A few other shop owners and I were laughing recently about how some technicians' toolboxes are almost as big as apartments we've lived in. Techs understand the value of having the right tools close at hand to get a job done efficiently.
Everyone in the shop front office also needs the right set of tools. Here are some of the tools my estimators and office staff use to get their jobs done.
- The estimating guides or "P-pages." I'm still amazed at how many estimators haven't learned all the ins and outs of the estimating system they're using. To me, that's like trying to play a sport without having a good grasp of the rules. And shop estimators have to learn the rules of all three major estimating systems.
- The DEG is a great tool for estimators. Think a labor allowance in one of the estimating systems is out of line with reality? Find an incorrect part number in an estimating system? Got an insurance adjuster trying to tell you a certain operation is included in the time for another operation when you're confident that's not the case? Take five minutes to submit an inquiry via the DEG, which is jointly sponsored by three national collision repair trade groups, to get a response from the estimating system providers.
- Unsure what the laws in your state are regarding the use of non-OEM parts? Need to file a complaint with your state insurance regulator? Want a quick way to contact your members of Congress? Check out the Automotive Service Association (ASA) legislative website www.TakingTheHill.org.
Sign up at the site to be kept informed about legislative or regulatory issues impacting our industry, often with links to ready-to-sign letters that will be sent to your district's elected leaders.
- Industry consultant Mike Anderson offers lots of information and tools at no charge at his website, www.collisionadvice.com. Check out the "Blend Calculator" tool. Enter the base refinish time for a panel, and the spreadsheet calculates what (if any) labor allowance reduction is appropriate if spot painting within that panel. It's an effective tool to prove to yourself – or others – that the 50 percent reduction often pushed for generally has no basis in reality.
- In some cases where a tool doesn't exist for a particular job, you may need to build one yourself. Wisconsin shop owner Aaron Marshall, for example, was tired of insurance adjusters saying it wouldn't be necessary to blend a door when repairing a dent on an adjacent fender. Using information from his paint vendor, Marshall built a simple ruler-like tool that shows the minimum amount of space from a repaired area that would need to be feathered back and primed, and how much distance from that area would be required to blend a light or dark metallic.
- If you belong to the ASA, log into the members-only section of the association's website (www.asashop.org) to find many useful collision repair front-office tools. Download simple printouts of perpendicular black bars that you can hold next to a panel when photographing damage; the distorted reflection of the lines on the panel make the damage much more clear in the digital image.
There also are checklists of included and non-included items for refinish operations, and itemized comparisons of the steps necessary for use of a repaired or salvage part versus a new panel.
As shop owners, it's easy to focus just on what will make our production technicians more efficient. But it also pays to make sure our front office staff has tools to help them do their job better, too.
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