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Returning to rotation, ASRW ’11 is deemed a success with increased attendance
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he said. Keep your e-mails short — 250
words or less — and about only one or two
topics. Try to categorize your customer e-
mail list in ways that let you send more
relevant e-mails to different groups.
• Solicit feedback, positive or negative.
Ask customers to review you on Yelp or
other sites, he said. If you get negative
reviews, consider them an opportunity to
publicly show how you address such
customer concerns.
Brogan said social media is not unlike the
phone was 100 years ago — essentially a
great new way to attract and retain
customers if used effectively.
“This social media stuff does take time,
but prospecting for customers and seeking
referrals always takes time,” he said.
Panel discusses DRP agreements
ASRW included two forums, one for
collision and one for mechanical, the
evening before the trade show opened.
ASA Executive Director Ron Pyle says the
growth in ASRW attendance shows that the
decision to rotate the event to other
locations, such as Orlando, was a good
one.
Each of the four representatives on a
collision repair panel, for example, shared
advice for shop owners considering whether
to accept the terms of a direct repair
program (DRP) agreement.
Stacy Bartnik, director of field services
for the Carstar franchise network, said she is
concerned that many shop owners sign the
agreements without fully reading them.
“I think this is especially true as business
is down and repairers are struggling to get
more work to their door,” Bartnik said. “As
we all know, there are different elements of
different DRP contracts that appeal to some
repairers and not to others.
“So I think they get on these programs,
and when business is good and they’re busy,
they then start getting frustrated with any
program that might not meet the format of
how they run their business,” she said.
“We tend to do things out of the need to
get more work and not realize the
consequences until we don’t need that one
extra car each week from that insurer with
whom we don’t agree on how they want us
to do the work,” Bartnik said.
George Avery, a claims consultant with
State Farm, acknowledged that DRP
agreements can be confusing. His
company’s agreement, for example, gives
the insurer the right to require use of salvage
parts, just as the company’s contract with its
Attorney Andrew Rodenhouse told the
ASRW audience that shops should take
their experience with an insurer into
consideration before signing a direct
repair agreement.
insureds does — yet State Farm chooses, for
example, not to use salvage airbag
components.
Similarly, State Farm’s agreement with its
DRP shops states that they may be required
to use a particular estimating system, yet
State Farm continues to accept use of any of
the Big Three estimating systems.
“We put that in the agreement so it could
perhaps carry us into the future, and if we
ever needed it, it would be there,” Avery
said. “But I understand that can be a little
confusing.”
That’s why Avery encouraged shops to
discuss any questions they have about the
agreement with local claims personnel.
Bartnik pointed out to Avery, however,
that sometimes local staff may not fully
understand the agreements. Avery said that
in such cases, he encourages shops to bring
those questions to the regional level or
higher in his company.
“You’re not going over anyone’s head,”
he said, pointing out that some such
questions even reach his office at State
Farm’s national headquarters. “Go up the
ladder to get the answers. I really encourage
that.”
Bob Redding, ASA’s governmental affairs
representative in Washington, D.C., said he
encourages shops to have all DRP
agreements reviewed by a local attorney.
And one such attorney, Andrew
Rodenhouse, whose family operates a
collision repair business in Grand Rapids,
Mich., agreed, pointing out that if anything
an insurance company representative tells
you contradicts something in the agreement,
the written terms will be what get upheld in
any disagreement.
Rodenhouse said his other advice for
shops considering a DRP agreement is to
think about their experience working with
that insurer.
“If you’ve done some work for them in
the past, and the adjuster comes out and
fights you on everything, it’s not going to
get better just because you sign a direct
repair agreement,” he said. “Use your
common sense and experience with what it’s
like working with the local people for this
insurance carrier.”
ASA’s Pyle said housing reservations are
already open online for the 2012 event,
scheduled for Oct. 10-13 in New Orleans.
He said that unlike last year, several dozen
exhibitors at this year’s event had already
signed on for booth space next year. n
It’s Coming – Don’t Miss Out!!
February 24-26, 2012 * Seattle
www.ATETRAININGEXPO.com * 253-473-6970
TM
THE WEST COAST S LARGEST AUTOMOTIVE TRAINING & EXPO EVENT
SPONSORED BY ASA-WA, NWTDA, & WAWA. PRODUCED BY ASA-WA.
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