2009 CPPC Fall Convention Summary

The 2009 CPPC Fall Convention convened in Nashville on October 4^th, 2009 with the opening reception.  Attendees were met with a 3 piece light rock band by the name of "3Mag".  Set up allowed for attendees to partake in the music in the Tennessee Ball Room or gather and chat around the open Art Gallery while par-taking a wide variety of horse’dores.  Two hours later, with a couple of guest performances by some CPPC members sharing the stage with the Band, many old relationships re-kindled and new acquaintances made, the Fall Convention was underway.

Bright and early Monday morning, October 5^th, the attendees gathered in The  Cumberland South Ballroom for a fully packed schedule for the day. After a brief impromptu musical number by Don Douglas and Jordan McElroy of Alabama Inspection and Repair Service, Debi Williams was welcomed to the Podium for the first time as President of the CPPC.  After initial self-introductions, Linda Bauer-Darr, Ceo and President of the American Moving and Storage Association took the stage as our Keynote Speaker.  She came prepared with a Video showing a New Sheriff in town, a video from their last AMSA convention.  As luck would have it, the sound on the video did not work, but Linda covered for the video explaining the concept and drawing a few laughs and support from the audience as the silent film proceeded. Times have been rough in our world economy, which everyone knew; but Linda was armed with info showing that there were indicators that things were on their way to rebound.  Something none of us can hear too often.  Linda explained where AMSA was heading coming out of the removal of Tariffs and building their own Organization through this and other changes of the industry. (A copy of her slides can be found as another option on the Convention Page.)

We moved from our Guest Keynote Speaker into “Repetitive and Progressive Claim Prevention Techniques, Moderated by Al Thompson of Litco and Custom Crating.  His panel had industry leaders, Don Fuess of Sirva, Troy Handrick of Graebel Van Lines, Brian Schaeffer of Movers Specialty Service, Rick Phillips of Atlas World Group, Milton Proctor of Unigroup and Kent Weathersby of Weathersby Guild.  Their presentation was “Best Practices” on various high profile items of claims.  We heard that the Top 5 Claim Concerns at this time are Hardwood Furniture, O.S. Furniture, Appliances, Mattresses and Flat Screen TVs. Moving forward we heard on the subject of Best Practices from some of the panel.  We heard about Appliances and Flat Panel TVs by  Don Fuess, about O.S. Furniture by Troy Handrick, on Hardwood Furniture by Rick Phillips, about Mattresses by Milton Proctor.  We heard about protection options on Hardwood Furniture by Kent Weathersby, about protection options on OS Furniture by Al Thompson and the same for Flat Panel Tvs by Brian Schaeffer. Then with the assistance of Chris Donadio of Litco and Catherine Thompson of Custom Crating we were showed the issues with Washing Machine lids and their tendency to flip open while being transported at more than a 45% angle on a dolly.  With the assistance of the right accessories we were shown that these claims could be reduced.  We were also shared issues associated with base units that often accompany the new front loader washers.  They are not meant to withstand the weight of the upper unit in transport yet some are not easily removed without damaging the unit.  Again we are shown that knowledge can help reduce the claims that can potentially occur.   Focus on these items can lead to sharing ways to deal with the challenges. Kent Weathersby had Michael Noel of Weathersby Guild – St. Louis, explain repair options on Stainless Steal Appliances.  We were also shared some disturbing news associated with Sleep Number Mattresses from 2002- 2005 that have potential Mold related issues. As time began to run out and a summary was conducted on the many elements discussed we found the downside of this presentation was that time ran out before full discussions and questions could be fielded from the attendees. This was a sure sign that this information is quite valuable and also needed to be continued.  We are working with this panel in the hopes of starting a monthly “Best Practices” for the Newsletter and on the CPPC website. (Stay tuned as this progresses)

Following a networking lunch, the attendees returned for a session on “Utilizing Technology to Obtain Comprehensive Photographs for Adjuster/Agent/Appraiser review” by Jake Fish of Douglas Tomsky & Associates.  Jake really caught the attendee’s attention with his detailed explanation of settings of the camera and how they affect the photos.  Some focus was on key elements to consider while photographing, so that you are giving enough information to size and detail of the item in the picture.  Without sufficient reference included, you have to add a lot more detail to a report that can be avoided if your picture provides the detail on its own. Background color and items in the vicinity of the item being photographed, can cause issues with the clarity of the picture as well. We have asked Jake to present an article for an upcoming Newsletter on this topic for all that were not present for his presentation. (Jake has agreed and is working on this project for our members.)

The afternoon session came with separation of the attendees.  Repair vendors separated from the rest and were guided through some guidelines in “Giving Them What they Want” (How to handle assigned military claims effectively.)  Moderators, Craig  Rasmussen (Retired Major General) and Tamela Cundiff of Armstrong Eagle Worldwide were joined by Lynne Singer of Furniture Medic, Roddy Martin of H.R. Martin Companies, Inc. and Mark Weathersby of Craftmanship by Weathersby on the panel.  The group led a lively session talking of the ins and outs of the repair vendor side of Military Claims.  

In the other room, the remainder of the attendees were guided through current Military processing from the Military Brass themselves.  Patricia A. Leonard, Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General; J. Christopher Malley, Deputy to the Chief - AFCSC and Steven R. Kelly, Chief Personnel Claims Branch – U.S. Army Claims Service lead this group through the state of Military Claims and fielded questions from the attentive group. We are blessed to have these representatives available to our membership for direct discussions. (A copy of the slide presented by this group that provides current contact info for the various branches of the military is another selection on the Convention Page. )

Monday evening, the majority of the attendees opted for the outing to the Wildhorse Saloon.  We had our private party area on the third floor of the Wildhorse.  Our area had pool tables and dart boards available for our use, while listening to music from the house band below. A buffet of Barbeque and Chicken, with regional sides, made for a tasty dinner.  And the dessert cobbler wasn’t bad either.  Line Dance lessons were provided at times during the evening, with many of our group par-taking in this lively option.  It was truly a fun time had by all.

Tuesday morning found our attendees back at networking while enjoying a breakfast buffet.  We started the day with “What is a Claims Adjuster/Claims Rep Looking for in an inspection report?”  Moderated by Janet Hogeland of Baker International Insurance and a panel comprised of Lisa Granberry of Albert Moving & Storage, Randa Mefford of Planes Companies and Debi Williams of Unirisc. This group each provided their take on what a repair report should include to make all those involved informed and on the same page when discussing a claim.  Some things might seem elementary, yet reports lacking these details are still seen on a regular basis.  Everyone left with a good feel of what it takes to provide a complete and detailed report to make your efforts worthwhile and beneficial to those involved.

This session was followed by Moderator Gene Shontere of Shontere Restoration and his Panel of Nacona Clowes of All American Moving Group and Dori Bledsoe of Covan World-Wide Moving discussing “Cash Outs vs Repairs and What about Salvage?”  It was quite interesting to see that the questions presented by Gene to his Panel were answered from two different perspectives.  One supported immediate repairs while the other supported an inspection with Cash Outs and repairs left to the customer to direct.  It was nice to see why each of these positions work for them respectfully and the jobs that they have to complete.  It supported how important it is to have open communication with whom you are doing business so that you know what is expected and why.  Without this knowledge, you could easily be lost in the process. 

Our fully packed morning moved on to “Test Your Customer Service Knowledge and Skills” presented by Moderator Debbie Morales and her panel Tamela Cundiff of Armstrong Eagle Worldwide, Kimme Loeffler of Armstrong Relocation and Bill See of See Restoration Unltd. Inc. This group orchestrated group work of putting key words together in a set number of sentences supporting Customer Service.  It was an energetic session in support of National Customer Service Week and a key element of our daily work in this industry. 

Our morning session wrapped up with our traditional Towne Meeting allowing attendees to ask any last minute questions of our Board or any of the Panels that occurred.  It allowed for feed back on this Convention and discussion of future events.  Feed back from our members are beneficial in our direction forward. We concluded our event with many positive comments and belief of another successful event.  If you did not attend, we hope to see you in the Spring in Oak Brook, IL; April 30^th and May 1^st for the 2010 CPPC Workshop.  Details of that event will hit your monthly publication and the CPPC website in January.