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When asked how his interest in cars began, Steven Tisdale, owner of Collision King Repair Center in Lubbock, Texas replies, "Beats hoeing cotton! I was always fascinated with cars as a kid."
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| From left to right: Debbie Brown, Darlene DeLean, Chad Garlington, Scott Crawford, Steven Tisdale of Collision King. |
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Collision King of Lubbock boasts 13,000 sq ft of production space, plus offices.
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Tisdale grew up in Littlefield, Texas, a town of about 5,000 residents located 45 miles west of Lubbock. When he was 12, Tisdale's brother found him a job in a body shop sweeping up after techs and washing cars, making a whopping $1.90 per hour.
At age 14, he bought an old pick-up and fixed it up. His boss noticed his talent for body work and hired him to do some jobs on commission.
From left to right: Debbie Brown, Darlene DeLean, Chad Garlington, Scott Crawford, Steven Tisdale of Collision King.
During his high school years, Tisdale worked on cars, restoring a '69 GTO. By his senior year, he was a commissioned painter at a body shop where he worked after school and on weekends. At age 19, he had his own side business doing paint and body work.
After his high school graduation, Tisdale bought a '66 Corvette which he still owns today. He did a full frame-off restoration, replacing quarter panels and the complete front end at a cost of $5,000 and over 200 hours in labor.
Hitting the Road
For a change of pace and scenery, he moved to Rhode Island and worked in different body shops to gain experience and learn additional techniques. He just loaded up his truck with his tool box and drove three days, arriving in Rhode Island on a Sunday night. By Monday afternoon, Tisdale was working in a Toyota and Mercedes-Benz dealership.
After a year or so, he moved back to Littlefield for an opportunity to own his own shop. Unfortunately, or fortunately, that didn't pan out as planned, so he made the move to Lubbock. For four years, he worked in dealerships, eventually earning a management position at a large Chevrolet dealership.
When that business was sold, Tisdale saw this as an opportunity to open his own business. He teamed up with the assistant manager at the dealership, Ray Thomas, and West Side Autobody came upon the scene. From 1990 to 1998, West Side Autobody flourished, with sales growing to $1 million annually.
Collision King is born
In 1998, Tisdale sold his interest in West Side Autobody to Thomas and opened a new shop at his present location in a 13,000 square-foot unoccupied building in Lubbock, right next door to State Farm and across the street from Farmers Insurance.
At the time Collision King began, DRPs were gaining momentum and Tisdale traded on his excellent reputation to gain business from the insurance companies. They knew who he was and that he could be counted on to do whatever was needed to satisfy both the insurance companies and the customers. He also picked up work from two dealerships who no longer had their own body shops.
Business volume built as he added to the shop's credentials by becoming an I-CAR Gold Class shop, and today annual sales have hit $3 million.
Tisdale, age 38, is the sole owner of Collision King Repair Center. His wife, Lynn, works in the real estate business. Together they are raising two daughters, Claire, 7, and Hannah, 5, who is starting to develop an interest in cars herself. When he is away from work, spending time with his family is his greatest pleasure. This spring he was lucky enough to attend the NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway, compliments of his paint provider, Sherwin-Williams.
Professional staff
Bob Arnold does "an awesome job as parts manager," and estimators Darlene DeLeon and Chad Garlington do an excellent job loading the shop and keeping insurance relations on an even keel.
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Collision King owner Steven Tisdale likes to hire young people who are "eager to learn, and teachable."
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At a glance
Collision King Repair Center
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| 4905 S. Loop 289 |
| Lubbock, Texas 79424 |
| (806) 794-5990 |
| Owner: Steven Tisdale |
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| Established: November 1998 |
| Sales: $3 million per year |
| Size: 13,000 sq ft production space |
| Employees: 4 painters, 7 body techs, 1 mechanical tech, 2 estimators,1 parts manager, 1 office manager, 1 manager |
| Paint Dept: Spray Bake down-draft booth |
| Paint: Sherwin-Williams |
| Frame Racks: 6 Body Loc systems |
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The success of Collision King would not be possible without the help of an excellent staff. Office manager, Debbie Brown, has been with him from the very start of the business. She does all the book work and keeps Tisdale organized. Manager Scott Crawford is relied on to keep everything in order in the shop.
The facility has a very strong technician base with very little turnover. Tisdale offers a mentoring program, where he solicits promising technicians to become apprentices.
"As a younger man," said Tisdale, "I was very eager to learn, so I try to find people who are willing to learn, who are teachable, with the raw skills necessary to succeed as auto body repair technicians. They are provided with tools and paired up with 'A' technicians so they can develop those skills. We take care of our technicians and they take care of us."
Active in his community, Tisdale has served on the I-CAR committee as chairman in 2002. He is a member of the local ASA chapter. In addition, he serves on the Board of Advisers for South Plains College, a local auto body trade school.
Tisdale is a member of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce and participates in Little League, church and other civic organizations.
Collision King has a DRP relationship with most of the major insurance companies, who account for about 80% of his business. Occasional bumps in the road have been resolved.
"Insurance companies have discovered that discounts on parts did not work and that retail is the way to go." said Tisdale. He acknowledges that while insurance companies do expect their DRPs to improve cycle times and use aftermarket parts, he feels the DRP model will continue to work for shops and consumers provided that shops maintain quality customer service - seeing the customer as their primary responsibility.
Quality parts from Keystone
Tisdale points out that "the quality of aftermarket parts has improved in the last five years. There is a place for them, as long as the quality is not being sacrificed." He hopes that aftermarket parts manufacturers will strive to improve the quality control, and the aftermarket parts program will succeed.
Tisdale notes that Collision King has a profitable relationship with Keystone Industries, a leading provider of aftermarket crash parts. "We have been purchasing parts from Keystone since they moved into our area approximately three years ago. We have had good results with the Platinum plus program. When we have an issue on returns, they are very prompt in taking care of us," Tisdale affirms.
The business philosophy at Collision King is to follow the Golden Rule. Tisdale treats his customers the way he would like to be treated. He says his success is based on having a service-oriented attitude towards customers, treating each and every customer as an individual, and ensuring they are happy and satisfied when they drive out of Collision King.
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