Technical representatives are perhaps the most critical component to the customer service experience in the collision repair business. Often, tech reps are meeting shop operators at their most vulnerable time. They may be struggling with color-matching or need equipment maintenance to keep their booth up and running. A tech rep is a valuable resource when a shop needs to learn new products and techniques or has concerns with processes and productivity.
However, the most valuable thing a technical representative has to offer is their knowledge. Many techs have been in the industry for most of their lives, they have worked diligently to hone their skills. While thorough instructions can help you learn paint application techniques, the art of color-matching takes years of experience.
An Unmatched Desire to Help
You could say one of the qualifying traits of a tech rep is the genuine desire to help others. Our industry is currently seeing more people retire out of it than there are fresh faces coming in. Seasoned painters have worked hard to learn the secrets to success and can sometimes hold them under lock and key.
Tech reps are eager to mentor newcomers, welcoming them into a craftsmanship they are passionate about. Training a new painter can take anywhere from three days to one week. Mastering a seamless color application? That could take years to develop with a lot of trial and error. With a shrinking workforce, coaching is more critical now than ever before. Technical representatives help shape the future of the automotive paint industry.
Up-to-Date Insight Into the Changing Industry
When looking at the different sized automotive shops, there is a varying level of requests for scheduling a tech rep appointment. A traditional shop with one location will often require new-painter training, color-match solutions, or equipment repair. After all, sand and dust are hard on computers, scales, and machines. Multi-shop organizations oftentimes have regularly scheduled appointments, allowing tech reps to take on more of a consultant role, focusing on maintenance versus problem solving.
With the seemingly unlimited variety of paint manufacturers and vehicle color combinations, tech reps must stay informed and involved with industry changes and updates. Color-match concerns can happen frequently. Manufacturers have an abundance of pigment options to choose from when pushing out new vehicles to the production line. Collisions repair shops are forced to use smaller, more compact systems with less toners, that fit more conveniently in their mixing rooms.
More compact systems leave painters with a limited color palette to create as close of a match as possible. This is where the advisement of a tech rep may come into play. Tech reps can use their years of experience and insight, with a variety of paint lines, to work the problem. Mixing the perfect color may take anywhere from one hour to one day depending on the color complexity. The end goal being a paint transition that visually disappears.
Strong Dedication to Customers and Professionals
What separates the ordinary from the extraordinary? Dedication. Dedication to customers, to students and peers, and most of all—the industry. When faced with challenges, an extraordinary tech rep must be relentless in the pursuit of a solution. They must remain dedicated to their customer and to the end user. It is not unusual to find tech reps constantly tweaking a formula, producing countless sprayouts, and refusing to quit until a match is achieved.
If you are looking for an extraordinary technical representative to help your shop with color-match support or training, FinishMaster can help. The tech reps at FinishMaster are knowledgeable professionals with deep skill sets and years of experience. They are here to help customers overcome challenges by providing workable solutions to maintain a successful paint booth.
Whether a shop is in need of training, equipment maintenance or color-match solutions, FinishMaster is here to help—from start to finish.
For more information, visit finishmaster.com/wecanhelp.
