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| - Sorry that this review is long, but you really need reliable information if you are considering this shop for a repair. I have done my best to be accurate and objective in spite of my post-repair bias.
I was referred to Gerber by the insurance company of the driver who hit us. It was one of the more highly user-rated companies on the list of contracted facilities they provided, and I didn't want the hassle of coordinating all of the, "Issues" that tend to come up with larger repair jobs. I also chose it because of the guarantee of repairs they gave me, if I used one of their shops.
I was a little skeptical when the Gerber estimator said that he could not give me an estimate without tearing my truck apart to see if there was, "Hidden damage". Two other companies had given me an estimate already, without tearing it apart. In retrospect, those companies were pretty close with their projections of the damage. After all, that's why they call it an estimate and not a full accounting of all damage, right? Still, I wanted fewer hassles, so I stuck with Gerber for the repair.
I made an appointment to drop off my truck for the repairs on a Monday. I waited two full days before calling them to see if the estimate had been completed yet. Tuesday evening, around 5pm, I finally got a hold of the estimator, and he said they now had the estimate. Two days for an estimate that should take maybe 3-4 hours with a minor tear-down for inspection? I was not impressed. On top of that, the estimate was obviously incomplete. It omitted a couple of things that didn't need a tear-down to estimate: The alignment on the truck was off (alignment repair estimate omitted) and a seat had moved unexpectedly during the crash (inspection time of the seat was omitted). I had personally pointed out those two items to the estimator, yet, still they were missing on the estimate. So much for my theory of fewer hassles.
Another user-reviewer had said Gerber kept them informed on the progress of repairs. Gerber called me only one time during the (first) 3-week repair period, to say they were between body work and paint. I'm not convinced that's keeping a customer informed. I said 'first repair period' because I had to return to the shop no less than 4 times to get things corrected.
I've already done more of a play-by-play review than I wanted, so I'll try to summarize my other issues that I had with Gerber now. 1. Quality control at the shop was lacking. They missed left-over paint tape and things that should have been caught by a post-repair inspection. They also did not repair things on the estimate until I pointed it out to them after the fact. 2. They 'cut corners' by reusing an old, original, faded, plastic bumper pad (that they paired with the two, new, post-wreck replacements) creating an obvious, "This area has been repaired" look. They actually told me that they could not justify replacing the third bumper pad (a $40 snap on part, as an addition to the $4500 total repair) because it was not damaged in the wreck. I guess the Frankenstein/'piece things together' look is acceptable to them. 3. They need to remember that the customer is still part of the business, even though an insurance company might be paying the bill; without the customers choosing to use your shop, your business can suffer. Doing the little things, to keep the customer happy, is the difference between a good recommendation and a bad none. I expect a general, boiler-plate response from Gerber saying that they will, "...strive to provide the best customer service possible", but I'm wondering how much of that is real and how much of that is just trying to keep the Yelpers from looking at other shops.
In order to end on one positive note, the receptionists at the shop were always nice and handled their responsibilities well.
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