For this Disrupt edition of CollisionCast, Jeff and Rick Feasel, owner and general manager of Feasel's Frame and Collision Inc., are going to be discussing something that every shop owner strives to do—but, as I’m sure any of them would acknowledge, can sometimes be very difficult: keeping your staff happy and motivated. From payment to incentives to team outings to everyday interactions, here's a rounded approach to building a culture of motivated, happy employees.
Apr 24, 2018•24 min
Sean O'Malley, senior test coordinator for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, discusses the importance of calibrating ADAS in vehicles—particularly front-facing cameras. Failure to calibrate windshield-mounted cameras could lead to issues with lane-departure and autobraking.
Apr 17, 2018•13 min
Phil O’Connor, owner of five POC Collision Centers in Maine, says shops can take measures to collect the money that is owed to them. In order to reduce accounts receivables, focus needs to be placed on the paperwork process that occurs in the front office. O’Connor shares his system for collecting on money owed to his business.
Mar 27, 2018•24 min
Kevin Rains speaks with FenderBender to expand on one of his recent columns, “Hungry and Humble,” and discusses just how shop owners can set seemingly unattainable goals for their shops, yet remain grounded at the same time. This holistic approach not only pushes you to new heights as a leader, but inspires your team to follow in your footsteps.
Mar 13, 2018•23 min
Craig Van Batenburg, founder and CEO of the Automotive Career Development Center, has been coaching shops on how to prepare for the wave of hybrids and electric vehicles hitting the U.S. market. In this episode, Van Batenburg covers the training, knowledge and safety items needed to properly repair hybrids and electric vehicles in collision repair shops.
Feb 22, 2018•29 min
Kevin Taylor is a millennial shop owner who, since the day he opened his shop doors, has had a vision for his shop's brand. Funny enough, Taylor owns a Maaco shop, which inherently brings a certain "brand" along with it. So how did Taylor differentiate his shop? And, more importantly, how does he get his team to buy into his vision? He sat down with FenderBender to discuss just that.
Feb 05, 2018•24 min
In the first edition of FenderBender 's Vision podcast, columnist Kevin Rains discusses how he found his core business and leadership philosophies—and what any shop operator can do to instill a positive culture in his or her business.
Jan 29, 2018•23 min
Mitchell’s Blockchain Solution markets itself as a secure solution for sharing data amongst those in the collision repair and insurance claims industries; but what does blockchain mean for your business? Jack Rozint, vice president of sales and service of the auto physical damage business unit for Mitchell International gives insight on what blockchain is and how it will impact shops in the future.
Jan 24, 2018•17 min
Doug Irish, Co-chair of the insurer-repairer relations committee for the collision industry conference and president and CEO of Accuracy Driven 4, discusses his take on the recent lawsuits involving body shops and insurers.
Dec 13, 2017•17 min
Brother and sister Kevin Rains and Kelli Rains Back made the decision last summer to take their independently owned facilities (at the time, Rains had two and Rains Back had one) and align with CARSTAR. Rains and Rains Back talk about what went into the decision and share tips for shop owners that may be struggling with a similar decision.
Oct 12, 2017•15 min
FenderBender spoke with Assured Performance CEO Scott Biggs about how telematics technology will change collision repair shops' access to OEM information and the public's perception of OEM certifications.
Oct 03, 2017•38 min
Melissa Marscin, director of operations and administration for the Collision Repair Education Foundation, discusses what shop owners can do to help the collision industry technician shortage.
Sep 14, 2017•14 min
Dave Ludwig, owner of Prestige Auto Body, outlines what resources and traits shop owners should look to when hiring front office staff.
Sep 06, 2017•32 min
Adam Grant, owner of Xtreme Collision Center in Morrisville, Vt., discusses the importance of tracking KPIs and explains why every shop owner should be doing it.
Jun 22, 2017•20 min
Your logo isn’t a brand— you are the brand, says Amy Anderson. And as the marketing director for the six-location Heppner's Auto Body in Minneapolis, she has quite a bit of experience in that realm. Building Heppner's "brand" has been a long, deliberate process that has had its ups and downs and alterations, but the brand she and her company finalized has helped set it apart in its market. In this interview, she covers how the shop defined its brand and how you can get your employees and custome...
Jun 19, 2017•23 min
Rich Lawson, estimator at Rick Hendrick's Collision Center, talks about his post-military transition into the collision repair industry and the impact this job opportunity has had on his life.
May 19, 2017•10 min
Tired of feeling the strains of the collision repair industry’s talent shortage, the leadership team at G&C Auto Body, an 11-facility operation in California, decided to take matters into its own hands. In this episode, G&C CEO Shawn Crozat details the company’s technician and estimator apprentice programs and how growing its own talent has allowed the now $50 million-per-year family business to continue to expand.
Mar 31, 2017•22 min
With consolidation making the collision repair industry more competitive each year, many body shops are feeling pressure to attain OEM certifications. Mark Bochenek, I-CAR’s OEM Business Development Manager, gives his views on just how vital it is for body shops to become OEM certified.
Mar 01, 2017•16 min
Darrell Amberson, a FenderBender columnist and president of operations for LaMettry's Collision in the Twin Cities, discusses the importance of industry involvement, the future of diagnostic scans, and a little drag racing.
Feb 01, 2017•18 min
With a new year comes new challenges—and new goals. While 2017 is sure to provide the collision repair industry with myriad challenges, FenderBender columnist Mike Anderson prefers to look to the solutions repairers can implement to not only improve their own businesses but also make the industry stronger as a whole. In this podcast Anderson discusses the 10 most critical issues that need to be met with resolutions in 2017, and how each and every shop operator across the country can help....
Dec 30, 2016•22 min
A long-time advocate of collision repair industry education, Jeff Peevy of the Automotive Management Institute has preached for years the importance of regular training, both for shop operators and their teams. The benefits of developing a company culture focused on continuous improvement are many, and Peevy says FenderBender ’s 2016 Education & Training Survey directly reflects that. The report compared the training commitments of shops and shop operators to the many key performance metrics...
Nov 30, 2016•24 min
Grant Sunday, owner of Don’s Body Shop in Olathe, Kansas, has excelled in an area many business owners struggle finding the time to fill: philanthropy and grassroots marketing. And while any bit of philanthropy can benefit a business, Sunday is showing there are ways to get creative with your local efforts, from hosting Cub Scouts for building pinewood derby cars, to providing internships for local deaf students, to donating cars to the local fire academy. Sunday is proving that thinking outside...
Oct 31, 2016•18 min
Matt McDonnell, owner of Big Sky Collision and A&D Auto Body in Montana, discusses why his shop began performing routine vehicle scans, the challenges he's faced—and the victories.
Sep 30, 2016•33 min
2016 FenderBender Award Winner Kyle Wharff, owner of Ace Sullins CARSTAR, boasts industry-leading customer service numbers. His shop owns a 100 percent Net Promoter Score, 97 percent of customers come from repeat customers or referrals, 100 percent of customers report felt they were kept informed and received their vehicles on time, and there have been zero comebacks in 2016. And because Ace Sullins owned the top performing CSI scores at CARSTAR so many years in a row, Wharff was awarded the Esu...
Aug 31, 2016•17 min
It’s become both an important marketing component and a source of frustration for many small business owners: online reviews. While word of mouth referrals are of utmost importance, it’s getting to the point where you can no longer ignore online reviews, which, as surveys show, are becoming more and more important to consumers. Kevin Dean, president of Internet marketing agency WSI Net Advantage, breaks down strategies for building your online presence and how to turn any review—even a negative ...
Jul 28, 2016•21 min
Only 57 percent of single-location, independent repair shops routinely routinely track key performance indicators (KPIs), according to the just released 2016 FenderBender KPI Survey. And that’s compared to 89 percent of all other shops. MSOs, dealerships, franchises—they all track at a significantly higher rate. So, where, and why, are independent shops falling behind? What are the numbers that all shops, regardless of size or scale, should track? What can shop operators do to use these numbers ...
Jun 29, 2016•18 min
As the largest rental car provider in North America, Enterprise Rent-A-Car publishes its quarterly length of rental (LOR) data for the collision repair industry as a tool to help repair businesses increase operating efficiencies, enhance customer service and streamline communications with insurance companies and customers. Dan Friedman, assistant vice president of collision repair industry relations and sales at Enterprise, discusses the latest length-of-rental trends, what’s impacting those num...
May 31, 2016•19 min
Only two years after launching the collision repair program at Fayetteville Technical Community College in North Carolina, program director Paul Gage’s first graduating class will have a 100 percent placement rate—each student choosing between multiple job offers. The school is revolutionizing the method in which upcoming technicians are trained, and through its involvement with the military, has found a unique way to bring more, capable and motivated young people into the industry.
Apr 28, 2016•19 min
Kevin Rains, a FenderBender columnist, Cincinnati shop operator and collision industry consultant, offers a sneak peek into two sessions he’ll be leading at the FenderBender Management Conference Sept. 19–21 near Chicago. Both topics are areas of expertise for Rains, and areas in which he is always striving to improve: social media marketing and leadership. Hear what social media strategies stick for shops today, as well as what makes leaders effective.
Mar 31, 2016•17 min
A common gripe in the collision industry is that insurance companies are difficult to deal with. Wayne Griffin, a former quality assurance reinspector for Safeco, discusses how he plans to manage DRP relationships as the new director of operations for Walker’s Collision Repair, and how both sides can work together to improve relations overall.
Mar 01, 2016•23 min
