Meeting insurance company needs spells success for Oregon collision repair facilities
Perhaps the two most important trends in the collision repair business today are a growing emphasis on performance measurements and the increased influence of insurance companies. Although some body shop owners may long for what they perceive as the good old days before these changes, some shops are succeeding because they have found a way to embrace these trends.One such business is Auto Body Beautiful Fix Auto, which operates two shops in Portland and Beaverton, Oregon. Since 2002, the company has been affiliated with a nationwide network of independent body shops that uses modern communications and computer technology to monitor and improve each shop's performance and to enhance each shop's ability to work with insurance company direct repair programs.
"They have a dandy set of Internet-based management tools," notes Gil Messenger, who owns Auto Body Beautiful with his wife, Penny.
Using the tools provided by the network, Auto Body Beautiful can upload each estimate it writes to the body shop network over the Internet. In less than a minute, the estimate is returned with any recommended changes, such as key phrases to use in the estimate. "It gives us a delightful advantage in direct repair program compliance," says Messenger. "It used to be that insurance referrals were relationship-based, but that has switched to being performance-based."
The computer tools and connectivity also enable Auto Body Beautiful to obtain prompt feedback from its customers. When customers pick up a vehicle, their information is automatically sent to the network's call center, and within 24 hours, call center personnel attempt to contact each customer. Call center representatives ask six "yes" or "no" questions about whether customers were satisfied with various aspects of the repair, including quality, timing, and communication. If any question receives a "no" answer, the call center representative asks additional questions pertinent to that question. The information gathered in this fashion is then emailed to Auto Body Beautiful, which follows up immediately with the customer and, if appropriate, takes steps to correct any operational problems that caused the dissatisfaction.By following this procedure, Auto Body Beautiful has been able to increase its customer satisfaction index since it began participating in the program. In 2005, the Beaverton shop had the distinction of receiving the highest overall average score of any shop in the network—an average of 96.6 percent "yes" answers to all six questions for all of its customers.
Management tools such as these have strong appeal to insurance companies, notes Messenger, who gets about 70 percent of his business from the seven DRP programs in which he participates. Because the tools help ensure compliance and quality, he says, "DRP programs are eager to work with us."
Auto Body Beautiful, originally known as Beaverton Auto Rebuilders, began with a single location on its current site in Beaverton in 1958, and has experienced steady growth almost every year since. The founders were Messenger's in-laws, Bill and Marge Bartel, who sold the business to their daughter and son-in-law in 1984. Prior to that, neither Messenger nor his wife had worked in the collision repair business. But as Messenger explains, "We had a dream to be in business for ourselves and it seemed like a good opportunity."
With the help of Steve Weitman, who has managed at the company's two locations since 1988, Messenger was able to learn the business. Surprisingly, Messenger adds that, "A number of shop owners in the area were very kind and were willing to share their experience." Messenger also got some valuable insight on the business during the 1990s, when he participated in a 20 group sponsored by a key vendor.
Participation in that group was one of the factors that drove Messenger to open the second location in Portland in 1996. "We were maxing out the facility we had," he recalls. Recognizing that some of the owners in his 20 group had made the transition to a second facility helped give Messenger the confidence to make the same move. "In sharing with them and with the encouragement from the program consultants, it helped with the process of designing and occupying the new shop," he says.
Although the new shop was only about three miles away from the Beaverton shop, it was on a different freeway artery, enabling it to serve some different markets. Unlike the Beaverton location, which was in an area with a high concentration of automotive businesses, including competitive body shops, the Portland location—now known as Auto Body Beautiful Fix Auto Sunset—was the only shop in its vicinity. At three times the size of the Beaverton location, it grew quickly and now generates two-thirds of the company's business.Messenger began to build relationships with insurance agents during the late 1980s, when he regularly visited agents' offices to promote his business. The shop still has a marketing person on staff who makes those visits today, although Messenger notes that the agent's role in determining where cars are repaired has diminished. "Agents have less involvement compared to what they used to have, but they still have some influence," Messenger says.
Auto Body Beautiful also continues to help support agents today through a continuing education program, which the shop sponsors in cooperation with six other Portland area body shops that belong to the same body shop network. "We provide the training to the agents at no charge, but we do ask for a donation to a local children's hospital, " explains Messenger.
Like most successful body shop owners, Messenger relies on a strong staff to maintain the company's high customer satisfaction levels. "We hire good quality, long-term people," says Messenger. To illustrate, he points to Weitman and to Brent Euscher, a painter who has worked for the company since 1981.
"We hire people for their attitude, not just what they know," adds Messenger. Although technical skills can be taught, he says. "It's very difficult to train attitude."
To help retain good employees, Auto Body Beautiful offers benefits that Messenger says are "competitive or better." The company also pays for I-CAR training and is I-CAR Gold-certified at both locations.
Fortunately, the Beaverton and Portland areas continue to experience population growth. But Auto Body Beautiful is outpacing that growth, which indicates that its share of the market is growing. Sales this year are up 10 percent over last, and Messenger hopes to continue that strong trend into the future.
