Industry Profile – Mike Giarrizzo Sr.

Business has a BRAND to it, what did you do to create, instill and engage your entire staff into the delivery of the promise ?
M.G: I engineered into the business first from Pur-pose. My reason is to provide unequaled customer service and then loyalty to that service, this is in our DNA. To do this I must have the right people. The environment and the culture, I create and demand, shape the purpose, the mission to achieve it and ultimately our Brand.
Through sincere transparency I afford clarity to my expectations. In a staff interview I intentionally investigate character, belief systems and passions. To a high degree skill can be taught and sharpened through education and training. Afterward I have new staff to our home for a dinner and along with their spouse we discuss the journey we are about to take on to assure an understanding of expecta-tions. We share all the intricacies of employment so that all are on board – or not.
With our customers the same approach with trans-parency is taken. We work to satisfy the need. Today they came to us because that is what we do. We manage the understanding the customer has for what to expect through the process. There is enjoyment in affording this to the customer in the form personal satisfaction for the staff, loyalty of the customer to the integrity of our word and ulti-mately retention of both the staff and customer for life. For me that is success of Purpose, Mission and Brand

I have read your reviews and those of your past ventures and find them out of the ordinary. How do you see them ?
M.G: The reviews we receive are of sincere appreci-ation. Bill, you advised me there are words like love and blessed used in many of them. We treat each customer as they are the only one to have our attention. We communicate, explain and are pro-active. We show sincere interest letting them know they can always count on us. We deliver this.
Customer loyalty for life is talked about every day along with actions. This is what we do. I am known as the “Fixer”, I take the approach to any and all issues of “what can we do”. By example This permeates through the mindset of our entire staff.

So much of the collision repair business relies on workshop environment What drives that for you ?
M.G: I have always been efficiency minded. I was brought up in and at a young age worked in a high demand for service community. I learned and was coached by some of the absolute best out there, the customers. My ability to listen and be teacha-ble provided me the lessons and direction I hold as truths today and have refined them throughout my career. Our customers cars are not just cars they are Mr. Smiths Porsche or Mrs. DeAngelo’s Sienna. We work for people.
I provide that same minded environment in build-ing the culture of my work floor. I Provide what is needed at the highest level – NO degradation in resources, a highly system-oriented workflow and a rewarding sense of accomplishment highlighting and appreciating talent. There is separation be-tween the administrative and production tasks to assure focus. There is no compromise in our in-tegrity. The culture created in this feeds the on-going culture and engagement we enjoy.

I know you are not done yet and at 80+ Mike how do you see your legacy ?
M.G: believe that my inspiration for community, my dedication to purpose, and my deep family val-ues have guided my life towards success in business and pride of fulfillment. I have and want to continue developing people passing on the love I have for people.
The love of the game keeps me in the collision repair business, my purpose, and up to a challenge of for-ever searching for the value in the best I can be. Not done yet.
I have family around me every day. I am introducing the fourth generation into collision repair with my grandchildren. I have been blessed with phenome-nal family members working successfully in the colli-sion repair business delivering at a high level the love for the game !! Not much better that this. I am a winner.