Bodyshop vs SMART - the battle is over.
Discussion
Copy of my blog post from elsewhere...
For many years, the traditional bodyshop trade has denigrated SMART repairs, local area repairs, and mobile repairs. Achieving a professional quality finish outside the spraybooth, or achieving a colour match without full panel paints has been declared impossible, or only for cowboy operations.
This is perhaps not surprising – SMART repair techniques are a separate, although related, discipline to conventional bodyshop repair techniques, and 'experts' in body repair with no understanding of the new techniques and a fear of industry change have been quick to knock what they don't understand – and base their assessment of the quality of localised repairs on the very skewed sample set of those they see in need of rectification.
But the fact that hundreds of thousands of car owners and motor traders have voted with their chequebooks and made it clear that SMART repair wins satisfied customers could not be ignored forever.
In September of 2009, Bodyshop magazine, the main publication for the trade, insisted that every bodyshop should be offering some sort of SMART repair solution. At the 2010 Bodyshop Event – the UK's biggest trade gathering, topics of the discussion seminars include “Mobile repair; past, present and future” and “Equipping yourself for mobile repair” (it is probably not a coincidence that having been so rude about "SMART repair", bodyshops are now referring to their efforts as "mobile repair", "local repair" or "express repair" instead - but all have the same meaning).
Having insisted for a long time that SMART repair could not be achieved to a professional standard, traditional bodyshops are having to eat their words; Nationwide Crash Repair, the UK's largest bodyshop network, is actively recruiting for SMART repairers to crew a fleet of vans, and smaller bodyshop organisations and individual shops are doing the same on a local level.
Traditional bodyshops will have an uphill battle against their own culture in achieving good customer satisfaction for car owners. For bodyshops set up for major crash repairs, the lifeblood of their business is insurance work – they talk about “work providers” instead of customers, and car owners are seen as something between an irrelevance and an annoyance. This is an industry that believes that the “most important” reason to avoid giving bad service to car drivers is that it “affects buying habits for the next insurance purchase.” (Bodyshop magazine feature “Breaking the cycle”)
Some bodyshops are recognising this culture clash by contracting in their SMART repair requirements from existing repairers – many are hesitant to spend on thorough training for their staff members in SMART repair techniques when it is so easy for the staff to take their new skills and set up in competition.
Regardless of the approach however, it is very clear that SMART repair is now accepted by the wider body repair industry as more than satisfying the needs of customers demanding professional repairs that are more convenient and less costly than traditional methods. Everyone now wants a piece of the pie – even if, for those who rubbished SMART repair for many years, they have to eat a slice of humble pie first.
For many years, the traditional bodyshop trade has denigrated SMART repairs, local area repairs, and mobile repairs. Achieving a professional quality finish outside the spraybooth, or achieving a colour match without full panel paints has been declared impossible, or only for cowboy operations.
This is perhaps not surprising – SMART repair techniques are a separate, although related, discipline to conventional bodyshop repair techniques, and 'experts' in body repair with no understanding of the new techniques and a fear of industry change have been quick to knock what they don't understand – and base their assessment of the quality of localised repairs on the very skewed sample set of those they see in need of rectification.
But the fact that hundreds of thousands of car owners and motor traders have voted with their chequebooks and made it clear that SMART repair wins satisfied customers could not be ignored forever.
In September of 2009, Bodyshop magazine, the main publication for the trade, insisted that every bodyshop should be offering some sort of SMART repair solution. At the 2010 Bodyshop Event – the UK's biggest trade gathering, topics of the discussion seminars include “Mobile repair; past, present and future” and “Equipping yourself for mobile repair” (it is probably not a coincidence that having been so rude about "SMART repair", bodyshops are now referring to their efforts as "mobile repair", "local repair" or "express repair" instead - but all have the same meaning).
Having insisted for a long time that SMART repair could not be achieved to a professional standard, traditional bodyshops are having to eat their words; Nationwide Crash Repair, the UK's largest bodyshop network, is actively recruiting for SMART repairers to crew a fleet of vans, and smaller bodyshop organisations and individual shops are doing the same on a local level.
Traditional bodyshops will have an uphill battle against their own culture in achieving good customer satisfaction for car owners. For bodyshops set up for major crash repairs, the lifeblood of their business is insurance work – they talk about “work providers” instead of customers, and car owners are seen as something between an irrelevance and an annoyance. This is an industry that believes that the “most important” reason to avoid giving bad service to car drivers is that it “affects buying habits for the next insurance purchase.” (Bodyshop magazine feature “Breaking the cycle”)
Some bodyshops are recognising this culture clash by contracting in their SMART repair requirements from existing repairers – many are hesitant to spend on thorough training for their staff members in SMART repair techniques when it is so easy for the staff to take their new skills and set up in competition.
Regardless of the approach however, it is very clear that SMART repair is now accepted by the wider body repair industry as more than satisfying the needs of customers demanding professional repairs that are more convenient and less costly than traditional methods. Everyone now wants a piece of the pie – even if, for those who rubbished SMART repair for many years, they have to eat a slice of humble pie first.
Marshalls still insist they do not do SMART repairs. They have an "Express Paint Repair" department instead. Because they still have the hangup SMART repair is somehow bad. Their Express repairs are SMART repairs - our latest recruit came to us from that department. It's getting harder and harder for traditional bodyshops to rubbish SMART technologies though, because the line between bodyshop and SMART is ceasing to be a well-defined one.
Anatol said:
Marshalls still insist they do not do SMART repairs. They have an "Express Paint Repair" department instead. Because they still have the hangup SMART repair is somehow bad. Their Express repairs are SMART repairs - our latest recruit came to us from that department. It's getting harder and harder for traditional bodyshops to rubbish SMART technologies though, because the line between bodyshop and SMART is ceasing to be a well-defined one.
I wasn't called express repair nor was my colleague when i worked in house for the Marshall Group in Leicestershire.Our vans had Marshall Cosmetic Vehicle Repair on them which i changed after a couple of years to Scuffs,Scratches,Stonechips so that joe public got the message.....It's different here in Cambridge then. Definitely "Express". They stopped selling it directly to the public recently and concentrate on their own dealer network. "Cosmetic" is, of course, yet another way of avoiding saying that they're using SMART techniques though.
ETA: In fairness, the reverse is happening too. SMART/Express/Cosmetic/Local/Mobile repairers are establishing fixed sites with spraybooths. The point of the post wasn't that SMART has won the battle, but that the two different camps are blurring together so that the old A vs B is now a false dichotomy pretty much across the marketplace.
ETA: In fairness, the reverse is happening too. SMART/Express/Cosmetic/Local/Mobile repairers are establishing fixed sites with spraybooths. The point of the post wasn't that SMART has won the battle, but that the two different camps are blurring together so that the old A vs B is now a false dichotomy pretty much across the marketplace.
Edited by Anatol on Wednesday 15th September 07:42
well thanks for the advertising bull,and no doubt many people follow the " i`m the expert in body repair" line,but all your post says to me is that smart repairers are realising that you can`t make as good a job in the outdoors,or a gazebo as you can indoors!! i am sure to be roasted for my opinion,( based on 20yrs in body repairs) but who cares!!!
I'm no expert, though some of the people I employ could legitimately claim to be. 
The opposite of your conclusion is true, both sectors of the body repair industry are recognising the strengths and legitimacy of the other, except in a few cases. Long experience of how things used to be can be a hindrance when things move on.
The opposite of your conclusion is true, both sectors of the body repair industry are recognising the strengths and legitimacy of the other, except in a few cases. Long experience of how things used to be can be a hindrance when things move on.
cartoons said:
well thanks for the advertising bull,and no doubt many people follow the " i`m the expert in body repair" line,but all your post says to me is that smart repairers are realising that you can`t make as good a job in the outdoors,or a gazebo as you can indoors!! i am sure to be roasted for my opinion,( based on 20yrs in body repairs) but who cares!!!
As I work both outside and with a booth, I feel I can comment on this. The essence of SMART is to confine the repair to as small an area as possible. This minimises contamination. If you're suggesting that there's no contamination in a booth, you know that's not the case. Simply, it means that keeping the repair small, makes removing any rubbish from the lacquer simple and practical. Painting a bonnet outside is almost sure to attract too much, so for that reason, SMART repairers won't attempt it.For normal SMART jobs, you would not see a difference whether I did the work outside or in my booth. It's the end result that counts. If I tried to paint a roof outside, I would be sure to come a cropper.
Cheers
David
sorry for the confusion but i re-read my post and i know what i meant,even if it appears no-one else did! i have enough experience of the way things were in the old days,but like many of you i am fully conversant with smart repairs.my point was that my distinction between what i class as a smart repairer and a bodyshop is having premises and controlled conditions to work in.i can understand how much cheaper mobile guys can work,with no rent/rates or hse to think about,and how useful this is in advertising terms,but when they then move into premises this edge is lost.also,if the end result is so good why have a booth? surely the vast majority of work is scratches or damage around the corners and sides(where dust ingress is minimal),not bonnets and roofs.
it appears to me that whenever you see the blinged up sign written van,and the gazebo up,that a couple of days later you will see a car with dull panels and rings on it from another failed repair.funny thing is the customers tend not to notice the quality,but if you do it for a living you do.it always makes me smile how ten years ago people were unhappy to have a car painted if you didn`t have a booth(and judging by many on ph that is still the case),but they are now ok with someone painting on their drive!
PS. are standards slipping on ph as i didn`t feel i got enough abuse for my previous post!!!
it appears to me that whenever you see the blinged up sign written van,and the gazebo up,that a couple of days later you will see a car with dull panels and rings on it from another failed repair.funny thing is the customers tend not to notice the quality,but if you do it for a living you do.it always makes me smile how ten years ago people were unhappy to have a car painted if you didn`t have a booth(and judging by many on ph that is still the case),but they are now ok with someone painting on their drive!
PS. are standards slipping on ph as i didn`t feel i got enough abuse for my previous post!!!
You can open premises and still maintain a similar price point (actually we charge slightly less in our premises than we do for a mobile service due to the added convenience of mobile), provided you have the right volume of demand. The huge advantage of premises is that one technician can clear many more SMART repairs in a day than if they were working on them consecutively, mobile. A business that already has a customer base can increase its volume hugely by opening premises.
As for why add a booth if uncontrolled environment repairs are good quality? Because uncontrolled environment SMart (ie small or medium) repairs can be done to a good standard, but adding a booth lets the repairer add to their SMART repairs full panels, multiple panels, roofs and bonnets. Bear in mind that HSE consider that any repair that involves painting of a full panel, or multiple panels, requires a booth or there's a breach of the COSHH regs - so it adds a lot to what a SMART repair operation can offer if they put a booth into their premises.
Their premises is also likely to be half the size of a full-service bodyshop clearing a similar number of units, because they need no MET/strip and fit bays, so much lower mortgage/rent and rates. No recovery truck(s), no jig, no need to buy, update, train for Audatex (and any other insurer-mandated software or other cost-inflating insurer-led things like PAS:125). Because the vast majority of their repairs will be same-day, no need for a big fleet of courtesy cars. Because small repairs will be cured with directed SWIR not raising the temp in the booth enough to bake a whole car every time, likely lower energy bills. Obviously, much lower paint volumes used. No need to factor invoices because you're being paid on the day by the car owner, not in 90 days (maybe!) by an insurer.
So, with much lower overheads, and the potential to clear many more vehicles, it's still possible to price at a competitive point and undercut a bodyshop set up for major crash repairs and insurance work.
Once you do have premises, a lot of customers, competitors, and trade associations (incl VBRA) do see you as a 'bodyshop' rather than a 'fixed site SMART repairer'. Even with no MET/structural repairs you could even go for PAS:125 cosmetic level (though there's little commercial advantage). The real key is to keep your pricing at the point where insurance claims cost more in excess and higher premiums than paying privately. In our last thousand customers, four were insurance claims. There absolutely is a market niche for SMART repairers with premises - there are several of us out there
Of course, the point of the OP was that the lines between SMART and bodyshop are now very blurry - the two sectors are learning from each other and body repair is becoming hybridised.
As for why add a booth if uncontrolled environment repairs are good quality? Because uncontrolled environment SMart (ie small or medium) repairs can be done to a good standard, but adding a booth lets the repairer add to their SMART repairs full panels, multiple panels, roofs and bonnets. Bear in mind that HSE consider that any repair that involves painting of a full panel, or multiple panels, requires a booth or there's a breach of the COSHH regs - so it adds a lot to what a SMART repair operation can offer if they put a booth into their premises.
Their premises is also likely to be half the size of a full-service bodyshop clearing a similar number of units, because they need no MET/strip and fit bays, so much lower mortgage/rent and rates. No recovery truck(s), no jig, no need to buy, update, train for Audatex (and any other insurer-mandated software or other cost-inflating insurer-led things like PAS:125). Because the vast majority of their repairs will be same-day, no need for a big fleet of courtesy cars. Because small repairs will be cured with directed SWIR not raising the temp in the booth enough to bake a whole car every time, likely lower energy bills. Obviously, much lower paint volumes used. No need to factor invoices because you're being paid on the day by the car owner, not in 90 days (maybe!) by an insurer.
So, with much lower overheads, and the potential to clear many more vehicles, it's still possible to price at a competitive point and undercut a bodyshop set up for major crash repairs and insurance work.
Once you do have premises, a lot of customers, competitors, and trade associations (incl VBRA) do see you as a 'bodyshop' rather than a 'fixed site SMART repairer'. Even with no MET/structural repairs you could even go for PAS:125 cosmetic level (though there's little commercial advantage). The real key is to keep your pricing at the point where insurance claims cost more in excess and higher premiums than paying privately. In our last thousand customers, four were insurance claims. There absolutely is a market niche for SMART repairers with premises - there are several of us out there
Of course, the point of the OP was that the lines between SMART and bodyshop are now very blurry - the two sectors are learning from each other and body repair is becoming hybridised.
Edited by Anatol on Tuesday 21st September 06:41
i agree i have 7 years experiance in a body shop and i have painted cleaner smart repair jobs out side a booth than i have in a booth. smart repair is growing on a large scale due to people not wanting to pay insurance excesses. i kno this on a personal scale as ive have 5 jobs this year and been let go due to work levels dropping in evey job so i have resorted to openening a smart repair business as there is hardly any over heads and the work scale is large enough to earn a comforable living its just the winter thats the killer haah
A few years ago I had a look at taking out a Chipsaway franchise. I was very impressed with the finish obtained.
They offered 2 alternatives - mobile with a van or a workshop base.
In the demo a VW dealer brought a new golf in, an attendee was given a piece of brick to scvratch a wing. An existing franchisee then did the repair. Very close examination took place - VERY impressive - no visible signs and surface felt perfect. Chipsaway also gave franchsees a gazeno type cover so repairs could be done in the rain.
Very impressive.
Why didn't I go for it?
Offered something better!
It was a close call though.
They offered 2 alternatives - mobile with a van or a workshop base.
In the demo a VW dealer brought a new golf in, an attendee was given a piece of brick to scvratch a wing. An existing franchisee then did the repair. Very close examination took place - VERY impressive - no visible signs and surface felt perfect. Chipsaway also gave franchsees a gazeno type cover so repairs could be done in the rain.
Very impressive.
Why didn't I go for it?
Offered something better!
It was a close call though.
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