CSI Strategy

Are you having trouble reaching a desired CSI rating? How are you approaching the issue? Some shop operators tell me they call all their customers to remind them about the survey reiterating they need a "10". I guess that is one way, others tell me they give customers coupons for completing the survey. That would work to keep your numbers up and negate the effects of a poor survey. My question is; What are you doing to make the customer want to complete the survey and give you that "10". Do all your employees know what part they play in Customer Satisfaction? Do they know how what they do affects a particular question on the survey? Have you ever gone over the survey with your employees? Seem like a lot of questions?  I recently worked with at shop that had CSI issues and NO was the prevalent answer. So in my quest to make the collision industry better every day through JSE Consulting I will share briefly what we covered. I created a test using the particular survey they were using and had each person in the shop tell me what part they played in Customer Satisfaction.  You might be surprised at the answers but they were pretty basic, fix it right, no runs in the paint, make sure I detail it right etc, but nobody really understood what part they played in CSI, some even said that was the front office’s job.  A little scary but unless all your people know what part they play in Customer Satisfaction your score will not increase, you will hover where you are despite any CSI marketing you do.  Customer Satisfaction begins at the first welcoming and through your customer follow-up. Customer Satisfaction has to be a culture all your people adopt, they have to think about what they do at every juncture of the repair and customer interaction.  Are your technicians replacing bulbs with ones they found in their toolbox, are they taking a short cut to speed the repair, or are your painters painting over primer instead of sealer?  Give your people a test using your particular survey and see what kind of answers you get, I am betting you will be surprised.  Call me if you don’t get the answers you like and need to increase your CSI score.

How does your website perform?

Was your website developed by a friend of a friend, or is it a couple of years old? Ever wonder if it was still performing its magic or if it ever did? If you can answer yes to either of those questions I want to introduce you to two of my friends, Crystal Stangeland and Chris Sheehy. Crystal is the National Sales Manager forAutoshop Solutions Inc. where they have a website tune-up program where they will analyze your website, just ask them at tuneup@autoshopsolutions.com. The last time I talked to Crystal she was explaining the difference between Google AdWord™ and AdWords Express™ and I tell you unless you work with these things all the time it is a foreign language. It is really best to leave it up to the professionals; Crystal told me that three years of our time is ten years in internet time. We have all have had to upgrade our computers every 3-5 years because of changes and upgrading your website isn't any different. Chris Sheehy, CEO Sidewalk Branding Co. is what I call an SEO guru, and through his company he can do an On-Page Website SEO Audit where he can report on the elements of your website that are bringing you value as well as where changes could increase your visibility. He tries to talk to me about META wording relevance and character/word length, GEO location indicators and anchor text usage and again it is a foreign language. That is why I need these people and you probably do also, internet/social marketing has become very specialized. I have clients that ask me to look at their websites and I do, but to know for sure I call Crystal or Chris. With more and more people turning to the internet to locate a body shop your website has to be top-notch, Crystal and Chris have both told me that you must grab an internet searcher's attention in a few seconds or they will move on.

Is it time for waterborne?

I was invited to attend a waterborne workshop a couple of weeks ago by my friends at PROFINISHESPLUS. They were holding the workshop to show the benefits of DuPont™ Cromax®Pro waterborne basecoat. Like others I always thought of changing to waterborne was for EPA reasons, but after attending this workshop I found many other benefits, especially time!  Forget about the EPA regulations, the date for mandatory use continually moves and I believe people have put going to waterborne on the back burner.  After attending this workshop I can tell you that is a big mistake.  Going to waterborne will speed up production.  Terry McDaniel, DuPont paint technician and John Santiago PROFINISHES PLUS paint technician set up the paint both with some mock front ends and a couple loose fenders.  Manned with a stopwatch John timed the different processes and believe it or not they painted a complete front end with waterborne in the time it took to paint a fender in solvent.  With the wet-on-wet application process of the waterborne product they were able to paint the front fenders and hood on the mock frontend in just less than 15 minutes.  It took just over 15 minutes to apply a basecoat of solvent, let it flash and apply a second coat of base product.  It also took less time for the waterborne to flatten/flash so clear could be applied than the solvent. If that is not a reason to go to waterborne, I certainly do not know what is!   I encourage everybody to ask their paint jobber to show them the benefits of going to waterborne, or better yet, open your shop to a workshop.  Seeing this first hand made me realize there are many more benefits than EPA requirements.  To me EPA now stands for Extra Production Achieved! Your jobber can also help you with an audit to see what you will need to do to get ready to convert to waterborne and my article in ABRN will give you some additional insight.

Call Tracking

I had a great conversation with McKay Allen and Bryan Pocock from ContactPoint LLC.   They have a new product called LOGMyCalls which is a unique program that tracks, records and scores phone calls online.  We all wonder how our people perform when people call into the shop asking for information.  Do they sell the shop on the phone or just answer the questions?  LOGMyCalls will record the calls, score them and provide coaching on how to improve the conversations our people have with customers.  They also allow you to have key numbers for each advertising program you use so you can see how effective it is.  I know shops are spending advertising money on ads, websites and mailers to get customers to call their shop and do not see any growth from that advertising.  Many times the problem is the person answering the phone is not handling the call properly.  Check out www.logmycalls.com if you think you have this problem or if you just want to know you don’t have the problem. 

Shout out to my friends

I have been developing a best practice series over the last few months and as some will say it has taken a village as well as traveling to some to make this series complete and accurate.    It is well on its way to completion and I need to give a few shops a shout out for allowing me to hang in their shops and take pictures of them performing the best practices.  Many thanks to First Team Hampton Chevrolet Collision Center,  Casey Collision Center, Hampton Collision, Hutchens Chevrolet Collision Center and Bay Custom Auto Body.

Chief EZliner Express

I talked  with Mike Ramey of M.R.E Inc recently about my theory of replacing an aging frame machine with a new one or purchasing several small pulling platforms similar to Chief Automotive's EZLiner Express instead.   You can purchase about three of the small pulling platforms for the price of one frame machine.  The design of new vehicles utilizes a crush zone type construction so mostly what is happening in shops now is jigging vehicles, doing slight pulls, removing the damaged metal and replacing the structure with new pieces.  There isn't much heavy pulling going on anymore and having one or two frame machines in a shop has always created a choke-point or a retraint in production flow.   Having small pulling platforms which allows a vehicle to have the affected structure removed and replaced right in the technician's stall is a definite time saver.  There is no longer a need to move the vehicle to the frame machine.   You will still need one full-size frame machine for pick-ups and SUV's but your techinicians will enjoy having pulling capabilities right in their stall with their individual platforms and you will notice a decrease in your cycle time

Looking for Good Help?

I know finding good technicians is difficult however, it is not impossible.   The number of available technicians is very low and most are content in their current employment.  Ads have not proven to be fruitful in most markets, there is no rhyme or reason why, they are just not working and they are very expensive.  For the same money you can generate some very valuable leads by giving incentives to the people around you.

Using people around you as recruiter’s works well because you generally get a higher quality applicant.  Technicians know other technicians and will tell you about ones they would want to work beside.  Offering your technicians a bonus for bringing you a technician benefits both of you.  They work to find a technician that they respect and you get a good technician. 

 Another source is the tool man, they are in shops all the time and you would be amazed on how well they will recruit for you for a little cash.  Unlike a paint jobber who has loyalty to the shops they support, the tool man works for the technicians and he needs them to be employed.  This gives him an added incentive to assist you. 

It is hard to offer technicians a higher hourly rate as a lure, our industry has polluted those waters by offering technicians a $1 more to a point where most technicians are earning 50% of the door rate.  Using a sign-on bonus is a way to provide the appeal without costing you a decrease in labor gross profit. 

I recommend phasing in the bonus, 25 - 50% at time of hire and the remainder after six months.  I would create bonuses equal to what you have been paying in employment ads, but even if you end up putting out a little more it will be because you have actually hired somebody, not just paid for ads.

Continous Improvement

We are almost to the end of January and I hope everybody has had a chance to reel in their 2011 numbers.  While those numbers are fresh in your mind I encourage you to look them over and pick three that you feel you can improve on.  Then unlike the New Year’s resolutions you made just under a month ago, look at these numbers with some scrutiny and develop a plan to improve them throughout 2012.   What numbers you select will be different from each other but the ones I like to look at every year on the financial side are; Paint Material Sales per Flag Hour, Overhead Expense as a percentage of Sales, and Total Gross Profit, then on the operations side I like to check closing ratios, CSI scores, and Technician Production percentages.  Once you pick your numbers find out what they would be if you increased them by 1%.  Those that know me well have heard me talk about the power of 1, the number is small by itself but when it is used as a multiplier the magic begins. Let’s say your total gross profit is 42%, what would that dollar amount look like it   if your gross profit was 43%?  What would your closing ratio look like if it was 78% instead of 77%?  I think you will find that increasing any number you look at by 1% will improve your bottom line substantially.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

As we move forward in the New Year I hope all reflect on 2011, bring the good forward, leave the mistakes behind and have a very prosperous 2012.  I believe things are progressing well for our industry and see many good things coming.  NACE and SEMA were both very good shows this year and I only see things getting better for those two venues.  SCRS, CIC and I-CAR as well as several other organizations are constantly working to improve our industry by raising standards, bringing understanding and developing certifications.  I look forward to seeing you somewhere in my travels and appreciate the following as I try to bring information you can use through this blog.  Please be safe this holiday season, we need all of you !

Marketing Tactics

Did you notice how companies changed their marketing for the holidays?  Black Friday - Cyber Monday – Super Saturday, they even had a couple of jingles for the procrastinators = me!  They continually modified their targets to meet a different group of people to create a steady stream of buyers.  Just like the companies working to get their fair share of customers during the holiday season you need to alter your marketing efforts to keep your shop full.  Marketing is an ongoing process, you have to continually market your customer base, you have to explore areas you are not reaching and you have to diversify your tactics over the different media opportunities.  In Michael E. Gerber’s book E Myth Mastery   he discusses six disciplines involving awareness, motivation, acceptance, brand preference, purchase transaction and customer satisfaction.  From this it is evident that you have to ensure you generate awareness of your collision center, motivate potential customers to drive to your facility, create an acceptance of what you offer, identify your brand as unique, explain the processes that makes doing business with you attractive and capitalize on  your customer satisfaction index.  Kelly McDonald, President of McDonald Marketing, book How to Market to People Not Like You gives insight on how to market those areas you are not reaching with your current methods.  She explains how to “Get to Know the Customer You’re Not Getting but Should Be” in chapter two and in chapter five she describes how to “Communicate in Their ‘‘Language’’: Develop Marketing Messages Based on Their Values”.  She continues in discussion about Gen Y’s, X’s and Z’s and how to approach them.  You can find many other books on marketing but I enjoyed these two and believe you will also. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

The Christmas season has rolled around quickly again this year, I hope all are a little more prepared than I.  This is one of my favorite times of year and look forward to the celebrations, my wish to you is that you are able to celebrate this holiday in the method, fashion and style you are accustomed.  It brings great joy to see the number of military members being returned home, and think about the ones remaining in harm’s way protecting us as we gather with family and friends.  Please keep them in your thoughts and reach out to their family members if they are near you.

Operating Lean Saves You Money

I get asked often how lean can save shops money and I always answer "by eliminating waste." Lean management is the theory of eliminating waste by refining processes. As you journey through the lean process you will incorporate the 5S Kaizen philosophy and identify items in your operation that can be eliminated through one of the seven elements of waste. The 5S Kaizen philosophy is based on five Japanese words that begin with S: Seiri – Sort, Seiton – Set in order, Seiso – Shine, Seitetsu – Standardize, and Shitsuke – Sustain. By progressing through the 5S steps you will develop habits that will streamline your operation, remove waste and ultimately save money.
For the complete article visit: http://abrn.search-autoparts.com/abrn/Training/Operating-lean-can-save-your-shop-money/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/749279

Continuous Improvement

I probably read the best quote in a while about Continuous Improvement (Lean) on Don Sweigart’s twitter page @donsweigart where he said “If it doesn’t solve a problem, you don’t need it.”  Think about that quote and then look around your shop and see how much you are holding onto or check out a process that you work through everyday just because…..you have always done it that way.  I think you will find there are tasks being accomplished that do not really serve a purpose or more importantly they mask a process that is not being followed.  To have true continuous improvement each task must stand on its own merit.  Each process should have a Quality-In standard as well as a Quality-Out standard.  Those two standards set the expectations of what comes out of a process as well as what is sent to the next process.  Without measuring those expectations you pass problems downstream until either somebody stops and corrects the defect or the defect stops production.  Either way time is lost correcting the defect.  Look around and if it doesn’t solve a problem, you don’t need it, it is time to get rid of it.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

I wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  As I look in the mirror and reflect over the last year I have found many things to be thankful for, most of all I appreciate those that read my blog.  I work to document things that have moved forward in my mind that I think others can learn from, that is the goal of JSE Consulting LLC, to help others grow.  I am thankful that I am in a position to use my company as a tool to make the collision industry better, one person or shop at a time.  Thanks for reading and I hope you find many things to be thankful for in your mirror too. 

The SEMA Report - Final Chapter

SEMA Final Chapter

Today I saved for my day at SEMA.  I used the time to see things I had to walk by throughout the week because I was on a mission heading to the next meeting or a class.  I was actually able to stop and look at  some cars. 

Welding Equipment

After attending the class on the “new” metal yesterday I thought I would spend the morning looking at a few welders.  There were about five different spot welders at the show and in talking to the different vendors I found that the Car-O-Liner CTR 12000 was among the best available.  This is a fully automatic process-regulated welder that recognizes total sheet thickness via a Pulse-Sonar-System.  I saw a demonstration that showed the welder going from two sheets of metal to four sheets of metal without changing any settings.   I talked with Tim Curran who told me that one of the highlights of the machine was that it required a minimum of training.  We all remember when spot welders first came around and the amount of training was necessary for the technicians to become proficient.  The CTR 12000 has a card type training system attached so a technician could review the process and begin welding without specialized training.  To me that was a bonus, a welder that would meet the need of a collision center that did not require specialized training.  With all the training technicians require to stay certified it is a true benefit to have a piece of equipment that does not add another training requirement.  In my discussion with Tim I learned that most of the OE’s have endorsed the CTR 12000 with Volkswagen being the most recent.  After understanding that a weld could make a difference in air bag deployment in yesterday’s class, I know I will check the shop that repairs my vehicle a little bit closer.

AutoMobile Technologies

I met Mike Fischer, another of my LinkedIn contacts today and we discussed his company’s products.  The one I like the most is CollisionNotes™ a software program that works with a PDA or Tablet PC that will allow you to quickly inspect and collect vehicle data, digitally and error free.  Once the inspection is complete, all the information including photos and voice notes are wirelessly transmitted and integrated with your estimating and management system.  You really need to follow the link above to appreciate all this program does, it is amazing.  I knew something like this had to be out there somewhere, now I know where.  That is just one of their software programs, they have software solutions for Reconditioning Companies, Dealership Service Departments, Used Car Reconditioning Departments as well as the Collision department as mentioned above.  Check out the links, I got started looking at one and ending up spending about thirty minutes looking at all the different software programs.