Mitchell AutocheX Celebrates Top-Performing Shops at 9th Annual Premier Achiever Awards Ceremony

Leaders in Collision Repair Customer Service and Satisfaction Honored During NACE -- New 'Star Award' Recognizes Consistent Excellence in Customer Satisfaction


SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - November 18, 2010) - AutocheX™, Mitchell International's customer experience management service, honored collision repair facilities from throughout the U.S. and Canada at the ninth annual Premier Achiever Awards ceremony held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas in conjunction with NACE. The Premier Achiever Award recognizes top-performing shops that use the AutocheX service to measure customer satisfaction. A new "Star Award" introduced this year honors shops that have demonstrated consistent excellence in customer satisfaction over a six-year period.

"We are extremely proud of the 2010 Premier Achiever Award winners. It's a privilege to sponsor this program for the ninth year to recognize the hard work and dedication of the top-performing collision repair facilities in North America for customer service and satisfaction," said Jason Bertellotti, Vice President of Mitchell Repair Solutions. "These shops are clearly committed to providing the best possible vehicle repair experience for their customers. Their efforts have resulted in truly impressive levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty -- deserving of special recognition."

The Premier Achiever Award honors collision repair facilities that demonstrate their commitment to customer service as reflected by their extremely high customer satisfaction scores. The class of 2010 Premier Achievers includes top-performing collision repair facilities of all sizes, from small, family-run businesses to large consolidators, and represents 37 states across the U.S., as well as British Columbia, Canada. In an industry of nearly 50,000 shops in North America, qualifying as one of the nearly 500 Premier Achiever Award recipients places the collision shop winners in highly exclusive company. Since Mitchell launched the award program in 2002, AutocheX has presented over 2,700 Premier Achiever Awards to industry-leading collision repair facilities.

This year, AutocheX introduced the new Star Award to recognize consistent excellence in customer satisfaction performance. Mitchell presented the Star Award to collision repair facilities that have won the Premier Achiever Award for six consecutive years, 2005 through 2010. Only nine shops -- out of nearly 500 Premier Achiever Award winners -- qualified to win the award in 2010.

"Satisfying customers consistently is a critical factor in building customer loyalty and driving long-term success. It's very appropriate to recognize these facilities that have set the bar extremely high for consistent performance over time. We congratulate these Star Award winners on their exceptional accomplishment," said Bertellotti.

The nine 2010 Star Award winners are:

  • Baker Body & Glass (Concord, NC)
  • Collex Collision of Flourtown (Flourtown, PA)
  • Darrell's Paint & Body, Inc. (Vero Beach, FL)
  • Dependable Auto Body (Staten Island, NY)
  • Kniesel's Collision Center of Citrus Heights (Citrus Heights, CA)
  • Larkfield Body and Paint (Santa Rosa, CA)
  • McDermott's Body Shop Ltd. (Vancouver, Canada)
  • Phil's Body Works (Hewlett, NY)
  • Rockland County Auto Body (Haverstraw, NY)

"We are thrilled to be recognized as one of the first Star Award recipients. Our primary focus is on doing the right thing to please our customers no matter what it takes," said Dan Fischer, Operations Manager of Kniesel's Collision Center of Citrus Heights, CA. "This award is a testament to our commitment to go the extra mile to consistently exceed our customers' expectations. We take pride in providing superior workmanship and excellent service and we're very proud to receive this prestigious award recognizing our efforts."

Mitchell's AutocheX team and insurance company representatives honored Premier Achiever Award winners with well-deserved recognition at the ceremony. On hand to present the award to facilities participating in their respective repair programs were:

  • Tracy Tramm, Claim Service Manager, Good Hands® Repair Network -- Allstate Insurance
  • Rick Lewis, Unit Manager, Immediate Repair Program -- Automobile Club Enterprises
  • Bob McMahon, Assistant Vice President, Auto Physical Damage Claims -- The Auto Club Group
  • Clifton Meaders, Vendor Management Supervisor -- California State Automobile Association
  • Yolanda Banda, Vendor Management Supervisor -- California State Automobile Association
  • Odom Wu, Director, Strategic Initiatives PMO & VMO -- Farmers Insurance
  • Chris Fairbridge, Manager, Material Damage Services, Business Support -- Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
  • Robert Knott, Blue Ribbon Direct Repair Director, Material Damage -- Nationwide Insurance
  • Bob Benjamin, Vice President of Operations -- Sterling Autobody Centers
  • Peter Raubenheimer, Executive Director, Auto Claims -- USAA

"It was a real pleasure to participate in the Premier Achiever Award ceremony and to have the opportunity to thank shops that dedicate themselves to providing top-quality service to customers," said Tracy Tramm, Claim Service Manager of the Good Hands® Repair Network for Allstate Insurance. "These winners are the elite when it comes to understanding what it takes to create a positive experience for their customers. We are very proud of the 2010 Premier Achievers and congratulate them on receiving this prestigious award," added Tramm.

For a list of the 2010 AutocheX Premier Achiever Award winners who attended the award ceremony at NACE, please visit www.AutocheX.com.

Mitchell AutocheX is a leading provider of customer satisfaction measurement and customer experience management solutions to the collision repair industry. The RepairCenter™ Customer Experience Management (CEM) reporting engine used by AutocheX provides dynamic ("real time") reporting, customized favorite reports, combined program results, automated e-mail delivery of reports, and the ability to save reports in popular formats like Excel® or PDF. Mitchell RepairCenter is the industry's first shop Workspace, building on the strength of Mitchell's market-leading business management system, repair information content, and customer satisfaction services functionality. Please go to http://repaircenter.mitchell.com to learn more about RepairCenter and Mitchell's other solutions for collision repair facilities.

About Mitchell International, Inc.
Mitchell International (www.mitchell.com) is a leading provider of information and workflow solutions to the Property & Casualty claims and Automotive Collision Repair industries. The company's comprehensive solution portfolio streamlines the entire auto physical damage, bodily injury and workers' compensation claims processes. Mitchell enables millions of electronic transactions between more than 30,000 business partners each month to enhance partner productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

Rochelle Thielen Mitchell Int'l; Bob Benjamin Sterling Autobody Centers; Tracy Tramm Allstate Insurance; Yolanda Banda CA State Automobile Association; Clifton Meaders CA State Automobile Association; Odom Wu Farmers Insurance; Peter Raubenheimer USAA; Rick Lewis Automobile Club Enterprises; Robert Knott Nationwide Insurance; Chris Fairbridge Insurance Corporation of British Columbia; Bob McMahon The Auto Club Group; and Jason Bertellotti Mitchell Int'l.

Celebrating the presentation of the AutocheX Star Award to Kniesel's Collision Center of Citrus Heights at the AutocheX Premier Achiever Award ceremony on Oct. 12 were Rochelle Thielen, Director of AutocheX Sales, left; Dave Browne, Kniesel's General Manager; Dan Fischer, Kniesel's Operations Manager; Tom Kniesel, owner of Kniesels; and Jason Bertellotti, Vice President of Repair Solutions, Mitchell International.