In early August, Constable Robert Plunkett was killed in Markham, ON during an early morning attempt to thwart a suspected airbag theft. This is a tragedy.

Mainstream media unilaterally decided this was a crime committed if not directly, then at least tangently, as a result of a black market fuelled by stolen airbags. The main culprits    in their view were the buyers, i.e. collision repair shops. No buyers, no sellers, no thefts.  It was that simple.

The media felt obligated to report on the background of stolen airbags, using derogatory terms like “chop shop.” Sadly, this is the only image the public received and the one they are most likely to remember.

Nothing could be further from the truth. We, as an industry, do not condone the use of stolen goods.

The attraction of a low price at the cost of safety and reputation is never a value proposition to the vast majority of collision repairers. The public needs to know this.

At the risk of sounding unsympathetic, we must learn from the PR spin doctors and proactively respond to any chance to shape public perception. There is never a shortage of platforms to present planned and crafted messages reflecting the hard work, professionalism and integrity of the repairers who compose the vast majority.

For example, although it’s too late to stop the officer’s death, we as an industry might want to set up a central tip line, where anonymous callers could report those who deal in the illegal trade. Because that’s what legitimate, professional industries do. They look after their own. They monitor and self-regulate. And they let the public know.

The industry can no longer afford to sit idle, as the whipping boy for a media hungry for negative news, waiting for the inevitable fallout. Legitimate collision repairers deserve better than to be painted with the same dirty spraygun as the industry’s underside. It is unfair, unjust and untrue.

The polished 30-second news clip messages rolling off the tongues of other industry’s paid spokespersons are sorely missed. If the same negative news stories were attributed to dentists, nurses, bricklayers or chicken farmers, you can bet there would be a proactive and positive response.

It’s time to band together and find a national voice. In its absence, the industry is at a disadvantage.
Our industry has come a long way, but to mature it cannot allow provincial and regional differences to impede national platforms. Working in unison toward common goals will elevate the profession. We can ill-afford to invest our resources in arguing.

In the fog of misperception and miscommunication, the collision repair industry needs to create a national identity and to promote it.

Public image and perception are no longer niceties; they are necessities as the industry competes for new labour, public trust and the ear of politicians.

Integrity means doing the right thing even when no one is watching. But this doesn’t mean no one should know.

Comments

Add New Search

Write comment
Name:
Email:	do not notifynotify
Website:
Title:
UBBCode:	-color-aquablackbluefuchsiagraygreenlimemaroonnavyolivepurpleredsilvertealwhiteyellow -size-tinysmallmediumlargehuge
	Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.23

3.23 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."