Autobody News: Service King Sees Major Value in Its Honda ProFirst Certifications
Carlsbad, CA, November 28, 2017 (Newswire.com) - In an age where OEM certifications are more important than ever, collision repairers all over the country are clamoring to join programs that can elevate their status and help them produce best-in-class repairs.
If you want to see what is going on in the collision industry, you should first look at the larger MSOs for things such as best practices, cutting-edge tools and certifications. Why? Because these businesses are doing something correctly and figuring out a way to emulate it over multiple locations.
The ProFirst certification is yet another opportunity for Service King to validate and reinforce our focus on superior repair quality. We have seen a tremendous value in that validation for both our customers and carrier partners. Overall, seeking and obtaining certifications, such as Honda ProFirst, falls directly in line with our pursuit to operate best-in-class repair centers across the country.
Jeff McFadden, Service King President
That is why it isn’t at all surprising that Service King, one of the largest MSOs in the U.S., currently has 89 Honda ProFirst shops within its extensive nationwide network. It has been a great relationship that started only 10 months ago.
“Service King has steadily increased its Honda ProFirst lineup since early 2017,” said Jeff McFadden, Service King President. “We recognized the value the program reinforces to our customers and carrier partners and proceeded to build out a strategic onboarding process across our network of repair centers.”
To strengthen their position in the market as well as enhance their relationships with their customers and insurance partners, Service King and Honda are definitely on the same page.
“The ProFirst certification is yet another opportunity for Service King to validate and reinforce our focus on superior repair quality,” McFadden said. “We have seen a tremendous value in that validation for both our customers and carrier partners. Overall, seeking and obtaining certifications, such as Honda ProFirst, falls directly in line with our pursuit to operate best-in-class repair centers across the country.”
Based on feedback Service King has received from its Honda customers, McFadden can see that the ProFirst certification program is bringing in more Accords, Civics and Elements to repair.
“We have coordinated ample promotion and communication for Service King’s bolstered ProFirst lineup,” he said. “We view a Honda certification as a validation of Service King’s superior quality and a distinct value proposition for our brand. We also believe OEMs continue to focus on certifications as vehicle technology changes, and that certainly influences motorists across the country – especially when they seek out quality repair services.”
To attain a Honda ProFirst certification, every facility has to meet a set of stringent requirements, but Service King wasn’t afraid to meet them all at its 86 locations.
“We continually invest in tools, training, and technology at all of our repair centers as a result of rapidly escalating vehicle technology,” McFadden said. “We take deep pride in embracing technology within our repair centers and take every step to ensure that it remains a priority for our teammates.
“The Honda ProFirst certification program was a natural component of that evolution, including the specific and strict parameters therein. Specifically, over the last few years Service King has bolstered its investment in tooling for our repair centers, and the Honda ProFirst program certainly validated that investment as an opportunity to reinforce Service King’s brand message of quality and trust.”
By using the American Honda shop locator found at www.collision .honda.com, more customers are now bringing their vehicles to Service King.
“The Honda ProFirst certification search feature is a fantastic benefit to the program,” McFadden said. “It allows Service King to reinforce its mission to be the collision repair operator of choice. Featuring our brand on the Honda search engine validates that messaging for our team and positions Service King as a preferred repair solution for our customers.”
Service King also provides direct access to all of Honda’s important OE information.
“The tools provided to our teammates through the ProFirst program are incredibly valuable,” he said. “We believe in utilizing technology to quickly and reliably connect our technicians, service advisors and management with all of the information required to complete safe, timely repairs for our customers. This led us to launch the industry’s very first technician-focused mobile app, OverdriveMD, and development of several cutting-edge business intelligence dashboards for our repair center teammates. Communication is certainly powerful, and leveraging additional channels provided by the Honda ProFirst program provides even more resources to ensure a best-in-class repair every time.”
Another huge plus for Service King is its ability to keep all of its technicians and service advisors updated through Honda-specific training offered in conjunction with the certification.
“Teammates at Service King Honda ProFirst locations actively engage with specific Honda training through I-CAR as part of their annual Gold Class commitments,” McFadden said. “These classes earn credit for ongoing training, and have proved to be a valuable training resource that includes real-world vehicles and scenarios.”
Will Service King continue to pursue more Honda ProFirst certifications for more of its locations in the future?
“Absolutely,” McFadden said. “Pro-First certification continues to validate Service King’s efforts to focus on a superior quality repair. In fact, Honda is one of the top makes that we repair. Therefore, the value to our carrier partners and customers is at a premium. With that, we are proud to report additional Service King locations are in the certification process today.”
Service King Collision Repair Centers
Repair Service: (866) 225-8111
Natl. Support Center: (972) 960-7595
Company At A Glance...
Type: Car Restoration and Collision Repair
Facility Teammates: 6,000+
In Business Since: 1976
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
ProFirst Administrator
310-783-2818
profirstinfo.honda.com
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Source: Autobody News
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