Integrity, community service attracts faithful customers to duo of Georgia shops

July 30, 2019
Jamie White’s religious faith is strong, enduring and ever-present – put into practice throughout every aspect of his life. And when he speaks about being of service to his friends, neighbors and community by providing honest and competent collision repairs he really means it.

Jamie White’s religious faith is strong, enduring and ever-present – put into practice throughout every aspect of his life. And when he speaks about being of service to his friends, neighbors and community by providing honest and competent collision repairs he really means it.

“People know us from our beliefs and our honesty. All of our decisions are based on quality and service,” says White, who owns the Ken’s CARSTAR and CARSTAR Dalton franchises situated 13 miles apart in Dalton, Ga. He additionally supports a daunting array of Dalton’s civic and charitable causes.

At a Glance:
Ken’s CARSTAR & CARSTAR Dalton
Dalton, Ga.
Main Location
Jamie White
Owner
2
No. of shops
22
Years in business
40
No. of employees
10
No. of DRPs
15,000, 35,000
Square footage of shops
15-plus
No. of bays per shop
$3,200
Average repair order
2.8 days
Average cycle time
$120,000
Average weekly volume
55
Vehicles per week combined
$6.2 million
Annual gross revenue
Axalta
Paint supplier
Car-O-Liner
Frame machines used
CCC
Estimating system used
www.carstar.com

“I am a firm believer in putting money into our local community, from Little League ball teams, high school sports and local organizations.” Although attracting patrons seeking vehicle repairs is decidedly not White’s main mission, “When you take care of your customers in and out of the business they will continue to come,” he explains.

White prefers to back endeavors that encourage the participants to be relaxed and reflective of the experience. “We make sure that we are concentrated in the areas that customers are made to sit and slow down, such as sporting events, school classrooms and local charities. I have a huge soft spot in my heart for my community and for special needs athletes.”

He coached a special needs softball team for seven years, and “that was a turning point in my life,” White reveals. “It opened my eyes – we tend to lose site of what we’re doing” during the more mundane challenges of everyday life, not paying attention to the plight of those who are less fortunate.

Self-questioning and self-awareness are important qualities to always keep in mind, according to White. “Am I making an impact now? We need to do everything today to make sure we’re presenting ourselves correctly.”

Maintaining high ethics at his two body shops is a longstanding practice dating back to when Jamie’s uncle, Ken White, established the business in 1997. “My uncle knew to go beyond just repairing the vehicle,” he recounts.

“We are well known in the community because we’ve been here to serve them for years. We’ve worked hard to give back and support local charities and schools where our customers go; we’ve literally grown up with them!”

Emphasizing a sense of gratitude and observing how “we are blessed with more than we deserve,” White points out that “we give full credit to Christ, and we have Bibles on the waiting room tables” to assist in spreading the good word.

Service is a constant. A collection of miscellaneous light bulbs is kept on hand to offer free on-the-spot replacements as a courtesy. Recently a driver came in seeking aid in identifying an annoying squeak. “We rode around with him for about 15 minutes and we fixed it – no charge. People keep coming in because they’ve heard of us.”

White describes the entire 40-person staff as “a big family committed to delivering the highest-quality vehicle repairs and customer service – both literally and figuratively. We believe in honesty, integrity and community service as the hallmarks of our business.”

Since 2011 just three people have left the company, evidence of White’s consistent efforts to instill employee loyalty. Financial details are shared along with expectations and results. “We’re a team. We’re open and we’re honest,” he reports, “and we’re very clear – this is how it is.”

It should probably come as no surprise that “we’re also open with our suppliers and vendors. We have open, honest communication and we pay a lot of CODs (cash on delivery). They know that when they drop the part off they’re going to get paid.”

In return, “Our expectations are ‘as quick as we can get it and honesty’” throughout the process. “If they say ‘we’ll get your parts tomorrow morning’ and we don’t get them until tomorrow afternoon, that car isn’t going home on time,” thus disappointing the customer. “Communicate with us,” White stresses. “Tell us if you can’t make it on time.”

A full packet of documentation and photographs are presented to insurance carriers to justify each and every procedure. “The adjusters know that they’re going to have everything they need” to present to their supervisors.

Taking care of others

Wherever you happen to live, chances are you’ve walked all over the main driver of Dalton’s economy: The city of 33,000 residents 100 miles north of Atlanta is known as “The Carpet Capital of the World.” At one time there were more than 320 carpet mills in the area. Currently there are about 150 rug-making facilities still in operation, producing an astounding 90 percent of the world’s supply of carpeting.

Essentially Dalton’s entire population – men, women and children – began gaining acclaim in the 1900s as the globe’s top “tufters,” a type of specialized yarn-crafting skill that became key to mechanized carpet production. This “cottage and porch” industry saved Dalton’s residents from financial ruin as the Great Depression loomed, and flooring continues to support robust regional revenues.

“When the economy collapsed in 2008 (and a lot of carpet production moved overseas) they made transitions into ceramic tile and hardwoods,” White recalls, adding that since that dire period “we’ve seen huge increases with the local economy because of the construction industry. We’re making the carpet that goes into all the hotels” and just about every other commercial and residential structure being erected across the globe.

Located just off Interstate 75 in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, tourism is another large industry bringing in drivers in need of vehicle repairs. Not only is spectacular scenery in abundance, but the federal government identifies Dalton as the nation’s largest repository of Civil War artifacts as lead shot fired between the Blue and Gray once flew with great abandon.

In conjunction with the spiking spending levels on vehicles, related services and everything else that accompanies a robust regional economic uptick comes a burgeoning demand for labor in the mills that has resulted in a large influx of Latin American immigrants, now amounting to nearly half of Dalton’s population.

White employs seven Hispanic technicians along with bilingual estimators to accommodate an expanding international customer base that continues to steadily achieve higher levels of affluence.

An aggressive employee recruiting program includes outreach into other occupations in search of potential job candidates with admirable personal character traits. “We’ve hired a lot of our employees from outside of our industry; we run across people and notice how well they take care of others,” says White.

“We recruit great employees from grocery stores, fast food restaurants, other retail positions, and we also work with local schools,” he explains.

“We offer an apprentice program allowing young talented individuals to work their way up from zero experience to qualified trained technicians. We specialize in partnering young inexperienced technicians with senior technicians who are willing to help and provide training with hands-on experience,” according to White, noting that the innovative three-year instructional effort “produces some phenomenal service technicians” who are highly motivated to provide standout customer service. Patrons are also attracted through “a ton” of advertising on local radio stations.

“We have great team members at every step of the repair process, from the first time a customer visits us to their estimate to the dis-assembly, repair and painting to when we return their keys,” White reports. “We are constantly evaluating our performance to ensure we meet the highest standards throughout the repair.”

An ultimate goal

Founded in 1997 by Ken White, Jamie White’s uncle, Jamie joined the business as a general employee in 2013 after working in the construction industry. “I started off in parts, worked my way up to writing estimates and then I learned how to run production in the shop,” he recalls.

“Once learning the daily operations of the business, I worked my way up into management and the financials before purchasing from my Uncle Ken in 2015-- all of this would have never been possible without the support and trust from my Uncle Ken.”

Jamie credits others as well, such as his father Eddie who was general manager at the shop; Dean Fisher, a past CARSTAR franchisee and CARSTAR’s current COO; Tony and Sharon Kempen, current CARSTAR MSOs; and entrepreneur and businessman Lamar Wright, the esteemed founder of Apollo Textiles. Wright, 82, “my friend and idol,” is quite respected and admired throughout the region – the Wright School of Business at Dalton State College is named for him.

White’s sister wanted to get married on a farm owned by Wright, with Lamar and Jamie making an instant mentor-mentoree connection when arranging the nuptials. “He keeps me straight,” White says of Wright. “He always makes sure I’m following Christ and putting family first,” he avows. “He is always willing to tell me the good and bad in my actions, and to always remind me that our ultimate goal is to be Christ followers.”

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