Quick Clips | Aaron Schulenburg | EP 24

Quick Clips today with the Executive Director of Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS),  Aaron Schulenburg.

Aaron is a passionate representative of the collision repair community. He serves as the Executive Director for the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), a national trade association representing over 40 affiliate associations, 6,000 collision repair businesses and 58,500 specialized professionals within the collision repair industry.

Having previously held positions at collision repair facilities in Arizona, Delaware, and Maryland, Aaron has entrenched himself in active industry involvement throughout his career, affording him the ability to bring relevant firsthand experience to his role. He served as the first administrator for the nationally acclaimed Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG), has chaired committees on Estimating and Consumer Relations for the Collision Industry Conference, held an executive seat on the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association board of directors, and served on the National Auto Body Council board of directors.

Aaron has been highlighted by his membership as a creative and positive leader within the collision industry, and brings insight on areas of focus for collision repair professionals, garnered through SCRS’ national position in the industry. Aaron became also a Panelist to SAE International from Sep 2016–Sep 2016.

Click the link below to listen for the full episode 24:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1895628/11228899

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Transcript

 Hey guys, this is Adam from the podcast and you are listening to Quick Clips. Quick Clips are condensed versions from one of our previous podcast episodes featuring some of the interesting things our guests had to say. If you want to hear the full episode, we'll have it in the show notes below. And with that, let's start the show. 

I have a question about exactly how DEG works, and I'm pretty sure that I get a, a , I, I pretty sure I understand it, but what I'm guessing is, let's say that. A vehicle comes out and they say to r and i, something is, um, two hours. And in all actuality, it's more like three, three and a half and, or like, there's, um, some materials that no matter what you do, it's gonna break every single time. 

There's some clips or you know, whatever. Something like that. But according to the book, it says, Nope, it's three hours. Everything's gonna go fine. Nothing's ever gonna break. You don't need extra material. These are the materials that you'll need and you'll never need anything. . Well, um, if you get, um, a hundred requests from texts from all over the nation that say, actually, um, realistic book time is more like four and. 

Um, I, every time I've ever taken off this molding, it breaks. And so this needs to be added onto the materials list and blah, blah, blah. Is that kind of how d e g, um, works and the idea behind it? Uh, so, so I think you've got a good gist of it, but I'll walk you through the exact process because I, here's, here's the part that I think is meaningful. 

It doesn't take a hundred people to come back. It takes one person. Um, . You know, I think, I think you have an example where, uh, somebody identifies they're working on a vehicle, um, and the time doesn't reflect what's necessary, right? Mm-hmm.  time says half an hour. Uh, it's actually a three hour repair process. 

The part's welded on, it's not bolted on maybe the previous year it was a bolted on part, you know, those types of things. Um, and there was a design change, and that design change didn't get identified in the, in the labor development. That person goes to deg web.org. There is an online inquiry form and they go and they fill out some basic information about the, the vehicle, uh, year make model. 

Then you know some details about the actual repair process and they submit it maybe with some pictures, maybe with an estimate, maybe, maybe, you know, just with as much details as they can. But the process takes under five minutes and there is a person on the other end, um, and his name's Danny Denberg, and Danny's just an amazing resource for this. 

Um, he's a technician, uh, as in, in his background. Um, Danny's been, uh, there for, um, years now, and is just, he, he's just such, uh, such a wealth of knowledge for the industry and such a great resource for the, for the people who, uh, reach out to the dg. So, so Danny's there, he understands the technical, you know, uh, The, the technical aspects of how vehicles go together. 

Sometimes he can help a collision center, maybe reword it if they didn't word it well, you know, in the form of a question. And then he submits it. So they submit it through the, the online form, it goes to Danny, he reviews it with them, he submits it to the information providers, and then he works directly with the information provider to, you know, to secure any additional information they may need. 

They come back with a response. And I can tell you these responses are, um, are, are, are really. Astounding sometimes, right? And, and sometimes it's as simple as, um, the re refin time's low, uh, the, the labor time's wrong, you know? But all it takes is one person to submit it, it goes to the information provider. 

They review it in many time. In many cases. They go, we've looked at it, we've revised it. Here's the updated re. And now that that goes in, I've got, uh, you know, an example that I know we were talking about just, just the other day with a shop and it was on a 2022 Honda passport. And the shop had basically said, uh, you know, I'm, I'm the re refinish time on the front bumper is, is low. 

It gives 1.2 hours and that's just not enough. And, you know, the, the information provider came back a day.  said, we've, we've analyzed it, we've changed the refinished time from 1.2 hours to 2.6 hours. Wow. That's not insignificant to the painter or the shop. Right. And, and now you've got documentation. So one person identifies it, they submit it, it goes through Danny, Danny helps coordinate it all and work with the information providers and bring the response back, manage the process. 

And now you've got immediate change that, that was because somebody took enough time to send to the inquiry. Somebody took enough time to, to kind of manage the process and, and review it. The ips were receptive and they said, Hmm, they're right. You know, there's something that needs to change here and ultimately the industry's better as a result of it. 

Um, and this is, you know, the DEG exists because organizations like s sc r s funded, it's a free resource for the industry. . Um, it, it, it costs nothing to use, but provides a ton of value for everybody around it. It's, I, I, I like to look at it as this is kind of how we reinvest our member dollars back into the industry 

Um, because I think, I, I think that's really what our, what our role is as an association is to take that and, uh, and, and make sure that we're, we're providing resources and support back, you know, what is the, in your opinion or, you know, whatever, why should a. Be a part of a, an association like the S C R S, I feel really fortunate with our organization. 

Uh, so I've been in this role, um, s uh, since 2009. Uh, I'm going on 14 years in, in, in dang position. Um, and you know, I, I think I've gotten to watch some different evolutions of the organ of the, of the association. I've got to watch it mature. I've got to watch, you know, be a part of a number of different in. 

um, you know, watch the, the people that I work with evolve as individuals and, and in what they put into the association. And I think one of the things that I found really interesting is, is the evolution of what a new member looks like and why they join. And I, I, I get the good fortune of talking with almost all of our new members and asking them my, I think one of my favorite things to ask is, you know, why today? 

Like, what made you say today? . And I think that we are fortunate in that a lot of our members join because what we do resonates with them more than I'm looking for X out of you. Um, and I like to think that's a little bit of, of the culture that we've created and the model that we have. But I, but I just think, um, I think there's a. 

Uh, so our mission is to educate. It's to inform, and it's to be a voice of advocacy to represent collision repair businesses in all aspects of the industry. And I think we, we focus a lot on those, those three things. It's not about necessarily, we're not a buying group, we're not looking to, um, there, there are, there are tangible benefits that you get from being a part of S E R S, which include discounts and things along those. 

But I think so much of what we do is about being an advocate for the industry and representing the industry. And so, so many people who join join because they do feel alone and they do need a voice and they want somebody out there saying the things that are important to them. And, and I like to think that because we've created ourselves as an organization that communicates from our members' perspective rather than down to our. 

Uh, at least I hope we do that and that's what our, what we strive to do. But I think, I think that's where a lot of that comes from and why people join. Hey guys. Adam from the podcast. I hope you are enjoying today's episode. Just wanted to ask you a quick favor. If the show has brought you value in some way, would you mind giving us a review and sharing the show? 

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All right, let's get back to the show. Are you seeing an uptick in members, younger members right now than you have kind of in the past? You're seeing a lot more younger people join the association? Um, yeah. You know, I'll be honest, I don't know the, I don't know the necessarily the demographic, but we're seeing an uptick in new members who haven't been a part of it in the past, for sure. 

Gotcha. Uh, over the last couple years, more and more people have sought out answers to, to, to challenges, right? And, and so I feel fortunate that, um, we've, we've been able to grow in that time period and grow that the, the audience we have and the influence that we have and, and, and be able to reach people that we weren't reaching before. 

Um, I think we found ways to start communicating. A lot of what S SCRs does is just to give back to the industry, right? Uh, we, we put out a weekly Quick Tips video on our YouTube channel and Shameless promotion. If, you know, if they go to youtube.com/crs collision, anybody can sign up for those, subscribe, and they'll get a at least once a week notification of a new video that we've released. 

But, you know, finding ways to communicate short, digestible pieces of information that people can fit into their day, right. , these videos are all under five minutes long and very focused. And, and hopefully give somebody the ability to say, oh, that helps me communicate something that I was trying to tell a customer about or a BillPay about, or help them understand why we need to perform this particular task. 

Um, and that's not always easy. It's not always easy to have a, a, a credible voice that replicates what you're saying as well. And so I think that's part of our objective in, in those types of.  and I think, uh, so we're in our second year of that quick tip series. Um, but I think, I think that's all about how do we connect with the industry more and provide, just provide value whether you're a member or not, whether, if you're a part of this industry, how do we provide value so that you can, um, better inform consumers and make people aware of, of, of, of what's important. 

Um, that, that stuff matters. And when we hear, when we hear from a consumer who. , you know, I found this video and so I asked my shop about it and they were able to give me an answer, and that's how I knew they were the right one. You know, that, that stuff feels meaningful to us because, because you know that you're influencing people in a positive way, and even if it's just one, what are, what are some of the issues or concerns, um, industry-wide that you guys are kind of trying to help shops work through? 

What's, what's some of the largest, um, most vocal issues that you guys are trying to work? Oh, yeah, there's so many  . Well just, just gimme three . So, yeah, no, I mean, you know, so you could, you could get down to like a practical level and you talk about things, um, like the evolution of technology and, and you know, there's a lot that stems from that. 

Um, my folks, uh, unfortunately just recently got involved in a, in a, in a collision and, uh, they have a, you know, brand new Ford Expedition with all the bells and whistles, all the ados. Uh, and it was damaged in the rear, uh, needed to lift gate and rear bumper and lamps and things along those lines. Um, and, you know, they're looking for a collision repair facility. 

And, and we're talking about, you know, okay, so what, what are some of the questions you're gonna ask? And I said, well, you know, you guys bought this vehicle because of all the safety features. You, you want to ask the facility how they're going to restore them, how they're gonna calibrate them. And here, here, this is a great depiction of, I think one of the biggest challenges we have in the. 

I deal with a lot of shops who are trying to do it the right way. They're, they're following the OEM procedures. They're accessing those, they're documenting the repair plan, and then they're struggling with this pushback that they get from the insurance industry saying, you know, I, I don't believe that's necessary, or, I, or, you're the only one charging for it. 

Or, you know, all, all these things. But that, that's not just resistance, it's, it's part of like being conditioned that way. So my folks go to, they said, Hey, there's this shop down the street that I know some of our neighbors went to, and we want to go check it out. You know, we'll check out the one you suggested to, but I want to go check that one. 

Sure. Ask them about how they're gonna calibrate your ados. Okay. Uh, you know, advance driver assistance safety. Uh, so, so they go, okay. So they go and the shop tells them, oh, you know, it's, it's hit in the rear. Most of that stuff's just plug and play. Um, it, it, it won't really need to be calibrated. It'll, it'll just kind of do it itself. 

And, and Ford's got a six page long document that specifies eight different functions that need to be recalibrated simply in the event of a collision. Doesn't matter what's replaced or what's damaged, or things along those lines. And, , you know, they call me and they say, yeah, I was really surprised. This is what they told me. 

And I said, yeah, run fast and far , right? Like that. That's a great example of a shop who, who is, is completely out of touch with what's necessary to fix this vehicle. And that's one of the biggest challenges that the industry's facing right now, because when they went to the next shop that said absolutely. 

It'll never be on the first estimate, but we absolutely know it needs to be done and we'll make sure we capture it. And we work with the insurance companies all the time, right? And we know that these calibrations are necessary and we follow the OEM steps that shop is gonna be held accountable for, for what the other shop has told. 

That appraiser, who's in and out of both. Right? And there's, there's the challenge we have there. There's what we face. Do you think that stark contrast. , um, professionalism or opinion? Um, I don't repair procedure. Sure. How about we just use the word repair procedure? Yeah. Do you think that comes from, um, a lack of education? 

Do you think that comes from laziness? Uh, do you think that comes from ignorance? Uh, where do you think a lot of this stuff comes from? And I'll, I'll tell you, we have this, you might not be able to see him, but we have this character on the show called,  and, and Jim, Jimmy's a curmudgeon old dude who, ah, I've been doing this for 30, 40 years. 

Don't, you know, don't need to do nothing. Anyways, so Jimmy's the kind of guy that's just like, you know what? Computers are smart. They'll just recalibrate themselves, you know, don't have to do any of that. Where like, what are, where do you think that these kinds of opinions are coming? All of the above. Um, they, they, they're coming from lack of education. 

They're coming from a lack of training. They're coming from a belief that because I've done this for, you know, 30 years, that that means I know what I need to know. They're coming from a, a, a lack of understanding of how technology is evolving in the vehicles. They're coming from conditioning because it's hard. 

It, it's hard to do the right thing. And unfortunately, The system is broken. In our industry where we disin, the shops who are trying to do it right are disincentivized, right? They're mm-hmm. . They, they receive greater friction, they're pushed back against more, right? Like all those things. We, we, we take the path of release resistance. 

All, all of that is, is I think, what leads to that. Alright. That does it for today's Quick Clips. If this episode has brought you value, would you mind giving us a review? Also, if you would like to learn more about Clarity Coat and what it can do for your business, please visit us@claritycoat.com. See you on the next one.