Unnatural disasters far harder to stomach

Jan. 1, 2020

Tracking a disaster leaves a pit in your stomach. Fifteen years ago this month, as a fledgling reporter in rural Southeastern Indiana, I had the unfortunate task of covering a tornado’s aftermath—homes ripped from their foundations; power lines knocked out for weeks. I even found one family whose 14-year-old daughter had been pulled from the house and tossed across a 40-foot ravine. Amazingly, she survived with minor injuries. I was shocked by the willingness of everyone to talk about what happened—to have their photos taken and lives exposed.

In the collision repair industry last April, a twister of sorts ripped through California. M2 Automotive, based in Santa Monica, was forced by creditors to close its doors once M2’s deal with Caliber Collision Centers came crashing down. The move trapped 2,000 vehicles inside M2’s 27 locations for more than a week and forced liquidation of the outlets. At press time, 21 of the 27 M2 Collision Care Centers had been sold piecemeal via liquidation. More importantly, the collapse left 700 employees out of work and wondering what the hell just happened.

If you’re on our subscriber list for E-Pillar, our free e-newsletter that is e-mailed to readers every Tuesday and Friday, you had the chance to read breaking news on the M2 situation. What you didn’t see was the flood of e-mails we received from employees desperate for information and answers. “I am curious,” wrote one reader whose frustration and financial woes typified most writers, “if you have any information on who is holding the financial responsibility for M2 Collision. I have tried to find out but so far have come up short. I found out today that my paycheck for the weeks of March 28th to April 8th bounced due to insufficient funds. I lost $5,000 gross on that check plus $25 for a bounced check, as well as roughly $1,000 gross for the week of April 11th-April 15th…. I just recently acquired a house and am running into some financial troubles because of this.”

It’s hard to stomach natural disasters, but somehow they’re expected. You can’t really blame Mother Nature, so you take your lumps and move on. But with something like M2, the devastation is inexcusable. Counting on a paycheck to buy food, pay bills or purchase clothes for your kids is stressful enough. But to find out those wages aren’t coming, that you basically worked three weeks for free—that’s when vengeance kicks in.

If Hunt Ramsbottom, founder and chairman of the board for M2 Automotive, hasn’t felt the pain of a natural disaster, he’s about to feel the pain of one that’s manmade. There is no doubt attorneys are lining up to cast stones from all angles.

M2’s demise cut a swath through California not unlike the path left in the wake of a tornado on the Great Plains. But for shops nationwide, don’t be surprised if sweeping rules changes appear from insurers and vendors who don’t want to get burned again. Vendors may not be as liberal with their terms. Insurers won’t allow another debacle that traps their customers’ vehicles inside a shop for more than a week. There’s just too much money at stake for these segments to allow this type of unnatural calamity to repeat itself.

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