Semi-retired, this shop owner enjoys his “toy box” while “the kids” mind the store
Steve Whitlock is living the dream of many a body repair shop owner. A certified gear-head, he’s building custom cars and street rods, while a few feet away his shop is humming along under the management of two trusted employees, one of whom is his daughter.
For many years, Steve Whitlock Collision Repair Center has been one of the leading shops in Provo, Utah, a town of about 105,000 nestled at the western base of the Wasatch Mountains. Five years ago, Whitlock turned over management of the shop to “the kids”—Stephanie Whitlock and Jeff Fisher. Steve moved out back to his “toy box,” a 45-ft. x 45-ft. shop where he works on such collector’s items as his ’66 Ford Fairlane convertible, ’63 Ford Falcon sedan delivery and ’64 Fairlane sport coupe.
Whitlock spent nearly 40 years in the collision repair business, 29 of them as a shop owner, before deciding in 1999 to pursue his true love—customizing cars and building hot rods. He has customers from Salt Lake City and as far away as California, and he’s turning a small profit. But mostly, he says, “I’m just having a lot of fun.”
His shop is in good hands. Fisher, who grew up down the block from the Whitlocks, started sweeping the shop’s floors when he was 14. He gradually learned every job and was well prepared when he joined Stephanie as co-manager of the shop.
Whitlock Collision comprises a 6,500-sq. ft. main building and a smaller structure where two metal technicians work. Seventeen employees turn out about 100 cars a month. “Our target [for gross sales] is $160,000 a month,” says Fisher, “but we haven’t been achieving that for a while.” He says business dropped off right after 9/11 and hasn’t fully recovered.
Despite the downturn, Steve Whitlock Collision Repair Center is about to expand into a 10,000-sq. ft. connecting building that will include offices, a metal shop and wash bays.
The expansion is a bit overdue, says Fisher. “We want to present our best face to the public, and right now our offices and customer area are kind of puny and right on top of each other.”
While the shop is short on posh accommodations in the office area, it’s long on quality. “Eighty to ninety percent of our business is repeat,” says Fisher, “and I think that’s because we treat each car like it’s our own.”
Those comments are echoed by the paint manufacturer’s rep who calls on Whitlock Collision Repair. “This is a shop that is much more focused on quality than production,” he says, “and that runs through the whole organization, from the front office to the painter. I’ve seen how both Jeff and Stephanie treat and deal with their customers. It’s always in a manner of giving them the best service and support they can. They’re very customer focused.”
He adds that the painter, Troy Williams, “always tries to stay on top of the latest and newest paint products, and paint equipment available to him.”
Williams, with 24 years of service, is among several long-term employees at the shop. One of the metal techs has been there for 28 years and another for 22. “If they’re good, I hang onto them,” says Whitlock.
His management style helps to promote employee loyalty. “I try to make it easy for them,” he explains. “They know their job and my philosophy has always been to let them alone so they can do it.”
Fisher agrees. “Steve isn’t an in-your-face kind of boss, which makes him easy to work for. There are seven or eight of us who have more than 10 years’ service here, and that’s pretty rare in this business.”
Whitlock also hosts an annual summer party for employees at his cabin in Park City, Utah, and makes sure that all birthdays are celebrated. He holds a general shop meeting only every three or four months. Fisher and Stephanie keep a tight rein on production through two weekly meetings with three employees.
They try to stay abreast of all the latest management techniques through courses offered by their paint supplier. Fisher has taken three or four of the courses and has come home each time “charged up” with new ideas to improve production, increase profits, or bring in more business. “But each time,” he says, “you get back in the shop and you’re so busy you can’t implement most of them.”
Then again, staying busy is what the collision repair business is all about.
Snapshop
Name: Steve Whitlock Collision Repair Center, Provo, Utah
Buildings: 6,500-sq. ft. main building, 4,000-sq. ft. metal shop, and Steve Whitlock's 45x45-ft. custom and street rod shop in the back yard. Under construction: 10,000-sq. ft. addition containing offices, metal shop and wash bays
Number of employees: 17. Three metal technicians adn two assistanst, one painter and painter's assistant, three preppers, one mechanic/metal technician, a parts manager, two estimators, a receptionist and two general managers
Equipment: A downdraft booth with a back oven, a cross-draft spray booth with heat lamps, four frame machines, three small lifts and one large mechanical lift, 14 bays and two prep stations, two digital cameras and a 35 mm camera, and a colorimeter
Production rate: 100 cars per month
