Global Finishing Solutions, 1Collision Partner

from July 2022 Southeast Edition

of Data Sharing in Collision Repair

Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) is excited to announce a new partnership program with 1Collision.

GFS is dedicated to providing high-quality finishing equipment and production-boosting technologies to help automotive body shops and collision repair centers grow their business. 1Collision is an organization of independent and dealer-owned collision repair businesses, offering corporate-level support in all aspects of collision repair center operations.

Under the partnership program, GFS will provide 1Collision affiliates with lifelong support and service of industry-leading finishing equipment and technologies that improve paint finish quality, increase throughput and exceed performance requirements. 1Collision affiliates can also take advantage of GFS’s expansive distribution network, which provides support on a local level.

Source: Global Finishing Solutions

Salary with a bonus incentive again creates a comfort zone for most. A person will learn to live on their salary and can become complacent in regard to the bonus. The bonus becomes meaningless this way.

Commission or flat rate works for us. I pay flat rates to my techs and commission sales plans with KPI drivers to my repair planners and GMs. Your sales commission percentages are based on the KPIs you provide. These percentages range from 3% to 4.5% of the repair planners top line sale.

So, for example: If a repair planner does $150,000 in sales, provides a five-day cycle time, a 97% CSI and a repair ratio of 77% or higher, they yield the highest percentage. So driven writers that get it love this plan. I have writers stacking cash monthly doing it this way.

Q: Imagine this industry in 20 years and share your vision. A: I see very advanced technologies, but in many cases, this technology creates accidents; there is just too much going on in the vehicle’s cockpit. It distracts people from being able to focus, hence causing an accident.

I also do not see the EVs taking the roads over. Frankly, I believe that will never occur.

I see many shops dropping out because they cannot afford to purchase what it takes to stay up with current times. This happens because many owner operators are marginal at what they do. MSOs and consolidators take a very interesting approach to this as well.

Q: Do you have problems finding top techs, estimators, painters and office people in your region?

A: This is difficult in any region or market in the U.S. I have created mentor programs that have yielded several quality techs. We have exceptional pay plans, incentives and provide a quality work environment. We upgrade our equipment regularly to ensure happy tech teams. Happy Q: MSOs are eating up small independent shops throughout the country. Is this also true in your state?

A: Yes, but it’s not at the same pace here in Arizona as compared to some other states. I frankly like having consolidators/MSOs on the same street because the majority of them cannot perform. So, we gain in a big way as a result. Carriers have become increasingly frustrated with MSOs and their poor performance.

Scale will be the death of these companies due to the lack of control and the lack of care. Many of them are in it for a paycheck and nothing more. I talk to hundreds of people each year from these companies, and the good ones want to run because they see the demise of the MSOs coming.