Part of my horrible-miserable-really-bad-week, this past week, caused me the need to seek out an auto-body shop.
So, I called Bee-Zee Auto Body Shop at 3205 W. Howard Street, Skokie, IL 60076 at 847.673.2400. They're located on Howard street, just east of McCormick just east of the canal. I called Bee-Zee, because they'd done some work on my daughter's car and had done a nice job. They were able to take my car the same day... so I had my daughter drive me in. I had been hit in the driver's side rear door, by a $%*#&@@ who was backing out of a parking space, without looking behind her... (which is where I was stopped and in "Park" as I was letting my mother out of the car).
Nobody was hurt, it was strictly sheet metal damage, the offending driver was insured... the world continues to turn.
So I walked into the offices of Bee-Zee. One of the owners, Al, was on the phone, and taking care of a customer ahead of me. You could tell he was frazzled, it was 93° outside, and not much cooler inside... and he was alone in the office. As I stood there, he finished with the client, and took at least two additional phone calls, each time apologizing for the delay.
Finally, when he greeted me, I told him my "all too familiar" tale of woe, and we walked out to my car so he could assess the damage. When I pointed to the damage he said "What... this!?" he asked incredulously.
Now, granted, it didn't look like a great deal of damage. It had been a serious dent when the woman first parked her trunk in my car door, but since then it appears to have "popped back into position"... leaving only the residue of her white paint, and a bunch of scratches.
Al made that "really-you're-bothering-us-with-THIS?" face, and instructed me to pull the car around and into one of his auto-bays. He then had a gentlemen come around with an industrial sized buffer with a lambskin cover, and some kind of polish. He spent about 5 minutes carefully polishing the door, and honestly, when he was done... it looked like it had just come out of a new-car-showroom.
5-minutes, totally repaired, good as new... scratch/dent free.
And then the incredulous part. He wouldn't let me pay him. He suggested I come back when I had some "serious auto body work", and then, they'd be happy to charge me.
I forced a $20.00 bill into his hand, and asked him to enjoy a nice meal, on me. He reluctantly took it and told me that he'd give it to the fella who polished the door... I said he could use it as he saw fit.
I'm among the first to complain, when someone does a poor job, so I felt I should be the first to give kudos to a job well done, and felt my blog was the perfect place to showcase Bee-Zee, and Al and his partner Yossi. In today's world of half-assed service stations, and body shops... I thought it appropriate to showcase someone who does a great job.
Now before you ask, the answer is "No... I do not have any friends or relatives that either work for, nor own Bee-Zee. I have no financial gain, by reviewing Bee-Zee. if you're looking for a quality body shop... Bee-Zee comes highly recommended by me. read more