As CARSTAR Collision Centers kicks off its 20th anniversary celebration, the company's leader, Dick Cross, is optimistic about its long-term success and growth. CARSTAR’s nearly 300 franchisees use its systems and processes to deliver a repaired car every 30 seconds with a 97 percent customer satisfaction rate.

In his opening address to the CARSTAR Annual Conference in Denver on Monday morning, Cross, chairman and CEO of CARSTAR Collision Center, delivered a missive to the franchisees to keep their resolve strong, their focus on their businesses laser-like and their commitment to the future unwavering. "Yes, we are enduring better than anyone else thought, a very tough test of strength, a test of character, and a test of will," said. "But it is this test of will - our ability to think of ourselves with the spirit of a nation - that will drive us through this recession to emerge as the standard for all others to follow, and that is our greatest blessing and, at the same time, our greatest opportunity."

Cross offered a positive perspective on the current economic situation and the impact it is having on the collision industry. "The things that are going on today are a blessing because in every instance they are things that we, the nation of CARSTAR, are prepared and equipped to deal with better than any other collision repair organization in the world," he said. "And by dealing with them as we are, we will take a quantum step forward in the history and in the significance of our businesses." He pointed to the fact that many CARSTAR stores have seen growth during the past year, with more than twice the number of CARSTAR stores, 37 percent, reporting year-over-year top line growth versus just 16 percent of stores in the industry. Across the franchise family, stores have had less impact on their average same store sales, down just 5 percent over the past 12 months, versus 15 to 25 percent down for the industry as a whole. While Cross is optimistic that the economy will improve over the long run, he cautioned stores that they need to be running their businesses as if the conditions of today are permanent, not temporary.

"We believe that although the economy eventually will turn, it is unlikely that demand for collision repair services will return to what it used to be with the upturn," he noted. "The fundamental changes that are being imposed on our industry by this recession mean that even with the upturn, we all should be planning for the likelihood of a permanent reduction in the demand for collision repair in America. If we're wrong here, that would be a good outcome. But we believe that the smartest course of action is to be presuming that the pressures to fight for what's left will never recede to what they used to be."

He did encourage the CARSTAR owners to build their business today through some very simple measures. "Simply be extraordinarily nicer to the customers who already bring their cars to our doors," said Cross. "By living to the fullest our 'Relax, we'll take it from here' pledge of allegiance, we could improve our closing ratios by 10 percent, and in most cases double our profits, without a single new car-to-the-door. And when the word of our customers' 'wow' experiences get back to their insurers, then they will send even more cars our way and even more when the recession recedes."

Cross also offered perspective on the collision industry's relationship with the insurance industry. "We at CARSTAR see - through this recession - a narrowing of the gap between collision repairers and insurance companies," said Cross. "The highest levels of consumer satisfaction, for personal care and for quality repairs at reasonable costs, will occur through closer relations between fewer, more capable repairers and insurers.

"And in fact, this is already happening. Even our own data proves that today's business already is flowing to fewer, higher quality operators where the CARSTAR stores who most intently embrace our systems and processes are the clear leaders. We expect an acceleration of these new kinds of partnerships when the economy picks up."

Cross also discussed the impact of the recession on the pace of change in automobile technology, saying the recession is the main driver of the dramatic acceleration of innovation that is occurring in automotive materials, manufacturing and assembly methods worldwide. "Within four to five years, these changes will obsolete roughly half of the current population of collision repair operators," he warned. "While we don't yet think that these lower tier shops will actually go away, we do believe that those who don't have the resources or the interests to upgrade their methods for working on new technology cars will become insignificant factors in 80 percent of the industry.”

"But this reduction won't mean automatically more business for everyone else, because not everyone in the top tier will rise with the tide," he noted. "Only those who have the where-with-all to adjust their business models in some very significant ways over the coming 12 to 36 months will see any lasting benefit from the end of the recession. And at the head of that pack will be those CARSTAR stores that most fully embrace our proven systems and processes."

The CARSTAR National Conference is hosting nearly 200 stores at its annual business meeting, where they have the opportunity to meet with CARSTAR's senior leadership on the business operations and plans for the future, work with other store owners on key issues, attend educational sessions and participate in the annual awards celebration. The CARSTAR conference schedule features classes on I-CAR training, estimating, new repair technology, insurance marketing and relations, store productivity, employee training and management, store expansion, consumer marketing and public relations, financial management and more. Some classes are presented by CARSTAR partners such as Hertz, 3M, I-CAR and Mitchell.