Are the vehicles you repair your best advertising? Do your customers fail to recognize their own cars when they come to pick them up? Are your ace technicians getting the recognition they deserve? Are the ones who aren't meeting your expectations getting the help they need in target areas? If you can answer no to any of these questions, you may need to take another look at your quality control procedures.

Elements of Quality Control

"I think there are three key elements of quality control," said Mike Anderson, owner of Wagonwork Collision Center in Alexandria, Va. "First: having high standards and communicating those standards to your new hires. They have to understand how important quality is to your organization. Second: having standard operating procedures or best practices in place. Third: monitoring the vehicle throughout the repair process."

Most importantly, said Mike West, owner of Southtowne Auto Rebuild in Tukwila, Wash., the shop owner or manager has to make quality a priority.

"It has to supersede quantity," he said. "If the owner or management hasn't bought into it, quality doesn't trickle down to the employees. They're only concerned about doing a lot of work. When there's a lot of pressure to produce, quality control becomes difficult, so you need some tight systems to control that."

Bob Hohmeier owns Hohmeier Auto Body in St. Louis. His shop is consistently one of the top performing shops in the country based on customer satisfaction. Hohmeier believes his shop's quality control procedures contribute greatly to that rating.

"The first thing the customer sees when they pick up their vehicle is not only was the repair done, but we renewed the vehicle and cleaned every detail. We vacuum the upholstery, wipe down and condition the interior trim, clean the glass, wash the outside, wheel covers and tires, and use tire dressing and upholstery conditioner. It gives the vehicle that new car look and smell," he said. "We do this on every car, from a '91 Celebrity to a '03 Lexus. The ones who appreciate it the most are probably the ones that have come the farthest, like the '91 Celebrity."

What Works, What Doesn't

First, it helps to begin quality control at the right time, said Anderson.

"You can't just check a vehicle at the end and expect quality. You have to monitor it throughout the repair process: before, during and after," he said. "We check everything with the customer beforehand to make sure we're aware of all problems. If there's a door mirror not working, you don't want to find that out after starting the job and lose three hours of cycle time trying to figure out if you did it or if it was a pre-existing condition."

Each shop has a tracking method for following a vehicle through the repair process, usually involving a sign-off sheet for each job performed.

"We have a quality assurance program on every car," said West. "Everyone's an inspector. Collision inspects the estimator's work, the painter inspects collision's work, and the detailer checks the whole thing. We attach a check form to the work order and it gets signed off throughout the process. The collision repairman on that job does the final inspection."

"Repair is a teamwork thing," Hohmeier said. "Anytime anyone sees a questionable area, it's their duty to go back to the previous person and make sure nothing was overlooked."

Tracking who is responsible for each procedure not only ensures a quality repair, it can help you better manage your employees.

"Instead of calling the whole paint shop back on a problem, I can go to the person who initialed off on the job. This helps me target technicians who have a problem so I can help them improve," Anderson said. However, he cautioned, "Don't make the mistake I did and use this as a method of reprimanding people. Use positive reinforcement as well. For example, point out someone who does consistent quality work with no mistakes."

Hohmeier uses similar tactics, giving each repair team a financial incentive based on their customer service index.

Involve your employees in the quality control process.

"I didn't come up with all these ideas on my own," said Anderson. "We have monthly shop meetings where everyone makes suggestions and we talk about how to improve performance."

Tracking Customer Satisfaction

Monitoring customer satisfaction is just as important as monitoring work during the repair. Your customers can help you identify areas of improvement you may not have been aware of, and it provides an opportunity for your employees to be recognized for their work.

"Having a customer service rating program run by an outside source keeps the results relatively honest. Customers see it's going to someone besides me and tend to be more frank in their opinions," Hohmeier said. "We get reports monthly and have a whole shop meeting to go over them together and discuss areas we can improve. There are color graph charts of where we were, where we are overall and what the national average is. If we get a negative report, the company contacts us right away so we can contact the customer and correct the problem."

"I believe so strongly that our purpose is to EXCEED our customer's perceived expectations," said West. "I have a psychology that I have to employ to perceive what their expectations are and what I have to do to exceed it. Maybe it means taking out a dent in a panel adjacent to a blend for no charge. Some simple cosmetic improvements go a long way for many people."

How Good is "Good Enough?"

Is there a point at which a repair is "good enough?"

"Unfortunately, there is a point with certain vehicles," said Hohmeier. "For example, right now I've got a '94 Escort that was broken into. Someone punched the lock out, but there's also hail damage. If there is a dent or something near my repair, I'll fix that, but there isn't a spot like that on this one. If I did all of this, it would be cost-prohibitive to fully repair it. The customer couldn't afford it and the vehicle isn't worth it. But once I'm done with it, it will look like a different car and be cleaner than it has been in years."

West stressed there is an art to making an "invisible" repair. Consistency throughout the vehicle should be the goal, he said.

"Are you going to leave scratches or imperfections in your repair work? Of course not. But you don't want to create a diamond in a goat's ass. The repair should blend with the car. If you return one part to flawlessness and the rest of it is pocked up, that's not an invisible repair. If I repair a door, and the fender and quarter panel need to be polished, I'll do that. But I'm not going to do the other side and the hood."

Bottom line, said Anderson, if it's on your conscience, fix it.

"Err on the side of being too good. When we finish a trunk floor, we want to finish it off the same way it was before," he said. "The customer may not worry about it being perfect, but I can never anticipate who else might see my work. If I'm not there, I still want someone to compliment that repair. You can't compromise your convictions. Once you let that slide, you're opening up a Pandora's box of mediocrity."

The DRP Factor

Does insurance coverage play a factor in quality control procedures?

"Not with me it doesn't," said Hohmeier. "But I do think DRP programs interfere with quality control. Insurers want quality, but there's also pressure to control costs and cycle time. That's directly in contradiction with quality. How you still produce that quality and meet the other criteria is where the skill comes in. Set your standards high and maintain them."

"I feel so many shops use insurance companies as a reason not to do quality work," said Anderson. "I don't buy into the argument that the insurance company won't pay for it so I won't do it. I have three options: I can fix it and not charge for it, I can not fix it and not charge for it, or I can call the owner and tell them what needs to be done and inform them that their insurance company won't cover it. If the owner doesn't want to do that repair and I think it's necessary, we tell them maybe we're not the shop for them."

There has to be accountability, he said. Is there pressure? Yes, but those shop owners are the ones who make the decision.

"We're not a DRP and we have a two-month backlog. People may say, 'You can choose not to participate in a DRP because you have a two-month backlog,' but I say to them, how do you think we got that way? We put out a quality product and do no advertising but word of mouth," Anderson said. "We may be $400 more expensive than another shop, but we explain to our customers what they're getting for that $400."

Quality control, for these three shop owners, is about integrity, self-respect and good business.

"To quote my dad who started the shop, 'Average is just as close to the bottom as it is to the top.' We want to be above average and closer to the top," said Anderson.

"I'm a small shop owner, which allows me to be personally involved with final inspection," said Hohmeier. "My name is on the vehicle as it goes out the door, therefore I am responsible for everything on that job."

"Every job you put out is an advertisement for the quality of work you do," said West. "You don't want someone to notice a bad repair and ask their friend, 'Where'd you get that job done?' You can't buy that kind of advertising back."

Alexis Gross is a communications assistant for the Automotive Service Association (ASA). She can be reached at alexisb@asashop.org.

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