Repairing customers' vehicles is the main focus of most body shops, but there are other services associated with body repair that have a major effect on both body shops and vehicle owners. Towing and rental car services are two aspects of collision repair that complement a body shop's normal operations, and although these services are usually provided by companies other than the shops themselves, vehicle owners don't always distinguish where a body shop's role begins and ends during the repair process. Customers often consider the entire repair experience when evaluating the quality of the shop that repaired their vehicle, regardless of the shop's role in towing the vehicle or suggesting rental car options.

Individual body shops often approach these two services quite differently. Some shops prefer to play little or no role in offering these services; some refer their customers to other companies with which they have established relationships, which can range from extremely informal to highly formal; and some shops offer these services themselves. Towing Services

Chris Dameron, owner of CBWD Collision Repair Center in Raleigh, N.C., said his shop subcontracts work to a towing company and has been doing business with that company for about a year, although he has been working with the owner of the business for three years. Dameron prefers that his shop maintain an informal relationship with both towing and rental car companies - mainly because they have worked best for the business. This can be attributed partly to the simplicity of these arrangements, according to Dameron, who said, "This way, I don't have to account for them as well as us."

Mell Paul's Body Shop in Norcross, Ga., sublets its customers' towing needs to one particular company, which accounts for about 90 percent of the vehicles towed into the shop, according to Patrick Paul, office manager. The other 10 percent comes from customers having their vehicles towed in by their own accord, or by total losses, which are towed away by salvage yards once the vehicles have been deemed to be totaled.

The shop has maintained its relationship with the next-door towing company for at least 15 years - mainly because of the company's close proximity and the fact that its drivers never damage customers' vehicles, said Paul. The shop also has a charge account with the towing company, which facilitates an efficient and trusting working relationship.

Bill Byrne, owner of Central Collision in Alsip, Ill., also believes his shop has a good relationship with the towing company it subcontracts its work to, and this relationship has existed for six years - for the duration of the life of his business. He initially chose this company from a "word-of-mouth" referral.

The towing company doesn't give Central Collision special preference, according to Byrne. The towing company accommodates requests in the order they are received, and Byrne's customers get no special treatment and "stand in line" with all other towing requests regardless of the amount of work Byrne sends to the towing company. But, special treatment is not what Byrne seeks. The towing company's philosophy on not doing favors for specific businesses is understandable, contends Byrne, who runs his business by the same philosophy. The main reason for the enduring business relationship with the towing company, Byrne said, is the "quality service" it provides. v "I like dealing with a company that provides quality service and has personality," Byrne said. A towing company has a good "personality," he explains, when it has drivers whose behavior and appearance are professional, and whose trucks have a nice appearance as well.

A tell-tale sign of the level of professionalism of a tow company, Byrne suggests, is whether or not the tow-truck drivers clean the glass off the street where an accident occurred before leaving the scene with the vehicle involved. "A lot of people don't look at that [as being important], but the customers look for that." And, as Byrne points out, customers often view services such as towing and rental cars as extensions of the overall repair service. A negative experience with a tow company whose truck and driver appear unprofessional, and with a driver who behaves "like a jerk," could reflect negatively on the shop - especially if the shop is referring the customer to the companies providing these services.

While many shops refer customers to specific tow companies, others may have their own trucks or even their own towing companies.

The owners of Shafer's Collision Repair Center in Avon, Ind., bought two towing companies in 1996, consolidated them and have run their towing company adjacent to the body shop since. Suzanne Shafer, who co-owns the shop with her husband, Carl, offered her mixed opinion on the benefits of body shop owners owning their own towing companies, saying, "It can be profitable, but it can also make you have a lot of gray hair."

The shop initially purchased the towing companies mainly to help drive business into the shop, according to Rickey Steenberger, office manager of Shafer's Collision. Business was good for a while because the shop was getting calls via a rotation system set up by the local sheriff's office. In the state of Indiana, vehicles involved in accidents must be reported to the sheriff's office. If the vehicle owners do not request a specific towing company, the sheriff's office will select one of the shops on its rotation list. Shafer said their shop was unjustly removed from the rotation list not too long ago, and their towing business suffered because of it.

However, towing business has been picking up again for the shop, and the towing company currently has four trucks and five to seven drivers, depending on the workload. Shafer attributes this mainly to word-of-mouth advertising. Their image works for them, she believes, because the shop insists that its employees be respectful and professional.

Other benefits provided by the Shafers' towing company include 24-hour service (Suzanne handles the phone calls at night) and free towing for customers. For instance, if a customer can't get to the shop in time to pick up a repaired vehicle, the shop will have the vehicle towed to the customer's home.

Shafer acknowledged that she and her husband learned one valuable lesson from their experiences with owning a towing company in addition to the shop: "When you start diversifying, you have to remember to take care of your main business." She thinks they somewhat got away from concentrating on repairing vehicles in the last couple of years, but believes they are now getting back to focusing on body shop operations.

Rental Car Companies
Mell Paul's Body Shop does not maintain a relationship with any particular rental car company - if its customers request information, the shop refers them to rental car company brochures located near the shop's counter. Paul said the shop prefers not to have a relationship with a rental car company because "it puts you between a rock and a hard place" due to the "four-way battle" between the shop, insurance company, rental car company and vehicle owner. It's difficult enough simply working through the three-way relationship of shop, insurance company and vehicle owner, according to Paul.

Paul's shop previously has had business relationships with rental car companies - whereby the shop would pay the rental car companies and get reimbursed by the insurance companies. "It got to the point where they [insurance companies] weren't paying on time," Paul said. In some instances, he added, the insurance companies would refuse to pay for some of the rental car days because they contended the shop took too long for the repair.

In the relationship between CBWD Collision Repair Center and the rental car company it refers customers to, according to shop owner Dameron, the association is based on the premise: "They help us, and we send them lots of work." Dameron's shop refers customers to a company it has been using for the past couple of years, but has nothing to do with anything beyond the simple referral.

Some rental car companies enter into formal agreements with body shops, and in some instances offer concessions in exchange for the business. It is not too uncommon to find a rental car agency located next to a body shop or even in the same building, to which the shop refers all of its customers.

Dameron's shop has had formal arrangements in the past, but he did not like the service of some of these companies and thus has chosen a more informal arrangement as the best course of business.

Central Collision's Byrne said his shop refers all customers to one rental car company because it handles all customers extremely well. "Service is a real big factor." It's more important than cost, he contends, and his shop follows up with its customers to make sure they are receiving quality service.

Jack Walker, owner of Autowerkes in Valparaiso, Ind., agrees that convenient service is crucial for the entire collision repair process endured by customers, which is partly why he chose 10 years ago to rent cars to his shop's customers. At the time, the only rental car companies in his area were Hertz and Avis, and insurance companies wouldn't pay for the high-priced cars offered by these companies - hence, Walker's customers sometimes could not find rental cars. Walker saw a need his shop could fulfill while at the same time making a profit on the service. His customers appreciated the convenience and lower prices offered by his rental services, and he also received business from non-repair-related customers since he had the only "inexpensive" rental car service in the area.

Walker's shop currently offers five rental cars ranging in age from 1989 to 1995 model years. For the first two to three years of renting cars to customers, Walker operated the business as an independent operation, but bought a franchise license thereafter and has maintained the franchise since then. Although it is not a widely recognized franchise, he was not necessarily looking for a brand name but rather was more interested in the benefits of being part of a franchise. The cost of insurance liability for an independent rental car operation is "astronomical," according to Walker. By being a franchised rental car service, the collective liability makes the insurance rates much lower.

Rental business has decreased for Walker since Enterprise opened a franchise in the area four years ago, offering relatively cheap prices and new cars. However, many of Walker's customers still prefer renting through his company.

Walker sees operating a rental car service as a viable and profitable operation for shops located in areas where there are few or no rental car companies. In fact, he said, "It can be very lucrative."

Shop Approach
Byrne chose his towing company through the advice of a friend, and chose the rental car company through the advice of former coworkers when he went to open his own shop six years ago.

While experience can often tell a shop owner which companies and policies are best for his or her needs, word of mouth can be an effective method by which shop owners choose their complementary service arrangements.

Choosing the best course of action for a shop is hardly simple. Body shops have unique experiences, objectives and business philosophies by which to derive their business practices, which are likely to be partly responsible for the varying approaches to towing and rental car services. As with all business decisions, it is helpful to remember that what works for a shop in one situation might not work well for another shop.

Shops clearly have widely different approaches and expectations toward towing and rental car services. Of course, as long as the end result satisfies both the shop and its customers, then the end certainly justifies the means.

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