Business delivers 'on-the-spot' repair service for auto glass

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 21Ž2 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.