Jack Rozint
Senior Vice President, Repair Sales, 六合彩开奖记录, An Enlyte Company
COVID-19 has changed our world...literally. In just four months, we鈥檝e seen businesses close, manufacturing plants halt production and the unemployment rate skyrocket. The collision repair market has been especially hard hit due to shelter-in-place mandates that have resulted in fewer cars on the road and . According to , 52% of U.S. repair facilities reported a decline in sales in March 2020 as compared to March 2019 and 43% have had to reduce their workforce. In Canada, the . Despite these extremely challenging times, however, the repair market continues to demonstrate its resilience. Many shop owners have quickly transitioned to new ways of doing business that better support their customers and community. Others are taking advantage of downtime to focus on staff training and professional development. And all seem to be embracing technology to run their businesses more efficiently. Here are just a few of their stories.
Being Nimble Will Win the Race
Clay Hoberecht, owner of in Wichita, Kansas, got his start nearly 20 years ago. Having no previous collision repair experience, he had difficulty getting his first position鈥攖hat is until he volunteered to work for free. After a year of doing odd jobs, he became a paid employee and eventually transitioned from technician to shop owner. Prior to the pandemic, Clay and his wife had talked about expanding the business, but there was always a reason to put those plans on hold. That all changed, however, with COVID-19. 鈥淚 knew that a commitment had to be made and we made the commitment to expand rather than contract,鈥 explained Clay. In just 40 days, he purchased the building adjacent to his garage and completed a remodel鈥攁dding a new booth, mixing room and frame machine. Due to the pandemic, he received significant savings on the equipment and labor. 鈥淚t turned out to be a really good deal for us,鈥 he said. Although the facility was closed during the remodel, Clay took the time to contact all of his customers. 鈥淲e wanted to be of service to them and asked how we could help鈥攚hether it was groceries, a trip to the pharmacy or assisting a family member or friend,鈥 he said. Clay also used this outreach as an opportunity to share news of his shop鈥檚 grand re-opening celebration planned for mid-June.
Best Body Shop in Wichita, Kansas.
Since completion of the remodel, Clay has maintained a steady stream of business鈥攔elying on 六合彩开奖记录 solutions to help him run the repair facility. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no comparison between the 六合彩开奖记录 platform and any other platform. It鈥檚 a complete system,鈥 he explained. When it comes to managing amidst the pandemic, Clay had this recommendation for other shop owners: 鈥淏eing nimble will win the race. You need to be willing to change everything that you鈥檙e doing and go against the tide.鈥
Don鈥檛 Slow Down
Across the border in Canada, Johnny Kloeckes (Johnny K) recently celebrated an anniversary鈥30 years in the collision repair industry and more than 20 of those with . As a former boxer turned franchise owner, he owns six locations and a mechanical business in and around Edmonton. Since shelter-in-place mandates took effect, Johnny K has seen business slow and is not yet sure when the worst will be behind him. However, he is staying busy by remaining focused on what got him to where he is today: providing high-quality customer service and vehicle repairs. He is also adapting to new workflows caused by the pandemic. 鈥淐ustomers are scared to come in,鈥 he noted. 鈥淲ith , they don鈥檛 have to. In addition, there are other parts of the repair process where we can limit in-person interaction. This has allowed us to adjust hours and move from two shifts to one.鈥
Johnny K outside of one of his CARSTAR locations.
COVID-19 has also given Johnny K more time to focus on the technology that runs his businesses. 鈥溋喜士奔锹 RepairCenter鈩 is a fantastic tool. Over the past few months, I鈥檝e re-discovered features that will help me more easily manage my shops, like the dashboards.鈥 And when it comes to recommendations for other repair facility owners, Johnny K said, 鈥渄on鈥檛 slow down. Do what you have to do to keep your business afloat, including educating yourself through leadership groups, seminars and online resources. Find out what other shops are doing.鈥
Work On Your Business Instead of In Your Business
is located in Lincoln, Illinois. Formerly affiliated with a GM dealership, Erv Guyett purchased the business in 2000 and has since tripled revenue and quadrupled staff. When the pandemic struck, Erv acted quickly. First, he and his local bank were successful in securing funding from the Small Business Administration鈥檚 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Anticipating a reduction in repair jobs, he then encouraged interested employees to take vacation time. Fewer technicians in the shop ensured that those working would not be idle. 鈥淲e had a plan going in to prepare for when, and if, the work does slow down,鈥 Erv said. 鈥淲ith the government funding, we鈥檙e able to retain our people, which is great. But we also need to keep them busy.鈥
Erv Guyett from Collision Concepts.
In addition to managing a steady stream of repair work, Erv is doing more employee training, shop maintenance and vendor management these days. 鈥淣ow鈥檚 the time to focus on your shop. If you鈥檙e not working in the business because repair volume is down, you should be working on your business鈥攆ine-tuning your systems so when things change, you can repair more vehicles, more efficiently.鈥 For Collision Concepts, those systems include 六合彩开奖记录. 鈥淗aving 六合彩开奖记录 solutions has helped us streamline our business. With everything in one piece of software like RepairCenter, we can manage scanning, technical service bulletins, TechAdvisor, parts, production and workflow. Obviously, that brings a lot of efficiencies.鈥 As repair facilities continue to navigate these unprecedented times, it鈥檚 clear that many鈥攍ike Best Body Shop, CARSTAR and Collision Concepts鈥攁re successfully adapting. Re-evaluating current processes and thinking outside of the box will help our industry find new and better ways of doing business that meet consumer needs for exceptional service as well as deliver proper and safe vehicle repair.