Farmers honors Collision Authority

Collision Authority co-owner Michael Spears knows that his body shop business usually meets people under bad circumstances. And the company strives to make the experience the best it can be for its customers.

Recently, its Green Valley location, 700 N. Gibson Road, Henderson, was named the top body shop in Nevada by Farmers Insurance for 2011.

The 41,000-square-foot shop, situated just north of Sunset Road, earned the Farmers Insurance Circle of Dependability Program award after being selected as the collision repair facility of the year from more than 40 body shops in Nevada that qualified for the honor.

"We won it because of the customer service performance of this store, along with our high quality of repairs and the speed of turnaround," said Spears . "On average, we work on 175-200 cars and trucks a month just at this location. Unfortunately, car wrecks are a common occurrence in Southern Nevada, especially during inclement weather. We have to be on our toes constantly and especially be cognizant of a person's wants and needs after a car wreck."

Spears experienced firsthand how a car wreck could affect a life in 2004.

"It happened out on College Drive off the 93-95 highway going to Boulder City," he said. "Another vehicle veered into my lane and we hit head-on. The air bags deployed so quickly, and I learned to empathize with people who had been in a car wreck."

The Farmers award is considered very prestigious.

"Interestingly, this particular shop not only outperformed all of the shops in the competition, but also beat out its other Collision Authority shops for the top honors," said Loy Gimse, Circle of Dependability consultant for Farmers Insurance. "The areas of shop performance considered in determining who wins the award are total file quality, customer service and cycle time."

Bernie Pepe, claims operational support manager for Farmers Insurance, also stressed that customer service is key to winning the award. Pepe said the rating system is very strict, especially as it relates to customer service.

"There are five questions specific to the body shop," explained Pepe, who has been with Farmers for 12 years. "That includes quality of repairs, customer service, on-time vehicle delivery, communication and whether or not the customer would recommend the shop. Based on that, Collision Authority Green Valley came out the best in the state for 2011."

Pepe said Farmers Insurance has been operating the Circle of Dependability program for 20 years.

"Any body shop that wins this award has to work hard to get it," he said. "Especially with the social media element now available, a body shop has to walk a fine line and provide excellent service in order to earn this honor."

Bobby Ellis, the long-time owner of SNAP Towing in Henderson, applauded Collision Authority Green Valley for winning the award.

"We never worry about taking a vehicle to Collision Authority," Ellis said. "The employees there treat the vehicle owners with dignity and compassion. In addition, the building is beautiful. Everything about the business is first-class."

Collision Authority Green Valley has 27 employees. The location also has received various other honors, including national attention as third-place Overall Best of the Best Business 2011 by Fix Auto Collision USA, a nationwide network of currently 193 body shops.

Collision Authority has four shops in Southern Nevada . Further information can be found at www.collisionauthority.com.