In previous columns, I’ve explained some of the processes and paperwork our shop uses throughout much of the repair and claims process. Now that the job is almost completed, there are a few more steps we take to ensure that delivery of the repaired vehicle to the customer goes smoothly.
One of the forms I mentioned in an earlier column is a half-sheet “job file checklist,” which sits in the front of each of our see-through job jackets (see below). This form serves as a sort of “cheat sheet” to remind our office staff of the various steps and paperwork that must be completed on each job, and it lets anyone looking at the file see at a glance what administrative tasks have and have not been completed on that particular job.
The first two sections of this form deal with setting up the file and the customer drop-off of the vehicle. It’s actually the middle two sections that help us complete the job and deliver the vehicle to the customer.
One of these sections is a checklist dealing with the final invoice. It prompts the office staff, for example, to check off if all parts prices as received have been verified, if the vehicle mileage in and out have been logged on the invoice, etc.
This section also asks if the “glove box wallet” has been prepared and is in the file. We provide all the final paperwork for each customer in a vinyl packet for his or her glove box. It includes a copy of our warranty, some information on caring for the vehicle’s new finish, a customer survey card, some of our business cards and an accident report form to help them collect the correct information if they’re involved in another accident. We like to have these packets filled and in the job file along with the final invoice ready to go when customers arrive to pick up their vehicles.
The other section of our half-sheet job file form that is especially helpful deals with “delivery instructions.” It’s here that we indicate what we need to collect from the customer, such as an insurance check (with the expected dollar amount listed) and the customer payment or deductible amount. It indicates if we need to get any customer signatures or endorsements, and it includes some blanks in case there are specific items we need to remember to ask or tell a customer about.
Having this information spelled out in a consistent place makes it easier for any of our office staff to deliver a vehicle even if the estimator responsible for that job isn’t available when the customer arrives.
But there’s more than just the office paperwork that ensures the delivery process goes well. Much of the customer’s first impressions of the repaired vehicle are determined by the cleanup process. Yet at a lot of shops, the detailing area is not very well-equipped or organized, and its staff is often not very well trained. We work fairly hard to make sure our detailer has what it takes not only to get the vehicle looking great, but also to catch those minor items that can so easily get missed and end up irritating a customer.
Signs in the detailing area, for example, remind staff which tools and products are to be used in cleaning various parts of the vehicle.
Another key is a good vehicle completion checklist that outlines each and every item the detailer is to check or complete (see above). We use a form (printed on paper that is a different color than all our other forms so that it’s easy to spot in the job file) to have the detailer check off each item as completed.
The checklist includes items that often get missed in the cleanup process, such as checking the ashtrays and jambs, and making sure that floor mats have been put back in. But in addition to cleaning the interior and exterior of the vehicle, the checklist indicates that the detailer also is responsible for checking that all lights on the vehicle are working, that fluid levels are adequate, that the radio and clock have been reset, that all necessary stripes and moldings have been installed, that the seatbelts are all ready to use, that the wheel wells have been blacked out and that tire pressure is correct.
Once completed, the detailer brings this form to the front office to indicate that the vehicle is ready for final inspection by an estimator prior to delivery to the customer. We’ve found it very useful to keep the vehicle completion checklist in the job file in case any questions arise after delivery of the vehicle.
Next time: After the repair: CSI, accounts receivable and paperwork storage.
