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Monday, 01 October 2012 11:13 |
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The dialogue between stakeholders is toxic and has to change.
By Ken Boulton
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| Ken Boulton is Manager, Vendor Programs at The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company. He can be reached at
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Toronto, Ontario -- October 1, 2012 -- I am concerned. Concerned about the comments directed at insurance companies during the Canadian Collision Industry Forum (CCIF) meeting in Vancouver earlier this year. It underlines a tension in the industry that unfortunately continues to exist between insurers and collision repairers.
While I believe the comments may have been made out of frustration, they were likely meant as a call to action designed to spur the proactive, open dialogue and collaboration that is required if CCIF—and to a greater extent the collision repair industry—is to survive. Healthy, focused dialogue about the things that matter is a step in the right direction. Industry forums must be a place for meaningful discussion and change.
If the serious conversations that everybody seems to support are ever going to happen, all stakeholders must not only come to the table understanding that they are part of the problem, but more importantly, they need to come with the attitude that each of us has an opportunity to be a part of the solution. Continuing to blame insurance companies for all that ails the industry is not only unproductive, it parks the issue in one place. This prohibits the required changes that will only happen when all parties are willing to admit fault and truly participate.
Our industry’s issues are not unique. We are not the only industry with shrinking profit margins, increased outside regulation, an aging workforce and a lack of new skilled workers. The list of problems goes on and on, as does the list of industries facing the same challenges. Business has changed for all of us. We need to work together to figure out a way that our businesses can remain viable and profitable.
I recently read an article where the author suggested that the relationship between collision repairers and insurers was tenuous at best. There are many reasons for that, but perhaps one of our biggest problems is a lack of mutual respect. In my 32 years in the industry, I’ve seen both sides. As a shop manager, I recall appraisers who came into my shop with the clear intention of reducing my estimate regardless of how good a sheet it was. As an independent appraiser, I remember going into shops and wondering if I was even looking at the same car based on the estimate I was handed.
Today, there are a good number of shops and independent appraisers doing a fantastic job. Unfortunately, I suspect that the practices I described are still alive and well. Such actions discredit the appraisers, the companies they work for and our industry, not to mention the customers we serve.
The one thing that I hope we can agree on is that we are all working toward providing our mutual customer with a quality, safe repair at a fair price. Our estimate, repair plan, blueprint—whatever you want to call it—should always, from beginning to end, truly reflect that objective. While there will always be differences of opinion, if our approach to dealing with each other is grounded in serving the customer and mutual respect, we will elevate the professionalism and integrity of this industry.
John C. Maxwell talks about this in his book, Developing the Leader Within You. To paraphrase, he says we all struggle with making decisions between what we want to do and what we ought to do. It is our integrity that allows us to establish the ground rules for resolving these tensions. It allows us to predetermine what we will be regardless of circumstances, persons involved or places of our testing.
The conversations won’t be easy. They likely won’t happen quickly nor will there be immediate change. We may not even like some of the outcomes, but the conversations need to be thoughtful and action-driven. Pure and simple, they need to take place.
© Copyright 2012 Collision Repair magazine
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Last Updated on Monday, 01 October 2012 11:26 |
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Monday, 23 July 2012 09:40 |
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By Tom Bissonnette
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan -- July 23, 2012 -- At the last meeting of CCIF I gave a short presentation about some of the nitty gritty issues facing the collision industry: insurance relations, replacement parts and profitability. Some folks did not like it and thought it was neither the time nor the place to discuss such issues. But if not at CCIF, then where?
As one industry insider confided to me after I gave my presentation:
“Shop owner/operators this year and for the last few, are clinically depressed. It’s no fun anymore. Most are looking for a business buyer. Costs are up everywhere, demands are more stringent, all roads are lined with cautions and no one cares if you are successful or not as long as they get their piece of you. What CCIF can do—and what you clearly are altruistically motivated by— is to stop the ‘ostrich syndrome.’ The bury-your-head -inthe- sand behavior by shops across the country, hoping that things will get better someday if they can just hold on, go into business survival mode and play nice with insurers.”
Donald Cooper, a renowned business speaker and consultant was a guest at the Vancouver CCIF. I had the opportunity to pick up a copy of his work book called Vision Critical (available at donaldcooper.com for $24) and I heartily encourage you to get this work book and go through the exercises he has provided.
I emailed Donald and told him that according to the latest statistics I have seen, the collision industry in Canada has an average net pro t in the 3 to 5 percent range. I asked him how that stacked up compared to other businesses in Canada.
“Being in the collision repair business and making a return of 3 to 5 percent makes no sense at all. It’s a hobby,” read part of his reply. “The even worse thing is that, because of the poor return, the business can’t be sold for a decent amount in the end. So, you get smacked two ways. First, every year with a poor return ... and second, eventually with a lousy sale price when you want to get out and move on.”
This is why shop owners are not getting out. Donald explains further: “I have a question that I often ask clients. ‘Will this industry, doing it the way you’re doing it right now, be a financially and emotionally healthy place to be in 3 to 5 years?’ It appears that for many of you, it isn’t now. So, how do the business model and or the operating practices need to change to create a decent return?”
This is a good question. We need to come up with a good answer.
Folks, you may not be a big CCIF supporter, but it is really the only national forum we have right now where we can discuss these issues face to face. I am asking you to get engaged, help us to deal with the tough issues like insurance relations, replacement parts, profitability, advanced vehicle technology and repair standards. Write and tell me what you would like to talk about and in what format. Should we bring the breakout groups again? Can we set up committees to discuss and report on these issues? I am not afraid to speak out.
Help me to help you.
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Monday, 16 July 2012 11:07 |
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By Jonathan Barrick
Barrie, Ontario -- July 16, 2012 -- One of the biggest fears businesses have about participating in social media channels is the terror of a dissatisfied customer ranting on Facebook or flooding Twitter with horrible stories of your business. I’m here to tell you two things:
1. Your customers shouldn’t be that angry to begin with, so social media isn’t really the problem you’re facing.
2. These comments and conversations are going to happen, with or without your participation, so you’d better believe that your silence here is deadly.
Now, the first point is really more of a “in a perfect world” comment, because we all know that errors happen. There will always be instances where you don’t meet your promises 100 percent of the time.
However, a promise that you can meet 100 percent of the time is addressing concerns and complaints promptly, politely and professionally. Social media gives your business the golden opportunity to publicly show that you care about customer satisfaction, that you want to make things right and that you aren’t afraid to admit that yes, you are human.
The trick is to not be afraid of talking with your customers publicly. Your customer service responses should be something that you’re proud of. They should be something that you want to showcase publicly. People like to do business with people who care, and there’s no greater indicator of caring to a customer than what your business does when things don’t go as planned. Research has shown that a customer who has a negative experience made right is more likely to be loyal than one who simply has a “satisfactory” experience. Caring MATTERS. Don’t be afraid to show it.
I’d like to offer a handful of tips that you can use to determine the best course of action when faced with a negative comment in social media.
1. Respond Immediately: You don’t need to know the whole story right away to let someone know that they’re being heard. A simple “We’re sorry you had a bad experience. We are looking in to it right away and will contact you soon!” gets the conversation off to the right start by letting them know “Yes, we hear you” and “We want to learn what happened.” Then get to work on really finding out what the problem was, and fix it.
2.Update, Update, Update: While the personal details of any incident don’t always need to be shared publicly, you should never leave a negative comment situation with only an opening response. Any time you get a new piece of info that is important, respond on the original comment letting the customer know that new info is available and what they should do. Something along the lines of “We’ve tracked down the problem and are taking steps to prevent it from recurring. Let us know if you have any other questions!” does the job wonderfully, and leaves the ball in their court.
3. Follow-up: Once you think the issue has been resolved, and all is good, check back after a few days and do a quick follow-up with the customer to ensure that they are 100 percent taken care of. Sometimes new questions arise that customers may be hesitant to bring up after the fact. This is your chance to be a shining customer service star and go above and beyond the call of duty.
These three simple steps can do wonders for how your customers view your business. They show you’re not afraid to talk about errors, and that you really want to make sure that things get made right. What makes customers more irate than anything else is the feeling of being ignored. By taking the initiative and responding promptly, continuing to update them throughout the process and following-up after the problem is solved, you show them that you’re not going to turn a blind eye or deaf ear to their concerns. Social media is one of the most powerful customer relationship management tools in your marketing kit. Don’t hesitate to make use of it!
Jonathan Barrick is the Marketing Manager for Global Finishing Solutions and Collision Repair magazine's social media columnist. He can be reached at 705-719-4014 or via email to
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Last Updated on Monday, 16 July 2012 11:29 |
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Tuesday, 10 July 2012 14:32 |
There's a BIG difference between "I quit!" and "You're fired!"
By Sam Piercey
Let me ask you a question. As an industry, how would we deal with an insurance company that seems to have no inclination to tell the truth or deal fairly? They lie. They intimidate our office staff. They tell all the shops the same stories:
- “The picture does not justify the damage.”
- “You’re the only shop we are having problems with.”
- “Your severity is the highest in the area.”
These guys must think we don’t talk to one another! They keep trotting out the exact same stories in every shop they visit. The thing that really set me off is that I chose to stop being part of their program for various reasons. Their rep in the area and I sat down in my office and I told him loud and clear that I wanted to get off their program. He said that wasn’t what he wanted, but that he understood my pain and frustration and it was my choice. He told me his people will know as soon as he leaves that my choice was to be taken off the program as of that day. Not a very complicated deal. We shook hands and he left. He even followed up our conversation with a letter that was very honest and to the point.
A couple of days go by and I receive a letter from the upper management telling me that I have been terminated. Imagine that. I still have the first letter, though, and I can prove that we left the program, not the other way around.
They’ve got the nerve to tell other shops that we were terminated from the program, and now there are brokers telling customers that they won’t guarantee our work if they come to us for repairs. Shame on them! We send our staff for constant training on all of our brands. We fix the vehicles that come to us according to factory training specs and we’re constantly investing in new equipment. Shame on the brokers who send customers away while feeding them a line of crap.
It keeps me up at night that they do business in a corrupt way and seem to get away with it. They use scare tactics to prey on people and shops. It’s pretty bad when these vultures come into the shop and tell the techs how much time they’ve got to fix the car. I would really like to see these wannabes try their hand at doing the work. Some of them have never fixed a car.
Others haven’t had their hands on a new vehicle in years. If you take a look at their age and compare it to the amount of time they were on the bench, it adds up to very little actual repair time. I’ll allow some credit for theory and training, but this doesn’t give them the right to call the times.
What are these guys trying to prove? Our industry is struggling with a shortage of people, and it’s no wonder that existing techs don’t encourage apprentices to get involved.
In closing, there are a lot of excellent insurers that we work with in great partnerships. Do you know why it works? BECAUSE THEY GET IT.
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