auto body technician

financial analyst

service advisor

office administrator

repair technician

Caliber Collision

I've been working for Caliber for 5 years. I've been in this industry for over 30 years. My entire career has been based on piece work and flat rate. Hard work but great money.
Now, from 2015 through 2019 there was a huge downfall of mom and pop shops in the long Island area.  D.R.P.'s and advanced repair procedures, technician education and specail equipment costs were just a handful of obstacles smaller shops couldn't afford. Amd unless your a huge shop with a long history in business you couldn't compete with the d.r.p. shops. You just suffered. 
Caliber is already on long Island and gaining momentum, but not with techs. Just customers. I wouldn't entertain working for a corporate shop. It seemed like a bad idea. Well, when the work around you slows down, you have to look way ahead. Not weeks, but months. 
So I joined Calibers family.  And I wish I had joined them sooner.
If you need a job, apply here. If you want to learn as an apprentice and get paid while learning.  Apply here. If you want to be a writer/estimator on salary plus ridiculous bonuses . Apply here. If you are a painter and can produce. Apply here.
Here's the deal for people who don't get it.
Body techs and painters are eligible for a bonus every quarter (3 months) .
The shop as a whole ,meaning every employee in the building, is eligible for a bonus every quarter as well. And one bonus doesn't affect the other. Its a corporate shop. It has thousands of employees. If your expecting someone to hand you a week's salary in cash because it's the holidays. Your going to be upset when they don't.  Don't Apply. Keep scratching out at your current job.
I-Car training is given to you for Free! Personally they have paid for 30 classes I've taken, at my leisure,  and have paid me to take the classes. Making me a Platinum Certified Tech. Does your current shop do that ? 
Advanced welding machines, aluminum repair technology, plastic technology,  constant training, every form of P.P.E. available to you. All-data procedures handed to you. Parts checked and given to you. 90 percent of the shops out there don't have this for their techs. And the 10 percent that do are similar in corporate structure to Caliber. But they aren't on long Island.
Flat rate tech have the ability to make great money. If your good at what you do and take it seriously. Manage your work and your time and you can make money. Caliber collision gives it all to you on a silver platter. Its up to the individual tech on how they choose to use it.
Mom and pop shops can't compete with the training, the education,  and the pay scale. They can't bring in the work that Caliber can with its huge amount of insurance partners.
Sure, some insurance company repair and parts programs suck. Thats anywhere. Deal with it. Its how we make a living. 
Now keep in mind that the work is endless ! Companies never stop sending work,  it just keeps coming in. For me that's a bonus in itself. In 5 years I've never woried about where the next repair was coming from. Can't say that with mom and pop.
I see alot of complaints about management.  I agree with some but definitely not all. Its like shop politics.  Everyone above you needs you and your particular set of skill to make money. The better and more efficient you are as a tech the less drama you get from upper management.  Remember most people above you can't do Your job. Just like You can't do their job.
On long island we have a 5 day work week. No weekends. No half day Saturday requirement.  There's plenty of time for family, fun and even time off once you learn to self manage your shop time.  Older techs get it, you younger techs need to learn it :)
At the end of it all Caliber Collision,  as I know it, would be the right choice if your a tech that wants home not a hobby.  All you have to do it show up and do the right repair. And make a nice living. They give you Everything you could ever need to be able to perform the most accurate and correct repairs imaginable. They give you education,  realistically reasonable health benefit programs. A 401k plan, paid holidays and 56 hours or paid sick time a year. How anyone could complain about working here is simply beyond me. You want a career that can last you years and still be able to advance when it's available.  This is where you sign up. 


This is an auto body and paint company that is run mostly by people who have not put in a single days work at being an autobody technician or painter so they could not possibly appreciate or understand the hard work and dedication that is given by its blue collar employees. As a commission paid employee with this company I can tell you that it is the finest example of corporate greed mixed with a slave owner  mentality.It matters no more if you have been with this company 8 years or 1 year. The only thing that matters here at Caliber Collision is making the company the most money as possible each and every week. The fact that they say there pupose is to "restore the rythem of your life" is complete and total garbage,they will lie and maipulate each and every customer about the stage and process of their vehicle and purposely leave out details of the proceess and lie until the end to cover their butts.They say the vision of the company is"to improve the vision of the collision industry" ,but they are doing this by manipulating its customers and insurance clients.Calibers mission is "to be the collision repair provider of choice in every community" which is done by buying up every repair facility that has any kind of reputation in every communtiy,and manipulating every insurance provider from around the country.

 A company that does not value or appreciate  the lower level and commission employees who has absolutely no care for the boots on the ground  workhorse employees who make it possible for the company to even operate. Caliber Collision does not care about the employees who make it possible for them to drive around in their fancy cars, nice boats, eat at their fancy restaurants, buy 500 more shops and provide for their familys. A Company who will not give you a raise or bonuses in my particular region based on ten year or unless you threaten to quit then. The answer they give you if you even ask for money is "work harder, fix more cars,stay later, do more.".its honestly a joke. If you wanna make a consistent paycheck as a blue collar employee  here please find another place to work because it isnt gonna happen here unless your are management or work yourself into the ground each and every week. They say they promote from within.That is deffinately not true. it is all about who you know here. You might reach being a shop manager but it stops there For most and that position is overated and overly glorified because they cannot and will notdo anything for their employees. In my particular region most of the managers and regional managers are friends and  only care about one thing that is "gross profit"  all management have differnt ways of being "bonused" and getting what they want based off of different achievements. This means not puchasing anything needed for the facilty, not maintaining equipment, and not purchasing enough materials for the jobs. This forces employees to purchase their own products and materials to get the job done or cut corners. Hiring non commission employees that the company has to pay for themselves for positions that are necessary is something else that they will not do because after all it takes from the top.

Overall I would say caliber is a below grade workplace full of greedy, unappreciative, overachieving, lying, manipulative management and in my eyes it most likely trickles down from positions even above them.  terribly expensive benefits  and way to many chiefs and not enough indians. Anyone who wants a successful career in a feild of automotive repair work should find another place.

A typical day at work at Caliber Collision is nothing short of frustrating and disheartening. From the moment you step foot in the door, you're met with a chaotic and unorganized environment. The lack of clear communication and proper planning makes it difficult to accomplish tasks efficiently. It often feels like you're constantly putting out fires rather than focusing on your actual job responsibilities.

One of the few positive aspects I believe I learned at Caliber Collision is the importance of patience and resilience. Dealing with the constant challenges and setbacks, you're forced to adapt and find ways to make it through the day. However, it's unfortunate that the company doesn't offer sufficient training or opportunities for professional growth. You're left to figure things out on your own, which can be overwhelming and hinder your overall development.

Management at Caliber Collision leaves much to be desired. There is a clear lack of leadership and direction from upper management, which trickles down to the rest of the team. Decisions are often made without considering the perspectives and input of employees, leading to a sense of disempowerment and frustration. The lack of support and recognition for your hard work can be demoralizing and discouraging.

The workplace culture at Caliber Collision is toxic and unhealthy. There is a significant lack of teamwork and collaboration, with employees often pitted against each other instead of working together towards common goals. Favoritism is prevalent, and it feels like promotions and opportunities are based on personal connections rather than merit. The overall atmosphere is one of negativity and distrust, making it challenging to feel motivated or engaged in your work.

The hardest part of the job at Caliber Collision is the constant pressure to meet unrealistic deadlines and targets. The workload is often overwhelming, with little to no consideration for work-life balance. The high-stress environment can take a toll on your mental and physical well-being, leading to burnout and dissatisfaction.

Despite the numerous challenges, the most enjoyable part of the job at Caliber Collision is the occasional satisfaction of seeing a successful repair or happy customer. However, these moments are few and far between, overshadowed by the overall negative work environment and lack of support.

1) Manage staff of 24: Service advisors, Technicians, Body Men, Painters, Detailers, Shop Helpers.
2) Accounts payable of 44 monthly Accounts and reports associated with.
3) Accounts receivable over 275 different transactions a month, which related to Insurance companies, Dealerships , Customer Pays and reports associated with.
4) Weekly CSI Surveys Calls
5) Calls to clientele to set appointments for estimates and auto body repair.
6)  Customer Service: Checking in and Checking out of Clientele.
7) Responsible for all Communications with government agencies; Fire Marshall, and EPA Regulators. 
8) Conducted weekly staff safety meetings.
9) Responsible for Safety equipment: Eye wash sinks, Fire extinguishers, Fire exist, 3m Respirators, Safety goggles and gloves .10) Office Supplies
11) Alarm system through Protection One: Staff Codes and keys.
12) Over Head Repair Order entering into CCC1 System..
13) Load Level Repair Order entering into CCC1 System.
14) Gas Meter Monitoring for EPA: Parts Per Million put into the atmosphere.
15) Daily reconciliation of Amegy  Company Visa P-card.
16) Daily payroll time keeping and reporting for all staff: Hourly, Commission and Salaried employees
17) Roll out of Workday Program  for staff.
18) Daily Computer Programs Used:  CCC1, C.A.R.E (CRM), Excel, Word.
19) Daily communications with Regional's and VP's regarding reports and meetings.
20) Filing of Closed Repair orders , other certificates and financials.
21) Monitoring of all Customer Check s, Credit Card Transactions and filing thereof.
22) Ordering and pick up of all office supplies.
23) Picking up and dropping of customers at their homes or rental agencies.
24) Daily communications with Insurance companies re: balance due and supplement uploads.
25) when needed final inspection of vehicles and detailing of vehicles.
26) Employee relations: making sure the center has a Healthy, Happy working environment.
27) Opening and Closing of Center.
28) Driving shop vehicles.
29) Setting up checking in tows, for Insurance Companies and Customers.
30) Setting up and adherence to California State Laws regarding meal and rest breaks.

I learned that creating a calming atmosphere, made the clients feel better about themselves and the situation that they are currently in.

Management and co-workers were great!

Understanding the Accounts payable system.

The enjoyable part of the job was the people.

Starting out as an Entry Level D.R.T, first couple months were great, pay was decent, Everyone I worked with in the shop (Other Body Techs) (Mostly everyone) Were very friendly, knowledgeable, always willing to help out, given you are respectful to others in the same manner, there is a lot to learn and it takes years and financial sacrifice (If you have the time and space fiscally to do it), Management seemed motivated, professional, ensuring and promising work, health benefits are one of the best perks working in this type of business, that is where the good ends and the other side begins.

If anyone reading this, must have interest or knows how this business works or has a general idea, to wrap it up, particular location I work for, poorly managed, poor communication, insurance claims and labor hours need to have more incentive for the Tech involved, the work and money is obviously favorable to the techs with more experience, the parts department, which was poorly organized, whom working directly with the Insurance Advisors/Estimators, favor the most cost-effective repair, (aftermarket parts) in my experiences with this in mind, created unrealistic expectations in all aspects, (quality of repair, time of delivery)

I was working, however feeling like a drone, hoping for work, and if I wasn't working hard enough, or not fast enough, work was given away to other techs, effortlessly by the Estimators/Advisors, Hardest thing about the job, after experiencing all that, was the motivation/morale, especially when other Techs were leaving for this very reason or similar.

The most enjoyable, again, if you have time and money to sacrifice, is working with others when necessary, other techs always look out for other techs (usually) the ability to learn and the capacity to grow is always there in any production shop, especially the times where everyone works together to make the place run like a production shop should, that made it very enjoyable, those times were not enough, for entry level, be prepared for a roller coaster of pay as soon as you make the jump from hourly to flagged/commission, a prime example of who gets the short end of the stick.

Low Pay Across the Board: The salaries offered by Caliber Collision are well below industry standards. Despite promises of competitive compensation, the reality is far from it. Entry-level positions are paid marginally above minimum wage, and even with experience, there is little to no significant increase in pay.

Minimal Raises and Bonuses: Annual raises are practically non-existent, and when they do occur, they are barely enough to keep up with inflation. Bonuses are promised based on performance metrics that seem unattainable due to unrealistic targets and constantly shifting goalposts.
Lack of Transparency: The company's approach to salary transparency is opaque at best. Employees are left guessing about how their pay is determined and what benchmarks they need to meet to earn a decent wage. This lack of clarity creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and distrust.
Poor Benefits Package: Beyond the basic salary, the benefits package is lackluster. Health insurance options are limited, with high deductibles and co-pays that make them unaffordable for many employees. Retirement plans are minimal, with no matching contributions to help employees save for their future.
High Turnover and Morale Issues: It's no surprise that there is a high turnover rate among employees. Many talented individuals leave for better-paying opportunities elsewhere, leading to constant disruptions in team dynamics and decreased overall morale among those who remain.
No Recognition for Longevity or Loyalty: Despite dedicating years of service to the company, there is little recognition or reward for loyalty. Long-term employees often feel undervalued and underappreciated, which further contributes to dissatisfaction with the compensation structure.
In conclusion, working at Caliber Collision may offer job stability and career growth opportunities in the automotive industry, but the low salaries and lack of meaningful compensation make it difficult to justify staying long-term. Potential applicants should carefully consider their financial expectations before committing to a role at this company.

As with most body shop organizations, nepotism is the result of inadequately experienced middle and upper management and therefore rampant.  It is better to be a friend to those tasked with supervisor roles rather than to be efficient and well versed in your assigned tasks.  One should take careful consideration when identifying errors in workflows or the end product (or anywhere for that matter).  If one does it will result in ostracism.   There is an overwhelming sense of overinflated confidence amongst middle and upper management.  I can assure you that the median intellect within management is somewhere around the 10th grade level.  What's more concerning is the quality of the people themselves (honesty, critical thinking, expediency, and self discipline are not their strong suits).  One of their philosophies is that everyone should assist everyone where needed (create a team-centric environment).  There is no monitoring of this, however, so the end result is enabling many employees to simply avoid work in the hopes that others will do it for them.  Those tasks then become the responsibility of those whom have chosen to work hard and strive every day to be better.  There will be plenty of praise given to those in charge.  You will not be rewarded for your hard work.  You wont be penalized either.  Rewards are given to those who chose not to rock the boat.  In summation, if there were true leaders amongst the upper echelon of this company it could easily take over the industry.  Instead this company is exactly the same as every other body shop company.  Disagree???  Ask yourself this: Why are body shops ranked so low on indeed? It's not coincidence.  It's also the reason Direct Repair partnerships are the norm.  Proper management would never agree to such unagreeable terms.  Fear would not guide their decisions.  A true leader would commit themselves to finding truly free and independent streams of revenue, and never let a third party dictate the amount of work or the profitability of the product they provide.  If you enjoy the pungent odor of another human beings rear end, this place will suit you well.  If you are quality person you will be disappointed. 

Most shops are open from 7 to 6pm.  As a service Advisor, specially if you wan to do a good job, yo show up earlier than than and stay much later than 6pm.   There is constant push for sales at the end of the month and you are looked down upon if you dont meet your sale goals.  Those goals are based on the number of repair vehicles and their sales, but if you are not given a good account (Insurance carrier) to work with and there are not enough customers coming into the shop, how is that your fault.   Once a customer walks thru the door is your responsibility to win them over, do an excellent job in monitoring the repairs, communicating with customers and delivering quality repairs, but they still have to walk thru that door.   You dont set up your appointment, there is a department that handles that, but yet if you are not the lucky adviser that handles a high yield insurance account, you are constantly struggling to make numbers at the end of the month. 
Work environment overall is good, fun and makes it less stressful.  If you are lucky to have good coworkers, you dont mind spending most of your waking hours in a place like this.   Management tried to have a good working place by paying for outings or paying for lunches, etc. but there is very little camaraderie.  
Your hear horror stories about locations where managers were caught doing inappropriate or even illegal things, and I am not talking about hearsay, I am talking about multiple people accusing managers of doing something, but later you hear that the manager in question was merely moved to another location.   This is very disappointing it takes away the confidence that you should have in your company or your superiors.
Overall I am giving a 4 star, the company is good, the atmosphere is good, but if you have a bad experience as an employee is mostly related to the immediate manager you work for.
I am choosing 'Houston' as the general area, but I am talking about the greater Houston region, not just inside city limits.

In the 7 plus years I worked there, I learned a lot. I learned you have to know the right people to get ahead. It is extremely difficult to start from the bottom. You have a better chance in the office. But even then, your fate is decided by regionals that only come every so often. I have worked at 4 different Caliber shops in 3 different states. It doesn't get better. I started as a detailer and moved my way into a tech, but that journey was very difficult, and if you don't have the right teachers actually wanting to see you succeed, you're stuck doing the grunt work they don't want to do. You never gain the experience to move up. Luckily I was on a team that disbanded for the same reason, they where all fed with the pay they where receiving. My team leader was so unmotivated after that, he eventually left too, leaving me by myself. As bad as the situation was, it was my only saving grace, as I was on my own. Sink or swim. Found out that I was able to make decent checks on my own, around $1300/week gross. But also found out real quick that you have to rely on literally every single person in the shop to make your check. From, getting the car checked in correctly, making sure the estimator wrote the correct estimate (even though you even write left or right literally on the headlight as they take pictures so they order the correct one, nope), the parts person checking that the correct part came in and matches the broken one, to the painter doing a good job painting, and not missing parts you repaired like pinch welds or hood hinges. All for the insurance company to refuse to pay certain work because the pictures weren't good enough or just because haha. Wow, this review is getting long. Avoid the stress and health hazards, not worth it in my opinion. Join something with a union, an electrician or plumber, and learn to invest. I saw too many of my older coworkers, guys that had been doing it for 20+ years, they were TIRED. This job really takes a toll. Good luck to anyone reading this!

Caliber has a core value of doing the right thing, but what they really mean is doing right by the insurance company and the insurance company only. Certain customers receive priority based on what insurance carrier they have; so don't get unlucky and have the wrong insurance company on your vehicles! Management will allow a vehicle to drop off and sit outside for weeks without touching it because vehicles that come in after receive top priority based on insurance. When its time to update customers, management pressures front staff to lie and make up excuses why their repairs are delayed which is unethical and wrong. 
The body techs painters and detailers are expected to work long hours and weekends to produce numbers for the monthly sale goal so management across the board gets a bonus check from caliber. 
Technicians are often forced to perform labor for free because caliber caters exclusively to the insurance company and bends to their will every time, often resulting in estimates being written for much less than what the car needs to be repaired safely and to pre accident condition.
Caliber loves to reinforce the idea that workers are a big "family" which is corporate slang for "we will abuse you daily weekly monthly and yearly while you're employed here"
The benefits packages are all terrible and result in high weekly deductions from pay and high costs at the doctor/dentist/optician.
Day in and day out caliber makes it clear that they're goals are to bow down to whatever insurance companies dictate which results in a cheap poor quality barely safe repair, and prioritizing production based on insurance carrier standing instead of doing the right thing and fixing the vehicle correctly.

They do buy pizza for you on your birthday though.

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