Collision Damage Estimation & Repair Council Bluffs IA

Technicians have enough to worry about, so when they spend a lot of their time checking P-pages and writing their own supplements because the estimator didn't know everything to ask for, the whole shop suffers.

By Paul Bailey
12/1/2000

The duties of a body shop estimator tend to vary from shop to shop and from geographical area to area. Like many aspects of the collision industry, there are no established procedures or guidelines to follow regarding how estimators work with techs. But no matter what your location, both of these parties should be prepared and know their responsibilities - unless you want to see total dissention in the ranks.

Unfortunately, it seems that current times have allowed these responsibilities to overlap, causing problems and delays in the repair process. How? Shops are under more pressure than ever to repair vehicles as quickly as possible in the interest of saving money and satisfying the customer on the go. In the rush to keep up with the rush, people tend to pass their duties to others whenever they can. As a result, important tasks are forgotten when everyone involved assumes they're someone else's job.

As a shop owner, understanding the dynamics of how your repair team works is more than just helpful in keeping employees happy and productive - it's essential.

Let Techs Be Techs
In too many shops these days, technicians are forced to perform duties once handled by the office staff. Because of this, I've advised techs to keep ...