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Christy Jones of R Jones Collision 1 in Des Moines, IA, offered a “pay it forward” campaign in which each of the shop’s customers in May and June received a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant, and could designate a charity to receive a $50 donation from the shop. getting supplements handled, “to keep cash flow up and make sure all the bills are paid and we still make money.”

At Zara’s Collision Center, in Springfield, IL, “We are upholding our commitment to bringing new talent into our industry by hiring fulltime a recent high school graduate who had completed a semester-long internship during the pandemic,” shop owner Brad Zara said. “We have also brought on another recent graduate for a summer internship even though business is down.” Adam Reiter of Golden’s

Paint & Body Shop in Hot

Springs, AR, said the shop has continued to spend all reimbursement the shop has received for added “COVID-19 cleaning” of vehicles to buy gift cards for local businesses through a chamber of commerce program that also matches the funds to buy groceries for displaced workers. “Five thousand dollars has been raised by our shop,” Reiter said. “The gift cards will be used as prizes for customers and bonuses for employees.”

Zara’s Collision Center, in Springfield, IL, is trying to use Shifts in marketing clever messages in its social media to let people know Zara and Reiter are also among how the shop is continuing to safely serve them during the shops reporting a variety of the pandemic changes in their marketing ef

“W e’re offering employees later forts given what’s happening in their start times so they can help with famarea. Reiter said he brought in a film ily or household needs,” the owner of crew to shoot a new television ad afa Chicago area shop said. “We’re ofter the shop was “deeply cleaned and fering them four 10-hour days, if that completely repainted.” helps, and with that, we’re actually “We have been utilizing clever seeing more customer volume in the messages on our Facebook page to let evening hours.” people know that we are continuing to

Auto Craft Collision Center in Kesafely serve them throughout the panwaskum, WI, extended through June demic,” Zara said. a 10% discount, up to $250, it began Todd Doyle of Arrowhead Auto offering customers earlier this spring. Body in Hermantown, MN, has taken

Carney Cataldo of Cataldo’s Cola different approach. lision in Dubois, PA, gave all employ“We had changed our radio and ees a $1,000 bonus. TV ads to COVID-related topics, tell A shop in the Pacific Northwest ing customers that we are open and supplemented its painters’ wages to how we are cleaning for their safety,” help ease the downturn in flat-rate Doyle said. “But we have changed hours, and an Arizona shop has given back all our advertising to our normal commission employees a guaranteed ads because I’m personally sick of all minimum salary equivalent to four the ads talking about COVID.” days of work, and isn’t requiring them John Naylor, an estimator and to work more than four days a week. manager at Heritage Collision Cen A working manager at a shop in ter in Sherman, TX, said the shop has Iowa is letting the shop’s other technistepped up efforts to encourage and cians do more of the production work thank customers for posting online rewhile he spends more time in the office views.

Josh Smith, operations manager at Collision Specialists in Jackson, TN, said although the shop doesn’t like photo-based estimates, it is doing some as a selling tool.

One California shop owner said he is contacting more mechanical repair shops to exchange customer referrals. Another said she has made sure all her employees “have business cards and are encouraged to hand them out.”

The direct repair coordinator at a two-shop collision repair business in Pennsylvania said he’s getting more involved with several community Facebook pages. “Believe it or not, it helps immensely,” he said.

Mask policies vary

Among more than 200 shops responding to a survey in June, about 30% were requiring customers to wear masks to enter the shop office.

“The door is locked; people have to ring a bell before they come in—with a mask,” Bill McElroy of Bill McElroy Auto Body in Bensalem, PA, said.

Many shops said they are leaving it up to the customer to decide.

“Whatever they are comfortable with. Some do, some don’t,” said Candace Dietzen , owner of The Body Shop of Barrington in Lake Barrington, IL.

“W e have masks available for customers upon request,” said Tyler Perkins, collision center manager at Ford of Clermont in Florida.

“My employees have to wear masks whenever a customer enters,” a Georgia shop owner said.

But policies regarding masks appear to be in flux from shop to shop; several shops said they had been requiring customers to wear a mask earlier, but stopped at some point in June.

A shop owner in Oregon said he hadn’t been requiring it, but would if state policy called for it—something that went into effect in late June.

And the percentage requiring masks for customers is somewhat under-reported because at least 10% of those saying they don’ t require a mask also said such a policy isn’t needed because customers aren’t being allowed inside.

“No one enters our building. We meet them in the parking lot in full PPE gear,” said Mike Kime of Kime Collision in Standish, MI.

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