Feb. 16, 2026

Lucky Papageorg & Matthew Ciaschini of the Massachusetts Auto Body Association

Lucky Papageorg & Matthew Ciaschini of the Massachusetts Auto Body Association
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Lucky Papageorg, Exec. Dir. of the MA Auto Body Assoc. (MABA), advocates for independent collision repair professionals. He works closely with shop owners, policymakers and insurers on issues like labor rates, technician recruitment and training, repair quality & safety.

Matthew Ciaschini, co-owner of Full Tilt Auto Body & Collision, serves as Pres. of MABA's Board of Directors. He brings hands-on experience and an owner perspective with a focus on strengthening independent auto body shops.

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The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are

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solely those of the hosts and their guests, and not

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W FOURCY Radio.

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Churchill said, those who failed to learn from history are

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condemned to repeat it. Kevin Helenan believes that certainly applies

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to business. Welcome to Winning Business Radio here at W

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four CY Radio. That's W four cy dot com and

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now your host, Kevin Helena.

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Thanks everybody for joining in today. I am Kevin Hallanan

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and welcome back to Winning Business TV and Radio on

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W four cy dot com. We're streaming live on talk

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we're on Facebook live at Winning Business Radio, and of

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course we're going to be available after the live show

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in podcast form wherever you get your podcast content. YouTube

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by her radio, Spotify, Apple, and the list goes on

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the mission of winning business radio and TV, as regular

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viewers and listeners know, is to offer insights and advice

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to help people avoid the mistakes of others, to learn

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best practices, the how tos, the what tos, the what

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not tos, to be challenged, and hopefully to be inspired.

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Excuse me, inspired by the successes of others. Who are

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those others consultants, coaches, business owners, advisors, authors, entrepreneurs, people

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with some expertise. But you know, virtually every successful person

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I've ever talked to has had some form of failure

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in their lives and careers. So while we all have

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to get our knees skinned once in a while, it's

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my mission to keep those screeps scrapes from needing major surgery.

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Let's endeavor to learn from history so we don't repeat it.

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I've spent the better part of my career equipping businesses

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to grow. Those are solopreneurs, all the way up to

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small medium sized companies and way up to the fortune fifty.

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I've seen some of those companies win, and to varying degrees,

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I've seen some fail. I've had the opportunity to rub

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elbows with some of the highest performing people around in

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with some who probably should have found other professions. In

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my own businesses, I've had lots of success, but some

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failures too, and I like to think I've learned a

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lot from those experiences. So you're going to hear from me,

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but mostly you're going to hear from our guests. And

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today we have two specific guests, Lucky Papa George, Executive

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director of the Massachusetts Autobody Association, and Matthew Ceskini, President

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of the Massachusetts Auto He's president of that association, on

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the board of directors and co owner of Full Tilt

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Autobody and Collision in West Hatfield, Massachusetts. That's Western mass

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Here are their bios. As the executive director of the

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Massachusetts Autobody Association, Lucky represents and advocates for independ collision

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repair professionals across the state. In his role, Lucky works

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closely with shop owners, industry stakeholders, policymakers, and insurers on

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issues impacting autobody businesses, including labor rates, technician recruitment and training,

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repair quality, and consumer safety. He's a frequent industry spokesperson

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and a trusted voice on the operational and economic challenges

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facing the collision repair industry in Massachusetts, with a focus

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on ensuring safe, proper vehicle repairs and a sustainable future

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for the trade. Matthew Cuscini is president of that association,

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Massachusetts Autobody Association. He's on the board of directors and

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co owner of Full Tilt Autobody and Collision. As you heard,

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he brings hands on industry experience and a shop owner

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perspective to his leadership role, with a focus on strengthening

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independent autobody businesses and advancing repair standards worldwide. I've invited

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them on to discuss what I would describe a serious

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dysfunction within autobody regulations in massachuse you said, So, we're

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going to get to that, but for now, Lucky and Matt,

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welcome to the show.

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Hey, Kevin, thank you for having It's Kevin? Are you?

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Thank you?

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Owners both at some point another at at any rate.

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Before we get to those problems, our listeners and viewers

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want to know about you guys. So h, Matt, what

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does you go first? Tell us about your family, where

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you go up, where you live?

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All right, Well, I grew up in Western mass I

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grew up in a town called Northampton. A lot of

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people know that Homer Smith College. Yeah, so I grew

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up there, went to hamp High and went to college

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and Westfield State. Didn't know I was going to get

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into autobody at all. Had a brother that was in

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autobody in high school, went to Smith Vocational in Northampton,

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and you know, went right into the career field right afterwards,

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right after high school. Yeah, you know a series of

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careers for me kind of in and out of different things,

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fell backwards kind of into this, yeah, you know, in

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the way that you do. And uh, my brother was

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just starting a small body shop and I needed and

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he needed some help. It was him and one other guy,

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and he had no business acumen and I had done

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some management.

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And so you weren't you weren't eight years old playing

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with the talker trucks, you know, as an autobody sir guy, right.

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I would say I always was a car guy, Like,

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I always loved cars. I knew, you know, to do

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certain things. I wouldn't say I was as hands on

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as like my brother was, but you know, I I

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soon assimilated cool lucky.

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Same question, how did you get into this business?

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Well, I kind of backed into it myself as well.

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I went to college. I have a PS in biology.

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I was a pre dental major. My path took me

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a different way while I was working at Bank of Boston.

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And then I ended up.

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Working for a rental car company and I was delivering

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vehicles to collision shops and I got very friendly with

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several of the owners or their underlings, and I was

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looking for a change in what I wanted to do.

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One of the gentlemen suggested that i'd take an appraiser's course,

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which I did. In Massachusetts, you have to be licensed

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in order to write motor vehicle damage. I successfully passed

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that course back in nineteen eighty eight and have been

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a license to praiser since. And I've managed some shops

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and I had the good fortune back in nineteen ninety

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of being approached to have the shop that I was

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managing at the time join what was then the Massachusetts

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Auto Body Association, just starting out, and it's grown since then.

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The person who invited me in since left that position,

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and I ended up becoming the ex executive director of

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the association back in mid nineteen nineties and took a

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little bit of a hiatus and for recently I came

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back in nineteen I'm sorry, twenty eighteen.

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Matt, tell us how you started your business? Did you

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start the business? I think he did and with whom?

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So, I'm actually in business with my brother. We, like

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I said, he had started this small business. Just had

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left a body shop that he was working at because

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he saw that he could possibly get the business like that.

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He you know, he was bringing a lot of business

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to that place, and he wanted to, you know, see,

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like can I go out on my own? And then

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it was about eighteen months into that business. I was

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in a previous profession. I got laid off and he

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was looking for someone to help. I had been in

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restaurant management, so I had a little bit of like

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business acumen, I would say, and he asked me to

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come in and help with the office. And then it

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was a struggling small business. I had some money set aside.

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I helped them out. We kind of bought in together,

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and next thing we knew, we were business partners within

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a year, and and then we've grown now over the

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last sixteen years to have about twenty employees and a

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much bigger body shop than what it started.

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Out to be what are your specialties?

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Wow, that's that's interesting, I was. I mean, we're a

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collision shop, so we primarily operate as doing insurance collision work.

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We do obviously do customer pay and cut some custom

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work you know, your your body work, paint and metal repair,

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as well as like some you know, other sort of

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I would say ancillary things like we have a little rental,

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like a little vehicle rental. But primarily we know, we

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focus on collision.

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And this maybe an unfair question, but I want to

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ask it anybody. What separates Full Till from other body shops?

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I would say customer service independence is also another thing.

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We don't operate under any insurance contract, and I know

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that can be a little confusing to people that don't.

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Understand and explain that.

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So in our industry, you basically have what are considered

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direct repair programs. Those are called d rps in our world.

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They technically don't exist in Massachusetts, but they do have programs.

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And what you do is you sign up for a

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program for an insurer. They basically make you sign to

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their parameters, whether it be their parameters of repair, their

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parameters of how much they pay per hour. Labor hour,

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things they are willing to pay for the repair card.

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Things they aren't. Things they might be part of a

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business that normal shops that are independent can operate and

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charge for it. You're not allowed to, but with the

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kind of promise that they will shuffle you business without

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the need to advertise or have you know, or possibly

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not have the need to carry a reputation and you

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know there there is obviously costs and advertising, so that

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can look appealing to people. It also can be a

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way that people have been doing business for a long

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time and seemingly as hard for them to get out

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of because it's a process that they've been dealing with

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for a long time. We choose not to. We've we've

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we've dipped our toe in that world once and we

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decided we'll never do that again. We feel like we

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can repair people's cars to the original equipment manufacturer standard

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by being independent from the insurer, meaning like we can

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do if you own a Toyota, I can do what

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Toyota says to repair your car. I could prove it

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to the insurer and they should pay the bill.

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I'm thinking we're going to get into that a little

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bit more. Yeah, as we get to the problem side, right, Lucky,

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tell us more about the association.

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Well, the association is made up of a mixture of

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independent facilities as well as shops that are under program

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or contract with insurance companies.

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We also have vendor members.

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Who'll provide services to the association, either through materials, parts

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of services such as adask calibration, things of that nature.

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Our main goal is to do what we can to

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protect consumers, and in the process we're also benefiting our

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members because you know, I'm fond of saying that if

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the vehicle owner is being handled properly through the claims process,

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then the body shop is as well. And you know,

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as long as we're able to properly repair the vehicle

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using the correct methods and be properly reimbursed to do so,

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everybody is is made safe in that process because you know,

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once we touch a vehicle, the liability is ours until

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that vehicle ends up in a crusher.

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Interesting, which we were going to talk about a crusher today.

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Uh, yeah, you know, it's it's the whole.

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It's a cradle to grave mentality, you know, and we

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you know, Matt when he's repairing a vehicle and specifies

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how it needs to be done. When it ensure may

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or may not want to pay for a particular procedure,

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Matt has the decision that from a liability standpoint, he

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has to do that and somebody has to pay for it,

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and that that's what it's coming down to, is being

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able to be properly reimbursed to proper repairs so that

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everybody is protected and you know, some repairs are made safely.

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All Right, We're going to take our first break right here,

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just about a minute. Everybody will be back with Lucky

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and Matt right after this.

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You're listening to Winning Business Radio with Kevin Haleine on

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W four CY Radio. That's W fourcy dot com. Don't

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And now back to winning business radio with Kevin helenan

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presenting exciting topics and expert guests with one goal in

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mind to help you succeed in business. Here once again

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is Kevin Helena.

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We're back with Papa George, executive director of Mass Autobody Association,

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and Matthew Ciscini. I'm still impressed that I can said

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that of the MASS president and UH on the board

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of directors.

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Tell us UH actually lucky.

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A couple more questions real quick before we get into

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the issues. I understand you on the road A bit

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you you go out to shops a lot. I do, yeah,

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and what not, only to be a good advocate. But

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what are you learning when you're out with business owners.

259
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Well, you know, I see and hear from them all

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the time the struggles that they're facing as far as

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trying to entice young and new technicians and to keep

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00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:39.399
the technicians that they have.

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Uh the you know, the average age in.

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Our industry right now technicians as well into the fifties.

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And you know, the shops are there, their technicians are

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aging out. I also get to visit a lot of

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both technical schools and you know, and talk to the

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students there and talk to them about what potential future

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they have in this industry, which is which is a

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great industry.

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You know, it's one that you know, there's a.

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Lot of pride in it being able to take something

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that's been damaged and restored back to its pre law

274
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as close as possible to its pre lost condition.

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And I noticed a name change as of January first

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00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:19.960
of this year. What was behind the name change.

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Years ago, probably eighteen or nineteen years ago, the association

278
00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:29.960
transition from the Massachusetts Autobody Association incorporating the other three

279
00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:34.120
associations in the state under the umbrella of the Alliance

280
00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:40.039
of Automotive Service Providers, which was a national association. That association,

281
00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:44.000
after twenty five years, disbanded in December of twenty twenty four.

282
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We have been talking about going back to the Massachusetts

283
00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:50.759
Autobody Association because the name says it all.

284
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It's as exactly who we're representing.

285
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I found it a lot easier when I go into

286
00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:58.720
a collision facility to say who I'm representing in that fashion.

287
00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:04.279
The fact that they went through that disbanding allowed us

288
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to transition back to the Massachusetts Autobody Association, or MABA

289
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as we called ourselves.

290
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All Right, so why are you guys so passionate about

291
00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:17.640
advocating for the mass autobody industry.

292
00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:23.880
Well, for me, it's pretty easy. You know, it's my industry.

293
00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:26.680
It's what I take pride, and it's what we do

294
00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:30.319
every day. But I would say, you know, it goes

295
00:17:30.359 --> 00:17:33.359
back to you know, when I first went to the

296
00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:36.200
meetings and we're a really small business and I saw

297
00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:38.160
I think at the time it was a friend and

298
00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:40.240
a guy I can call a friend now and Rick Starboard,

299
00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:45.279
who was the president of the ASP at the time,

300
00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:49.319
and uh, he has a shop in Revere Rick's Collision,

301
00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:54.559
and he just I remember like somebody standing up, somebody

302
00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:59.319
advocating for everyone in the room, talking about getting together,

303
00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:01.680
talking about what you need to do in order to

304
00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:06.480
better your business. You know that we're not there for

305
00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:10.119
the insurers. We're there for the customers that come in

306
00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:15.400
the door to repair their cars. It's all about that

307
00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:18.880
kind of you know, we're on a business podcast, and

308
00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:22.480
this is like trying to bring to an industry that

309
00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:25.079
somehow has been beaten down over the years to not

310
00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:28.680
understand anymore that they are a business and that like,

311
00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:31.039
just because the insurers say that they're going to pay

312
00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:34.599
you something or not pay you something, doesn't mean that

313
00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:37.799
that's how you should run your business. I think it's

314
00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:42.200
really important. And Lucky Can Can Can also dovetail on

315
00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:45.039
this that it's this is where we're at now, is

316
00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:48.240
trying to bring an independence to the people that are

317
00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:51.599
operating these businesses in Massachusetts to say, we know the

318
00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:54.839
labor rates unfair, We've got to do something about it.

319
00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:57.400
Here we're the ones that are doing something about it.

320
00:18:58.400 --> 00:18:59.160
Lucky go ahead.

321
00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:02.079
Yeah, Well, I think part of my passion comes from

322
00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:06.640
the David and Goliath mentality. I've always been on David's side,

323
00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:10.640
not justs he won, but I've I've been been for

324
00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:15.400
the little guy. And you know, the the issue within

325
00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:20.119
the collision repair industry and that whole back and forth

326
00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:25.079
between collision repair and insurance companies is what drives me

327
00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.599
and and you know, wanting to do what's right mostly

328
00:19:27.640 --> 00:19:29.759
for the consumer. And that's one of the things about

329
00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:33.279
our association. You know, we talk about protecting the consumer

330
00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:37.720
first because that then dovetails into the collision repair industry

331
00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:40.160
being treated properly and being protected.

332
00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:44.400
All right, So you guys have talked about insurance reimbursement rates.

333
00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:47.400
Why does that current system put drivers at risk?

334
00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:51.200
Matt, you want to hit it first?

335
00:19:51.799 --> 00:19:56.880
Yeah, sure, Well there's not to go into an entire

336
00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.799
history lesson in the state of but you know there

337
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:01.799
and Lucky you could probably speak to this better than

338
00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:03.839
I can. But you know, it goes back to a

339
00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:08.519
time in the eighties where they felt like costs were

340
00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:12.960
running away from the insurers and they needed to have

341
00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:18.119
some level of containment, and so it sort of starts there.

342
00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:21.480
I don't know if you want to go into that history. Luck,

343
00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:23.720
that's me.

344
00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:26.680
So back in nineteen eighty eight, there was the Insurance

345
00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:30.079
Reform Act of nineteen eighty eight, and as Matt indicated,

346
00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:33.480
it was a drive to try to contain costs and

347
00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:37.960
keep insurance premium from skyrocketing, or that in their mind

348
00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:42.440
skyrocketing back then. So back in nineteen eighty eight, the

349
00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:45.759
average labor rate in Massachusetts was thirty dollars an hour.

350
00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:49.920
Once the Reform Act went into play and they approached

351
00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:53.920
body shops to sign contracts, and the major concession on

352
00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:57.519
those contracts was a labor rate, the labor aiight actually

353
00:20:57.519 --> 00:21:01.559
went from thirty dollars to twenty eight. And then part

354
00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:04.359
of the language and the policy also indicates that an

355
00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:08.880
insurer is only obligated to pay a rate across the

356
00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:13.160
board that they can achieve by setting a rate within

357
00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:16.119
a certain group of shops, So if they can get

358
00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:18.839
a certain number of shops to agree, and then this case,

359
00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:21.279
it was twenty eight dollars an hour, a labor rate

360
00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:24.680
rolled back to thirty. Well, move forward to the year

361
00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:28.519
twenty twenty six, and we're looking at an average laborate

362
00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:31.920
in Massachusetts right now of between forty seven and forty

363
00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:35.240
eight dollars an hour, which you know I think anybody

364
00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:38.240
with any reasonable sense and knowing what's going on with

365
00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:41.319
the cost of business, cost of living, you know, and

366
00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:44.400
what it costs to just get a lawnmower, a bicycle

367
00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:47.160
repaired in this state, let alone, you know, a vehicle

368
00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:50.599
at a mechanical shop, knows that that is an unfair

369
00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:53.880
and unreasonable rate. And the suppression has been brought on

370
00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:58.359
by insurance insurers. And regardless of how much we have

371
00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:03.200
appealed to them to try to raise the minimum reimbursement rate,

372
00:22:03.799 --> 00:22:06.960
they've been very resistant to that. They point at the

373
00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:08.799
fact that premiums will go up.

374
00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:11.799
That is their age old argument.

375
00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:17.680
The insurance premiums have been going up regardless and they

376
00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:19.839
have you know, the labor rate has not kept pace

377
00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:23.400
with what it has cost from nineteen ninety to today

378
00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:26.319
to run a business to be able to pay for

379
00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:29.319
insurance for your employees, to be able to provide them

380
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:34.000
with a pay scale that entices people to come into

381
00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:37.400
the industry, especially young people. You know, if you can

382
00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:39.839
get paid more to drive a truck for Amazon than

383
00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:43.079
you can to repair that Amazon truck, something is really wrong.

384
00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:50.079
And then obviously the lack of technicians there are book

385
00:22:50.119 --> 00:22:53.200
tech schools. I'm sure that teach autobody, and yet they're

386
00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:55.200
not going to the field even though they have learned it.

387
00:22:55.920 --> 00:23:00.480
Yeah, and unfortunately, there's been a trend to re moving

388
00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:05.680
the autobody factor or auto body component of a vocational school.

389
00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:09.799
You know, notoriously over the years, the autobody section of

390
00:23:10.039 --> 00:23:13.400
a vocational school was you know, basically a dumping round.

391
00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:15.759
A lot of times they would be you know, put

392
00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:20.119
the problem student there, someone who could work with their hands. Nowadays,

393
00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:23.480
to work on today's vehicles, you have to be part chemists,

394
00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:27.000
you have to be idle electrician. There's just so much

395
00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:30.680
going on in today's vehicles. There's more code, computer code

396
00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:33.000
in today's vehicles than in the rocket that went to

397
00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:36.960
the moon, you know, and you know, to try to

398
00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:39.640
balance out getting paid what we're getting paid per hour

399
00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:44.279
versus other industries, it's a challenge to entice young folks

400
00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:46.079
into it in the vocational schools.

401
00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:49.960
So for now it seems like a shop owner problem,

402
00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:51.960
but I know it's not. What does the public need

403
00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:52.319
to know.

404
00:23:53.720 --> 00:23:56.839
Well, the public needs to know that there is a

405
00:23:57.039 --> 00:24:01.160
price to be paid for keeping up with today's technology

406
00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:03.960
the vehicles. From the time that I get into this

407
00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:08.279
in nineteen ninety early nineties to today, they're not the

408
00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:12.759
same vehicle, and unfortunately, insurers are trying to reimburse as

409
00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:14.200
if we're fixing those.

410
00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:15.640
Vehicles, not today's vehicles.

411
00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:18.759
You know, the technicians that are that are in the

412
00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:21.160
field today and that are trying to come into this

413
00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:25.519
field the equipment that they have to purchase. Notoriously, the

414
00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:29.240
technician owns all of their equipment. Some shops do provide

415
00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:33.519
some equipment, especially the high priced items like the frame machines,

416
00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:36.599
things of that nature, but primarily, you know, the technician

417
00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:41.240
is expected to have a very substantial toolbox.

418
00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:44.519
And able to work on vehicles, and those tools vary

419
00:24:44.680 --> 00:24:48.480
from mate to make as well, so it's not as

420
00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:51.119
easy as just having you know, a pair of vice

421
00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:54.680
scripts as an example, or some other tool. You know

422
00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:57.279
that there's a lot of speciality.

423
00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:00.720
Yeah, and I think also just the reason why this

424
00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:03.599
is more than a shop issue or more than a

425
00:25:04.359 --> 00:25:08.680
small business issue is is that you know, these are real, living,

426
00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:12.039
breathing humans that sit in that driver's seat and that

427
00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:14.759
have to go, you know, seventy miles an hour down

428
00:25:14.839 --> 00:25:17.680
the highway and know that if something happens that that

429
00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:21.160
car is going to perform properly for them, and you know,

430
00:25:21.240 --> 00:25:24.920
the attempt to do so is at you know, forty

431
00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:31.440
eight dollars an hour. Seems just completely unreasonable and honestly

432
00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:34.359
bananas to most customers when you mentioned it to them,

433
00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:38.799
they almost don't understand how any shop operates at that.

434
00:25:39.240 --> 00:25:43.839
When it becomes a volume game, all of those things

435
00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:49.039
that businesses do, you know, in the economy of scale

436
00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:53.359
to make this thing happen. That's not how it should be.

437
00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:55.599
It should be that, you know, you figure out what

438
00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:59.480
your operating costs are and your labor rate is based

439
00:25:59.480 --> 00:26:02.119
on that, and then it has to be competitive in

440
00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:05.599
the market. We do not have that in our business.

441
00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:08.759
I can also imagine, I don't want to be too

442
00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:12.279
negative here, but I can also imagine a small percentage

443
00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:16.559
of unscrupulous people who would not fix the car right

444
00:26:16.559 --> 00:26:18.160
because they're not getting paid to fix it right.

445
00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:19.000
Yeah.

446
00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:22.880
Unfortunately, unfortunately, we see that all too often. And you know,

447
00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:27.400
a vehicle, especially because most consumers don't understand their vehicles

448
00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:31.640
from the get go. You know, cosmetically, a vehicle can

449
00:26:31.720 --> 00:26:36.000
look near perfect after an accident. You know, there's always

450
00:26:36.039 --> 00:26:37.680
something that you can find that might be a little

451
00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:41.079
bit off. Unfortunately, it's what's going on behind the scenes

452
00:26:41.559 --> 00:26:45.599
that can have a tremendous negative effect, not only for

453
00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:48.200
that vehicle and the people who are in that vehicle,

454
00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:50.240
but everyone who is sharing the roads with them.

455
00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:52.880
It's not just because that vehicle was repaired.

456
00:26:53.880 --> 00:26:56.440
The people that are sharing the road also run into

457
00:26:56.480 --> 00:27:00.039
a jeopardy because, you know, especially with ADAS and the

458
00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:03.319
fact that a lot of these vehicles have automatic braking systems,

459
00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:06.960
lane steering, things of that nature, if the repair isn't

460
00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:10.319
done properly, an eight an airbag may not trigger correctly

461
00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:13.720
through no fault of that driver if they get hit,

462
00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:18.079
you know, or they're being steered unconsciously because they've We've

463
00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:20.839
all grown to rely on our aid DAS systems, the

464
00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:25.440
Advanced Driver Assistant Systems is what ADAS stands for, you know,

465
00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:28.200
We've all grown to rely on it in some part

466
00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:30.920
that if when we get our vehicles back, it's not

467
00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:35.559
reacting the way it should be, it's jeopardizing everyone.

468
00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:41.400
Is this limited to Massachusetts.

469
00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:42.720
No, by no means.

470
00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:47.599
It's just that Massachusetts currently is the lowest paid state

471
00:27:47.640 --> 00:27:52.079
in the country when it comes to reimbursement rate. As

472
00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:55.319
I said, The average in Massachusetts is around between forty

473
00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:59.000
seven and forty eight dollars an hour. The national average

474
00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:02.880
for the country is around sixty nine dollars.

475
00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:04.559
But you know again, that's an average.

476
00:28:04.599 --> 00:28:07.640
The highs of it at Massachusetts is one of the

477
00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:12.000
is the second highest state in the Union in which

478
00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:14.279
to own and run a business based on our class

479
00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:15.599
of living here in.

480
00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:19.680
Mass Guys, we're going to take our second break. Be

481
00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:23.359
about another minute, and viewers and listeners will be back

482
00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:25.039
in just a minute with Lucky in Matt.

483
00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:33.799
You're listening to Winning Business Radio with Kevin Helenet on

484
00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:38.079
W four CY Radio. That's W four cy dot com.

485
00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:40.880
Don't go away. More helpful information is coming right up

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right here on Winning Business Radio.

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And now back to Winning Business Radio with Kevin Helene

510
00:30:02.440 --> 00:30:06.279
presenting exciting topics and expert guests with one goal in

511
00:30:06.359 --> 00:30:09.839
mind to help you succeed in business. Here once again

512
00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:11.119
is Kevin Helenet.

513
00:30:18.920 --> 00:30:20.680
So we're back with Lucky in matt There's been a

514
00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:25.200
trend of businesses closing. Autobody business is closing, right, what

515
00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:25.839
does that look like?

516
00:30:27.960 --> 00:30:31.240
Well, there has been a drop off in the number

517
00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:34.680
of businesses collision repair of businesses in Massachusetts over the

518
00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:37.799
last ten fifteen years, and a lot of it has

519
00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:41.000
to do with the lack of technicians as far as

520
00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:44.240
drawing new technicians into the business, the lack of a

521
00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:45.599
return on an investment.

522
00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:48.359
You know, people look to grow.

523
00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:52.680
Their business and unfortunately it's a real challenge as you know,

524
00:30:52.680 --> 00:30:54.640
and again we don't want to just harp on the

525
00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:57.319
labor rate, but there's a lot of challenges in the industry,

526
00:30:57.799 --> 00:31:00.759
environmental controls, things of that nature that we have to

527
00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:01.599
contend with.

528
00:31:01.960 --> 00:31:04.279
That a lot of people, you know, they'd rather not

529
00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:05.240
have to deal with that.

530
00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:09.920
So when it comes to aging out, not only the technicians,

531
00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:11.839
but the shop boners are too And if you don't

532
00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:14.240
have a business that you're able to either pass on

533
00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:17.680
or sell because it has value to it, the option

534
00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:20.680
is to basically close down. And the long term effect

535
00:31:20.759 --> 00:31:23.039
on that is, you know, a longer way for consumers

536
00:31:24.119 --> 00:31:27.279
that have accidents, they're on as many choices in their

537
00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:30.039
particular area to get a vehicle properly repaired.

538
00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:36.599
So what is the solution? Probably not an easy answer book.

539
00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:39.000
I mean, we always does have a plan, right, I.

540
00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:42.480
Wish I had a magic wand yeah, well, I think

541
00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:44.119
a lot of it has to do with what we're

542
00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:46.759
doing right now, which is educating the consumer as to

543
00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:50.119
what they need to understand when it comes to collision repair.

544
00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:52.319
You know, the it's an.

545
00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:56.400
Adversarial situation between the collision but repair facility and the

546
00:31:56.400 --> 00:31:59.240
insurance industry. You know, they're trying to pay as little

547
00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:02.119
as possible. The collision repair facility wants to make sure

548
00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:06.519
that they're repairing the vehicle properly. The consumer needs to understand,

549
00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:09.759
in my mind, who they should be allying with, and

550
00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:15.720
they cannot afford to let the insurance industry basically brainwash

551
00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:18.119
them into thinking that it's just a matter of a

552
00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:20.880
body shop trying to just make more money. And then

553
00:32:20.920 --> 00:32:23.759
notorious for saying that. They don't say we want to

554
00:32:23.799 --> 00:32:27.039
keep more money for themselves. They want to say that

555
00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:29.480
we're just trying to make more money and that you

556
00:32:29.480 --> 00:32:33.000
know that we're over repairing vehicles is a common quote

557
00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:36.240
by insurance companies. You know, Matt will tell you that

558
00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:40.759
to properly research a vehicle to fix it according to

559
00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:46.319
the OEM specifications today could take hours of research alone,

560
00:32:46.680 --> 00:32:49.880
because those techniques can change from one day to the

561
00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:52.880
next on the very same vehicle. He has to be

562
00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:57.319
able to document everything that was a proper repair procedure

563
00:32:57.359 --> 00:33:00.240
at the time he was repairing that specific vehicle, well,

564
00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:04.279
not a Toyota three weeks ago doing the same thing

565
00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:07.119
today he has to relook everything up, make sure he's

566
00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:08.240
doing everything correctly.

567
00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:10.680
That's something back could probably speak a little bit more too.

568
00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:16.079
And it's constantly changing. We've seen vehicles that didn't change

569
00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:21.559
model wise, but have changed a procedure for change something

570
00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:26.079
for one procedure dozens of times, so you could look

571
00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:29.960
something up one day and a week later that procedure

572
00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:33.440
has changed just based on whatever engineer has said. No,

573
00:33:33.640 --> 00:33:36.200
you know, we thought we had it, Now we need

574
00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:40.720
to do this. And you know, again, at forty eight

575
00:33:40.759 --> 00:33:44.519
dollars an hour, it sounds pretty daunting because it is.

576
00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:46.079
So.

577
00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:48.440
I know, you guys lobby the state House, the governor,

578
00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:51.559
I'm imagining the legislature. In fact, you've got Brian Bernard.

579
00:33:51.799 --> 00:33:54.000
I'll give him a shout out, Total Care, accident Repair

580
00:33:54.039 --> 00:33:56.160
and Rainham as a legislative rep.

581
00:33:56.279 --> 00:34:00.240
What have those efforts looked like? And are you winning?

582
00:34:01.799 --> 00:34:02.839
You know, what does it look like?

583
00:34:03.880 --> 00:34:07.359
It depends on your definition of winning. I guess we're

584
00:34:07.400 --> 00:34:10.320
definitely making headway. You know, we we've we've done a

585
00:34:10.360 --> 00:34:14.119
great deal of had a great deal of discussion with

586
00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:18.159
the legislatures, with the regulators such as the Commissioner of

587
00:34:18.199 --> 00:34:20.719
Insurance as a new insurance commissioner in who's been in

588
00:34:20.760 --> 00:34:24.400
place now for a little over a year. And you know,

589
00:34:24.480 --> 00:34:27.559
our goal is to have them understand what it is

590
00:34:27.599 --> 00:34:31.840
that we contend with in our businesses through shop visits,

591
00:34:31.880 --> 00:34:34.239
which are very much eye opening when it comes to

592
00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:38.360
what a legislator may have thought is going on in

593
00:34:38.400 --> 00:34:41.599
a collisionary pay a facility versus what actually goes on and.

594
00:34:41.519 --> 00:34:42.880
What you got to talk to the ones that have

595
00:34:42.920 --> 00:34:43.719
had repairs.

596
00:34:44.920 --> 00:34:47.639
Well, that's something that Matt can tell you about that

597
00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:48.360
there are.

598
00:34:48.239 --> 00:34:52.920
Some My local senator has been a been here in

599
00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:57.199
my facility and she actually has been forced to pay

600
00:34:57.239 --> 00:35:03.039
a bill because the INSURAN didn't fully reimburse her. And

601
00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:06.760
she's been an advocate and great. You know, I'll leave

602
00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:08.480
her a name out of it because I don't know

603
00:35:08.599 --> 00:35:13.559
she wants to be named. But you know, I've this

604
00:35:13.760 --> 00:35:17.639
is a constant conversation that we have. They understand because

605
00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:21.840
they're consumers too, but you know, we have to have

606
00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:25.840
this conversation holistically. With our customers. I think that's not

607
00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:30.079
just legislation that again harkening back to how does a

608
00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:32.639
business run, but also do the thing for the consumer

609
00:35:32.679 --> 00:35:35.719
all the time. What we need to do is educate

610
00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:38.119
them so if they have an if you can tell

611
00:35:38.159 --> 00:35:41.679
a customer, we have to do a through z to

612
00:35:41.760 --> 00:35:44.599
your vehicle because you own a Toyota, this is what

613
00:35:44.920 --> 00:35:48.199
Toyota says we have to do to it. You're ensure

614
00:35:48.440 --> 00:35:51.199
doesn't want to pay for four or five of these things?

615
00:35:52.599 --> 00:35:54.199
Do you want us to do them to the car

616
00:35:54.280 --> 00:35:56.559
because we feel we have to do them to the car.

617
00:35:57.360 --> 00:36:00.800
If there is something additional, you may have a balance.

618
00:36:01.559 --> 00:36:06.000
And then as long as that customer agrees, you know,

619
00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:10.480
they can advocate for themselves to their ensure. We can

620
00:36:10.519 --> 00:36:12.840
continue to advocate for them to get the proper repair.

621
00:36:12.840 --> 00:36:15.119
But I think that's part of the education of what

622
00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:19.639
MAB is trying to do is explain to all of

623
00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:21.920
the shops in our state that you know, we can't

624
00:36:21.960 --> 00:36:24.159
just keep going along the same way we've been going.

625
00:36:24.760 --> 00:36:26.000
It'spect a different result.

626
00:36:28.880 --> 00:36:30.480
I don't know if you'd know this number, but is

627
00:36:30.519 --> 00:36:34.000
there any kind of success rate when a customer complains

628
00:36:34.079 --> 00:36:36.280
advocates for themselves to the insurance company.

629
00:36:37.400 --> 00:36:39.559
I would say more times than I couldn't give you an

630
00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:42.400
exact number, more times than not, the squeaky wheel gets

631
00:36:42.440 --> 00:36:42.840
the oil.

632
00:36:43.079 --> 00:36:43.280
Yeah.

633
00:36:43.519 --> 00:36:47.760
Well, the insurance industry, as much as Matt may argue

634
00:36:47.800 --> 00:36:51.199
for a particular point and be told no and has

635
00:36:51.280 --> 00:36:54.599
to balance bill a customer for whatever that procedure was,

636
00:36:55.320 --> 00:36:59.559
in more cases than not being reimbursed because the consumer

637
00:37:00.719 --> 00:37:03.960
is armed with the right information by a shop like Matt,

638
00:37:03.960 --> 00:37:08.400
they'll provide them that information, and the insurance companies don't

639
00:37:08.400 --> 00:37:11.239
want to lose a customer. They're just banking on somebody

640
00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:14.519
not challenging them. And that goes the same thing with

641
00:37:14.559 --> 00:37:18.360
collusion repair shops. Far too many repair shops are not

642
00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:21.239
willing to put in that extra effort, and that's one

643
00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:23.159
of the things that we try to help our membership

644
00:37:23.280 --> 00:37:27.960
do is learn how to advocate for their customers and

645
00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:28.800
for themselves.

646
00:37:29.880 --> 00:37:34.000
I think it's important, Kevin not to be as serious

647
00:37:34.039 --> 00:37:38.000
as this example. But the medical industry, in our industry,

648
00:37:38.079 --> 00:37:43.639
they're both reimbursed mostly by insurers. People do almost never

649
00:37:43.760 --> 00:37:45.880
block at a bill that comes in the mail from

650
00:37:46.599 --> 00:37:50.719
a doctor, But for some reason, our industry has been

651
00:37:50.760 --> 00:37:55.039
so beaten down that people don't want to pay an

652
00:37:55.039 --> 00:37:57.760
extra dime because they feel their car insurance should be

653
00:37:57.800 --> 00:38:02.760
covering everything. You know, we would never allow and ensure

654
00:38:02.800 --> 00:38:04.920
in the middle of a surgery to say no, don't

655
00:38:04.920 --> 00:38:08.199
cut there, No, no, no, don't take that out. Yeah,

656
00:38:08.239 --> 00:38:09.840
but we allow our industry.

657
00:38:10.039 --> 00:38:14.679
Yeah, that's crazy. That's a good analogy. So consumers worry.

658
00:38:14.760 --> 00:38:18.960
My guess is that higher imbursement higher reimbursement rates would,

659
00:38:19.119 --> 00:38:21.360
as one of you suggested, would increase premiums.

660
00:38:21.440 --> 00:38:21.920
Is that true?

661
00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:26.679
It will, But it's a matter of by how much.

662
00:38:26.719 --> 00:38:27.079
I mean.

663
00:38:27.920 --> 00:38:30.920
I think that a quick study had been done that

664
00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:34.599
if the labor rate went up ten dollars an hour

665
00:38:34.679 --> 00:38:37.960
would have should have zero or no effect on the

666
00:38:38.039 --> 00:38:41.719
actual premium dollars. You know, a twenty five dollars it's

667
00:38:41.719 --> 00:38:44.880
a thirty dollars increase in labor rate might have a

668
00:38:44.920 --> 00:38:47.920
ten or twenty dollars increase on a particular premium. Because

669
00:38:47.920 --> 00:38:50.360
we're also not talking about the entire premium.

670
00:38:50.519 --> 00:38:51.960
Right. The insurance company is.

671
00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:56.039
A grade at numbers, and that whole issue about how

672
00:38:56.039 --> 00:38:58.840
to put tray numbers. They'll tell you that it will

673
00:38:58.880 --> 00:39:03.840
make the insurance premium. Insurance premiums will increase by twenty percent. Well,

674
00:39:03.880 --> 00:39:06.679
somebody will look at that fifteen hundred dollars or two

675
00:39:06.760 --> 00:39:10.880
thousand dollars premium from last year and go, oh my god,

676
00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:14.920
that's a huge figure. Well they're talking about the collision

677
00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:18.440
portion of that two thousand, which is a minimal amount.

678
00:39:18.840 --> 00:39:23.960
The overwhelming degree or component of your insurance premium is

679
00:39:24.079 --> 00:39:28.440
medical and legal. It's not the collision. And that's something

680
00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:32.079
that people don't realize. We're made to be the bad

681
00:39:32.159 --> 00:39:35.199
boys and the equation when we're not. It's all the

682
00:39:35.320 --> 00:39:40.119
lawsuits and the physical issues that come out of accidents.

683
00:39:40.599 --> 00:39:44.559
And that's a key component too, is that the technology

684
00:39:44.679 --> 00:39:47.639
changes that have been driven are being driven by the

685
00:39:47.639 --> 00:39:53.039
insurance industry to help minimize not accidents necessarily, but the

686
00:39:53.079 --> 00:39:56.880
amount of soft tissue damage that transpires in a collision loss,

687
00:39:56.920 --> 00:40:01.079
because that's where they're really feeling the the pain on

688
00:40:01.159 --> 00:40:04.000
their rent when it comes to having to settle a

689
00:40:04.079 --> 00:40:07.639
laws suit, pay for extended medical care and things of

690
00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:08.239
that nature.

691
00:40:08.280 --> 00:40:10.559
It's not the collision aspect of it.

692
00:40:10.920 --> 00:40:16.119
So technology like the advanced driver assistant systems, accident avoidance,

693
00:40:16.639 --> 00:40:19.599
airbag seat belts, all of those items that they don't

694
00:40:19.639 --> 00:40:22.880
even want to pay for safety checks on after a

695
00:40:22.880 --> 00:40:26.400
loss or have them properly scanned after a loss to

696
00:40:26.440 --> 00:40:28.920
make sure they're functioning properly. They don't want to pay

697
00:40:28.920 --> 00:40:32.480
adequately for that. And again, you know we alluded to

698
00:40:32.519 --> 00:40:35.639
it earlier. There's a lot of shops that are just saying, Okay,

699
00:40:35.639 --> 00:40:37.639
it looks good on the outside, we'll keep our.

700
00:40:37.480 --> 00:40:39.679
Fingers crossed that it doesn't get into an accident.

701
00:40:40.239 --> 00:40:43.639
And you know, proper and safe repairs, as our campaign

702
00:40:43.679 --> 00:40:47.039
is saying, is no accident. It takes a great deal

703
00:40:47.079 --> 00:40:50.960
of diligence on the part of collision repairs their technicians

704
00:40:51.400 --> 00:40:54.199
to make sure that they are properly repairing the vehicles.

705
00:40:55.239 --> 00:40:58.400
All right, So what if nothing changes? What if ten years,

706
00:40:58.440 --> 00:41:01.199
five years, ten years from now there's no change. What

707
00:41:01.199 --> 00:41:02.960
does that mean for the consumer? What does that mean

708
00:41:02.960 --> 00:41:03.760
for the shop owner?

709
00:41:04.960 --> 00:41:08.239
Well, I think it could be very much like what

710
00:41:08.280 --> 00:41:10.559
we see in a lot of industry is you're going

711
00:41:10.639 --> 00:41:14.320
to see the biggest of players come in that can

712
00:41:14.400 --> 00:41:22.519
sustain low reimbursement through consolidation, and you'll have less and

713
00:41:22.599 --> 00:41:26.920
less places to fix your car. They will have a

714
00:41:26.960 --> 00:41:29.840
harder and harder time getting people to work and be

715
00:41:29.920 --> 00:41:32.840
able to repair a car. And I think we will

716
00:41:33.599 --> 00:41:38.320
slowly get into a very impersonal model on how people

717
00:41:38.960 --> 00:41:41.159
fix their cars. You know, there may be the day

718
00:41:41.199 --> 00:41:44.039
where you go to a kiosk, you drop your keys

719
00:41:44.039 --> 00:41:46.800
in a box and they call you two weeks later

720
00:41:46.880 --> 00:41:49.480
when that thing is supposedly done and you come and

721
00:41:49.519 --> 00:41:52.719
pick it up and you don't know anything about what

722
00:41:52.840 --> 00:41:56.480
happened in between. A business like mine needs to stay

723
00:41:56.519 --> 00:42:00.239
on top of the customer. You know, we have a

724
00:42:00.239 --> 00:42:04.400
policy here where we update everyone every forty eight hours

725
00:42:04.599 --> 00:42:07.400
because a car could be here for three weeks if

726
00:42:07.400 --> 00:42:11.719
you have a major collision, procurement of parts, and also

727
00:42:11.760 --> 00:42:14.639
trying to work with the insurer for a customer at

728
00:42:14.679 --> 00:42:20.559
the same time. People aren't just like accepting these major repairs.

729
00:42:20.079 --> 00:42:21.840
And writing checks.

730
00:42:22.360 --> 00:42:25.519
We always want to advocate for the customer as much

731
00:42:25.559 --> 00:42:30.519
as possible and get things reimbursed. But you know, I

732
00:42:30.880 --> 00:42:34.840
don't know. I think it's it would be I would

733
00:42:34.960 --> 00:42:37.280
liken it to the medical industry again. I'm sorry. I

734
00:42:37.320 --> 00:42:39.119
always go back to that sting you want to make

735
00:42:39.199 --> 00:42:42.480
humans into cars. But what we have to look at

736
00:42:42.760 --> 00:42:46.119
is do you have a small hometown doctor that you

737
00:42:46.199 --> 00:42:52.320
go to Kevin or a big like facility where you're

738
00:42:52.360 --> 00:42:54.480
a number. You feel like you got to pull the

739
00:42:54.519 --> 00:42:56.119
deli number and you go.

740
00:42:56.159 --> 00:42:58.280
In and it depends on what I'm going there for.

741
00:42:58.480 --> 00:43:01.639
The primary care yeah, yes, knows me, well, knows my

742
00:43:01.719 --> 00:43:04.119
wife well, everybody else not really.

743
00:43:04.559 --> 00:43:07.599
Yeah, So we see medical going that way. We don't.

744
00:43:07.920 --> 00:43:10.039
We don't want collision to go that way. You don't

745
00:43:10.039 --> 00:43:13.679
want to lose your your local mechanic either, you know.

746
00:43:14.440 --> 00:43:18.559
But at least that mechanic can name their price. They

747
00:43:18.599 --> 00:43:22.039
can say, what, hey, my my operating costs are this,

748
00:43:22.599 --> 00:43:25.280
so my labor rate is that when we're dealing with

749
00:43:25.320 --> 00:43:29.239
a reimbursement rate, it's being forced upon us.

750
00:43:29.519 --> 00:43:32.559
Right, And that's something that the consumer has to understand, Kevin,

751
00:43:32.679 --> 00:43:36.280
is that that is a that's exactly the terminology that

752
00:43:36.400 --> 00:43:38.639
needs to be used by the insurance company. This is

753
00:43:38.679 --> 00:43:42.079
the amount we're willing to reimburse where they but what

754
00:43:42.119 --> 00:43:45.400
they try to do is convince the consumer, the vehicle owner,

755
00:43:45.880 --> 00:43:48.440
that that's the labor rate that the body shop should

756
00:43:48.440 --> 00:43:52.239
be charging, that that's all that it's worth. And anyone

757
00:43:52.280 --> 00:43:54.519
that you sit down and explain it to is Matt

758
00:43:54.599 --> 00:43:56.920
indicated when you when they come in with an estimate

759
00:43:56.960 --> 00:43:59.800
if you take the time and show them that of

760
00:43:59.840 --> 00:44:03.480
that at eight thousand dollars repair, this amount of it

761
00:44:03.559 --> 00:44:08.000
is my labor. The rest of it is parts materials,

762
00:44:09.039 --> 00:44:11.880
services that have to be done on top of you know,

763
00:44:11.920 --> 00:44:14.840
like the adask checking and scanning and pre scanning and

764
00:44:14.880 --> 00:44:18.760
post scanning and calibration. That the labor rate is such

765
00:44:18.760 --> 00:44:21.960
a small component of that. You know, an increase should

766
00:44:22.039 --> 00:44:25.480
have a minimal effect on the premium, but have a

767
00:44:25.519 --> 00:44:29.920
major effect on our businesses being able to bring in

768
00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:33.760
new technicians, to continue proper training, to stay current with

769
00:44:33.840 --> 00:44:37.760
the equipment and everything that is made necessary to repair

770
00:44:37.880 --> 00:44:38.920
today's vehicles.

771
00:44:40.360 --> 00:44:43.199
So is this a legislative solution, as you guys see.

772
00:44:43.000 --> 00:44:48.320
It, It's something that we it should be just like

773
00:44:48.400 --> 00:44:50.239
any of the business. We should be able to set

774
00:44:50.239 --> 00:44:54.760
our rates, just like we allude to mechanics, right, they

775
00:44:54.880 --> 00:44:57.239
set their rate. It's what the market will bear, it's

776
00:44:57.280 --> 00:44:59.960
what they're able to promote as far as their expertise

777
00:45:00.039 --> 00:45:02.480
and why they should be selected in the repair process.

778
00:45:03.320 --> 00:45:09.119
With insurance having that ability to suppress it, we've turned

779
00:45:09.119 --> 00:45:09.960
to legislation.

780
00:45:10.159 --> 00:45:11.320
We've had no choice to.

781
00:45:12.039 --> 00:45:14.760
You know, we've had commissions, two commissions going all the

782
00:45:14.800 --> 00:45:18.280
way back to two thousand and eight, we just finished

783
00:45:18.639 --> 00:45:20.320
a laborate advisory board.

784
00:45:20.679 --> 00:45:21.800
All three of those.

785
00:45:21.639 --> 00:45:26.280
Indicated that the laborrate needed to be significantly increased in

786
00:45:26.400 --> 00:45:28.880
order to keep pace with what's been going on in

787
00:45:28.920 --> 00:45:34.039
our industry. And you know, that's now been presented to legislators,

788
00:45:34.079 --> 00:45:36.480
it's been presented to the Commission of Insurance, it's been

789
00:45:36.519 --> 00:45:40.239
presented to the AG's office, and where our hopes are

790
00:45:40.679 --> 00:45:44.079
that they will take steps, because the insurance industry has

791
00:45:44.199 --> 00:45:46.119
proven that they absolutely will not.

792
00:45:46.320 --> 00:45:48.920
And the only people that really get hurt are the.

793
00:45:48.920 --> 00:45:52.960
Vehicle owners paying thousands of dollars and the not getting

794
00:45:52.960 --> 00:45:54.159
what they should be in return.

795
00:45:54.599 --> 00:45:56.519
Yeah, Matt, if i'm you, you know, I'm a business

796
00:45:56.559 --> 00:45:58.880
owner from you, I need to get paid what I'm worth.

797
00:45:59.320 --> 00:46:03.320
And so if that the customer has a bill, which

798
00:46:03.679 --> 00:46:05.599
to your point, the good shops will tell them that

799
00:46:05.719 --> 00:46:08.000
upfront and they get to opt in for that. Yeah,

800
00:46:08.039 --> 00:46:10.559
that's the way I'm going to run my business, so

801
00:46:10.599 --> 00:46:12.960
I can rely, you know, have my standard of living.

802
00:46:13.000 --> 00:46:16.920
It's not you know, it's a business. It's supposed to everything, right.

803
00:46:17.159 --> 00:46:20.400
Yeah, exactly, And it's your employee standard of living too, right,

804
00:46:20.559 --> 00:46:23.039
you know, I look around, I have family, you know

805
00:46:23.119 --> 00:46:26.039
here this is this is not just a family owned business.

806
00:46:26.039 --> 00:46:27.960
But you know I have guys that have worked for

807
00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:32.400
me for fifteen years and that there they are like family,

808
00:46:32.440 --> 00:46:34.239
and I want to be able to increase their pay

809
00:46:34.320 --> 00:46:36.960
like a person should be increased as they go along

810
00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:41.039
and maybe even outpace the CPI. That would be amazing, right,

811
00:46:41.159 --> 00:46:44.199
You get somebody that is worth the money. They're an

812
00:46:44.280 --> 00:46:46.760
expert in what they do. They could go into any field,

813
00:46:46.800 --> 00:46:49.719
working with their hands and be an ace and do

814
00:46:49.840 --> 00:46:57.400
it unquestionably, because this is an extremely, extremely hard discipline.

815
00:46:57.760 --> 00:46:59.800
We are out of time. The last part of this

816
00:46:59.920 --> 00:47:01.960
is not the last part, but it was inherent, but

817
00:47:02.000 --> 00:47:05.960
I wanted to emphasize it more. Autobody shops need to

818
00:47:06.039 --> 00:47:07.000
join the association.

819
00:47:07.119 --> 00:47:11.920
Correct, yes, absolutely, absolutely, you know it's it's I have

820
00:47:12.000 --> 00:47:15.440
a great little diagram that I show of a school

821
00:47:15.440 --> 00:47:17.880
of fish in the shape of shaping themselves into a

822
00:47:17.880 --> 00:47:22.559
big fish eating a shark. Yeah, and that's what it's about.

823
00:47:22.679 --> 00:47:25.599
It's you know, we we we have to join hands.

824
00:47:26.000 --> 00:47:27.480
There's not you know, we.

825
00:47:27.639 --> 00:47:29.880
Need to look at each other as colleagues.

826
00:47:29.960 --> 00:47:32.239
We've we've been too long, been taught to look at

827
00:47:32.280 --> 00:47:33.519
each other as competitors.

828
00:47:33.639 --> 00:47:35.280
Yeah, we all have.

829
00:47:35.280 --> 00:47:37.280
A common goal and that's to do what's right for

830
00:47:37.360 --> 00:47:41.960
our customers thereby you know, making our businesses better, all.

831
00:47:41.960 --> 00:47:43.960
Right, So we want people to reach out matt Why

832
00:47:44.000 --> 00:47:46.400
should they reach out to you? There's the uh, your

833
00:47:46.440 --> 00:47:48.519
information has gone across several times in the crawl. But

834
00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:50.480
give them your contact info info one more.

835
00:47:50.480 --> 00:47:53.719
Sure, you can just reach out to me through my

836
00:47:53.760 --> 00:47:57.280
website Full Tilt Autobody dot com. Okay, email me at

837
00:47:57.280 --> 00:48:01.559
info or email me at my email till dot Matthew

838
00:48:01.559 --> 00:48:05.519
at gmail dot com. I'm I'm here for advice. I'm

839
00:48:05.559 --> 00:48:08.280
here for the reason why you should join the association.

840
00:48:09.320 --> 00:48:12.000
I believe in it wholeheartedly. I wouldn't be the president

841
00:48:12.119 --> 00:48:17.000
if I didn't. And Lucky's here working hard for our members.

842
00:48:17.039 --> 00:48:20.199
So once you become a member, you have him right

843
00:48:20.239 --> 00:48:23.239
behind you with all the advice that you possibly could

844
00:48:23.320 --> 00:48:27.400
need on how to succeed as a business, but also

845
00:48:27.559 --> 00:48:29.760
like you know, how to succeed as a as a

846
00:48:29.800 --> 00:48:32.559
person in this industry, because it really comes down to

847
00:48:33.039 --> 00:48:35.840
how do you do it and be able to sleep

848
00:48:35.880 --> 00:48:38.119
well at night and feel good about what you do?

849
00:48:39.320 --> 00:48:42.360
And that's really important to me. I know it's really

850
00:48:42.360 --> 00:48:44.599
important to Luck and that's how we do things.

851
00:48:44.880 --> 00:48:46.760
So Lucky, share your info one more time.

852
00:48:47.079 --> 00:48:50.920
Sure, that's the Massachusetts Autobody Association.

853
00:48:51.119 --> 00:48:51.920
You can reach us.

854
00:48:51.840 --> 00:48:57.119
At mass mass Autobody dot org. There's a our website

855
00:48:57.159 --> 00:49:00.360
has a lot of consumer information on it is a

856
00:49:00.400 --> 00:49:02.760
map of the state on there with all of our

857
00:49:02.840 --> 00:49:06.840
current members listed that they can refer to. You can

858
00:49:06.880 --> 00:49:10.199
always call our main office number seven six one seven

859
00:49:10.320 --> 00:49:12.239
five seven four zero seven four one.

860
00:49:12.920 --> 00:49:15.519
We're here to help consumers and body shops alike.

861
00:49:15.960 --> 00:49:18.679
We have calls all the time from consumers they feel

862
00:49:18.719 --> 00:49:22.599
that they've been wrong either buy, the insurance industry, and

863
00:49:22.760 --> 00:49:24.119
sometimes the body shops.

864
00:49:24.519 --> 00:49:26.960
So guys, thank you for being here, and thank you

865
00:49:27.000 --> 00:49:29.719
for viewers and listeners for being attached to the program.

866
00:49:30.320 --> 00:49:33.800
Come back next week, viewers and listeners, Monday, February twenty third.

867
00:49:33.840 --> 00:49:35.960
We'll do it all over again. Matt Lucky, thank you

868
00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:36.559
for being here.

869
00:49:36.719 --> 00:49:39.679
Thanks Keviny opportunity, Kevin appreciate it. You bet.

870
00:49:41.840 --> 00:49:44.639
You've been listening to Winning Business Radio with your host

871
00:49:44.760 --> 00:49:47.840
Kevin Helene. If you missed any part of this episode.

872
00:49:47.920 --> 00:49:52.079
The podcast is available on Top four Podcasting and iHeartRadio.

873
00:49:52.519 --> 00:49:56.239
For more information and questions, go to Winning Business Radio

874
00:49:56.360 --> 00:49:59.400
dot com or check us out on social media. Tune

875
00:49:59.400 --> 00:50:01.880
in again next weekend every Monday at four pm Eastern

876
00:50:01.920 --> 00:50:05.480
Time to listen live to Winning Business Radio on W

877
00:50:05.679 --> 00:50:09.599
four CY Radio W four c Y dot com. Until then,

878
00:50:09.920 --> 00:50:13.559
let's succeed where others have failed and win in business

879
00:50:13.800 --> 00:50:17.639
with Kevin Helenan and Winning Business Radio