Ryan DeMarco, vice president of All County Collision in Eustis, Florida, knows a thing or two about direct repair programs (DRPs).
When DeMarco’s father, Richard DeMarco, first opened All County Collision in 1993, he quickly gained a reputation for producing high-quality work — and insurance adjusters took notice. Soon after opening, says Ryan, several direct repair program (DRP) administrators reached out asking them to join their programs, and DeMarco’s father sought out others over the years as well. The partnerships came and went as time passed, but one remains…and is still going strong 25 years later.
“DRPs can offer a lot of value to a shop,” DeMarco says. “They provide a steady flow of work, allow access to the marketing of a much larger insurance company, and can decrease cycle time through expedited repair processes.”
But, like all things in life, they’re not without their downsides, too. DeMarco acknowledges that DRPs require shops to make some concessions that can lower gross profit margin (like lower labor rates and lower parts markup), and he advises against becoming too dependent on DRP relationships.
“You want to make sure your business will survive even if that company ends the DRP relationship,” he cautions.
Keeping those things in mind, however, DeMarco thinks DRPs are certainly worth pursuing for any shop that wants to increase their volume of work and expand their business. He says he plans to pursue more himself when All County’s second location opens soon.
These are his top tips for successful DRP relationships.
As told to Lindsey Gainer
Meet the Insurers’ Metrics
DRP relationships are maintained by meeting the metrics set by the insurance company. Most DRPs will provide a scorecard to grade your performance. Use this information to fine-tune your processes to provide the best service and improve your scores. Ask your DRP administrator what you can do to improve your score, too. Once you determine how to improve, take the time to train your staff and follow up to make sure the new processes are being followed.
Leave Room in Your Schedule for DRP Work
Communicate your capacity with your DRP and base your schedule off that. For example, if your capacity for that insurance company is 10 cars per week, make sure to leave that amount available in your schedule. If you can schedule and turn claims around for the insurance company quickly, they’re likely to send you more work.
Remain Flexible and Willing to Grow
Vehicle technologies continue to get more complicated and consumer expectations continue to become more demanding, so your shop needs to adapt to this new environment. I-CAR education has been helpful in keeping our staff up to date with new vehicle technology, and implementing convenient communication channels like texting, automated updates, online scheduling, and online photo estimate requests has helped us keep up with customer expectations.
Get to Know Your Local Agents
Set aside a day once or twice a year to stop by the local insurance agent’s office and thank them for their business, or let them know about your shop if they aren’t already referring to you. This is a good time to bring them up to date on any news you have — things like a new OEM certification, new services you’re offering, or any other information they might find useful. Customers sometimes need assistance with their claims, too, which gives you the opportunity to call the agent’s office and speak to them directly…while helping your customer at the same time.
Wow Your Customers
Provide excellent customer service and deliver a quality product. Keep an open line of communication throughout the entire repair process. Remember, “where there is a void in communication, negativity fills it,” as writer Jon Gordon once said.
Educate your customers on the repair process and update them on any changes. If there are any extended waiting periods for parts or authorization, we try to give what we call “no update updates.” This lets the customer know that even though we are still waiting, we haven’t forgotten about them, and we are proactively working on their job. Capitalize on any value-add opportunities that don’t cost you too much additional money or time. For example: go the extra mile on the final wash & detail, remove paint transfer, tar, and bugs. Our DRP has us send surveys to every customer and scores us on a customer survey index (CSI) based on the results of those surveys. Happy customers will improve your CSI results!
