SCRS Study Reveals What Everyone Already Knew Part III

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It’s a great example of how we can directly impact the consumer experience in a positive manner if the focus becomes on educating the vehicle owner on the realities of the repair process.”

It’s disappointing that there has been so many bad feelings created between collision repair shops and technicians and insurance companies. With the insurance company setting up the technicians to look bad, a lot of bad blood has been spilled. Insurance leaders that are directly responsible for training its own and third party companies to do the estimates need to make the changes from the top down. Start by training the new estimators and the current through a very progressive process. Perhaps swipe their brains clear so that they see the technicians and body shops a part of a team and collision family. Wouldn’t it be nice if just once the estimator backed you up? How about a claim estimator helping to find solutions instead of pointing the finger as has been done for decades?

It’s not rocket science, its sound and sage advice for insurance companies. We don’t have to be on opposing ends having a tug-a-war, we just need realistic expectations for both the customer and technicians. Expectations that the insurance companies can stand behind and trust that they too are a part of the solution not the problem. Do unto others and simple principles like this are the key to making the aggressive forward changes that must be changed. There’s no room in this society of completely transparent expectations for the bullying ways of old. Neither side of this coin should feel motivated to slander or destroy careers based on inaccurate demands. Know what you’re asking and know what your answer would be. How long will it take? Each individual case has different responses. There is no set in stone guide that insurers should go by because not every accident ends in the same way with the same damages. Seek solutions.

SCRS Study Reveals What Everyone Already Knew Part II

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Recognizing these factors, all the results still confirmed that none of the numbers produced anything resembling the expectations being placed on repairers by some in the insurance industry.”

According to the SCRS, insurance companies using a six-hour-per-day calculation give customers an expectation that a 30-hour job will be completed in five days. Others using a five-hour-per-day benchmark, say that same job will be completed in six days.

“The resulting calculations demonstrate the huge level of disparity between reality and expectation,” added Schulenburg. “Unfortunately, these false levels of expectation add waste into the repair process by creating costly and unnecessary administration for both the repairer and the rental agency, and can almost assuredly factor in a level of frustration for the consumer that could be avoided if we used better information to set their expectation at the onset of the process. The objective should be to set an expectation that will produce a consumer experience that lives up to what was promised; unfortunately, if we use bad data to establish the metrics, we are setting ourselves up for failure from the beginning.”

SCRS national director Dusty Womble used the same methods to calculate repair expectation times in his own facility, Roger Beasley Collision Center in Austin, Texas. After the analysis, he determined that 2.0 hours per day was the appropriate expectation level to give his customers, citing the complexity and challenges involved in the repair process.

“Interestingly, the adjusted formula made a huge difference in our customer interactions,” Womble said. “Our Customer Service Index (CSI) scores shot up by about 7 percentage points, simply because the consumer perception regarding the vehicle being delivered ‘on time’ changed. We didn’t adjust anything else in our workflow, other than the expectation we were setting up front for the anticipated completion.

SCRS Study Reveals What Everyone Already Knew Part I

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The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) performed a new study to determine where the facts are when the question of body shops not meeting insurance company’s expectations for the time it should take to repair a vehicle. This has always been imbalanced and PDR Technicians and body shops nationwide will always stand on opposite sides of what is a reasonable amount of time that it should take to repair a vehicle.

The survey was conducted by SCRS who analyzed repair data provided by CCC Information Services Inc. and Mitchell International, relative to hours per claim in the fourth quarter of 2014, and compared those statistics to the average length of rental from Enterprise Rent-A-Car and The Hertz Corporation over that same time period.

While cross referencing the data provided different results, no combination of data sets supported an expectation reaching 3.0 hours per day. (Results were obtained by dividing the average hours per claim by the average length of rental.) For example, comparing the CCC information with that of Enterprise showed that, on average, a 30 hour job took an estimated 15 days to produce—giving a median multiplier of 0.5.

The results were similar to those of Mitchell’s Auto Physical Damage report for first quarter 2013. In that study, the median multiplier across 49 states was 0.47 with a standard variation of 0.05.

“We recognize the challenges associated with drawing conclusions from two disparate data sources,” added Luis Alonso, SCRS industry issues committee chairman. “Our conclusions are going to have a higher standard of deviation because we are averaging averages rather than raw data, and also because the data sets may cover two different spans of information.

“For instance, [insurance provider] estimate data is based on overall uploaded estimates which will reflect some vehicles that may not be repaired, and rental company data is based on repaired vehicles that did utilize a rental.

Why PDR Technology Is An Economical Solution For Tight Budgets Part II

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Paintless Dent Repair isn’t free but you will find it to be significantly lower in price in comparison to a traditional body shop. In addition, there are quite a few that work with the insurance companies on your behalf if you have already paid your deductible for the year. Even if you have not, you will find that Paintless Dent Repairs will run you anywhere from 70-80% less than body shop repairs. Most of the time, body shops will replace the panel that is damaged. That saves them a lot of physical work but costs you more and keeps your car in the shop for longer than you had hoped for. You’ll still have to pay for labor so you can see how the bill can grow and grow without much effort.

In case you are unsure, Paintless Dent Repair basically molds the dents back into where they belong. This technology is far different than the usual way that body work is done and requires a skill set that most in the collision industry don’t possess. They need finesse to be able to manipulate a dent out of your bumper and more. Paintless Dent Repairers are able to not only come to you at your convenience but also don’t have any overhead that is passed on to the customer.

If you and your family are on a budget, Paintless Dent Repair may be your perfect answer. PDR technicians are highly trained and incredibly reliable. You don’t have to worry about spending more than is necessary. You can keep your budget intact and end up with professional results that make perfect sense to you and your family. At the end of the day you will be extremely pleased with the bottom line and you’ll still be able to feed your family.

Why PDR Technology Is An Economical Solution For Tight Budgets Part I

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There are many types of fender benders that one can get into that don’t necessarily fall under the umbrella as totaled. You can get nicked by another car in tight parking structures, you yourself could hit or tap someones bumper ever so slightly leaving a small dent in yours and the others car. Additionally, you may accidentally open your door onto a cement post. Stuff happens all of the time. The problem is that most families or even singles cannot afford to get their vehicle fixed. The cost for many is prohibitive. This cost that I speak of is usually the deductible that is generally very high. These are tough times and while it would be great to have some rainy day money set aside, many cannot afford that either. In fact, most Americans live paycheck to paycheck.

There is much in the news these days regarding economic downturns and problems. This is not an imagined crisis. That is to say, there are serious issues facing working people and it is the result of various “pinches” hitting the budgets of most families. For example, gas prices and food prices have started skyrocketing and this leaves many people with limited dollars in their savings. When people are in such situations, the last thing they need is to see their budgets busted by car accident related bills.

Paintless Dent Repair is a logical, affordable solution and an excellent alternative to traditional bodywork. The bodywork that needs to be done on a car, even if minor, can cost a significant amount of money. There are parts and labor involved and that will always run costs up. Even if you have solid insurance, a $500 deductible means you will be forced to shell out $500. When a household budget is tight and credit is hard to come by, a $500 deductible can really be difficult to part with.

Help Your Customers Understand How To Buy A Used Car Part II

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Buying a used car can be very tricky if you don’t understand what to look for and what to watch out for, The value of a used car is based on its condition, mileage, reliability, performance, and popularity.When speaking of the condition, you have to be certain that there is no permanent body damage, meaning is the frame tweaked? This would be very important to anyone. All other body damage is something you can work on for the customer as long as it’s minimal. Large dents may in fact need to go to the body shop.

Your customers need to spend the time researching the car before purchasing it. There are a few tools available to the prospective owner; one is TCO which is the True Cost to Own, TCO information is not available for all cars. Another such tool is True Market Value (TMV) pricing. TMV pricing is based on sales figures of similar cars across the country.

Running a vehicle history report on any used car you are considering buying is a must. Several companies sell these reports, which are based on the VIN. AutoCheck and Carfax seem to be the most comprehensive. With that said, Carfax has come under fire lately because of falsified reports. Now, not only do you have to check the car out, but you need to run a check on the companies giving you the report. If you have to pay $25-$50 for this report, then make sure the information is true and correct.

These type of reports can reveal vital information including whether the vehicle has a salvage title, which would mean that the car has been declared a total loss by the insurance company, or if the odometer has been rolled back. This is a pretty good time to decide if you want a certified pre-owned (CPO) car. 

Follow me to Part III and we will finish up with how to help your customers understand how to buy a used car.

PDR Technicians: What Does Factory-Certified Mean? Part I

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Certified used vehicles affect you and your business on a few levels. If you’re working at a dealership, it will be paramount that you understand what is expected of you while working in the body shop of a used car dealership. Whether you are there full-time or just swing by once or twice a week, during your time working there, you must uphold the law and do only what you are allowed to do on a vehicle. There was a J.D. Power and Associates study that showed that the sales of certified used cars have increased 46% since 2000. Certified used cars have become affordable alternatives to a new car. These certified used cars feature warranties that extend beyond the initial “when new” coverage.

To be a “certified used” vehicle, the warranty has to be backed by the vehicle manufacturer. The original manufacturer takes this quite seriously and uses its dealer network to inspect the car, determine if it is worth certifying and then offer support for the vehicle for a period of time beyond the original warranty. It’s important to note that not all used cars can qualify for certified pre-owned programs, and terms are not across the board for all vehicles, they vary from one brand to the next. If you find that the car you or a customer are buying is not qualified to be certified, well then the dealership should still be able to provide you with proof of a 100-point inspection of the car. During the inspection of the car, if the car presents problems, the factory trained technicians will fix it or disqualify the car from the program. In addition, the certified warranty protection is typically implemented once the vehicles original factory warranty expires. When the used car warranty begins, it is usually good for a number of years or miles, whichever comes first.