Over time, Caliber Collision Centers of California and Texas, transformed its call center from a basic answering service to an integral aspect of its business strategy to increase revenue, provide higher levels of customer service, and differentiate Caliber from the competition.

The transformation began over five years ago when Dan Pettigrew, Caliber's senior vice president of operations for Texas, was analyzing the typical assignment dispatch to final repair order process, looking for a way to improve efficiency.

"Talking with folks internally, both at long-time Caliber facilities and with businesses we had recently acquired or built, I kept hearing that their capture rate was 100 percent," Pettigrew said. "That was a little hard to believe. In this industry, 100 percent capture rate doesn't exist, regardless of how you measure it."

Caliber, he explained, defines capture rate as the number of repair orders completed per assignment received, although other businesses may calculate it differently. "There are many different reasons people don't end up having their vehicle repaired at a facility after the assignment is received-they might cash out and keep the money, the vehicle may be totaled, or they may receive a recommendation from a friend to take their car elsewhere. For a variety of reasons, 100 percent capture rate doesn't occur."

Questioning the informal field survey, Caliber initiated an internal study to determine their actual capture rates. They found that while the capture rate was exceptional for some facilities, the aggregate capture rate was in the sixty-five to seventy percent range-a number that could be improved.

"From this study, we knew we could do a better job with our capture rates, and at the same time, help to grow revenue. If assignments come in on popular drop-off and pick-up days such as Monday and Friday, it may be a day or two until an estimator can follow up with that customer. The more time that goes by, the greater the chance that you will lose a customer," said Pettigrew. "As we looked into it further, we also realized that not only could we start to improve capture rates by responding more quickly in those instances, but that there were opportunities to improve customer service at the same time."

"Since the assignment is the first contact with a potential customer, initiating contact as quickly as possible and ensuring the customer is provided with answers to all of their questions, even questions they don't know to ask, establishes a professional rapport and begins the repair cycle with a high level of customer service. " he added.

Customers who go to a repair facility rarely do so with a smile. The typical customer has likely just experienced a traumatic event and as a result, has had their primary mode of transportation damaged, no doubt impairing their ability to conduct daily routines.

"It's a difficult situation, and to ensure customer satisfaction it's vital that the customer is treated with empathy and efficiency during their initial contact. This helps to ensure that the process gets off on the right foot," said Pettigrew. 

Caliber decided that the best way to increase both capture rates and customer service was to revamp its call center. "We wanted a call center-or Caliber Service Center-that reduced the time from initial assignment receipt to customer contact and, at the same time, improved the consistency and quality of in our initial communication with customers," said Pettigrew.

In the first step, Caliber utilized a customer relationship management (CRM) solution. Customer service representatives in the repair facilities would download assignments and enter them into the management system immediately. This ensured that customer information was reflected into Caliber's system. In turn, customer service representatives at the call center would run daily call reports for each center using the CRM solution and then call potential customers to initiate the repair process.

"We definitely noticed capture rates rise after we took this step, moving north of seventy percent," said Pettigrew. "But we still weren't where we wanted to be; centers would download assignments, but not every assignment was getting into the management system immediately. It was a manual, labor-intensive process, not a seamless solution."

Caliber was looking for a technological solution that would centralize the receipt of assignments and free customer service representatives to focus on customer service, not data entry.

"At this point, I sat down with Mary Jo Prigge and Jim Dickens of CCC and described the functionality we needed in a product. We had a very good idea of functionality, but lacked the capabilities to create it on our own," Pettigrew explained.

Next, a combined team of CCC and Caliber functional and technical experts worked to layout the product specifications. Within a matter of months the solution was operational. Caliber had implemented CCC Autoverse™ Repair Management.

"CCC created a Web-based solution that was very user-friendly and that empowered us to receive assignments centrally," said Pettigrew. "This process helped us ensure immediate and consistent contact with customers after the assignment had been dispatched by the insurer."

Since the implementation of CCC Autoverse Repair Management, Caliber's capture rates have risen to more than eighty percent.

"Obviously our capture rates have increased, but the additional value-added services we are able to provide in conjunction with the Dispatch feature of CCC Autoverse Repair Management has allowed our call center to be a source of real, tangible value to the business and our customers, both vehicle owners and insurers," explained Pettigrew. "We are able to provide directions, answer questions about claim handling, and even set up rental car reservations via an on-site Enterprise® representative in our call center. The process is now seamless, adds tremendous value for our customers, and creates a hassle-free environment for the vehicle owner."

Caliber handles an average of five thousand claims per month through the CCC Autoverse Repair Management system-about 50 percent of its total business. A key feature to the system is the ability to adjust workloads for each facility in a given geographic area.

"If we have a short-term constraint in one facility and know that we cannot provide optimum service, we can recommend other Caliber centers in the area that may be better able to service the customer's needs in a more timely matter," said Pettigrew.

With a few clicks of a mouse, a customer service representative in the call center can redirect an assignment, sending the customer's data to the new facility's manager before the customer arrives. All the repair facility has left to do is focus on servicing the customer and repairing the vehicle. 

Caliber has also strengthened its relationships with insurance companies by providing dedicated toll free phone numbers that agents and claim representatives may use. Insurers can distribute the number to customers, providing them direct access to repairers in a time of need.

"The dedicated phone numbers have been great for our relationship with insurers," said Pettigrew. "Instead of an insurer needing to remember 68 phone numbers (one for every facility), a claims representative or agent can call the toll free line and speak to a knowledgeable Caliber service representative regarding customers or assignments anywhere in our organization. It's like a one-stop shop for customer service and information-a single point of contact."

With the help of CCC Autoverse Repair Management, Caliber Collision Centers has transformed its Service Center from order taker to a value-added component of its revenue stream.

Dan Pettigrew thinks this is a key to success for collision repairers.

"We see people after they've been in an accident. The last thing they want from a repair facility is a hassle. Our ability to make the first point of contact a good one, and provide service above and beyond what's expected, gives Caliber an edge over the competition."

Formed in 1997, Caliber Collision is a leader in changing the landscape of the collision repair industry. Caliber has pioneered significant customer service offerings including a 24/7/365 customer service center and a national lifetime guarantee on all workmanship. From 1997 through today, Caliber has established 68 large-scale, professionally managed collision repair centers throughout California and Texas.

Marjorie Allen is market manager, automotive services, at CCC Information Services Inc