A business that treats their customers like family
Delta native, Chris Shockley, is the owner of Delta Drilling of Tunica, Inc. located at 1645 Old Highway 61 South in Tunica. Born in Helena, Arkansas, he lived there until his family moved to Tunica in 1984
“My family has been in the Delta for as far back as I can trace, which is a little longer than 100 years,” says Shockley.
According to Shockley, he comes from a long line of farmers who all farmed on the Arkansas side of the Delta. “The Delta is special to me,” says Shockley. “When I left home and joined the Air Force, all I ever wanted to do was come back home and farm.”
After he was honorably discharged in 1997, Shockley did return home and began working on his family’s farm for a few years before moving to Memphis where he worked for a delivery service. In 2004, around the time he had worked his way up to a management role, he met his now-wife, Ellen.
Before ever meeting Ellen, Shockley says he had known her father, Alan Pyle, through the well work he had done for his father. And, when he met his Ellen’s mother, she pointed out he would be good at helping with the wells.
“The first time I was on the actual drilling rig helping him drill, I got bit by the bug,” says Shockley. “It fascinated me. It was one of the most interesting things I had ever seen.”
Having grown up on a farm, Shockley always wanted to go into the agricultural field in some way.
“If I couldn’t farm, I wanted to do something along the lines of farming,” says Shockley. “And, I’ve always wanted to own my own business. I was drawn to this. Plus, I wanted to live and work in a small town in the Delta.”
Shockley says he began apprenticing under his father-in-law in the spring of 2007.
“In the state of Mississippi to become a licensed well driller, you have to be an apprentice for three years under a licensed driller before you can take the test to become a driller,” says Shockley.
In the spring of 2010, Shockley became a licensed driller and then bought his father-in-law’s business.
“He started this business in 1997, with Pete Sappington, who was the owner of Delta Well and Irrigation at the time,” says Shockley. “Then Alan got his driller’s license, and he bought out his partner.”
Although he considered changing the name, he and his wife decided it would be better to keep the original because it was well-known and respected.
Since taking over, Shockley says the work process has stayed the same, but he has upgraded his equipment and approach along the way to make it safer and more efficient.
“One thing that has changed, and made business a little more challenging, has been the increase in government regulations,” says Shockley. “I understand we’ve got to have laws and regulations to keep us all in check, but that’s made business a bit more challenging.”
In addition, Shockley says the pandemic has also directly influenced his business. “With the changes in the economy, prices of goods have gone way up,” says Shockley. “It takes a lot more money to operate now, and it’s harder to find and keep employees.”
With it being a small business, Ellen runs the administrative and financial aspects of the business, while also raising their children.
“It’s very much a family business,” says Shockley. “She manages to keep it straight, keeps us all fed, and maintains the household. If something were to happen to her tomorrow, I’d have to hire five people to fill her shoes and they still couldn’t do it.”
Shockley, on top of the physical work, does his own scheduling and handles the paperwork. He counts himself lucky to have “good employees,” one of which worked for his father-in-law.
“They’re good people, and I’ve been blessed to have good men stay with me through the years,” says Shockley. “This is a very strenuous, physically demanding, and dangerous job that we do, and it’s hot and dirty. I’m always trying to think of ways to do things differently to help make life easier for myself and my employees.”
When he first started out, Shockley says he had ambitions of growing the business into a huge company. But after a health scare in 2012, things were “put into perspective.”
“As far as my business model, I run my business like I live my life, and two of the things that come to mind are integrity and quality,” says Shockley. “The way I operate and run this business is, I tell people the truth, and do exactly what I say I am going to do.”
According to Shockley, there is no room for “sugarcoating” or “beating around the bush” in his business.
“I pride myself in telling people the truth and giving my honest opinion,” says Shockley. “Even if that doesn’t make the sale or doesn’t get me the job, I’m still going to tell a person the truth instead of what they want to hear.”
Like farming, well drilling can be affected by the weather, especially extreme temperatures.
“The type of drilling we do is called flooded reverse circulation,” says Shockley. “We dig a pool in the ground and fill that pool with water. It may hold 2,000 or 3,000 gallons of water, and it’s connected to the borehole as we’re drilling. That water keeps our hole open as we’re drilling, and allows us to get the cuttings out of the ground as the drill bit cuts through the earth.”
While Shockley primarily works with farmers, he wants people to know he is also willing to help anyone with any water issues they have.
“I’ve worked around water all my life,” says Shockley. “I’m pretty good at what I do and at dealing with issues water can bring.”
During the harsher months, Shockley takes on other types of projects such as drilling de-watering wells on construction sites. In addition to drilling wells, Delta Drilling offers sales and service to all types of pumps, underground pipe installation and repair, electrical service on wells, fabrication of well and pump components steel and culvert sales and a large inventory of irrigation fittings.
“I take pride in helping folks,” says Shockley. “You never know what somebody might need. I tell people all the time, if you need me, call me. It’s not always about money and doing business. It’s about being a neighbor and being a friend to someone in need.”
Because he doesn’t want to go too far away from his family or his local customers, Shockley limits his jobs to Tunica as well as DeSoto, Tate, Quitman, Panola, Coahoma, and Tallahatchie counties.
Because of how bad the past few years have been for farmers, Shockley says his main goal is to endure and keep his family happy and healthy. But in the future, Shockley hopes to create a website, build a new shop with a clear storefront, and find an apprentice who can help him continue to build the business to meet its potential.
“I’m looking for the right individual,” says Shockley. “I’m not going to be here forever. I’d love to be able to train someone, and start to step back as I get older. It can be a very lucrative business, if you do it right.”
Now, at age fifty-one, Shockley has two young daughters and he believes God planned it that way for a reason. “I have a five-year-old and an eleven-month-old, and I like to be able to spend time with them, too,” says Shockley.
With no set hours, Shockley begins working at 7:00 a.m. each morning and works until he is finished each evening.
“My employees don’t work on Sundays, but I will if a customer needs me and there’s something that I can do myself,” says Shockley. “For instance, I’ve had customers help me do whatever it takes to get a well running so they can irrigate. I’m always on call.”
If anyone is interested in learning more about Shockley’s offerings, he says they are welcome to give him a call.