Lefler Collision & Glass takes customer, community service to a new level

Lefler Collision & Glass ABRN Top Shop collision repair auto body repair When customers walk into one of Lefler Collision & Glass Repair Centers four Indiana locations, they aren't simply greeted. "They're met with the same warm/excited anticipation that our first customer experienced on opening day," says Jimmy Lefler, CEO.

Lefler Collision & Glass prides itself in working hard to imbue that level of interest both in the customer during and after the repair and in the community it has been drawing together for nearly four decades.

Like many shops, Lefler Collision and Glass utilizes lean processing. However, following its customer-first philosophy, the staff believes productivity starts with asking the customer the right questions and, more importantly, listening to the customer's concerns. Customer service reps (CSRs) work with techs during the repair to ensure that all customer concerns are addressed.

If suspension/mechanical damage is involved, a technician and a CSR from Lefler's mechanical facility review the estimate for accuracy, ensuring nothing is overlooked. This eliminates any supplemental delays and expedites the process. Special requests/concerns and sublet repairs needed are written on the driver door glass and crossed off as each is addressed. All vehicles are washed, torn down and blueprinted with the estimator.

The mechanical CSR then monitors progress to ensure alignments, air conditioning recharging, etc. are performed at the best time of the process, not necessarily at the end. Lefler says this cuts days off of cycle time. Vehicles are inspected and each receives a complete detail. Being this meticulous gets vehicles fixed faster and to the customer's satisfaction, which is beneficial to the shop and customer alike, according to Lefler.

To further ensure that the customer is satisfied and all work is completed to the shop's specifications, all Lefler employees are schooled in the company's service philosophy. This is so important that Lefler himself spends time with every new employee to present a clear understanding of the shop's values, vision and mission.

To punctuate the significance of their personal contributions, employees are offered a full range of training opportunities, including training to be a certified car seat installation technician, Dale Carnegie classes for communication and personal development, Occupational Safety and Health Administration training for a safe workplace, estimating, I-CAR classes, ASE testing, factory equipment training and CPR, along with training that provides other career skills. Employees also are encouraged to build their experiences and skill sets through community involvement activities that the shop takes part in.

The business takes involvement with the community quite seriously. "It's part of who we are," says Lefler. "We don't do it to get work. We're part of the last generation whose parents were heavily involved with civic clubs and organizations."

Consider just a few of the shop's contributions to the local community. Lefler Collision and Glass has:

Awarded a grant and state designation as the only non-hospital permanent child passenger fitting station, allowing employee certified child passenger technicians to correctly install and provide new car seats for free for those who can't afford one.
Partnered with a local hospital to offer quarterly teen driving seminars touching on topics including what to do when involved in a crash and identification of safety features of your car. They arrange for a police officer to speak at a seminar on driving laws and driving under the influence. To encourage participation, attendees receive several gifts including a Lefler accident kit to keep in their cars. Customers and other community members are encouraged to bring any vehicle they are contemplating on purchasing to a Lefler location for a free pre-purchase inspection.
Hosted a ladies night (childcare provided) at its mechanical center for education on vehicle maintenance.

The shop also is designing/building a car to donate to a local hospital to be used as part of rehabilitation therapy. This will enable the therapist to assess the functional capability of the patient and allow the patient to practice and build the strength to get into a car and drive.

During a recent charity walk to raise money for cancer research, Lefler discovered that criminals broke into and robbed 12 vehicles belonging to walk participants. He immediately contacted a local radio personality and said his shop would take care of broken glass repairs free of charge for those who didn't have insurance coverage. The shop also would pick up the deductible for those with insurance or pay the total cost of repairs whose cost fell below the deductible amount.

Lefler Collision and Glass has been particularly active helping military families. Before the 163rd Army Reserve soldiers were deployed to Iraq, the shop provided some peace of mind by providing a packet containing 24-hour emergency Lefler cell numbers and certificates. The certificates entitle military spouses to receive free quarterly oil changes, repairs at employee cost, free deductibles on collision or comprehensive claims, and consultative services regardless of where the repairs were performed.

For these efforts the army awarded Lefler with their highest civilian award, the Minute Man, commemorated with a bronze statue and flag flown over the base in Iraq.

All this might seem a bit much for any shop to undertake, but when people are your business, it's all in a day's work.