An auto repair shop in Columbia which came under new ownership last year recently celebrated its grand re-opening.

Joe Gearon, who works as general manager at the Columbia Caliber Collision location, spoke about how the rebranding has affected the shop and what business has been like since.

The acquisition took place in October 2022 as the previous owner of Quality Collision in both Columbia and Waterloo turned the businesses over to Caliber Collision, a nationwide  auto repair chain.

Gearon’s time with Quality Collision began five years ago, though he’s worked in automotive repair for about 30 years, first working in Bridgeton, Mo., before working at another independent shop and a dealership before moving to Columbia.

“We were approached last year just before Halloween that Caliber Collision had bought us out,” Gearon said. “And they took over Halloween day and asked me to stay on as general manager. While it was a bit of a struggle in the beginning, it’s settled down and doing really well now.”

He spoke about some of the changes that came with the rebranding, saying one acutely noticeable impact was on scheduling.

Many independent shops, he said, tend to keep a lot of vehicles on-site as they work on them. He also noted how Quality Collision’s towing and other services generally served to keep the lot full.

The more corporate model puts much greater emphasis on scheduling.  

As Gearon said, “We try to repair cars, not store cars.”

One change some in the community might have been wary of is the fundamental shift from a local business to being one of many Caliber Collision shops in the country.

Indeed, Gearon expressed great appreciation for the atmosphere he’s found since moving to Columbia several years ago.

“I really like the area,” Gearon said. “I like working small town. It’s really got a great small town feel to it for being next to a big city. I patronize Main Street businesses, restaurants and that. I really like going to the hardware store because it’s an old school hardware store and everybody knows your name. Same with any of the restaurants. People embrace you over here.”

He described the trend of larger corporations stepping in and either taking over or pushing out local businesses as the “Walmart effect,” but he maintained that this simply wasn’t the case when it comes to Caliber Collision.

The company, he said, provides shops that they acquire with the freedom to continue running like they were always run, albeit with a bit more structure as Gearon described with the newfound scheduling priorities.

He spoke highly of Caliber Collision as the company assists those local auto shop owners who are either worried about keeping their store open or don’t have anyone to pass it on to when they retire.

Caliber, he said, provides these owners with resources when they reach out rather than barging into a community and taking over.

“It’s truly not that way,” Gearon said. “They’re not pursuers of shops. They’re listeners. If someone is struggling in a shop, ‘What am I gonna do with this? I really don’t wanna close it down,’ they’ll approach Caliber… Caliber is really agreeable to the environment. Most people wouldn’t think so because you think corporate – you’re in 41 states, you’ve got 1,700 shops – that they wouldn’t be so community-oriented, but they truly are.”

Gearon overall was very positive about working with Caliber Collision over the past year.

Another particular area he discussed was staffing. Including himself, a handful of folks stayed at the shop during the change in ownership, and the business currently stands at 15 employees.

Gearon said staffing has been a concern just as it’s been at many other auto repair shops as mechanics have become increasingly rare, though he added Caliber Collision’s Technician Apprentice Program has been quite helpful.

TAP, as he said, sees Caliber shops hire individuals with little experience in the field and provide them with a sort of mentorship. By the end of the program, graduated apprentices might stay at the shop they trained at or go elsewhere like another Caliber location.

As far as response from the community, Gearon seemed pleased with the amount of business the shop has been getting as of late.

“It’s nice when you get cars from Millstadt or Carbondale, and they’re driving a long way to get their car fixed here because of the reputation prior to Caliber, Caliber’s reputation, my reputation,” Gearon said. “I’m really huge on the customer-service end of it. Everything else is kind of a side thing to me. I want to make people happy with the job that we do.”

Caliber Collision is now open at 156 Southwoods Drive in Columbia. For more information, call 618-281-9420.