For Heather Glaser, sales and marketing and human resources manager for Glaser’s Collision Centers, a three-location MSO in Kentucky, taking on the role of marketing, networking and payroll has been all knack of learning what customers want and expect and learning to offer it to them.
Glaser, who has worked at the three locations for roughly 15 years, has learned that it is important to keep the Glaser name in good graces in the community, she says.
“I’m extremely passionate about customer service,” Glaser says. “That is the No. 1 for me.”
And, she does make it her No. 1 goal, whether it is by offering her insurance agents a yearly holiday ham (afterall, the shop is located in Kentucky, she says) or by holding an annual “Ladies Night” to teach women in the community about car maintenance, Glaser teaches her employees how to make every customer’s concern a No. 1 priority.
“We live in such a fast-paced world and with technology, everyone is on the go,” she says. “No one wants to come to see us, so we have to stand out from the crowd.”
For ten years Glaser worked as a customer service representative at the Louisville, Kentucky location, but now has transitioned into a more off-site and flexible day-to-day customer service role.
As told to Melissa Steinken
I have a laptop and it travels with me. I don’t have a permanent desk to come and use when I come into the office in the morning. I typically arrive around 8:30 a.m. or 9 a.m. and then I find an empty seat and desk wherever I can. There are days that I do miss my time as a customer service representative and my routine 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. day, but now I’m starting to learn more from my mother-in-law, Susan Glaser, who co-owns and founded the shop, so that one day I can completely take over the business’ accounts, sales and marketing.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are days I focus on payroll. I process checks and do any reports that my mother-in-law needs. But, when I’m not working on payroll, I travel in town to visit insurance agents and network with other businesses in the community.
It’s especially nice that I get this freedom to market to the community because we hired someone to come in and help specifically with accounts payable and accounts receivables. I function on the insurance side of the business and dollar amounts but this takes a chunk off my plate.
Motherhood is the most important part of the day for me. I usually end my day at about 4:30 p.m. in time to pick up my three children from the sitter. We’ve recently hired a new front office person who has taken on a couple of the nighttime networking events for me so I am able to spend time with my kids. Chamber of commerce meetings are usually at night.
I do participate in networking groups in the town. For example, I’m part of the Women in Networking, which is probably one of the biggest groups of which I’m a part. Women from various businesses will meet with one another. Our main objective is to help send business to each other’s businesses. Sometimes, I’ll even schedule a breakfast meeting or lunch meeting to get to know someone more closely. The whole point of the group is to help direct business to people you like.
I was inspired to help others in business by seeing the passion my own father had when he worked in his machine shop. He passed away in 2001 and since then I’ve wanted to become better at making sure everyone is treated with respect. A business name means something and at the end of the day you never want to hear anything bad about your business.
I don’t know what I would do without the schedule on my phone. Everything for my week is scheduled in my phone. If I don’t have my phone, then I am absolutely lost.
I spend roughly half an hour planning on Sunday to plan out my weekly schedule. I write down what I need to accomplish for the week and add any seasonal goals to the mix. Each season brings a new goal.
As part of my marketing efforts for the shop, we raise money for the military each year. We first pick a military troop to whom to send supplies. Then, the shops collect supplies that the troop might need or want. Once everything is collected, Glaser’s Collision Centers pays to send over the items.
This year, we are sending items to a troop stationed in Afghanistan.
We also pick a charity to raise money for during the annual Ladies Night event. The event typically takes place in October. This year, we had roughly 160 women attend and raised $2,100 for the Active Heroes mission.
