Getting back to work

WHAT SHOULD WORKSHOPS LOOK LIKE IN COVID-19 ALERT LEVEL 3 WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING IN PLACE?

The Motor Trade Association (MTA) has published guidelines in the members MTA Toolbox and on its website. It includes a general overview, and guidance on things to do before opening, which includes preparing a safe work plan and a risk assessment. The MTA has prepared examples of both documents and templates to use.

It is also offering specific guidelines for different types of businesses: repairers, service stations, dealers, vehicle-recovery operations, and parts and retail.

Templates are also available for Covid-19 declaration forms for staff and any contractors working onsite to complete; a contact register for staff and visitors to complete, which would help with tracing if required. Lastly, a vehicle-servicing valet-card template detailing the cleaning carried out immediately before returning a vehicle to its owner has also been provided.

While many businesses might have already opened by this time, the MTA was encouraging members before the move out of lock down to take a properlyplanned approach to opening, covering things such as assessing stock; contacting suppliers; and ordering or buying soap, disinfectant, wipes, sprays, rubbish bags, gloves, and disposable seat covers. It also advises creating and displaying notices for customers detailing the measures staff and customers must follow to maintain social distancing. This will also demonstrate your professionalism to customers.

Don’t skip completing the safe-workplace plans and health and safety risk assessments. Carrying out this planning and assessment work will demonstrate you have thought about your processes and taken the risk to staff, customers, suppliers, and courier visitors seriously.

The MTA also advises owners and managers to consult with staff when developing the plan. They will have valuable input and a stake in making it work.

Think about how operating safely will affect existing practices and look at the practical effects on your business. How many customers will you have? How many staff will you have? What can you do to stimulate business to fill the workshop again?

Think about payment processes. Do you have or can you activate ‘Moto’ (mail order / telephone order), which also reduces contact? Talk to your bank for more details.

Overseas experience

Auto Channel also checked to see how businesses are operating overseas, specifically in the US, where there is known community transmission.

G Jerry Truglia, who owns Automotive Technician Training Services (ATTS), as well as a panel beating business 65km from New York City, says business is “definitely down” and he’s heard of some shops that have closed down.

Jeff Lovell, the president of the Automotive Service Association (ASA) Northwest, sees a longterm drop in business lasting at least four to six months and probably lingering into 2021. Already, he’s witnessed the fallout in other service jobs in hospitality and tourism and says a recession is very bad news for any small business, especially those in automotive repair where profit margins can be slim and many shops are “hanging on by a string”.

In the front line

With the health of workshop staff and customers at risk, how should workshops respond? Last issue, we looked at some advice and here we look at what businesses are actually doing.

Truglia regularly visits the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website (cdc.gov/) for guidance. He prints off CDC recommendations and shares them with staff.

He and his employees have also adopted a policy of using cleaning products to wipe down every handle in the shop — from the coffee pot to office doors, car doors, and any tools that may be shared — first thing in the morning and at the end of the day. “Viruses can be on any surface, so we take extra precautions like wearing gloves, asking our people to sneeze into their sleeves, and disinfect[ing] any areas of a vehicle they think may be contaminated,” he says. “In auto repair, you come into contact with all kinds of people. You have to keep in mind when handling keys to consider what they may have come into contact with.”

Lovell similarly recommends wiping down steering wheels, gear levers, and door handles when a vehicle enters a shop and again before it is handed back over to the owner.

Coccimiglio has adopted similar cleaning practices. This attention to physical health needs to be accompanied by extra work on the financial health of a garage or workshop. Truglia and Coccimiglio are looking at ways to cut expenses. Coccimiglio says he’ll put off replacing his paint booths. Should an economic downturn be serious enough, Truglia will use his staff to perform work like painting the workshop instead of hiring outside help.

Get proactive

Cutting expenses alone won’t compensate for a serious downturn in business. Lovell and Truglia say workshops need to be more proactive. In the current climate, they suggest that repairers leverage services, for example towing to and from a shop, to reduce their social interaction and the risk of exposure. Digital solutions, such as letting customers sign electronically online to authorize a repair, also are attractive. Both men suggest advertising these efforts, letting customers know they are taking Covid-19 seriously and have planned solutions to make repairs safer and return vehicles in sanitized condition.

Yates Service, Virginia, owns both mechanical and collision repair businesses, and just launched a complimentary White Glove Vehicle Pickup and Delivery Service at its locations. Its collision business also started offering online auto-body repair estimations, so customers can send damage photos to Yates Collision instead of venturing to the shop.

Star Auto Authority started a Disinfectant Detailing promotion with the shop offering to do its “part in helping fight the Covid-19” with 20 per cent off all detailing services for a month. The promotion touts the shop’s convenient pickup and delivery services and includes messaging referencing the CDC and noting how detailers wear protective gloves and spend “extra time cleaning all interior surfaces touched by hands”.

Care for the elderly

Truglia suggests repairers clean up their act with clean and sanitized customer waiting areas and restrooms to help calm fears of customers, especially the elderly — one of the groups most at risk from Covid-19. “Elderly customers are your best customers,” he adds. “They understand their cars and know they need [to be] cared for.”

While efforts to meet the Covid-19 outbreak head on are encouraged, so are traditional efforts to remain competitive and run a high-quality operation. Coccimiglio says shops need to follow OEM repair procedures and continue building their brand by working on their online presence and protecting their reputation with good work. “Remember that every customer represents potential future business,” he says. “Don’t take them for granted.”

Lovell says shops should reach out to customers every way they can and offer as many services as they can handle. “Have your service advisors call up customers and let them know you’re looking out for them,” he adds. Further, he says organizations like ASA are important resources for help and mentorship, now and at any other time.

Even with these efforts, a serious or long-term recession could force shops to make difficult decisions, namely letting go of staff if there isn’t enough work to maintain their employment. “We do all we can for our employees, and you always want to treat your employees well, but there is a point where you can go no further without hurting your business,” says Truglia.

Lovell notes that as bad as 2008 was, some shops still fared well since consumers were forced to hold onto older vehicles that would require repairs and maintenance. “A lot of shops learned their lesson from that time and know to maintain a rainy-day fund,” he says.

Truglia notes, “We’ve been through really tough times before with 9/11 and some of the storms we’ve had.”

“We’ll get through it,” he adds.