Shop Owner

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Providing expert collision repairs is in the blood 25-year-old shop owner
Having grown up in a family of entrepreneurial body shop owners, a youthful Shane Wanjon was independently finding his own way as an up-and-coming painter – working for a boss while further absorbing the intricacies of running a business. And when an industry buddy...
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Understand what’s leading to inefficient scheduling at your shop
What if there was a way to improve your shop’s performance – and possibly dramatically improve it – without making any capital investments or buying anything? What if there was a way to improve productivity and flow, relieve stress on your employees and...
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The importance of helpful feedback
My goal today is to provide insight on how to give and receive feedback in a way that allows you to grow and possibly most importantly, create a dynamic that establishes a relationship between you and your team members that will produce a synergy taking everyone, including...
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Is your customer service representative empowered?
How often do you think customers are rerouted to another person in your business? Is it always necessary?
I was in a collision center lobby waiting for the manager within earshot of the customer service representative (CSR). I listened to her answer the phone and within...
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Implement linear remanufacturing in your shop to improve profitability
A new standard for how collision shops operate is quickly taking over the industry. For a number of highly performing larger shops, it’s already here. It’s a new standard dictated by market demands, insurance company requirements and –...
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Improving your effective labor rate
Managing your effective labor rate is probably one of the best ways for a shop to increase its labor gross profit. The effective labor rate is calculated by dividing the dollar amount of labor sold by the number of hours charged for a repair. The most common labor rates in...
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Simple steps shops can take to help estimators improve
In last month's column, I wrote about the alarming lack of recent training most shop estimators have received, and some of the negative consequences that has for those businesses. 
It was by no means a shameless plug for the estimating training I offer. There are...
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Propositional logic can build better estimators
Words evoke thoughts and emotions. They are the reason we feel happy, agreeable, uncomfortable, confused or upset. But, why is that? This is because words create statements. Statements contain evidence that helps form a premise and make a conclusion. The premise and...
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Five tips to form stronger vendor relationships
Industry veteran Donald Harrison likes to tell the following story about how he learned one of the most important lessons of his career just several years before retiring. 
Early one morning he was waiting to check in a special customer—a long-time friend and the...
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Despite change, safe repairs need to remain the primary goal
“Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: The future can be better than the present. And I have the power to make it so,” said David Brooks, author, political and cultural commentator.  
It’s an exciting time in the collision...
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Tax changes could benefit shop owners
After months of sometimes raucous debate, the new tax bill passed the U.S. Congress last December. While it’s unclear exactly how some of the major changes made in the tax code will ultimately affect the economy, there are some clear benefits to be had for many body...
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Don't lose sight of business basics in this world of change
This is new to me. I’ve been asked to write a column, starting this issue, about what is important, impactful and what is happening in the world of MSOs. Let me think…there’s the changing rate of consolidation, increased risk of litigation and thus...
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Every collision repair shop needs an ACE tech
Does it feel like our industry is going through a great awakening in terms of embracing new vehicle technologies? There are Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS), safety systems and controls performing functions we never dreamed of. Most trade publications and industry...
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Quality control systems fail without enforcement from management
In the decades that I’ve been working with collision repair businesses, I have seen (and in some cases, helped develop) some excellent quality control programs. 
Too often, however, it isn’t the lack of such a program that comes back to haunt a collision...
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Do your team members know they can ask for help?
For years I spent my life doing everything I could to never ask for help. I am a strong, independent woman and in my mind, I saw myself less than the leader I thought people expected me to be if I voiced a need for help. Although, for some reason, I did not apply that same...
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