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Why Choose Parr

To most people all body shops appear to be the same and deliver the same quality of work. One place is as good as another. I have been asked, on numerous occasions, "Why should I get my car fixed at Parr Auto Body?" Someone even asked me to answer that question in one sentence.

I wish I could.

I can say "We've got great people working with us!" Although it is true, I am sure other shops have great people as well.

I can tell you about all the high tech equipment we've got. But I am sure other shops have similar equipment.

To properly answer that question I need to tell you a little about Parr's history. You see, a business is like a community, or neighborhood or even a person - they all have personalities based on how they developed.

Parr Auto Body was founded back in 1952 by a fellow named Ken Scissons. Ken was a man that exhibited great faith not only in his Creator but in his fellow man. An example of that is a gentleman that was in to visit me shortly after I purchased the business in the fall of 2000. This man told me a story about Ken Scissons that made me proud to be a part of his legacy. The year was 1956 and my visitor was just a young man pumping gas at a service station on 8th Street. Ken came in to get his car re-fueled and noticed that the young man did not seem to be very happy. Ken asked "What's bugging you?" To which the young man replied that he had just been recently married and he was ashamed that he could not afford to take his new bride on a honeymoon. When Ken took his wallet out to pay for the gas he pulled out a $100.00 bill, gave it to the young man and said "you take your bride on a nice honeymoon and pay me back whenever you can".

Faith in people and a desire to make a difference was the foundation Parr was built on. This attitude was the standard that has been ingrained in this business from day one. I first worked at Parr in 1986 (the business was then owned by Ken's niece and her husband) and this attitude was prevalent even then.

In 1988 I left my position at Parr Auto Body and was gone for 12 years. Although I enjoyed my work at other shops I always considered Parr Auto Body "my girl". When I had the opportunity to purchase Parr Auto Body in the year 2000 I can tell you that I gave up a great job to go into the uncertain realm of business ownership. I was thrilled to continue the legacy that Mr. Scissons had started.

In the last decade we have been fortunate enough to attract key people like Chelsea Stebner and Don Pogoda. These two individuals have become cornerstones that have made Parr the place it is today. It is their willingness to help build a world class business based on people and systems that separate us from other shops.

Traditionally shops employ 'flat rate' or 'piece work' repair technicians. These individuals are highly skilled and get paid for what they produce. They tend to be 'lone rangers' - every man for himself. It works good but does not lend itself to teamwork and developing the newer entry level employees.

Five years ago we started on a journey to create a new type of collision shop – one where all the individuals understand that they are all stakeholders in the business and where we all work together to provide a higher quality job in a timely fashion. We work as a team, helping each other to be the best we can be. It is not easy, we had to be patient and work to develop our young people but it is so worth it to see the 4 young journeymen that we have developed and the 3 that are following in their footsteps. Don has been a fantastic coach and mentor in the back while Chelsea has developed an incredible team in the front office. Our best days are yet to come.

Today we are a World Class Collision Repair Facility that employs 14 fine young people and they all have Ken Scisson's attitude. We have each other’s back and we are committed to be the finest collision shop in the province.

Check us out, I know you will be impressed.