PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Have It Your Way?

by JERRY MCNEE

Are you the type of shop owner that’s so busy working IN your business that you never seem to find time to work ON your business? Well, I hate to be the one to tell ya, but if you’re not willing to put much in, how much can you possibly expect to get out?

Insurers want to come into our shops and tell us what to fix and how much to charge, but it’s your business; you’re the one liable for the safe repair of the customer’s vehicle. Yet, you’ll be dictated to by some kid who worked at Burger King last month, who has never looked under the hood of a car but was hired as a damage appraiser? Most likely, he’s appraising that vehicle through photo estimates and has never even seen this type of damage in person, but yeah, keep believing he knows better than the repair professional.

But the insurance industry always comes up with these new tactics to manipulate shops, and by claiming they’ll only pay these egregious rates that they pay DRP shops – who they have a contract with! – they’re turning this industry into the medical field. We’re going to have to charge co-pays to be able to do our jobs properly.

Successfully charging customers begins with consumer education, but it’s about a lot more than that. There’s strength in numbers, and we are many… but the size of our industry doesn’t work to your benefit unless you get involved. Get involved with performance groups and associations, both locally like AASP/NJ as well as through national organizations like the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and the Collision Industry Conference (CIC).

It means supporting local vo-tech schools (even though they don’t call them that anymore; they’re now known as “magnet schools” since vo-tech has a negative connotation associated with it) because those students are our industry’s future. We need to fight against the poor image that many consumers have of the trades. People don’t get involved because they want to; they get involved because they have to. If you haven’t been paying attention to the fact that you have to get involved, let me sound that alarm. IT’S TIME TO GET INVOLVED!

We’re past the point of sitting on our laurels and making excuses. Stop believing that this is “just the way things are, and it’s never going to change.” I call BS! Things absolutely change, but we’re often our own worst enemy. We get so focused on pushing the next car out the door that we don’t pay attention to the real problems negatively affecting our businesses.

Whose business is it, anyway? No matter how much the insurer wants to dictate the repair, you’re the one who’s responsible. It’s your business and your reputation. And if you make the wrong decision, it’s going to be your neck on the line. You may be a little late to the party, but there’s no time like the present to get started, to get active and to make a difference for your shop and your industry. Don’t get caught with your pants around your ankles, surrounded by a pile of crap. Stop making excuses, clean up the garbage around you, and start building a stronger future for all of us.

NJA