Sometimes you just know whom to call in an emergency. Other times you get lucky.
When it comes to broken glass, Stockton Auto Glass is ready for your call either way. Owner Clint Harless wouldn't want it any different.
Take last Sunday morning in downtown Stockton. Someone tried to break into the United Way office, shattering a floor-to-ceiling window pane.
Andy Prokop, president and chief executive officer, knew whom to call: Harless, off work and out of town.
"They are absolutely good at what they do. They were here within a half-hour," Prokop said. "They're good people doing good work."
Late last summer, Fresno physician Eric Lin stumbled onto Stockton Auto Glass.
Traveling with his family to Sacramento and spending the night in Stockton, Lin experienced the worst and best of the city. Someone broke the rear window of his Lexus, forcing him to scramble on a Saturday evening for a way to continue the trip. Car rental companies were closed.
An insurance claims representative suggested Harless, who loaned Lin his personal car for two days when the window couldn't be fixed right away.
The Fresno man wrote a letter to The Record a few days later. It said, in part:
"We were touched by his generosity. His selfless and altruistic acts are unheard of. When the car was repaired, I took Amtrak from Fresno to Stockton, and Clint already had arranged for his employee to pick me up at the train station. What he did was above and beyond."
Harless, 62, has a simple explanation for operating that way.
"My mentors and those I've associated with have made it clear that you don't take shortcuts," Harless said. "If you're going to do something, do it right. I come from a very customer-service-oriented background. It's all about your relationships with your customers."
Harless has owned and operated Stockton Auto Glass since 2006.
Under Harless, it has flourished. There's now a second Stockton location on Hammer Lane and an outlet in Lodi. Harless also owns Quick's Glass Service in Marysville and Sacramento Autoglass and Mirror.
What drives the success?
"When a potential customer calls us, they don't ask much more than, 'How much?' We kind of spin that around," Harless said. "We tell them that's not what they want to know. What they want is the best service, the best quality and the best response time."
Harless works hard at building connections with local insurance agents, who make critical referrals such as the one involving Lin.
"They need to understand that their customers are paramount to them as well," Harless said. "We meet with the insurance companies. I give motivational talks, taking our model for doing business to them."
He has installed a commitment to excellence into his staff. Many employees have been with Stockton Auto Glass for 20 or 30 years. Some are experts, and Harless preaches a high-quality approach to each windshield and window repair.
Harless is proud that the company has earned Best of San Joaquin honors four years in a row.
The company does more than repair automobile glass. It also handles residential and commercial jobs. With each, the idea is to sustain a solid reputation and obtain another word-of-mouth endorsement.
Harless, raised in Marin County, received a political science degree from California State University, Chico. He started his career working in the loan department at San Francisco Federal Savings and Loan.
His first marriage brought him to Stockton and to the auto glass business.
Harless today is deeply immersed in the community, a Delta Rotary member for 28 years, a board member with the Child Abuse Prevention Council and on the board of the Better Business Bureau.
He's also a member of the safety standards committee for the national Auto Glass Safety Council.
He and his wife, Charlynn, who is self employed and a 2001 Athena Award winner, live in Stockton. They have three grown children from previous marriages.
Stockton Auto Glass easily has the largest inventory in San Joaquin County and draws customers from Manteca and Tracy.
It also has a fan in Fresno.
Lin ended his letter admitting the positive experience with Harless had changed "the way we view the society and our interactions with others."
