Garage Buzz | Auto Service Shop, Collision Repair and Fleet Maintenance Resources

Precision Body & Paint is making a big difference in their local Oregon community by helping those who are less fortunate. All of the technicians and employees at the factory-certified collision repair service volunteered their time to repair two totaled vehicles donated by State Farm for two needy families.

These families are selected by two local charities, the YMCA and Volunteers of America for the Recycled Rides program. Recycled Rides, a nationwide community service project run by the National Auto Body Council (NABC), gives members the opportunity to give back to their local communities through repairing and donating recycled vehicles to those in need.

Precision Body & Paint took it a step further by collecting cash donations and purchasing complete assortments of new household items and furniture to fill the vehicles that were given to the selected families at their Beaverton location in December, 2010.

WURTH was proud to support the program through the donation of cutting wheels, grinding discs, seam sealers and an assortment of retainer clips, hardware and other body shop supplies.

About Precision Body & Paint

Voted the #1 Collision Business in 2009 and the #1 Finest Collision Repair Shop by Fender Bender in 2008, Precision Body & Paint has been providing high-quality collision repair services at their Oregon location in Beaverton for 36 years and have expanded to a second location in Bend in 2010.

They are the only Audi Certified repair shop in the state of Oregon, and their technicians undergo extensive training to ensure that all repairs meet Audi’s standards. Other certifications include all Volkswagen, Volvo, and Toyota vehicles, and their technicians continue to complete rigorous training and inspections with these manufactures to ensure that all repairs are done in accordance with safety standards.

Their mission is to provide consistent quality, fair-pricing and unsurpassed customer service, and they have a fleet of 25 free loaner cars for their customers. In an effort to give back to their local community, they partner with various local charities in addition to Recycled Rides, and participate in events for the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Hillsboro School district schools, the City of Beaverton Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce. They’re also a proud sponsor of Glencoe High School Athletics and are I-Car Gold certified.

The Precision Body & Paint facilities also do their part to be environmentally friendly and only utilize water born paint, in addition to recycling used antifreeze, Freon, motor oil, paint thinners and other waste materials.

Which WURTH products are their favorites? “Number One would be the NON-SAG Seam Sealer”, stated Customer Service Manager Julie Nimmo, “But we use a lot of WURTH products – Fix All, hardware, bulbs, Self-Etch Primer, Cavity Wax, Rubber Care and Rost Off would just name a few.”

You can find them on their Facebook fan page, and on their website at  http://www.precisionfirst.com/

An insurance trade group is challenging the constitutionality of the Rhode Island “Anti-Steering Act”, which states that an insurance company cannot recommend a particular auto repair or auto body shop after an accident.

According to the state’s 1997 Anti-Steering Act, “The insured or claimant shall be promptly informed by the insurer of his or her free choice in the selection of an auto body repair shop. Once the insured or claimant has advised the insurer that an auto body repair shop has been selected, the insurer may not recommend that a different auto body repair shop be selected to repair the automobile.”

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), which represents over 1,000 insurance companies, believes that when the insurance company is limited and isn’t able to give their customers information they want and need, it violates the 14th amendment and interferes with “commercial free speech.”  They also claim that the ban “interferes with the ability of the insurer not only to communicate with claimants generally, but also to communicate with their customers regarding repair options and benefits that they have paid for through insurance premiums, thereby unconstitutionally prohibiting truthful commercial speech related to a lawful activity.”

Whether the Anti-Steering Act will be retained or not remains to be seen.  A solution that would prevent insurance companies from limiting consumers free choices of repair shops that would also give them the ability to get accurate information from their insurance companies when they need it has not been determined.

Other References and Resources

Courthouse News

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/03/09/34763.htm   

RI Insurance Bulletin Number 2004-2

http://www.dbr.state.ri.us/documents/news/insurance/InsuranceBulletin2004-2.pdf

In one of our recent posts, Nine Ways to Keep Your Customers Coming Back, we covered the basics in establishing customer loyalty. Clean reception area, friendly staff, great service… all things that can make your shop stand out in your community. And all things that create the positive experience that keeps customers coming back for more (not to mention telling their friends to come along, too).

If you’re an auto service or repair shop owner, you know that the way customers perceive your business is key to building solid relationships and beating out the competition. Creating a positive customer experience is just as important as providing the quality repairs your customers expect. These days, the customer experience doesn’t end when the car drives away from the shop. In fact, in some cases it doesn’t even begin when they get to the shop. Successful shop owners know that more and more, the customer experience begins here. Online. With limited time and resources, one of the simplest ways to provide the service and convenience your customers expect is by having a website. Even if it’s just one page (though more would be better), having a presence on the world wide web will provide you with more opportunities for enhancing your local exposure to a larger customer base.

Fifty-eight percent of Americans go online to research products and services they are considering purchasing, according to a survey released in September, 2010 by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. That’s up from 49 percent in 2004. Keep in mind, that’s 58 percent of AMERICANS. Not Internet users. That’s nearly 180 MILLION people, based on 2010 census numbers.  If you don’t have a website, that’s a huge, untapped audience that you may be missing out on.

An effective website doesn’t have to cost a fortune these days . GoDaddy.com (the site Danica Patrick made famous) is offering domain names for as little as $12 a year. Throw in the hosting costs, which can be as little as $36 a year, and you could make a significant impact on your customer base for as little as $50 a year.  And most shop owners find that they get their return on investment quickly, since websites keep you engaged with your customers and double as an effective way to advertise your business and generate more clients.They don’t have to be a huge, daily undertaking, either. Even if you simply put up a few pages containing key information about your business, you’re way ahead of the game.

Nowadays, customers live in a world where they can turn to the internet for information, to make decisions, to do their banking, or to make purchases. Imagine the image your shop would have if your customers could book their service appointments online, view frequently asked questions, or print out coupons for their next visit.

Here are just a few ways you can put your website to work for your auto shop:

·         Collect Emails from your website for people to subscribe to newsletters or service reminders

·         Engage your customers with special service discounts or holiday promotions

·         Enable more new customers to find you when they’re searching for a service shop in your area on the internet (this provides more opportunities than you may think – more on this in a future blog post)

·         Retain a professional image and be able to communicate with your customers online

·         Process requests right away by including a service request form on your website

·         Save money on printing and postage costs by using your website as a catalog for your services

·         Allow your customers to download invoices or service estimates

·         If you sell products at your shop, you can offer them online

·         Set up email addresses specific to your web domain name to further strengthen your shop’s image

·         Gather important information by using online forms and surveys

Even if you incorporate just three, two or… even none of these suggestions – simply having an online presence can cost you little and offer you significant returns. See you online!

Additional Resources and References

Pew Internet Research – Online Product Research

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-Product-Research.aspx

Wikipedia – 2010 Census

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_United_States_Census