From the Desk of Mike Anderson: Shops Need to Move Beyond Paper QC Process

Written by Mike Anderson, Autobody News
Published February 27, 2019

While working with a shop on some quality control (QC) issues recently, I discovered they were still using a paper QC checklist.

It reminded me of the somewhat dated checklist that’s among the forms and tools available for free on my website (www.collisionadvice.com). It’s not that such checklists are bad. They serve as a good reminder of the things that are often not quite

From the Desk of Mike Anderson: It’s Time to Create New Parts Code

Written by Mike Anderson, Autobody News
Published February 11, 2019

It’s time for this industry to resolve the parts code mess.

You probably know what I’m talking about. It’s no secret that a lot of collision repair shops, particularly those on direct repair programs, price-match parts. Rather than use an alternative (non-OEM or recycled) part, they put a new OEM part on the vehicle, billing for it at the alternative part price.

My goal here isn’t to debate whether this practice (or DRPs in general) is good or bad.

From the Desk of Mike Anderson: Automakers' Increased Role in Claims Seems Just on the Horizon as Connectivity Happens

Written by Mike Anderson, Autobody News
Published December 28, 2018

It’s been about four years since the industry began talking about the automakers playing a larger role in helping vehicle owners after an accident---using telematics to contact the driver at the crash scene, for example, to ask if they need medical help or a tow arranged for them, or to see if they would like a referral to a nearby shop certified by that automaker.

I frequently get asked, particularly by

From the Desk of Mike Anderson: A Reasonable Price for a Vehicle Scan Depends on What You’re Including

Written by Mike Anderson, Autobody News
Published November 29, 2018

I get asked quite regularly by both shops and insurers, "What is a reasonable charge for a vehicle scan?"

Our “Who Pays for What?” surveys have found there’s not much consistency for what collision repairers charge. In 2018, of about 1,000 shops responding to the survey, about 1 in 4 of those who perform scans in-house charge a flat fee. Just over 40 percent charge up to one labor hour at a mechanical labor rate. But the

From the Desk of Mike Anderson: Toyota’s Training Website Offers Free Information for Collision Repairers

Written by Mike Anderson, Autobody News
Published November 5, 2018

One of the occasional frustrations I experience is seeing the industry fail to make use of some of the great (and free!) resources shops have at their disposal.

When you find, for example, something is missing or seemingly inaccurate in one of the estimating systems, please take a few minutes to submit an inquiry to the Database Enhancement Gateway (...

From the Desk of Mike Anderson: 4 Questions To Consider Ahead of Negotiating for Any ‘Not-Included’ Estimate Line Item

Written by Mike Anderson, Autobody News
Published October 5, 2018

Among the most common types of questions I get from shops is something like this:

“Mike, I see this particular procedure you ask about in one of your ‘Who Pays for What’ surveys, but we just can’t seem to ever get paid for that. How are shops negotiating for that?”

I take a two-track response to this type of question. First, I challenge them to ensure that they’ve actually really tried to get paid for

From the Desk of Mike Anderson: Are You Upgrading Your Shop’s Customer Service Experience?

Written by Mike Anderson, Autobody News
Published September 18, 2018

First, just a quick note to say I appreciate Autobody News offering me an opportunity to share some of my thoughts, opinions and ideas with you here.

I know many of you may have only an occasional chance to attend one of my presentations or classes, so this is a way for me to try to offer you some information every month.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a term I first heard from Mark Fincher