LAS VEGAS, Nov. 7, 2019—A panel at SEMA on Thursday explored ways that automakers, collision shops and insurance companies can better work together to streamline the customer experience.
Farzam Afshar, the CEO of VeriFacts Automotive, said the company launched with the consumer in mind. He said that the ingredients of a collision repair as the input require quality to have the desired output.
“How do we, as an industry, really put that first with everything we do?” he said.
VeriFacts’ quality verification work was highlighted during the press conference, which included Ford collision marketing manager Dean Bruce and collision and insurance agency consultant George Avery.
Bruce said that as they’ve grown their certified repair center network to 1,200 during this year, they want to focus on having their procedures in place no matter where a repair is done.
“It’s very important that our centers, and the industry in general, follow the OE procedures,” Bruce said.
Ford's looking to continue growing its network of aluminum capability-ready shops for its certified network, a process that will include recertifications. He said that a third-party assessment tool like VeriFacts helps them with that certification.
On the insurance side, Avery said that it’s been helpful for his industry’s customer service to bring OEs, shops and insurance together through a third-party quality-control system.
“If you put the stakeholders together, they’ll start having a conversation that’s in the best interest of the consumer,” he said.
