Although this is not strictly an insurance-related post, I feel compelled to relate an example of "delighting your customer." Recently, my eldest was involved in a relatively minor (but no less traumatic) "fender bender." She drives a 16 year old car, handed down from her (late) grandmother, and she rear-ended another vehicle. Her car got the worst of that exchange, with a busted headlight, buckled hood and a slightly bent cross-bar under said hood.
No one was injured (the most important thing), and her car was driveable, but we felt it was unsafe and started looking around for someone to repair it. Since it is such an old car, we don't carry collision insurance on it, so the repairs would have to be done on "our dime." Needless to say, we were not looking forward to the experience (or the bill).
My good friend Bill Montgomery recommended Chuck's Body Shop in nearby Fairborn, Ohio (about a 20 minute drive away). I called Chuck's, and explained our dilemna to Rick (who seems to run the place). He assured me that this was not going to be a budget-busting repair, and we took the car in. Rick eyeballed it, came up with a rough estimate, and we then went inside, where he carefully looked up all the parts he'd need, ran the numbers, and (this was the cool part) came up with a final tally that was within a few dollars of his top-of-the-head guesstimate.
We've just returned from picking it up, the repairs having been done when Rick had promised, at the price we had agreed upon. No surprises.
Well, there were one or two:
After replacing the hood, he noticed that its shiny newness would look rather strange next to the rest of the front-end's 16 year old patina, so he buffed out the fenders and doors to soften the transition. And when he was washing the car for final delivery, he noticed a decent-sized rust spot on the roof, which he sanded out and touched up.
Needless to say, we were both thrilled at the condition of the car, and the obvious pride that Rick and company (justifiably) take in their work. If you're in the Dayton area and need body work for your vehicle, I can unequivocally and enthusiastically recommend Chuck's.
No one was injured (the most important thing), and her car was driveable, but we felt it was unsafe and started looking around for someone to repair it. Since it is such an old car, we don't carry collision insurance on it, so the repairs would have to be done on "our dime." Needless to say, we were not looking forward to the experience (or the bill).
My good friend Bill Montgomery recommended Chuck's Body Shop in nearby Fairborn, Ohio (about a 20 minute drive away). I called Chuck's, and explained our dilemna to Rick (who seems to run the place). He assured me that this was not going to be a budget-busting repair, and we took the car in. Rick eyeballed it, came up with a rough estimate, and we then went inside, where he carefully looked up all the parts he'd need, ran the numbers, and (this was the cool part) came up with a final tally that was within a few dollars of his top-of-the-head guesstimate.
We've just returned from picking it up, the repairs having been done when Rick had promised, at the price we had agreed upon. No surprises.
Well, there were one or two:
After replacing the hood, he noticed that its shiny newness would look rather strange next to the rest of the front-end's 16 year old patina, so he buffed out the fenders and doors to soften the transition. And when he was washing the car for final delivery, he noticed a decent-sized rust spot on the roof, which he sanded out and touched up.
Needless to say, we were both thrilled at the condition of the car, and the obvious pride that Rick and company (justifiably) take in their work. If you're in the Dayton area and need body work for your vehicle, I can unequivocally and enthusiastically recommend Chuck's.
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