TAGS
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- A slick commute Wednesday morning is a distant memory for many but not for others who will be waiting in line at auto body shops to get dings and dents fixed.
“One thing I always stress to all customers is patience because if you do have a car that goes in the same time 100 cars go in it extends the cycle time and takes you a little bit longer to fix your car,” said Ric Thomas, general manager of Regional Auto Center on Battleground Avenue in Greensboro.
Thomas said it usually takes a day before they see the garage fill up with repairs from a storm.
“If you have a lot of collisions in a short period time -- 150 to 200 collisions in a short period of time -- the body shops will fill up,” said Thomas. “In a matter of 24 hours there won't be a spot available.”
Regional Auto Center has been open in the Piedmont Triad since 1997. Thomas said he doesn’t root for bad weather because the business stays busy enough without winter storms he calls events.
“The events just cause a lot of stress lot of anxious customers that want their cars back obviously,” said Thomas.
The most common repairs Regional Auto fixes following a bad storm are suspension problems, minor front end damage and side damage from cars sliding off the road and hitting trees and shrubs.
Thomas said dealing with auto insurance companies, from a customer’s perspective, is much easier on customers than it used to be.
“The insurance companies, they want to take care of the customer,” said Thomas. “They want their vehicle repaired properly because the last thing they want is a customer calling them up saying, ‘Hey my car is not done right.’”
.
