By Mike Davey
Calgary, Alberta — September 23, 2013 — Everything you say or do moves the customer experience in one direction or the other, according to a presentation by Carl Van, President and CEO of International Insurance Institute. Van was one of the keynote speakers at the 11th Annual CSN Conference, which took place from September 19 to 22 at the Westin Hotel in Calgary, Alta. The theme of this year’s conference was “Branded With Confidence.”
“The Branded With Confidence concept emphasizes the importance of the CSN brand and the unity of the group,†says Larry French of CSN Collision & Glass. “CSN Collision & Glass is growing in members, in strength, and in brand recognition, with now over 285 CSN facilities across the country. When we say CSN, we say it with certainty and confidence.”
The conference kicked off with a welcome reception, followed by dinner and the presentation of the CSN 2013 Master Awards. The awards recognize CSN members who have demonstrated exceptional qualities in one of four categories; Sales Growth, CSI, CSN Experience and Shop of the Year.
The CSN Sales Growth Award recognizes members with the highest percentage of sales growth. This year’s winners were D’s Collision ~ CSN (8,000 sq. ft. and less), Reflections Auto Body ~ CSN (8,001 sq. ft to 12,000 sq. ft.) and Turpin Collision ~ CSN (12,001 sq. ft. and over). Frank’s Auto Body ~ CSN (8,000 sq. ft. and less), CARS Auto Collision ~ CSN (8,001 sq. ft to 12,000 sq. ft.) and Automacs Collision ~ CSN took home CSI Awards for attaining the highest CSI scores in the past year.
Hutten Collision ~ CSN (8,000 sq. ft. and less), Dana’s Collision ~ CSN and Outlaw Collision ~ CSN (tied in the 8,001 sq. ft to 12,000 sq. ft. category) and Walkerton Collision ~ CSN were tops in delivering the CSN Experience through the use of co-branded materials and maintaining a first rate location.
Hutten Collision ~ CSN took home the Shop of the Year Award. The Shop of the Year Award is presented to the facility with the highest overall ranking across all of the Master Awards categories.
The first evening also featured guest speaker Lanny McDonald. McDonald played professional hockey for 16 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies and the Calgary Flames. He spoke on the leadership lessons he’s learned both on and off the ice.
The conference opened the next day with an address by Flavio Battilana, Chief Operating Officer of CSN Collision & Glass, followed by the day’s keynote speakers, Tony Chapman and Carl Van.
Chapman is the CEO of advertising agency Capital C. His presentation, “Recipe for Success: Your Brand is Your Culture” helped to reinforce the theme of the conference, and filled attendees in on how to apply some of the lessons of branding to their own facilities.
Van’s presentation, “Raising the Bar: Customer Service, Branding and the Five Standards of
Superior Customer Service Companies,” helped to illustrate how every customer interaction has an impact, either positive or negative.
“He’s got such a common sense approach to some of the things we tell our customers on a daily basis,” says John Jaszek of Eastgate Collision ~ CSN in Hamilton, Ont. “In every example he gave us, you could see how you can move the needle one way or the other, either positive or negative. Your words can make the customer happy with you, or you can make the customer very unhappy with you.”
The customer satisfaction theme continued with the next presenter, J.D. Ney, Senior Automotive Analyst and Supervisor of J.D. Power and Associates. Ney spoke on “Understanding Customer Satisfaction.”
After a short break for lunch, attendees were treated to two workshops. Carl Van ran “Training Employees: Delivering Exceptional Customer Service.” Patricia Belben facilitated “Hiring the Right People the First Time.” In both cases, the workshops reinforced the conference’s central theme.
The “Vendor Corral,” a trade show featuring CSN Collision & Glass partners, followed the workshops. The conference portion of the day wrapped up with an insurance panel, highlighting various topics within the auto claims economy.
The evening’s dinner and reception took place at Heritage Park Historical Village: Gasoline Alley Museum. It was a fitting setting, offering CSN members a chance to enjoy an authentic historical experience of the west and to take a look back at the revolution sparked by the invention of the automobile.
The final day of the conference focused on a number of members-only events. For more information on CSN Collision & Glass, please visit csninc.ca.
