PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Get Off the Sidelines! by JERRY MCNEE Running a shop in today’s market has so many challenges: Labor Rates not keeping pace with the Cost of Living Index, the ongoing technician shortage and increasing insurer interference in the way we do business – not to mention the continuous struggle to manage customer expectations and stay up-to-date on changing technologies to ensure we’re repairing these advanced vehicles correctly and safely. A lot of collision professionals like to think they’ve “got it all figured out.” Yet, if that’s truly the case, why is our industry in its current position? Listen. None of us can know everything, but if we all start pushing in the same direction, our industry WILL improve for the better. But to do that, we all need to get involved in our businesses! And to be clear, I’m not specifically talking to business owners here. Our employees play a vital role in how our businesses are run and how profitable we are. As owners, we need to hold others accountable for doing their jobs responsibly, but they are often the people who perform the actual processes, so we need to encourage them to get involved too.
12 | New Jersey Automotive | March 2022
AASP/NJ brings great training content to New Jersey shops on a regular basis, but it’s frustrating at times to hear how many people simply don’t take the time to attend. You have to make the time; you need to invest in educating yourself and your team. Your time investment translates into a monetary ROI (return on investment), so if you want to improve, you need to exert some effort. This month, we’re ramping up those efforts with the return of our 45th NORTHEAST® Automotive Services Show in Secaucus on March 18-20 where you’ll have the chance to learn more about new products and equipment and to tune in for the education you need to run your shop. Having issues finding employees? We’ve got a panel for that. Are suppressed Labor Rates really hurting your bottom line? Yeah, we’ve got a panel for that too. We’ve got classes on customer service, on calibration, on utilizing the Appraisal Clause and so much more. We’re even offering a class that can be used to renew your NJ auto body license! And we’re pacing these classes out over the course continued on pg. 40
