Membership
Report
(Click here
to go to the Membership page)
Categories to consider this week:
The membership of Brad Evans, iSystems, has been
terminated.
Social Report
(Click here to go to the Social Event page)
The Usery Park hike was great. The weather
was perfect. Members that showed up had a wonderful time.
Speaker Coordinator Report
(Click here to go to the Speaker Schedule)
- 04/16/04 Open Discussion
- 04/23/04 Ralph Cunningham
- 04/30/04 Gus Dekavallas
- 05/07/04
- 05/14/04 Panel Discussion
Dave Lathrop is taking suggestions for
questions for the open discussion next Friday.
Treasurer Report
We have several members that owe dues for the
current quarter. Please get them paid.
08-43, 37-25, 17-45, 23-32, 48-41, 12-15, 12-13,
28-42, 24-30, 21-33, 21-13 (x3), 21-42, 34-19, 38-20, 22-32,
22-17, 03-13, 03-30, 04-45, 40-19, 02-13, 25-35, 25-11, 25-13
(x2), 19-4.
Phil Passante
AGE Auto Glass Excellence
Phil Passante felt very intimidated about
speaking in front of our group today. He is impressed with
all the experience in the room and wonders what he can add.
After picturing Gus Dekavallas in his under, he calmed down and
began...
Phil is from Wisconsin. He has been in
Arizona for 18 years. Despite his gray hairs, he is fairly
young. He enjoyed growing up in the mid west. The
people there had high values.
At 17, Phil got his first job selling suits.
He was young, starting college, and making $36000. He was
also living at home so he had a lot of money in his pockets.
He was on top of the world. Since he was already so
successful, he didn't see a reason to finish college.
Instead, he packed up his U-Haul and moved to Arizona were he
could enjoy great weather on his days off.
Phil arrived in Arizona ready to strike it rich.
According to his map, Camelback Road looked like a major street
so he pulled off there. He drove a few blocks and came to
an apartment building offering the first and last month's rent
free. He found his new home! In middle America you
left your doors unlocked and your keys in the car. Things
were different here as Phil soon discovered. One neighbor
was a pimp and the other, a topless dancer. Phil decided
this wasn't the place for him. He moved to the East
Valley.
Phil landed a job selling advertising for the
Penny Saver. The best thing that came out of this job was
his wife of 12 years. They now have two kids, ages 8 and
6...the loves of his life.
His wife had an uncle that owned a large auto
repair shop in the Valley. He gave Phil a chance to run a glass
division for the company. They funded his learning and
Phil built up the department in 7 years. He managed
things, handled sales and helped install. After 7 years of
this he was still only making $28,000 a year. It was
humbling. But on the flip side, he learned a new career on
someone else's dime.
Phil decided to leave and seek a higher pay
scale. He got a job with an organization that promised he
wouldn't have to install. That didn't last long and soon
he was back out in the field helping install. He spent 5
years with this company. But he noticed that as the owner
became more detached from the business, the more of a bean
counter he became and he lost touch with what it took to earn a
customer. He and Phil had disagreements about doing what
was right for the customer. When Phil reached into his own
pocket to do the right thing, it made him realize that it was
time to move on.
In Phil's mind, there was no excuse for an
unsatisfied customer. They may not always be right but,
from their "perspective", they are. Phil had integrity and
he used this to start his own business. Phil has been in
this industry for 15 years. Three of those years have been
as owner of his own company. His right hand man Steve also
has 15 years of experience. And none of his techs have
less than 8 years experience. They deal with sharp tools
on a regular basis so they need to know how to handle them and
that comes from experience. Phil will hire them with this
skill and teach them the rest. The most important thing he
tries to teach them is integrity. It is what his people do
when no one is looking that matters. He wants to make sure
they always do the right thing. He wants the best for his
customers.
Phil only uses the best quality materials.
His customer's lives depend on it. Did you know that 30%
of the roof crush zone is impacted by the windshield. If
the glass is not properly installed, there is nothing to stop
you from being ejected. We live in a dry area without a
lot of rusting. If someone does a bad job, it can go
unnoticed for a long time. Phil is very particular about
doing a quality job for his customers. There are no
excuses for a poor quality job. Especially when lives
depend on it. Phil guarantees that the methods and
applications he uses will get you back on the road safely.
It appears that Phil has quite a bit to bring to
this group. The most important being a level of integrity
that we don't see enough of anymore.
Now lets all try to get that image of Gus in
his underwear out of our minds.
What you
should know
about the company that replaces
your glass.
Optimum Standards
-
Use only Original Equipment
Manufactured glass.
-
Factory recommended
installations. No short cuts.
-
Meets Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards.
-
Lifetime Warranty against
defects and leaks.
-
Licensed, Bonded & minimum $2
Million liability.
-
GUARANTEED customer
satisfaction.
-
Free Mobile Service covering
the entire valley.
-
Full service repair and
replacement.
-
Certified professional
technicians.
-
Clear record with Better
Business Bureau.
-
Insurance approved pricing.
-
Approved Network affiliations
for billing.
-
Established central location.
-
Experienced ownership that
cares.
You can expect the finest and
safest installations available in the
glass industry with Auto
Glass Excellence, Inc.
Remember... "With A.G.E.
comes experience."