It doesn’t take an appraiser to see Anita Zeitler knows her business.

Anita Zeitler is the type of success story you used to read about. Today, she’s a successful manager at Crawford Appraisal Management, helping handle a network of independent appraisers that runs from coast to coast. But she began in the industry—not so long ago—working reception at a collision centre in Cambridge, Ontario. Through some diligence and hard work, she worked her way up to office manager, which is where she got her first taste of appraising.

“Unfortunately there isn’t a lot of formal training available for those who are interested in appraising,” Zeitler said. “There have been improvements over the years, but the need is still there.” She learned by being a part of the process at many different levels. She also feels that she’s been very fortunate to have worked with a variety of people that had very strong business acumen in the collision repair industry.

“You need to be pairing yourself up with the best in the business, essentially,” she said.

Zeitler earned a respectable reputation working on the front lines in Cambridge and later at a collision centre in Waterloo. So when Crawford’s Mike Lehman was looking for an assistant manager to help manage operations, Zeitler was a natural candidate.

“I liked what they had to say,” Zeitler said. “And I guess they liked what I had to say, so I joined Crawford.”

Crawford acts as a link between insurance companies and appraisers. A claim will come in to Crawford from one of the insurance companies, which they will then dispatch to one of the approximately 220 independent appraisers in Crawford’s network.

A client can assign an appraisal request using Crawford Appraisal’s centralized dispatch unit, which operates in staggered shifts that cover time zones throughout Canada and the US. The appraiser is responsible for confirming that they received the claim. From there, the appraiser contacts the insured and carries on with the process of preparing the estimate. Barring any complications or delays—which Crawford monitors closely on both a short- and long-term basis—the completed file is then submitted by the appraiser and is subject to quality control audits on the back end before the file is closed.

“Quality is just another component or extension of customer service. Without it, you have nothing,” Zeitler said. “Which is why Crawford Appraisal Management is always seeking new ways to capture quality measures.”

Since Zeitler began at the company, there’s been a huge push on customer service. “2010 is now year of the customer at Crawford and Company,” she said.

It’s good for creating a positive work environment, but it’s also good for business overall.

“I think that sales-driven companies will always be worried about sales,” Zeitler said. “But if you have a customer service company, you’ll never have to worry about your sales.”

Zeitler takes care of a lot of the day-to-day operations at her office, which means her day varies widely depending on what projects they’re working and what issues come up in the course of regular business. One of the more pleasant aspects of her job, however, is supporting growth in the office staff.

Crawford itself is supportive on this front—they offer progression planning for staff and opportunities for additional education for those who are interested. “Our HR is always available for anyone who wants to better themselves and increase their education or move within the industry”—opening similar opportunities for growth to the ones Zeitler followed herself.

“I always want to see people succeed. A lot of our staff out here are women, and to see them grow and better themselves—in a technically male-dominated industry—is great to me.”

This story originally ran in Collision Repair magazine issue 9#2.