The better the estimate, the better the repair and the better outcome for your business.

As vehicles have become more complex, the need to perform repairs properly has become ever more important. That’s why in today’s collision repair environment, there’s a need to ensure estimates are performed accurately and the people doing that work are properly trained.

Driving the business

While it’s common for collision centres to have Customer Service Representatives, Blueprinters and advisors as well as estimators, at the end of the day the people who are inputting the repair data into the estimating system are the ones that are running the numbers and essentially driving your entire business.

That’s why it’s so important that they are properly trained. Workflow through a collision centre tends to be cyclical and when there is less volume, you need to put even more emphasis on training staff, including your estimators.

Today, there’s simply no excuse, given the amount of training that’s available, including that offered by your refinish partners and OEMs. In the modern repair environment, these stakeholders understand how important it is, not only to bringing a vehicle back to certified OEM condition, but that the collision centres they partner with are able to consistently run a profitable business so they can continue to invest in OEM repair programs and new products/solutions.

Selling the work

While it’s been very encouraging to see the growth in estimating courses being offered by the likes of refinish companies to help shops improve staff proficiency and capability, your estimators also need to be able to sell the work they perform to insurers.

It is critical for staff working on the image desk to understand everything in that estimate and why certain procedures are required and the cost associated with them. It’s particularly important because they are analyzing the estimate and making a decision based on the information that’s presented to them. Which is why it is so critical to not only perform accurate and detailed estimates but communicate that information effectively to insurers.

Additionally, because the estimate drives the repair, how well it is written and how well that information is communicated to the insurer will also impact other key factors such as cycle time, profitability, touch time, technician hours and ultimately, your bottom line.

Clear communication

When performing an estimate, it is essential that the shop communicates clearly and concisely with the customer, and what the customer says aligns with the assignments regarding claim damage. Additionally, ALL damage on the vehicle needs to be documented, including unrelated damage that is either not included on the assignment or the customer has neglected to point out. Thirdly, a thorough dismantling of the vehicle needs to take place. This will add time, but it will ensure that once the repair process begins, things will go a lot smoother.

When you’re able to execute this process on a consistent basis, and back it up with thorough documentation, including the correct OEM procedures, you’ll be able to handle higher repair volumes and get paid more for each R/O, which will lead to better stakeholder and customer relationships, improve staff efficiency and morale, and ultimately more profitability for your business.