To hail and back: Why one CARSTAR is grateful for community support

“Being a small business owner is challenging and the added stress of a pandemic does not help,” continues Tatman. “The important thing for us throughout this whole thing was to stay positive, stay ready, and use our downtime productively. We were analyzing our existing repair procedures, finding new business in unique places, making contactless updates to the store, and had our staff participate in training courses.” As the adage goes, you don’t have to get ready if you stay ready. This proved valuable for Tatman’s facility, as his team was ready to go Monday morning, in-taking requests for hail damage estimates, triaging severity, and starting repairs on the hundreds of damaged vehicles throughout the Champaign community. “There were some people I worked with in the past who I knew were unemployed at the moment and I immediately hired them that week,” says Tatman. “We even rented a building dedicated to handling dent damage so we could get customer vehicles in and repaired faster. My team and I worked hard to ensure each repair was as seamless as possible and customers left happy with both the quality of work and their experience. My father emphasized the importance of a positive customer experience early on and it has always stuck with me.” Tatman’s father opened up a collision repair center in 1959 and he started working for his dad at a young age cleaning the facility for 50 cents a week. Eventually, his father sold his repair center to a consolidator and Tatman became just another employee within the location. Although he cites it now as a difficult time to go through, he is grateful for the perspective it has given him, as he is appreciative of where he is today.  Tim’s sons have also entered the business and are working alongside their dad, just as Tim did with his father, making his sons Chris and Matt third-generation collision repairers. “My family, colleagues, and I could not be more grateful for our community and their trust in us,” shares Tatman. “I hope other local business owners find their next opportunity amongst all of these obstacles so we can all hopefully end 2020 on a high note.” Some tips Tim Tatman shares to other local business owners include:

• Take advantage of the internet: our business is brick and mortar, but incorporating online appointment bookings makes it easier for busy customers on the go to schedule something and stop by at their convenience. Offering online ordering or appointment bookings can go a long way from a customer’s perspective.
• Create priorities and set goals: it is easy to get overwhelmed if you do see an influx of business, but that is not the time to stop. Prioritizing tasks is key to ensure you don’t drop anything in the shuffle. Setting goals and tracking to see if you achieve those goals is also crucial. For us, we track repair time, quality of work, and customer experience, which we work on improving each day.
• Lean on others: whether you are looking for referrals to your business, looking for advice, or looking for support in your day-to-day operations is so key. I have four key people I lean on (two of which are my sons), who manage the day-to-day operations so I can ensure we hit all of our targets.
• Stay open: as hailstorm work passes, we still have a business to run. It is important to stay positive throughout the highs and the lows because you never know when an opportunity will present itself and you must be open and ready to take on the challenge.

For more information on Tatman’s CARSTAR, visit CARSTAR.com