We got an e-mail yesterday afternoon that the owner of the shop I've been at for the last year wanted to have a meeting with us at 9am. Needless to say, speculation flew. This morning, Friday the 13th, we were told that our shop, Interstate Glass (I'm in the Cary location) was bought by Abra Auto body. I don't know anything about this company so, can anyone tell me what I'm in for? I don't want to walk into another Safelite where we're given 8-12 jobs a day and constantly threatened with termination if we don't wipe down the windows and vacuum out every car (put up with that for 2 1/2 years). It would be nice to know that I'm going to a good company, not like I have any options at the moment. Thanks

Open your own shop and we will help with the billing.

depending on your experience we might be able to help with setting you up.

Self employed is always better.

I was thinking they were looking at buying a group of body shops in the Area here in Greensboro, NC it has got to be the next move they already have a glass shop in High Point that they picked up as a result of buying out Deals....

I've had a chance to work for them for a few days now and they seem like they got it together. It's been a real mess, the routes are all over the place, the scheduling is messed up, parts confusion, etc, but the company is adapting. There are a lot of Interstate employee's not real happy right now, but it's mostly because of the way that it was handled by Interstate management. Long story and not worth going into right now. At least that's how we feel. There's a lot of confusion, a lot of changes, etc.

The brought in some great technology in that they're virtually paperless. We gave up Dinitrol sausage pack urethane for Dow Express sausage packs. I like Dow way better. The people they brought in are terrific, you couldn't ask for nicer people to be here and help us transition. It's a big transition for us but with a little time, I think it's going to be better. We'll have to see.

Dinol is garbage. I wish someone would buy where I work

We were using the D9000. The 410 that we used for gasket sets and to tack down moldings is complete junk. We used it because the company was able to buy direct from Dinol. I'm glad to see Dow in my truck again. We're using Galaxy Note 4's, Zebra Bluetooth printers, and a Bluetooth credit card scanner. Love the tech stuff. We get all the moldings and clips we're supposed to, no liquid clips.
Here's a good one.... When I first came to Interstate, I had a 28V Extractor that I'd been using for several years. Eventually, the gearbox blew out and the company got me a corded Milwaukee Sawzall that they had a shaft made for it to hold an Extractor blade, not a real Extractor. Literally, a modified Sawzall. The gearing was all wrong, it was brutal to use, tore up blades and could easily damage a vehicle. When I said something, I was told this is what we use. The first time that the trainer from Abra used it, he placed a call to someone and had a new 18V real Extractor waiting for me at PGW. Getting your hands on a professional grade tool again, using good urethane's, and getting all the moldings and clips you need makes me feel better and more like a professional installer than I've felt in a long time.

I've worked for ABRA for the past 2 years and been in the business for 12 years. I was trained by Performance Achievement Group out of Madison, Wisconsin which was owned by Auto Glass Specialists. ABRA is a great company and their training is similar of Performance Achievement Groups, (if you're familiar with them) and as far as glass techs are concerned, ABRA is one of the best to work for. The company does like to average 8 jobs a day. Now you also have to realize that 8 jobs can consist of pulls or installs at the specific ABRA body shop that you would be based out of. I work in a market where people are very wealthy in the Nashville area and I work on a lot of high end cars. One thing that's also great which a lot of companies don't do much of any more, is yearly reviews. On a typical day I can expect 4 to 5 windshields, and then 2 or 3 body shop jobs, or even 1 or 2 rock chip repairs in place of the windshields.

Thanks for the all the input. So far, Abra has been great. The really bad part is all the confusion that comes with this type of transition. Because we run some really long routes where I might have an hour or more drive between jobs, we only do from 4-5 a day. One day, I was only able to get 3 in because of the driving. We're still hitting a few bumps, but it's really coming along. I think this will be good, I really do. They've treated us fairly and respectfully and the the people that we've met have just been as nice as you could ask for.

Once the growing pains are over, I see this as a chance to personally grow beyond a technician and finally get off the road and into an office job. Let's face it, I'm not getting any younger, and I'm not as fast as I used to be. One thing also, we get to work on some of the higher end vehicles being in the Raleigh, NC area. Lots of BMW's, Audi, Land Rover, and Mercedes running around here. Got a Rolls dealer a couple of years ago, so you can buy 1 of those here if you want, but the Ferrari and Lambo guys are still in Greensboro.

I thinks it's fair to say that all of our jobs are secure. I don't see us going through what I saw happen to a lot of Triumph employees when Safehack bought them. I feel mine, and all of Interstate's employees, have a job and that we're not going to be pushed out.

Thanks Brian. I'm still trying to remember my new phone number they gave me. Listen, same goes for me. If there's anything I can help with, call me. I'll message you next week and that way you can have my number also.

Sorry for not getting back to you Brian. We're still having problems receiving text messages on our phones at the New Bern (Ave.) location. Once it's straightened out, I'll message you. In the mean time, you can always reach me at (919)819-7929.