What Can Your Auto Glass Shop Do For You?

It has happened to most of us. You're driving along, usually behind a truck, and a rock hits your windshield. When something happens to your car, even a minor "ding" to the windshield, it becomes abundantly clear how important glass is for visibility and a safe operational environment. All auto glass items are literally your windows to the world. So, don't let auto glass repair or replacement problems go. What may seem minor, like that small crack in your auto windshield, or if you notice side windows that don't go up and down smoothly anymore, can quickly escalate into much bigger problems that can cost a lot more.

What can your glass repair shop do for you? Let us count the ways!

Auto Glass Today

Today's shop can rightly be called a "glass center" because of the full range of services, including:

• Cracked windshield replacement
• Chipped windshield repair
• Power window repair
• Side view mirrors
• Car trim repairs
• Glass replacements to meet industry standards
• And even assistance with insurance claims

If you have been in an accident, call your local auto glass shop. Ask questions and find out how that shop can help with damage control and work with you to determine whether you should file an insurance claim. Your auto policy's comprehensive section will usually cover damage and some shops will actually file the claim for you and handle all the paperwork too.

What else can your local glass replacement center do for you?

Residential Glass - The Big Bonus

Did you know the auto glass shop can actually help you with creating phenomenal customized looks for enhancing your interior and exterior home décor? This is a real glass shop bonus that many folks never even think of. There are more and more glass related products that can add comfort and beauty to your living space:

• House window replacement
• Insulated glass replacement
• Single pane window repair
• Storm windows and screens
• Mirrors
• Furniture/Table tops

For example, when you start looking and asking questions, you will discover many glass shop items that can be special ordered and customized to reflect your own home decorating ideas. For instance, protecting your furniture with glass tops makes sense to add to and retain the beauty of fine wood. Look for a glass shop that can create the shape, size and thickness you need and can meet your requirements for beveled edges, and seamed or polished edges. When your glass desktop or tabletop is cut to size and ready, it will present a shining surface, can be cleaned with ease, and best of all, it will be protected for the long haul.

Custom mirrors can make a dramatic impact too. Having mirrors created to your own specifications by the local glass shop you thought was only good for auto repairs is the new way to go. Now, you can create mirrored walls, size little mirrors to fit small spaces, bevel the edges, and have everything custom installed to add style and glamour to your home.

The New Glass Centers

The moral of this story is that once small local auto glass repair shops have now evolved. Replacement, repair and installation of auto or home glass now requires special training and techniques to meet challenges that have become more and more complicated with time. The little shops of the past have been transformed and radically changed with technological advances. The result is they are not just shops anymore, but could be called advanced "Glass Centers" because they offer services only offered by larger companies less than 20 years ago. They are the little shops that could - and do!

5 Things to Look for When Selecting a Collision Center

So you've been in a car accident and now you need to take your car to a collision repair shop. Accidents can cause a lot of stress not only on yourself but on your pocket book as well. It is important to choose the best auto body shop for your needs. Here are the top 5 things you should look for in a collision center:

1. Ask Around - After an accident your insurance company will typically give you a list of collision shops that they work with. They work with these shops all the time and know which ones are trustworthy. From there you want to talk to friends and family and find out where they've had good and bad experiences.


2. An Established Business - Collision Centers that have been around for a while are there for a reason. If they were cheating their customers or making poor-quality repairs word would get out and quick. The business would eventually lose too many customers and go out of business.


3. Written Lifetime Guarantee - If a collision repair shop can provide you a written lifetime guarantee on all the work they do on you vehicle this is a really good sign. But make sure you see it in writing. It's hard to prove a verbal lifetime guarantee.


4. How Will They Keep You Informed? - You don't want to run into a situation where you hand over your car and you don't hear from the shop. If you are going to have to call them frequently to find out what is going on, it might not be worth the aggravation and the added stress. Look for someone who promises to call or email you. Some auto shops are now updating your car's status on their website, so you can keep track when you have the time. Exclusive Auto Collision Center in Ramsey, NJ is one such shop that posts updates about your car to a secure part of their site. They include pictures and a description so you know exactly where your car is at.


5. Qualified Technicians - Make sure that the technicians are trained and up to date on their qualifications. This will ensure that they are familiar with newer car technology and methods of repair. Some qualifications to look for are I-Car Gold and Automotive Service Excellence (ASE).

With checklist in hand you are now ready to go out and find a collision center that is right for you. So go ahead make phone calls and ask questions. If they get annoyed with you or refuse to answer your questions, time for a closer look or to move on to the next shop on the list. Hopefully, this will save you time, money and stress when it comes to collision repair.

Which Auto Collision Center Should I Use

Next to your home, your car is the second largest investment you will make. You spend a great deal of time choosing that right car. And then in minutes you suddenly find yourself with a car that's been damaged in an automobile accident. As a result the same common question continuously gets asked "Which auto collision center should I use"?

And it's a very good question. Vehicles aren't cheap, and with such a big investment you want to be certain that the repair is done right and since you have the right to choose who will fix your car it's time to start shopping around. What ever you do, don't let your insurance company try to bully you into using whom they want.

Different auto collision centers will have different rates, different practices, and different ways of filling out their auto repair estimate, which means you need to be alert as to how they are quoting their work. What looks like the cheapest quote may not be once you take everything into account. The auto collision center has to work with your insurance company to put things right and get you back on the road as soon as possible.

Here are just a few things to find out about. That way you can compare each of the auto collision centers on a level playing field.

What are the hours of operation and do they work with your schedule? Do they have a drop off service or a late pickup service?

Is there a guaranteed delivery date to have your car repairs completed?

Do they offer a loaner vehicle to drive while your vehicle is being repaired?

How long do they warranty their work for? Is there a lifetime guarantee and if so is it on paint?

Repairs? Labor?

What is the qualifications of the craftsman in the auto collision center?

How long has the company been in business?

What type of equipment do they have for repairs? Do they offer state of the art equipment?

Do they guarantee color match?

Do they utilize laser measuring?

Where are the centers located?

What's it going to cost?

Before you do anything, if it is at all possible it's a good idea to drop by, see the facilities, and get a quote. There are more than 35,000 auto body repair shops across the country, which can make it a bit confusing to choose. Use the tools at your disposal. The internet is an excellent resource, and having your list of questions answered can help you make the right choice.

The average auto repair takes two weeks so make sure you have made alternative arrangements with a rental car. You should also make sure you are happy with their commitment to customer satisfaction and remember you can always check with the Better Business Bureau to make sure the company has a good reputation.

Which auto collision center should you use? The choice is still yours but these tips should help you find the best facility for your repairs.

The Pros And Cons Of Auto Dialer Service

We are today living in a world of extreme competition where thousands of companies are chasing one set of customers over and over again almost with the same products and services. In such a scenario only those companies who are efficient, productive and quick to respond to ever changing customer needs and preferences can survive in the market. Even when it comes to other functions such as collection of dues passing of information and other such requirements speed of action is extremely important which can be ensured only with proper use of the best available modern technology.

This fact can be best illustrated when we look at the ever changing needs of the center business. The call center concept which is quite old started with a handful of center executives who were given the task of making a few calls from a manual list which was given to them. Though this did work initially things started falling apart when business volumes started increasing and the pressure of backlog started haunting many call center organizations. Customer service and customer excellence took a beating and this resulted in many customers waking out to some other competitors' products and services. As far as collection of dues were concerned lack of proper information and lethargy in contacting defaulting customers resulted in mounting overdue and unpaid installments.

To counter this situation a new technology called the auto dialer service came into being and this has changed the whole concept of call center functioning. It has radically made the centers much more efficient productive and customer oriented. From the company's point of view it has also made the life of call center employees much better which enabled them to concentrate on productive work rather than wasting time on unproductive calls. There have been instances which have shown that with the use of this technology average daily calls made by each call center employee has gone up by almost 100 to 120% this has resulted in better focus on the right target of customers and reduced wastage and slippage.

The reason why this software is so powerful and effective is because of the fact that it works on the philosophy of predictable dialing rather than random dialing. For example if a customer is unavailable or not reachable in a normal scenario the call center employee would have come to know of this only after a couple of minutes of waiting. But this problem has been overcome with the use of auto dialer service technology where the software is so designed that it waits for a few seconds and then automatically moves to the next number. Whenever it encounters a live customer or in other words a human face on the other side it automatically routes the call to a free call center executive.

4 Most Important Points to Consider While Finding a New Auto Repair Shop

Whoever owns a car has always a trusted auto repair shop in his/her locality. However, when someone moves to a new city, he needs to find everything from scratch. Just like you need to find a new house, a new telephone connection, and a new doctor, you should also find a trusted auto services center that can help you in maintaining your vehicle. Looking for an auto shop near your new house right in the beginning will give you ample time to search and find out the best and will make it easier for you to deal with car problems in emergency situations. Given below are few tips that will make it easier for you to find a good and trusted automobile shop:

Visit Different Shops and Check their Equipment
You can make an online search and quickly find out the list of these shops located in your vicinity. You can then shortlist a few and visit them. Make sure that the auto technicians are using advanced equipment needed to diagnose problems with modern day vehicles. If you find it difficult to determine the quality of equipment they are using, feel free to ask. Even though you are not much knowledgeable about different types of vehicle equipment, you can still get an idea.

Inquire About their Rates and Services
While you are visiting the shop, look around to check if they are clean and organized. You can inquire about their hourly rates, prices of replacement parts, quality of repairs made, fair shop rates, etc. You can also ask customers present there about their experiences in using the services of the auto shop. Don't forget to ask the customers about their consistent quality service and customer care department

Check their Certifications
Certifications are given to auto technicians only after they pass a rigorous review process. Therefore, a certified auto repair shop is always better than non-certified ones. Check if the shop has any certifications from car manufacturers.

Check for Complaints with BBB
You can check with the local Better Business Bureau to ensure that no complaints are filed against the repair shop. Whether the repair shops are part of BBB or not, they can still have complaints about the shop and their services.

It is important to take care of the above mentioned points and search for the right auto center in the new city. Even though it may take time, but a little patience and some effort will help you find the right auto repair shop much before you need it.