Customer Service, Simplified

Frank’s has been serving the San Clemente, California area for almost 50 years. Today, Jeremy Dugan carries the responsibility of living up to several decades’ worth of quality repairs associated with his family name; it’s a challenge many shop owners know. How do you continually, always, offer the best service and quality to your customers in a constantly shifting landscape of demanding repairs and evolving technology?

“It’s a constant battle,” Dugan says, combined with the realization that many drivers are more or less naive about how and why their car broke (and how and why it needs to be repaired).

“They don’t see the big picture with collision repair; the process of how to repair a vehicle isn’t transparent. They’ll pay attention if the car doesn’t look or drive right.”

The big picture can be hard to see even from a business perspective. Thankfully, Dugan cites one tool as his go-to for achieving the safest, most reliable repairs: OEC CollisionLink Shop.

Bridge the Quality/Price Gap

Collision centers are often presented baffling obstacles only to create amazing mechanical feats; the crumpled hood, repaired! The destroyed rear deck, good as new! But the voila! moments don’t happen with a snap of the fingers—they’re the result of years of technical practice and practical application. And when most customers expect a voila! moment with every repair, ensuring quality and reliability on the shop floor is part of the No. 1 job at the service counter—customer service.

“Consumers in general are very unaware of the type of technology shops need to train in, in order to do proper repairs,” Dugan says.

“They just entrust us to fix their vehicle; they’re not aware of what could really happen if they’re involved in another collision. They simply trust us to do the right thing.”

For Dugan and the team at Frank’s Collision, the right thing begins and ends with OEM parts sourced via CollisionLink Shop. Through CollisionLink Shop, Dugan is able to get the correct part for the repair and meet the high bar of his family’s legacy of service while offering a competitive price that satisfies both the insurer and the driver.

“It’s been a gap-bridging tool for us that opened up a whole new book of how to do the right type of repair. Between maintaining the right discount, establishing integrity and more—I hardly order aftermarket anymore.”

Dugan first began using CollisionLink Shop almost three years ago after reading about it in a trade magazine. He realized that his story of parts procurement wasn’t that rare—he’d call dealerships to source a part only to find that he was obligated to buy aftermarket due to the insurance company’s inability to provide the proper part at a reasonable cost. A local dealership finally recommended CollisionLink Shop, and within a few days Frank’s Collision was ready to roll.

“We got CollisionLink Shop on our computer, got a quick runthrough of how it worked, and immediately started OEM price-matching through dealers to utilize all OEM parts. OEC coached us, and anyone familiar with a basic understanding of a computer could pick it up easily."

Cut the Chaff

“It really allowed us to get rid of non-OEM parts,” Dugan adds. 

“It’s a double-edged sword; you’ve got the carriers and that emphasis on non-OEM parts while manufacturers push in the other direction. CollisionLink Shop allows us to bridge that connection and maintain our discount as if we were purchasing from an aftermarket vendor. It allowed the right repair using the right parts, delivering a quality repair and product.”

When asked about horror stories regarding customer retention and repairs, he actually laughs.

“I could tell you so many,” he says.

“Shops have gap-fitting issues, redo repairs, extended length of repairs. The quality of aftermarket parts is not good even if the vendor says they are. Some manufacturers have even admitted their products could cause more severity or damage to their vehicle. It’s a real thing, and it’s very scary that shops and their customers are put in that position. 

CollisionLink Shop is a great solution to forego that scenario.”