CAA President & VP of Craftsman Collision Focuses on Service Excellence, Building a Culture & Working on the Business
By Stacey Phillips Ronak, Radiant Writing
In 1977, a young Australian named Bill Hatswell settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and established Craftsman Collision. He took pride in running his business better than his competitors and implemented new standards of quality and accountability. Over the years, the company has become the largest family-owned MSO in Canada, with 43 locations.
Hatswell’s daughter, Melanie Allan, began working at the company when she was 20, helping with customer service. She later assisted with bookkeeping and accounting, training the customer service representatives (CSRs) and bookkeepers who joined the company. In her late 20s, she recalls the company had grown to include about 15 shops. They realized it was a good time to set up a head office with administrative employees focusing on different sides of the business, such as marketing, operations and purchasing. Melanie became part of that team for the next 10 years, visiting and supporting shops.
Melanie left the collision industry for a number of years to gain perspective from different industries and organizational structures. After working and living overseas in the UK and Australia, the call of family and body shops drew her back to the west coast. She moved to California a decade ago to be closer to family but still enjoy a warmer climate. Her father purchased a collision repair facility in Long Beach, CA, Craftsman Collision USA, where she runs the business as Vice President of Business Development & Sales.
Since Craftsman wrote its mission statement over 30 years ago, they haven’t changed a word. Allan said it’s still as relevant today. They are 100% committed to service excellence, the latest in collision repair technology and education, a limited lifetime warranty and good corporate citizenship. Regardless of how many shops they have or countries they are located in, the company is dedicated to leading the industry in service and quality.
Providing Service Excellence
With her experience visiting shops, Allan stresses the importance of putting customers first, which includes educating them on the repair process.
At Craftsman, Allan and her team make it a priority to walk customers through what will take place so they know what to expect.
“You have people who walk in and haven’t made a claim in over 10 years,” she said. “A lot has changed.”
In the past, she said, there were claim centers where you could ask agents questions. Today, everything is decentralized with most correspondence taking place online or by phone.
“Half the time in California, you’re not talking to a person in California,” she said.
As a result, she said insurance companies have pushed a lot of the education and administrative tasks on customers and shops.
Craftsman Collision USA ensures customers stay informed through scheduled updates with automated texting and other notifications.
Delivering the vehicle to customers is an integral part of the repair process at the facility. The team “resells the repair” by showing every customer what was done to their vehicle and that it was cleaned. Allan said it makes a difference with customers and leaves a lasting impression.
“It’s nice to have a happy customer at delivery time,” she said. “The last thing you want is a customer who doesn’t take their car because they’re unhappy.”
Customers are encouraged to leave Google and Yelp reviews and share their experiences with friends and family.
“I think that helps when customers select a shop after an accident,” she noted. “I’m very confident that the first thing people do is go online and look at the reviews.”
Building a Company Culture
An integral part of building a company culture, according to Allan, is bringing everyone together.
Each morning, a 15-minute production meeting is held with all employees, including the CSRs, parts department, service writers, technicians, detailers, etc. The team discusses not only the vehicles’ repair status, but also customer expectations.
“The staff gathers so we can go through the cars we need to deliver and those on deck for the next couple of days, so everybody has a heads up and we’re prepared,” explained Allan. “We make sure it’s short and sweet and to the point.”
She said it takes communication and teamwork to have a vehicle ready for customers and having all staff at the meetings is essential so everyone knows what stage the car is in and all parts of the business can be prepared.
“It encourages the team to work together, communicate with one another and take responsibility for their side of the business,” she added.
Depending on what stage the car is in, Allan said it might need more attention from the body shop or paint shop, for example. By having the entire team involved during the production meetings, detailers find out what car is coming into the wash bay later that day, technicians know they have to get it reassembled by a certain time and CSRs understand when to update customers.
Allan said it pays off down the line and people understand they aren’t working in silos.
“Everybody touches a car at some point so why not have everybody in one place at one time,” she shared.
In addition, Allan spends five extra minutes every Wednesday morning reviewing with the team and evaluating the previous week. This includes discussing how many cars were delivered, the surveys received and if they were positive. She often reads the reviews to employees verbatim so they understand how customers are impacted by the service received.
Allan said she is completely transparent with employees regarding the shop’s key performance indicators (KPIs) including cycle time and touch time.
“It is a great way to measure that we’re doing things right when cars are moving through the shop properly.”
The business also sets standard operating procedures (SOPs) and has built them into their culture.
“I believe that when everybody has SOPs to follow, we know what to expect and everybody knows where they stand,” she said.
To help create a team atmosphere, Allan celebrates employee birthdays, hosts a staff trip to a Dodgers game in the summer and holds a swanky Christmas party.
“We get great participation because everyone is friendly and knows each other, and it’s nice to know they want to spend time outside of work together,” she said.
The Pathway to OEM Certifications
Allan and her team take pride in repairing vehicles properly and following OEM repair procedures.
“Nobody can say they know what they’re doing without a little help,” noted Allan. “It’s just impossible. The cars aren’t the same anymore.”
She said there is no excuse not looking up repair procedures and shops don’t necessarily need to subscribe to all OEM information systems.
“You have two great resources—a subscription to ALLDATA or RepairLogic,” she shared. “They are a one-stop shop for just about every repair procedure and will give you the information you need. Also, a bonus of being certified is direct access to OEM websites for procedures so there’s no shortage of information.”
In addition, she said it’s important to think about OEM certifications from a customer service and liability standpoint.
If the vehicle is repaired incorrectly, Allan said the shop will likely have unhappy customers and a potential liability issue.
“There are so many reasons that you have to do these things now and having the integrity to do it properly,” she emphasized.
Although it’s an investment in time and money, Allan said it’s a critical part of the repair.
“You just can’t not do it and I can’t imagine not doing it,” she stressed. “Certifications are table stakes now and the new benchmark.”
Taking Time to Work ON the Business
With many business owners struggling to pause working in their business so they can work on their business, Allan stresses the importance of attending association meetings and industry events.
“It gets you out of your rut,” she emphasized. “If I’m in a funk, industry meetings get me fired back up.”
However, she acknowledges there’s never a good time to be away from the business.
“The shop is always going to be busy and there’s always going to be a high-touch customer you feel like you need to be there for,” she said. “Body shops don’t stop.”
However, she said the best thing an owner can do is lay the foundation and build a staff that can be relied on who don’t “blow up your phone” while you are away because they know what they are doing.
“The best thing I’ve done, and that I think anybody can do is get yourself to the point where you can be away for a couple of days,” she advised. “I can’t do it without trusting my awesome employees.”
She said it provides the opportunity to attend events, like the Collision Industry Conference (CIC), the International Bodyshop Industry Symposium (IBIS) and other conferences, make connections and learn about industry issues.
“There are new ideas I’ve picked up even in the past year that I would never have known about if I hadn’t gone to CIC or IBIS,” she recalled.
Can you share information about your role as CAA president?
One of Allan’s first priorities when she moved to California, was meeting people and learning how the collision industry operated in the U.S. She began attending California Auto Body Association (CAA) meetings to network with industry colleagues.
Anthony Guinn, a CAA past president of the Los Angeles chapter and collision industry coach for Elite Body Shop Solutions, encouraged Allan to become CAA president. Allan has held that position for the Los Angeles/Orange County chapter since 2018.
“During every meeting, I want as many shop owners there as I can get,” she said.
Her goal is to plan meetings where shop owners and managers can walk away with something that they can implement the next day in their facilities.
“I want every meeting to bring value for shops in terms of sales or profit,” she shared.
“The SCRS blend study meeting is a perfect example,” she recalled. She has also coordinated to have a CCC speaker sharing tips and tricks and legislation updates from Corey King.
During her first meeting as president, Dave Luehr, Elite’s owner, was the speaker.
Since then, she has stayed in touch with Luehr.
“We think alike in that we’re always curious and learning and want to meet more shops and people,” she said.
Allan also began attending the Elite Mastermind Groups, an online peer group geared toward high-performing collision leaders. The meetings take place monthly and involve small group coaching and personal development. Participants receive a BodyShop Toolbox with a KPI dashboard for collision repairers, peer-to-peer support and problem-solving, and Operations Monthly LIVE access to broadcasts, as well as operations and management training.
The Benefits of Belonging to a Performance Group
Although the company has over 40 shops, Allan said they operate independently in the U.S.
“From a production standpoint, there are things that I can share and learn from the Canadian shops, but from an insurance and operational standpoint, I operate like an independent,” she noted.
Allan has found tremendous benefit and value in working with performance groups to discuss goals and financials in a confidential setting. She said the collective experience gained among shops is priceless.
“There’s so much benefit in learning from other shops and how they operate,” she said. “We have shared ideas that have worked and some that haven’t.”
Allan is friendly with shops nearby in Long Beach and can all them if she needs something or they are comparing notes.
“I’m pretty open with information sharing but I can’t be as specific with a direct competitor,” she shared.
Craftsman Collision USA is also part of Certified Collision Group (CCG) where she has had the opportunity to talk to other shops and learn about what they are doing.
Allan’s advice to other independent collision repair facilities is “to get out there!”
“You have to go to a meeting or get to know other shops or do something to expand your knowledge on what’s going on in the industry,” she recommended. “Even 10 years ago to the day, the industry is different, and the cars are different. You have to keep up to be successful.”
Mel Allan’s focus on customers and culture combined with a desire to continue learning and growing are a powerful recipe for success!
Her story is a living example of the strength gained from community and shared knowledge. Mel has not only been an impactful member of our Elite Mastermind Groups, she was also the recipient of the Elite Mastermind MVP Award in 2023!
If Mel’s story has inspired you to seek that next level of success, we’d love to help you map out your strategy and achieve great things!
Click here and schedule a strategy session with Dave Luehr!
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