Midwestern May 2015 Issue by Autobody News

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VOL. 4 ISSUE 8 MAY 2015

Retired Body Shop Owners Form Foundation in Honor of Daughter Kayla Mueller Who Was Killed Overseas

MS Attorney General Jim Hood asks U.S. for Probe of Steering of Customers By Insurers

Carl and Marsha Mueller, retired body shop owners in Prescott, AZ, recently formed a foundation to help

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate allegations that some insurance companies’ are “steering” auto policyholders to certain repair shops and coercing those shops to use inferior replacement parts. The intent of those practices is to pad the insurers’ bottom line, Hood said in the letter dated March 13. Hood’s letter is part of a broad legal challenge to such practices and can be viewed at autobodynews.com. It comes during an election year in Mississippi in which the incumbent insurance commissioner has a challenger. John Arthur Eaves Jr. of Jackson is the lead attorney representing 17 states thus far and 500 body shops

by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor

Kayla Mueller and her mother Marsha

those in need locally and internationally. The foundation, called Kayla’s Hands, was created in memory of their daughter Kayla, who traveled the world with a goal to end suffering. When Autobody News recently spoke to Carl, the former owner of Preferred Auto Body in Prescott, AZ, he and his wife Marsha were preparing for a trip to Dearborn, MI, to speak at the American Human Rights Council’s convention and accept an award in honor of Kayla. Kayla, a 26-year-old humanitarian aid worker, moved to the TurkishSee Kayla Mueller, Page 24

Buffalo, NY, Native Who Competed in WorldSkills Competition Discusses Lack of Education in Collision Repair Field by Victoria Antonelli, Online Editor

across the nation in cases being adjudicated in the U.S. District Court for Middle Florida. The cases are being tried as multi-district litigation because of their similarities. A Mississippi case, Capitol Body John Eaves Jr. Shop Inc. et al v. file photo State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. et al, faces a Friday deadline to be refiled after Judge Gregory Presnell sent it back “without prejudice,” meaning it could be resubmitted with changes. Eaves noted that in 1963 the Department of Justice entered a consent decree with insurance trade associaSee MS Atty General, Page 18

Ninth Circuit Holds Service Advisors Non-Exempt Under FLSA Dealership “Salesman” Exemption; Section 7(i) Exemption Is Still Available The door panel that Nathaneal Wagner painted during the 2013 WorldSkills automotive refinish competition in Leipzig, Germany

the country’s top automotive refinish students. Wagner had been home-schooled before he heard about the local Harkness collision repair program available See WorldSkills Competition, Page 28

Change Service Requested

P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018

Nathanael Wagner, who only knew about the 2011 regional SkillsUSA competition in western New York weeks before it happened, went on to place 16th in automotive refinish during the 2013 WorldSkills competition. This year, the event will be in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from August 11-16. The WorldSkills competition is held every two years. In 2013, Wagner competed against the top 32 students in the world in Leipzig, Germany. Between the regional and international competitions, Wagner competed on a national level against 50 of

by Jack Weatherly, msbusiness.com

by Colin Calvert and Todd Scherwin

The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (with jurisdiction over the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) has ruled in Navarro v. Encino Motorcars, LLC that Service Advisors employed by automobile dealerships do not qualify for the Section 13(b)(10)(A) overtime exemption under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It is the first court to have held this way.

“Service Advisor” Status under the FLSA Section 13(b)(10)(A) exempts from the FLSA’s overtime requirements “any salesman, partsman, or mechanic primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks, or farm implements, if he is employed by a

nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling such vehicles or implements to ultimate purchasers.” Historically, this exemption has been extended to Service Advisors. Beginning in 1973, in the federal appellate decision in Brennan v. Deel Motors, Inc., and continuing to as recently as 2013 in the Montana Supreme Court’s decision in Thompson v. J.C. Billion, Inc., courts have uniformly held that Service Advisors are covered by that exemption. The Department of Labor’s Revision to its Administrative Regulations However, the U.S. Labor Department’s (USDOL) track record in this area has been inconsistent. At some times in the past, it has said that Service Advisors could qualify; at other See Advisors Non-Exempt, Page 14

Presorted Standard US Postage PAID San Bernardino, CA Permit #2244

2 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

COLUMNISTS Attanasio - Online Remarketing Gets Your Name Out There... Again . . . . . . . 34 Attanasio - Tracking Your Success (or Lack of) Using Google Analytics . . . 46 Franklin - Story Power For Shops . . . . . . . 40 Yoswick - Legal Battle That Began with Non-OEM Parts Back in 1997 Still Being Waged Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Yoswick - SCRS Event brings shop associations together to discuss efforts, share ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Yoswick - State Farm’s Service First Program, NABC, MT Requires DRPs, Unfair Trade in CT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 NATIONAL ARA’s 8th Annual Hill Day and State

Legislative Summit Allows Industry Members to Educate Congress . . . . . . 39 Assured Performance Hires Michael Quinn as Exec. VP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Axalta Awarded Scholarships to Automechanika Attendees . . . . . . . . . . . 9 BMW Settles FTC Charges that MINI Illegally Conditioned Warranty Coverage on Use of Its Parts and Service . . . . . . 48 Buffalo, NY, Native Who Competed in WorldSkills Competition Discusses Lack of Education in Collision Repair Field . . . 1 Car-O-Liner® Names New OEM Account Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Chief Names Richard Perry OEM Liason Sales Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 CIF Elects Jeff Peavy to Board of Trustees . 20 Consumers Pay Repair Bills with Openbay and Apple Pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 GM Names BASF 2014 Supplier of the Year. 51 Honda Adds More Recalls on Takata Airbag Flaws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Lawsuit Filed Against G&C Auto Body Cites Unfair Business Practices, G&C Responds ‘No Merit’ . . . . . . . . . . 54 Lawyers Picked to Lead Posts in Air Bag Lawsuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 LORD Fusor Joins NABC as Diamond Member. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Mercedes-Benz Recalls To Fix Tail Lights and Gas Leaks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Miller’s Optimized Welding System for Aluminum Repairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 NABC Awards for Distinction and Shop Image, Nominations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 NABC Says “It Can Wait” to Students in Grad Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 National Auto Body Council Donates Nearly $3 Million in Recycled Rides™ Vehicles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 New Data: U.S. Drivers Did 3 Trillion Miles Last Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Ninth Circuit Holds Service Advisors Non-Exempt Under FLSA Dealership “Salesman” Exemption; Section 7(i) Exemption Is Still Available. . . . . . . . . . . 1 Nissan Expands Recalls Tied to Takata Air Bag Flaws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 PartsTrader Says Integration to Help Dealers Quote Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Progressive Plans to Charge Risky Snapshot Drivers More . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Record360 App Documents Damages in One Step, Saving Industry Members Time and Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Retired Body Shop Owners Form Foundation in Honor of Daughter Kayla Mueller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Sherwin-Williams Renews as the ‘Official Paint Of NASCAR’ . . . . . . . . . . 45 Surveys Will Help Shops Better Understand Industry Billing Practices . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Texas Collision Repair Shops Cite Legal Issues with GEICO Regarding Certain Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 WIN Educational Conference May 4–6 in Baltimore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

After 12 months and nearly 4,000 hours, Fantasy Collision & Customs unveiled a special project they had been working on: a revamped Dodge Charger coupe. That was just two years ago. Since then, the Warren, MI, shop has worked on multiple customization projects. Owned by Nick Kizi, the business specializes in automotive restoration and customizing and is currently focusing its efforts on a 2010 Camaro with a ‘72 Nova body scheduled to be unveiled at Autorama 2016 in March. The project involved taking the body off of a brand new 2010 Camaro and replacing it with a 1972 Nova. “It’s going to look like a ‘72 Nova with all of the brand new technology,” said Kizi. This includes a Camaro engine, supercharger, Airbag suspension, side airbags. ABS and a new computer system. “It’s going to be one really cool car when it’s done.” When Kizi opened the shop with three other employees in 2010, they initially focused their efforts on collision repair. They soon realized they wanted to show their customers some of the other things they could do. Their first customization project was a 2010 Mustang. After receiving a second-place trophy in 2012 at Autorama in Detroit, MI, Kizi decided to continue focusing

on customization alongside the collision repair work they were doing. The customized Dodge Charger was the next project on their list. “In the late ‘60s and ‘70s, they built two-door chargers. They don’t make them anymore,” said Kizi. “They build only four

The award-winning Dodge Charger two-door wide-body vehicle customized by Fantasy Collision & Customs

doors so we decided to do a two door just like they used to do back in the day.” The company purchased a brand new two-door 2013 Dodge Charger from the dealership with the intent of making it a wide body with a glass roof. “We decided to do a computer rendering on the vehicle so we could see how it would look,” said Kizi. After a second rendering, they shortened the wheel base by eight inches. For more information about Fantasy Collision & Customs, contact Nick Kizi at (586) 872-2064

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Assistant Editor: Stacey Phillips Online Editor: Victoria Antonelli Contributing Writers: Tom Franklin, John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, David Brown, Rich Evans, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk, David Luehr Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman, Bill Doyle, Norman Morano (800) 699-8251 Sales Assistant: Louise Tedesco Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Audi Milwaukee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . 44 Axalta Coating Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . 59 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . 55 Car-Part.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 CarcoonAmerica Airflow Systems. . . . 39 Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Charles Gabus Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Chicago Pneumatic Compressors . . . . 6 Chief Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 25 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Color-Dec North America, Inc . . . . . . . 14 Dent Magic Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Diamond Standard Parts, Inc. . . . . . . . 13 DJS Fabrications, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Eco Repair Systems of North America, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Equalizer Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Erhard BMW of Bloomfield Hills . . . . . 33 Erhard BMW of Farmington Hills. . . . . 33 Ganley Westside Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . 41 GlobalJig North America . . . . . . . . . . . 19 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . . 49 Graham Auto Mall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Hall Volkswagen-Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Hendrick Automotive Group . . . . . . . . . 5 Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 48 Infinity 3D Laser Measuring . . . . . . . . . . 8 Isringhausen Imports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Jake Sweeney Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Serving Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin and adjacent metro areas. Autobody News is a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2015 Adamantine Media LLC. Autobody News Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018; (800) 699-8251 (760) 603-3229 Fax www.autobodynews.com Email: news@autobodynews.com

Midwest

REGIONAL 2015 Greater Midwest Automotive Recycling Expo Attracts Industry Members from Nebraska and Surrounding States . . . . 20 ABRA Auto Body & Glass Expands in Chicago, IL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Bill’s Auto Body in MN sold to Fairway Collision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 CARA to Host Tech Workshop on May 2nd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 CARSTAR and Farmers Insurance Donate Refurbished Vehicle to KS Native: Air Force Veteran, Student and Single Dad . . . . . . 6 CARSTAR Wicklunds is First Independent Shop in Region with Aluminum Repair Station. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Fantasy Collision & Customs Focuses on 2010 Camaro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 GFS Ultra Paint Booth Enhances Training at PPG’s Minnesota Facility . . . . . . . . . 16 IL Businessman Honored with Creation of Vintage Buick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Kentucky Targets Auto Crash Rings with New Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Marketing Manager Marian Rodriguez of CARSTAR Mundelein in IL Gives Back Through Volunteering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 MS Attorney General Jim Hood asks U.S. for Probe of Steering of Customers By Insurers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 OH Farm Bureau Donates Car for Collision Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Ohio Attorney General Seeks Reimbursement from Auto Dealer Accused of Failing to Deliver Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 PPG Sponsors Restoration Seminar for Custom Car Builders in OH. . . . . . . . . . . 8 Safelite President & CEO Tom Feeney Honored as OH Red Cross Humanitarian. . 6 Sampognaro’s Closes After 27 Years, Family Opens New Service Center: Frankfort Family Automotive Repair, in Franfort, IL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 South of the Square Collision in OH One of 375 Recognized for being in Top Five Percent in Customer Service by Mitchell. . 4 Spanesi Expands Operations in IL and Hires Tom McGee as Business Development Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Fantasy Collision & Customs Focuses on 2010 Camaro

Indexof Advertisers

Contents

Kelly BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Kia of Des Moines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Kia Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . 57 Laurel Auto Group of Westmont . . . . . 53 Luther Hopkins Honda . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Maaco Franchising, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Malco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Maplewood Toyota-Scion . . . . . . . . . . 51 Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 50 MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . 54 Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 35 Morrie’s Brooklyn Park Subaru . . . . . . 36 Morrison’s Auto Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 NACE/CARS Trade Show . . . . . . . . . . 37 Orio North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Patrick BMW-MINI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Replica Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . 46 The Sharpe Collection of Automobiles . 12 Toyota of Des Moines . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Toyota of Grand Rapids. . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 52 Urethane Supply Company. . . . . . . . . 22 Valspar Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 VanDevere Kia-GM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Wedge Clamp Systems, Inc . . . . . . . . 16

www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

South of the Square Collision in OH One of 375 Recognized for being in Top Five Percent in Customer Service by Mitchell by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor

South of the Square Collision, owned by Rick and Susan Stickland, recently received Mitchell’s 2014 AutocheX Premier Achiever Awards for exemplary customer service. The family-owned business, based in Ohio, was one of 375 collision repair facilities across North America that was honored. “This is an important measure for shops in helping to make sure they are delivering a good experience to their customers,” Jim O’Leary, Mitchell’s Vice President of Product Management, recently told Autobody News. The company’s 13th annual Premier Achiever Awards honored repairers that consistently earned customer satisfaction scores in the top five percent of their programs measured by AutocheX. “One really important part of Mitchell’s AutocheX program is having a baseline of the same data collected so that we can compare one shop’s results to another and one insurance company’s results to another so they can benchmark themselves against the industry,” he said. The Sticklands opened South of the Square Collision in Medina in November 1999. Their newest location in

North Ridgeville was opened in March 2013. There are 34 full-time employees between the two facilities. South of the Square Collision has been using AutocheX while on the

achieve a high level of satisfaction!” Mitchell, a provider of technology, connectivity and information solutions to the Property & Casualty claims and collision repair industries, conducted

Rick and Susan Stickland of South of the Square Collision in OH

DRP programs with Allstate, Farmers and Nationwide Insurance companies. “It’s a great tool to give feedback to us as business owners and our employees to see where we excel and sometimes where we may need some work,” said Susan. “CSI drives our business and it is our goal to be on top every year. We’re always excited to hear when we

the surveys by phone and on the web. O’Leary said, “There is one question that we believe is most indicative of the consumer’s experience with the repair; ‘Would you refer this shop to a friend or family member on a scale of one to 10?’” Based on the results of the surveys, Mitchell selected the award recipients,

CARA to Host Tech Workshop in OH on May 2 by Chasidy Rae Sisk

On Saturday, May 2, the Choice Autobody Repair Association (CARA) and Stan Mitchell Enterprises will host a Technology Workshop at the Doubletree Inn in Columbus, OH from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Rick Finney, President of CARA, noted, “This will be a very important workshop to attend. Working together within our industry does make a difference. Our consumers are counting on us, so let’s continue to work together to better serve our consumers. This workshop is no charge to attend, and we are inviting shop owners, managers, technicians, vendors, and corporate companies. We all need to be involved. We are expecting a very good turnout for this event.” Finney will give a presentation on CARA, and attendees will also hear from Michael R. Greene, Executive Director of the OH Collision Repair Board. Additionally, the workshop will include a presentation by PMC Logic related to their quality paint and material calculation software. The main event of the workshop will be a presentation on the National Auto Body Research’s (NABR) Vari-

able Rate System (VRS) technology, hosted by NABR CEO Richard Valenzuela and NABR President Sam Valenzuela. They will also discuss labor rates and the cost of doing business while explaining how the VRS poses a solution to these problems. NABR’s representative will teach attendees how to use the VRS online tools to properly price labor in the individual shop based on their competition, their cost doing business, their profit goals, and the shop’s investments in terms of training, certification, equipment and technology. Finney said he is “extremely excited to partner with NABR, PMC Logic and the OH Collision Repair Board to make a real difference for shops in OH and countrywide.” The association is seeking industry sponsors to assist with the event. Those interested in attending must RSVP by April 25 at www.nationalautobodyresearch.com/rsvp-for-vrsworkshops.html. For more information about CARA, visit www.c-a-r-a.org.

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4 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

which represent 41 states and provinces across the United States and Canada. They range in size from small, familyrun businesses to large consolidators. In addition to the recognition, the recipients receive a trophy, signage for their shops and access to a website that provides promotional materials and congratulatory messages from industry leaders. Nearly 4,000 Premier Achiever Awards have been presented since the program was launched in 2002. O’Leary said that 7,500 shops currently participate in AutoCheX. He said that some of the main advantages of the program include improved communication and loyalty with customers as well as maximizing repeat and referral business. “The benefit is providing them with very actionable, timely feedback that helps them to improve their operations,” said O’Leary. “It’s also valuable to the shops to have an objective third-party measuring their results and then use those results to make a case for receiving more business from their insurance partners.” For more information about Mitchell and the AutocheX program, visit: www.mitchell.com

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CARSTAR and Farmers Insurance Donate Refurbished Vehicle to KS Native: Air Force Veteran, Student and Single Dad

Justin Padelli from Stilwell, Kansas has given his service to our country. On March 19, CARSTAR and Farmers Insurance gave back to help Padelli get on track with a restored vehicle that will get him to school and work. Padelli served in the Air Force as a munitions specialist, maintaining, storing, building, and delivering munitions to the B2 aircraft. He was stationed at Whiteman AFB in Missouri. After two years of service, he was granted an honorable discharge to take care of his two-year old daughter, Maddison, of whom he has sole custody. Padelli’s divorce and subsequent custody battle left him struggling financially. In spite of that, he is focused on creating a positive future for himself and his daughter. Today, he is in school as a full-time student at Johnson County Community College majoring in Liberal Arts. Padelli has been getting by with an unreliable pickup truck for transportation. The heater and air conditioning do not function properly. He said the truck needs tires and is a gas-guzzler, consuming much of his income at the pump. He also worries about the fact that his truck does not have safety harness hooks for

Maddison’s car seat, leaving him only the seatbelt to secure it. Thanks to CARSTAR and the National Auto Body Council’s Recy-

CARSTAR and Farmers Insurance teamed up to donate a refurbished 2010 Chevrolet Malibu LS to Air Force Veteran, single dad, and student, Justin Padelli

cled Rides program, Padelli now has a newer, more dependable car that will help him save money, relieve his worries about his daughter’s safety, and provide peace of mind that he won’t be stranded with her in the car. “This is an amazing day,” said Padelli. “A friend who has been help-

Safelite President & CEO Tom Feeney Honored as OH Red Cross Humanitarian

Tom Feeney, President and CEO of Safelite Group, which owns Safelite AutoGlass and Safelite Solutions, received the 2015 American Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year award; an honor bestowed upon those who have improved lives in central Ohio and beyond. “Tom exemplifies what it means to be an everyday hero,” American Red Cross of Central Ohio CEO Matt Bertram said. “Through several creative initiatives at Safelite, Feeney has instilled giving back in every one of their associates. We’re pleased to honor him as this year’s Humanitarian of the Year.” Under Feeney’s leadership, employees of Safelite Group are committed to being responsible community members. Safelite’s “giving back” approach: 1. Safelite Group donates 1% of its annual trading profit to the Safelite AutoGlass Foundation. 2. Safelite encourages employees to give 2% of their time to volunteer in their community. That includes 16 hours of paid time off the company allows every employee for volunteer work in addition to 24 hours of their personal time for a total of 40 hours

ing me deal with some personal issues submitted my name for the program. I thought it was a prank at first. I can’t believe it’s really true. This means

per employee, which equals 2% of the average hours in a “work year.” 3. Safelite holds three annual charitable fundraisers, including the Safelite Challenge Triathlon & Charity Poker Run; the National Giving Campaign in which associates can elect for a one-time or ongoing payroll deduction over the coming year to the charities of Tom Feeney, their choice, and President and CEO an annual Charity of Safelite Group Golf Classic. The Safelite AutoGlass Foundation has donated more than $6.3 million to charitable organizations. During his acceptance speech, Feeney took encouraged others to become more involved in the community and make a difference. “After much thought, I’ve concluded that being the recipient of this award has a purpose to influence others,” he said. “If just one person takes action to get involved and serve their community in a meaningful way, then me receiving this award will have served that purpose.”

6 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

everything to me, and I’m really thankful to everyone who made it happen.” CARSTAR, which handled the restoration at its CARSTAR Metcalf location in Stilwell, worked with a team of industry professionals to repair the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu LS,

which was donated by Farmers Insurance. Project partners included: • LKQ Corporation/Keystone • Cable/Dahmer Auto Group • Dent Rescue • CARSTAR employees Lenny Osborne, Cody Anzek and Richard McCleary who donated their labor on the restoration • CARSTAR installed four brand new tires, new brake pads/linings and performed general maintenance “It’s incredible to be able to work with our industry partners to make this project possible,” said Dan Young, Senior Vice President of Insurance for CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts. “We deliver a repaired car to a customer every :30 seconds across our network, but none is more special than delivering a NABC Recycled Ride to Justin and his daughter today. Young, a member of the NABC board, said CARSTAR presented 19 NABC Recycled Rides in 2014, and plans to do many more this year. In addition to the vehicle, Farmers Insurance provided gift cards for Padelli, along with diapers and other products for his daughter.

www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 7

PPG Sponsors Restoration Seminar for Custom Car Builders in OH PPG Automotive Refinish held an automotive custom restoration seminar at the company’s Wixom, Michigan Business Development Center in March. The three-day event, part of a series of PPG custom training classes, provided instruction in PPG processes and products for successfully prepping and painting automotive restoration projects. The event drew professional custom builders, hobbyists and vocational technology students from across the country. Several notable custom car world celebrities also attended. These included Charley Hutton of Charley Hutton’s Color Studio, Nampa, ID; Randy Borchering of Painthouse, Cypress, TX; Ryan Korek of Korek Designs, New Berlin, PA, and the paint team from Detroit Speed, Inc., Mooresville, NC. “This was a great experience for everyone,” said Jeff Matauch, Business Development Center manager. “Everybody wanted to hear about the latest PPG painting techniques and products. Even the most accomplished painters like Hutton and Borchering were eager to learn from us—and from each other. We know there’s demand for custom restoration, and we hope to develop more of these seminars in the near future.”

Instruction over the three days covered surface preparation and undercoats, topcoats and clearcoats. The

that give painters exceptional latitude in creating dramatic paint schemes. To ensure their versatility, Vibrance Col-

Jeff Matauch, PPG Business Development Center Manager, offered advice at the restoration seminar

workshop focused on the popular VIBRANCE COLLECTION® custom paint finishes and its many colors, micas, pigments and special effects

8 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

lection offerings have been made to work with all PPG premium quality solvent and waterborne topcoat systems.

Seminar attendees received copies of PPG’s new Custom Restoration Guide. The guide presents details of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for custom builders and restorations. Randy Cremeans, PPG director of marketing, collision segment USCA, worked with industry experts such as Matauch, PPG master painter Paul Stoll, the Roadster Shop crew in Chicago and others to create a guide that would share with customers practical real-world insights into the restoration process. Regardless of what vehicle or vehicle substrate is being worked on, the Custom Restoration Guide outlines PPG’s recommended process for successful surface prepping and painting. The guide documents the multiple procedures involved in custom restorations and addresses everything from stripping a substrate to color identification and the application of the paint. The Custom Restoration Guide is available online at the PPG website and may be viewed or downloaded free of charge. Anyone interested in vehicle restoration is invited to the site. To learn more about PPG custom training classes, the Vibrance Collection and other PPG refinish products, call (800) 647-6050 or visit www.ppg refinish.com.

Sampognaro’s Closes After 27 Years, Family Opens New Service Center: Frankfort Family Automotive Repair, in Frankfort, IL Bill Sampognaro and his family closed their previous automotive repair location of 27 years, Sampognaro's, and opened a new and improved service facility in Frankfort, IL called Frankfort Family Automotive Repair. The ribbon-cutting was held on April 17, and the open house on April 18, which showcased a variety of custom

tension of their own family. “We’ve remained committed to a very strict policy of going far beyond what our customers expect,” explained Bill. “It sounds like something very basic but is so rare these days, especially when it comes to regular service for our cars.” During the past five years, Sampognaro has been searching for the ideal location to expand his operation. “I live within just a few miles of the new shop and know many people in the community,” said Bill. “So, this new location is absolutely perfect! It provides us with the right amount of space to add the latest in automotive repair and maintenance The Frankfort Family Automotive Repair and Service center technology, a custom car showroom, and a cusvehicles and demonstrations of the lat- tomer lounge that is as comfortable est in auto repair technology. Bill and as your own living room.” his wife Tracy have also owned and The new Frankfort Family Auto operated Flossmoor Family Automo- Repair has a waiting area that includes tive Repair in Flossmoor, Illinois for free Wifi, a coffee/espresso bar, kids over 17 years. Bill, Tracy, and their activity area, and a large screen TV. children all work at the business and Oil changes and regular auto consider the local community as an ex- service work take place each day, but

Bill and his team’s expertise extends beyond mini-vans and daily drivers. They are also known throughout the Midwest as experts in the performance car community. A factorytrained BMW technician is on staff, and they perform service and repair work on both domestic and imported vehicles of all makes and models. “We also do classic car repair and restoration,” added Tracy. “That's our passion and we have a lot of fun doing it.” Frankfort Family Auto Repair encourages customers to stop by the shop anytime to have their vehicle’s fluids and tire pressure checked, which continues to be a free service at both their locations. The new automotive repair location is at at 22359 S. Center Rd in Frankfort, adjacent to the Speedway on the corner of W. Laraway Rd. For more information, call (815) 469-6722 or visit FrankfortFamily Auto.com

www.autobodynews.com

Axalta Awarded Scholarships to Automechanika Attendees

Axalta Coating Systems sponsored 250 training scholarship packages to Automechanika Chicago held April 24-26. “In an increasingly consolidated and regulated marketplace, collision repair shops are facing multiple challenges while balancing the expectations of their customers,” explained Ray Fratella, Axalta Collision Services Manager for North America. “This is where Axalta’s commitment to supporting the industry by offering training programs and training scholarships like the ones we sponsored at Automechanika Chicago can help collision repair shops take the lead.” In addition to supporting the industry by providing training scholarships, Axalta also offers a full portfolio of business and technical training solutions designed to advance the skills and knowledge of collision center employees. Axalta has a variety of educational outlets that can be accessed online via Axalta’s Learning Campus, or in person at one of their training facilities, or at one of their management training seminars. The Axalta booth featured online seminar-based and hands-on training opportunities for both technical and management education.

www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 9

ABRA Auto Body & Glass Expands in Chicago, IL

ABRA Auto Body & Glass announced April 10 that it expanded in Chicago, IL with two acquisitions that added four collision repair centers to the area. The transactions included the acquisition of three Zak’s Hi-Tech Collision Centers in Blue Island and Crestwood, just outside Chicago city limits and Acacia Park Auto Body in Chicago. Illinois is now ABRA’s largest market with 41 collision repair centers. This comes just one year after the company first entered the Chicago market. ABRA’s collision portfolio has reached 271 centers in 20 states. ABRA’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Duane Rouse said, “We are pleased to continue to expand our presence in Illinois. Establishing a foothold in a growing number of key locations in the state gives us even more opportunities to show our insurance partners and customers our best-in-class operating methods and innovative service model.” For info, contact Scott Gerling (major markets), sgerling@abraauto .com/763.585.6210 or Mark Whalin (small- and mid-size markets), contact Mark Wahlin, mwahlin@abraauto .com or 763.585.6315.

IL Businessman Honored with Creation of Vintage Buick

When Gurnee, Illinois businessman Steve Loudin’s father (Blaine) passed away in 2013, Steve knew exactly what he had to do. He immediately put a plan together to customize the 1969 Buick Skylark that the two of them had purchased together, 30 years earlier. The father and son pair can be classified as true “Car Guys,” and each embraced the fact that they could enjoy this love for everything automotive together. “My first car was a 1968 Skylark, so we were always on the lookout for another,” explained Steve. “Then in 1985, Dad and I were attending a trade show together, and the topic of cars came up with a gentleman at the show. He happened to have a 1969 Skylark for sale, so the very next week I made the trip to Atlanta, bought the car, and drove it home.” The Buick purchase really ignited their love of classic American muscle cars, and for the past 20 years they dreamed of using it to create a wild Restomod. A Restomod is typically an early muscle car that has been re-built using today’s technology, making updates and modifications to the engine, suspension, brakes, and electronics, so it handles like a modern day sports car. Blaine really appreciated American ingenuity, having also served our country as a pilot during World War II. He retired from Tricel Corporation in

Kentucky Targets Auto Crash Rings with New Law

Kentucky HB 153 goes into effect in late June and makes it illegal to solicit victims involved in an automobile crash for medical treatment for 30 days following the incident, according to Patricia L. Harman writing for PropertyCasualty360.com. Mark Treesh, executive director for the Insurance Institute of Kentucky, describes the scheme this way: “Unscrupulous providers learn of an accident and contact people involved, who may or may not be truly injured, with a promise of a cash payment. This is then followed by a series of treatments until personal injury protection (PIP) benefits, usually $10,000, are used up, at which time the patient is cut loose.” Frequently the care is inadequate or may be totally unrelated to the injuries sustained, and patients who truly are injured may be unable to get treatment later because their PIP benefits would have already been exhausted. “Whether the person was injured or not, in many instances the insurance-buying public has paid for unnecessary treatment,” adds Treesh. “Crash rings are driving up auto premiums for honest Kentucky residents. Soliciting crash victims is a lucrative source of fraud profits,” says Howard Goldblatt, director of govern-

ment affairs for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud in a statement. “Prosecutors now can wield stiff penalties that take fraudsters off the streets and help drain the ring’s illicit income.” According to Tim Lynch of the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), Kentucky has seen a steady uptick in suspicious claims, and Louisville ranks 10th in the country for these types of fraudulent claims. Migration fraud also is an issue for Kentucky, ranking number two in the country behind Minnesota for crime rings that have moved to the state from other jurisdictions because fraud laws are less stringent. Lynch says the law “restricts malicious or overzealous solicitation in the wake of an accident.” Many of these cases involve low-speed fender-benders with police reports that have been flagged by “runners” for the clinics. He anticipates that the law will enable authorities to catch more fraudsters before the fraud is perpetrated. “We hope that the law will cut down on the abuse of PIP, which will save consumers money in the long run,” said Treesh. “We also hope that consumers will get taken advantage of less and that their PIP coverage dollars will be used more to their advantage.”

10 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

2005 and began collecting Ford Mustangs, and had as many as four at a time, before he started giving them as gifts to his children and grandchildren. “I guess we all have different ways of grieving for, and paying tribute to our lost loved ones,” continued Loudin. “I immediately threw my energy, passion,

The “Tribute” 1969 Buick Skylark rebuilt by Steve Loudin in honor of his father Blaine

(and wallet) into the project that Dad and I had dreamt about forever.” The car was meticulously disassembled and re-built from the ground up. A new Roadster Shop chassis, a stunning 572 CI Chevy crate motor, a 5-speed automatic transmission, massive brakes, and huge tires mounted on custom wheels ensured that the new version of the Skylark would perform beyond anything the guys ever imagined. The 45-year-old-body of the car was in amazing condition, so it was used along with a new remarkable paint job. Finally, an upgraded sound system

was tastefully integrated into the car’s new luxurious leather interior. “There’s a chance that I went a little crazy on this project,” admitted Steve. “But, I know Dad would be proud, and more than a few coincidences have occurred during the final days of completing the car, that tell me that he’s right here, watching over with me.” Steve has no plans for this car to be simply a “Trailer Queen.” He plans to drive it on a regular basis, and even put it on the race track. The car, now known as “Tribute” was unveiled to the public during the first weekend of March, exactly two years after Blaine’s passing, at the Detroit AutoRama custom car show. Tribute was awarded with a second place trophy for custom convertibles. From March 13-15 the car was also on display at the World of Wheels car show event at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Steve and his father Blaine, founded and operated Tricel Honeycomb Corporation, based in the Chicago suburb of Gurnee. Tricel is a supplier to the automotive and marine industries and Steve continues to run the company today. He said that he’ll miss his dad the most the first time he cruises down the road with the top down.

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Bill’s Auto Body in MN sold to Fairway Collision

Minnesota-based Bill’s Auto Body, owned by Bill and Renee Waddell, was recently sold to Fairway Collision and Automotive in Vadnais Heights, according to Ryan Howard at forest laketimes.com. The new owners took over the 37-year business on March 1 and Howard said the Waddells will remain for awhile to ensure everything runs smoothly. Pam Caruth, and her brothers Kevin and Cary Lund, are the coowners of Fairway. Howard said the Waddells started an auto repair shop out of their home in 1978. The couple said they always worked well together. Bill said he was always committed to good customer service and eventually the business was too large to be run out of their house. They set up shop at 24408 Greenway Ave. in 1987, where the shop remains today. Since then, the building has tripled in size and the number of employees has grown. Bill said he has enjoyed working with repeat customers over the years, and has helped some families for three generations of car owners. Howard said little change is expected at the shop. The name will remain the same and the managers and employees are all still working there. In addition, the business will offer the same services.

OH Farm Bureau Donates Car for Collision Training

Coffeyville Community College, Columbus Technical Campus Collision Repair Program received a 2013 Hyundai donated by the Ohio Farm Bureau, reported sekvoice.com. The car was donated for training purposes to give students additional practice in collision repair. “We are very happy to partner with the Collision Program to provide training opportunities for their students,” Jeff Bohnenblust with Farm Bureau told sekvoice.com. “This vehicle will be utilized to learn the latest technology in collision repair and to educate students on the newest types of metals used in vehicles. It will also give the students a better understanding of how the vehicle reacts in a crash situation to keep the occupants safe,” Hal Daniels, Collision Repair Instructor, told sekvoice.com. Bohnenblust, who was instrumental in implementing the donation, serves on the Collision Repair Advisory Board. Don Swadley of Full Service Auto, also serves on the board and offered his towing service at no cost to get the vehicle delivered. For program info, call Hal Daniels 620-429-3283.

Ohio Attorney General Seeks Reimbursement from Auto Dealer Accused of Failing to Deliver Titles

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced on April 6 a lawsuit against a Columbus, Ohio used car dealership accused of failing to deliver motor vehicle titles as required by law. The lawsuit accuses TCB Automotive Group LLC and its owner Andrew Karabinos of violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act and Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title Act. It also seeks reimbursement to the Title Defect Rescission Fund, a state program that helps car buyers who fail to receive valid titles to vehicles they purchase from a dealership. “When consumers fail to receive titles to the vehicles they buy, we try to help them,” Attorney General DeWine said. “In some cases we use payouts from a fund that other dealerships have paid into to help consumers. We are seeking reimbursement to that fund and an assurance that this dealer will not violate Ohio’s consumer laws in the future.” TCB Automotive Group last operated at 2491 N. High St. in Columbus. It is currently closed.

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In the last two years, approximately 30 consumers have filed complaints against TCB Automotive. Most of the complaints involved title issues. The Attorney General’s Office worked to resolve consumers’ complaints, generally by helping them obtain titles to their vehicles. In some cases payments were made from the Title Defect Rescission Fund to resolve the issue. Payments from the fund totaled $9,200. The Attorney General seeks reimbursement to the fund, consumer restitution, an injunction to stop further violations, and civil penalties. Consumers who have title problems after purchasing a motor vehicle or who have other problems with a consumer transaction, should contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at 800-282-0515 or www.OhioAttorney General.gov.

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Advisors Non-Exempt

times, it has said that they could not. At one point, USDOL issued an interpretative provision at 29 C.F.R. § 779.372(c)(4) in which it took the position that Service Advisors were not within the exemption. But after several courts nevertheless applied the exemption to them, for many years USDOL said that it would no longer dispute the issue. In April 2011, USDOL deleted Section 779.372(c)(4). In accompanying commentary, it said that the change was made to reflect its view that the exemption is limited “to salesmen who sell vehicles and partsmen and mechanics who service vehicles,” and that Service Advisors did not fall within this description.

The Ninth Circuit’s Ruling In Navarro, Service Advisors challenged the overtime exemption’s application in light of USDOL’s revision and statements. The lower federal court dismissed their claims, finding that they did fall within the Section 13(b)(10)(A) exemption.

On appeal, the Ninth Circuit first found Section 13(b)(10)(A) to be ambiguous on the issue. The court said, “It is not clear from the text of the statute whether Congress intended broadly to exempt any salesman who is involved in the servicing of cars or, more narrowly, only those salesmen who are selling the cars themselves.” The Ninth Circuit then evaluated whether it felt that USDOL’s revised administrative interpretations represented a reasonable reading of the exemption. Despite USDOL’s shifting positions, the Ninth Circuit found: Here, the Department of Labor has interpreted the statutory exemption to exclude service advisors by choosing the narrower definition of the term “salesman.” * * * [W]e conclude that the agency has made a permissible choice. The interpretation accords with the presumption that the § 213 exemptions should be construed narrowly. On this basis, the court concluded that the Service Advisors are not exempt under Section 13(b)(10)(A). The Court specifically acknowledged that its holding conflicted with decisions of the Fourth and Fifth Circuits, of several district courts, and of

Surveys to Help Shops with Billing Practices

How does your shop’s billing practices differ from other shops? Are other shops being paid for procedures you’re doing but for which you’re not being compensated? Those questions form the basis of a new series of industry surveys being conducted as a joint project by CollisionAdvice and CRASH Network. “The training and consulting work I do has shown me that many shops aren’t aware of non-included items and operations they are doing but not itemizing on estimates,” Mike Anderson of CollisionAdvice said. “These surveys will help shops understand what these operations are, and whether other shops seek and receive compensation for them – or if they truly are ‘the only one.’” The first of these surveys, which covers refinish-related items and operations, is available online now through April 30. Similar surveys on other aspects of repairs will be conducted later this year. Anderson said the surveys, which will take about 15-30 minutes each, should be completed by the shop owner, manager or estimator who is most familiar with the shop's billing practices and the payment practices of

the largest national insurers. Each individual shop location (whether a standalone business or part of a multi-shop operation) may submit one response to the survey. Each shop's individual responses will be held in the strictest confidence and not released in any way. Only cumulative data will be released through CollisionAdvice and CRASH Network. Participants who choose to provide optional contact information will receive an executive summary of the survey findings. To take the survey, visit: https:// www.surveymonkey.com/s/refinish _survey. CollisionAdvice (www.Collision Advice.com) is an independent training and consulting firm featuring some of the most respected and experienced experts in the collision repair industry. Mike Anderson and his team offer real-world, cutting edge training and guidance both in the classroom and one-on-one in the shop. CRASH Network (www.Crash Network.com) is an independent source of news and information not found anywhere else in the collision repair industry. It offers subscribers a quick-to-read weekly summary of key information and perspectives.

14 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

the Supreme Court of Montana.

Practical Impact of the Court’s Ruling Employers in states outside of the Ninth Circuit should note that its ruling applies only within its jurisdiction. And while in the Ninth Circuit the case undercuts the Section 13(b)(10)(A) overtime exemption where Service Advisors are concerned, even there it does not mean that Service Advisors can never be exempt from FLSA overtime. The FLSA’s Section 7(i) provides another overtime exception for certain employees paid under a bona fide commission pay plan. It applies to an employee:

● Of a “retail or service establishment” (meaning a location 75% of the annual dollar volume of sales of which (i) is not for resale and (ii) is recognized as retail sales in the particular industry); and ● More than half of whose compensation for a “representative period” (of not less than one month) represents commissions on goods or services; and ● Whose regular hourly rate of pay for each overtime workweek is more than

1.5 times the FLSA’s minimum wage.

Of course, an employer must determine whether the applicable overtime laws of a state or another jurisdiction include any exception like Section 7(i), or whether any similar provision is different from Section 7(i) in important ways. Thus, although automobile dealerships in the Ninth Circuit cannot rely upon Section 13(b)(10)(A) for Service Advisors (unless Navarro is later reversed or overruled), it is possible that those employees can be exempt from FLSA overtime under Section 7(i). Those dealers should evaluate whether Section 7(i) provides a viable alternative. For more information, www.labor lawyers.com. Autobody News thanks Fisher & Phillips LLP for permission to reprint their article.

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GFS Ultra Paint Booth Enhances Training at PPG’s Minnesota Facility by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor

A Global Finishing Systems Ultra Paint Booth is the latest addition to PPG’s training center in Edina, Minnesota. Recently installed by Lowell’s PBE Specialists, the booth incorporates special design features that help with efficiency and cost savings as well as the latest drying capabilities. “The operational flexibility available with this booth allows the training center staff to develop and teach efficient painting techniques for new and existing solvent and water-borne products,” said Sam Deering, an equipment sales consultant from Lowell’s PBE Specialists, located in Edina Minnesota. Three other PPG training facilities will also receive GFS booths this year. Deering said the Ultra HD down draft paint booth has the GFS AdvanceCure Blade system to reduce drying time, Logic 4 color touch screen control panel with multiple operational profiles, a 1.5MBTU burner, 15HP supply and exhaust motors with variable frequency drives, and a paint booth sound system with Bluetooth connection. “The Bluetooth connection will allow instructors to more easily communicate with stu-

dents in the booth using connected wireless devices,” said Deering. Additional observation windows were also installed due to the training center’s requirements. Randy Schultz, Business Development Manager, Global Finishing Solutions, said many spray booths have been modified with add-on equipment to aid in flash drying waterborne basecoat. “The GFS company incorporates features such as their ‘full-length air knife system,’ which can be turned on during the flash-off period to not only accelerate airflow, but increase temperature if desired. This makes processing vehicle repairs extremely quick.” The booth can be put into an economy mode to save natural gas during the heating season when spraying is intermittent. “The GFS Ultra Booth has many additional light fixtures making it very easy to see every part of the vehicle being painted. It’s one of the brightest in the business,” says Schultz. The new booth is plumbed with compressed air filtration, as well as filtered air from SATA and aluminum piping by DanAm Air, located in Spring Valley, MN. Lynn Engmark has been the manager at PPG’s Edina facility for the last four years. He has been with PPG for 20 years and worked as a PPG tech-

16 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

nical instructor before becoming the facility manager. Prior to joining PPG, he taught automotive collision repair/refinishing for 18 years at Dunwoody College in Minneapolis. “PPG’s training base consists of owners, managers and technicians from collision repair shops, commercial, fleet and industrial customers as well as PPG distributors who sell the company’s products. When customers attend product training, they have an opportunity to use PPG products in the same environment that a modern collision shop would offer,” said Engmark. “This gives them a real world experience in a training environment.” For example, students spray complete paint systems on large sheet metal assemblies that either are, or simulate a medium-size vehicle. PPG has 16 business development centers across the U.S. and Canada. In addition, instructors conduct training at other facilities. “The goal of PPG training is to keep our customers up-to-date on new products, products enhancements, management training and regulatory issues,” said Engmark. Technical training is part of PPG’s Lifetime Limited Paint Performance Guarantee. Engmark said technicians are offered one- or two-day certification

classes for the company’s paint brands, plus color adjustment and other classes regarding light industrial coatings and commercial application equipment. “In order to keep our facilities upto-date, building and classroom renovations are ongoing, and new equipment is continuously being added to the training centers,” he said. Engmark said PPG currently has more than 10,250 collision repair shops in the United States and Canada using ENVIROBASE® High Performance or AQUABASE® Plus automotive refinishing systems. “Interestingly, over half of those shops are outside of VOC-regulated areas,” he said. “This is because customers realize the advantage of superior color match and fast throughput, using these systems.” He added that PPG’s vision for automotive refinishing includes waterborne products from bare substrate through clearcoat. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA and operates in nearly 70 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.ppg.com and follow @PPGIndustries on Twitter.

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Marketing Manager Marian Rodriguez of CARSTAR Mundelein in IL Gives Back Through Volunteering

by Michelle Sullivan, Mid Atlantic Sales Leader, AkzoNobel

Marian Rodriguez recalls being contacted by CARSTAR Mundelein owner, Jeanne Silver to join their team. They knew each other from her previous role where she worked with agents to place families who lost their homes to fire or natural disaster. That was almost five years ago and Rodriquez now Marian Rodriguez serves as the marof CARSTAR keting manager Mundelein in IL for CARSTAR Mundelein, which is celebrating its 20th year this summer. Rodriquez spends most of her time in the field promoting the value-added offering of CARSTAR Mundelein. She said she enjoys the spectrum of her responsibilities, which include Continuing Education for the insurance agents and participation in community programs to enhance visibility of the company. Her strong bond with the agents goes

back to her days of working with them. Rodriquez has a great appreciation of changing technology. “We are evolving and the advances are exciting,” said Rodriquez. “It will not only affect cars, but also the way businesses communicate. Technology will play a large part of our interaction with customers.” Rodriquez recognizes the influence that social media platforms have on marketing strategy and is in the process of receiving her certification as a social media expert. She found a way to combine her passions with community service, volunteering countless hours to charitable organizations. Rodriquez said she feels fortunate to work for CARSTAR Mundelein that allows her the time and flexibility to give back to the community through volunteering and photography. “Our company truly believes in helping others,” she said. That is evident with their participation in the annual Recycled Rides program, which Rodriquez helps coordinate. “Giving back to the community and the industry are important. This year, we

are proudly giving away our fifth car to a deserving family.” She said that one of her greatest accomplishments was receiving the The President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2013, for her donation of 499 hours in 2012 to the Union League Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago. That same year she also received the 2013 GLMV Chamber of Commerce Heart Award, for her volunteer efforts to help the chamber grow. Rodriquez is also Marketing Committee Chair, and contributes to the Women’s Networking Group Committee, Golf Committee, and Annual Dinner Committee for the Chamber. “If I can make people’s lives easier by assisting these organizations, that is rewarding.” said Rodriquez. “It is about enhacing people’s lives.” After joining WIN last year, she has volunteered her design and media skills to the Collatoral Development Committee. “Women are great networkers and education is so crucial to us,” she said. “Not only is the industry evolving, but so is the visibility and acceptance of women. That is exciting and I want to be a part of it!”

Mercedes-Benz Recalls To Fix Tail Lights and Gas Leaks Mercedes-Benz has announced two recalls that will see over 33,000 vehicles recalled. The largest of the two involves 30,141 cars that can suffer LED tail light failures. Mercedes-Benz says over 30,000 cars have LED tail lights that may not illuminate on the sides, a violation of U.S. federal safety standards. The automaker says the affected model years include the 2015 CLS 400 and CLS 400 4matic, 2012-2015 CLS 550 and CLS 550 4matic, 2012-2013 CLS 63, 2014 CLS 63 and 2014-2015 CLS 63P. Mercedes first learned of the problem in December 2014 during a routine quality check on CLS-class cars. An investigation found a possible problem with software coding, then a later investigation confirmed inaccurate coding caused the LEDs in both tail lights to fail. Dealers will make sure the LED tail lights keep working by updating the lighting controller software. Over 3,000 model year 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300 4matic and C400 4matic cars are recalled to fix gas leaks that could cause a fire. Mercedes says the fuel delivery module might not be properly attached to the gas tank. In addition, electrical wires used to connect the delivery module might have been pinched between the gas tank and the delivery module.

www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 17

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MS Attorney General

tions to halt the “steering” practice. That point is raised in Hood’s letter to Holder, which also states that “insurers are implementing programs which require the use of after-market parts or re-manufactured parts, without disclosing the use of such to consumers and in spite of the fact that such parts are not of the same like, kind and quality of the original equipment manufacturer. This practice risks both the safety of the consumer, as well as the integrity of any vehicle warranties that the consumer may have otherwise.” For example, Hood said, “body shops have reported to my office that they are pressured into accepting bids from [State Farm’s] . . . online system,” Parts Trader, “which “State Farm requires its ‘Select Service’ shops to use for obtaining parts. “Body shops have reported to my office that they are pressured into accepting bid from Parts Trader for after-market or remanufactured part that are unsafe and far below the quality of the original equipment manufacturer.” Hood asked Holder to see if such practices not only violate the 1963 consent decree but also federal laws and regulations. Hood said on “Anderson Cooper 360” on CNN last month that insurers that use such practices attempt to “use their economic power to grind down working people.” He said in response to a question that he is “reviewing options” as to which actions he might take. State Farm issued this statement to the Mississippi Business Journal: “Our customers choose where their vehicles are going to be repaired. We provide information about our Select Service program while at the same time making it clear they can select which shops will do the work.” Meantime, the owner of Clinton Body Shop has the distinction of being John Mosely a litigant against file photo State Farm and also Republican candidate for state insurance commissioner. John Mosley is challenging twoterm Commissioner Mike Chaney in

the Aug. 4 party primary. There are no Democratic candidates. Mosley would like to see changes in how the department is run, and how campaigns for the office are run. For starters, he said that if he is elected, he would ask the Legislature to prohibit campaign contributions from insurance companies. Turning to auto insurance, he noted that the department website states that “the most an insurance company shall be required to pay for the repair of a vehicle . . . is the lowest amount that such vehicle . . . could be properly repaired or replaced . . . within a reasonable geographical or trade area of the insured.” “Most insurance policies actually provide for greater payment than what is statutorily required . . . .” Mosley said in an interview that “you don’t know what a struggle that is” to find one of those insurers that would pay beyond the minimum. He recommends changing the wording of the guideline and the state law it is based on to include a definition of “properly” by adding language to the effect of “adhering to all manufacturers’ specified repair procedures.” Also, he would like the see the licensing of body shops. Currently shops may voluntarily subscribe to the standards of I-CAR, or the Interindustry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, an international not-for-profit organization. Moving to another area, Mosley said that property and casualty insurance needs more transparency. He supports the latest attempt to pass what has been called the Clarity Act, which would make it easier to determine how insurers received in premiums and how much they pay out in each zip code. The effort was launched after Hurricane Katrina and coastal homeowner’s policyholders felt that they were paying a disproportionate share. He said that Chaney has been reluctant to support the measure till this election year. He said the information is available in the commissioner’s office, but “it’s not an easy task to look and see what the losses are by zip code.” “These folks on the coast are still paying higher premiums 10 years after Katrina. And folks in the other parts of the state think their premiums are higher because they think they are subsidizing the Gulf Coast.”

18 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Chaney said that he “killed” two earlier versions of the act in the past because using the zip codes would have been too fragmentary. He said he and others started working on the bill last year and reframed measure, which also tracks claims and premiums by county. Gov. Phil Bryant signed House Bill 739 on March 13. If he were to become commissioner, Mosley, 61, acknowledged in response to a question that he could be seen as in a potential conflict of interest of regulating the auto insurance industry while depending on it. He agreed the best thing would be for him to put his business in a blind trust where he would have no dealings with it as long as he held office. Chaney, 71, is the 11th person to hold the position of commissioner since the department was established in 1900, he said. The department benefits from the stability of having a strong continuity, Chaney said. He said that the body shops have some valid points about what kind of parts they use, “but in many cases the original parts are not as good some of the replacement parts they’re using. You have to worry about the safety of

automobiles.” Meantime, the labor rates in Vicksburg, where he lives, are typically $50 to $55 an hour, Chaney said, adding, however, that in some cases department investigators have found that “shops are trying to get $70 to $75 an hour.” Chaney believes that the current outbreak of hostilities between body shops and insurers—at least in Mississippi—was fed by a horrendous hailstorm two years ago. The storm “did $500 million in damage from Vicksburg to Meridian in a band about 15 miles wide. A hundred and 80 million of it was in automobiles in the Jackson metro area. About 20 body shops were making all that money. That’s when our nightmare began with the body shops . . . which were billing without preauthorization” from the insurers.” “It basically was a spitting contest between the body shops and the insurance companies. We didn’t have a lot of complaints from consumers. We were able to take care of them. John [Mosley] made a lot of money during that time.” As for contributions from insurSee MS Atty General, Page 20

www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 19

2015 Greater Midwest Automotive Recycling Expo Attracts Industry Members from Nebraska and Surrounding States by Chasidy Rae Sisk

On March 5-7, the Automotive Recycling Industry of Nebraska collaborated to hold their 22nd annual Greater Midwest Automotive Recycling Expo (GMARE) at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Convention Center in Kearney, NE. The Automotive Recycling Association (ARA) was represented by their first Vice President Mike Swift of Swift’s Trails End Auto Recycling in Des Moines, IA. He provided updates on the association’s recent activities, including a preview of ARA’s 8th Annual Hill Day and State Legislative Summit. Swift said, “The event was wellattended, with both familiar and new faces. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to meet and discuss with different vendors and suppliers specific to the automotive recycling industry, as well as network with fellow recyclers all over the U.S.” The GMARE is intended to connect the professional automotive recycling community with vehicle

CIF Elects Jeff Peavy to Board of Trustees

The Collision Industry Foundation (CIF) recently elected Jeff Peevy with I-CAR to the Board of Trustees to carry on the Foundation’s initiatives throughout the coming years. Jeff Peevy is a well-known speaker and moderator at industry conferences and events across the United States. Peavy is the Senior Director of Field Operations and Segment Development at I-CAR. As a 32 year industry veteran, he has been a technician, shop manager, instructor, National PBE Manager for a large U.S. supplier, and Director of Technical Training and Application Research for an automotive paint manufacturer. Peavy stated, “During hurricane Katrina I saw firsthand how important the CIF mission is and look forward in assisting in its growth and promotion.” Chairman William Shaw commented on Peevy’s appointment, saying, “The CIF Board of Trustees is very excited and honored to have Jeff join our team. His industry experience and credibility is only shadowed by his passion to help others. He will be a key contributor to delivering the CIF’s mission of helping collision industry professionals in need.”

wreckers, salvage dealers and suppliers. The expo rose to the challenge, attracting attendees from all over Nebraska and its surrounding states. Attendees were invited to tour several local facilities in order to see their colleagues’ automotive recycling yards and hopefully come up with ideas for improving their own businesses. Andersen Self-Service, Andersen Wrecking Company, and CMI/Alter Metal Recycling all invited their peers to visit for exclusive tours. DJ Harrington, the Car-Dialogist with Phone Logic, was the event’s keynote speaker, and he covered a variety of business skills for attendees to develop, including telephone etiquette, prospecting, sales and customer service. Next, Reikes Equipment’s John Parker educated participants on the importance of workplace safety and fork lift training. GMARE attendees also enjoyed a trade show with industry vendor exhibits, a dinner banquet and an auction. Continued from Page 18

MS Attorney General

ance companies regulated by the state, he said his position is “you’ll still get good government whether you contribute to me or not.” He conceded that it takes a lot of money to run for the office. He’ said he’ll need $300,000 to $400,000 this year. As of Jan. 30, his campaign has received $136,084.13 and had cash on hand of $267,921.99, according to the secretary of state’s office. But in point of fact Chaney said: “We don’t take money from big insurance companies.” Otherwise, “if I see where I have to regulate somebody who has given me money, I’ll refuse it,” Chaney said. Or if someone is offering a campaign contribution to curry favor, “I’ll prosecute ‘em.” Mosley’s campaign was not started till late February, and so his first reporting deadline will be May 8. Autobody News thanks the staff of msbusiness.com for permission to reprint their article.

20 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Michael E. Wilson, ARA’s CEO, believes that education and networking opportunities are the most beneficial aspects of industry-sponsored events like GMARE. “The automotive parts market and collision repair industry has more players than ever before, and ARA and affiliated state chapter members need to stay informed on the latest developments and trends. ARA’s Annual Convention and state association events serve as a means of providing this type of information. The discussions and feedback that take place at these events also aid ARA in determining the direction of current and future activities, which is why ARA makes it a priority to have a member of the association’s leadership team attend state association meetings whenever possible. This provides an opportunity to meet with current association members, as well as prospective members, to present ARA’s member benefits and help promote the association’s value by highlighting the specific products and services ARA provides its member-

ship base. Talking to our members also allows us to gain a better understanding of their needs so that we can focus on the collaborative power a united association membership base can provide by coming together.” He added, “Networking is also a key ingredient in the success of association events as it allows automotive recyclers to benchmark themselves and their peers in the industry in order to determine how others may have overcome certain difficulties. Because many members know each other since their businesses have been passed along to multiple generations, it’s like a family reunion.” ARA www.a-r-a.org

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Industry Insight

—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a body shop in the family and has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contact him by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.

SCRS Event Brings Shop Associations Together to Discuss Efforts, Share Ideas with John Yoswick

Collision repair association leaders from around the country met in Secaucus, NJ, in mid-March to share ideas and discuss state legislative or regulatory successes and efforts. The “2015 East Coast Resolution Forum,” an event sponsored by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP) of New Jersey, was held in conjunction with AASPNew Jersey’s NORTHEAST™ 2015 trade show. Ed Kizenberger, executive director of the New York State Auto Collision Technicians’ Association (NYSACTA), moderated the meeting and told attendees about the legislation his association is supporting that would prohibit insurers from requiring repair shops to use specific vendors or processes for the procurement of parts or other necessary materials. The bill (SB 1207) is similar to one introduced in New York in 2013, and to

bills introduced this year in Illinois and Minnesota as well. Kizenberger also shared a letter he wrote to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, asking him to view the February 11 “Anderson Cooper 360” segment on CNN examining insurer involvement in the collision repair industry. He urged Schneiderman to join other state attorneys general in either filing a lawsuit against insurers regarding some of their practices, or to join Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in urging U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to examine consumer steering and other insurer practices. Such efforts can pay off, Oklahoma shop owner Gary Wano said at the meeting. He said he was among a handful of repairers who met with representatives of his state’s Attorney General’s office last fall to discuss several issues, including “steering.” The timing, he said, was fortuitous.

22 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

“The Assistant Attorney General looked at us and said, ‘Wow, that just happened to me,’” Wano said. “Her son had just been involved in an accident, and GEICO Insurance told her to go to a shop 20 miles away from her home, after she already said she had a particular repair facility she liked to use in her neighborhood.” The information from the shops led Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to issue a warning to consumers about steering, and to a subsequent public service announcement on the topic produced by the state insurance department. The phone number listed in the public service announcement connects consumers with a taskforce that can take verbal as well as written complaints from consumers. “This is the most action we’ve seen in Oklahoma since the early 1990s,” Wano said. SCRS’ Aaron Schulenburg said such efforts help those in other states

as well; the Oklahoma public service announcement, for example, helped prompt a nearly identically-worded one in Montana. Legislation is a big focus of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP) of Massachusetts. House Bill 857 would change two currently-required consumer disclosures. Under the bill, the current disclosure on any estimate that includes nonOEM parts would have to be in at least 12-point type rather than at least 10-point type; it would also be extended to say that use of such parts may void existing warranties, and would have to include notice of the consumer’s right to use the shop of their choice. The second change would require any insurer recommending shops to also tell the consumer verbally or in writing that, “Under Massachusetts law, you have the right to choose a registered repair shop of your choice. All registered re-

pair shops must guarantee their repairs.” Another Massachusetts bill (HB 883), similar to one introduced two years ago, would require the state’s insurance commissioner to establish a minimum labor rate insurers must pay to shops based on the average of the hourly rates paid by insurers in five surrounding states (where labor rates are as much as $10 higher). The commissioner would have to review the minimum hourly rate once every three years. AASP-Massachusetts is also backing two other bills that will make changes to the state’s Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board (ADALB). One bill would shift oversight of the board from the Division of Insurance to the Division of Professional Licensure. Jillian Zywien, executive director of AASP-MA, said all other state licensing boards are under that division, and the association believes the ADALB should be as well. The second bill (H 816) would add two additional members to the 5member ADALB. The board currently includes two representatives affiliated with the body shop industry, two af-

filiated with insurance companies, and a chairman (appointed by the commissioner of insurance) who is not affiliated with either industry. Under the proposed legislation, the state attorney general would appoint two additional board members, one representing the attorney general’s office and one representing consumers. “The ADALB oversees all licensed appraisers in Massachusetts and is a place where repairers and consumers can seek remedy for improper repair appraisal negotiations,” Molly Brodeur, president of AASP-MA, said. “The Board’s current configuration has eroded its mission. There is also undue influence from the Division of Insurance, which further complicates the ADALB’s ability to act. Our legislative and regulatory agenda is focused on bringing order and functionality back to the ADALB.” Representatives from Connecticut at the meeting discussed the awaited decision in The Hartford’s appeal of the $34 million dollar judgment against the insurer in a class action lawsuit brought by the Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC) and several shops in the state. The two sides in the case squared off before the

Connecticut Supreme Court in January, with The Hartford appealing the 2013 judgment that awarded repairers millions in compensatory and punitive damages after a jury agreed The Hartford suppressed labor rates through unfair trade practices. “There’s no specific timeframe, but my sense is probably within the next three to six months we’ll have a decision,” said attorney John Parese, though he is not personally involved in the case. With interest, a ruling in the shops’ favor would probably result in a net award of close to $40 million. Tony Ferraiolo, the president of ABAC, was asked at the meeting if he feels that’s enough to change the insurer’s behavior. “It’s taken 14 years since we filed the case to get to the final decision on this thing,” Ferraiolo said. “Even if they do have to pay that amount, can you imagine what they made by not having to change the way they do business for the 14 years?” Ferraiolo said the association also is supporting legislation (5655), introduced on behalf of a jobber in the state, that calls for clarification of state sales tax regulations on automotive

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paint. Ferraiolo said his state is one of five with a “double-taxation issue, where we are paying tax to the jobber on paint-related materials, and then charging customers a tax on it on the other end.” Tony Passwater of the Indiana Auto Body Association said he has created a website (www.iHaveBeenSteered.com) and a toll-free phone number (855-No-2-STEERing) to allow consumers to decribe their interactions with an insurer related to shop choice. Passwater said consumers who may be hesitant to fill out a “complaint form” may be more apt to “share what their experience has been.” He said sharing the CNN story as well as others on social media is helping build consumer awareness. “I think we’re making some inroads with consumers, which is what we’ve never been able to do very well in the past because it’s hard to reach consumers,” Passwater said. “I really believe that social media is our equalizer.”

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Continued from Cover

Kayla Mueller

Syrian border in 2012 to work with Syrian refugees. She was abducted in 2013 after leaving a hospital and held captive by the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) aka Is-

When Kayla returned from the refugee camps in Turkey in May 2013, she told the Prescott Kiwanis Club, “As long as I live I will not let this kind of suffering be normal, something we just accept.” Carl said his daughter was a prolific writer and kept daily journals from the time she was a senior in high

Kayla visited Carl frequently in his body shop. She washed cars, ran errands, and helped out wherever she was needed

lamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Islamic State claimed she was killed by Jordanian bombers. Her family confirmed her death on Feb. 10 of this year, without commenting on the cause. Kayla grew up in Prescott. An active volunteer, she often helped at women’s shelters, local needs clinics and worked with youth. From the time she attended middle school, she volunteered for local Kiwanis Club events and homeless shelters. When she was a senior in high school, she received the 2007 Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award for her work with groups such as Americorps and Big Brothers Big Sisters. In college, she set up the student chapter of Amnesty International at Northern Arizona University and organized a rally to raise awareness about genocide in Sudan. “She always had the heart to help and I always told her she had a gift from God and that she should use it,” said her dad Carl. “She was literally tormented by the suffering of mankind.” Considered by family and friends alike as a devoted humanitarian and activist, Kayla had previously worked with refugees overseas including Tibetans in India, Africans in Israel, and Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

school. “One of her quotes was that she’s known for quite some time now what her life’s work is – using her hands to relieve suffering,” said Carl.That was what inspired her parents to name the foundation Kayla’s Hands. “What Marsha and I intend to do now is to move forward and do the things that Kayla couldn’t do on her own … without support and money,” said Carl. “We’re going to try to establish the foundation and fill the endowment so we can do the things that she gave her life to try to get done.” Their plans include traveling throughout the U.S. and abroad to spread the word about Kayla’s Hands. Last month, Carl attended a Kiwanis meeting in Farmington, NM, to thank the organization for its tremendous support. Carl is a past president of the Prescott Kiwanis Club. He and Marsha traveled to Madrid, Spain in mid-April to speak at a religious conference. “Everyone seems to be very interested in learning about Kayla so we’re going to try to introduce them to Kayla and thank them for the award,” said Carl. “… and promote Kayla’s Hands as much as we can so we can do the work that she was so desperate to have done.” Up until recently Carl and Mar-

24 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

sha ran Preferred Auto Body in Prescott. They sold it to Cameron Snow and his wife Erika in January 2014. Carl said the new owners have been very supportive of the Mueller family and are doing a great job with the business they ran for so many years. Carl said his first introduction to the auto body industry came in 1967 during his junior year of high school. He participated in a work program where he attended school for half the day and worked at a Ford dealership in Champaign, IL, for the remainder. He started out sweeping floors and keeping the paint room clean and eventually helped in the shop sanding and painting. He credits much of his learning from his peers. In 1981, he said business was slow due to the poor economy. Carl and the painter in the shop, Tom Gordon, decided to start out on their own and opened Preferred Auto Body. After renting a facility for three years, they purchased property in Prescott and relocated their shop. Tom sold his half of the business to Carl in 1998, which he ran with his wife and six employees until 2014. Now retired,

Carl and his wife can devote more time to Kayla’s Hands. “Our foundation is basically going to help suffering people, not just in the United States, but all over the world.” On the website created by her friends (www.forkayla.org) Kayla was quoted as saying, “It’s important to stop and realize what we have, why we have it and how privileged we are. And from that place, start caring and get a lot done.” There is an upcoming fundraising event being held in Tucson, AZ, on May 2: Celebration of Life and Fundraiser benefitting Kayla’s Hands. For more information call 520225-9786. There is also a Newsboys concert being held in Flagstaff, AZ, on May 24 to raise money for the foundation. For more information about Kayla’s Hands, email: carlmarsha muellerfamily@gmail.com or visit: www.kaylashands.org

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CARSTAR Wicklunds is First Independent Shop in Region with Aluminum Repair Station ther, Bill Wicklunds. The new aluminum facility opened As the Ford F-150 all aluminum bodied on March 11, 2015 with a ribbon cutpickup rolls into dealerships throughout ting event for customers, insurance Kansas and Missouri, CARSTAR agents and business community leaders. Wicklunds is the only independent “[Aluminum repair] is the way of body shop in the region with a qualified the future and we’ve always tried to aluminum repair facility. stay leading with cutting edge technology and so-forth,” said owner Gerald Wicklunds. Wicklunds said they committed to the idea in spring 2014, and were able to open the aluminum repair station a year later with the proper certifications and equipment in tact. Aluminum vehicles require different repair methods and cannot be repaired at a nonCARSTAR Wicklunds owner, Gerald Wicklunds, cuts the aluminum tape during the opening ceremony for the shop’s recognized facility. CARSTAR new aluminum repair station. Photo Credit: Shane Immelt/ Wicklunds has been recogMinds-i Photo nized by CARSTAR for comThe collision repair shop, which pleting the training and preparation to opened 45 years ago in 1970, became handle structural and non-structural rethe first CARSTAR location in 1989, pairs on aluminum vehicles. and was incorporated in 2012. Along with Ford’s aluminum reOwner Gerald Wicklunds told pair certification, CARSTAR WickAutobody News he never thought he’d lunds is also certified by GM, Chrysler, open an aluminum repair station when Nissan and Honda for all other repairs. he first took over the shop from his fa- CARSTAR has its own internal certifiby Victoria Antonelli, Online Editor

WIN Educational Conference May 4–6 in Baltimore

The Women’s Industry Network (WIN) announced the complete lineup of programming is now set for the 2015 Educational Conference Create and Cultivate, being held May 4–6 at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott. The schedule of presenters includes some inspiring leaders from around the collision repair industry who have powerful messages to share. Building on Mike Anderson’s keynote address, Choosing Your Destiny, the mainstage program schedule includes: ● Change Makes Me Happy… Or is it the Other Way Around? by Paul Gange, Fix Auto USA ● The Sustainable Competitive Advantage by Jeff Peevy of I-CAR ● What the Future Holds for Our Industry by Susanna Gotsch, CCC Information Services Inc. ● Connected Cars/Connected Claims by Sean Carey of SCG Management Consultants LLC ● Time Management – There’s No Such Thing by Ruth Weniger of Powerful Business Strategies, LLC In addition to these topics, breakout sessions will include: ● Reality Marketing facilitated by Cheryl Senko of Cherly Senko Consulting ● Bridging Silos: Using Marketing

Concepts to Attract, Retain and Grow Talent facilitated by Sandra Herron of MiddleEdge Consulting ● Feedback: Giving and Receiving facilitated by Marianne Godwin & Natalie Lindsey, Mitchell International. “We are extemely proud of the program that has been assembled for the 2015 Educational Conference,” said Jessica Rob, co-chair of the WIN Conference Planning Committee. “This year’s program not only focuses on topics that are most requested by our members, but also showcases a diverse and talented group of individuals from within the collision repair industry.” Rounding out the three days of education will be the celebration of the 2015 Most Influential Women honorees, the Annual Scholarship Walk raising funds for the WIN Scholarship Fund, and the Annual Membership Meeting. Visit http://thewomensindustry network.ning.com/page/2015-confe rence or contact Jessica Rob at jessica.rob@akzonobel.com or Yolanda Sandor at yolanda.sandor @basf.com.

www.autobodynews.com

26 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

tured Liberty, MO, Mayor Lyndell Brenton, Wicklunds, and members of the Liberty Chamber of Commerce and Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce. It was held at CARSTAR Wicklunds Collision Center, 941 Sutton Pl, Liberty, MO 640682295 “There’s quite the buzz in the community about us being the only non-Ford dealership aluminum certified shop for 150 miles that has gone through the certification process with Assured Per(r) Lynn Corbett, leader in payroll sales and merchant servformance,” said Wicklunds. ices/relationship manager at Heartland Payment Systems, talks with (l) Jason Foust, independent financial advisor at “We’ve been hitting the social media pretty hard with Frazier DeCamp Financial, during the CARSTAR Wicklunds aluminum repair station ribbon cutting ceremony. Photo updates on our progress.” Credit: Shane Immelt/Minds-i Photo Wicklunds runs the shop three of his technicians are aluminum with the assistance of his mother repair certified. Wicklunds’ shop has Rochelle, and his three children; Billy, been I-CAR Gold certified since the production manager, Jason, damage certification existed. Thirteen other analysis specialist, and Kristin, who MoKan CARSTAR locations are in manages used car sales and the detail the process of adding aluminum repair department. stations. For more information, contact The ceremony for the opening of Gerald Wicklunds at gerald@ wickthe first of the 14 in the region fea- lundscarstar.com or call 816-781-2838. cation process that is part of the proprietary 5 Tier CARSTAR EDGE Performance certification. Wicklunds said he did not need to hire any new staff with the opening of the aluminum repair station, because

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Continued from Cover

WorldSkills Competition

through Alden High School, and decided to enroll during his junior year in order to make use of this resource. “Nate wouldn’t get flustered when competing. I think having the confidence that he has helped him go so far,” said Robert Verso, who has been a collision repair instructor at Harkness Career Center for 26 years. “I remember telling my colleagues that Nate would take first place at the state level.” And Verso was right. While competing at the high school level, Wagner placed first in the regional competition at Alfred State Vocational College in Wellsville, NY. He also placed first at the New York state competition, which was held in Syracuse, NY, that year. Verso, who has taught three NYS winners, said he and Wagner boarded a plane to Kansas City, MO in June 2011 to compete at the SkillsUSA national

not only chosen based on ranking; other factors include the student’s interview responses and what he or she has done since graduating from vocational school. “My experience with Nate was a very enjoyable one,” said Verso. “Immediately I knew that he was going to take this program seriously and he came to our school to learn. Nate would put 100 percent into class and shop activities. He would continue to practice what was taught to him until he got it right. He would also read or go online to learn new ways to get the job done. Honestly, I learned a few things from Nate that year also.” Due to Wagner’s hard work and dedication to the collision repair field, he was able to be a part of an “incredible” event. “It’s like the Olympics for the skilled trades,” said Wagner. “Thirtythousand very talented kids from all over the world are in one city for a week. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced.”

and located in Williamsville, NY, a suburb of Buffalo. “I didn’t want to work in some office designing a part to a machine without seeing the culmination of that design,” said Wagner. “At my job now,

Wagner said he will be going back to school to get an Associates degree in teaching in the near future. “From my experience studying and working in a skill trade, I’m very aware of the shortage of people in my generation who actually want to do what I do,” said Wagner. “Part of that is the lack of education. In the field that I work in, when you go to a body shop to start your job, the employer will first hand you a broom, then a wrench, and then they’ll hand you a paint gun. You Nathaneal Wagner poses with young fans outside of the never really know how to use WorldSkills competition it, aside from a brief, inadeI get a wrecked Mercedes, invest my quate tutorial.” time, knowledge, and skills to repair it, Wagner added, “I know what edand bring it back to perfect condition. ucation enabled me to do, and I would To me that is very rewarding.” enjoy giving that back to other willing Wagner plans to someday share people. I really see the opportunity in the world-class training he received taking advantage of these programs before and during the competitions while they’re still available.” with other students in the collision reHe is currently the youngest perpair field. Along with Verso, represon working at his shop, and he said sentatives from 3M Automotive, Spies he can feel the sense of panic in the inHecker, and the German paint gun disdustry now that the older workforce is tributor, SATA, played a role in develthinning out. oping Wagner’s skills set. Verso shares Wagner’s fears, stating, “Rob said I could have his job “As far as collision repair goes, I think once he’s retired,” he added with a grin. See WorldSkills Competition, Page 48

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513.782.2829 Nathaneal Wagner has been a painter at Autobahn Body Werks in Williamsville, NY, since he returned from the international competition in Germany

level. Wagner came in second place, only losing by a few points out of 1,000 total points.” “I didn’t think I’d qualify for the international competition, since I had placed second; actually, I had completely forgotten about it until I got a call one day saying I was a candidate,” he said. “It was very exciting. But the better phone call came when they said they’d selected me out of the other competitors.” He explained that the judges pick the automotive refinish students who placed first, second, third and fourth at nationals to put in a pool, and then from there select who will compete at the international level. The winner is

First place in his sector was awarded to a male student from Norway, while a female student from Sweden took home second place. WorldSkills marked Wagner’s second trip to Europe. He took time off between high school and college to travel to France, Italy and Spain. While in Germany competing at WorldSkills, Wagner was enrolled in the University at Buffalo, working toward a degree in mechanical engineering. After two years, he decided he’d rather stick with his initial interest: collision repair. He is now a painter at Autobahn Body Werks, where he has worked since returning from Germany. The shop is Mercedes Benz certified,

28 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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What are crash parts? p Take a closer look. Your insurance coverage. g Choosing th he right bod dy sh hop. All AGreat parts are not created equal. equal Co ollissio on 101. What’s a Info for Shops DRP and whyy sho sho ould I caare? re? Where Where d do o aairbag irbags come come ffro rom? m? C Counterfeit ounterfeit airai bags - what you need to know. Take a closer look. What are crash parts? Your rights as a consumer. Your insuraance coverage. Ch hoosing the right body shop. Helpiin ng you through the colllision repair pro oce ess. Collision 101. What’s a DRP and d why should I care? Where do airbags co ome from? Counterfeit airbags - what you need to know. Take a closerr lookk. What are crash parts? Your righttss as a consumer. Your insurance cove erag ge. Choosing the right body shop. Whatt are crash parts? Your riights as a co onsumer. Your insurance coverage e. Choosiing www.collision.honda.com th he riigh ht bod dy sh hop. All paarts t are not created equal. Take a closse ser look. Collision 101. What’s a DRP and why w should I care? Where do airbag gs come from? Counterffeit airbags - wh hat you need to know. Take a closse er look. What are crash parts? Your rights t as a consumer. Your insurance coverage. Choosing the right body shop. o Helping you through the colliission repair process. Collision 101. What’ss a DRP and why should I care? Wh he ere do airbags come from? Counter feit airbags - what you need to know. Takke a closer look. W What hat are are crash crash parts parts? You ur rights as a consumer. Your insurance coverage. Choosing the right bo ody shop. What are www.airbagaware.com crash parts? Yourr rights as a consumer. Your insurance coverage. v Choosing the right body sh ho op. All parts are not created equal. Take a closer look. Collision 101. What’’ss a DRP and why should I care? Where do d airbags come from? Counterfeiitt airbags - what you need to know. Take a closer look. What are crash parts? Your rights as a consumer. Your insurance ccoverage. Choosing the right bod dy shop. Helping you through the collisio on repair process. Collision 101. Wh haat’ss a DRP and why shoulld I care? Where do airbags come from? Counterfe eiit aiirbags - what you ne eed to know. Take a closer look. What are crash p paarts?? Your righ hts as a consumer. Your in nsu urance coverage. www.crashrepairinfo.com Choosing tthe he e rrig ig gh ht b ht body ody sshop. hop. Y Your our rights rights as as a cons consum consumer.. W What haat are crash parts? You ur in nsuran nce coverage. g Choo sing the right body sh hop. All parts Great Info for Consumers are not created equal. Helping you through the collision repair process. 30 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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Industry Insight

Legal Battle That Began with Non-OEM Parts Back in 1997 Still Being Waged Today with John Yoswick

Back in 1999, a court decision in a class action lawsuit resulted in a $1.2 billion judgment against State Farm – at the time one of the largest judgLloyd Karmeier ments ever levied against an insurer. The ruling changed the way many insurance companies dealt with non-OEM parts for years, and despite the fact that the judgment was later nullified, the “Avery vs State Farm” lawsuit even today is seen as the basis for State Farm’s limited use of such parts. But now, 18 years after that lawsuit began, the lawyers who represented the vehicle-owners in the Avery lawsuit are still fighting against the overturning of that judgment by the Illinois Supreme Court. The amount they are seeking from State Farm this time is considerably larger: triple the

damages of the Avery case plus more than a decade of interest, all adding up to more than $8 billion. Though a portion of that money would still go to the vehicle-owners who sued back in the late 1990s, the current lawsuit has nothing to do with parts and everything to do with political influence. The suit alleges that State Farm played a pivotal role in the successful 2004 election campaign of a judge to the Illinois Supreme Court – a judge that the next year became the fourth vote on that court to overturn the Avery decision and nullify the judgment against State Farm.

Some quick background The original Avery lawsuit on behalf of about 4.5 million drivers who had non-OEM parts installed on their vehicles as part of their State Farm claim alleged that the parts were inferior to OEM, and thus the insurer breached its contract to return those cars to

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not have been approved as a national class action because State Farm uses different policy language in different states and even within the same state. The Court found no breach of contract under any of the three different policy wordings related to the use of parts. It ruled that the plaintiffs in the case failed to demonstrate damages. And the court pointed out that plaintiffs did not contend that non-OEM parts are defective, only that they are all not as good as OEM parts. The decision emboldened insurers, some of which had curtailed calling for the use of non-OEM parts for some years after the 1999 Avery judgment, to return to pushing shops to use the parts.

New findings, new lawsuit But in 2011, lawyers for the plaintiffs in the Avery case filed a lawsuit claiming they had new evidence of State Farm’s involvement in the recruitment of Karmeier as a candidate and in fi-

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“pre-loss condition.” A jury in 1999 agreed, finding also that State Farm had defrauded consumers by concealing known problems with the parts. In 2001 in response to an appeal by State Farm, an appellate court affirmed the decision but lowered the damage award to $1.05 billion. State Farm then filed an appeal with the Illinois Supreme Court. In 2004, Judge Lloyd Karmeier was elected to his first 10-year term on the Illinois Supreme Court. At that time, lawyers for the plaintiffs in the Avery case sought to have Karmeier recuse himself from participating in the Avery decision because they claimed his election campaign had received significant campaign contributions from State Farm. But Karmeier did not recuse himself. The next year, four of the six Justices on the Court—including Karmeier— voted to overturn the Avery ruling. The court ruled that the case should

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nancing the campaign that lead to his election to the Illinois Supreme Court. That campaign shattered state and national spending records for a judicial seat, with the two candidates spending more than $9 million combined. The current lawsuit argues that State Farm “delivered ‘tremendous’ financial support (at least $2.5 million and as much as $4 million) to Justice Karmeier’s campaign.” The plaintiffs’ attorneys argue, for example that State Farm attorney and lobbyist William Shepherd was on the executive committee of the Illinois Civil Justice League (ICJL), which recruited and endorsed Karmeier as a candidate for the seat on the court, and was involved with weekly conference calls with Karmeier’s campaign manager (the head of the ICJL). The money trail described in the court filings to date is a bit convoluted, indicating that the contributions largely came through intermediary organizations being influenced by State Farm. The ICJL, for example, through its political action committee made $1.1 million in direct and in-kind contributions to Karmeier’s campaign. Also at the time, the lawsuit argues, State Farm CEO Ed Rust was

part of the U.S. Chamber’s leadership team that selected which judicial campaigns to target, and Illinois was identified as a “Tier 1” state to target. State Farm donated $1 million to the U.S. Chamber’s judicial election efforts, the U.S. Chamber donated over $2 million to the Illinois Republican Party, and that organization in turn bought $1.94 million in advertising for the Karmeier campaign. Attorneys say the new evidence should lead the court to reinstate the judgment against State Farm, or alternatively redecide the case without Karmeier’s involvement. State Farm has argued that overturning the Avery ruling would be “disruptive in the extreme” to the Illinois legal system because the ruling has been cited in more than 200 subsequent court opinions. The insurer argues the contributions to Karmeier’s campaign from State Farm employees and others connected with the insurer were “quite modest,” estimated to be about $350,000. And it says the notion of “State Farm-influenced contributions” relies on an unsubstantiated argument that the insurer controls such organizations as the U.S. Chamber and the ICJL.

Deposition of a Supreme Court Justice The most recent argument in the ongoing legal battle has been over whether Karmeier can be questioned under oath. A deposition of a sitting justice on a state supreme court is extraordinarily rate. A magistrate judge earlier this year ruled the attorneys suing State Farm could submit 20 questions to Karmeier in writing, but that Karmeier could not be subjected to a formal deposition. But in a dramatic turn-about in March, U.S. District Court Judge David Herndon overturned that ruling, saying that having Karmeier give testimony is the only way to give both sides a fair opportunity to “explore the facts, and for the public, in the face of such allegation, to learn the truth.” Judge Herndon said Karmeier can be questioned about all aspects of his election campaign but not about his deliberations in any case while on the Supreme Court. In addition, he ruled that the plaintiffs’ attorneys also may depose State Farm vice president Robert Shultz about his involvement in Karmeier’s election. Shultz served on the Illinois State Bar Association committee that evaluated Karmeier and his opponent prior to the 2004 election.

The attorneys argue that Shultz should have recused himself from that evaluation committee given the Supreme Court’s pending review of the “Avery” lawsuit. But Schultz did not recuse himself, and the committee rated Karmeier as “highly qualified,” while rating his opponent, Gordon Maag, as only “qualified.” Why might State Farm have preferred Karmeier’s election over Maag’s? One possible reason: Prior to unsuccessfully running against Karmeier in 2004, Maag was one of the five appellate judges who in 2001 had affirmed the judgment against State Farm in the Avery non-OEM parts lawsuit. Judge Herndon said the deposition of Schultz could explore “whether he made any attempt to persuade his fellow committee members in any way, and if so what his motives in doing so were, and whether he was encouraged to do so by anyone acting on behalf of State Farm.” No doubt many such interim legal skirmishes will be waged before next January when an actual trial in the case is tentatively scheduled to begin. The legal battle that began over non-OEM parts back in 1997 has still not seen its final chapter.

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(888) 834-8635 (248) 699-3003 www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 33

Media and Publicity for Shops Online Remarketing Gets Your Name Out There... Again with Ed Attanasio

“Tell them once and then tell them again,” an old ad executive told me years ago, long before the Internet, web sites or applications existed. And it still pertains today, because although marketing and advertising change almost daily, the main concept behind branding is still the same. When it comes to branding, it’s still all about impressions and getting your message to the right audience. The goal is to brand your name into the customers’ psyche, so that when someone says “body shop” or “car accident” they think of you, immediately and even sub-consciously. When I think of burgers I think of In ‘N Out and when I think of nice cars, my mental Rolodex goes now to Tesla (used to be Mercedes). I don’t consciously do it, my brain does all the work—and that’s called effective branding. To make your name the go-to brand for collision repair in your area means you have to hammer away at your branding efforts all the time. Many body shops have gravitated away from things such as e-mail marketing, broadcast advertising and direct mail to put their money into online remarketing. So, what exactly is remarketing and how does it work? The world of online advertising is a whole new game, as marketing people get more sophisticated about the delivery of their branding messages. Remarketing allows you to show ads to consumers who have previously visited your website or used your mobile app. When people leave your website, remarketing helps you reconnect with them by showing relevant ads as they browse the web, use mobile apps, or do searches on Google, Bing, etc. The websites on which your ads will appear can be found by browsing through over 2 million websites and mobile apps that are part of the Google Display Network, for example. Automotive sites, insurance sites and sites belonging to popular companies in your region are ideal. Any company doing online marketing can assist you in designating websites that are affordable for your needs and are most likely to attract people who have previously visited your site. Pricing for remarketing ads revolves around automated bid strate-

gies like target CPA and ROAS. Realtime bidding calculates the optimal bid for the person viewing your ad, thereby helping you to win the ad auction with the best possible price. There’s no extra cost to use Google’s auction, because it’s totally based on what the market will bear. Web sites with heavy traffic may not be ideal for you, because they will cost you too much per impression. But, by using a strategy and sticking to it, such as choosing sites that are more targeted for your shop, you can get your price of each impression down to a very affordable level. Luke Middendorf, a Marketing Consultant at WSI Connect in Concord, CA, believes that dynamic remarketing offers a lot of options for any business that wants to push their brand online. “Remarketing is an ideal vehicle for the collision repair industry, because it keeps your name on the users’ computers or smart devices,” he explained. “We know from research that 96% of the time people visit a website and then don’t complete an action. With remarketing, we can track them once they’ve visited your site and then follow them as they go to other sites. We can more specifically targeted them and hopefully re-connect with them several times, if possible. We know they showed some level of interest in your company because they looked at your site, so remarketing keeps them in the loop and leverages your brand over and over again. It’s all about targeting and re-engaging your audience, because frequency is crucial.” David Moore, the owner of Collision Websites in Tulsa, OK sees definite value in remarketing for automotive repair companies, because branding is king in any service-related industry. “Obviously, getting your car fixed is not an impulse buy, like purchasing products such as clothing, electronics or food online,” Moore explained. “Remarketing is an ideal way to leverage your brand over and over again and it allows for fairly precise targeting. If you’re looking for women between the ages of 20-30, you can easily devise a plan to reach them. With remarketing, you already know that they have some

34 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.

interest in your shop, because they’ve visited your site once or more in the past. You’re reemphasizing your message, so it’s more powerful than as if you’re trying to reach people for the first time. They know your name already, so in a way you’ve done half the work in advance.” There are several ways to remarket your shop online using remarketing techniques: ● Standard remarketing: Show ads to your past visitors as they browse through select websites you select.

● Dynamic remarketing: Show dynamic ads to past visitors with products and services they viewed on your website as they browse through sites you’ve selected.

● Remarketing for mobile apps: Show ads to people who have used your mobile app or mobile website as

they use other mobile apps or browse other mobile websites.

● Remarketing lists for search ads: Show ads to your past visitors as they do follow-up searches for what they need on Google, after leaving your website.

● Video remarketing: Show ads to people who have interacted with your videos or YouTube channel as they use YouTube and browse through videos, websites and apps you’ve designated. For companies that aren’t running sales or promotions and are simply trying to get their name out there on a regular basis, remarketing online is one of the best and newest ways to do it. Start with a small budget to test the waters and gauge the response, but if you’re doing any online marketing or advertising online, remarketing may be the ideal way to tell them once and then tell them again.

www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 35

Texas Collision Repair Shops Cite Legal Issues with GEICO Regarding Certain Fees by Stacey Phillips

Numerous collision repair shops in the Houston, TX, area are having legal issues with GEICO insurance company regarding the payment of certain rates for tow bills, administrative fees, and storage on total loss vehicles. Autobody News recently spoke to some of these shops to find out more. “It is the opinion of the Houston Auto Body Association (HABA) that this is a calculated effort by GEICO to strong arm shops to accept unfair compensation for work completed by shops on total loss vehicles,” said James Brown of the Houston Auto Body Association (HABA). One of these shops is Kopriva Body Works in Houston. This thirdgeneration family-run business is currently being sued by GEICO for damages under theories of fraud, violations of the DTPA, conversion, replevin and trespass to chattels. John Kopriva, the owner of the 85-year-old collision repair shop, said, “We have never been sued or have had anything to resemble what is going on with GEICO.” Travis Crowder of Crowder Law Firm, who is representing Kopriva Body Works, said the suit is a result of fees charged by Kopriva in connection with vehicles determined to be “totaled” by GEICO. “Kopriva has generally denied the claims of GEICO and has asserted its own claims against the insurance company for sums due under a customer’s repair order and damages for bad faith prosecution of its groundless claims,” said Crowder. The court date is currently pending. Kopriva first noticed a situation with GEICO in April 2014 when a customer’s vehicle was brought to the shop after an accident. GEICO was the insurance carrier and came out to write an estimate. “We have a good working relationship with GEICO,” he said. “People who come out to estimate are fair. The way we look at it: the car writes the estimate.” When the estimator indicated the car might be a total loss, Kopriva notified the customer of the situation. The customer explained to Kopriva that due to her financial condition she couldn’t afford to lose her car and wanted to explore possibilities to save it. He helped her come up with different scenarios to

put some money into repairing the vehicle. In the meantime, GEICO called to say they were going to total the car, and asked Kopriva to determine the costs incurred. He said they seemed to have no issue with the majority of costs, but “when we told them our administrative fee was $225 they said there was no way that we’re going to pay and the amount was excessive.” GEICO informed the shop that they were only going to pay $50 towards the administrative fee. “All insurance companies that we work with—non-DRP as well as DRP—have no problem with our administrative fee,” said Kopriva. After all of the time spent working on a total loss vehicle, he said, “$225 is a reasonable cost and is certainly appropriate.” Kopriva said the next thing he knew he received a letter from GEICO stating that they were only going to pay $50 towards the administrative costs and if that was not acceptable they were going to sue. He was told to hold the car and not dispose of it. Kopriva Body Works currently has four of GEICO’s total loss vehicles at their shop. “The clock is still running on them and they don’t seem to be interested in picking these cars up,” he said. “Basically, it’s like they’ve abandoned these cars,” said Kopriva. “What’s going to be next on their list of things that they want to control?” Crowder said, “GEICO is thwarted by the fact that independent, non-aligned body repair shops are not regulated and are therefore free to charge any fee that they believe to be reasonable. In an attempt to force these independent shops to accept fee schedules that are acceptable to GEICO, the insurer has initiated these baseless suits in order to coerce the shops into accepting GEICO’s fee schedule.” Crowder represents two other body shops with suits pending against them by GEICO for similar reasons. “The most troubling thing to me is the total lack of basis upon which these suits have been filed,” said Crowder. “While there are undoubtedly shops that charge unreasonable and insupportable fees for their services, none of the clients I am representing fall into that category and yet they are being forced to incur significant attorney’s fees to defend themselves.” Ed Griffin, owner of Griffin’s Paint & Body Inc., said he had a similar experience with GEICO. A cus-

36 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

tomer brought in a car in July 2014 that was severely damaged. Although Griffin thought the estimator might total the car, instead she said it was repairable. “As normal protocol, she left me the estimate and I called the customer,” said Griffin. “After beginning repairs, our technicians found more damage.” Griffin said once they got the supplement in place, GEICO re-inspected it and finally deemed it a total loss, a considerable amount of time had passed. At that point, Griffin put together a bill, including the parts ordered and a $20 daily storage fee, which he said GEICO didn’t like since the car had been there three months. Griffin received a call from the law firm and said he was told that GEICO would pay under protest and duress. “I was kind of taken back and I didn’t know how to react to that,” said Griffin. “I feel like they are just bullying shops to get their way. We have costs of doing business that they don’t want to recognize.” In business since 1989 and a member of the Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT), Griffin said he has never had a situation like this before

or been in a lawsuit. “GEICO’s policies and procedures are difficult to work with for us,” said Griffin. “They encourage you to do cut rate work with what they are allowing, in my opinion. That’s my battle with them. I need to be compensated and to compensate my workers fairly in order for us to do a good quality, safe repair on a vehicle.” Griffin said as a small business in a small town, it can be challenging. He finds that a lot of work is steered away from him because he isn’t a DRP. “If you don’t fully go along with their money-saving policies and procedures, you get labeled hard to deal with and potential customers are steered away via the insurance company’s strong influence they have on customers. “A lot of times I’ll have to go in my pocket to go that extra mile to make a customer happy and I should get paid for that but I don’t most of the time.” Corey Pigg, a manager of S&W Expert Collision Repair, said the shop’s relationship with GEICO as well as other insurance companies has been somewhat of a feast or famine.

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“At one moment it’s great, at other times it’s rocky,” he said. S&W has operated in Lufkin and East Texas since 1975 and opened their second location in Nacogdoches in 2001. Pigg said at the beginning of 2014, the company realized that in order to maintain profitability they would need to increase their rates. As a DRP for multiple insurance companies, S&W sent out notification to almost all of the companies they work with on a regular basis that their rates were changing in April after nearly four years of being the same. S&W also began charging a markup on outside tow bills and an administrative fee on total losses. Even though S&W is not on any sort of DRP program with GEICO, “GEICO had a big problem with all of these changes and refused to pay,” said Pigg. S&W received letters from a GEICO attorney stating the insurance company is only making “payment under protest and duress” because S&W charged an $800 markup on a tow bill that they had to pay. “We asked GEICO to leave some blank checks with us in order to pay tow tickets with, but they declined.

They want us to use our own funds to pay their tow bills for free,” Pigg said. “We had no choice but to get our customers involved.” S&W found their customers to be more than willing to step up and help. Many called GEICO supervisors as well as the Texas Department of Insurance. Pigg said the response was surprising. “GEICO informed many customers that if they wanted S&W to repair their vehicle then the customer would have to pay the differences out of his or her own pocket,” he said. In just one example, Pigg said GEICO towed a vehicle out of their facility to a shop 50 miles away to avoid paying their labor rates. “We have had GEICO supervisors email our customers contact information to other local shops in order to steer them away from S&W while the customer’s vehicle was already at our facility,” he said. Pigg said there have been some positive changes recently. GEICO began paying S&W’s new rates this year, which has helped the relationship they have with one another. However, he said GEICO still refuses to pay for certain required repair procedures and

requires the use of aftermarket parts. Although Pigg said the company likes working with insurance companies for the most part, “The problem arises when an insurance company refuses to pay for work that is essential to repairing cars correctly or tries to steer customers to other facilities that may use cost cutting practices that compromise the integrity of repairs.” “While partnering with insurance companies, we’ve always let our customers know that he or she and a correctly repaired vehicle are more important than any DRP program. We would rather take a loss on a repair or not repair the vehicle at all, than fix a car improperly,” he added. Pigg, who is an active member of ABAT, said the association has given Texas shops a voice. “We are no longer accepting the insurance company’s response, ‘Well, that’s a cost of doing business.” Or “you’re the only one that charges for that.” However, it seems the more we stand up for ourselves, the bolder some insurance companies get.” Burl Richards, Owner of Burl’s Collision Center, is not involved in a lawsuit with GEICO but is aware of other body shops that are. As the Pres-

ident of ABAT, he stressed the importance of shops coming together. “To me, the whole system is broken because everyone is scared to communicate because they’re afraid they’re going to step over an antitrust law,” he said. “Insurance companies have had us so scared and so concerned about that for years so we’ve started to educate ourselves and we’ve learned what antitrust really means.” Richards operates two body shops in the East Texas area. One of them is set up with the latest technology and equipment such as resistant spot welders, aluminum prep rooms and expensive frame equipment. About two and half years ago he purchased a second location without any frame equipment and an approximately 30-year-old paint booth. He said not all shops are set up for heavy collision repair, yet they are paid the same fees by insurance companies. “All costs are going up and insurance companies are saying we’re not going to pay for it because others aren’t asking for it,” said Richards. “We all have different expenses; each shop is different.” Richards said there is currently no incentive for shops to do things the right

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way. One of his goals is to implement a tiered pay system in Texas. He said this would reward the shops that invest in equipment, employees and training. He hasn’t purchased additional equipment at his other shop because the insurance companies will pay him the same rate regardless of his overhead. “As a shop myself I felt like I was the only guy out there who was asking to get reimbursed and payed for procedures and processes that we were doing everyday,” said Richards. “It’s real simple. If we do the process and it is owed to us, we should be re-imbursed.” During every ABAT meeting he passes on the same message to members: “If you’re not going to ask for it, you’re not going to get it.” Richards said the more shops get together they realize that “We’re competing against each other but we’re not against each other. It’s really the body shops versus the insurance companies… I don’t want it to be that way. At the end of the day it’s all about fixing the customers’ cars right.” GEICO and its attorney at David Knight and Associates in Houston, Texas were contacted but had not yet responded to Autobody News as of press time.

ARA’s 8th Annual Hill Day and State Legislative Summit Allows Industry Members to Educate Congress The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) held their 2015 Hill Day and State Legislative Summit in Washington, DC on March 16 and 17, and over the course of those two days, association members from across the country had the opportunity to educate Members of Congress and their staff about the industry. Participants also received current information on ARA’s issues and activities as well as enjoying some time networking with their automotive recycling peers from other areas of the U.S. and even other countries. When the State Legislative Summit began on March 16, attendees received information on recent legislative successes and current problems facing auto recyclers by various state legislatures. Attendees identified key issues impacting the automotive recycling industry in a discussion led by Norman Wright, ARA’s Past President and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman, and Jessica Andrews, ARA’s Director of State Government Affairs. Andrews identifies some of these issues as “access to salvage and end-of-life vehicles, efforts to incorporate NMVTIS reporting and enforcement into state statute, build-

ing relationships with industry stakeholders and state governmental agencies, and the importance of keeping an eye on local and city regulations.” This discussion led to a sharing of resources, such as legislative language, past experiences and issue strategies. The group’s ultimate goal, according to Andrews, was “enhancing ARA’s grassroots advocacy structure.” Later that afternoon, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John A. Boehner (R-OH) made a special guest appearance to speak to ARA members about major issues impacting the nation, and he encouraged attendees to recognize the importance of being aware of and staying involved with concerns facing their own businesses and the professional automotive recycling industry as a whole. According to Michael E. Wilson, ARA’s CEO, “Speaker Boehner entertained questions by the very appreciative group for over 30 minutes. It was an historic moment for our industry to be the focus of the Speaker’s remarks, and ARA members now know that their issues are understood at the highest level of the U.S. Congress.”

On March 17, ARA proudly held their annual Hill Day event with members representing 23 states engaging in more than 70 congressional meetings, 25 of which were scheduled with actual Members of Congress. These elected representatives repeatedly stressed the importance of programs like ARA’s Hill Day to help them make informed decisions on policies impacting the automotive recycling industry and the use of recycled OEM parts. According to Wilson, “In addition to ARA members talking with their congressional delegations about the general industry issues and local concerns, they also educated policymakers about the need for auto manufacturers to provide parts data to all stakeholders in the automotive parts supply chain, especially in light of the ongoing and increasing recall campaigns. In the coming weeks, ARA staff will be following up on the relationships that ARA members initiated and cultivated during these events.” ARA www.a-r-a.org

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On Creative Marketing

Story Power For Shops

with Thomas Franklin

Most people think they know what “P.R.” means when they see it. Movies, TV, recorded music and other forms of entertainment rely heavily on promotion and most people think that P.R. is just a synonym for “promotion.” But the fact is P.R. stands for “public relations,” a very distinct aspect of marketing. The dictionary tells us “public relations” consists of “methods and means by which a person or an organization seeks to promote a favorable relationship with the public.” It is often confused with “publicity” which is the effort to get favorable mention is media and the press. Some shops create favorable public relations by holding events, sponsoring schools, sports teams and family oriented activities that will reflect well on the concerns and generosity of the shop. Very few are successful in obtaining broad media, publicity, and press coverage of their P.R. activities. The heart and soul of good publicity is the attention-grabbing story. Children, pets and traumatic experiences are some of the favorite subjects of publicity stories. This is where a typical shop could excel at adding powerful publicity to its spectrum of marketing tactics. Day in and day out shop estimators are presented with stories of accidents and driver and passenger trauma. Probably the majority of these stories are uninterestingly similar, but the occasional oddball story can be just what is needed to put a spark of life and interest into the shop’s marketing messages.

It’s well known that attracting repeated, ongoing visits to one’s website, will require regular updating with content that is attention-grabbing. A shop’s site that is heavily into promoting its state-of-the-art equipment and technical knowledge may be of interest to insurance executives looking for a DRP shop, or a dealership principal choosing an authorized collision shop, but few average drivers will pay much attention to this technical detail. But adding an additional dimension to the site with newsworthy stories of accidents, drivers and events could bring new, regular traffic to the site. There is a problem in getting a goal like this realized in most shops. Estimators are focused on getting the necessary information needed to present the estimate, capture the job, collect the keys, and then get the job in process. Adding a requirement to draw out the accident story could be regarded as interference with their job or just a waste of time. The entire process has to be made painless and trouble free. Fortunately today’s smart phones all have a memo-recording feature. All the estimator need do when the conversation begins is switch on the memo-recording feature on his or her smart phone. If desired, the customer can be asked to listen back to check for any errors in understanding. Or the story can be forwarded to the shop’s marketing person to see if the story really has P.R. potential and to clear it with the customer for use on the shop’s site and other media. Customers that don’t ob-

LORD Fusor Joins NABC as Diamond Member

The National Auto Body Council (NABC) announced the addition of LORD Corporation, manufacturer of aftermarket repair adhesives, to its top-tier Diamond level membership. LORD Fusor joins 31 Diamond members and nearly 300 total National Auto Body Council members across the country who donate time and resources for community service programs that help change lives and impact thousands of individuals. “We enthusiastically support the National Auto Body Council’s vision and mission. They are a perfect complement to our company’s core beliefs and

citizenship initiatives to contribute positively in the communities where we work and live,” said Tim Jackson, Regional Manager/I-CAR Liaison at LORD Fusor. “We look forward to collaborating with our colleagues to promote the positive impact our industry makes in local communities nationwide.” NABC members represent companies from all facets of the collision industry—independent body shops, MSOs, insurance companies, rental car companies, parts and material suppliers and manufacturers, and industry consultants.

40 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing consultant for fifty years. He has written numerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for many businesses. He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at tbfranklin@aol.com. See Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin

ject to the use of their story may also be willing to provide photos, or allow shop photos of their vehicle along with the story. At this point the entire story may be appropriate for YouTube, Facebook and other media. While the customer stories can provide good update content for media, weekly or monthly, another story has great potential to build customer loyalty. Most shops were started by one person or siblings or by an entire family. Very often that story is one of overcoming difficulties and possibly even hardships to arrive at the thriving, stable enterprise it is today. It is often a story of help received, from family, friends, suppliers and even potential customers. People are drawn to stories of perseverance and deeply felt caring. An effective story can make the viewer feel he or she is a participant in the struggle and trauma that evolved into the customer friendly business that it has become. I recall one shop that had

photos of three generations that built the business posted in the waiting area. Naturally these photos on the website and related media will add great depth to the story. Of course this story should have a special, permanent place on the shop’s site, but it can have even more P.R. value if it is told to audiences whose members’ vehicles could one day become jobs. Owners who belong to chambers of commerce, civic government or social groups, or other organizations that meet regularly, could have an opportunity to tell their growth and development stories. Especially young people with an entrepreneurial bent can be inspired by speakers willing to talk about their struggles to get where they are today. The purpose of P.R. is to promote a favorable relationship with the public. There’s no better way to create a favorable impression than telling an inspiring or entertaining story.

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Historical Snapshot

State Farm’s Service First Program, NABC, MT Requires DRPs, Unfair Trade in CT with John Yoswick

20 years ago in the collision repair industry (April 1995) Members of the Automotive Service Association (ASA) Collision Operations Committee are optimistic about “Service First,” an enhanced claims handling program introduced by State Farm. According to a State Farm news release, the pilot program was scheduled to be introduced in several states by mid-May. It would streamline auto damage claim handling and repair processes, allowing customers to go directly to qualified facilities for inspections and estimates without visiting State Farm drive-in claim service centers. The news release states that the program would also allow repair facilities who discover damages after the initial estimate to make repairs without reinspection by State Farm claims staff. “We don’t think another inspection is automatically required when the work is being performed by a well-qualified expert with whom we have a solid business relationship,” said Bill Hardt, State Farm assistant vice president of claims. “We see this as a very progressive and much needed addition to the process to provide quality repairs for the consumer, and believe it supports the historical focus of all honest and ethical repair facilities,” said ASA’s Collision Division Director Russ Verona of East Rockford Collision Center in Rockford, IL. – As reported in Collision Expert. State Farm continued the “Service First” program for about a decade, but by 2001 had already begun rolling out “Select Service,” the program that eventually succeeded “Service First.” Verona died in 2006 at the age of 73.

15 years ago in the collision repair industry (April 2000) On the same evening that ABC’s “20/20” news program was blasting the collision repair industry for consumer deception and insurance fraud, a Kansas City family received the keys to a new home built by industry volunteers. In a presentation during a Collision Concepts reception, Massachu-

setts shop owner Chuck Sulkala said the project, coordinated by the National Auto Body Council (NABC) and Habitat for Humanity, was a public demonstration of the many positive

ingly passed a bill that requires insurers to admit any qualified collision repair shop into their direct repair program (DRP). Senate Bill 388, which was signed by the governor, is intended to help ensure that non-DRP shops can compete with DRP shops for customers, and is in some ways an anti-steering law because it will remove barriers that can develop from DRP relationships. “I think it will go a long way toward leveling the playing field,” said Gene Dziza, Chuck Sulkala led a National Auto Body Council (NABC) owner of Collision Craft in project in 2000 to build a Habitat for Humanity home for a Kalispell, MT, who pushed family in need. The NABC raised $67,000 in donations for the project, and more than 300 volunteers from the indusfor the bill for six years. “I try helped build the Kansas City home from the ground up think that in our industry, it’s over the course of 10 days a really good idea to have us efforts undertaken by members of the going back to open competition based industry. on the merits of the service you proThe NABC needed to raise vide, not who you are affiliated with. $50,000 to fund the project, but more It will give our customers a lot more than $67,000 in contributions had been received as of last month, Sulkala said. More than 300 volunteers— from shops, insurers and industry suppliers—helped build the home from the ground up over the course of about 10 days. Sulkala admitted the project got off to a rocky start because the foundation for the home—poured by contractors prior to the arrival of industry volunteers—was more than five inches out of square. “The key word is ‘was,’” Sulkala said. “We fixed it. It’s the same thing we do in our businesses every day when we take a wrecked car and put it back into the shape that it needs to be. That’s what we did to a foundation that was off. That set us back by a day or two. But that house is a solid, quality house, and the woman who’s moving in there with her three kids is absolutely thrilled and delighted about it.” – As reported in Autobody News. The NABC went on to even larger projects, including raising $500,000 in 2003 for a medical facility at a camp in Montana for children with cancer.

10 years ago in the collision repair industry (May 2005) The Montana legislature overwhelm-

42 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

choice.” – As reported in Auto Body Repair News. Interviewed three years later, Montana shops said the state’s unique law was working. “We can’t change the [DRP] criteria, but we have the right to see it and decide if we want to meet it,” Donna Fastenau of Hank’s Body Shop in Billings, MT, said. “The companies that had previously removed us…had to open the door and let us back on,” agreed Max Yates of Yates Body Shop in Butte, MT, who said his shop had been removed from multiple DRPs because of his insistence on including necessary procedures on his final bills that other shops may not.

5 years ago in the collision repair industry (May 2010) Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has voiced support for a court injunction being sought by the Auto Body Association

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of Connecticut (ABAC) to halt The Hartford’s unfair use of in-house appraisers. Last November, a Connecticut Superior Court jury found The Hartford had engaged in unfair trade practices, and awarded nearly $15 million to shops in an ABAC-led lawsuit brought against the insurer. The association subsequently filed for punitive damages and for a court injunction to end The Hartford’s exclusive use of in-house appraisers, which the association says excludes independent appraisers and forces shops to accept artificially low labor rates. In Blumenthal’s filing with the court, he said “the state has an interest in preventing the unfair suppression of labor rates that significantly harms the state’s economy and results in extreme economic hardship for independent automobile body repair shops.” A spokesman for The Hartford, which has denied any wrong-doing and has said it will appeal the jury award, told The Hartford Courant newspaper that the insurer was “disappointed that the attorney general has chosen to support a position that the body shop owners admit is intended to increase costs for Connecticut con-

sumers,” and that it “is important to us that our customers have access to a repair program that provides great service at a fair price.” – As reported in CRASH Network (www.CrashNetwork.com), May 1, 2010. A final decision in The Hartford’s appeal of the lawsuit is expected later this year from the Connecticut Supreme Court. At stake are: $14.7 million in compensatory damages the jury awarded to the shops; $20 million in punitive damages against The Hartford added by the judge; interest that could bring the total to close to $40 million; and the injunctive relief that Blumenthal was supporting. Following his election to the U.S. Senate in 2010, Blumenthal became largely silent on auto insurance issues, until earlier this year when he announced that he is urging the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether insurers are directing consumers to collision repair shops that have agreed “to use cheaper and possibly more dangerous parts.”

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Miller’s Optimized Welding System for AL Repairs

The new Millermatic® 350P auto body aluminum repair system provides all the equipment, from the power source to the gun and wire, to make quality aluminum auto body repairs. Miller Electric Mfg. Co. has introduced the new Millermatic® 350P auto body aluminum repair system. The company said it was designed to provide high weld quality and simplify repairs on aluminum auto body panels and beds, such as found in the 2015 Ford F-150 truck. It was also created specifically to address the challenges posed by welding thin gauge aluminum, such as warping, distortion and burn-through. It builds on the Miller® Millermatic 350P MIG power source and can also be used to Pulse weld with silicon bronze, steel and stainless steel wires. Miller aimed to simplify the process of aluminum welding, particularly for welding operators who may not be as familiar with this material or the challenges it can pose. The Millermatic 350P system features the components necessary to meet the specifications set forth by Ford and the Assurance Performance Network for completing weld repairs on the Ford F-150 aluminum-body truck. For more, visit www.MillerWelds.com.

Assured Performance Hires Michael Quinn as Exec. VP

Assured Performance announced on April 6 the appointment of Michael Quinn as Executive Vice President. Quinn will assume responsibility for the general business operations at Assured Performance including sales, marketing, and business development. Quinn has more than 25 years industry experience. He cofounded a 7-shop collision repair business in Arizona & Nevada. Quinn worked for Caliber Collision for 2 years before assuming the role of President at UParts Inc. Quinn served as Collision Industry Conference (CIC) Chairman for two years (2010- 2011) after having led several of its committees. He has also been an active board member on the National Auto Body Council (NABC) for more than 11 years. There he chaired the Katrina Relief program to serve those displaced by hurricanes Katrina & Rita. Quinn also initiated and chaired the Recycled Rides and the First Responder Emergency Extrication (FREE) programs. Quinn is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including the Hall of Eagles, NABC Pride Award, and ASA/SCRS Humanitarian award.

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Sherwin-Williams Renews as the ‘Official Paint Of NASCAR’ NASCAR® and Sherwin-Williams, the nation’s largest specialty retailer of paint and paint supplies, announced a three-year extension to their Official Partnership. The newly signed extension will designate Sherwin-Williams as the “Official Paint of NASCAR” through 2017. “Our continued partnership with Sherwin-Williams is another example of FORTUNE 500 brands successfully using NASCAR as an integral part of their marketing mix,” said Norris Scott, Vice President Partnership Marketing. “Sherwin-Williams’ integrated approach using our intellectual property, both at track and at retail has proven highly effective. We look forward to expanding the Sherwin-Williams relationship across its multiple business divisions.” By continuing as an Official NASCAR Partner, Sherwin-Williams will also retain its designation in the “Official Automotive Paint of NASCAR” and the “Official Transportation Finishes of NASCAR” categories. Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes division will further expand its visibility as one of the leading product innovators and servicers to the collision repair and original equipment industries. Sherwin-Williams is the

only direct distribution automotive refinish manufacturer and provides service to its collision repair and OEM customers through nearly 200 company stores in the U.S. and Canada. “We’re extremely excited and honored to continue and expand our role as the ‘Official Automotive Paint of NASCAR,’” said Adam Chafe, Vice President of Marketing for SherwinWilliams Automotive Finishes. “Since 2000, some of the biggest names in motorsports have trusted their vehicles’ finish to Sherwin-Williams. We aim to help teams cross the finish line and ensure that their cars and sponsors always look their best on the track; that also holds true with every repair and repaint our collision repair center customers provide for their end customers.” The designation as the “Official Transportation Finishes of NASCAR” will also help Sherwin-Williams further expand its visibility as one of the leading product innovators and servicers to the fleet refinishing, heavy truck and bus, aerospace and commercial manufacturing industries. “More than a dozen NASCAR teams currently use Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes,” said Bobby Moody, Director of Motorsports for

Sherwin-Williams. “The 30-plus drivers who now use Sherwin-Williams have more than 200 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories between them and make up a virtual ‘who’s who’ of NASCAR’s finest finishers.” Through its renewal, SherwinWilliams maintains its role as a Contingency Sponsor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ and NASCAR Touring & Weekly Series. As part of the Contingency Program, Sherwin-Williams will be title sponsor of the Fastest Lap Award in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.In addition, Sherwin-Williams continues as a Proud Partner of the International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®), extending a partnership that began in 2013. For more information about Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes, or the brand’s motorsports program, visit www.sherwin-automotive.com or call 1-800-798-5872.

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Car-O-Liner® Names New OEM Account Manager

Car-O-Liner® announced it has hired Mark Weinmann as an OEM Account Manager on March 18. In his new role, Mark will work with Peter Richardson, Director of National Accounts, and interact closely with Car-O-Liner OEM partners across North America. “We are excited that Mark is joining the Car-O-Liner organization. He is a great addition to our team,” said Richardson. “Establishing a strategic partnership with our customers is of high importance to us. Mark’s knowledge of the industry is an asset to reinforce our relationships with key OEM partners.” Weinmann joins Car-O-Liner after 12 years at Shure Manufacturing where he served as the National Sales Manager responsible for sales and customer service for both Distribution and OEM sales channels. He has worked closely with the automotive OEM equipment programs to promote sales growth and develop OEM brand-specific products for automotive dealership initiatives. He also spent 10 years with Center Oil Company as a Petroleum Trader in St. Louis, MO.

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www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 45

Social Media for Shops Tracking Your Success (or Lack of) Using Google Analytics with Ed Attanasio

Body shop owners as a rule are adept at studying and interpreting all kinds of numbers and statistics, and that’s why the successful ones are very good at tracking their performance. They calculate each minute that goes into every vehicle and what exactly their profit will be at the end of each day. They know how to read Excel sheets and decipher the numbers and use them to refine their processes. It’s in their DNA and in a fast-moving, highproduction environment having useful numbers at your disposal is vital. So, when it comes to online marketing, website development and SEO, the average body shop out there wants to know where their money is going and how many customers they are engaging through the Web and other online endeavors. They want to know where the buck starts and ends, in clear terms and with data they can use. “I have been doing a blog now for eight months, but I have no idea whose reading it,” one shop owner told me recently. “People tell us they visit our website all the time, but how much time do they spend there and is it leading to new customers?” is another question pretty much anyone in the collision repair industry would want answers to. Body shop owners and managers have 1,600 different things going on every day, so worrying about their results through their online marketing efforts is probably issue #1,601. But, even if they’re making good money and the shop is full of cars, they’re always keeping both eyes on the bottom line. The worst thing for a body shop owner is to think he or she is not getting good value for his or her money. And that’s why Google Analytics can placate the troubled minds of collision repairers all over the world, because it provides real, concrete and undeniable numbers that can tell you whether you’re succeeding or floundering online. What exactly is Google Analytics? Google Analytics is a free web analytics tool that generates detailed statistics about activity on a website. On its website, Google explains that the system “helps you analyze visitor

traffic and paint a complete picture of your audience and their needs, wherever they are along the path to purchase.” As the world’s most popular web analytics tool, Google Analytics is currently installed on over 10 million websites, including 60% of the top 10,000 websites on the planet and 50% of the top 1 million websites in the world. Website owners use the service for two main reasons—it’s 100% free to use and also highly reliable. Another plus is the fact that Google made it as simple as possible, so that body shop people that are on the lower-tech side can quickly use it and make it a part of their overall online marketing package. To learn how to use it, there are a ton of very useful videos on YouTube. David Moore, owner of Collision Websites in Tulsa, OK, has been using Google Analytics for all of his body shop clients since day one and has used it as an invaluable tool for their success online. “When I show shops how it works, the light goes on,” Moore said. “It is a tool and if you really learn how to use it, you can do some great things with it. For instance, many of my clients use it to track the results of some of their marketing efforts, such as e-mail marketing, online ads and other promotions. By referring to Google Analytics right after sending out 2,000 email newsletters, for example, you can see if it works or not. If your traffic does not increase, then obviously you have to come up with a new approach. Maybe the graphics didn’t draw people in or maybe the timing of the newsletter was poor. Google Analytics can help you to re-calibrate your marketing, based on real results.” The reports you’ll receive from Google Analytics are many, but here are the main measurable factors that you will surely want to know and refer to often: ● A graph showing the daily traffic the website receives. ● The number of visitors who came to the site during a specific time period. ● The average number of pages that visitors viewed while on the site. (The industry average is approximately 1.8

46 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.

pages.) ● Bounce rate: What a visitor does once they land on the homepage. If they leave the homepage without looking at any other pages, that’s considered a “bounce.” ● The average amount of time a visitor spends on the site ● Depicted in a pie chart, Google Analytics will tell you how much “Direct Traffic” you’re getting. This means that the user knew the URL, typed it in and hit “Enter.” ● Content View shows what pages visitors are visiting. Watch this section to measure how many people are doing what you want them to do, such as clicking on pages like “Locations,” “Map,” or “Blog.”

We asked Moore, What are the most significant numbers to be looking for when studying monthly Google Analytics reports? “Some body shop owners get all

caught up in how many visits their site is getting and I tell them they should be more concerned about the quality of the visits,” he said. “When someone visits your site or your blog, how many pages are they looking at and how long are they staying on each page? If people are looking at your site for less than a minute and only visiting one page, maybe you need to re-design your site, so that people will stay for a while.” So, if information is key and the numbers tell the story, sign up for Google Analytics today and start knowing rather than guessing when it comes to your success (or lack of) online.

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www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 47

BMW Settles FTC Charges that MINI Illegally Conditioned Warranty Coverage on Use of Its Parts and Service

BMW of North America LLC has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that its MINI Division violated the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act by telling consumers that BMW would void their warranty unless they used MINI parts and MINI dealers to perform maintenance and repair work. In an administrative complaint, the FTC alleged that BMW, through its MINI Division, violated a provision in the Warranty Act that prohibits companies from requiring that consumers—in order to maintain their warranties—use specific brands of parts or specified service centers (unless the part or service is provided to the consumer without charge).

“It’s against the law for a dealer to refuse to honor a warranty just because someone else did maintenance or repairs on the car,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “As a result of this order, BMW will change its practices and give MINI owners information about their rights.” The proposed order settling the FTC’s complaint prohibits BMW from violating the Warranty Act and the FTC Act in connection with any MINI Division good or service. The settlement also: ● bars BMW, in connection with the sale of any MINI Division good or service, from representing that, to ensure a vehicle’s safe operation or maintain its value, owners must have

routine maintenance performed only by MINI dealers or MINI centers, unless the representation is true and BMW can substantiate it with reliable scientific evidence; and ● requires BMW to provide affected MINI owners with information about their right to use third-party parts and service without voiding warranty coverage, unless BMW provides such parts or services for free. The Commission vote to accept the consent agreement package containing the proposed consent order for public comment was 5-0. The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement package in the Federal Register shortly. The agreement will be subject

Continued from Page 28

WorldSkills Competition

we are in trouble. There are not enough young kids serious about this field.” Wagner explained further, “In the United States, we don’t put emphasis on vocational programs. We send the masses to college to get white collar jobs and be engineers or lawyers. The trades are forgotten.

NABC Says “It Can Wait” to Students in Grad Season

With grad season comes the excitement of sharing photos, videos and texts with friends and family. But it also means elevated risk for teen drivers, particularly when they are sharing those photos and texts while driving. The National Auto Body Council (NABC) is teaming up with its members nationwide in the collision industry to help reduce this danger on the road by partnering with AT&T to support its It Can Wait® campaign. “The collision repair industry sees firsthand the negative consequences of distracted driving and want to help people reduce their risk of being in an accident,” said Dan Young, Senior Vice President of CARSTAR and Chair of the NABC’s Distracted Driving Initiative. “Through the It Can Wait campaign, we can educate drivers about the dangers of texting and driving, and engage drivers, their families and friends in putting down the phone and focusing on the road.” Tips are: Take and share your photos and videos before you get in the car; Designate someone who isn’t driving to manage the GPS; Drivers should install an app that silences incoming texts and notifications.

A candy-red paint job that Wagner is finishing up at Autobahn Body Werks

Even now, not many kids know about [the skills competitions], and if more were aware of the achievements they could reach at a young age, more would be willing to participate.” For more information on SkillsUSA, visit www.skills usa.org. To learn more about the upcoming WorldSkills event, visit www.worldskills

Consumers Pay Repair Bills with Openbay and Apple Pay

Openbay, an online car repair marketplace, has announced that its mobile app can now be integrated with Apple Pay to pay for vehicle fixes and maintenance. The company says its offering is also good news for the car dealerships, independent shops and mobile mechanics who provide services via Openbay, as it lowers their risk of responsibility for fraudulent charges. “Openbay remains the only nationwide mobile and Web app for consumers to search for, compare mechanics, book an appointment and pay for auto repair,” said Openbay’s founder and CEO Rob Infantino in a statement. “With Apple Pay, we continue to innovate and maintain a first-mover advantage for vehicle repair.” Openbay outlined the benefits on both the consumer and serviceprovider sides. Consumers will receive convenience and security, as well as the ability to minimize costs by comparing multiple offers, the company said. Users will also be able to earn Openbay Rewards with every completed automotive service. Automotive service-providers, for their part, will experience the cost benefit of not having to invest in EMV and NFC point-of-sale terminals.

48 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

to public comment for 30 days, beginning today and continuing through April 20, 2015, after which the Commission will decide whether to issue the order on a final basis. Interested parties can submit written comments electronically.

NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. When the Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to future actions. Each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $16,000.

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The twenty-three-year-old recently purchased an old brick firehouse from the City of Buffalo and is in the process of overhauling it completely as his residence and home body shop.

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National Auto Body Council Donates Nearly $3 Million in Recycled Rides™ Vehicles

Members of the National Auto Body Council (NABC) teamed up in 2014 to donate nearly $3 million in refurbished vehicles, positively changing the lives of 200 individuals and their families through the organization’s Recycled Rides™ program. Progressive Insurance led the effort in 2014, partnering with NABC shops across the country to donate vehicles to 117 military service members and veterans. GEICO, Allstate, State Farm, Esurance, Farmers and Insurance Auto Auctions each donated at least 10 vehicles, with the additional vehicle contributions from Hertz, Enterprise Rent-a-Car and Copart. Caliber Collision team members led the effort on the repairer side, volunteering personal time to refurbish 20 Recycled Rides vehicles. Service King, CARSTAR, ABRA Auto Body & Glass, Gerber Collision & Glass, the Van Tuyl Group and many more independent body shops all contributed to the success of the 2014 Recycled Rides effort. A future generation of collision repair professionals also had the opportunity to participate in community service projects through the Recycled Rides program while learning their craft at

Progressive Plans to Charge Risky Snapshot Drivers More

Progressive Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. auto insurer, said it will begin increasing rates for some risky customers who participate in a program that allows the company to electronically monitor driving habits. The decision to lift premiums is a shift for Mayfield Village, Ohio-based Progressive, which previously highlighted how customers can agree to a rate and then win discounts for safe behavior. Its Snapshot program rewards customers who drive fewer miles, avoid hard braking and minimize travel from midnight to 4 a.m., according to the company’s website. “In our new program that we just began to roll out, we are affording more customers discounts for their good driving behavior while for the first time, increasing rates for a small number of drivers whose driving behavior justifies such rates,” the company said in its annual report this month. Chief Executive Officer Glenn Renwick has said Snapshot could help the company encourage safer behavior and retain the most valuable customers. He has lamented the reluctance of some potential customers to sign up for the offering.

Washburn Institute of Technology, Manhattan Area Technical College, Western Nevada College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, and Technical College High School–Brandywine. “Recycled Rides is a life-changing experience not just for the recipients but for everyone who participated and contributed to the event,” said Nick Notte, NABC Chairman. “We are very proud that through Recycled Rides, members of the National Auto Body Council are able to make an impact in their local communities as well as showcase the professionalism and integrity of our collision industry.” According to Rick Tuuri, NABC’s Recycled Rides Program Chair, the momentum and successful efforts from Recycled Rides in 2014 have carried through into 2015. To date, 79 Recycled Rides vehicles have already been donated or are in the process of completion. Chuck Sulkala, NABC Executive Director, urged industry members to step up in 2015 to donate more vehicles and sign up to host Recycled Rides events. “We have many more yet unfulfilled requests from nonprofit organizations seeking transportation on behalf of their clients,” said Sulkala. “Our in-

PartsTrader Says Integration to Help Dealers Quote Parts

PartsTrader has announced that an integration project is in development with DMI Inc., a business unit of CDK Global. The integration is designed to help OEM automobile dealers more efficiently respond to quote requests from collision repair shops. When responding to a quote request PartsTrader will automatically update inventory information and pricing from the dealers own Dealer Management System (DMS). This information will be displayed on the PartsTrader quoting screen so that dealers no longer have to access multiple systems to quote accurately. Prices will be updated automatically based on the dealers settings and allow dealers to better understand the profitability on a part by part basis. For repair shops requesting a quote, the response from dealers using the DMI data services platform will be faster, and have greater accuracy in its quote components. More accurate pricing during the estimating process will reduce estimate supplements benefiting both repairers and insurers. “With this integration with the DMI platform, PartsTrader continues to streamline the quoting process on both sides of the buyer and seller relationship,” said Dale Sailer, VP. ®

50 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

dustry is in the unique position to make a difference in the lives of these individuals by providing reliable transportation so they find and maintain jobs, take care of their families, and rebuild their lives.” The National Auto body Council’s mission is to develop, implement and promote community-based initiatives that exemplify the professionalism and integrity of the collision repair industry. In addition to Recycled Rides, the National Auto Body Council’s community initiatives include:

● First Responder Emergency Extrication—One-of-a-kind vehicle extrication program that provides local firefighters and/or first responders with the opportunity to practice hands-on, life-saving techniques on late model vehicles and the challenges they present from advanced metals to multiple restraint systems.

● Distracted Driving Initiative –NABC partners with national organizations, such as AT&T on the “It Can Wait” campaign, to provide resources to implement local community efforts that help save lives by educating drivers of all ages about the dangers of inattentive and distracted driving.

Chief Names Richard Perry OEM Liason Sales Manager

Chief Automotive Technologies has named Richard Perry OEM and strategic account sales manager. Perry previously served as global repair product manager for Chief, and has been with the company since 1996. In his new role, Perry will work side-by-side with OEM engineers to ensure Chief collision repair products work properly with the next generation of vehicles. He will provide OEMs with input about proper collision repair procedures, while also leveraging his knowledge of new vehicle design to grow the Chief product line. Perry will help introduce new collision repair products, technologies and procedures to other key customers. He will continue to serve on the I-CAR International Board of Directors, act as a collision advisor for SkillsUSA, and represent Chief at Collision Industry Conference (CIC) and National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) meetings. “I am excited to have someone of Richard’s caliber on the Chief sales team,” says Bob Holland, director of collision in North and South America for Chief parent company Vehicle Service Group (VSG).

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GM Names BASF 2014 Supplier of the Year

BASF received General Motors’ (GM) Supplier of the Year Award for the 10th time in the past 13 years. The award was presented to Joe Schmondiuk, Vice President of Global Accounts

dustry and are pleased that we were able to support them on several key product launches in 2014.” BASF’s Coatings Division supports GM by combining modern paint processes with special effect pigments and technologies. BASF offers a broad array of color solutions and processes that enable car makers to improve productivity and environmental performance. “These companies are the bestof-the-best suppliers, and deserving of special recognition for their outstanding contributions,” said Steve Kiefer. Joe Schmondiuk, BASF Vice President Global GM vice president, Global PurAccounts, OEM Coatings Solutions (center) acchasing and Supply Chain. “We’ve cepts the GM Supplier of the Year Award from had some good ‘wins’ of late, solid (left) Greg Warden, GM Executive Director, sales, strong earnings, and some Body Engineering and (right), Randy Pappal, nice awards, and you should know GM Executive Director, Global Purchasing that we could not have accomBody Group plished any of it without you and BASF Corporation, during GM’s an- your teams, and your hard work.” nual awards ceremony at Cobo Center GM’s Supplier of the Year proin Detroit. gram began in 1992, and each year a “BASF is pleased to have once global team of purchasing, engineeragain earned this recognition from ing, quality, manufacturing and logisGM,” said Schmondiuk. “It demon- tics executives determine the winners strates the great commitment and capa- of the Supplier of the Year Award. bility of our team to offer the innovative Winners represent “World Class” persolutions that GM needs. We view GM formance leaders in the areas of qualas a key partner in the automotive in- ity, technology, price and service.

Honda Adds More Recalls on Takata Airbag Flaws

Bloomberg News has reported that Honda Motor Co. added about 100,000 vehicles in the U.S. to existing recalls for flawed airbags made by Takata Corp. after discovering it hadn’t properly identified these models as being produced for the market. The new recalls cover 104,871 units of the 2008 Honda Pilot SUV, 2001 Accord and 2004 Civic sedans, according to a filing posted on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The additions were made after the automaker identified the batches hadn’t been properly identified as being produced for the U.S. Honda’s latest recall comes after its U.S. advertising campaign on March 16 urging owners to immediately replace potentially lethal airbags. The automaker is trying to ensure car owners take action to prevent more fatalities and injuries after a rupturing airbag in a Honda car claimed a fifth victim in January. Takata bags can fail during deployment and propel metal shards at passengers, a flaw that has led to millions of vehicle recalls by at least 10 automakers. About 25 million vehicles with Takata airbags have been recalled worldwide since 2008, Reuters has reported. See related story this page.

Nissan Expands Recalls Tied to Takata Air Bag Flaws

Bloomberg News has reported that Nissan Motor Co. plans to expand a regional U.S. recall of cars with potentially defective Takata Corp. air bags after a woman said she was injured last month by shrapnel from the device in her 2006 Sentra sedan. Nissan will file an incident report with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to expand its recall, a company spokesman, Steve Yaeger, said in an interview. The expansion will cover Sentras from the 2004 to 2006 model years that weren’t part the earlier regional recall, Yaeger said. “Before that accident we didn’t have enough data to recall,” Yaeger said. “We’re moving as quickly as we can to expand the recalls.” Regulators are investigating airbag inflators that may malfunction, deploying with so much force that the part breaks and hurls metal shrapnel at the car’s occupants. At least five fatalities in the U.S. and more than 100 injuries have been reported industrywide. Lawyers for 20-year-old Sabra Wilson, who suffered cuts, burns and partial hearing loss in a March 21 accident in Louisiana, filed a lawsuit alleging the Sentra’s passenger-side air bag deployed even though no one was in the seat. See related story this page.

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www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 51

Spanesi Expands Operations in IL and Hires Tom McGee as Business Development Manager

After opening operations in Illinois two years ago, Spanesi Americas recently announced that they have doubled both their warehouse and training space. The expansion project also includes an addition to their existing office building as well as the dock and loading area.

Spanesi Americas recently doubled their warehouse and training space in Illinois

Tim Morgan, Managing Director for Spanesi Americas, said the expansion is a result of an overwhelming response to the company’s products. Morgan began consulting for the company in 2012 and set up their North and South American operations in October of that year. “When I started this project I knew the products Spanesi had to offer were what the US and Canadian collision repair markets were looking for and the response has been extraordinary,” said Morgan. “This has allowed us to be able to expand our facility in

such a short time to meet the needs of our customers.” The family-owned equipment company is based in the small town Padova, Italy near Venice. Spanesi’s product lines are manufactured in Italy and include: Straightening Benches, Multibenches, Touch Electronic Systems, Vacuum Systems, Welding Machines, Infrared Lamps, Lifts, Painting Tools, Spray Booth Equipment, and Manual, Pneumatic, Electric and Hydraulic Tools. The Illinois facility will now have a dedicated warehouse space to store parts for spray booths and measuring systems as well as a single area for product training. Another recent development at Spanesi is the hiring of Tom McGee as Business Development Manager. “Tom’s experience in the collision repair industry will be extremely valuable to our group as we continue to grow and provide exceptional products and service to our customers,” said Morgan. McGee has more than 30 years of experience in the collision repair industry. This includes Collision Director for Automotive Training Institute, Collision Industry Relations Manager for ALLDATA, and nearly 18 years at I-CAR where he held a variety of posi-

tions including President & CEO and Technical Director. McGee graduated from Ferris State College in Big Rapids, MI, and is an ASE Certified Master Auto Body & Paint Technician and Collision Repair Estimator. McGee, a recognized industry speaker, was also elected into the Collision Industry Hall of Eagles in 2001. “I am very excited to join the Spanesi team,” said McGee. “I have been very impressed with how the Spanesi product line is designed to repair the latest vehicle technology. It is exciting to join an organiTom McGee hired zation that has as Business such a strong focus Development on the technician Manager at and deploys its reSpanesi search and development to make their jobs easier.” Morgan said Spanesi Americas’ mission is to bring new products and technologies to body shops in the Americas to enable technicians to perform repairs to a high standard of excellence. “The unique feature of Spanesi over

the competitors is that we have our own body shop,” said Morgan. “We offer a full solution for the complete body shop.” Owner Orazio Spanesi started in the collision repair industry when he was 14 years old and in 1969 he opened his own body shop. In 1989, he decided he wanted to try and make better equipment so he traveled the world to find out what was available. “Everything that we design, we design it with the technicians in mind,” said Morgan. “It’s tested by technicians long before it ends up in the hands of end users.” Over the years even as the vehicles have evolved, the majority of what we’ve had in place for years is still the same way, especially with our universal fixturing system, that has been around since 1991. Morgan said with the company’s focus on products that are growing fastest in the market, Spanesi expects to increase overall shipment capacity by nearly 20%, while adding approximately 35 jobs in North America. The company has also increased inventory to enhance their delivery system. For more details, contact Timothy Morgan, 1.224.SPANESI (772.6374) tmorgan@spanesi-americas.com, www.SPANESI.com.

New Data: U.S. Drivers Did 3 Trillion Miles Last Year

New estimates released by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) show that Americans drove nearly 3.02 trillion miles in 2014, the highest point since 2007 and the second-highest since data collection began 79 years ago, fueling calls for greater investment in transportation infrastructure to accommodate growing volumes of traffic. The new data reaffirm projections made by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in “Beyond Traffic,” his 30-year vision for transportation, which shows significant increases in gridlock nationwide unless changes are made in the near-term. “Americans are driving their cars at near-record levels, and being stuck in traffic is costing drivers an average of nearly five days a year,” said Secretary Foxx. “To ensure this problem doesn’t get worse, greater innovations and investments are needed. We can’t keep treating America’s 21st-century traffic needs with 20th-century solutions.” According to FHWA’s latest “Traffic Volume Trends” report—a monthly estimate of U.S. road travel—Americans drove an estimated 3.015 trillion miles last year, roughly the same distance as 323 round trips from Earth to Pluto.

Drivers in December 2014 logged 251.4 billion miles, the highest level for any December since data collection began in 1939. At 5 percent higher than the previous December, it was the year’s biggest single-month increase and the nation’s tenth consecutive month of VMT growth. Traffic in the South Gulf—a block of eight states including Texas and Kentucky—rose to nearly 49.1 billion vehicle miles traveled (VMT), a gain of 6.4 percent over the previous December and the tenth consecutive month of increased traffic for the region. All states recorded traffic increases in December. At 10.5 percent, Indiana led the nation with the largest single-state traffic increase compared to the same month a year earlier, followed closely by Oklahoma at 9.3 percent and Montana at 8 percent. “Data like these are critical to helping federal and state transportation leaders understand the challenges facing American drivers,” said Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau. “The nation’s growing demand on roads and bridges underscores what we have been saying—increased investment is needed if we are to keep our roads from becoming parking lots.”

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Lawsuit Filed Against G&C Auto Body Cites Unfair Business Practices, G&C Responds ‘No Merit’ by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor

Seven California auto body repair technicians have filed a lawsuit against G & C Autobody, a medium-sized MSO based in Santa Rosa, CA. The plaintiffs claim they were misclassified as independent contractors by the company and allege a violation of the CA wage and hour laws, unfair competition and unfair business practices. Joseph Lippard and Vaughn Medeiros filed the original complaint in the Superior Court of California County of Sonoma on March 17. They both worked at G & C as automotive technicians at the company’s Santa Rosa location. Since then, an additional five former G & C workers have joined the case, all alleging they were misclassified as independent contractors: Phil Bill, Jeff Edwards, Luis Mata, Jose Sanchez and Scott Steiner. According to the complaint, “Unlawful and unfair business practices included the failure to pay earned wages including overtime wages; the imposition of paycheck deductions and paybacks to Defendant from its workers for routine and ordinary business expenses for its automotive technicians’ shop space, equipment and other overhead costs.” “The case is essentially challenging G&C’s long-standing practice of misclassifying all of their autotechs, the guys who do the body repair work and painting, as independent contractors under the law,” said Jeffrey Beeson of Beeson Terhorst in Santa Rosa, CA, who is the lead attorney for the plaintiffs. “Our position is that they should be classified as employees.” When they were hired, Beeson said his plaintiffs were told they could set up their own businesses; however, their lawyer said there was nothing closely resembling an independent business. “All of the economic realties of the plaintiff’s working relationship with G & C and their continued, ongoing dependence on G & C Auto Body as their sole source of income, demonstrated an employment relationship,” said Beeson. According to the complaint, the plaintiffs only provided automotive repairs for G&C customers, had virtually no contact with them and had no customers of their own. “This is completely contrary to G&C Auto Body’s fiction that plaintiffs

‘ran their own business.’ They had no customers other than those of G&C Auto Body and when they brought in a customer, G&C Auto Body made the assignment of the work, set the labor rate and amount to be charged and collected the payment from that customer. In short all customers were G&C Auto Body customers,” the lawsuit states.” In addition, Beeson said the shop purchased and supplied all of the parts, materials and supplies used in their work, determined which part would be installed on a customer’s car and controlled the details on how the work was performed and when it was completed. “Even though G&C required the plaintiffs pay weekly ‘rent’ for their work stall, G & C prohibited the plaintiffs from performing work for customers other than G & C customers at their workspace at the G & C shop,” said Beeson. The plaintiffs allege that “G&C Auto Body created an elaborate fiction in order to convince the employees they were independent contractors.” Although Lippard and Medeiros acknowledge signing documents saying they were independent contractors, they say they were in fact standardized forms used by the defendant when hiring auto body repair technicians. “…these statements were belied by actual practice,” the complaint states. “In fact, these statements were but thin veneers designed to gain advantage over the worker and gain a significant competitive advantage over other auto body repair shops.” Beeson said that as far as they have determined, G & C is the only repair facility in the area that classifies their technicians and painters as independent contractors. Founded by Gene Crozat in 1972, the family-owned and operated business has nine auto repair facilities in Northern California; Fairfield, Novato, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Ukiah, Vacaville and Windsor. “No one else does it like G & C and its practices are contrary to industry practice,” he said. The plaintiffs claim that the “Defendant intentionally and unlawfully misclassified its automotive repair technicians performing auto body repairs as independent contractors to evade its obligations under California’s employment laws.” According to California Labor Code, any person rendering services for

54 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

another is an employee. Labor Code 3351 states that an employee is “every person in the service of an employer under any appointment or contract of hire or apprenticeship, expressed or implied, oral or written, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed.” Beeson said that by classifying them as independent contractors, the company did not have to take out paycheck deductions, pay business expenses, social security, payroll taxes, Medicare or cover them under workers compensation for any job injuries. They also did not have to pay for overtime, breaks or anything else California law requires of an employer. The plaintiffs said they were required to pay for all of their own mandatory I-CAR training, their own tools and any helpers G & C required they hire, supervise and train. “G & C frequently then hired away these socalled ‘helpers’ after they were trained by the plaintiffs and made them G & C employees or contractors, thereby saving all the hiring and training costs,” said Beeson. He said that by not having to pay overtime, there were enormous cost-

savings for G & C, in the millions of dollars. Scott Steiner, the largest producer at the Santa Rosa shop, worked between 3,393-3,575 hours per year – all for G & C. He and the other plaintiffs averaged 65-70 hours per week, Monday-Saturday, including holidays, 52 weeks a year. “Many worked after suffering onthe-job injuries for which there was no workers’ compensation coverage,” said Beeson. For example, Lippard injured his leg at work and continued working while in a wheelchair. “One G & C manager then told him if he got injured again he would be fired,” said Beeson. “If they had been paid overtime pay as the law required, they would have earned substantially more income.” Beeson said, “the pay appeared great on the surface because lump sums were paid with no tax withheld. Yet once plaintiffs stepped back and looked at their excessive work hours and did some calculations they realized if they had been treated as employees, their compensation and employment conditions would have been significantly enhanced.”

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Beeson also said they were never paid for all of their hours worked and “G & C regularly dumped work assignments on the techs for which they got no pay at all.” He said many were left with large tax liabilities they did not anticipate or understand. He said Lippard never had take home pay of $350,000 (see accompanying sidebar p. 10) “This gives them a huge competitive advantage over other auto body shops and we allege in our case we think it’s an unfair business practice in California to engage in these kinds of tactics,” said Beeson, who has covered labor law for 33 years. “We’re seeking to have our clients be given all of the wages and overtime pay, premiums for meal breaks, rest breaks that they weren’t given for four years, which is the statute of limitations,” he said. “We’re seeking to have them classified as employees and then G&C to pay them the money they would have been paid if they had been classified as employees.” According to the complaint, G&C employed approximately 50 workers in 2012 that it classified as independent contractors. There were beSee G&C Responds, Page 56

G&C Attorney Daniel Beck Responds to Charges by Ed Attanasio

Daniel Beck is the attorney defending G & C Auto Body and is the managing partner of Beck Law, P.C. in Santa Rosa, CA. When Ed Attanasio spoke to Beck regarding the charges against G&C Auto Body, Beck said he is confident that the shop can successfully defend this action, as the plaintiffs have not suffered any financial damages as they are alleging in their complaint. “This is a case of unbridled greed. Five former independent contractors claim that they were employees of G&C, although they knew very well that they were independent contractors operating their own businesses. Each one of the plaintiffs/ claimants signed contract agreements each year they were contracting with G&C, stating and confirming that they were independent contractors and not employees. There were no gray areas there, and their roles were spelled out to them time and time again. Their company names were Lippard Enterprises, Vaughn Mederios Auto Body, etc.—and they had the ability to hire people to assist them in the repair jobs, and several of them did. They had individual business licenses that were issued through cities in which they were operating; and they used all of their own tools, materials and equipment in repairing vehicles at G&C Auto Body. They were small businesses operating completely separate from the rest of the company. The plaintiffs are now trying to take advantage of the new trend in litigation; labor cases alleging misclassification and then damages for unpaid breaks and overtime. In the

case here, the Plaintiffs and claimants should not be allowed to reap the rewards of having their own businesses, and then later claim they are entitled to any unpaid wages, and compensation for missed lunches and breaks. In fact, when they were contracting for G&C Auto Body they were making way more than they would have as an employee of G&C. Joseph Lippard made more than $350,000 annually during several of the years for which he worked with G & C, and the other plaintiffs all made much more than they would have made as employees. The plaintiffs in this case want to get paid twice. They were already paid handsomely for their work and now they want to “double-dip” for money they have already received. Based on the evidence that we have, we’re fairly confident that any judge and jury will be able to see that their case has no merit, there are no damages, and the plaintiffs/claimants are greedy by trying to take advantage of a successful business. Joseph Lippard worked with G&C Auto Body for seven years, and he often bragged to people that being an independent contractor allowed him to make more money, while controlling his hours and income without the restrictions of being an employee, according to Beck. In September 2011, Joseph Lippard provided comments for an article in Auto Body Repair News (ABRN) titled “Outspoken Entrepreneur Succeeds by Stressing Excellence and Value” by James E. Guyette, written about G & C Auto Body and its owner Gene Crozat. In that article, Joseph Lippard See G&C Attorney Responds, Page 56

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Record360 App Documents Damages in One Step, Saving Industry Members Time and Money

Record360 aims to avoid those dilemmas by using a video foundaTwo former Enterprise Rent-A-Car ex- tion, versus still-life pictures or paper ecutives first came up with the idea for diagram vehicle condition reports. an app that captures the condition of a This feature records the state of the vehicle at the time of exchange back in vehicle upon arrival to the shop, car2013. rental company, or dealership. “Throughout our combined 35 “The app eliminates the use of years in the auto industry, Damon paperwork and improves workflow, Haber and I frequently came in contact while ultimately saving the shop [or with issues during property exchange,” business] money and improving cussaid co-founder Shane Skinner of Seat- tomer service,” said Skinner. tle, WA. “I noticed that the same probInstead of having to take photos, upload them to a computer, and then label which photos belong to which car, the app does it all in one step. Skinner explained that the inlems occurred not only with loaner formation is organized by the VIN vehicles, but with cars coming in and number, which is scanned at the beYourginning Emailoffor out of body shops thatRegister needed work the Our process. When the cusdone.” tomer returns to pick up his or her car, These “issues” usually spark from the VIN number is scanned again to a “he said, she said” debate over when pull up all of the vehicle’s informaand where a particular dent, scratch, or tion. scuff occurred. Did that crack in the “When using the video feature back left window happen during the ac- while walking around the vehicle, cident or in the body shop? Was that ablefor to take still images and note Register Youryou’re Email Our scratch on the hood there before the them with data points,” said Skinner. customer rented the car? Who should “You’re able to say, ‘Okay there’s a pay for it? dent there,’ then touch the screen, take by Victoria Antonelli, Online Editor

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Continued from Page 55

G&C Responds

tween 15-20 automotive technicians at its Santa Rosa location, some as independent contractors and others as employees. Beeson said that over the years the company has arbitrarily changed its classification of automotive technicians from employees to independent contractors and independent contractors to employee status with no changes in their job duties, work location or working conditions. “For example, Medeiros was at one time categorized as an emContinued from Page 55

G&C Attorney Responds

confirms he is an independent contractor and that he is the owner of Lippard Enterprises. Lippard has had as many as six people working for him within the facility, where he rents two stalls. Some crews work day and night on big jobs. According to Lippard, he was very happy as an independent contractor, and he claimed “I never want to work hourly again,” acknowledging that he

ployee and then was re-categorized as an independent contractor with no change in his essential work duties,” said the complaint. “Bigger shops like G&C are taking over the mom and pop smaller shops. This is all part of it. They save millions of dollars by not having to pay all of the compliance requirements for employment law that all of their competitors do,” said Beeson. “They should be treated as employees and given all of the protections of employees under California law.” The case is set for trial September 15, 2015. Autobody News will continue to report on its developments.

grosses $4,000 to $6,000 a week in the ABRN article. On April 14, 2012 Joseph Lippard posted on Facebook: “…Another Saturday at the shop!!! I love having free reign to work as much as I can!!!” Actual damages are paid for actual losses, but these plaintiffs lost nothing. In fact, they made many times more than what they could have possibly made as employees of G&C, and they enjoyed the lifestyle that came with owning and operating their own businesses.”

56 MAY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

the still, and lock it into the record file for that document, all while still taking the video.” Skinner added that there is a patent pending on this feature. Todd Primo, service manager for Penske Automotive Group in Cerritos, CA, stated on the Record360 website, “We have been using Record360 to document our customers’ vehicles and been very satisfied with the results. We have virtually eliminated the problem of customers claiming damage while their vehicles are in for repair, seeing real savings in damage claims. Record360 has become an integral part of our process that is appreciated by our staff and our customers.” When Autobody News followed up with Primo, he said the dealership’s service advisors, who primarily use the app, gave it a 10 on a 1-10 scale; 10 being the easiest to use. He recommended that body shops download Record360, adding that he’s experienced nothing but success since Penske, Jaguar,Readers! Land Rover Be Seen by Our started using the app in July 2014. CALL Advertising Sales at: Another testimonial on the website, this one from Jennifer Carlson, general manager of Jucy Rentals North America, stated, “Record360 is enteradvertising@autobodynews.com prise ready; already used by leading rental asset management businesses.

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Since implementing Record360 at all our North American locations, disputes over damage are a thing of the past, and we’re saving thousands on undocumented damage. Our employees and customers feel great about our documentation process.” The app hit the iOS market in June 2014 after nine months of development. On April 1, Android users will also be able download Record360, making it accessible on 95 percent of devices. It can be downloaded from the app website as well as the iTunes store for a licensing fee starting at $50 a month. “All the customers love it,” said Skinner. “The feedback so far has been great.” Those interested can check out the demo on the Record360 website.

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NABC Awards for Distinction and Shop Image, Nominations Do you know of an auto body shop that had a great facility makeover last year? Or an individual in the collision industry whose selfless actions were for the benefit of others? NABC is seeking nominations for its two industry awards: the Award of Distinction and the Body Shop Image Award. NABC’s awards program recognizes individuals and collision industry facilities that have made a beneficial impact in their communities and in the industry. As part of its 2015 recognition program, the National Auto Body Council plans to publicize, highlight and call attention

throughout the year to outstanding individuals and body shops and their extraordinary efforts. “The NABC industry awards program celebrates businesses and individuals whose efforts exemplify the professionalism and integrity of our collision industry,” said Marie Peevy, Chair of NABC’s 2015 Awards Program. Online nominations and more information for both awards are available at: www .NationalAutoBodyCouncil.org. Contact Marie Peevy, Awards Program Chair, at: marie .peevy@auto motivetrainingcoordinators.com or call 630.881.7945.

Lawyers Picked to Lead Posts in Air Bag Lawsuits Two South Florida attorneys and a lawyer who represented former Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 election recount have been chosen for leadership posts in lawsuits over defective auto air bags. U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno is presiding over dozens of lawsuits consolidated in Miami federal court. The lawsuits seek unspecified economic and personal injury damages against air bag maker Takata Corp. and numerous auto makers. South Florida attorney Peter Prieto of the Podhurst Orseck firm will be chief counsel for all plaintiffs. Curtis Miner, of the Coral

Gables firm Colson Hicks Eidsen, was named lead counsel for the personal injury plaintiffs. David Boies of New York, who represented Gore, was picked colead counsel for plaintiffs seeking economic damages along with Todd A. Smith of Chicago.

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