How One Automotive COO Is Tackling Hail Damage Head-On

An Interview with TJ Joyce, COO of Carlock Automotive

When TJ Joyce joined Carlock Automotive as Chief Operating Officer earlier this year, he brought more than operational expertise — he brought deep, firsthand experience navigating the increasing risks dealerships face from extreme weather, especially hailstorms.

TJ’s experience spans multiple leadership roles in fixed operations, service, and strategy across dealership groups in hail-prone states like Colorado. A graduate of the NADA Academy (class N329), as  Carlock Automotive’s COO TJ now leads multi-state operations across Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. He’s focused on driving efficiency, improving customer experience, and building long-term resilience into dealership operations.

In a recent interview with Hail No, TJ shared his perspective on what hail really costs dealerships — and how leaders can plan for protection, not just the impacts after storms.

From Colorado’s Stormy Streets to Nashville’s Sunshine

Relocating from Colorado to Tennessee offered an immediate break in both weather volatility and insurance costs. “My insurance is literally 60% less here than it was back in Colorado,” TJ said. “Because of hail and fire.”

He’s seen how hail can devastate operations — damaging inventory, spiking premiums, and triggering long delays that ripple through every department.

The True Cost of Hail: Beyond Dents

TJ emphasized that hailstorms don’t just create cosmetic issues — they lead to lost revenue, slowed sales, and even strained vendor relationships.

“A single storm can wipe out millions of dollars in inventory, disrupt your ability to sell, slow down repair timelines, and spike your insurance premiums,” he said, while also noting dealers often must cover vehicle repairs out of pocket when repairing hail damage that is under a high deductible, and this could equate to 4 or 5 months of dealership net income for just a medium sized storm.

Customer Confidence Takes a Hit Too

It’s not just the dealership’s bottom line that suffers — customer relationships often take a direct hit.

• Service customers are understandably upset when their vehicles are damaged while in for routine work. “It’s a tough conversation when someone drops off a car for an oil change and picks it up with a dented roof,” TJ said.
• Buyers frequently reject repaired hail-damaged cars, even if the work is pristine. “Once the vehicle’s been through a storm, the value perception changes,” he explained and customers don’t want to pay new car prices for a hail damaged vehicle.
• The stakes are even higher with custom orders or special models. “If someone’s been waiting months for a specific trim or color, and it arrives with hail damage, they’ll often walk away,” TJ added. “That lost sale is hard to recover.”

Operational Overhaul: From Staff to Sales

A hailstorm doesn’t just dent vehicles — it derails operations. “You’re talking about pulling dozens, sometimes hundreds, of vehicles off the lot,” TJ explained. “Then figuring out how to staff up for bodywork, coordinate with adjusters, and still try to hit your monthly sales goals.”

Even when insurance covers the damage, the delays, disruptions, and friction can’t always be recovered. TJ noted that typically it takes a few weeks (at best) to just get insurance claims in and damage assessed before the repair process even starts and that most businesses are at a standstill during this time.

Staff-Wide Disruption

When hail hits, the dealership workforce is thrown into an entirely new mode of operation.

• Lot techs become full-time damage control, moving and staging hundreds of cars for inspection and repair.
• Service teams juggle customer vehicles, loaners, and a complex logistics chain for parts and scheduling.
• Salespeople must deliver tough news to clients, manage expectations, and sometimes try to salvage deals.
• Managers are suddenly in crisis mode — handling insurance claims, repair timelines, operational flow, and team morale all at once.

“It’s not a scenario most people train for,” TJ said. “It’s a complete shift in daily responsibilities overnight.” He also noted it’s especially challenging for dealers without existing vendor relationships or experience with hail damage.

Rethinking Risk: Prevention vs. Reaction

At Carlock Automotive, TJ is steering a culture shift: from reactive cleanup to proactive protection.

“We’re not just asking, ‘How do we fix hail damage?’” he said. “We’re asking, ‘How do we prevent it altogether?’”

That forward-thinking approach includes hail protection structures, smarter lot planning, and data-backed risk analysis for severe weather exposure.

Investing in Resilience: A Business Imperative

“As weather patterns shift and become more extreme, it’s not optional anymore — it’s business-critical,” TJ emphasized. Dealerships that fail to plan for hail are rolling the dice on millions in inventory and years of hard-won customer trust.

‍

Key Takeaways for Dealerships

‍

Hailstorms might be unpredictable, but your response doesn’t have to be. With leaders like TJ Joyce bringing structure, foresight, and operational discipline to the table, dealerships can weather more than just a storm — they can effectively protect their business from hail damage to have peace of mind.