Our conference that was held on the 13th and 14 received good reviews from those in attendance. We discussed issues relating to the Association then reviewed B.A.R. issues. The BAR issues covered were the new proposed Penalty Guidelines, the new Chief’s proposal for a citation program for auto repair, and the status of the Writ of Mandate that CRA has filed against BAR. We also reviewed in detail documents that were received under discovery from BAR relating to Progressive’s Concierge Program . This review allowed members to understand what had transpired and the questions relating to bar’s dismissal of the Cease and Desist Order that was originally issued by BAR, and to speak with confidence on the issues the next day when meeting with Legislators.
We made available copies of our association brochure titled Don’t Get Steered. Copies were provided to the Legislators . Copies of this publication are available and will be posted on our Web site.
Todd Bishop association V.P. went over our web site discussed its organization and usage of the members area. Todd issued access codes and passwords. If you were not in attendance and need this info e-mail Todd at
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Todd reviewed the members forum area, this is basically a chat room for members, where we can all communicate.
We also had a guest speaker that discussed advertising issues, radio ads, how to increase inter-net hits, its effectiveness and general concepts to attract customers to your business.
Richard Steffen provided training on how to best approach our contacts with legislators the following day and reviewed the topics that we were would cover and the particular message to be presented to the Legislators. Role playing was under taken to help everyone feel comfortable in their contacts.
Day two. The second day was our day at the capitol. We broke into groups to cover 25 appointments that were made in advance with key members. Our group did a fantastic job in presenting the issues, and were able to get commitments for support form many of the Legislators. The success of these contacts exceeded our expectations. Before we left the Capitol Staffers were already following up and asking for additional information on the issues. It’s hard to imagine how well this went, everyone did a great job representing the industry and our association. We will keep you posted as things evolve.
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