Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper recently hosted a virtual discussion on COVID-19 featuring a panel of shop owners. open to all Certified Service Centers (CSCs) across the country .
The interactive meeting on April 3 was open to all Certified Service Centers (CSCs) across the country.
“COVID-19 has brought our shops and personal lives into unchartered waters,” said JC Washbish, vice president of sales and marketing for Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper. “To help navigate these uncertain and unique times, some of our top Certified Service Center shop owners shared their expertise, so that our whole industry can grow stronger and push through this challenge together.”
The webinar included nine shop-owner panelists from Auto Value, Bumper to Bumper and Confidence Plus Certified Service Centers across the country. These shop owners have been appointed to an elite Service Center Advisory Council in recognition of their excellence as shop owners.
The shop-owner panelists discussed how business is going, what measures they’ve taken to combat COVID-19, how they’re staying busy and what positives have come out of the situation. A number of attendees chimed in with suggestions as well. From particularly successful Facebook posts to finding the cleaning supplies that work best, shop owners reaffirmed their abilities to keep their shops afloat under difficult circumstances.
“We’re dealing with concerns that only three weeks ago we never knew existed,” said Mark Doornbos of Dykstra’s Auto Service, an Auto Value Certified Service Center and a customer of Auto-Wares Group of Companies. Doornbos participated as a panelist on the call. “I enjoyed learning how service centers across the nation are dealing with these issues and how our WD partners are working through their supply chain challenges.”
The panel discussion supplements a number of COVID-19-related resources already available to CSCs, including an expanded training library, an internal coronavirus resources page and more.
“This is a very strange time in the world that everyone is going through together,” said Joel Haver of Haver’s Auto Repair, an Auto Value Certified Service Center and customer of Arnold Motor Supply. Haver was another one of the panelists on Friday’s call. “Unlike the financial crisis of 2008, which was due to people making bad financial decisions, this time it is something out of our control. So it is important that we all lean on each other for guidance during these times and share ideas of how we are coping, not just in business, but also in personal life.”
Other panelists were:
- Brooks Farrar III of Empire Auto Care in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Todd Packer of Union Street Automotive in Newark, New York
- Kam Butcher of Lynn Wood Service Center in Layton, Utah
- Rodney Pickering of RP Automotive in Weyburn, Saskatchewan
- Kevin Robertson of Robertson Automotive in Tyler, Texas
- Joe Sharp of Joe’s Garage in North Little Rock, Arkansas
- Fred White of Miles Auto Service in Sewell, New Jersey
