Toronto, Ontario — Elizabeth Stein, vice president of Assured Performance Network says OEM certifications and accountability will be the key to shop survival alongside continually-advancing vehicle tech.
During Dave Luehr’s Positivity Summit on Jan. 15, Stein spoke to audiences about the importance of shops obtaining OEM certifications to survive as the industry continues to navigate increasing vehicle technologies.
“Insurers are looking to connect their policyholders with reliable repairs,” said Stein. “The first step in that process is to determine who has the proper tools, training and modified facilities to handle those repairs—not all shops are there yet.”
“If we don’t go down this path, the dreaded ‘L’ word—liability—starts coming up,” agreed Positivity Summit co-host Ryan Taylor.
Stein said the easiest way to demonstrate these capabilities is to obtain OEM certifications, and record repairs to prove your capabilities to insurers.
“Here’s what I ask of shops—electronically document your repairs. Diminished value is absolutely a concern in 2021. In consumer culture, people expect everything to be transparent. Recording your process to prove you’ve followed OE procedures is critical when you find yourself ‘clawbacking’ insurers in diminished values.”
Branding is another key step in proving your facility’s capabilities, said Stein.
“You are amazing, and you have amazing stories. You need to share that with your customers on social media,” she said. “You need to stand out in your market—OEM certifications make that clear.
This is the future—the cars are becoming so highly advanced that there’s no other way we can go,” concluded Stein.
