As a history-laden birthplace of rock royalty – Buddy Holly! – Lubbock, Texas has long been known for its thriving music scene, and customers are consistently singing the praises of Steven Tisdale’s Collision King Auto Body Repair Center.
For nearly a decade it has clinched annual top body shop honors bestowed by local newspaper readers and television viewers in addition to being named in 2013 as the Lone Star State’s Body Shop of the Year by Farmers Insurance.
| At a glance |
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Collision King Auto Body Repair Center Name of shop |
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Lubbock, Texas Location |
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Steven Tisdale Owner |
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1 No. of shops |
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18 Years in business |
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42 No. of employees |
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6 No. of DRPs |
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26,000 Total square footage |
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32 No. of bays |
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5 days Average cycle time |
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$2,480 Average repair order |
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$260,416 Average weekly revenue |
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105 No. of customer vehicles per week |
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$12.5 million Annual gross revenue |
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Sherwin-Williams Paint supplier |
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www.collisionking.com Website |
Noting that it feels “humbling to be recognized this way,” Tisdale points out that “we are in a smaller market compared to areas like Dallas, Houston and Austin. We often fly under the radar – getting overlooked by the larger markets in Texas. But we have a great team, we utilize teamwork and empower our people to make good decisions and think on their feet.”
The message conveyed throughout the company is “treat that car like it’s your own, your daughter’s or your mom’s car,” he says. “That solves a lot of problems right there.”
Serving motorists in the West Texas and eastern New Mexico regions, Tisdale began his collision repair career in Littlefield, Texas at age 13.
“I was a farm kid, and my dad had an extreme work ethic. I had a passion for cars, and I got to work in a shop instead of hoeing cotton and doing other chores around the farm,” he recalls. (The area surrounding Lubbock is the largest contiguous cotton-growing region in the world.) Two of his brothers had previously worked at this particular shop, “and some of the older guys helped me out with the repairs” as young Tisdale thrived out on the shop floor. “They taught me to think on my feet a lot.”
As Tisdale reached his early 20s he came under the tutelage of D.W. Baker, initially a supervisor at a dealership service department who became a key mentor. “I learned a lot from that gentleman in how to treat your employees right; working with them instead of barking orders. He viewed every car as being a privilege for that car to be in his shop. He always went the extra mile.”
Baker moved up to ownership of his own business, which Tisdale joined and subsequently purchased with a partner in 1990 prior to establishing Collision King in 1998.
He is definitely hands-on in his own shop, frequently working side-by-side with the technicians. Along with his self-taught skills and always striving to gain as much industry-imparted repair knowledge as possible, Tisdale’s path to ownership included a stint at a community college studying such topics as economics and speech class: Subjects aimed at accumulating business acumen.
A year-long move to Rhode Island was another stop along the way. “I gained insight and experience and came back to Lubbock,” says Tisdale, adding that he even took a pay cut to assume a shop management position.
Like many successful shop owners, Tisdale credits the quality and integrity of his staff for being able to create a positive and productive environment while maintaining a friendly and attentive attitude with the customers.
“Our technicians are committed to superior quality and service, and we ensure they have the skills to deliver it,” says Tisdale, citing his commitment to investing in the latest equipment and employee educational programs. “The auto body industry continues to evolve as new technologies become available. That’s why all of our technicians undergo continual ASE and I-CAR re-certification training to stay abreast of all new trends and technologies.”
Promising students at area vocational schools are sought as candidates, and while Tisdale does not actively recruit from other shops in the area, talented technicians are often eager to join the company’s roster. “Techs are going to go where the work is. They want to be at shops where there are cars to fix, and our volume is going up.”
Not to be overlooked is the friendliness factor, which is a critical element of the hiring procedures. Not everyone is a suitable addition despite whatever repair expertise they may possess.
“We’ve passed by several (technically proficient) technicians because they’re not team players,” he reports. “You can find out a lot about their integrity just during the interview process. I try to let them do the talking and I do the listening; I ask a lot of open-ended questions.”
Once onboard, the new hires are able to take advantage of a mentorship program in which each of the departments has an accomplished and education-minded leader who is eager to assist his colleagues.
In addition to a decent pay and benefits package, flexible hours are available as well. “If his kid has a soccer game at 4 o’clock and his work is done, we want him to put his family first – it makes for a happy employee.”
Connecting the dots
Three years ago Tisdale embarked upon converting Collision King into a heavily lean enterprise. “We had been reading about it and aware of it for years – all the trends and fads – and we wanted to make sure this wasn’t another gimmick. What made us pull the trigger is that we continued to grow, and we knew something had to give” regarding production inefficiencies. The challenges were further exacerbated by the operation’s multiple-building layout on a single Lubbock block.
Visits were made to other businesses across the country that had already implemented lean techniques. “It was baby steps” at first, culminating in the shop becoming involved with the Sherwin-Williams EcoLean Deployment initiative, described as “a tactical, shop-level approach to lean implementation designed by collision operators for collision operators.”
“This approach does not come in a ‘can,’ but only through a clear and concise assessment of current operational process, a strategic implementation plan and five-day EcoLean Deployment to execute and implement,” explains Lee V. Rush, Sherwin-Williams’ manager of business development.
Observing that “one size does not fit all in the real world,” Tisdale says that “connecting the dots” for lean achieved highly recommended results via the paint producer’s “custom-fit operational approach” that meets site-specific requirements.
Greg Dewbre, Collision King’s general manager, spearheaded much of the lean efforts. “Greg’s approach was a ‘shop floor’ approach,” according to Rush. “Although he understands lean, he also understands how many frontline employees, managers, estimators and technicians do not. Sure, they know increasing efficiencies will undoubtedly boost shop revenue, customer satisfaction and quality; however, they were missing real-world implementation.”
A weeklong onsite visit from Sherwin-Williams sealed the lean deal. “They brought in a full team of personnel, so we had very good support,” says Tisdale.
“It took a huge amount of effort to make it happen,” he continues, “but in hindsight it was well worth it. It would have created more bottlenecks” at the shop had the previously employed production patterns remained.
“We’ve gone from a six-day cycle down to five, so we’ve reduced a whole day” of cycle time, says Tisdale. “The biggest thing was damage analysis and parts correctness. Every vehicle has a parts cart” that wheels along throughout the job. “Under the traditional model we put all the parts in the trunk or backseat,” he recalls.
“We don’t have any ‘Cracker Jack’ moments anymore,” says Tisdale, referring to the situation where “you open the box and you get a surprise” upon accepting a parts delivery. The ordering process is now incredibly accurate and each shipment is inspected. No longer do they receive a left headlamp when a right headlamp is the intended purchase.
“We’re physically putting eyes and hands on every part we get in within two hours, and we match it with the old part,” he says. “We’ve fine-tuned our repair process with the support of our vendors to achieve superior results every time. Our rigorous process ensures that every aspect of your repair job is performed to the highest standard of quality, and it’s backed by partnership and training with our vendors.”
“It’s easier to supply and service them because of that lean procedure,” confirms Scott Tilson, owner of Lubbock’s West Texas Auto Colors. “We’ve implemented SOP procedures. Everything is done the same; for example, they all use the same grit of sandpaper. And were actually putting less parts numbers in there because they standardize everything they do.”
