PAPILLION, Neb. (KMTV) — When the weather's like this, it usually has local car repair shops seeing green—but not this year.
The owner of a metro collision center tells anchor Serese Cole that COVID-19 has changed everything.
Last week's storm dumped more than a foot of snow on metro roads. One brand new Subaru was of the casualties.
"We're not sure if it's repairable just yet," said Eric Dawson, owner of Shadow Lake Collision Center in Papillion.
Dawson is used to seeing this kind of damage. He's been in the automotive repair business most of his life.
“My father owned a truck repair facility over in Des Moines and so I grew up around it. I spent my summer sanding semis, repairing semis,” said Dawson.
There's just one goal for all the vehicles brought here.
“We want them repaired correctly. We don't want them back on the road and take the chance of someone else getting in an accident and getting hurt,” said Dawson.
Attention to detail is critical.
“When we're doing color matches on three-stage pearls it takes time—it may take three or four hours,” said Dawson.
He said what makes this repair shop so unique is the team. They've been with him for years and all have special skills.
“We have three technicians that do disassembly, reassembly. One technician that all he does is cosmetic repairs and then we have one technician whose focus is structural repairs,” said Dawson.
Winter is usually their busiest time of the year—but this year is different due to the pandemic.
“It's really dramatic to my business because truly that's the profit,” said Dawson.
While this season may be slower, the customer service here remains the same.
“If it's a customer repair item, maybe that's just a light scratch, maybe we polish it for free then put them back on the road. If we can help a customer out of a minor incident and get them back of the road—when they do have that major collision—they’re going to think of us,” said Dawson.
Shadow Lake Collision Center focuses primarily on late model collision repair and all high touch areas are sanitized before you get your car back.
The shop is located in Papillion at 1215 Applewood Drive.
For a look at all the services they provide, visit their website.
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