We've "scene" it all--The SceneExchange Blog

We've Teamed Up with Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Corp.

If you are an A-Plus Network Shop, you might like to know that we have formed a strategic alliance with Sherwin-Williams to offer SceneExchange to you. We are always seeking top-notch shops--and being in the A-Plus Network is a good way to let us know that you are one. SceneExchange is another way Sherwin-Williams is looking to add value for their shops.

Here's a link to an article about the alliance in BodyShop Business.

--Beth

How's My Teen Driving? Bumper Sticker Program

As a followup to a couple of my previous posts on teen drivers (Parent-Teen Driving Contracts and Keeping Tabs on Teenage Drivers), I thought you might also find this interesting. 

A new program called 'The Teen Driver Protection Program' was recently launched by Boston-based company, Steer Straight that caught my attention. It consists of a bumper sticker on the vehicle the teen drives which gives a phone number for other motorists to call with comments about the teen's driving, similar to the one you see on commercial trucks on the road. It's pretty reasonable too - a one year membership costs $99 and includes a live 24/7 customer support team that answers the calls and emails you about the comments from other motorists. The emails also contain links to online training modules specific to the issue that was reported. I think it's a pretty good concept - and hopefully one that will help curb teen driving accidents.

--Shanna

From Pump to Plug...

Automobiles in the 1950s could run about 100 miles on a tankful of gasoline, the idea of taking lengthy roadtrips wasn't reality for the average vehicle owner until a network of gas stations was developed to allow people to drive farther. (It also led to a boom in roadside motels, restaurants, and the world's largest ball of twine--but that's another story...) Today, vehicle owners with electric cars face many of the same constraints. They are unable to journey further than a roundtrip that allows them to be back at their garage at night for a recharge.

Now, Shai Agassi’s company, Better Place, is ready to create a network of charging stations in Israel and Japan, with pending stations in Canada as well. In fact, the first electric car parking lot and docking stations has opened in Tel Aviv. Charge spots are designed with driver experience in mind--simple and easy-to-use.

Since most car companies are designing electric cars, and our new President has been very clear in his desire to reduce oil consumption, the time is ripe for electric cars to go more mainstream. Mr. Agassi's vision just might help make that into a reality.

--Beth

The Shorty Awards

No, they have nothing to do with height (although at 5' I've had my share of jokes over the years!)...

The Shorty Awards are for the best content producers on Twitter--which means they are limited to 140 characters. The first-ever awards received more than 50,000 nominees. The categories range from business to food. Here's a link to more about the awards.

Regardless of whether you use Twitter or not, the sheer numbers highlight the range of ways this new media is being used to share and communicate. Just a little something for Marketers and Management to keep in mind.

--Beth

Keeping up with your favorite blogs

Obviously, if you are reading this, you are already on the blog bandwagon. How do you find out about new blog posts? Do you check your favorite blogs websites daily, or weekly? Or do you use an RSS feed to a web-based news reader?

I was talking to my husband last night and was telling him about some of the blogs that I read and how I use Google Reader to keep up with all of the blogs that I am interested in. I was surprised to find out that he didn't know what Google Reader was. A news reader keeps track of all of your favorite blogs and shows you when a new post has been added to that site. You can either read the post right from the reader, or click a link to go to the blog site. I find that using a news reader is the most efficient way for me to keep up with the blogs and to stay on top of what is going on in our industry. So I thought that if my husband didn't know about this great technology, maybe I should pass along the information to you as well.

Getting started with a news reader
If you aren't familiar with news readers, here's how you can get started. First, choose the news reader that you would like to use. There are quite a few out there - MyYahoo, newsgator, myAOL, Bloglines, netvibes, Google, and Pageflakes, to name a few. Create an account and you are on your way to subscribing to your favorite blogs using the RSS feed.

Subscribing to blog feeds
Most blogs have a link that allows you to subscribe to the blog using an RSS feed. For example, for our blog, 'We've "scene" it all - the SceneExchange blog,' if you scroll to the bottom of the page,  in the right menu you will see a link to 'Subscribe to this blog's feed.' If you don't see a link to subscribe to a particular blog, then simply add it as a subscription within your news reader. You will be asked for the website of the blog, then the news reader will handle the rest (at least that is how it works with Google Reader). Also look for the 'RSS Feed' icon on your favorite blogs, and that should lead you to the right area to subscribe to the blog.

Finding industry blogs
The next question by my husband was, 'how do you find blogs in your industry?' First, when you start reading a blog that you like, many times the authors will link to other blogs in the industry when they find something interesting posted. Check out those blogs, and if you like them, add them to your news reader. That's how I found most of the blogs that I read. I also checked out the 50 Best Business Blogs of 2008 and found some of those to be interesting.

Here are some industry blogs that I follow if you want to check them out:

ASA Blog  - It is written by the President of the Automotive Service Association. He provides commentary about the automotive repair industry.

BodyShop Business Blog - This is written by Jason Stahl who is an editor at BodyShop Business. He talks about what he sees going on in the industry.

AutoMuse - Erica Eversman discusses automotive legal and consumer issues in this blog.

If you find some other interesting blogs in our industry, please pass them along.

--Shanna

Stimulus Plan Signed, Auto Team Established

It's official, the stimulus plan has been signed and the era of the Obama economic plan starts today. The only part of the plan affecting the automotive industry is the $1.7 billion portion allowing consumers to deduct sales taxes paid on new vehicles off their income taxes. It is predicted to generate 94,000 additional units in 2009 with an average rebate of $330.

The "cash for Clunkers" program was dropped from the final version, this would have given tax breaks to those that traded in less fuel efficient older vehicles and agreeing to have them scrapped.  A similar program is in effect in Western European countries giving consumers $3,200 if they scrap their old car, it is anticipated to generate 200,000 additional units in 2009.

Now on to GM and Chrysler's problems, as of this writing no "plan" has been submitted to congress even though Nancy Polaski and Barney Frank sent a letter Friday indicating "we trust you are going to submit a plan that identifies specific steps you will be taking while you are using our money".  GM is set to get an additional $4 billion and Chrysler another $3 billion.  In fairness, the final plan is not due until the end of March.

Both companies have stated they have had issues with the UAW in accepting concessions to stay out of bankruptcy.  The UAW applauds the newly appointed  "Task Force" to oversee the restructuring plans.  The "Task Force" replaces the original idea of a single "Car Czar" (here's a good WSJ article on the topic).  The committee is made up of senior administration officials, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers as the leads.  Other members have not been appointed as of this writing.

On a good note, they have hired Ron Bloom, a consultant who comes from the United Steeworkers of America, Ron will be overseeing most of the financial analysis.

In my opinion, there are too many hands in the fire at this stage. The "Task Force" is not even completed—and now we have added all these extra levels of involvement? Once Washington's group dynamics come into play, you can bet the whole process will slow down. Doesn't Tim have enough to worry about? Appointing a single "Czar" would have been a better decision to get this plan moving, give direct leadership to GM and Chrysler, and single accountability to the success. So here goes another $7 billion without a plan, I wish someone would give me just $1 billion; I could create some nice jobs and boost this economy with that!

--Alan

Strategies for beating the downturn--from all types of busineses

Here is just a sampling of what various businesses are doing to help themselves right now.

1. The Artist--Damien Hirst (he created a diamond encrusted skull that gained reams of publicity and sold for $150 million) is making pieces for $5.00 and selling them at two stores that he opened. In case you are wondering, the $5.00 object is a keychain. You can also get a poster of the $150 million dollar skull for only thirty bucks.

2. The Tech Firm--Intel

How does a company go from the smart branding of "Intel Inside" to laying off thousands (announced a few weeks ago) to staking their future on massive R&D spending? By making a smart move that plays into its company story by banking on innovation to propel its fortunes.

They will be investing $7 billion in new manufacturing facilities to support their next-generation chips--code name Westmere. This will allow them to bring technology to market even sooner.

3. The College--The Sheffield College (in the UK)

This school has developed an "action plan" to help support those who have been laid off. It includes special 10 week trainings, a part-time training program that guarantees a job to all who complete the courses and the creation of a one stop advice shop. Sheffield is a vocational school--the largest in its city.

What can be gleaned from these examples?

1. The artist--seek to understand trends and price points.

2. The tech company--committing to a strong vision of your company's future pays big dividends. And investing in your company is a good idea too--especially if your competition is cutting back.

3. The College--Tailor your product to the needs of your customers.

What strategies will your company use in tough times?

--Beth

Lean Principles Applied to Front Office Operations

Although the concept of lean has been around for many years--it actually dates to the pre-20th century--lean manufacturing is a topic of considerable buzz in the collision repair industry today. I am certain you have heard about lean manufacturing and principles, and you may even already be in the process of adopting these principles into your own production processes.

The same lean principles that are applied to your production process can also be applied to your office operations. The definition of lean is to assist in the identification and elimination of waste. As waste is eliminated, quality improves and production time and cost are reduced. A true lean model can be worked into both your office and administration processes.

Here are a few ideas that can be applied using the concept of lean into your office operations.

Begin by fully documenting your Repair Order flow; this is the process that follows how a Repair Order (the physical file) moves through your business. Documenting this will identify potential waste and let you focus on true value gained from the efficient repair of a vehicle (while maximizing profit and customer satisfaction).

Number One: The front office “counter” or desk should be as neat and clutter free as possible. This is a first impression opportunity for your customers and should reflect a positive and clean operation.

• Everything has its place—Customer information sheets, completed jobs awaiting customer pickup, estimates for follow-up...everything should be in its own “bin” or a labeled file in a file drawer. Every piece of paper should have its place.
• Files follow flow—As identified in your documented work flow, files should be created that follow that flow and each R.O. should be contained in the proper “file” for processing. This allows for focused tasks to be performed throughout the workday.
• Clutter free tasks—You or your staff can only work on one task at time to be most efficient. Try this little test. Walk up to someone working at their desk; and if there is more than one file, paper, note or other item in front of them, ask the question “which one of these tasks are you working on?”—and which one is most important?
• Golden rule Email—only touch the email once. Either reply to the email immediately, delete it if not important, or “file” it into the appropriate electronic folder.
• Work on your folders one at a time based upon importance and flow (both manual folders and electronic)

These minor changes to your work flow and those of your employees will have a significant effect on your processes and allow you to identify work flow bottle necks that need to be addressed.

--Alan

Online Communities Article (web exclusive) for Claims Magazine

If you receive Claims Magazine's e-News, the top story is from none other than our own Chrisa Hickey. If you are into auto claims and online communities, this is the story for you (in fact, even if you just want to learn more about online communities, you'll come away better informed).

Let us know what you think of the article.

Follow this link to read it.

--Beth

Preventive maintenance: Saving money on car repairs

With the economy seemingly becoming worse by the day, I think the question on many people's minds is how to save money and reduce their expenses wherever possible. I have recently read articles on '25 ways to use fabric softener sheets' and 'How to save $20,000 in one year' and have found that any tidbit of information I can find on reducing my expenses is intriguing.

If you run a body shop, I'm sure there are many helpful tips that you can pass along to your customers. If your customers see that you are trying to help them in these poor economic times, they will remember that when they need body work done on their car - or pass along your name to family and friends, which is even better. As a consumer, I think tips on how to save money on maintaining my car would be especially useful. It is important to point out that performing routine maintenance will save them thousands of dollars in the long run.

Here are some tips that you can pass along to your customers:

• Check tires for uneven wear, your car may need an alignment.
• Rust spots are not only ugly, they can cause interior damage to your car. Get them treated as soon as possible.
• Examine the radiator fluid for signs of rust. A system flush may alleviate the problem.
• Check your fluids to make sure you have the right amounts. Too little or too much fluid can cause major damage.
• Stick to the service and maintenance schedule provided by the manufacturer to avoid costly engine and transmission repairs.
• Make sure your tires are properly inflated to get the best gas mileage from your vehicle.

Giving out valuable information will cost you little to nothing, but in the long run, it should help your business grow.

--Shanna