Customer Safety is Our #1 Priority

We have always done our best to be as transparent as possible with our clients regarding their repairs, whether or not they are paying through insurance or paying directly out of pocket. Regardless of who is cutting the check, our primary responsibility is to the customer, not the insurance company. And, the safety of our customers and their passengers is our Number #1 Priority with every repair.

Over the next few months, we are establishing a company initiative to share videos, social media posts as well as blogs here on the website aimed at pulling back the curtain a little here at the shop in an effort to better demonstrate why we choose to set such a high standard at Conestoga Collision as well as what sorts of challenges we encounter in an effort to get the job done right.

In our business, we have a lot of odd conversations. Allow us to score that statement a bit – these conversations are very normal for us, but outsiders would find them odd to say the least. Right now, we have a car here at the shop which sustained a considerable amount of damage due to deer strike. We’re at a point in the project where we have had a few conversations with the customer, parts have been ordered and we have begun teardown. We have also gone back and forth with the insurance adjuster a few times regarding the repair plan in that time. The customer noticed a difference in the initial estimate provided by our shop and that which was provided by his insurance company. He had reached out to both the adjuster and our shop to discuss. In a recent phone conversation with the customer, he noted being struck by one of the explanations provided to him by the adjuster regarding vehicle scans, in which the adjuster said:

You see those vehicle scans in the estimate I’ve got there? Well, I’ve got one for before the repair and another for after the repair. That’s what the manufacturer recommends. The shop has a third one for during the repair. Why would we pay for that if the manufacturer doesn’t even recommend it? They’re just trying to line their pockets.

Afterwards, the customer said, “It seemed like he was saying, ‘If I could pay any less to repair your vehicle, I would.'”

When we have conversations like this, it is not our intent to “bury” the insurance companies. Our main goal is to explain our repair plan and we are more than happy to justify our methods. We’re a business. We understand that the Profit & Loss sheets never lie. We also understand that this industry is changing at breakneck speed. Pre and Post-Repair Scans have been standard now in our industry for over a decade. Most insurance companies have gone kicking and screaming about paying for those scans. And, they were hesitant to pay for the scans even when manufacturers began recommending them. Sometimes, the manufacturers and their engineers are on the bleeding edge of safety standards. Sometimes it is the repair community. The common thread is that the insurance companies are often the last to join us in agreeing on higher standards or advanced methods.

These methods, like a third scan during the repair process, are all aimed at maintaining the highest quality, factory-correct repairs. While standards and methods evolve to keep pace with new technologies, our dedication to excellence and precision remains unchanged. If this is the standard by which you would like your vehicle repaired, we would like to hear from you the next time you are in need of proper auto body repair.