3 minute read
Solera VP Joins CIECA Board��������������������������
Christina: We want customers to have the best possible experience. Many think of a body shop as a dirty dark space where their car gets lost in a black hole. We hold a higher standard than that and customers can feel comfortable bringing their cars here and know they are fixed properly.
We’re serious with our technicians and ensure that they do the right thing with every repair, especially when no one’s looking. We repair about 250-300 cars a month and neither Robert nor I can personally check every car.
How do you encourage teamwork?
Robert: We think outside the box. We have an on-site gym with a shower, an arcade, a recreation room for our 60 employees, and several employee lounge areas.
Christina: We also hold a lot of parties and events. We find these gatherings help build a culture and lead to happy employees who want to come to work. When you have happy employees, you get wonderRobert: Customers can sense that. It’s like when you walk into a restaurant and know the servers are upset. You’re uncomfortable. It’s important to ensure our staff is happy because they will radiate that to customers. It’s a critical part of being successful. What are your plans for the business?
Robert: We’ve purchased a new building almost every year since opening and are expanding again. We have more than 90,000 square feet of air-conditioned repair space and call it our campus compound. It’s a shop of the future that customers can drive their cars into and is gorgeous.
There are four buildings and each has a different focus and customer base we market to: DRP, electric vehicle repairs, combustible engine repairs and fleet repairs. By breaking up each part of our business, it is easier to coordinate employee training, offer better service and be more efficient.
We recognize the industry is changing and we can no longer repair everything the same way. We have to divide and conquer and provide customers with the best options.
Christina: Using this system, we’ve found our business is more organized. It allows us to spend time with employees and offer specialized training, especially with EVs. If you aren’t focusing on OEM certifications and learning about EVs, you aren’t going to have a shop in the future. It’s important to be forward-thinking.
Robert: Another development is the creation of a human-less valet system that moves cars automatically through the shop. This will help with repair planning and being more efficient. That’s the future of the collision business—less human and more interactive with computers.
AUTOBODY
CIECA announced Aug. 29 that Bill Brower, vice president of industry relations for Solera, joined CIECA’sBoardofTrustees,effective immediately.
Brower is a claims leader across the insurance property and casualty (P&C) claims industry who has more than 35 years of experience leading claims teams with top brand companies, includingSolera,NationwideInsurance, Liberty Mutual Insurance and LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
Additionally, Brower recently joined the newly formed CEICA AI Committee and has a wealth of prior board experience. Previously, he served as a member and past chairman on the I-CAR Board, a former member of the Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) Board, past chairman of Simplicity Car Care Advisory Board (a Canada-based MSO), and a former member of North Fulton Community Charities Board of Directors in Roswell, GA. Source: CIECA
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