danielle Moody’s workdays, she’s proud to be doing work that makes an impact for a company that boasts a 98 percent CSI score.

COURTESY DANIELLE MOODY

Danielle Moody’s to-do lists are usually lengthy.

She’s responsible for finance, payables, receivables, and human resources for Moody’s Collision and its 13 locations in Maine. Moody is also the company’s treasurer. Additionally, she helps manage Maine’s Blue Collar Scholarship program, and serves as a state board member for the Junior Achievement organization.

Yet, she largely embraces the heavy workload.

“Email is my savior. I mean, my Outlook calendar is everything to me,” Moody jokes.

Though her workdays can be hectic at times, Moody’s job leaves her fulfilled—especially the charitable work she helps spearhead for a 13-shop MSO founded by her father, Shawn Moody.

“I’m very passionate about it,” she says of charity work. “I’m proud that Moody’s supports our company’s involvement, too.

“We want young, innovative and creative workers, to keep pace with this rapidly changing industry; The scholarship foundation helps us market our company and the collision repair trade. And, Junior Achievement allows us to get in the classroom and plant the seed at the middle school level.”

Of course, it takes careful planning to produce charitable work that benefits both a business and its community. Below, Moody outlines some of the key steps to accomplishing that.

DRIVER ' S SE AT

Best of the Best Recognizing industry all-stars Bar none, this is the most rewarding—and difficult!—issue of

FenderBender that we produce every year. And the reason for that is a good one: In our annual FenderBender Awards issue, we get to formally recognize some of the most talented, dedicated and inspiring industry professionals who set the bar for everyone else in the industry.

If you’re new to FenderBender or just need a refresher, the FenderBender Awards recognize peer-nominated collision repair professionals in five categories: executive, management, shop worker, administrative support, and wild card (open to individuals in or outside of the shop who do not fall into the other categories).

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.

After nominations close, that’s when the editorial team takes on the task of reviewing every entry, selecting finalists, interviewing nominees, and choosing winners. This year, we were lucky enough to be flooded with nominations, making the work of choosing the winners all the more arduous. That’s because not only were there numerous to sift through, but it was also evident that the nominators poured a lot of time and effort into the process.

Reading nomination after nomination outlining the ways in which someone has made an impact in his or her workplace, industry and community is beyond inspiring, and often makes me tear up (that might just say more about how easily I cry, though).

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 hard working individuals dedicated to the future of this industry. From a Maaco shop owner busting industry stereotypes to an all-star estimator who was an industry newcomer a mere four years ago, this year’s crop of award winners is no exception.

I highly encourage you to read their profiles on p. 30 and, if you plan to be at the FenderBender Management Conference, attend the award ceremony.

Congratulations to the 2019 FenderBender Awards recipients!

ANNA ZECK EDITORIAL DIRECTOR a z e c k @10 m i s s i o n s .c o m

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 17

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QUICK FIX NEWS

|

IDEAS

|

PEOPLE

|

TRENDS

Light it Up The owner of Fix Auto Alameda took advantage of his city's facade improvement program to add an exterior neon sign that cost six figures.

ANALYSIS VIEWPOINT LIGHT HITS SNAP SHOP

30

AVANT- GARDE PHOTO

SN A P SHOP

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 19

THERE ARE NO SUBSTITUTES.

Many imitation parts have fit problems, ranging from twisted metal and misaligned mounting holes to major gap variances.

Don’t settle for imitation, give your customers the real deal.

FOR MAXIMUM QUALITY AT COMPETITIVE PRICES, CONTACT AN AUTHORIZED MITSUBISHI DEALER TODAY.

2019 MITSUBISHI MOTORS NORTH AMERICA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 20 fenderbender.com | September 2019

QUICK FIX

ANALYSIS

LEVERAGING WORKFORCE RESOURCES FOR HIRING Employment experts share how shops can use local resources to fill the skills gap

BY MELISSA STEINKEN

GETT Y IMAGES

At the Indianapolis Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meeting in July, Roxann

Griffith looked out at a room full of hundreds of collision repair shop operators, OE representatives, suppliers and consultants, and asked, “How many of you use your state’s workforce system?”

Not one person in attendance raised his or her hand.

The U.S. Department of Labor, of which Griffith is the regional veteran’s employment coordinator, estimates that, by 2026, there will be more than 1.2 million job openings in the transportation sector.

While demand for skilled automotive technicians has never been greater, according to the Universal Technical Institute (UTI), shops surveyed at the meeting were not using a free, easily accessible government resource to find employees.

“It’s critical that students and families understand the outstanding career opportunities that wait in the transportation field,” says Jerome Grant, chief operating officer at the Universal Technical Institute.

To work to fill this skills gap, UTI has launched an early employment initiative that combines post-secondary skills education with on-the-job, apprenticeship-

type training. In the program, students learn about, and can apply for, local jobs with participating employers as soon as they enroll at UTI’s Avondale, Ariz., campus. The program’s employers have the opportunity to screen and hire incoming students before they start school and give them on-the-job experience while they complete their education.

Of course, UTI is not alone in its efforts to close the skills gap in the automotive industry. At CIC, Griffith provided insight into how a collision repair shop can utilize another type of worker: a U.S. veteran.

The Department of Labor’s HIRE Vets program is connected with over 4,000 employers in the U.S., says Mark Toal, the national veteran’s employment manager for the Veteran’s Employment and Training Service (VETS).

There are over 30 early employment positions available to incoming students this fall through UTI’s program. UTI plans to start the program in Arizona and take it national to 12 campuses across the country.

Yet, while solutions to lessen the skills gap are available, shops need to know about available resources before signing

on. Not only can leveraging the unemployed veterans help the technician shortage but it can also potentially bring money back to the shop in some cases in the form of tax credits and awards.

Incorporating On-theJob Training

Once students enroll in the program, they can apply for a job with a participating transportation employer, Grant says.

Students that advance through the hiring process work directly with the employer. Through this program, they’ll learn the culture of their prospective company and position themselves in careers while receiving UTI training.

Graduates who complete a UTI education and meet the employer’s criteria have the opportunity to get all or a portion of their educational expenses reimbursed, as well as an offer for full-time employment.

The median age of a veteran is 65 years old, with 60 percent of all veterans over the age of 45 years old, Toal notes.

Toal has often heard that a challenge for hiring veterans is that they don’t possess the specific skill set for which employers are looking. So, he recommends September 2019 | fenderbender.com 21

QUICK FIX

ANALYSIS

Expect more from your finish.

Introducing Nason XL, a new product line from Axalta available in both Low VOC and National Rule formulations. NasonXL is fast and easy to apply and provides long-lasting collision-quality color at a cost that won’t slow you down. ®

VALUE THAT LASTS.

a shop incorporate a training program into its facility.

He says the employer can partner with a local community college or vocational school in order to get the veteran the skills he or she needs. Another option is for the veteran to work part-time at the shop while learning industry-specific skills.

Using Regional and National Resources

A body shop should advertise that it’s a veteran-ready facility and not just a veteran-friendly facility, say the aforementioned experts. A veteran-friendly facility can advertise that it welcomes all veterans, but a veteran-ready facility means that it not only hires veterans, but also retains them, Toal says.

By going online to hirevets.gov, collision repairers can find American Job Centers with whom they can partner. This is free for the business to do and there are roughly 2,400 such centers across the country.

“It’s important to be focused on meaningful employment and retaining that employee by offering job benefits like a competitive wage and more,” Toal says.

If the body shop contacts a government representative like Toal or Griffith, they can also help facilitate a relationship between the shop and organizations like Soldier for Life, Marine for Life and the National Guard and Reserve. Through these resources, shops can often post job openings for free on websites, and go to the sites and set up job fairs for free.

Leveraging Skills for a Long-Term Career

nasonxl.us Copyright Axalta Coating Systems, LLC and all 2019 affiliates. All rights reserved.

22© 2018 fenderbender.com | September

Veterans can offer a variety of soft skills that other job applicants might not have, Toal says. Like Toal, who was in the Marine Corps for 28 years, many veterans come into new jobs with a varied set of skills and training from the military.

For instance, some soft skills they can contribute to the body shop include teamwork, an ability to work on diverse teams, and an ability to handle ample responsibility. Plus, veterans are typically able to stick to a schedule and meet deadlines, experts say.

Griffith said during CIC that, if an employer hires a veteran and lays out their role and how it fits into a longer career path for the individual, the employer is more likely to retain that veteran for years.

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September 2019 | fenderbender.com 23

QUICK FIX

VIEWPOINT

WIN continues to foster the ascension of women in the collision repair industry

Cheryl Boswell Chair Women's Industry Network (WIN)

BY MELISSA STEINKEN

Cheryl Boswell walked through the door of her first Women’s Industry Network (WIN) conference, 10 years ago, and thought to herself, “Now, this is a welcoming place.”

No one was rushing to sell Boswell products. Rather, everyone wanted to find ways to help each other excel in the collision repair industry, creating an industry event focused not on sponsorships but on networking.

Boswell signed up for a committee at that first meeting and has been a believer in the organization ever since.

Recently, she took on the role of the chair of WIN. “There’s been a lot of support among peers that I wouldn’t have if I wasn’t a part of WIN,” Boswell, a marketing, training and social media expert, says. “It’s not just professional growth but also a personal support network, as well.”

WIN has become an organization that has not only recognized industry members like Boswell but countless others through The Most Influential Women (MIW) awards. The MIW awards have been around since 1999 and recognize women who have enriched the collision repair industry with their leadership, vision and commitment to excellence.

In 2013, WIN acquired management of MIW and has continued honoring women for their work.

Not only has Boswell taken on the role of chair, MIW is also celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

“As a working mother, a lot of times for me, WIN is reaffirming,” Boswell says. “I’m meeting amazing women doing fantastic things in the industry, and in all types of roles.”

FenderBender recently sat down with Boswell to find out more about WIN and the impact it has had over the last two decades.

24 fenderbender.com | September 2019

We have over 500 members and the conference has grown over time. This year, we had our biggest numbers. We had 220 attendees and a number of new attendees. Our goal is that we have a bunch of new attendees, too, in regional network meetings. That way we’re able to touch members in different markets.

We had three regional networking meetings last year in different markets.

And, because of those meetings, we’ve had new sponsors, as well.

Our conference is the big event every year. We keep that momentum going by wowing people when they attend. We try to engage them right from the beginning.

How many shop owners are in the organization?

While we’re inclusive of every segment of the industry, we want to be very conscious of the balance. We are constantly looking at segmentation. We’ve always said the voice of the collision repair shop has to be represented.

A couple years ago, when there was a lot of consolidation, we put programs together to recruit shop owners. We’ve been trying to grow the segment for repairers. We’ve always had participation from larger companies.

Our boards have done a great job and represent all different segments of the industry. This year, there are seven new board members. A couple of those represent body shops. We also lowered

COURTESY CHERYL BOSWELL , GET T Y IMAGES

WIN CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF COLLISION REPAIR PROGRESS

What has the growth been like for WIN in the last 20 years?

YOUR 24/7 COLLISION COMMUNITY fenderbender.com/linkedin fenderbender.com/facebook

the cost of the conference this year in order to make it more affordable for more people to attend. After doing that, we saw that people were registering earlier than previous years. I can even say that, for my company, that was an important step.

fenderbender.com/twitter fenderbender.com/instagram fenderbender.com/googleplus

What is your overall vision and mission?

We want to make sure we have a clear mission and vision. The mission is centered around, why do we exist? We want to drive industry sustainability by developing women through connection and networking.

Our vision is focused on asking, what are we creating? We’re creating the network that drives the future of collision repair by attracting women into the industry.

Right now, we’re all struggling as an industry in terms of how do we drive new talent to collision repair? How do we touch on this early so people know it’s a viable industry? In Atlanta, for example, they have the Maxwell High School of Technology. Students from that school can leave early and learn at collision repair shops. Whether it’s men or women, we need to figure out how to generate more interest and get the word out.

What is the future of WIN?

We want to grow the Most Influential Women (MIW) awards. We’ve recognized about 70 women over the years.

We hand out the Cornerstone Award and the MIW Award. The MIW Awards just had its 20th anniversary. These are women being recognized as change makers in the industry. They’re wellrounded and have made a difference.

We also want to focus on recruiting people into the industry. Our goal is to continue to grow. We need to figure out how to change the perception of the industry so that kids aren’t having their dreams squashed early. We have scholarship winners who have been the top of their class but they come to the conference and say they’re about to drop out because the way they’re being treated by their peers. The conference can change that perspective and help them realize that they can have a career here. They can grow. They can clean a shop, run a shop or work with a paint company.

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September 2019 | fenderbender.com 25

QUICK FIX

LIGHT HITS

SURVEY: CONSUMERS STILL SOMEWHAT WARY OF EVs Consumers lack confidence in the future of self-driving vehicles and battery-electric vehicles that automakers are bringing to the market in the next several years.

The Mobility Confidence Index is 36 out of 100 for self-driving vehicles and 55 out of 100 for battery-electric vehicles, according to the J.D. Power Mobility Confidence Index Study. J.D. Power paired with SurveyMonkey to conduct the study in which 5,749 consumers were polled about self-driving vehicles and 5,270 about battery-electric vehicles.

Scoring lowest regarding self-driving attributes are comfort about riding in an autonomous vehicle and comfort about being on the road with others in a self-driving vehicle.

Industry experts recognize the importance of marketing self-driving technology to consumers to build understanding, trust and acceptance. Although consumers are more hopeful than worried (65 percent versus 34 percent) about the overall benefit

of technology in their lives, 39 percent aren't excited about any self-driving technology, including delivery services, public transit, taxi/ride-hailing service and personal vehicles.

Serious concerns exist with the development of self-driving vehicles, of which consumers are most worried about tech failures/ errors (71 percent); risk of vehicles being hacked (57 percent); and legal liability as a result of a collision (55 percent).

EXPLODING KONA EV PROMPTS HYUNDAI CANADA INVESTIGATION Hyundai Canada has launched a probe to uncover what happened after a Kona EV allegedly caught fire and exploded in a garage.

According to multiple reports, the explosion allegedly launched the garage door off and sent it flying across the street. The vehicle's owner had just bought the Hyundai Kona in March.

The owner says the car was not charging at the time. Electric cars are powered, of

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course, by lithium batteries and some can overheat in extreme temperatures, according to reports.

AAA: INFOTAINMENT SYSTEMS DISTRACTING TO OLDER DRIVERS New in-vehicle infotainment technology has the potential to increase comfort and extend mobility for older drivers, but first it has to stop distracting them.

On average, older drivers (ages 55-75) removed their eyes and attention from the road for more than eight seconds longer than younger drivers (ages 21-36) when performing simple tasks like programming navigation or tuning the radio using in-vehicle infotainment technology, according to new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

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September 2019 | fenderbender.com 27

T R A D E O N LY

The collision-repair industry will be at the Las Vegas Convention Center, November 5–8, 2019. Where will you be?

28 fenderbender.com | September 2019

Register to Attend at

SEMASHOW.COM

News

For your daily collision repair news visit

fenderbender.com/lighthits

(4.7-8.6 seconds) to complete tasks, experienced slower response times, and increased visual distractions. The complex design of the technology created increased visual and cognitive demand for older drivers. For example, some systems included multiple menus and voice command functions that significantly reduced older drivers’ ability to easily complete seemingly simple tasks.

By 2030, more than one in five drivers on the road will be over the age of 65.

With seniors becoming the fastest growing demographic in the U.S., finding ways to design technology to improve their comfort and safety is critical and may hold the key to enhancing the safe use of this technology for all drivers.

statement, the NHTSA has proposed to extend the record retention period for 10 years, which is the minimum required by Congress.

The following was noted in a statement: "By proposing to require the preservation of less information than is necessary for robust enforcement of federal auto safety laws and regulations, NHTSA once again places the considerations of multi-billiondollar corporations over the safety of the motoring public. Specifically, 44 percent of NHTSA’s current investigations involve vehicles or equipment that began production more than 10 years ago. If the proposed limitation is promulgated the incentive for manufacturers to 'run out the clock' on reporting only increases."

NHTSA URGED TO IMPROVE DOCUMENTATION OF SAFETY DEFECTS

NISSAN TO CUT 12,500 JOBS

The Center for Auto Safety recenlty called on the NHTSA to extend the record retention period.

According to a Center for Auto Safety

Nissan said in late July that it plans to cut jobs worldwide, following its profits being almost completely wiped out in the first quarter of its fiscal year, according to a report by CNN. Nissan said it will slash roughly 12,500

jobs. That's more than twice as many as the company was reportedly expecting to cut in May. The company will also reduce its product lineup by at least 10 percent by the end of fiscal year 2022.

Nissan has been losing market share in the United States and Europe. In the first quarter the company sold 351,000 units in the U.S.

VOLVO RECALLS 507K VEHICLES Volvo recently recalled 507,000 cars worldwide because of a faulty engine component that could result in a fire.

In very rare cases, the plastic engine intake manifold may melt and deform.

The cars being recalled were produced in 2014-19 and have a 2-liter, 4-cylinder diesel engine, Volvo Cars said in an emailed statement. The affected models are the S60, S80, S90, V40, V60, V70, V90, XC60 and XC90.

While the company has no reports of accidents or personal injuries, all customers will receive a letter asking them to contact their local retailer for corrective action.

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QUICK FIX

SNAP SHOP

FIX AUTO ALAMEDA

BY KELLY BEATON PHOTOGRAPHY BY AVANT-GARDE PHOTO LOCATION:

Alameda, Calif.

OWNER:

Arthur Mercado SIZE:

46,000 square feet STAFF:

50

AVERAGE MONTHLY CAR COUNT:

300

ANNUAL REVENUE:

$9 million

1. EXPANSIVE FOOTPRINT When owner Arthur Mercado took over his Alameda, Calif., shop in 2006, he knew he didn’t have enough room to operate effectively.

“I saw a need to expand,” he recalls, “because when we first started out and we were really humming, we were playing Tetris like crazy—we were losing so much time moving cars in and out, and it drove me nuts.”

In 2019, such inefficiency is a distant memory. Mercado has taken over multiple buildings on two city blocks just outside of Oakland. Now his staff produces $9 million annually, with a 10,000-square-foot office and two production facilities at their disposal.

2. NEON SIGNAGE Roughly nine years ago, Mercado’s son forced him

30 fenderbender.com | September 2019

to watch the movie Cars “10 times per week, at least.”

Eventually, the shop owner became a fan of the children’s film, and sought a facility that appeared worthy of fictional Radiator Springs.

“I told my designer, ‘I want my store to look like something out of a Pixar movie,’” Mercado says. “And I want neon, and I want that old [fashioned] vibe.”

As it turns out, he was able to take advantage of Alameda’s facade improvement program, with the city picking up much of the bill for neon lighting and signage.

Mercado says the shop’s circular, exterior neon sign cost roughly $10,000.

These days, he adds, “everybody that drives by is like, ‘I like it; it’s got that old Route 66 vibe, and it has that nostalgia piece to it.’”

2

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3. EXTENSIVE EQUIPMENT Fix Auto Alameda features a 19,000-square-foot collision repair area and plenty of stateof-the-art equipment. But, even beyond the facility’s expensive, downdraft paint booth, Mercado is especially appreciative of his Hunter alignment rack.

“So many shops out there don’t have alignment equipment,” Mercado says, “and I hate subletting.”

The roughly $65,000 alignment rack and accompanying computer system allow Mercado to “control my jobs, and control the pace and where it goes. It just makes our jobs go that much faster, and they’re updated every year. …

The rack’s the most expensive [piece of equipment], but cheap racks don’t last.”

4. VALUABLE PORTERS

3

4

Over the years, Mercado has developed a knack for hiring underappreciated workers from industries outside of the collision repair world. The porter position especially lends itself to solid entry-level employees, he has learned.

Those factors have allowed him to assemble a four-person team of full-time porters, who help work flow throughout Fix Auto Alameda’s handful of buildings. Those porters, once unsung in previous professions, now help fuel the workflow at Mercado’s shop.

“They’re always looking for something to do,” Mercado says of the porters. “They’ve always got to be moving.

They’re proactive, as opposed to reactive.

“If you’ve got good people, and you’ve got good processes, the profit will be there.”

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 31

COLUMNS

THE BIG IDEA KEVIN RAINS

Hiring 101 Right people, right seat

bad at hiring. Now, I’ve been blessed to make some great hires over the years, but, I assure you, it was not because I was intentional or systematic about it. In fact, I tend to hire like I lead—mostly from the gut. While this typically works out for me in most areas, hiring is not one of them.

I’ve hired too quickly because I needed someone to fill a spot that I personally didn’t want to fill!

In many ways, I’m too trusting to be good at hiring. Some would even say I’m naive. If someone tells me something, I tend to believe them. And, I’m sure most of the time they believe it, too.

Saying you are “good with people” means something to me. It’s what I’ve built my career on, and is responsible for the long tenure of many of my employees. Evidently, it means something different to the many people who have used that phrase in an interview and who turned out to not really be all that “good with people” after all.

Jim Collins wrote in his book Good to Great that the goal in hiring is to get the right people on the bus and make sure they get into the right seat. Gino Wickman picked up on this theme and made it extremely practical in his book Traction, where he discusses the tactics to make this a reality. Both provide some great insight on the topic, so let’s explore what this might look like by breaking it down a bit further.

either skills or values, they are not the right person. This is especially difficult when the person is highly skilled and has years of experience to offer, but they do not fit the culture. When you’re hurting for talent in the shop, it can feel impossible to turn that potential hire down. Culture can be learned and taught and reinforced, but if the values differ out of the gate it simply will not work long term.

For instance, if your culture values a more collegial approach to getting things done like teamwork, discussion, and openness to new ideas but the candidate is clearly a “command and control,” more military-type leader, there will problems— and vice versa. I learned a long time ago that there is not one approach to leadership and many different styles can work.

The Right Person in the Wrong Seat

I’ve also experienced this. A classic way that I tend to make a blunder on this is by promoting people outside the area of their highest competency. Taking a rock star estimator and promoting them to the shop manager is one common example. Some estimators should just be estimators long term and reward them for that, as opposed to being promoted. Another example is

taking a technician and trying to make them an estimator. They may have all the technical ability in the world and able to see everything needed to write the best repair plans, but if they don’t have the people skills to calm a distraught customer, then you may just be setting them up to fail.

The Right Person in the Right Seat

This is not an exact science. But science, it turns out, can help. Assessing people with well-researched tests can provide a bit of a starting point. I have a friend who owns several restaurants and he gives all his prospective employees the Myers-Briggs personality assessment. There is only one profile out of 16 that he will hire for his store managers. He has learned through trial and error that to be a good store manager in his operation requires an extroverted person with good attention to detail, who is very rational and almost obsessive about closing loops. For those familiar with Myers-Briggs, this is the ESTJ profile.

As an entrepreneur and visionary, I am almost the exact opposite of that! Point is, there are plenty of buses and plenty of seats for everyone. It’s finding the right people for your bus and making sure they land in the right seat over time that matters.

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

The Wrong Person on the Bus

This is where I’ve personally gone wrong more times than I can count. The right person is someone who has the ability to do the job—or is willing and able to learn it—and fits the values, vision, and culture of your specific team. If there’s a misalignment on 32 fenderbender.com | September 2019

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

MICHAEL HOEWELER, GETTY IMAGES

I’ll come right out and say it: I’m pretty

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 33

34 fenderbender.com | September 2019

20 1 9 FE N D E R B E N D E R

This year’s FenderBender Award winners have used creativity, passion, and a desire to improve to spur their success

OWNER/EXECUTIVE BRIAN GREENLEY ADMIN SUPPORT ADAM METTE MANAGER GREG DOWNER WILD CARD MARIE PEEVY SHOP WORKER RYA N S E E V E R

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 35

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36 fenderbender.com | September 2019

They each impact the industry in their own way. They are shop owners, executives, managers and technicians. But there’s a common thread that ties them together—creativity, and passion for their craft, for starters.

And, a desire to improve their industry.

These are the 2019 FenderBender Awards winners.

The pages ahead, sponsored by KIA, BASF and OEC, illustrate how these honorees—nominated by peers and selected through a stringent process by the magazine’s staff—have influenced others.

You’ll find they all share another trait, too: a willingness to pass on their knowledge to others. Here’s a look at their most valuable lessons learned.

S P O N SO R ED BY

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 37

B R IA N G RE E N LE Y

OW N E R /O P E R ATO R , M A AC O L I T T L E TO N L I T T L E TO N , C O LO.

A Family-First Leader B Y K E L LY B E AT O N

|

PHOTO BY BRENT ANDECK

WO R DS TO LI V E BY:

“You get out of life as much as you put into it.

And business is very much the same way.”

38 fenderbender.com | September 2019

Brian Greenley recalls the evening vividly.

One night, long ago, Greenley returned home late, after a busy day spent running his Colorado body shop. The lights were out and his wife was unhappy; she had thrown dinner away, after growing reasonably frustrated with Greenley’s tardiness.

“That really resonated with me,” Greenley recalls. “After that, being in business for 30 years now, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been late for dinner.”

These days, that guiding principle extends to Greenley’s employees at Maaco Littleton, too: Family comes first. Greenley’s highvolume facility, which repairs 485 vehicles per month, can be busy enough to resemble a Walmart parking lot, yet he still insists that employees end their work days, with rare exception, around 5:30 p.m.

Greenley tells employees: “Listen, your family counts on you to be home, at the dinner table, at 6. What we have to do is come in a little bit earlier; when your family’s asleep, they’re probably not going to miss us—I’d rather get up a little earlier and hit the day head on.”

Yes, Greenley pulls into his shop’s parking lot at precisely 6:23 most mornings, and preaches a familial philosophy: Basically, if everyone simply focuses on performing their roles, it benefits the greater good of the shop.

And does it ever. Maaco Littleton has set production records for its national chain countless times over the years. Currently, the shop rakes in $8 million in annual revenue.

Greenley has earned numerous awards in his career, such as the International Franchisee Association’s Franchisee of the Year Award, and was the first honoree with regard to the

Maaco Hall of Fame Award. Additionally, the shop owner, who chairs a marketing and advertising council for Maaco corporate, has also become an industry advocate and has testified before a Congressional committee on behalf of policies that aid small business.

Fellow shop owners often visit Greenley in Colorado, in an effort to learn his business tactics. What they typically observe are finetuned shop processes.

“When franchise owners come and visit me, one of the things they recognize and say is, ‘Brian, how can you be so busy, [yet] it doesn’t feel chaotic in your shop?’

“It’s recognizing your limitations, and exploiting your greatest attributes,” adds Greenley, whose shop largely does light collision work, along with perhaps three heavy hits per week. “You might be a shop that wants to replace frame rails on every single car, and pull the engines. But your shop has to be set up and capable, and your staff has to be trained with the proper equipment to be able to do that car day in and day out.”

Greenley utilizes a production system focused on efficiency. He prefers to break repair work into segments for his staff: one shop worker does sanding, the next employee on the assembly line does masking, while the next in line does pre-prep paint. Meanwhile, the shop’s two main painters rarely stray from their main focus.

The longtime shop owner clearly defines his staff members’ roles. That way, they can work in unison, consistently churning out repair work that results in a sterling, 97 percent CSI score.

“When that car comes in,” Greenley says, “someone has to document the current condition of it. Someone has to check the status of the parts. Someone has to know which technician is available, trained, certified, and capable of fixing that car.

“Because, guess what? If that car requires a certain skill level, and it goes to the wrong technician, you potentially have a re-do, a slower repair process, a dissatisfied customer, and an upset insurance company,” adds Greenley, whose shop has six DRPs. After nearly three decades as a shop owner, Greenley’s business approach is proven. He has production managers, painters and body techs that have stuck with the Colorado facility since Greenley’s early days as shop operator, in 1990.

And, his wife, Barb, has remained at his side—even after her husband briefly lost sight of his priorities one night long ago.

“You get out of life as much as you put into it,” Brian Greenley says. “And business is very much the same way.”

Proper Perspective

Colorado shop owner Brian Greenley’s work days rarely extend past 5:30 p.m., yet his shop nevertheless rakes in $8 million annually.

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 39

A DA M M ET TE

P R O D U C T I O N E S T I M ATO R , P R O B S T AU TO B O DY DIETERICH, ILL.

Eager Leader

Not long ago, Adam Mette volunteered to become his shop’s new production estimator. Soon he helped lower average cycle time from 11 days to 8 days.

40 fenderbender.com | September 2019

Fueling Shop Efficiency B Y K E L LY B E AT O N

|

PHOTO COURTESY ADAM METTE

From the moment he rises each day, Adam Mette is focused on efficiency.

First, at 5 a.m., the National Guardsman puts himself through rigorous Crossfit workouts.

Whether it’s through barbell sets, or running as much as 3 miles, Mette gets through all elements of his training swiftly. In total, he tours several elements of his workout facility in just 60 minutes.

“I beat my body up every day,” Mette says of the workouts. “But it’s fun.”

Truth be told, Mette has developed a love-hate relationship with running. Yet, he does it often, to spend time with his wife.

He is, if nothing else, a team player, after all.

Nowhere is that more apparent than at Mette’s workplace, Probst Auto Body Inc., in Dieterich, Ill. Mette began there with little collision repair experience four years ago, but got up to speed quickly. After starting in a teardown role, Mette quickly seized an opportunity when the shop needed a new production estimator.

“Adam quickly volunteered to take that position,” recalls Mark Probst, the shop’s owner. “In a matter of two weeks, he caught on so quickly we turned him loose with little guidance.

“He’s very gifted in getting the team to work together, which has lowered our cycle time from an 11-day average to an eight-day average.

Adam has the personality to make things happen without upsetting anyone he’s working with.”

Mette has played a pivotal role in Probst Auto Body’s scant, 3.8 percent supplement ratio for DRP-related work. The key, in that respect, has been the production manager/back-end estimator’s voracious reading of OEM repair procedures. The young shop floor leader prides himself on studying manufacturers’ websites, as well as information from I-CAR and ALLDATA. All that research has helped Probst Auto Body refine both its teardown and blueprinting processes.

Mette meticulously performs vehicle walkarounds. He documents R&I parts. He speaks with his parts coworker and front office employees ceaselessly.

His attention to detail is especially apparent in the Illinois shop’s blueprinting process, during which he writes several notes on

WO R DS TO LI V E BY:

“If you’re not up to date on training, you’re not going to keep up at this point.” vehicles’ windows, regarding any issues with codes or alignments, for example.

The key to that process, Mette says, is “being as thorough as I can. I want to get to the point where the guys don’t have to look at a work order; I have everything marked out on the car.

I usually try to write notes all over the window— almost to the point where they don’t need a work order to be able to do their job.

While Probst says Mette has played a key role in helping the shop reduce its cycle time, Mette deflects such praise, citing the shop floor’s teamwork.

Probst Auto Body utilizes a team setup, requiring an admin staff, two body technicians, one paint tech, one teardown guy, and Mette to communicate smoothly.

“I just have a little role,” he says with regard to cycle time, “trying to make sure that all the parts are here, and everything’s mapped out. … Everyone’s always working on everything together. So, if someone can jump in [in another department] and help paint something—help a painter polish when he’s too busy—or do a quick little dent, it helps tremendously, so we just keep churning.”

Hard to believe: just five short years ago, the production manager had precious little collision repair experience. But, when Adam Mette sees an opportunity, he runs with it.

“I got caught up,” he says, “real fast.”

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 41

G R E G DOWN E R

M A N AG E R , R E F E R R A L C O L L I S I O N S H A KO P E E , M I N N .

Hands-On Leader

BY MELISSA STEINKEN

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PHOTO BY JESSIENA LAKE

Greg Downer has a history of not waiting for his goals to come to fruition. Instead, he takes action, and works toward making them happen.

When the body shop manager wanted to attend more events in the community, for instance, he took over as his employer’s representative at local Chamber of Commerce events.

When he wanted to volunteer in his community, he promptly offered his time as a coach for a youth hockey team.

When Downer wanted to change careers three years ago, he entered the collision repair industry with no training. He entered the industry eagerly, diving into shop tasks alongside technicians.

“My role in the shop is to basically fill in the place with the greatest need,” says Downer, shop manager for Referral Collision in Shakopee, Minn.

In his time running the body shop, Downer has increased shop production, helping the shop’s annual revenue increase from roughly $1 million to $3 million in a three-year period. During that time, Downer helped manage Referral Collision’s transition to adding a second, production-focused facility. Part of that growth came from networking and growing referrals.

Today, Downer has an abundance of positive customer reviews on Facebook and Google.

One Google customer review notes the following: “I’m glad I brought my vehicle here.

First off, Greg was very descriptive in the process and once in contact with him, he basically does everything for you from there! … If you want a simple process that is headache free, drop off your car to Referral Collision.”

The main factor contributing to a roughly 65 percent growth in business stems from Downer’s push to increase the work for which the body shop was getting paid. For example, it was a battle to get companies to pay for diagnostic scans done on vehicles, or adjacent panel damage that occurred and had to be fixed when the technician was welding a new panel on the car.

In order to get reimbursed, Downer focused 42 fenderbender.com | September 2019

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“Going into the shop and talking to the team is one of the only ways to earn the respect of the crew.”

on forming tighter relationships with insurance adjusters in his area. He sat down, outlined the repair process and spent the time with the adjuster to explain why technicians need to repair vehicles a certain way.

Downer developed a comeback tracker that is a list of areas where the vehicle had to internally go back in the repair process. The list detailed why inefficiencies occasionally occurred, like when a vehicle was returned to the paint department.

By tracking such issues, Downer is able to meet with his shop floor staff and discuss areas they can improve in order to meet a scheduling goal of 400 hours each week.

“I think you need to work like crazy to play like crazy,” Downer says. “If I’m here in the shop and I’m working, I better be getting the job done well.”

Currently, Downer manages over $200,000 per month in sales. In July 2017, that number was $90,932 and the shop had an average monthly car count of about 55 cars.

In May 2019, the shop increased the average monthly car count to 101 repairs and produced $211,000 in sales that month.

Through Downer’s scheduling process, smaller bumper jobs and lighter hits have a cycle time of roughly four days. If employees ever disagree on how a repair job was performed, Downer will sit down with a technician on a one-on-one basis or have an all-staff meeting to lay out the reason behind necessary repair procedures.

These meetings typically take roughly 10 minutes and can often clarify for the team why Downer decided to sublet ADAS calibrations out to a dealership, for instance. Sometimes, the team might suggest using a different product for the car repair or using a different type of paint.

Ultimately, the meetings serve as an opportunity for Downer to let his staff know that he heard their feedback and took their concerns into account.

From the get-go, Downer says it is important that a manager gets his or her hands “dirty” and helps the team out with repairs directly.

“Going into the shop and talking to the team is one of the only ways to earn the respect of the crew,” Downer says.

Overall, Downer has played a vital role in shop operations.

“Greg has been a primary driver in the development and implementation of the new shop operating procedures,” Ben Furseth, marketing manager for Referral Collision and nominator, says. “Greg has a unique ability to connect with people, listen to their concerns and find solutions in a calm and collective way.”

Seizing the Moment

At Referral Collision, shop manager Greg Downer’s efficient, oneon-one meetings with staff members quickly shore up any shop deficiencies.

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 43

M A R I E PE E V Y

O W N E R , AU TO M OT I V E T R A I N I N G C O O R D I N ATO R S G R E AT E R C H I C AG O

A True Industry Advocate

BY MELISSA STEINKEN

|

PHOTO COURTESY MARIE PEEVY

Marie Peevy was at the 2016 Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meeting in Palm Springs when, suddenly, she became very ill and was rushed to the hospital where, to her surprise, she found out she had liver disease.

The culprit? Hepatitis C, which she contracted from a blood transfusion, 26 years earlier, resulting in cirrhosis and at that moment in Palm Springs, esophageal varices.

Later, thanks to the medical breakthrough of Harvoni the summer before, Marie was able to be completely cured of Hepatitis C and is much better. She credits organizations like the American Liver Foundation and the work they do in supporting medical research for her health success.

“They did awareness campaigns and collected funds for treatment and ultimately saved my life,” Peevy says. “I decided in that moment that I had to pay it forward.”

Today, Peevy is a member of the American Liver Foundation Great Lakes Region Board of Trustees and also took her passion for paying it forward to the collision repair industry.

Among her many industry involvements: She is currently on the board for the Women’s Industry Network (WIN) for her third term, co-chairs the WIN Most Influential Woman (MIW) committee, is a member on the WIN industry outreach committee, a member of the scholarship committee for the Collision Repair Education Foundation, she co-chairs the National Auto Body Council’s awards committee, was the Illinois I-CAR committee chair and a member of SCRS. 44 fenderbender.com | September 2019

WO R DS TO LI V E BY:

“We can follow processes and directions, but connecting one on one with others in the industry is what ends up being the most impactful.”

When she’s not managing her own business, Automotive Training Coordinators, she volunteers in her community to help spur educational opportunities. For instance, she co-founded a local middle school booster club and is treasurer of the local PTA .

“Marie is truly motivated, not by money, but by a sincere desire to help others,” says her husband, Jeff Peevy, the president of the Automotive Management Institute and the chair of the Collision Industry Conference.

A Helping Hand

Throughout the course of her career, Marie Peevy has spent immeasurable time and energy to lift others up within the collision repair industry.

“She started her company after seeing the struggles that shop owners and managers had as they attempted to keep up with training requirements.”

Peevy has spent much of her industry career dedicated to helping others. In fact, she started her business to assist collision repair shops in managing and coordinating training to meet requirements because she saw so many struggling with it.

“One of the things I kept coming back to in my career has been that connecting in person with others is important to success,” Peevy says.

“We can follow processes and directions, but connecting one-on-one with others in the industry is what ends up being the most impactful.”

At the time she started her company, I-CAR was one of the most prominent training certification programs out there, but today, shops need to juggle I-CAR training with insurance company training, paint company training courses and OEM training requirements.

She’s determined, honest, and not afraid to look at old processes in a new way.

Through her work, she helps a large number of collision repair shops in the U.S. Her goal is to help shop owners be able to wear their other “hats” while she helps focus on what training requirements and classes they need to complete.

It’s one aspect of the job taken off their plate but it’s a significant one at the end of the day.

Peevy travels to industry events throughout the year, like SEMA, the Collision Industry Conference and the WIN conference (she was awarded the 2018 Most Influential Woman award, which recognizes women that have enriched the industry with their leadership, commitment and vision to excellence), so she can relay information back to her clients who often can’t take the time to travel and attend industry events.

She has dedicated six-plus years of her life to helping other women overcome struggles in the industry and has followed in the footsteps of her mentors, TGIF Body Shop owner Kathy Mello, and her husband, Jeff.

“I believe everyone has strengths and weaknesses,” Peevy says. “When you work with mentors, you get the unique opportunity to see what worked for them and what didn’t.”

For instance, she was instrumental in creating a scholarship through CREF that highlighted recruiting and retaining young individuals into the industry.

In fact, all of Peevy’s efforts toward the collision repair industry would be hard to document, Jeff says.

“She is quick to volunteer to help make our industry a better place,” he says.

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 45

RYA N S E E V E R

T E C H N I C I A N , WA R R E N S B U R G C O L L I S I O N WA R R E N S B U R G , M O.

Instructional Video Star B Y K E L LY B E AT O N

|

PHOTO BY AARON LINDBERG

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“You teach people tips and tricks, and they teach you, and it just brings everybody up.

At the end of the day, we want to bring up the whole industry, not just ourselves.”

46 fenderbender.com | September 2019

Ryan Seever’s YouTube videos are largely critically acclaimed.

A “Ryan’s Toolbox” video, for example, has garnered 141 online reviews and up to 80,000 views. “GIVE THAT MAN A RAISE” wrote one commenter. “This guy is a keeper,” said another.

No, Seever isn’t a budding filmmaker. He’s simply a steel structural technician who’s extremely passionate about the collision repair industry. He enjoys sharing insight on how body shops can work more efficiently. “Here, we always share our improvements,” explains Seever, a technician at Warrensburg (Mo.) Collision. “That’s the reason we do our videos and share them with other people. It’s kind of a way of bringing everybody up.

“I like to see things that other people do, too, because I get inspired and get ideas. You know, things spread like wildfire.”

Seever’s blue-flame passion for collision repair has made him a leader on the shop floor.

“We’re all here for one common goal: to make money and do the best, and provide the best quality of repairs we possibly can for the customer. And the safest,” Seever says.

He rallies the troops by letting everyone on the shop floor take part in the decisionmaking process.

“We all come together—the estimator, the technician, the painter,” Seever explains, “and we all make a decision together as to what’s going to be the best way for that vehicle to be repaired— what’s best for us as far as quality, and down the road for safety for the customer.

Everybody gets on the same page.”

Seever’s positivity has helped spur Warrensburg Collision’s staff to embrace lean principles in recent years. Not only does the shop staff send home 120 hours per day, but the group has lowered the shop’s cycle time from 10 days to 6.5 over the last few years.

Eye on Efficiency

Technician Ryan Seever has been instrumental in Warrensburg Collision’s implementation of lean philosophies, creating multiple time-saving tips.

“The leadership is something you wouldn’t see in many technicians,” says Casey Lund, the Missouri shop’s owner, in reference to Seever, who is I-CAR Platinum Level 3 in multiple categories.

“Ryan has been instrumental in our change.”

Lean principles are featured prominently in Seever’s videos, which populate Warrensburg Collision’s YouTube page.

The shop, which currently repairs 110 vehicles per month, has utilized lean principles for nearly five years. And, in that time, Seever has become a believer in the philosophies.

“Every day, we take the first 45 minutes to do anything in our work space to improve our efficiency,” Seever says. “So, I’ve done a lot of improvements in my toolbox, eliminating things that I didn’t need, and making it where I was taking as few steps as possible to work on the car and make myself as efficient as possible.

“For years, I worked out of a large toolbox against the wall. … I then bought a smaller mobile tool cart and started bringing only the tools I used all the time to that cart. I organized those tools with kaizen foam so everything has its place. Once I got my mobile box dialed in, others were taking notice and I gave advice to them; they started doing the same thing with their boxes.”

Seever’s especially proud of Warrensburg Collision’s fine-tuned blueprinting process these days.

“It’s slowing down at the beginning to speed up at the end of the job,” Seever explains. “Our estimate is written. The car gets taken apart one time—you’re not doing supplements. All your parts are there. Everything’s right there for you to do.

“Traditionally in the industry, someone will take a car half apart, fix it, and then, the day it has to go home, they’re finding broken clips,” he adds. “And … you’re doing a supplement and delaying the job. So now, [at Warrensburg Collision], the car comes in and it gets 100 percent fully disassembled, right from the beginning. Everything’s figured out on the first day.”

The process is working, evidenced by the facility’s 95.8 percent CSI score.

As a result, shops from bordering states occasionally visit Warrensburg Collision’s shop floor and get tutorials from Seever. And, those YouTube videos continue to garner web clicks.

“The quality and the way you do things, everyone’s always watching,” Seever says. “You teach people tips and tricks, and they teach you tips and tricks, and it just brings everybody up.

“At the end of the day, we want to bring up the whole industry, not just ourselves.”

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 47

20 1 9 FE N D E R B E N D E R

FenderBender would like to congratulate all the individuals who were nominated for the 2019 FenderBender Awards, as well as those who took the time to nominate them. Each nominee was deserving, creating a voting process that was arguably more difficult than ever this year.

Here’s a look at the full list of nominees.

A ARON SCHULENBURG • ADAM HAZARD • ADRIAN WRIGHT • AGUSTINE RIVERA • ALEX DORIA ALI AL-ADRA • ALLAN FLORES • ALLEN MASSEY • ANDREW POWELL • BENJAMIN DONOVAN BLAKE FORNAROTTO • BRAEDON THIFFEAULT • BRENT STEELE • BRETT KUHLMAN BRIAN HEMSTREET • BRIAN PORTER • CHLOE BREWER • CHRIS MAHON • CHRIS NICKEL CHRIS SAVENETTI • CHUCK OLSEN • CJ PATERNITI • CLAY HOBERECHT • COREY BLAISDELL CORY DENNIS • CRYSTAL MCGEE • DAN HILL • DANIEL PROCTOR • DANIELLE MOODY DARRYL HEMSTREET • DAVID RABIDEAU • DAVID WORKMAN • DENNIS O’MAHONEY DERRICK THOMAS • DEWAYNE WHITE • DOMENICK D’AMORE • DON MILLER • DOUG JOHNSON ELAINE MEDINA • ELIZABETH MAKEIG • ERICK JOST • FRANK ABATE • GEORGE GALOWICZ GREG CARTER • GREG WOLFORD • IBRAHIM GHAZAL • JACK GLASNER • JAMIE WHITE • JARED BURT JARI GONZALEZ • JASON GARFOOT • JASON SAVOIE • JEREMY WINTERS • JERRY LAMPE • JOHN YAZAK JOHNNY LOPEZ • JONATHON BEST • JOSEPH MAGGARD • JUAN CURREL • JUSTIN BLAISDELL JUSTIN FISHER • KEVIN MANDRYK • KIM BARKS • LANDON THOMPSON • LIREL HOLT • MARC GABBARD MARCUS RINGUETTE • MARIANO CACHO • MARK KHARFAN • MARK SEE • MARVIC VILA MATTHEW BOWKER • MATTHEW CORBETT • MATTHEW GONZALEZ • MATTHEW ROBERTSON MICHAEL D. LISY • MICHAEL MCGEE • MIKE MINOTTI • MIKE SATINK • OSCAR MORENO • PAUL BERTHAULT PAUL GANGE • PHIL LOCASCIO • PIERRE-LUC CARRÉ • PRESTON SMITH • RANDAL J. GROOT RANDY BLAISDELL • RENALD MAILLET • RIANE TWINING • ROB FAHEY • ROBERT BUMPUS ROLAND BOUDREU • RON ZAPPETILLO • ROSS D. CREECH • SABRINA DE LA RAMA • SAM MERCANTI SCOTT VROEGH • SELVI RIZK • SHANE LYMER • SHANNON HAYS • STAN MEDINA • STEVE DAVIS STEVE KNOX • STEVE MCPHAIL • TERA WILSON • TIM CHASTAIN • TIM MOORE • TIM TRUDEAU TOMMY VEINOT • TRAVIS REITTINGER • TYLER LIPKA • VICTOR GUTIERREZ • VINCENT BROCK

48 fenderbender.com | September 2019

WHY REINVENT

THE WHEEL?

Reverse-engineered Aftermarket parts often don’t fit correctly – making your repairs take longer. CollisionLink connects you to OE parts – no reinvention required.

With CollisionLink you get: • The largest dealer network across all OEMs • Discounts through 27 part programs for 21 automakers • Efficient workflow system to streamline your parts order process • Comprehensive VIN build vehicle data for part ordering accuracy • No cost for you to enroll CONGRATULATIONS to the 2019 FenderBender Award Winners: Manager: Greg Downer, Referral Collision Shop Worker: Ryan Seever, Warrensburg Collision Administrative Support: Adam Mette, Probst Auto Body Inc.

Call: 234.400.1518 Visit: OEConnection.com/fenderbender September 2019 | fenderbender.com 49

INFERNO

Artist: Joe Vincent Vincent Dezigns

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Blazing Trails is a registered 501(C)3 non-profit organization managed by Larsen Motorsports and dedicated to supporting educational programs in the U.S. The Blazing Trails Scholarship Fund in memory of Kat Moller is in partnership with Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes.

50 fenderbender.com | September 2019

STRATEGY LEARN

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52 fenderbender.com | September 2019

STR ATEGY

IDEA SHOP

How to Become a Great Leader Exceptional guidance originates from continuous learning

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has long been touted as an influential leader.

Under his leadership, Berkshire Hathway’s stock gained more than 20 percent since 1965. And, by all accounts, when times get tough, Buffett faces problems head on.

Buffett is, unquestionably, a revered leader. But, he’s just one example of a great leader.

What makes his and other people’s leadership qualities stand out as great versus ones that are simply just good?

Kelly Cooper prefers to lead from behind the scenes, by assessing the big picture. He spends much of his time visiting body shops, observing their processes, and eventually formulating an assessment of the business. While he can’t match Buffett’s renown, Cooper is nonetheless a respected leader.

Through observing how other shop leaders work, Cooper, vice president of operations for 1Collision Network, doesn’t think there is a cookie-cutter way to fix shop issues.

“Every shop has its own restraints,” he says. “It could be the equipment or the management system but it all depends on the shop.”

He’s seen it in person: All shop owners have their own habits that make them effective or ineffective leaders. Some leaders can be good and others can be great—leaving a lasting impact on those they oversee—even in a busy, chaotic shop setting.

Here are Cooper’s tips on what can allow a good leader to evolve into an exceptional one.

AS TOLD TO MELISSA STEINKEN

Use all available resources.

We have access to repair procedures and technology like we’ve never had before.

A leader can never access resources too much. For instance, with OE repair procedures, check them for every repair and document that you’ve done it.

A shop can never be too safe with the amount of technology coming down the road and the ADAS features in cars. A great leader will take advantage of the resources that teach the new technology and repairs.

Make it a habit: Go the extra mile and video yourself reading through the OEM repair procedures or take a photo of you reading it. Then, there will be photo evidence that you have done what you said.

Become a student.

It’s about asking questions. You have to realize, as a leader, that you might not know every single answer and that’s OK. Don’t be afraid to learn from your staff.

I often see shop owners struggling with the changes in vehicle technology and updates to repair procedures. I get there, and they seem like it’s too much information coming at them. This is a great example of where shop leaders can take a step back and learn.

Leaders can learn by researching OEM repair procedures or by asking their teams what they know about the new vehicle technology and how to repair it.

Make it a habit: Sit down and interview each employee alone. Find out what they know about the repair process in the shop and ask them questions on how they are managed. Go into that meeting with ears wide open.

Demand that expectations are met.

Stop trying to jump in and critique your shop team before you assess if your expectations are being met. Communication is key to making sure that expectations are followed.

For instance, have a morning planning meeting with the team. Check in with the team and make sure everyone knows what the goals are for the day and how many vehicles need to be done at a certain time.

Morning meetings and release meetings are great ways for the team to collaborate and air issues. The technicians have a chance to let the team know where the repairs are on the vehicle and if they need any assistance.

One thing I recommend other shop owners do is to list out all the positions on their team and write out what each role does in the shop. Then observe, for a week or so, if these roles are being carried out the right way.

Make it a habit: Take a step back as a leader and look at your staff all on the same playing level. When there is an issue, do not think about their position in the company or job title. Talk to them as a fellow leader.

Look for an outside perspective.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to others in the industry and ask for help. Shop owners should keep in touch with paint companies, for example, because they do a lot of business development training.

Shop owners should also be reading a lot about the industry and following news in industry trade publications. Or, they need to attend industry-wide events like the Collision Industry Conference to form contacts. I know that I can call up people at companies like asTech and ask them what’s going on with the latest diagnostic scan tool technologies; those types of connections are important to have so that you don’t get stuck in a rut with your body shop.

My favorite book right now is called Courage to Execute by James Murphy, which goes over how to build a culture of high performance in the business and what military units can teach about leadership. I found a lot of the content relatable to body shop processes.

When I go into shops, I’ll help owners out by interviewing every employee for a few minutes and then put together an assessment of every situation. Then, I’ll go to the manager with the assessment and point out the problem. Often, leadership problems can’t be seen until there is a new set of eyes involved.

Make it a habit: When finding and going to industry events, walk into the events with the mindset that you don’t know anything about the topic you’re going to be listening to.

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 53

STR ATEGY

EDUCATION+TRAINING

Avoiding Speaking Ill of Insurers

How to professionally discuss the shop-insurer relationship with customers B Y K E L LY B E AT O N

the collision repair industry for nearly 50 years now. He spent 14 years in body shops, spent a short stint working for State Farm, and now provides consulting for body shops.

Looking back on his five decades in the industry, Sefcek, the president of Stan Mitchell Enterprises, knows there were times in which the relationship between body shops and insurers was stronger than it is now. That’s not to say that fences can’t be mended, though, at least to an extent—and they need to be, otherwise consumers will suffer.

Body shops and insurers are destined for occasional conflict, Sefcek says, because insurance adjusters are largely employed to control costs. But, he adds “it’s still a relationship business.” And, obviously, shop staff can come off as unprofessional if they badmouth insurers to clients.

“It’s about delivering the promise made to the customer,” Sefcek adds. “It’s all about customer service.”

So, how can fences be mended between body shops and insurers? For starters, shop staff need to attempt to empathize with the likes of insurance adjusters, says Gary Bagwell, a man who, like Sefcek, has worked for both body shops and insurers over the course of a lengthy career.

“Most insurers have never walked in the shoes of body men or the shop owner,” notes Bagwell, who currently serves as the manager of operations for Fix Auto USA, but worked in both the independent body shop and insurance realms earlier in his 34-year career.

“Likewise,” he says, “most shop owners have never walked in the shoes of the insurer. And, if you’re in that conversation every single day, it can get tough … that conversation goes on so long that it starts to get frayed.

54 fenderbender.com | September 2019

“You have to consider all aspects: [Insurers] have a business to run. The consumer wants their car back. You, as a body shop operator, are trying to run a business. How do you all play in that sandbox together is what’s important.”

Ultimately, he notes, shops need to be professional when discussing the shopinsurer relationship with customers.

Below are Bagwell and Sefcek’s suggestions for doing just that.

Set expectations.

First and foremost, shop employees

need to assure customers that repair work will eventually be thoroughly performed, at a level both the facility and insurers deem appropriate.

“Educate the customer of the reasoning supporting the tasks, procedures, and materials,” Sefcek says.

He also stresses the importance of setting expectations for customers, and making sure that they’re fully aware of their insurance policy. It’s also important, of course, to let clients know that you’ll keep them informed of any pertinent updates during the repair process.

GETTY IMAGES

Bill Sefcek has worked in and around

“When having discussions,” he says, “bring everybody into the loop—technicians, estimators, CSRs. “Everybody’s going to have their biases to some extent, but we generally understand that we have these working partnerships with insurers, and we have to manage all of these relationships.

[Ask insurance adjusters], ‘Hey, how are you doing? It’s good to see you. What’s up? What can we help you with?’”

Sefcek feels it’s important to let a customer service representative—an employee who’s typically approachable, easy-going, and separated from the shop floor—handle discussions of the shopinsurer relationship with customers.

Steer clear of negativity.

“Ask the customer to contact their insurance representative to explain their ‘full coverage’ to them,” Sefcek suggests. “The customer needs to be clear where their policy ends and their responsibility starts before entering into the repair process.”

The industry consultant also feels it’s important to avoid using much collision repair industry jargon when speaking with customers.

“Look to identify what the customer does [for a living] and how you can correlate that to the repair process,” he says.

“Even if the customer works at home,

they know the difference between products that work and those that don’t, items that hold up and don’t, cost and value.

Leverage this insight. By reading the customer, you can offer them an analogy of how this fits in their world.”

Communicate consistently.

Bagwell is a firm believer that shops, when speaking to customers about insurance coverage, need to make sure each employee is on the same page.

That way, the facility can deliver a consistent message.

A shop employee’s comments about insurers should never get personal, Bagwell warns. Such negativity won’t present a shop in a positive, professional light.

“If you want to try and foster any kind of better relationship for tomorrow, the day after, or the month after that, just refrain from any negativity,” he says. Insurance adjusters “are going to be there tomorrow. They’re still going to be selling policies. You’re still going to get cars into your shop, and any of that negativity will blow back on you eventually.”

Sefcek feels it’s important for shops to explain to customers what they can typically expect from specific insurers.

“Let them know, based on experience, what may come into question when working with the company responsible for paying the bill,” the industry consultant says. “Given the specific insurance company at hand, explain what’s to be expected, before and after the repair process.”

Take the High Road.

It’s important to remember, Bagwell notes, that it’ll reflect poorly on your business if you badmouth insurers. It’s best to step back and attempt to sound eager to work with all parties involved.

As a shop operator, Bagwell says, “Everyday I need to walk into this relationship anew, with a fresh perspective and hope that we can find some middle ground.

“At the end of the day, you don’t want to be the issue, you want to be the resolution.

So just be professional in all aspects.”

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 55

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©2019 Drew Technologies, Inc. Patent(s) pending. 080619-1

COLUMNS

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

Stay on Top of Your Shop When Traveling

The secret to having your shop survive in your absence

FUE VANG, GETTY IMAGES

We all want to take vacations. We all

want to attend relevant industry events.

And, as body shop operators, we should be able to travel as much as we feel is necessary.

But it’s not always easy to step away from your shop, is it?

I’ve got some strong opinions on how to stay connected with your staff when you’re traveling. Because, earlier in my career, I encountered a few issues along those lines. Earlier this decade, when I traveled I would spend hours each day on the phone, answering my employees’ questions, approving things, and solving conflicts.

I’ll never forget one trip I made in 2010.

I was getting ready to head to Idaho for an elk hunt. I told one of my CSRs that I was about to fly out of town the next day—and that I might be hard to reach while gone— and the young lady was losing her mind.

She asked, “Who’s going to make the decisions when you’re gone? What if we’ve got to put someone in a rental car?” And I said, “Well, if you know the criteria for giving a customer a rental vehicle, then you make the decision.”

My thinking is, sure, you can run your shop by cell phone a lot of times, but is that really what you want to be doing while traveling?

These are the biggest keys to keep in mind when you’re going to step away from your business for a few days:

something that could cost the shop any significant amount of money, then I want four employees to get together and make the decision together. Because that way they’ll play devil’s advocate, and you can have people looking at it different ways.

That strategy pays off—believe me.

I just went to San Diego, was gone for five days, and I didn’t get one call from my three shops during that time. Nor did I call the shop in that amount of time. Empowering the staff was a game changer for me.

Devote one hour to work most mornings.

If I go on an extended family vacation, I’ll take one hour each morning, when my kids are typically sleeping, to catch up on email. I don’t answer every single email, just what’s critical. Then, I’ll answer the rest when I can.

If I take somewhere in the ballpark of an hour each day, when I’m not interrupting my vacation at all, I can stay fairly caught up.

Outside of that one hour each day, though, I focus on the main task at hand during my

trip—I believe it’s very, very important to be present in anything you do in life.”

Seize the training opportunity that trips present.

Whenever I’m away and let my employees make decisions, it gives me an opportunity to coach them afterwards. I’m never going to yell at them; We’ll sit down and discuss the decision that they made, and why they made it, so I can understand. Then, if I disagree with the decision they made, I let them understand how I would’ve made it, and how I would’ve come to my conclusion.

Really, by being away from your shop for a while, it provides an opportunity to train employees. Even if they make the wrong decisions, sure, it might cost me $50 or so, but it gives me an opportunity to say, “OK, next time, this is what I would do differently, and this is why.” That way, you’re guiding the future of their decisions.

Longterm, you want to be surrounded by a lot of people that, when they encounter those situations, are going to ask themselves one main question: What would my boss do here?

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

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

Empower your staff.

To manage your shop while you’re away, you have to empower your staff to make decisions. One rule that we have is, if it’s September 2019 | fenderbender.com 57

58 fenderbender.com | September 2019

STR ATEGY

CASE STUDY

A Texas shop added glass repair work and quickly improved quality and speed

BY MELISSA STEINKEN PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARAE RUSSELL

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 59

STR ATEGY

CASE STUDY

“We were already spending the money on someone to repair glass in-house,” notes Jim Osborn, owner of Concho Collision and Auto Glass.

Osborn was paying his glass vendor as much as he would be paying a full-time employee.

That fact didn’t sit well with the Texas shop owner. So, he decided to make that person a permanent member of the collision repair shop’s team.

Concho Collision and Auto Glass is one of a small percentage of body shops performing inhouse glass repairs and, thus, taking advantage of the additional revenue stream.

“Probably just short of 20 percent of the Fix Auto network has put a glass shop in their body shop for example,” Stommel says.

Before adding a new arm to the business to include glass repair work, Osborn’s shop was already raking in nearly $7 million in annual revenue. And, with the additional work, the San Angelo, Texas, facility brought in roughly $100,000 more.

CONCHO COLLISION AND AUTO GLASS OWNERS:

JIM OSBORN, TOM SMITH LOCATION:

SAN ANGELO, TEXAS SIZE:

27,000 SQUARE FEET (2,400 SQUARE FEET FOR GLASS REPAIR FACILITY) STAFF:

35 (7 FRONT OFFICE, 28 SHOP FLOOR) AVERAGE MONTHLY CAR COUNT:

150

ANNUAL REVENUE:

$7 MILLION (NOT INCLUDING GLASS REPAIR) 60 fenderbender.com | September 2019

Adding Profit Centers After realizing how much it cost his shop to sublet glass repair, Jim Osborn (top left) decided to train his staff and take the work in house.

The Backstory

Osborn entered the industry in 2002. After spending the majority of his career on the insurance side of collision repair, he had built up a contact base from working on a major DRP partnership. When he switched to the other side of the collision repair industry, he took the connections he made with him.

Soon, Osborn made the same drive every day after work. He passed by a dealership on his way home. Eventually, he noticed a “For Rent” sign in front of the dealership. Inspired, he teamed up with some of his insurance contacts and formed Concho Collision. Then, in 2004, he moved to the shop’s current location after buying a new facility.

Over time, the body shop became the busiest and the biggest one in town.

“People naturally gravitated over here to bring their cars,” he says.

The Problem

Osborn and his partners quickly saw that the shop was spending tons of time subletting glass repair work. In fact, the team was spending as much as $4,000 some months on an outside glass vendor.

And, at the same time, Osborn was having trouble getting his glass vendors to perform work and service his accounts like he needed. The shop went through three different vendors before deciding to bring someone into the shop permanently.

The vendors were busy themselves, and had trouble coming to the shop for same-day glass repairs. As a result, customers at the body shop often had to wait an extra day or more before they could pick up their vehicles.

The Solution

Osborn sat down with one of the vendor techs servicing the shop and started pitching the idea to bring him into the shop permanently. In 2018, that hire was made official.

Roughly one year ago, Osborn and his team opened a new, 2,400-squarefoot glass repair facility. They purchased an empty lot across the street from the collision repair shop. They September 2019 | fenderbender.com 61

STR ATEGY

CASE STUDY

N OA H S TO M M E L F R A N C H I S E D E V E LO P M E N T D I R E C T O R NOVUS GL ASS

EXPERT ADVICE

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ADDING GLASS REPAIR NOAH STOMMEL , FR ANCHISE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR FOR NOVUS GL ASS, A WINDSHIELD GL ASS REPAIR FR ANCHISE , ANSWERS A FEW COMMON QUESTIONS SHOP OWNERS ASK BEFORE INCORPOR ATING GL ASS REPAIR .

How much do I invest?

Shops could launch into a full-functioning glass repair shop for around $50,000 to $60,000. The big expenses will include adding a mobile vehicle if the shop wants to create an additional revenue stream. The other big expense will be training, tools, marketing, sales support and fleet relationships.

How many people do I hire?

You can train a collision employee to do glass repair work, so at minimum zero. But, it’s best to start with one employee that is trained in the auto glass repair business and then grow the glass repair business to the point of needing extra employees.

How long does this process take?

If the shop has no glass repair background, companies like ours provide one month of training.

rebranded the facility Concho Collision and Auto Glass. The staff made sure to include Auto Glass on its Google My Business page and Facebook page. The name-change process took a month to complete.

“We decided at first to hire a fulltime glass repair technician to work here just to remove windshields or install new glass,” Osborn says. “Then, because he was bringing in a lot of work, we decided to go into the glass sales side of the business.”

The team found another glass repair tech at a glass shop that folded in August 2018 and hired another one that works as an apprentice to form a team of three.

The new glass repair area gets roughly 40 jobs per month. In addition to the physical, non-moving location, the team also implemented two mobile glass repair vans so they could work for other businesses outside the area, like other collision repair shops not considered competition, and capture more fleet work. Fleet accounts typically want 62 fenderbender.com | September 2019

HOW TO FORM DEALERSHIP RELATIONSHIPS NOAH STOMMEL , FR ANCHISE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR FOR NOVUS GL ASS, SHARES A FEW STEPS TO TAKE IF THE COLLISION REPAIR SHOP CHOOSES NOT TO INVEST IN CALIBR ATION EQUIPMENT IN HOUSE AND WANTS TO SUBLET THAT WORK TO DE ALERSHIPS. Step 1: Form relationships with multiple dealerships, because they will only calibrate their own model of vehicle.

Step 2: Find someone who won’t require you to use OEM glass. OEequivalent glass is sufficient for a forward-facing camera to calibrate, but some dealerships won’t try at all without OEM glass.

Step 3: If the collision repair shop has the space and does glass repair work in-house and not mobile, purchase the necessary equipment to calibrate in the shop.

glass repair work to be done at their own maintenance garage.

Shortly after adding the glass repair business, the Texas shop was not getting a lot of walk-in business, prompting the addition of the glass repair vans. They then branched out to capture the work from the part of town that included a large oil market. The motivation was simple: the more windshields they sold, the more money they made and, in turn, the more they built their base of glass repair customers.

The shop sells about 3–4 windshields per day.

“We do service a couple shops located outside our area if they don’t consider us competition,” Osborn says.

The team also reached out to a wholesale glass vendor and decided to purchase that type of glass to start making glass sales to the general public.

The Aftermath

Since opening the new glass repair facility, Osborn says the shop’s cycle time has been reduced by half a day.

The team gained a return on investment of the new facility within three months of opening it, and brought in roughly $150,000 of glass repair work.

“We can generally convince customers for the most part to have extra glass repair work done,” Marcus Osborn says.

The Takeaway

By working hand in hand, the team at the body shop and the team at the glass repair business can work to coordinate their strengths and similarities to put the customer back into a safe car.

For instance, most people coming through the door in the glass shop don’t care about the safety of the repair and having their car undergo diagnostic scans. But, since the body shop has a team that’s thoroughly trained in collision repair, the two teams can work together to convince the customer to get a scan of the vehicle after the glass is repaired.

The teams will send customers to dealerships that will then perform the scans and re-calibrate the vehicle.

COLLISION REPAIR’S BIGGEST WEEK. THE INDUSTRY’S BEST COVERAGE. News N OV. 5 - 8

|

Photos

Video

F E N D E R B E N D E R . C O M / S E M A 2 019

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September 2019 | fenderbender.com 63

STR ATEGY

HUMAN RESOURCES

6 Mistakes in the Recruiting Process

Your shop may gain a negative reputation with these common recruiting mistakes

BY MELISSA STEINKEN

body shops are in desperate need of more technicians. And, currently, supply can’t meet the demand.

Fortunately, according to a study by Raymond James, the Canadian branch of Raymond James Financial that helps families and companies with wealth management, shops are reporting that better pay and career planning strategies have helped in their hiring efforts.

Yet, hiring expert Liz Wessel says one of the worst mistakes a shop owner can do when it comes to recruiting potential employees is to attract too many job candidates. Wessel is the co-founder of WayUp, a company that helps entry-level job candidates get discovered by employers. She has helped employers and employees since she felt the effects of the job-searching process following college graduation.

When it comes to recruiting employees, Wessel and other industry experts agree: Common mistakes come from companies not setting aside a large enough recruiting budget. Because of that, small businesses like body shops don’t always present themselves in a light that attracts young job prospects.

64 fenderbender.com | September 2019

Below, Wessel notes the mistakes that shop operators often make when hiring, and, more importantly, how they can be avoided.

Mistake No. 1: Indicating that you’re looking for ‘entry-level’ candidates

Often, body shops note that job openings are “entry-level.” In job ad descriptions, however, most of those same employers note that they seek 2–3 years of experience.

Instead, Wessel says a shop owner should be specific about the skills required for the job.

“Make sure you really strip down what you need from the candidate,” Wessel says.

Reflect on whether you want the candidate to have previous body shop experience or if the position really only calls for a candidate with experience in customer service or a certain type of repair. If a shop owner simply wants someone that works well in customer service, a person with a sales background might be a good fit.

Mistake No. 2: Not providing enough detail about job openings

During initial interviews, shop operators might be inclined to sugarcoat details of the open position, and neglect to provide

enough information about what responsibilities the role actually entails.

Instead, Wessel says the employer needs to be up front with the candidate during the first interview. Tell candidates specific details, like the hours that they’re expected to work and what their pay will be.

Make sure the candidate can walk away knowing what to expect the first day of work at the company. Stop surprising new hires with job duties never mentioned in the first interview process.

Tell the candidate about the job’s health benefits, vacation days, and with whom he or she will work. Share the downsides of the role, areas people have liked and disliked about it in the past and the amount of expected travel.

Mistake No. 3: Hiring people you could be friends with

If an employer starts basing a recruiting or hiring decision based on a test to see if the person fits into the shop’s culture, then the employer could be running into issues of not hiring a diverse workforce.

“A lot of people say they do a ‘beer test,’” Wessel says. “That’s terrible, because the employer should be thinking about whether

GETTY IMAGES

If you’re in the collision repair industry in any capacity, you’re likely aware: Many

A candidate that is waiting to hear about a job opening for months can ultimately be left with a negative impression of the business.

Instead, Wessel says to update the candidate every few days. At the least, let the person know if he or she did not get the job.

“That person may not be a good fit for the company right now, but they might be a good fit five years from now,” Wessel says.

If an employer lets a candidate down respectfully, then the candidate is more likely to tell friends about the job opportunity and widen the job applicant base.

Mistake No. 5: Asking illegal questions

he or she wants to work with the candidate and not whether he or she wants to hang out with them.”

Instead, Wessel says employers should do a “culture” interview. Lay out the company’s values. Tell the candidate about company missions or goals. Before the interview, come up with a question about those values and determine what an ideal answer might sound like.

Focus the questions on whether the person can be someone that the rest of the team can work with and stop focusing on if the team could hang out with that person during non-work hours.

Ask some of these questions: “Do you prefer to move fast and make smaller mistakes, or move more slowly and diligently?

“Tell me about a time you started something from scratch.”

“Are you someone who works better in a group environment or working solo? Give me an example of a time when you had to do each.”

Mistake No. 4: Failing to update candidates during the hiring process Employers often tend to not update candidates on whether or not they got the job.

It can be a crucial mistake when employers do job interviews before brushing up on the legal side of their business.

Instead, before going into the interview, review what you, as a shop operator, can ask legally.

For instance, Wessel says to avoid asking how much money a candidate currently makes, or about their status as a citizen or their religion.

Also, Wessel recommends making the candidate feel at ease during interviews.

Start with items like, “Tell me more about what you do outside of work.” This will help the employer gauge an applicant’s personality, and help the candidate answer followup questions more confidently.

Mistake No. 6: Leaving a job posting up after it has been filled

Often, shops might want to get a continual influx of job applications and create a candidate pool, but leaving job ads posted in perpetuity is flat-out misleading, Wessel says.

Instead, Wessel says the shop should post a job opening only when it is available, or offer a spot on the shop’s website where interested applicants can submit information. Include a disclaimer in this section that says the owner will contact interested parties if and when positions become available.

If the owner receives a constant stream of applications, he or she would need to keep up with them every day. That would mean spending time logging in to whichever site is used and reading through them every day in order to not fall behind in monitoring applications.

RECRUITING MILLENNIALS AND GEN Z Ben Varquez, partner with Whistle Work, a company that provides recruiting solutions, shares quick tips to make recruiting younger generations easier.

TIP NO. 1: SEE THE POTENTIAL OF THE INTERNET. Make the application process easy for the candidate and make it so that they don’t have to enter information twice in an online form.

TIP NO. 2: FOCUS THE RECRUITMENT EARLIER. Make high schoolers part of the conversation. Use this approach to help build a pipeline of recruitment for the industry. The companies that are doing it correctly have apprenticeship programs and are partnering with technical schools.

TIP NO. 3: POST THE RIGHT INFORMATION. If someone searches your company online, what would they find? Tailor that information to the shop’s brand. Don’t just have a link on the website that says, “Apply here.” Expand on the company’s brand and mission.

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 65

66 fenderbender.com | September 2019

COLUMNS

IN THE TRENCHES STEVE MORRIS

Requirement Reminder

How familiar are you with the details of OEM repair procedures?

NICK SPAETH

In recent columns I have presented ideas

for you to consider regarding a blueprinting standard operating procedure. I noted that obtaining “repairs and inspections required after a collision” is research job No. 1. In this column, I want to further explore this essential part of your SOP. Researching repairs and inspections required after a collision allows you to itemize and document operations on your initial repair plan instead of waiting until the end of the repair to address these knowable items.

How do you find these procedures? The best way is to utilize the manufacturers’ technical information website or workshop manual. A good place to look for these operations is in the “general guidelines” section of the OEM site or in the “supplemental restraint systems” section of the OEM site.

We repair a lot of Subarus in our market, so let me share an example of their inspection requirements. Be sure to look up the procedure for the specific vehicle you are working on by using the VIN search method if it's available.

The location of the Subaru inspection procedure is found in the manual under “Air bag Systems>Inspection Locations after a Collision” and stipulates the following instructions: • If the vehicle is involved in a collision, even if it is a slight collision, be sure to check the following systems • Frontal collision (driver’s air bag module not activated) • Visually inspect the following items and replace any damaged or cracked part with a new one.

• Specially inspect the damage of air bag module body, mounting bracket and harness connector.

• Driver’s air bag module • Passenger’s air bag module • Seat cushion air bag module • Seat belt pretensioner (right and left) • Front sub sensor (right and left) • Instrument panel assembly (because it is integrated with passenger’s airbag module) When we encountered these instructions, we read and re-read them trying to be sure we interpreted them correctly.

When we asked Subaru officials if the procedures required the removal of the air bag modules in order to inspect the wire harness connectors and the body of the module, we were told that removal would be required unless we could see the complete module “in situe.” Well, our borescopes can’t see all the way around some of the modules and we lack X-ray vision, so we have no choice but to remove the modules to correctly complete the procedure.

Are you and your blueprinter aware of these required procedures from Subaru?

Are you aware of the inspections and replacements required if the driver’s air bag did deploy? Take a look at this list and note the underlined items:

Frontal collision (driver’s air bag module assembly activated)

1. Replace these parts with new ones: • Air bag control module • Driver’s air bag module • Passenger’s air bag module (if deployed) • Seat cushion air bag module • Side air bag module (right and left / if deployed) • Curtain air bag module (right and left / if deployed) • Seat belt pretensioner (right and left) • Front sub sensor (right and left) • Instrument panel assembly • Steering wheel • Column assembly - steering • Roll connector • Pad assembly - front seat backrest (if the side air bag is deployed) • Frame assembly - front seat cushion

(if the side air bag is deployed) • Frame assembly - front seat backrest (if the side air bag is deployed) • Cover COMPL - front seat backrest (if the side air bag is deployed) • Trim panel - roof assembly (if the curtain air bag is deployed) • Trim panel of each pillar (if the curtain air bag is deployed) 2. Visually inspect the following items and replace any damaged part with a new one: • Universal joint ASSY - steering • Steering gearbox • Beam COMPL - steering • Harnesses and connectors on body side linked to the replaced parts I’ve experienced numerous challenges from third-party payers of claims who did not believe we are required to do these inspections. Even though we provided the written documentation from the OEMs, some went so far as to call local dealerships and they were given erroneous information that the inspections weren’t necessary, or that they’d never heard of such a thing. Well, the best way to prevent that is to go to the dealerships and educate the service manager and service writers using their own technical service procedures as guidance. The other thing we do is occasionally sublet some of these inspections to the dealership so that the procedures are fresh in their minds should someone make an inquiry about them.

So, I hope you can see the importance of incorporating the research of required inspections after a collision into your blueprinting process. On a side note, we’ve asked some of our local dealers how many shops have the dealer do the required inspections. The answer was zero, which is alarming but not wholly unexpected. The question I have for you is: Will you be doing these inspections going forward?

S T E V E M O R R I S is the director of operations for Pride Collision Centers, a seven-location MSO located in Southern California. He is an Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) and ASE-certified master technician.

E M A I L : s t ev e m @ p r i d e au t o b o d y.c o m A R C H I V E : f e n d e r b e n d e r.c o m /m o r r i s

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 67

Lights, Camera, Action When she was tasked with overhauling Northrich Automotive & Collision Center’s culture recently, Rochelle Gotsdiner got an assist from a unique source: a television show.

68 fenderbender.com | September 2019

SHOP TALK

I LEARNED HOW TO MANAGE THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR. ROCHE L L E GO T S DINE R M A N A GING PA R T NE R NOR T HRICH A U T OMO T I V E A ND C OL L ISION CE N T E R G A RL A ND , T E X A S

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 69

SHOP TALK

ROCHELLE GOTSDINER

Pointing the Way Not long ago, Rochelle Gotsdiner recruited and retrained a new staff. Now, Northrich Automotive & Collision Center is on an upward trajectory.

Rochelle Gotsdiner was at lunch with her brother, Vladic, when she looked at him and blurted out: “We have to get involved in the family business.”

The news came as a surprise to Vladic; although their parents opened the shop in 1995 after immigrating to the U.S. from Russia with nothing more than a pair of suitcases and $400, the family business had never been forced upon either sibling.

But despite a solid reputation in the community and a story as classic as the American dream, Rochelle’s parents were experiencing financial difficulties.

That challenge is exactly what prompted Rochelle to quit her health career in 2017 and help her parents out.

“I quit my job to start managing the shop and on my first day, I didn’t even know what a VIN was,” recalls Rochele, now the shop’s managing partner.

70 fenderbender.com | September 2019

“There’s no shame in letting people know that.”

The shop went under a transformation in 2015 when the team decided to add a collision repair shop and changed its name to Northrich Automotive & Collision Center.

Rochelle took on the role of running the shop’s operations and business development alongside her dad, Alex, and within two years, kickstarted the business to produce $70,000 in sales each month. Not only did she increase revenue, she gained a strong presence on social media, received positive customer reviews and made a name for herself.

Gotsdiner splits her time between the auto repair shop and the body shop, with an office located at the latter. While she still occasionally faces challenges in the industry, Gotsdiner now spends her days being the primary authority figure in the shop.

AS TOLD TO MELISSA STEINKEN

1989

Gotsdiner’s father starts Northrich Automotive

1995

2015

NORTHRICH AUTOMOTIVE & COLLISION

Gotsdiner quits her career in health and exercise science to help her father in the shop

ALEX GOTSDINER LOCATION:

GARLAND, TEXAS SIZE:

20,000 SQUARE FEET STAFF:

8 (1 PAINTER, 2 BODY TECHS, 1 ESTIMATOR, 1 BOOKKEEPER, 1 HELPER, 1 OWNER, 1 MANAGING PARTNER) AVERAGE MONTHLY CAR COUNT:

40-45

ANNUAL REVENUE:

$800,000

The shop is featured on an episode of Richard Rawlings’ Garage Rehab, which jumpstarts a period of renewal and success

If my business hours begin at 8 a.m., then I expect my staff to be in before then and

Northrich Automotive expands to include a collision repair shop and changes its name to Northrich Automotive & Collision Center

2017

2018

OWNER:

Gotsdiner’s parents immigrate from Russia to the U.S., with two kids, two suitcases and only $400 to their name

2019

Gotsdiner and her father have a full turnover of staff and hire a new team

ready to service vehicles at that time. You don’t walk in at 8:05 a.m. I personally try to get into the shop by 7:45 a.m. at the latest. Last year, when it was really rough and the location was going through so many changes, I spent more time at the business to help see it through to be successful. I’d come in some days as early as 6:30 a.m. and not leave until 8 p.m. I had to basically start the business from the ground up, recruit and retrain an entire staff.

We went through financial issues and a huge remodel process that set us up for success. Being on season 2 of Garage Rehab gave our shop the tools and platform to see what was happening financially with the business. The shop floor had no organization, parts tended to be scattered here and there, and it was just a cluttered environment. After the makeover on the show, the shop is a beautiful facility.

I encourage my team to hustle and let them know that I’m the person that’s willing to open doors early or close later if a customer needs us to.

My days vary now because I go between the two locations and split some tasks with my father.

I often take a break during the day to recharge my mind. If I have time, I’ll get

out of the office and do some yoga. It also helps me clear my mind and go for the short drive to our auto repair center. That takes roughly 15 minutes and allows me to be by myself with my thoughts.

If I go and refresh my mind, I come back into the shop even better than I was in the morning. Especially, when I first started, I noticed I’d get frustrated easily because I’m a detail-oriented person and a perfectionist. Collision repair is a difficult industry to be in when you’re both.

It’s nice that a large chunk of my day is spent doing marketing and social media, because, if I need to get away from the shop for a little while, I can still work remotely.

When I first started in this industry, I asked a lot of questions. I didn’t know September 2019 | fenderbender.com 71

SHOP TALK

ROCHELLE GOTSDINER

Built to Last Northrich Automotive & Collision Center recently underwent a remodel which the business has used as a springboard to financial success.

anything about the automotive industry, much less collision repair. So, I started carrying around repair manuals with me in my purse. They were like my version of “Car Repair for Dummies” and showed me diagrams of the cars and labeled where every part was on the car.

I’d also get my hands dirty and ask my team to show me how to repair something so I could learn. It was all trial and error. My staff was annoyed with me at first because it seemed like I was micro-managing their work but asking questions was truly the only way I would learn.

Every morning, I walk in and say, “Good morning.” I tell each of my employees

“good morning” every day, even if they’re grumpy or mad at me. I think that setting the tone for the day’s work can help someone view their day better.

At first, my employees did take advantage of me. I think it was because I came into the shop not knowing the industry and I was a woman. But, I realized that the only way to act was to set my expectations for the day and go from there.

I start each day planning my day and working on some finance paperwork. I

work out of a traditional, physical planner that sits on my desk, my calendar on my phone and a calendar through Outlook.

72 fenderbender.com | September 2019

I’m basically balancing any charges or any funds that we received the day before. I’m also helping to check in cars with my estimator. I help out by taking care of the ticket and interacting with the customer.

Then, I spend about two hours per day working on social media or networking. I

follow up on the reviews we’ve received, make the shop’s social media posts, and occasionally I’ll have to work a lot with our parts vendors or make sure our contracts are up to date.

I handle any of the human resources stuff like paperwork. I hire people, write employees up, pay them, and also let them go. For instance, maybe the employee has an excused absence for the day, so I am the one to document that. I keep all my paperwork in a fireproof filing safe.

I’m trying to go more paperless but, right now, some of our physical storage is needed because of laws for the state.

Every week, I attend a business group meeting in our town. I used to be part

of two chamber of commerce groups.

I was part of one for the town that our auto repair shop is in and part of one for the town in which our collision repair shop is located.

I received a rookie of the year award last year for my stellar membership and am now a member liaison for the group this year. The group is called High Five and it encompasses the business district near our shops.

That way, I can be in a group that works for both facilities.

These meetings are held on a comeand-go-as-you-need basis, however, you’re encouraged to meet one on one with other members. I just met with another business owner last Friday.

The one-on-one meetings are a chance to see how you can help other, local businesses. You’re encouraged to have

consistent meetings with other members and discuss what each of you is working on for the business. It’s a time to see how you can help each other accomplish goals.

You have to pay a yearly fee to join the business group but as a member liaison, I got a member discount.

In my spare time, I just became a race car driver. My best friend and I are the

first female-only team to complete this race called One Lap of America. During the race, I got to put my car repair skills to use. I was able to check tire pressure and reattach any parts of the car that might have fallen off.

September 2019 | fenderbender.com 73

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UPDATE

AWS & WORLD CLASS AUTO BODY & PAINT

Carefully create a budget.

Provide Top Technician Training Spencer Nash breaks down the keys to ensure that technicians get all necessary training B Y K E L LY B E AT O N

Spencer Nash embraces Hawaii’s “aloha spirit.” He appreciates the kindness of the customers he interacts with at a pair of Honolulu body shops.

Because of that, Nash never wants to let customers down. Nash wants visitors to both Auto World Specialists (where he serves as general manager) and World Class Auto Body & Paint (which he owns) to walk away pleased with all elements of the repair process.

That’s why the shop operator worked to become an I-CAR instructor. That’s why he established an in-house training center at AWS. And, that’s why he sought out every form of training he could get for his employees—even going so far as to talk an equipment vendor into flying from the U.S. mainland to Hawaii to provide onsite lessons. Historically, Hawaiian shops have especially struggled with technician training, as Nash noted in a 2014 FenderBender article (fenderbender.com/traininginhawaii).

FenderBender recently caught up with Nash, who helps oversee 33 employees and nearly $5 million in annual revenue. In the latest conversation, he explained how fellow shop operators can ensure that their technicians get the training they need in 2019.

Inspire enthusiasm from employees.

Sure, it’s easier said than done to get your staff excited about training—similar to how no one likes a trip to the DMV or the dentist. Yet, it’s not an impossible feat, Nash says.

He feels the key is providing hands-on lessons that illustrate the importance of taking measures such as following OEM repair procedures. Lately, for example, 76 fenderbender.com | September 2019

Nash has shown employees the proper steps to take if certain vehicle codes can’t be cleared.

“Normally, they might repair the car, put it back together, and push it down the road because everything looks good on the dash,” he explains. But hands-on teaching “shows them that, hey, even though it looks right, it can’t [necessarily] go home like that.”

Note cost-effective lessons.

Valuable training doesn’t always have to be expensive, Nash notes. Courses provided by paint vendors are often free, he notes, depending on the manufacturer. Many ICAR online courses cost less than $100.

Nash, whose shops get training from the likes of I-CAR, VeriFacts, and AMi, is also a fan of offering periodic in-house training sessions to staff members.

He also stresses the importance of gleaning valuable collision repair insight at industry events such as SEMA, NACE, or management conferences.

Focus on core values in training.

The most difficult business lesson Nash has been taught in recent years: that, by training his shops’ technicians, he might make them appealing hires for competitors.

The leaders of AWS and World Class Auto Body & Paint have combated that fact by stressing their business’ core values in training sessions for young employees. That helps the shop operators teach the vision of their business’ and, Nash notes, helps attain buy-in from employees like technicians.

“We feel like, if the person has the right vision, they’ll likely stick with it,” Nash says. And, “longterm, we’ll show that we’re really going to take care of you, in the future as well as now.”

TRACY WRIGHT- CORVO

Refined Training In recent years, Spencer Nash has developed an expansive training process for his Hawaii collision repair facilities.

In Honolulu, Nash takes great care to truly create a training budget for the shops he helps oversee. And, he revisits that budget every few weeks.

He suggests other shop operators “put the money toward training on a monthly basis, instead of trying to do all your training in this little window before, say, your I-CAR certification expires—that’s what I see as an instructor: that, as people’s expiration dates come up, all of a sudden classes get really, really busy.”

Nash formulates his training budget like this: taking note of how many employees his shops have, he then factors in what the total dollar amount of training a staff will be.

“Then,” he explains, “we just put X amount of dollars away each month for training; if it’s $500, then we’re putting that $500 toward training every month in a separate bank account.”

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OUTSIDE THE LINES JASON BOGGS

Invest Wisely Just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean it’s easy

nician shortage. If you’re like many in this industry having a tough time keeping techs, hopefully, this is music to your ears. Now just to be clear—you can check me if you want—I said I have a simple way to solve this issue. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy. In fact, those two things are very different. It’s a simple concept to eat healthy food, but it’s not easy to accomplish. It’s simple to save money, but it’s not easy. Most good things in life are simple, however, the majority of the time, they are not easy.

I’m going to make the assumption that you have some sort of retirement account for yourself. How would that account look if you never made any deposits? Perhaps, if you had the best and rarest of investments, that account would continue to grow without any deposits.

Yet we all know the best way to treat our retirement accounts is to keep putting more into them. Again: simple, but not necessarily easy.

So, with that mindset, I’d like you to take a look at the technicians in your shop for what they are: your greatest investment. I’m certain you’ve spent more on labor costs over the past 10 years than anything else in your shop.

And even though it’s our largest investment, I still don’t think the industry puts enough dollars into labor. As we view our labor pool as an investment, let’s look at some of the best practices for investing.

First, how much money are you putting into training for your techs? As we value financial investments by the rate of return we get out of them, I can assure you that training is an investment with a huge return. It’s common to hear shop owners and managers say they don’t want to train their staff as they are afraid the tech(s) will leave after they’ve been trained. But consider the alternative: you don’t train your techs and they stay.

Seems silly when you think of it that way, right? With the technology in to78 fenderbender.com | September 2019

day’s vehicles, an untrained tech is more dangerous than texting while driving.

The good news is that the amount of training that is available today is far greater than ever before. Our industry is in the midst of a great awakening in regard to training. If you haven’t already, it’s time to start making that investment into your team. If you talk with techs, they will tell you they want training, and to be on a team that offers it regularly.

Just like your retirement account, you will see your team grow and be capable of handling an increase in training.

Another account we should make regular deposits into is their emotional accounts. I know there’s still some old school thinking in this industry that thinks we should just show up, put in our eight hours, and leave. That old way of thinking is sinking businesses all over the country. Our technicians are people, first and foremost. They have lives outside of our walls that are much more important to them. Gen X and Y don’t get their identity from their professions. If we aren’t making deposits into their emotional account, we will deplete all the funds. When the funds are depleted the tech will open up another account where the grass is greener.

So, how do we make deposits into these types of accounts? The same way you would when dating someone. You listen to them; you get to know what their interests are. Every time you show that

you care about their life outside of work, you make a deposit into their emotional account, and you build a “trust” (yes, pun intended). As you build that trust with each tech, it affords you the opportunity to make withdrawals (difficult conversations) from time to time without jeopardizing the account/relationship. You will also find that, as that trust is built, those difficult conversations become a two-way discussion instead of the manager just telling the tech the right way to do something.

Involving the staff in decision-making is how you begin doing that. We get more input from our team here than ever before. Whether the decision is big or small, making it together as a group regularly produces good results. We get buy-in from all parties involved. Even when not everyone agrees, at least they know they will be heard. This is not common in the workplace and therefore sets you apart. People want to be heard; the popularity of social media proves this fact. Make your shop a place where techs can be heard, and it will be a place they want to stay.

We all know investing pays off over time. Smart investing is simple, but it’s not easy. It takes discipline and a focused approach to achieve results. Our industry’s largest investment is the people performing the work. If you follow these simple steps your investment will continue to grow, and, best of all, it will stay with you.

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

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

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