Meeting our members: Fleetline Croydon, Large Bodyshop of the year 2018

The Bodyshop Awards 2018 in Birmingham last month were full of successes for our members. We are proud to say that the Small, Medium and Large Bodyshops of the year are all NBRA members.

Last week we talked about Summers Motors, Medium Bodyshop of the year. This week we meet Rachel McGuinness and Steve Harris, operation directors of Fleetline Croydon, winner of the Large Bodyshop Award.

How do you describe your company?

A customer focused and innovative body shop that has made client relations and a high-quality service our number one focus. Having moved to our new premises in February 2017, we have worked tirelessly to build our workshop around this core ethos. We built a glass wall between the workshop and customer area to give customers a glimpse of the repair process and for most, the first opportunity they have had to truly understand the technology involved in vehicle repairs.

Which services do you offer to your customers? 

We offer a unique drive through experience to our clients. Rather than the traditional Bodyshop way of asking an estimator to come outside and view a vehicle, potentially in the rain or cold with the client also left out in the elements, they are able to drive into our facility and speak to the correct person in a dry, warm and well-lit area with views of the workshop. This is a tremendous aid when explaining the process their own vehicle may need to go through and being able to physically show them. Our reception team offer our clients a full claims handling experience to take the stress and worry out of the very unwanted process of dealing with their damaged vehicles. We can deal with insurers, hire companies and third parties on their behalf and make the process as seamless as possible. We offer a range of courtesy cars and vans whilst their vehicle is off the road and for clients who come directly to us, we offer a discount off of their excess.

Which are the main challenges you face every day?

Staff! There is a real skills shortage in the industry currently and although there are those working hard to address this (Autoraise, Fix Auto UK) finding people with the skills to come in and work straight away is really difficult. We have a number of young apprentices and are focused on attracting as many new young people into this industry as possible, but it does leave a gap when it comes to experienced technicians being available immediately. One of the key aspects for the more experience staff which causes a problem is pay. We are in an industry where the insurers and work providers have barely increased their rates and yet the cost of living has sky rocketed. When the business is only being paid a certain amount, we can only pay our staff in line with that if we wish to survive which means for some, the industry is not giving them a reason to stay. In our area alone a 1-bedroom flat averages around ￡900 pcm. When you add water, gas electric, council tax, running a car and basic living (food and drink) they have less than 35% of their wages left to actually have a life. For those with a family they have less than that as the property costs are even higher. It is hard enough to attract good staff but keeping them is even harder. We have a fantastic painter here who is moving up North in a month as he can rent a 3-bedroom spacious house with a garden for less per month than what he is paying for a 2 bed flat here. Operating in London is also becoming increasingly difficult the latest government initiatives with the Congestion, Emission and Lower Emission zones. The cost of merely colleting a client’s vehicle has increased with no cover of these costs coming from their insurer.

How do you try to address them?

Working with Autoraise and their apprentice programme and also approaching the local schools to encourage the next generation to come into the industry and learn on the job. It does mean that you may have the same as us, a large proportion of unskilled or semi-skilled people and you need to work very hard to manage but we have to focus on where we will be once these staff complete their apprenticeships. We offer our staff flexible working hours and are currently running 2 shift patterns, we also do all we can to support them with all the issues they face.

You won the Large Bodyshop of the year at the Bodyshop Awards 2018 last month. What does this great achievement mean for you?

It is the culmination of years of hard work to push our business forward. It personally means a great deal and validates to our team that all the changes made over the years are putting us in good stead for the future. Our main focus has been to future proof the business. We have invested tens of thousands of pounds in manufacturer approvals, equipment and technology to ensure we are evolving with the new generation of cars and that our technicians are also trained to the levels needed to repair these vehicles.

Have you won any other awards?

Yes, we won Croydon Business Awards Business of the Year in October 2017, SME news 2018 UK Enterprise Awards Best Bodywork Repair Services 2018 – London

What’s your experience of the NBRA?

Great Support and source of information for Us as a Bodyshop. They have been able to consolidate when necessary and continue to support the membership with the right focus to assist us all.

How have the NBRA helped your business?

We have benefited from ongoing information and support, particularly in Employment Law and legal challenges that we have had ongoing.

We launched our Insurer Attitude Survey a couple of months ago, what’s your idea about it?

A great initiative well thought out and delivered. I have no doubt several interested parties have taken the comments out of the Survey and this will structure Insurer and claims businesses going forwards.

How do you see the future of our industry in Britain?

Testing, I think there needs to be more cooperation form insurers and work providers. With the increasing costs of staff, technology and equipment required to repair vehicles it is becoming very hard for any Bodyshop to keep up. We are lucky that the business has been run very well in the past so that we have the funds to invest, not everyone is so lucky. The insurers and work providers very much focus on their customers and the service they offer them but seem to forget about us who they call their working partners. If they don’t show more support and a wiliness to review rates, then we will see more and more shops close. A lot of body shops that are owned look at the prospect of selling the land as it is a far more attractive prospect than continuing with the struggles we face. It is fantastic for insurers and work providers to focus on clients, but they must ponder what service it is that they will be offering in the future if the capacity to service their clients does not exist? Supporting the industry as a whole is not just an idea, it is imperative for the survival of all, and that goes all the way up the chain back to the insurers.