G&R Body Shop

G&R Body & Paint recently became the first collision repair shop in the state of California to receive the Coordinating Committee For Automotive Repair’s (CCAR) new “GreenLink Shop” designation.

In order to receive the GreenLink Shop designation, G&R Body & Paint was required to meet standards in environmental, health and safety practices in four categories: business operations, employee training, safety compliance and environmental management.

“We are excited to welcome G&R Body & Paint to the GreenLink Shop program,” said Rod Enlow, CCAR Vice President of Industry Relations, as quoted in CCAR’s news release announcing G&R’s GreenLink recognition. “Today’s retail customer is knowledgeable and enlightened with regard to environmental responsibility and safety awareness, and G&R’s desire to attain this level of recognition should give their customers and insurance partners great satisfaction and confidence in this facility.”  

The GreenLink Shop program is part of the CCAR-GreenLink Environmental Compliance Assistance Center and S/P2 (Safety and Pollution Prevention) E-learning Program. The program, which recognizes both auto mechanical and collision repair shops, is designed to promote consumer confidence in their local facilities’ environmental/safety awareness and stewardship.

We learned about the GreenLink Shop program through G&R Body & Paint’s partnership with GEICO, as one of GEICO’s Auto Repair Xpress facilities. GEICO has been working with CCAR to promote the GreenLink Shop program nationwide.

As I wrote in an earlier blog post, G&R also recently became part of the Certified Green Investment Registry Program, which requires us to comply with an extensive checklist of environmentally responsible best practices in our collision repair shop—such as upgrades to energy-efficient equipment and lighting, investing in pollution control equipment, taking care with how we store and dispose of paints and chemicals, and providing our employees with up-to-date training in environmental best practices.

As many businesses are discovering these days, our financial and manpower investments in greening our Sacramento body shop will pay off  in lower energy costs, healthier conditions for our employees and generally better-run, more efficient operations. But that’s not the only reason G&R Body & Paint is working to be earth-friendly. The main reason is that it’s ‘right thing’ to do, not only for the environment, but also for our employees and our community.

 As all of us go home to our families at night, it’s important that we feel good about both the quality of our work and our role as good citizens; it’s not just about bringing in the paycheck. That’s the real reason that G&R Body & Paint makes safety and environmental awareness a priority.

 CCAR is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation established in 1994 as a coalition of 38 national automotive trade organization, representing all segments of the service and repair industry. Today the organization has more than 200 affiliate organizations. Its mission is to work – on an international scope – with the automotive industry, career and technical schools, governments and other organizations to provide best practice information and training, and to measure improvements related to environmental responsibility, workplace safety, cost-effective training methods, risk management and other issues affecting the industry.

I was honored to be elected recently to the position of vice president of the California Autobody Association (CAA). I previously served as treasurer.

CAA is a non-profit trade organization serving more than 1,000 members throughout California. The organization works to educate its members on best practices, monitors legislation and regulations affecting our industry and has done a tremendous amount of work in supporting businesses in reducing pollution and improving energy conservation the Certified Green Investor and EnergyStar programs. I’m very proud to be a CAA member and to serve as vice president.

Visit http://www.calautobody.com/ for more info.

The California Autobody Association is holding its annual Leadership Conference, quarterly board of directors and membership meeting and our annual awards luncheon this weekend (March 5-6) at Sacramento’s Citizen Hotel. I’m honored to serve as treasurer of CAA.

All of our board meetings are open to all CAA members, but we’re expecting an especially good turnout at this meeting due to the Friday afternoon Leadership Conference, which will include chapter presidents and representatives from 16 CAA chapters throughout the state.

CAA is a non-profit trade association comprised of over 1000 individual and independent businesses within the automobile collision repair industry. Formed in 1967, CAA is committed to:

• Improving the collision repair industry through education and training;
• Taking a proactive stance to protect both the consumer and the industry through legislation.
• Benefitting the members through programs and services designed to make member shops professional, successful, and profitable; and
• Working toward establishing a fair and equitable relationship with the insurance industry.

 All of my fellow board members and CAA chapter leaders are business owners who volunteer to serve and take time away from our businesses because we believe those goals are important. To learn more about CAA, visit http: http://www.calautobody.com/index.cfm.

G&R Body & Paint is proud to have been a part of the recent Re-Writing the Future of Auto Claims symposium hosted by VeriFacts Automotive in Newport Beach.

About 350 people from the auto insurance and collision repair fields attended. I think all of us were a little wiped out by the end of a full day of workshops and panels that included presentations from experts in the fields of auto insurance claims and auto body collision repair—but there was so much great collaboration and sharing of knowledge that the work we put in there was definitely worth the trip!

We heard from large several body shop owners about business models they use to maximize efficiency, work quality and customer satisfaction.

Tricia Griffith, president of Claims for Progressive Insurance, spoke about a change in the corporate cultures of insurance companies that is improving the working relationship between insurers and body shops.

Wayne Sharrah, chief claims officer for online insurer Esurance Insurance Services, gave a presentation that was fascinating for anyone who trying to reach an online audience, providing great statistics on Internet use and its expected impact on the auto claims industry. It was the first time I had heard the term “Net Generation”—the 88 million or so kids who have grown up with a computer mouse in their hands. Esurance is another company that supports a closer, more collaborative relationship between insurers and the collision repair industry.

An Allstate representative gave a presentation on how that company works to provide claims services even for motorists and collision repair shops in remote locations, such as rural Alaska.

Capitalism, small business and the tough economy were hot topics of discussion, both in the formal presentations and during networking time. At the end of the day, I think all of us recognized that insurers and body shops have much in common, and that’s exactly why VeriFacts put this symposium together. All of us are trying to succeed despite a rough economic environment. We serve the same customers and have the same goals, including top-quality repair workmanship and timely service. When insurers and collision repair shops are able to work together as trusted partners, our customers are ultimately the winners.

For more about G&R’s collision repair and auto body and paint services, visit http://grbodyshop.com.