Date: 22 September 2004
He decided to focus his efforts solely on repairing damaged auto glass whether it has been chipped by a rock, has a nonimpact stress crack or is shattered.
For DiPisa, much of the enjoyment in his job is that he can come to a home or office to fix the window on the spot.
"I enjoy being on the road and meeting people. I couldn't be in an office all day," DiPisa said.
Q: How long have you been in business?
A: It's been about 212 years, but I've been doing this over 15 years.
Q: What was your previous employment?
A: I was working for another company in Westport called Ace Auto Glass. That was the second job in my entire life. I was working as a mechanic before that.
Q: What makes you unique?
A: My workmanship and that I'm primarily mobile. I do on-the-spot repair at your home or office. I also warranty my work for life. If it goes, I'll repair or replace it.
Q: So you work on all types of vehicles?
A: Yes, I even work on the exotic cars. I do a lot for the Audi, Mercedes and Porsche dealers down in White Plains, N.Y. I also do work for auto body shops.
Q: Besides repairing windshields, what else do you do?
A: I repair the side windows, back windows and I also fix power windows. With power windows, there could be motor or regulator problems. Sometimes the switches go bad, so that's also a part of the diagnosis.
Q: Are there many other private auto glass repair places around?
A: There are, but there's not many in the whole area. There's only three or four.
Q: Do you have any employees?
A: No, it's just me, but I'm looking to maybe get some help.
Q: How many cars can you work on in a given day, and what's your turnaround time for a repair?
A: I can do about eight cars a day. Seventy-five percent of the time, I can do same-day service depending on how busy I am. If I can't get to it, I would say that I can usually get to it the next day.
Q: What is your work area?
I go from White Plains, N.Y., through Milford.
Q: How are you promoting your business?
A: I do advertising in the Yellow Pages, but a lot of my business comes through word-of-mouth.
Q: Do you think your prices are competitive?
A: I'm very competitive, but I don't work for free.
Q: What are your future plans for the business?
A: The prices are supposed to change in couple of months, so it's a weird time for this business. This is the only business that I know of that insurance companies really dictate what you make.
So I'll see what happens, but I'll probably add one employee to go on the road.
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