Gene Porter - Clovis, New Mexico

You can add residential and commercial glass service to your auto glass business. Gene Porter of Clovis, N.M., did. Gene started his auto glass business in 1992 and 10 years later it had peaked. He joined Glass Doctor and has experienced steady growth since.

Gene, you had some good success with the auto glass business. Why did you join Glass Doctor and get into flat glass?
It was totally a God thing, really an answer to prayer. My business was okay, but I was afraid. It was stagnant and I didn’t know what to do about it. You’re afraid of what you don’t know. I was scared to expand into flat glass because I didn’t know the first thing about it. I didn’t know what to expect or if I could do it right.

What did you learn from Glass Doctor?
From a business standpoint, I didn’t know what a system was. Having a system to help me organize the business was great. Then there was the buying power and having negotiated prices with vendors. Having people behind the scenes working for me to help my business and to make me a better business person was so important. Even if I had stayed only in auto glass, those two things alone would have helped.

So why get into flat glass if you can be successful at auto glass?
It’s not whether it’s auto or flat, it’s about service and jobs. I thank God for having flat glass as part of my business because if I have a slow week in auto glass, the flat glass gets busy. Sometimes we have slow weeks in flat glass, and the auto glass is busy. Now we have multiple revenue streams. You’ve got to have that balance. The service is the same, and with Glass Doctor, my service improved and I have more opportunities for repeat business.

How does Glass Doctor service set your business apart?
We use the Glass Doctor service system because the auto glass industry is so mis-aligned. Low-ball pricing is making an unrealistic picture for customers about what good glass service should be. It’s not just about how well you technically do the job, it’s also about how well you help people. Bad service and bad pricing affects our ability to develop skilled technicians and give them lifelong careers. Glass service technicians work hard, they are very skilled, and they deserve to be paid well. We focus on quality service and products, and we price them accordingly.

How does flat glass play into that?
Flat glass doesn’t have the same pricing challenges. Different challenges for sure, but the margins are different. Glass Doctor makes it simple to get into flat glass with pricing guidance, training support and entry-level products. Plus I’m cross-training my technicians to do both flat glass and auto glass. Our team provides such good service that we’re expanding our business even in a tough economy. When our business grows, everyone benefits.

What do you see for the future of the glass services industry?

In today’s auto glass market, as much as it has deteriorated, you have to be sharper and more rounded in the industry. Glass Doctor has given me everything I needed to understand business and marketing and how we fit in the industry. We’ve become highly efficient and that helped us become profitable. There’s not one thing that makes Glass Doctor special, it’s a combination of things. I would not have gotten to where I am now in just five years if I would have had 20 years on my own.

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