Crawford’s believes the vehicle owner is our customer and deserves the very best auto body collision repair we can provide. We follow the original manufacturer’s recommendations and also utilize original factory authorized parts. Our commitment is to see that your automobile investment is kept safe and reliable. In our eyes the only way to properly repair a damaged vehicle is to use the very same parts and procedures the factory recommends. We can make this statement because as an independent repair facility our only authority over how your automobile investment is repaired is you, the vehicle owner.     Over the years we have tried the Insurance Industry’s “Direct Repair Program” method of operating a collision repair facility, only to find that the insurance partner does not have the best interests of the vehicle owner in mind.  A very serious problem in the DRP relationship is that the insurance company will dictate to the body shop how the repairs are to be performed, and what parts are to be utilized during the repairs. If you visualize a triangle and place the 3 entities involved in the damaged automobile repair at each corner, you will see: the repair shop, the insurance company and the owner of the vehicle. In the independent repair shop triangle the body shop is responsible to the vehicle owner and the insurance company’s responsibility is to pay for the repairs necessary. You have both the vehicle owner and the body shop working in tandem to assure the repairs are performed as per the vehicle owner’s expectations. The vehicle owner is the customer.

In the DRP triangle collision repairs are handled somewhat differently because the DRP body shop has signed a contractual agreement with the insurance company. They have become partners and the body shop is now working through the insurance partner’s directives to repair your vehicle. There exists a conflict of interest in this arrangement affecting the flow of the triangle, which places the vehicle owner on the downside, with the insurance company controlling how the damaged vehicle will be repaired. The body shop still has an obligation to the vehicle owner, but that obligation has become diluted because their insurance company holds a binding agreement over the DRP repair shop. The insurer utilizes this contract to control how the estimate is written, including what type of parts are used and how the repairs are to be completed. The insurance company becomes the customer.

It is Crawford’s belief that you cannot follow the commands of two masters. A collision repair shop has to make a decision as to who is the customer. Do you market your business to the insurance industry and allow them to manipulate the repair process with their cost savings parts and procedures? Or do you stay true to what your customer has entrusted in you by providing a proper and safe repair following the manufacturer’s guidelines? Again, the question remains, who is the customer?

As a fourth-generation family oriented business, our choice is to work for you, our customer, and defend your rights for the repairs you are entitled to. As an independent, non-contracted collision repair facility we consider the vehicle owner our only master.