Quality Time

I ran away to the woods for a week last month for some quality quiet time, and I must admit it was great to get away from my nerdy, technologically packed desk. I came back refreshed and recharged, ready to face the world - and the thousands of e-mail messages awaiting my attention.

Quality is a headliner word in our Collision Repair Indus-try all the time. As a group, we can be justifiably proud of our overall commitment to quality.

The willingness of participants at the July CIC meeting in Salt Lake City to discuss the current hot topics of diminished value and non-OEM parts certification programs indicates our general use of good common sense and reality-based plans for future growth.

I-CAR certainly appears to be ready to move forward, as indicated in our feature story this month. The appointment of Tom McGee as CEO of the organization he has so actively supported guarantees that we will be seeing quality improvement at I-CAR.

Quality has always been a word emphasized in the consumers’ perception of Japanese automakers. A new industry study (see page 17) finds that Toyota and Honda have quality relationships with their suppliers, too. It just goes to show, once again, that trust and loyalty are essential components of successful operations.

Too bad the corporate sharks at Enron et al. did not learn this lesson instead of shell games and imaginary numbers. A hefty dose of common sense and integrity is sorely needed in the upper levels of corporate America and in their accounting firms.

The word on the street, sprinkled liberally with lots of investors’ tears, is that American workers will be forced to work longer before being able to retire at their planned comfort level. Watch for articles here in coming months from investment experts with some quality "insights."

Quality is important at Gus’s Garage every month, too, and Jake Snyder, Gus’s hard-working creator/mentor, deserves a little quality time off for some rest and relaxation, too. Gus will return in September.