SAY WH

Let’s debunk some common collision repair arguments

Column by STEFANO LIESSI

Iengage with many technicians and managers in our shops across the country—not to mention, I also troll the odd forum and read the comments. In doing so, I have encountered some of the most outlandish, unsubstantiated, ridiculous remarks by various industry representatives. Some of our front-end staff deserve gold medals for what they deal with daily.

Before I share some of these tidbits with you, let me express something here; it is not an exhaustive list of the baffling claims we hear on a regular basis; I am sure there are more. Whether you are a manager, estimator, insurer, supplier, banner, or independent, let us put all the bureaucratic politics aside and look solely at the basic facts of the banter I shall now present. Names of the accused have been withheld to protect the guilty.

“That’s included.” → Please…before you relay this message, read the ‘P’ Pages. The information contained in them directly reflects what is and is not included in operations.

“It is shop supplies and materials.” → Contrary to popular belief, it is not. It is a car part; the car came with it from the factory and leaves here with it. The “part tag” does not state “consumable shop supply or material.” However, if you wish me to break out the duct tape or some mucilage, you might have an argument.

“It’s a cost of doing business.” → Apparently, the general studies of business have eluded you. The cost of doing business is the associated costs that enable a facility to run a business, ergo insurance, licenses, benefits, taxes, and anything not directly related to the repair itself. The repair is the business. Care for a coffee in the lovely, maintained office space we rent to accommodate customers?

“We/you will make it up on the next one” → Unfortunately, we never have, and never will. In fact, you will lose on the next one as well. When a shop loses money on a repair, it is partly due to the fact they are already discounting some component of the service; pair this with being put in a position where you are knowingly taking a loss, (not being paid for material or operation) this starts a vortex of favours. You would have to double your profit on the next job to break even possibly. “Today’s favour is tomorrow’s expectation”; therefore, you will still lose.