In today’s tough economic times, when a vehicle is involved in an auto accident it seems many drivers are putting off repairs unless it is an absolute necessity or there are safety reasons. I live on the outskirts of a major US city and travel often for my business. I am amazed at the vehicles I see with dents, dings, scratches, and scrapes that in years past would have been repaired but today in my opinion the owners are opting for later repairs or not repairing at all.

I completely understand that if the vehicle is 100% owned by the driver it is their prerogative to repair or not especially if it’s an older vehicle. However, if the vehicle is leased, financed, or a newer model in decent shape, chances are there is full coverage on the vehicle and should be repaired. This is where many are playing a risky game of fix it now or pay later. 

Shops are feeling the squeeze because auto claim volume is down. I have spoken to many auto insurers this past year and they report claims off anywhere from 10-20 percent. This drop in activity accompanied by the reluctance to even repair a vehicle has many shops questioning their survival.  Where in the past these vehicles would be repaired, we now find more and more people shopping their estimate, looking for deals on saving their deductible, or simply not repairing the vehicle if they can get around it. 

In many cases this impacts the quality of the repair or compromises the safety of the vehicle. Most vehicle owners cannot determine if there car is safe or not once it has been involved in an accident.  That is the job of a licensed appraiser or a quality repair shop to make the determination. Let’s face it, some of the minor dings and dents we see can be lived with without repair if you so desire. However, the majority of what I have been seeing lately on I-95 need quality repairs and not alternative ways to “fix it later”.

--Joe 

Are you looking for ways to increase profits, decrease costs, and improve morale in these uncertain times? Your best resource for fine tuning your business lies right within your business--your employees!

When I was consulting with various groups of Collision Repair centers, it was not uncommon for me to perform an employee survey in order to understand (from their perspective) the conditions of the business, their opinions of management, other employees, and how their job could be improved. With every business case review I conducted, I was able to get a pretty good understanding of the operations within a day of review and observations. However, every time I conducted an employee survey I learned something new, confirmed my observations and discovered a new element of the business.

Surveying your employees is relatively easy, especially with today's technology. You can remain totally anonymous (which I highly recommend). The most difficult part of conducting a survey is determining which questions to ask. In order to uncover the best questions, you need a firm understanding of what it  is you are looking to find out.

Some ideas you can survey your employees about include:

1: Confirmation of marketing ideas or "your brand image"

2: Cost cutting ideas within each department (even provide a dollar incentive to the winner)

3: Ways to improve process flow and operations

4: Perceptions of managers and management

Getting your employees' input is a great source of information and it also creates an atmosphere that demonstrates you care.

Check out some of the online survey sources available to you, they are easy to administer and provide you with automatic results, graphs and details. Constant Contact and Icontact are a couple of my favorites. You can also use the traditional paper method, however I really believe keeping the information administered from a third party is best; you will get more depth and honesty from the employee if they believe the information is not management administered.

Try a survey of your employees today! You will be happy with the results.

- Alan

Here's an interesting link to the auto blog at the New York Times.

Testing Volvo’s Collision Avoidance System

The short article describes testing out Volvo's new system from behind the wheel. The City Safety system uses laser and radar to detect cars up to 20 feet ahead of the vehicle by picking up reflections from license plates, tail lamps, rear glass, even body paint.

Pretty cool--and worth a read.

--Beth

Beginning August 3rd, the I-CAR Education Foundation will open its call for applications for the I CAR Education Foundation's Instructor of the Year award. The winner will receive an expense-paid trip to NACE 2009 and the instructor will be recognized for his or her selection.

This award is open to all collision repair instructors teaching at career and technical schools as well as colleges that utilize the I-CAR Live Curriculum. You can nominate an instructor for this award at www.ed-foundation.org.

It's a great way to thank someone who has taught you and gone the extra mile.

--Beth

As part of our country's push to become more environmentally aware and less fuel dependent President Obama recently announced new fuel emissions standards for vehicles.  However, critics and advocates alike are questioning the overall impact this will have on our country's fuel consumption and environmental impact. 

As a counter to the hybrid vehicle push, VW is promoting their clean diesels as a way for vehicle owners to get the best of both worlds: additional fuel efficiency without losing the fun-to-drive factor.

In general a lot will depend upon consumers. With gas prices once again creeping up there are incentives to "go green", but is the higher price tag associated with hybric vehicles worth it? Sites such as Edmunds.com have fuel consumption calcuators to help consumers figure out if they will actually be saving gas, and therefore money, by purchasing a more fuel efficient vehicle. Many of these same sites help consumers calculate the "real cost" of owning a car, i.e. how will the costs of oil changes or repairs change.

With the 2010 Ford Taurus, Ford Motor Co. is taking on the Toyota Avalon and the Chrysler 300...and maybe even Audi and Lexus. There are numerous aspects of re-engineering and restyling--ranging from collision warning and blind spot detection. But, is it revamped enough?

The Taurus was a best seller in the 1990s, and it was groundbreaking when introduced in 1986. After all, its aerodynamic design was unique in the mid-size sedan segment of the day, and it offered tremendous value versus the competition. That's what made it a bestseller--"hot" design, priced for affordability by the average Joe. It didn't fall from grace until a series of bland redesigns took away its edge. The last one was produced in 2006--and sales to the public had ceased. It became a fleet and rental car.

Today, Ford wants the public to forget that the Taurus was ever a rental/fleet car (or even a cheap car, for that matter) and cough up between 25-37k for the vehicle. Will the public bite on a brand revamp that's going against where the brand began? Cheap to expensive, no frills to frills, head-turning design to respectable design.

Brand redesign and re-introduction

When brand names return to the public, they can usually count of eliciting both nostalgia and sales. However, the most important thing is that it be re-introduced in a way that evokes a sense of excitement and passion. Has Ford succeeded on this point? What's your opinion?

--Beth

Representatives of ASA Kansas, SCRS Kansas and AASP Missouri recently sponsored a day long collision industry event. The meeting was attended by 60 collision repairers and industry representatives.

Craig Brace of Pure Media was the featured guest speaker that presented a case for the power of brand and the consistency of your brand. In addition, there was  a review of new media opportunities in the areas fo Twitter, Facebook, iphone and YouTube. Craig emphasized the need to review your web site and consistency of your brand. As well as looking for creative ways to utilize your website with new media opportunity and to capture more customers.

Renowned I-car instructor and industry spokesperson Toby Chess presented his always enjoyable audience interactive presentation of how to gain more dollars on each repair order. There was a review of a claim and the audience each looked for lost dollars that could be obtained by reviewing all activities taking place on the claim. On average there is $25 of lost dollars on every claim and in these tight economic times every shop should make certain they implement processes to capture these lost dollars.

Karen Fierst of KerenOr Consultants provided the audience an update on the use of aftermarket parts and the status of legislation around the use of after market parts. Karen always provides an informative and current presentation regarding CAPA certified parts usage and the issues that are faced today with the use of aftermarket parts.  The audience also participated in survey regarding the use of aftermarket parts in their shops.

David McCreight of Collision Resources provided an excellent presentation of the HeiJunka principle to maximize cycle time and production flow. The theory is just one part of a larger principle of lean management.

Representatives for each of the sponsorship groups provided an update on what each of their organizations are working toward and regional meetings that are taking place.

Jeanne Silver provided emcee for the day and monitored what this group of industry stake holders feel are the top issues in the industry and within their own organization. 

Those issues are:

1. Blend within a panel and P&M caps.

2. Need a united front in Missouri and Kansas groups on what it is they want to accomplish. There are several legislative issues being brought before the Missouri house and the group needs to focus as a single entity of what it is they want to accomplish (such as licensing of repair shops).

3. Steering issue and deceptive practices.

4. Rate suppression - disparity on how rates are determined.

We also had a conversation regarding the new EPA laws and regulations going into effect this year.  I was able to share with the group that Scene Genesis will be hosting a Podcast on this subject in July and we will also be hosting the training video on our site. Keep your eyes on our Podcasts for information on this subject.

Scene Genesis and our SceneExchange product were proud to be represented at this meeting and share our industry knowledge while learning about the local issues that effect our business partners.

--Alan