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John Shoemaker

Paint materials: Don’t confuse expense with cost
Paint material dollars can be measured by the price you pay on the jobber invoice – the expense – or the amount you use on a job – the cost. The problem with the expense is it’s difficult to realize the value. To see the value, you need to determine your cost per paint hour.
Documentation is key to communicating the collision repair process
Our job is to create one damage assessment that clearly describes the repairs needed and how the repairs must be performed. To accomplish that we must use the estimate line, line notes and photos to illustrate what is expected.
Careful repair planning improves work flow, reduces chaos
How many repairs are in the dead zone because they are waiting on a sublet vendor, the frame machine or mechanical work? This chaos can all be prevented through repair planning.
Documenting scan procedures is key to receiving equitable insurer payments
The problem insurers have is the documentation repairers provide for the scans, not the scans themselves. As I reviewed estimates, I saw very little documentation about the scans or the results.
Achieving repair shop profitability through careful parts control
Next to payroll, parts is a major recurring expense for a repair shop. Managing that expense is the key to keeping a shop profitable. The day you order the part versus when you use the part is a factor in profitability.
Are your estimators equipped to write a good estimate?
Many shop estimators don’t know more than the basic functions of their system. Others try to write an estimate squinting at a small screen requiring them to flip between windows to complete the estimate.
Service, collision repair training opportunities abound
Why can’t we get shops to train employees? That is where the conundrum comes in -- the training that the shops know they need becomes secondary to their immediate problems at hand.
How is work finding your auto body repair shop?
What is the average closing percentage of website leads for collision shops? I researched this and realized there are shops that do not know how the work they get in the shop is finding them, nor where new business is coming from.