I recently took in an 03 Ford F-150 that was hit in the rear. The damage was severe enough that it requires a new bedside, tailgate, bumper assy., roll pan. etc. The problem that I am having is that there is a dent at the front of the bed that most people would not even notice. Because of the dent, insurance is deducting 10 hrs. for prior damage, half of refinish for betterment, even taking off betterment on edge time. There is also a 2.0 hr. dent on the opposite end of the tailgate that the adjuster has taken another 4.0 hours off, plus 50% betterment. The total being subtracted is approximately $2600.00. Now this has custom paint, all of which is in very good condition. The insurance company (American Family) that is pulling this nonsense is the ins. of the person that hit him. The adjuster went as far as taking 50% off the 60.00 bed cap, saying that if he would have fixed the dent in the front he would have had to take it off before. Now this seems idiotic to me and way out of line. How can they legally do this to this customer when it was the fault of the person that hit him? Can anyone please give me some advice on how to deal with this idiot and his unethical practices?
A shop owner has written to me about the following problem he’s having with Progressive.
He writes that during repairs on a Progressive claim, he asked the original adjuster for de-nib and polish labor prior to repairs. The adjuster responded, “I have to tell you our version. We are told to tell the shops we do not pay for that because your paint booth has the dirt in it.”
The shop owner popped the hood on the vehicle and pointed to debris in the vehicle. He “pointed out pine straw, leafs, dirt and debris in the cowling, inner fender area, hinges, engine area, wheel skirt and around the molds.” The shop owner asked the adjuster to take a picture and then asked for him to send a picture to his supervisor for a “case-by-case consideration.”
The owner received calls from two supervisors. In recorded conversations, he was told that it was his responsibility to clean out the car during the prep process and that Progressive was not going to pay for dirt in the paint to be de-nib and polished. He also was told that if he was ever paid for this work before, it was a mistake and Progressive would not pay for it again.
Here’s the owner’s main concern right now: When he asked for Progressive’s labor overview where his shop was paid to do this work, Progressive refused, saying again it was not a paid-for operation. He then noted what the industry says nib sanding (or de-nib) is defined as. He pointed to section 4-4 of the refinish guidelines of the Audatex Best practices guidelines manual 10/06, where it states that de-nib is “the removal of isolated dirt and dust particles, and polishing the affected area(s). Additional steps or processes that may be required should be considered during estimate preparation.”
Progressive isn’t budging on its stance.
We’re putting in a call to get Progressive’s response to this issue.
I also want to see if any of you are experiencing the same sort of problem with Progressive or another insurer. Do you get paid for this work? Have you had a Progressive adjuster or an adjuster from another insurer take a similar stance on de-nib and polish?
One of our readers recently contacted me regarding a plan he’s turning over in his mind to help take back some of his customers who are being steered into a large nearby DRP shop. His business has a number of repeat customers, but even those folks are being lost to the nearby shop.
His plan: He’s considering offering customers a 10 percent rebate off of labor costs from the insurer’s estimate.
I’d like some input from the rest of you. Cutting revenues as a way to gain business is a risky move. At the same time, that’s exactly what shops agree to do when they become part of a DRP.
This owner is fighting fire with fire. He wants to take the same steps to get lost business back into his shop.
Do you agree with his plan? Is there some advice or other action you’d recommend?
I was reading today in the current issue of the MACS (Mobile Air Conditioning Society) publication, ACtion, about a recent "sting" conducted in California. Perhaps "sting" isn't the right word...I guess it depends on what side of the operation you were standing.
Anyway, a vehicle A/C system was "bugged". Simple bugs though, one of two scenarios. In one, the system was entirely empty of refrigerant and in the second, the system was severely undercharged. Over 40 shops were presented with the car, and the results were rather disappointing. Here are a few of the actions caught by the testers:
*Techs vented refrigerant to the atmosphere by physically depressing the test port Schrader valves.
*Techs diagnosed the system as needing major repair
*Techs recharged the system with gauges and a source tank only...no scale was used.
*Techs recharged the system without proper evacuation before hand, and without vacuuming the system down. This occurred even when the techs had access to an R/R/R machine.
*Techs "topped off" the system with small, DIYer type containers of refrigerant.
Recently, there was a discussion of how tough some of us have it as "professional" technicians...not being paid what we're worth or treated with the respect we deserve for the time and money we've invested. I won't disagree with that, but how are we viewed by the consumer? And with cases like these, how can we blame the consumer for their opinion of us?
Hey, before you all start blasting, I'll be the first to say there are a lot more "good guys" out there than there are "bad guys". The problem is it only takes a few of them to effect the rest of us. How do we get rid of that impact?
Others in the industry have suggested professional licensing as the answer, much like other professional craftsmen have to be licensed. Personally, I think that's a good idea. In my little corner of the world, anyone who owns a few hand tools can call himself a mechanic. But should that licensing be implemented by those in the industry or by the government? A few locales here in Florida already require licensing of the shop, but as I understand it those working there do not have to meet any specific requirements to do so. Correct me if I'm wrong...
Now add in the complexity of the modern automobile. What are the safety implications of allowing those not qualified to do so, work on these high tech vehicles? Of course, the shop involved in such a scene would likely go under defending the lawsuit to follow. But the damage to OUR reputations is just as significant, isn't it?
If we want to change the consumer's view of us as a profession, I think we need to police our profession. Several prominent industry members have voiced similar opinions...even tried to start such a program on their own...and have not exactly gotten a lot of support for their trouble. If that is the attitude that we, as a profession, continue to maintain, then we individually will have no right to complain.
I don’t think that I ask for a lot as a repair shop customer.
But when I pulled up to the shop that had worked on my car in the past for my appointment for new tires this morning, I was livid.
The shop had moved. Moved! And no one bothered to say anything when I made my appointment.
When I walked into my garage Sunday morning, I realized my back driver’s side tire was flat. I had a flat tire once before and went to a shop recommended to me by family members after we moved to the area. That trip was an OK experience. I also brought my car to this shop about a year or so ago for some work when I had an awful squeaking noise.
I thought I had something stuck in a wheel well, because the noise was prominent when I turned, so I came to this shop (which does more than just tire work). They told me I needed new brake rotors.
After they did that and the noise still was creaking along, I took it the shop I normally go to for maintenance. Turns out I didn’t need anything done to my brakes; rather a tie rod was rusted nearly all the way through. They showed it to me and I have no idea how I was still moving along.
But back to my experience this morning. So I called the shop first thing Monday morning to get the car in for four new tires, which I needed anyway. They could get me in Tuesday morning. So I arranged for some time away from work and to switch cars back around with my fiancé.
I drove up to the shop, about 15 minutes from my house and thought it was odd that there were no other cars there. I was about 10 minutes early for my appointment, so I pulled in, parked, walked by the big bay doors and only then saw the sign on a piece of computer paper.
The shop had merged with its second location in a town about 15 minutes further away.
Nevermind the large sign is still standing 20 feet in the air along the road. Or when I looked up the phone number and called it for the location I always had gone to, they answered (they’d had it forward to this other shop, I learned). But never once was it mentioned that the location merged with the second one.
I was livid.
So I called the number on the small piece of paper posted to the bay door to get directions to the other location. The man who answered the phone did sound surprised when I said that no one had told me when I called to schedule the appointment.
I don’t come to this shop every three months or anything for an oil change or other service; I just have my tire work done here. But I’m in their computer system and they could clearly see that I had been in there about a year or so prior to this for that squeaking. Wouldn’t it make sense to say, “Please remember that we’re at the second location only now.”
The rest of the experience wasn’t any better, starting with the service writer who made a snide comment when I finally got to the shop, followed by the the techs walking into the waiting area for water with uniform pants and “wife beater” undershirts on and ending with me never OK’ing the work to be done on my car. They just did it, never reviewing with me what they were about to do. Real professional.
I really don’t think I ask for a lot when I bring my car in for repair or maintenance. But at least tell me if you move locations! And, by the way, don’t tell me that I “should’ve known” that. No, keeping track of you isn’t my job. I’m your customer, keep track of me.
So in the mean time, I’m now looking for a new tire shop.
Im a body tech that has been in the business for almost twenty yrs. i went to wyoming tech and got an associates degree in bussiness. after school i started my journey in the career i thought i would retire doing. its now almost 2010 and i find myself out of work again due to the shop having to close its doors. i havent found too many shops that promise retirement let alone health benifits that are affordible. ive worked for some big shops and dealerships as well as the small mom and pop shops. for one reason or another i found myself working with the same bunch of guys in the area through different shops and meeting up again in another. the economy is hurting everyone and everybody is looking to cut cost and get by with a minimum number of techs. i pride myself on striving to make the next job better than the one before only to be told that things are tight and work isnt coming in the door. this is very discourageing knowing that when i started there was a shop on every corner looking to hire me because there was so much work and they were in dire need of a good tech.two of the shops i stayed in were almost 6 yrs each. both of witch are now closed. most recently this last shop i was in was only four years before he had to close the doors. in my job search today there is nobody looking to hire right now. exspecilly somone with the experiance i have. they just need a lacky. is because i have all the experiance to rebuild a car start to finish my down fall in this bussiness? is the economy this hurt that everyone geting into an accident needs to take the money and run? how can i find the shop that is going to keep in bussiness long enough to bring me to retirement? or is this truly the end and now my passion for rebuilding cars has become my weekend hobby?
One topic that seems to come up quite a bit is "How do we charge for diag time?"
This includes any sort of diagnosis that is going to take more than a simple visual inspection. Some drivability and electrical issues can become quite involved, and take a lot of time to isolate...especially if it's your first time on that particular problem or vehicle. After all, you have a lot more homework to do. Then there are the tools you need to diagnose these problems, none of which are cheap.
Experience certainly plays a role as well. An experienced tech should be able to find the problem faster. But then, do you charge less time to the customer? A new tech may spend all day finding what turns out to be a simple fault. Do you charge the customer 8 hours? In each case, how do you pay your tech? Should the experienced guy get paid less time than the new guy? Should the new guy be penalized for being new?
My shop, and most of the ones I've worked for in the past, charged 1 hour at the shop rate, and paid 1 hour flat rate. How does that apply when the original complaint is "The MIL light is on", and you pull half a dozen codes that may or may not be related. What if, during your diagnostic process, you determine that it is necessary to measure engine compression on a motor that requires plenum removal to access the rear bank? How do we justify the need for additional time to the customer? It seems to me that too many customers still think of us as "grease monkeys" and don't understand the skills it takes to repair today's cars. They have no problem spending $20K or more to buy it, but heaven forbid the repair costs more than $50!
One story I heard a long time ago is applicable to this discussion. It goes something like this:
A young man is driving across the desert when his car starts running rough. There is no sign of civilization as he continues down the highway, praying the car will make it to his destination and not leave him stranded in the middle of nowhere. Several miles along, the car is still running rough, and the young man is getting worried that he may be stuck in the middle of the desert over night. As he crests a small ridge, he sees an old shack with two gas pumps out front on the side of the highway. Thanking God for his good fortune, he prays there is a mechanic there.
He pulls up to the shack and sees an older man, rocking in his rocker and sipping lemonade. The young man gets out of the car, and says, "Excuse me, sir...is there someone here who can help me with my car?"
The old man rises, and offers to take a look. He first listens to the engine idling, then opens the hood...looking first to the left then to the right. "I'll be right back", he says, and heads off to his garage. He returns momentarily with a small hammer in hand, leans over the engine and makes a light "tap" somewhere near the firewall.
The engine immediately runs as smooth as silk.
The young man is ecstatic that the repair was so simple. He asks the older man, "How much do I owe you?"
Without batting an eye, the old man responds, "That'll be $89.99."
"WHAT!", exclaims the young man. "90 bucks for hitting it with a hammer!?"
"No son, it's 99 cents for the hammer tap...and $89 for knowing WHERE to tap it."
I earn my living with my mind and my hands. I am a trained professional like any other. So what is the answer? How do you handle this in your shop? How do we get paid fairly for what we know, for our experience, and justify it to our customers?
I received a phone call recently from a reader who is having problems with Allstate’s policy on refinishing panels. The reader has more than 25 years of experience in the collision repair industry, all in the same southeast U.S. market.
He complained that Allstate is arbitrarily cutting refinish times on panels, often paying one-third or less of what he is entitled to according to the information provider (IP) databases.
“They take refinish times out of the IP databases and use a blend mate, which is a chart developed by Tech-Cor, (a research and development arm of Allstate) to arbitrarily say they will only pay 35 percent of the paint time,” he says. “The theory is that by not extending the base coat over the full panel, they are paying full clear coat time. But clear coat time is based on having the panel ready to paint.”
The majority of the time spent refinishing a panel is on prep work, not painting. More than 50 percent of time is dedicated to making the panel ready to paint.
“They are ignoring everything you have to do to apply the base,” he says. “They are cutting that time by the same percentage, which does not recognize that the biggest part of it is the prep time. Then they cut the entire refinish time by 50 percent.”
The actual spraying time is a very small part of the total refinish time. To do the job right, you have to do the whole panel, he said. But Allstate throws out the labor guide times from the IPs.
“They have no scientific basis for this,” he says. “Repair time requires full refinish time, but they arbitrarily cut the full refinish time.”
Allstate has been doing this for about 1.5 years, but things are worse now than before, he said.
“It used to be that they would back off this policy if you challenged them, but that’s no longer the case,” he says. “Now they are less willing to pay the full refinish time. In some cases they arbitrarily offer 1.3 hours instead of the four hours called for in the IPs. In the past five years, this has deteriorated to where it’s difficult to do business with them. Progressive used to do this, but they backed off it. Now our big problem is with Allstate.”
Although he is not a member of Allstate’s direct repair program, he said he thinks that this policy affects both DRP and non-DRP shops. He asked me to keep his identity confidential and also to ask other repairers if they are experiencing this same issue with Allstate. And if they are, how are you dealing with it? Are you being paid fairly for your refinishing work with Allstate? How do you handle this situation in your market?
I took my car into the shop the other day for an oil change. When I handed my keys over to the service writer, he asked me if there was anything else I wanted done to my car.
“Could you check my tire pressure? I think my left front tire is leaking, but I’m not positive,” I said.
“No problem. We do that with every oil change,” he told me.
Great. So, I’ll get the oil changed, my tires checked and I figured they’d probably check other fluid levels based on previous visits. I went to the waiting area and started reading my book.
A little while later, the service writer came and got me, telling me I was all set. He walked through the order with me and telling my what they did (and that no, my tire wasn’t leaking…yay!). I was kind of surprised that the hadn’t come out sooner to talk about other maintenance to my car. It has just a shade under 107,000 miles on it, but still is in good condition. But nothing was ever mentioned to me about doing any other work.
The one thing he said was that my tires were starting to look worn and I would need to replace them soon.
But that I was it. I thanked him, and he walked back into the service area, leaving me to pay my bill. While I was paying, I couldn’t help but think that he missed out on an opportunity. He didn’t try to upsell me on anything.
I am positive that I never would have thought about this had I not been in tune with the industry. But what about all the other customers just like me who walk in for a simple oil change? Are shops and dealerships becoming more concerned with losing their customers? Is the current economy making them think that any business is good business, and don’t push too hard or you might scare the customer away?
That is the only reason I could think of that made any sense. I just was really surprised that this service writer — who has been there since I started taking my car there several years ago — didn’t try to sell me anything else.
The folks at Finish Line Collision and Customs in Redding, Calif. made my day on Wednesday when they sent over this photo of an effort they’re undertaking to combat insurer steering.
Check out this photo.
What I like about this is that they’re taking their message to the consumer, something more shops should do. And they’re doing so in a memorable way that’s sure to stick in the minds of motorists who drive by the shop and customers stopping in for service.
We really need to get more shops to sign on to consumer education efforts like this. Are any of you doing something similar to combat steering? Are you making anti-steering education a part of your interaction with customers?
To define Cycle Time (CT) I must first state that Cycle Time is often perceived in two measures, production biased and customer biased.
DEFINITION:
Production Biased Cycle Time: The average number of calendar days elapsed from the date the vehicle was received at your business, to the date the repairs were completed.
Formula: Date Received / Repairs Completed
Customer Biased Cycle Time: The average number of calendar days elapsed from the date the vehicle was received at your business, to the date the customer took delivery. This is also commonly referred to as keys-to-keys.
Formula: Date Received / Date Delivered
Production CT is the traditional (read: “old school”) method of calculating the average calendar days for auto repairs. Since a shop cannot control when a customer will take delivery of their vehicle, this method calculates the part of the repair cycle a repair shop has most control over. Or so it seems – read on. This is a key measure for KPI management.
Customer CT is a more contemporary measure, and one that, when managed well, is more focused on the vehicle owner receiving a positive customer experience. Managing this measure has a direct impact on CSI.From an insurance perspective, this measure also has a direct impact on loss-of-use (LOU) severity (insurance lingo for rental expense) as well as having a proportional, although indirect impact on bodily injury severity. In a nutshell – this is the Cycle Time measure both the customer and insurer “feel” and is most important to control.
So which measurement should you use? I say measure both!
Analyzing the variance in Cycle Time between Production and Customer biased formulas could target process waste in your business that you can eliminate and be working more “lean.” More specifically (in LEAN terms), it could identify SMED waste – the time wasted in between jobs; like ending one job and getting onto another – or processes, like the transition from a quarter panel repair to door-skin replacement. When analyzing the differences you should ask yourself, “Could we have done anything differently to get the customer back into their vehicle sooner?” Often the answer is yes. Here are some ideas you could use to cut Cycle Time: blueprinting repairs, change from the in-Monday/out-Friday schedule madness, proper technician allocation, transparent SOPs, deliver the car to the customer’s home or work (drive or tow), pick up the customer at home or work, open early or stay open late on advertised day(s) of the week, or change how you schedule the intake of vehicles. These KPIs are easiest to measure when working with a management system. Ed Rachwal from Designer Systems confirmed Cycle Time could be easily measured on Mitchell ABS and ABSe. For businesses operating without a management system, these measures have been difficult to calculate. Autobody Consulting Group has copyrighted tools enabling their clients to measure and manage these most important KPIs.
Managing Cycle Time effectively is a great way to increase CSI, and being proactive in marketing your Cycle Time ratio to prospective or existing business partners just might bring more cars to your door, too!
You are not alone in setting repair Cycle Time expectations. Here is an interesting story about CT from a different perspective. Not too long ago while in a meeting with a major Massachusetts insurer, Cycle Time was the very topic of concern with several of my clients. At some point it became apparent to me that the insurer never looked inward at their systems to see if they had any control of cycle time. “And why would they,” you ask? (Funny – they asked the same thing).
Knowing what I know of the process, I had a hunch the insurance company had some (albeit, to a small degree) influence on setting the initial CT expectation with the vehicle owner and rental company. Here is what I noted - when an insurance adjuster receives a damage analysis report from a staff appraiser or repairer (network or otherwise), they do the same math to calculate rental days as most body shops do to rough-calculate the anticipated repair days [total hours ÷ some number = expected rental days]. Armed with this information the adjuster simply informs the vehicle owner of the number of days the rental vehicle is covered for, often adding a day for good measure. In doing so the seed is planted with the vehicle owner of the perceived repair cycle time!
After hearing this scenario, the insurer admitted they never looked at the process from this perspective and assured us they will evaluate it in the near future. What I haven’t told you yet was that the time of these extraordinary cycle time lapses coincided with some of the worst weather this area had experienced. In this case the cycle-time “perception,” being set by the claim adjuster didn’t account for the extraordinary increase in claim volume my clients were dealing with – indeed, an honest oversight.
Let’s be realistic. Insurance companies are huge and nothing happens fast, so nobody’s holding their breath for this change to occur. However, having a broader understanding of the process will make all parties work a little smarter in the future.
I have a customer with a2002 Chevy Trailblazer ,in service date 6/02, 60k on it, with a code p0606 Internal ECM failure,sent the customer to the dealer where it was purchased used 2 yrs ago. since I felt it was under warranty The dealer service manager states that the ECM is not covered for 8yrs, 80k. He is saying the warranty is reffering to an emission control module, not the engine control module. I will call the dealer that I purchase parts rom to see if I can help the customer out. Not sure if they are going to want to chare for a diagnosis,although I feel this should be covered also. No wonder people have nothing nice to say about dealers.
This is my first post ever on any of the industries websites, but it is TIME to make a stand. A couple of years ago, we were on Progressive's DRP program. The first six months (honeymoon period) seemed like it would really work out. Then came the push, from up the ladder, to cut here and then there. It started with finding more and more used or A/M parts from wherever. We might have a list of six different suppliers on an estimate. I don't know about the rest of you, but I try to establish my business with people that are close by and can service my needs more readily. Then there was the "Blend within panel" which we are discussing now. The end came with them wanting to as they said "Burn the clear in" on a black Buick Regal quarter sail panel which was 8 inches wide. I supplied literature from 5 major paint companies and the GM Warranty manual which stated that basically this was an unwarrantable repair that will fail. Progressive's "young" brain washed supervisor stated (with my secretary listening and witnessing) that they would not pay for clearing to the nearest breaking point (roof rail & windshield pillar). When I told him they were in breach of contract to return vehicle to "Pre-accident" condition & should be turned in to the Kansas Insurance Commision, he said, and I quote "Do you think the State of Kansas can do anything to us ?". He was right, the State of Kansas did not, but, through 5 years of bottom ratings Progressive has started to turn around on some issues. Mind you, I said "started". Now here we are with other companies (IE Allstate, Farmers, Nationwide & etc...) picking up on another way to shortcut us. I come from a painter background, and can tell you, matter of factly, that it takes longer to blend a panel than to refinish it completely. I challenge any insurance adjustor to put his or her work clothes on with me, come to my shop, and do some prepping and painting. We ran into this with Allstate recently and took care of it in a way that worked well for us. I spent a few minutes composing a simple "Financial Responsibility" form which I had the customer sign after explaining to them why. It basically works just like any health care financial form would. How many times have you or a family member been to the doctor or hospital and then been billed for the portion your health insurance did not pay ?? Same thing here. When I called the Allstate adjustor, he started that song & dance routine, but when I read this form off and told him it was developed that day due to their new practice, he immediately started back peddling. Everything I asked for was in the mail the next day. I use that form often now and have not had one negative word from a customer. They sign these frequently for health care and are used to it. Most auto insurance companies do not want that negative of the customer having to come out of pocket for more than a deductible or betterment. If we don't hold our ground, this will take hold just like the 50% for color match blending panels, the multiple discounts on glass and etc... PLEASE, stand up for a fair profit on this and also the paint & materials caps/thresholds. For those who won't, there is no saving you. You will think these companies are your buddies and will filter all kinds of work volume to you (like Progressive did for us) when in reality, you are digging yourselves a deeper hole. There, I vented a little and feel better for it !!!
The fortunate guy that removed the spark plugs in the photo above was impelled to post the picture of them still intact, MANY others aren't so lucky. This article are for those of you that haven't heard about the problem of broken spark plugs, that break upon removal on some 5.4's. Many unsuspecting shops and truck owners are finding out the hard way, that the spark plugs can break upon removal on some 2004 or newer Ford 5.4 engines. I thought I would mention what we have found to be the best method for removal. First a little history. A couple of years ago, all we had to offer our customers was a Rotunda 303-1203 specialty tool designed by Ford to remove broken spark plugs. The problem (besides the expense of a couple of hundred dollars) was that the tool did nothing about the issue of removing the broken section of porcelain, so that the tool could be used to remove the electrode shield. I would get calls from our customers after they received the Rotunda 303-1203 to ask how to remove the porcelain. At the time the best method seemed to be chipping away at it for half the day until all of the small pieces could be removed with a shop vac. Not a very efficient method. Then Ford introduced a new tool that had "one time use pins" that were loc-tited into the center of the porcelain (where the electrode normally is) and then pulled out. Then and only then, the tool could be used to remove the stuck electrode shield. The Rotunda porcelain remover was so expensive when it was first introduced (around $600) that we refused to sell it!
A Better Solution
Since then Calvan thankfully came out with a couple of copies of those Rotunda specialty tools. We have sold a ton of those, saving our customers a lot of money. Both Calvan tools can be purchased for around $75. The Calvan tools use the same method of removing the porcelain and electrode sleeve as the Rotunda tools do. After-all they are copies of those tools. More recently though, Lisle has developed a tool for around the same cost (around $75) that has quickly became our best seller for removing broken spark plugs. I've used this tool myself and took pictures of it in use. This tool uses a different method than removing the porcelain, instead it pushes the porcelain down further (without the porcelain going into the cylinder) so that the second part of the tool can be used to self tap into the spark plug's electrode shield for removal. I was first hesitant to recommend this tool, but it has had all positive feedback from our customers. including some Ford dealerships that prefer this method over the use of the Rotunda tools.
I have a confession. I went back to the tire place I swore I’d never go back to again.
Yeah. My protest didn’t last long.
I was on my way to my in-laws to pick up my car and drop my fiance’s off when my phone beeped with a text message from my brother-in-law.
“Your tire’s leaking real bad.”
Not at all what I wanted to see on a morning filled with errands in preparation to go back across the state to my parents for Father’s Day. So I really am not surprised looking back that I just about hit the roof; these tires are not that old! So while my brother-in-law was filling my tire so I could safely get to a service center, I contemplated going somewhere else to have my tire fixed. My first thought was the Firestone place that I would drive by on my way to the shop where I bought the tires. But because the tires aren’t old and I was not in the mood to pay for them again, I went back to the first place.
I called the shop and asked if they could get me in yet that morning, and thankfully the guy I spoke with said yes. So I drove clear out to this other location (because remember, the one close to me had closed – at least I knew that going into this visit). This time, instead of the service advisor who didn’t know what type of tires he should recommend for my car I dealt with the service manager. He was much nicer.
They took my car in, and within about 25 minutes, they had pulled the ¾-inch screw out of the tire, patched it, refilled it and balanced all four tires. All at no charge and at no mention of that warranty they sold me that I didn’t really want.
This trip was a much better experience, especially since it was not on my laundry list of things to get done Saturday morning. However, I’m still not sold on going back there for another set of tires.
To what lengths do you go to retain customers or to keep them from leaving when you know they’re not happy?
Let's face it...being a professional auto repair technician today requires a lot.
First, and most obvious, is the cost of tools and diagnostic equipment. Looking over my own toolbox, the amount of money invested within is about the same amount of money I paid for my house!
How about the skill sets we need? We have to have a working knowledge of thermal dynamics, fluid dynamics, electrical theory, computer design and networking...you get the idea.
Closer to home, the work itself can punish a human body. Much of the work is heavy, and often done at awkward angles even with safety in mind. Backs, knees, hands...all take their share of punishment. Ever notice blood drops on the valve cover you're leaning over and asking yourself "Who's bleeding?" I have. That's how used to minor cuts and scraps you can get.
So why do we do this? I mean, if it's the satisfaction of fixing something, fix appliances or computers or office printers. The tool investment is significantly less and you'll work in the A/C most of the time.
For me, it's the love of the patient. I love fixing cars. I especially love fixing a problem that others have tried to fix and couldn't. I love the mental challenge of learning all this new technology, and applying that information to the problem in my bay. I love the little techno goodies that make my diagnostic time more efficient, and I love learning how to use them to their fullest. (A practice, I must admit, I'm always working on.) I love helping my customers maintain reliable, and SAFE, transportation. And even though most of my time, like yours, is spent on routine stuff, and it is the same stuff I've been doing for well over 30 years, I STILL LOVE WHAT I DO.
Personally, I only played around at hot rodding when I was young but I'm willing to bet most of you did. Because you're turning a wrench for a living for the same reasons.
I love cars. I love fixing them. I am good at it, and getting better. But being a tech in this economy and this city (El Miami) is an absolute nightmare. You cannot survive if you are even 50% honest. The "supertechs" that are making good money and are liked by the advisors, managers and owners are all very dishonest. They have skills and experience, but they use it to lie better and cover their behinds. techs get a bad reputation and it is extremely stressful, dangerous and difficult to make a living. So what should I do?
-move to another city
-move to another country
- become an advisor / writer / parts person / manager
-get out of the business
-keep suffering because working on cars is the only thing that makes me happy and at least I will continue to gain experience
This 2000 Ford Escort was towed in, unable to start. Piece of cake, I thought, as I walked out to the car, jump box in hand. The first symptom I noticed was unusual though...the MIL was on, dimly, even with the key in my hand.
I verifed the complaint by attempting to start the engine. Nothing...no power to any system in the car that I could see. I popped the hood and hooked up the jumper, and tried again.
Still nothing.
OK, not likely just a battery issue. I gathered up some help, and pushed the car into the shop for a closer look.
The dim MIL, even with the key out of the car, bugged me. I tested the battery and it passed with flying colors. Next step was to check the fuses since the main junction box is right next door. The next clue was power at both headlight fuses...12.6 volts on one side of each fuse, and 11.6 volts on the other side. Actually, in hindsight, this was two clues. A 1.0 volt difference from side to side, and power on a fuse that is only "on" when the headlights are on. And they weren't.
With the key on, the MIL regained its normal illumination. But that was it. No dash lights, no instrument function, no radio, power windows, nothing.
OK, so why was there power at the headlight fuses? I must be dealing with a problem in the main power feed to the car...between the battery and the ignition maybe. Let's unplug the ignition and see what happens.
Still have power at the headlight fuses.
Now I'm getting a case of "tunnel vision" and start unplugging connectors from the fuse box thinking there is some type of short to power there. From the schematics, I thought that was the only common link left. First, I removed the headlight relay...the source of power to the fuses...and the fuses were still hot. I opened up the fuse block to look for visual damage and found none. Time to walk away for awhile and rethink things.
My decision? Get back to basics. It was in for a "no start" complaint, and that means starting with the battery. I had already tested the battery itself, and found it fully functional. Next step was to test for voltage drop, and considering I saw this:
checking the ground side first sounded like a reasonable next step. I turned the headlights on to get current flowing, and measured 2.65v drop between the negative battery post and the cable just behind this "universal" clamp! Removing the cable from the clamp it was easy to see the reason for the replacement terminal...corrosion on the wiring was obvious. I trimmed some back, and reconnected to see if I was on the right track. With the headlights on, there was no more drop across the terminal, but the problem remained.
OK, let's go all the way to the load and check again. Using the left side headlight as my test point, I measured 1.54v drop between the headlight ground pin and the battery post. Tracing back, I continued to measure this drop all the way up to the battery ground cable attachment point just at the firewall on the left side of the engine compartment. The ground cable on the Escort actually attaches to ground at two points on the one cable, with these two contacts in series with each other.
Looking closely, I could see a deformation in the insulation between this point and the battery terminal. Just past this point, on the battery side, drop returned to 0.0v. For testing, I cut the cable past this point and retested. No more drop. Now for the real test.
The dim MIL was gone. I was rewarded with full power when I turned the key on, and the car started normally and ran smooth. For giggles, I cut back the insulation at the deformation and saw this:
This photo is of exactly what I saw. The corrosion that caused the failed terminal traveled well up the cable and actually chewed through most of the strands.
I was asked to Design, Build and Market a website that provided resources about Automotive education. The design of the site went well. Building it was easy. I am now at the stage of writing content for Auto Schools, Diesel Schools, Motorcycle Schools,Truck Driving Schools and more. This is where it gets challenging. I noticed while researching Automotive Colleges and Trade Schools in general, that everyone writes the same content. This is so frustrating because my Auto Industry Resouces should be bountiful.
So I am calling out to All the Autophiles. Give me some good resources. Automotive education is very important and so is finding the right auto school. I also need to write blog after blog about the Auto industry. I need topics. I am finding that I am learning a lot about Auto Schools but I guess I want some interesting topics for the blog. Who is an auto mechanic or auto technician. Maybe find some people that attended auto technician school and about their journey on choosing the write automotive mechanic college. Tales of a Truck Driver, Working on Aircraft, Diesel or Marine Mechanics. I would love some input!
P.S. if you haven't guessed by now, I am a girl, and I must admit, I don't work on a lot of cars, or do a lot of auto mechanics etc. Funny I should be writing about Car Technology etc., but I am up for the challenge!
Sometimes I just bust myself up! Anyway...on to the tale...
This is a Saab 9-5 our shop had for sale. Prior to putting it on the lot, my boss wanted me to repair the missing back up lamp he said it had. So I turned on the key, and put it in reverse.
Sure enough, there was no light lit on the left rear. No sweat, likely a bulb...so I pop the trunk, access the bulb and remove the old one for a visual. Looks OK, but I've been fooled before so what the heck...let's throw one in.
Light still doesn't work.
OK, so it won't be easy. I grab my PowerProbe 3 out of the tool box, and hook up to the battery. With the right rear still on, I look for power and ground at the left rear socket. No power at either wire. I've seen this before...right where the lid harness passes out of the lid, through a rubber shield, and into the body...common area for damaged wiring! Now to verify my suspicions. Let's look to see if there is power on that wire on the body side of the harness. Hmmm, no power there either? Never seen a spliced in supply THAT far from the sister load? Oh well, guess I HAVE to pull the schematic now...
Interesting! The schematic only shows ONE back up lamp on this model! Hmmmmmm...wonder what the bulb I have in my hand is for? Come to think of it, the lens on this side IS pretty red for a back up lens.
And it does work with the right switch turned on...
It turns out that the left rear bulb is a "rear fog lamp", and has its own switch just below the main lighting switch on the dash. I guess it allows one bright light to stay on in the back in heavy weather/fog to improve the vehicle's visibility. But it was a new one on me!
Blog Posts With the Most Comments
Ins. adjuster antics are getti
I recently took in an 03 Ford F-150 that was hit in the rear. The damage was severe enough that it requires a new bedside, tailgate, bumper assy., roll pan. etc. The problem that I am having is that there is a dent at the front of the bed that most people would not even notice. Because of the dent, insurance is deducting 10 hrs. for prior damage, half of refinish for betterment, even taking off betterment on edge time. There is also a 2.0 hr. dent on the opposite end of the tailgate that the adjuster has taken another 4.0 hours off, plus 50% betterment. The total being subtracted is approximately $2600.00. Now this has custom paint, all of which is in very good condition. The insurance company (American Family) that is pulling this nonsense is the ins. of the person that hit him. The adjuster went as far as taking 50% off the 60.00 bed cap, saying that if he would have fixed the dent in the front he would have had to take it off before. Now this seems idiotic to me and way out of line. How can they legally do this to this customer when it was the fault of the person that hit him? Can anyone please give me some advice on how to deal with this idiot and his unethical practices?
Is Progressive redefining de-n
A shop owner has written to me about the following problem he’s having with Progressive.
He writes that during repairs on a Progressive claim, he asked the original adjuster for de-nib and polish labor prior to repairs. The adjuster responded, “I have to tell you our version. We are told to tell the shops we do not pay for that because your paint booth has the dirt in it.”
The shop owner popped the hood on the vehicle and pointed to debris in the vehicle. He “pointed out pine straw, leafs, dirt and debris in the cowling, inner fender area, hinges, engine area, wheel skirt and around the molds.” The shop owner asked the adjuster to take a picture and then asked for him to send a picture to his supervisor for a “case-by-case consideration.”
The owner received calls from two supervisors. In recorded conversations, he was told that it was his responsibility to clean out the car during the prep process and that Progressive was not going to pay for dirt in the paint to be de-nib and polished. He also was told that if he was ever paid for this work before, it was a mistake and Progressive would not pay for it again.
Here’s the owner’s main concern right now: When he asked for Progressive’s labor overview where his shop was paid to do this work, Progressive refused, saying again it was not a paid-for operation. He then noted what the industry says nib sanding (or de-nib) is defined as. He pointed to section 4-4 of the refinish guidelines of the Audatex Best practices guidelines manual 10/06, where it states that de-nib is “the removal of isolated dirt and dust particles, and polishing the affected area(s). Additional steps or processes that may be required should be considered during estimate preparation.”
Progressive isn’t budging on its stance.
We’re putting in a call to get Progressive’s response to this issue.
I also want to see if any of you are experiencing the same sort of problem with Progressive or another insurer. Do you get paid for this work? Have you had a Progressive adjuster or an adjuster from another insurer take a similar stance on de-nib and polish?
Should you cut labor rates to
One of our readers recently contacted me regarding a plan he’s turning over in his mind to help take back some of his customers who are being steered into a large nearby DRP shop. His business has a number of repeat customers, but even those folks are being lost to the nearby shop.
His plan: He’s considering offering customers a 10 percent rebate off of labor costs from the insurer’s estimate.
I’d like some input from the rest of you. Cutting revenues as a way to gain business is a risky move. At the same time, that’s exactly what shops agree to do when they become part of a DRP.
This owner is fighting fire with fire. He wants to take the same steps to get lost business back into his shop.
Do you agree with his plan? Is there some advice or other action you’d recommend?
I’ll be forwarding your input to this owner.
An Old Topic, But What Do You
I was reading today in the current issue of the MACS (Mobile Air Conditioning Society) publication, ACtion, about a recent "sting" conducted in California. Perhaps "sting" isn't the right word...I guess it depends on what side of the operation you were standing.
Anyway, a vehicle A/C system was "bugged". Simple bugs though, one of two scenarios. In one, the system was entirely empty of refrigerant and in the second, the system was severely undercharged. Over 40 shops were presented with the car, and the results were rather disappointing. Here are a few of the actions caught by the testers:
*Techs vented refrigerant to the atmosphere by physically depressing the test port Schrader valves.
*Techs diagnosed the system as needing major repair
*Techs recharged the system with gauges and a source tank only...no scale was used.
*Techs recharged the system without proper evacuation before hand, and without vacuuming the system down. This occurred even when the techs had access to an R/R/R machine.
*Techs "topped off" the system with small, DIYer type containers of refrigerant.
Recently, there was a discussion of how tough some of us have it as "professional" technicians...not being paid what we're worth or treated with the respect we deserve for the time and money we've invested. I won't disagree with that, but how are we viewed by the consumer? And with cases like these, how can we blame the consumer for their opinion of us?
Hey, before you all start blasting, I'll be the first to say there are a lot more "good guys" out there than there are "bad guys". The problem is it only takes a few of them to effect the rest of us. How do we get rid of that impact?
Others in the industry have suggested professional licensing as the answer, much like other professional craftsmen have to be licensed. Personally, I think that's a good idea. In my little corner of the world, anyone who owns a few hand tools can call himself a mechanic. But should that licensing be implemented by those in the industry or by the government? A few locales here in Florida already require licensing of the shop, but as I understand it those working there do not have to meet any specific requirements to do so. Correct me if I'm wrong...
Now add in the complexity of the modern automobile. What are the safety implications of allowing those not qualified to do so, work on these high tech vehicles? Of course, the shop involved in such a scene would likely go under defending the lawsuit to follow. But the damage to OUR reputations is just as significant, isn't it?
If we want to change the consumer's view of us as a profession, I think we need to police our profession. Several prominent industry members have voiced similar opinions...even tried to start such a program on their own...and have not exactly gotten a lot of support for their trouble. If that is the attitude that we, as a profession, continue to maintain, then we individually will have no right to complain.
What do you think?
What?!? You moved?!?
I don’t think that I ask for a lot as a repair shop customer.
But when I pulled up to the shop that had worked on my car in the past for my appointment for new tires this morning, I was livid.
The shop had moved. Moved! And no one bothered to say anything when I made my appointment.
When I walked into my garage Sunday morning, I realized my back driver’s side tire was flat. I had a flat tire once before and went to a shop recommended to me by family members after we moved to the area. That trip was an OK experience. I also brought my car to this shop about a year or so ago for some work when I had an awful squeaking noise.
I thought I had something stuck in a wheel well, because the noise was prominent when I turned, so I came to this shop (which does more than just tire work). They told me I needed new brake rotors.
After they did that and the noise still was creaking along, I took it the shop I normally go to for maintenance. Turns out I didn’t need anything done to my brakes; rather a tie rod was rusted nearly all the way through. They showed it to me and I have no idea how I was still moving along.
But back to my experience this morning. So I called the shop first thing Monday morning to get the car in for four new tires, which I needed anyway. They could get me in Tuesday morning. So I arranged for some time away from work and to switch cars back around with my fiancé.
I drove up to the shop, about 15 minutes from my house and thought it was odd that there were no other cars there. I was about 10 minutes early for my appointment, so I pulled in, parked, walked by the big bay doors and only then saw the sign on a piece of computer paper.
The shop had merged with its second location in a town about 15 minutes further away.
Nevermind the large sign is still standing 20 feet in the air along the road. Or when I looked up the phone number and called it for the location I always had gone to, they answered (they’d had it forward to this other shop, I learned). But never once was it mentioned that the location merged with the second one.
I was livid.
So I called the number on the small piece of paper posted to the bay door to get directions to the other location. The man who answered the phone did sound surprised when I said that no one had told me when I called to schedule the appointment.
I don’t come to this shop every three months or anything for an oil change or other service; I just have my tire work done here. But I’m in their computer system and they could clearly see that I had been in there about a year or so prior to this for that squeaking. Wouldn’t it make sense to say, “Please remember that we’re at the second location only now.”
The rest of the experience wasn’t any better, starting with the service writer who made a snide comment when I finally got to the shop, followed by the the techs walking into the waiting area for water with uniform pants and “wife beater” undershirts on and ending with me never OK’ing the work to be done on my car. They just did it, never reviewing with me what they were about to do. Real professional.
I really don’t think I ask for a lot when I bring my car in for repair or maintenance. But at least tell me if you move locations! And, by the way, don’t tell me that I “should’ve known” that. No, keeping track of you isn’t my job. I’m your customer, keep track of me.
So in the mean time, I’m now looking for a new tire shop.
no work for techs
Im a body tech that has been in the business for almost twenty yrs. i went to wyoming tech and got an associates degree in bussiness. after school i started my journey in the career i thought i would retire doing. its now almost 2010 and i find myself out of work again due to the shop having to close its doors. i havent found too many shops that promise retirement let alone health benifits that are affordible. ive worked for some big shops and dealerships as well as the small mom and pop shops. for one reason or another i found myself working with the same bunch of guys in the area through different shops and meeting up again in another. the economy is hurting everyone and everybody is looking to cut cost and get by with a minimum number of techs. i pride myself on striving to make the next job better than the one before only to be told that things are tight and work isnt coming in the door. this is very discourageing knowing that when i started there was a shop on every corner looking to hire me because there was so much work and they were in dire need of a good tech.two of the shops i stayed in were almost 6 yrs each. both of witch are now closed. most recently this last shop i was in was only four years before he had to close the doors. in my job search today there is nobody looking to hire right now. exspecilly somone with the experiance i have. they just need a lacky. is because i have all the experiance to rebuild a car start to finish my down fall in this bussiness? is the economy this hurt that everyone geting into an accident needs to take the money and run? how can i find the shop that is going to keep in bussiness long enough to bring me to retirement? or is this truly the end and now my passion for rebuilding cars has become my weekend hobby?
What You're Worth?
One topic that seems to come up quite a bit is "How do we charge for diag time?"
This includes any sort of diagnosis that is going to take more than a simple visual inspection. Some drivability and electrical issues can become quite involved, and take a lot of time to isolate...especially if it's your first time on that particular problem or vehicle. After all, you have a lot more homework to do. Then there are the tools you need to diagnose these problems, none of which are cheap.
Experience certainly plays a role as well. An experienced tech should be able to find the problem faster. But then, do you charge less time to the customer? A new tech may spend all day finding what turns out to be a simple fault. Do you charge the customer 8 hours? In each case, how do you pay your tech? Should the experienced guy get paid less time than the new guy? Should the new guy be penalized for being new?
My shop, and most of the ones I've worked for in the past, charged 1 hour at the shop rate, and paid 1 hour flat rate. How does that apply when the original complaint is "The MIL light is on", and you pull half a dozen codes that may or may not be related. What if, during your diagnostic process, you determine that it is necessary to measure engine compression on a motor that requires plenum removal to access the rear bank? How do we justify the need for additional time to the customer? It seems to me that too many customers still think of us as "grease monkeys" and don't understand the skills it takes to repair today's cars. They have no problem spending $20K or more to buy it, but heaven forbid the repair costs more than $50!
One story I heard a long time ago is applicable to this discussion. It goes something like this:
A young man is driving across the desert when his car starts running rough. There is no sign of civilization as he continues down the highway, praying the car will make it to his destination and not leave him stranded in the middle of nowhere. Several miles along, the car is still running rough, and the young man is getting worried that he may be stuck in the middle of the desert over night. As he crests a small ridge, he sees an old shack with two gas pumps out front on the side of the highway. Thanking God for his good fortune, he prays there is a mechanic there.
He pulls up to the shack and sees an older man, rocking in his rocker and sipping lemonade. The young man gets out of the car, and says, "Excuse me, sir...is there someone here who can help me with my car?"
The old man rises, and offers to take a look. He first listens to the engine idling, then opens the hood...looking first to the left then to the right. "I'll be right back", he says, and heads off to his garage. He returns momentarily with a small hammer in hand, leans over the engine and makes a light "tap" somewhere near the firewall.
The engine immediately runs as smooth as silk.
The young man is ecstatic that the repair was so simple. He asks the older man, "How much do I owe you?"
Without batting an eye, the old man responds, "That'll be $89.99."
"WHAT!", exclaims the young man. "90 bucks for hitting it with a hammer!?"
"No son, it's 99 cents for the hammer tap...and $89 for knowing WHERE to tap it."
I earn my living with my mind and my hands. I am a trained professional like any other. So what is the answer? How do you handle this in your shop? How do we get paid fairly for what we know, for our experience, and justify it to our customers?
I look forward to your opinions...
Repairer seeks input on refini
I received a phone call recently from a reader who is having problems with Allstate’s policy on refinishing panels. The reader has more than 25 years of experience in the collision repair industry, all in the same southeast U.S. market.
He complained that Allstate is arbitrarily cutting refinish times on panels, often paying one-third or less of what he is entitled to according to the information provider (IP) databases.
“They take refinish times out of the IP databases and use a blend mate, which is a chart developed by Tech-Cor, (a research and development arm of Allstate) to arbitrarily say they will only pay 35 percent of the paint time,” he says. “The theory is that by not extending the base coat over the full panel, they are paying full clear coat time. But clear coat time is based on having the panel ready to paint.”
The majority of the time spent refinishing a panel is on prep work, not painting. More than 50 percent of time is dedicated to making the panel ready to paint.
“They are ignoring everything you have to do to apply the base,” he says. “They are cutting that time by the same percentage, which does not recognize that the biggest part of it is the prep time. Then they cut the entire refinish time by 50 percent.”
The actual spraying time is a very small part of the total refinish time. To do the job right, you have to do the whole panel, he said. But Allstate throws out the labor guide times from the IPs.
“They have no scientific basis for this,” he says. “Repair time requires full refinish time, but they arbitrarily cut the full refinish time.”
Allstate has been doing this for about 1.5 years, but things are worse now than before, he said.
“It used to be that they would back off this policy if you challenged them, but that’s no longer the case,” he says. “Now they are less willing to pay the full refinish time. In some cases they arbitrarily offer 1.3 hours instead of the four hours called for in the IPs. In the past five years, this has deteriorated to where it’s difficult to do business with them. Progressive used to do this, but they backed off it. Now our big problem is with Allstate.”
Although he is not a member of Allstate’s direct repair program, he said he thinks that this policy affects both DRP and non-DRP shops. He asked me to keep his identity confidential and also to ask other repairers if they are experiencing this same issue with Allstate. And if they are, how are you dealing with it? Are you being paid fairly for your refinishing work with Allstate? How do you handle this situation in your market?
Where's the upsell?
I took my car into the shop the other day for an oil change. When I handed my keys over to the service writer, he asked me if there was anything else I wanted done to my car.
“Could you check my tire pressure? I think my left front tire is leaking, but I’m not positive,” I said.
“No problem. We do that with every oil change,” he told me.
Great. So, I’ll get the oil changed, my tires checked and I figured they’d probably check other fluid levels based on previous visits. I went to the waiting area and started reading my book.
A little while later, the service writer came and got me, telling me I was all set. He walked through the order with me and telling my what they did (and that no, my tire wasn’t leaking…yay!). I was kind of surprised that the hadn’t come out sooner to talk about other maintenance to my car. It has just a shade under 107,000 miles on it, but still is in good condition. But nothing was ever mentioned to me about doing any other work.
The one thing he said was that my tires were starting to look worn and I would need to replace them soon.
But that I was it. I thanked him, and he walked back into the service area, leaving me to pay my bill. While I was paying, I couldn’t help but think that he missed out on an opportunity. He didn’t try to upsell me on anything.
I am positive that I never would have thought about this had I not been in tune with the industry. But what about all the other customers just like me who walk in for a simple oil change? Are shops and dealerships becoming more concerned with losing their customers? Is the current economy making them think that any business is good business, and don’t push too hard or you might scare the customer away?
That is the only reason I could think of that made any sense. I just was really surprised that this service writer — who has been there since I started taking my car there several years ago — didn’t try to sell me anything else.
Talk about a lost opportunity.
Repairer’s message to communit
The folks at Finish Line Collision and Customs in Redding, Calif. made my day on Wednesday when they sent over this photo of an effort they’re undertaking to combat insurer steering.
Check out this photo.
What I like about this is that they’re taking their message to the consumer, something more shops should do. And they’re doing so in a memorable way that’s sure to stick in the minds of motorists who drive by the shop and customers stopping in for service.
We really need to get more shops to sign on to consumer education efforts like this. Are any of you doing something similar to combat steering? Are you making anti-steering education a part of your interaction with customers?
KPI: Cycle Time
KPI: Cycle Time
by Chris Sheehy / Autobody Consulting Group
To define Cycle Time (CT) I must first state that Cycle Time is often perceived in two measures, production biased and customer biased.
DEFINITION:
Production Biased Cycle Time: The average number of calendar days elapsed from the date the vehicle was received at your business, to the date the repairs were completed.
Formula: Date Received / Repairs Completed
Customer Biased Cycle Time: The average number of calendar days elapsed from the date the vehicle was received at your business, to the date the customer took delivery. This is also commonly referred to as keys-to-keys.
Formula: Date Received / Date Delivered
Production CT is the traditional (read: “old school”) method of calculating the average calendar days for auto repairs. Since a shop cannot control when a customer will take delivery of their vehicle, this method calculates the part of the repair cycle a repair shop has most control over. Or so it seems – read on. This is a key measure for KPI management.
Customer CT is a more contemporary measure, and one that, when managed well, is more focused on the vehicle owner receiving a positive customer experience. Managing this measure has a direct impact on CSI. From an insurance perspective, this measure also has a direct impact on loss-of-use (LOU) severity (insurance lingo for rental expense) as well as having a proportional, although indirect impact on bodily injury severity. In a nutshell – this is the Cycle Time measure both the customer and insurer “feel” and is most important to control.
So which measurement should you use? I say measure both!
Analyzing the variance in Cycle Time between Production and Customer biased formulas could target process waste in your business that you can eliminate and be working more “lean.” More specifically (in LEAN terms), it could identify SMED waste – the time wasted in between jobs; like ending one job and getting onto another – or processes, like the transition from a quarter panel repair to door-skin replacement. When analyzing the differences you should ask yourself, “Could we have done anything differently to get the customer back into their vehicle sooner?” Often the answer is yes. Here are some ideas you could use to cut Cycle Time: blueprinting repairs, change from the in-Monday/out-Friday schedule madness, proper technician allocation, transparent SOPs, deliver the car to the customer’s home or work (drive or tow), pick up the customer at home or work, open early or stay open late on advertised day(s) of the week, or change how you schedule the intake of vehicles. These KPIs are easiest to measure when working with a management system. Ed Rachwal from Designer Systems confirmed Cycle Time could be easily measured on Mitchell ABS and ABSe. For businesses operating without a management system, these measures have been difficult to calculate. Autobody Consulting Group has copyrighted tools enabling their clients to measure and manage these most important KPIs.
Managing Cycle Time effectively is a great way to increase CSI, and being proactive in marketing your Cycle Time ratio to prospective or existing business partners just might bring more cars to your door, too!
You are not alone in setting repair Cycle Time expectations. Here is an interesting story about CT from a different perspective. Not too long ago while in a meeting with a major Massachusetts insurer, Cycle Time was the very topic of concern with several of my clients. At some point it became apparent to me that the insurer never looked inward at their systems to see if they had any control of cycle time. “And why would they,” you ask? (Funny – they asked the same thing).
Knowing what I know of the process, I had a hunch the insurance company had some (albeit, to a small degree) influence on setting the initial CT expectation with the vehicle owner and rental company. Here is what I noted - when an insurance adjuster receives a damage analysis report from a staff appraiser or repairer (network or otherwise), they do the same math to calculate rental days as most body shops do to rough-calculate the anticipated repair days [total hours ÷ some number = expected rental days]. Armed with this information the adjuster simply informs the vehicle owner of the number of days the rental vehicle is covered for, often adding a day for good measure. In doing so the seed is planted with the vehicle owner of the perceived repair cycle time!
After hearing this scenario, the insurer admitted they never looked at the process from this perspective and assured us they will evaluate it in the near future. What I haven’t told you yet was that the time of these extraordinary cycle time lapses coincided with some of the worst weather this area had experienced. In this case the cycle-time “perception,” being set by the claim adjuster didn’t account for the extraordinary increase in claim volume my clients were dealing with – indeed, an honest oversight.
Let’s be realistic. Insurance companies are huge and nothing happens fast, so nobody’s holding their breath for this change to occur. However, having a broader understanding of the process will make all parties work a little smarter in the future.
warranty issue
I have a customer with a2002 Chevy Trailblazer ,in service date 6/02, 60k on it, with a code p0606 Internal ECM failure,sent the customer to the dealer where it was purchased used 2 yrs ago. since I felt it was under warranty The dealer service manager states that the ECM is not covered for 8yrs, 80k. He is saying the warranty is reffering to an emission control module, not the engine control module. I will call the dealer that I purchase parts rom to see if I can help the customer out. Not sure if they are going to want to chare for a diagnosis,although I feel this should be covered also. No wonder people have nothing nice to say about dealers.
Basecoat Reduction
This is my first post ever on any of the industries websites, but it is TIME to make a stand. A couple of years ago, we were on Progressive's DRP program. The first six months (honeymoon period) seemed like it would really work out. Then came the push, from up the ladder, to cut here and then there. It started with finding more and more used or A/M parts from wherever. We might have a list of six different suppliers on an estimate. I don't know about the rest of you, but I try to establish my business with people that are close by and can service my needs more readily. Then there was the "Blend within panel" which we are discussing now. The end came with them wanting to as they said "Burn the clear in" on a black Buick Regal quarter sail panel which was 8 inches wide. I supplied literature from 5 major paint companies and the GM Warranty manual which stated that basically this was an unwarrantable repair that will fail. Progressive's "young" brain washed supervisor stated (with my secretary listening and witnessing) that they would not pay for clearing to the nearest breaking point (roof rail & windshield pillar). When I told him they were in breach of contract to return vehicle to "Pre-accident" condition & should be turned in to the Kansas Insurance Commision, he said, and I quote "Do you think the State of Kansas can do anything to us ?". He was right, the State of Kansas did not, but, through 5 years of bottom ratings Progressive has started to turn around on some issues. Mind you, I said "started". Now here we are with other companies (IE Allstate, Farmers, Nationwide & etc...) picking up on another way to shortcut us. I come from a painter background, and can tell you, matter of factly, that it takes longer to blend a panel than to refinish it completely. I challenge any insurance adjustor to put his or her work clothes on with me, come to my shop, and do some prepping and painting. We ran into this with Allstate recently and took care of it in a way that worked well for us. I spent a few minutes composing a simple "Financial Responsibility" form which I had the customer sign after explaining to them why. It basically works just like any health care financial form would. How many times have you or a family member been to the doctor or hospital and then been billed for the portion your health insurance did not pay ?? Same thing here. When I called the Allstate adjustor, he started that song & dance routine, but when I read this form off and told him it was developed that day due to their new practice, he immediately started back peddling. Everything I asked for was in the mail the next day. I use that form often now and have not had one negative word from a customer. They sign these frequently for health care and are used to it. Most auto insurance companies do not want that negative of the customer having to come out of pocket for more than a deductible or betterment. If we don't hold our ground, this will take hold just like the 50% for color match blending panels, the multiple discounts on glass and etc... PLEASE, stand up for a fair profit on this and also the paint & materials caps/thresholds. For those who won't, there is no saving you. You will think these companies are your buddies and will filter all kinds of work volume to you (like Progressive did for us) when in reality, you are digging yourselves a deeper hole. There, I vented a little and feel better for it !!!
Removal of Ford 5.4 Broken Spa
The fortunate guy that removed the spark plugs in the photo above was impelled to post the picture of them still intact, MANY others aren't so lucky. This article are for those of you that haven't heard about the problem of broken spark plugs, that break upon removal on some 5.4's. Many unsuspecting shops and truck owners are finding out the hard way, that the spark plugs can break upon removal on some 2004 or newer Ford 5.4 engines. I thought I would mention what we have found to be the best method for removal. First a little history. A couple of years ago, all we had to offer our customers was a Rotunda 303-1203 specialty tool designed by Ford to remove broken spark plugs. The problem (besides the expense of a couple of hundred dollars) was that the tool did nothing about the issue of removing the broken section of porcelain, so that the tool could be used to remove the electrode shield. I would get calls from our customers after they received the Rotunda 303-1203 to ask how to remove the porcelain. At the time the best method seemed to be chipping away at it for half the day until all of the small pieces could be removed with a shop vac. Not a very efficient method. Then Ford introduced a new tool that had "one time use pins" that were loc-tited into the center of the porcelain (where the electrode normally is) and then pulled out. Then and only then, the tool could be used to remove the stuck electrode shield. The Rotunda porcelain remover was so expensive when it was first introduced (around $600) that we refused to sell it!
A Better Solution
Since then Calvan thankfully came out with a couple of copies of those Rotunda specialty tools. We have sold a ton of those, saving our customers a lot of money. Both Calvan tools can be purchased for around $75. The Calvan tools use the same method of removing the porcelain and electrode sleeve as the Rotunda tools do. After-all they are copies of those tools. More recently though, Lisle has developed a tool for around the same cost (around $75) that has quickly became our best seller for removing broken spark plugs. I've used this tool myself and took pictures of it in use. This tool uses a different method than removing the porcelain, instead it pushes the porcelain down further (without the porcelain going into the cylinder) so that the second part of the tool can be used to self tap into the spark plug's electrode shield for removal. I was first hesitant to recommend this tool, but it has had all positive feedback from our customers. including some Ford dealerships that prefer this method over the use of the Rotunda tools.
Back to the tire center
I have a confession. I went back to the tire place I swore I’d never go back to again.
Yeah. My protest didn’t last long.
I was on my way to my in-laws to pick up my car and drop my fiance’s off when my phone beeped with a text message from my brother-in-law.
“Your tire’s leaking real bad.”
Not at all what I wanted to see on a morning filled with errands in preparation to go back across the state to my parents for Father’s Day. So I really am not surprised looking back that I just about hit the roof; these tires are not that old! So while my brother-in-law was filling my tire so I could safely get to a service center, I contemplated going somewhere else to have my tire fixed. My first thought was the Firestone place that I would drive by on my way to the shop where I bought the tires. But because the tires aren’t old and I was not in the mood to pay for them again, I went back to the first place.
I called the shop and asked if they could get me in yet that morning, and thankfully the guy I spoke with said yes. So I drove clear out to this other location (because remember, the one close to me had closed – at least I knew that going into this visit). This time, instead of the service advisor who didn’t know what type of tires he should recommend for my car I dealt with the service manager. He was much nicer.
They took my car in, and within about 25 minutes, they had pulled the ¾-inch screw out of the tire, patched it, refilled it and balanced all four tires. All at no charge and at no mention of that warranty they sold me that I didn’t really want.
This trip was a much better experience, especially since it was not on my laundry list of things to get done Saturday morning. However, I’m still not sold on going back there for another set of tires.
To what lengths do you go to retain customers or to keep them from leaving when you know they’re not happy?
Why We Do What We Do...
Why do we do what we do?
Let's face it...being a professional auto repair technician today requires a lot.
First, and most obvious, is the cost of tools and diagnostic equipment. Looking over my own toolbox, the amount of money invested within is about the same amount of money I paid for my house!
How about the skill sets we need? We have to have a working knowledge of thermal dynamics, fluid dynamics, electrical theory, computer design and networking...you get the idea.
Closer to home, the work itself can punish a human body. Much of the work is heavy, and often done at awkward angles even with safety in mind. Backs, knees, hands...all take their share of punishment. Ever notice blood drops on the valve cover you're leaning over and asking yourself "Who's bleeding?" I have. That's how used to minor cuts and scraps you can get.
So why do we do this? I mean, if it's the satisfaction of fixing something, fix appliances or computers or office printers. The tool investment is significantly less and you'll work in the A/C most of the time.
For me, it's the love of the patient. I love fixing cars. I especially love fixing a problem that others have tried to fix and couldn't. I love the mental challenge of learning all this new technology, and applying that information to the problem in my bay. I love the little techno goodies that make my diagnostic time more efficient, and I love learning how to use them to their fullest. (A practice, I must admit, I'm always working on.) I love helping my customers maintain reliable, and SAFE, transportation. And even though most of my time, like yours, is spent on routine stuff, and it is the same stuff I've been doing for well over 30 years, I STILL LOVE WHAT I DO.
Personally, I only played around at hot rodding when I was young but I'm willing to bet most of you did. Because you're turning a wrench for a living for the same reasons.
We just love working on CARS!
What to do about job?
I love cars. I love fixing them. I am good at it, and getting better. But being a tech in this economy and this city (El Miami) is an absolute nightmare. You cannot survive if you are even 50% honest. The "supertechs" that are making good money and are liked by the advisors, managers and owners are all very dishonest. They have skills and experience, but they use it to lie better and cover their behinds. techs get a bad reputation and it is extremely stressful, dangerous and difficult to make a living. So what should I do?
-move to another city
-move to another country
- become an advisor / writer / parts person / manager
-get out of the business
-keep suffering because working on cars is the only thing that makes me happy and at least I will continue to gain experience
It's Always In The Basics
This 2000 Ford Escort was towed in, unable to start. Piece of cake, I thought, as I walked out to the car, jump box in hand. The first symptom I noticed was unusual though...the MIL was on, dimly, even with the key in my hand.
I verifed the complaint by attempting to start the engine. Nothing...no power to any system in the car that I could see. I popped the hood and hooked up the jumper, and tried again.
Still nothing.
OK, not likely just a battery issue. I gathered up some help, and pushed the car into the shop for a closer look.
The dim MIL, even with the key out of the car, bugged me. I tested the battery and it passed with flying colors. Next step was to check the fuses since the main junction box is right next door. The next clue was power at both headlight fuses...12.6 volts on one side of each fuse, and 11.6 volts on the other side. Actually, in hindsight, this was two clues. A 1.0 volt difference from side to side, and power on a fuse that is only "on" when the headlights are on. And they weren't.
With the key on, the MIL regained its normal illumination. But that was it. No dash lights, no instrument function, no radio, power windows, nothing.
OK, so why was there power at the headlight fuses? I must be dealing with a problem in the main power feed to the car...between the battery and the ignition maybe. Let's unplug the ignition and see what happens.
Still have power at the headlight fuses.
Now I'm getting a case of "tunnel vision" and start unplugging connectors from the fuse box thinking there is some type of short to power there. From the schematics, I thought that was the only common link left. First, I removed the headlight relay...the source of power to the fuses...and the fuses were still hot. I opened up the fuse block to look for visual damage and found none. Time to walk away for awhile and rethink things.
My decision? Get back to basics. It was in for a "no start" complaint, and that means starting with the battery. I had already tested the battery itself, and found it fully functional. Next step was to test for voltage drop, and considering I saw this:
checking the ground side first sounded like a reasonable next step. I turned the headlights on to get current flowing, and measured 2.65v drop between the negative battery post and the cable just behind this "universal" clamp! Removing the cable from the clamp it was easy to see the reason for the replacement terminal...corrosion on the wiring was obvious. I trimmed some back, and reconnected to see if I was on the right track. With the headlights on, there was no more drop across the terminal, but the problem remained.
OK, let's go all the way to the load and check again. Using the left side headlight as my test point, I measured 1.54v drop between the headlight ground pin and the battery post. Tracing back, I continued to measure this drop all the way up to the battery ground cable attachment point just at the firewall on the left side of the engine compartment. The ground cable on the Escort actually attaches to ground at two points on the one cable, with these two contacts in series with each other.
Looking closely, I could see a deformation in the insulation between this point and the battery terminal. Just past this point, on the battery side, drop returned to 0.0v. For testing, I cut the cable past this point and retested. No more drop. Now for the real test.
The dim MIL was gone. I was rewarded with full power when I turned the key on, and the car started normally and ran smooth. For giggles, I cut back the insulation at the deformation and saw this:
This photo is of exactly what I saw. The corrosion that caused the failed terminal traveled well up the cable and actually chewed through most of the strands.
A new ground cable was installed...
Autoschoolguide.com- Auto Educ
I was asked to Design, Build and Market a website that provided resources about Automotive education. The design of the site went well. Building it was easy. I am now at the stage of writing content for Auto Schools, Diesel Schools, Motorcycle Schools,Truck Driving Schools and more. This is where it gets challenging. I noticed while researching Automotive Colleges and Trade Schools in general, that everyone writes the same content. This is so frustrating because my Auto Industry Resouces should be bountiful.
So I am calling out to All the Autophiles. Give me some good resources. Automotive education is very important and so is finding the right auto school. I also need to write blog after blog about the Auto industry. I need topics. I am finding that I am learning a lot about Auto Schools but I guess I want some interesting topics for the blog. Who is an auto mechanic or auto technician. Maybe find some people that attended auto technician school and about their journey on choosing the write automotive mechanic college. Tales of a Truck Driver, Working on Aircraft, Diesel or Marine Mechanics. I would love some input!
P.S. if you haven't guessed by now, I am a girl, and I must admit, I don't work on a lot of cars, or do a lot of auto mechanics etc. Funny I should be writing about Car Technology etc., but I am up for the challenge!
Cheers!
my auto site can be found at :
http://www.autoschoolguide.com
A Saab Story---Get It? A "Sob
Sometimes I just bust myself up! Anyway...on to the tale...
This is a Saab 9-5 our shop had for sale. Prior to putting it on the lot, my boss wanted me to repair the missing back up lamp he said it had. So I turned on the key, and put it in reverse.
Sure enough, there was no light lit on the left rear. No sweat, likely a bulb...so I pop the trunk, access the bulb and remove the old one for a visual. Looks OK, but I've been fooled before so what the heck...let's throw one in.
Light still doesn't work.
OK, so it won't be easy. I grab my PowerProbe 3 out of the tool box, and hook up to the battery. With the right rear still on, I look for power and ground at the left rear socket. No power at either wire. I've seen this before...right where the lid harness passes out of the lid, through a rubber shield, and into the body...common area for damaged wiring! Now to verify my suspicions. Let's look to see if there is power on that wire on the body side of the harness. Hmmm, no power there either? Never seen a spliced in supply THAT far from the sister load? Oh well, guess I HAVE to pull the schematic now...
Interesting! The schematic only shows ONE back up lamp on this model! Hmmmmmm...wonder what the bulb I have in my hand is for? Come to think of it, the lens on this side IS pretty red for a back up lens.
And it does work with the right switch turned on...
It turns out that the left rear bulb is a "rear fog lamp", and has its own switch just below the main lighting switch on the dash. I guess it allows one bright light to stay on in the back in heavy weather/fog to improve the vehicle's visibility. But it was a new one on me!