In the auto glass repair industry, there is a lot more involved than just a windshield. “It’s a lot of components that go into it,” Platinum Auto Glass director of operations Sally Quezada said. “It’s the glass. There’s molding. There might be side attachments and clips, primer and th e adhesive that goes into installation.” Sally Quezada and her husband Fred opened Platinum Auto Glass in Lewisville in 2018. She said the glass and most of the components needed are manufactured in Mexico or Canada and have been hit by tariffs. “We have seen the increases with our suppliers and vendors already,” Quezada said. “So, it is kind of scary.” The changing prices have changed what they can offer customers. Repair quotes used to be good for 30 days. Now quotes are only good for seven days, or the business could end up taking a loss like in one case. “It was actually probably almost a $75 difference,” Quezada said. “We honored it, and a lot of the times we do honor it, even if that price difference is there, because again, we’re more committed to our customers and just having that long-term customer for us.” Quezada said that as a small business, they feel the impact more directly than a larger corporation might. “Because when you’re a franchise or larger business, you do high volume purchasing, so you might get that totally better price than a small business,” Quezada said. “For small businesses, we have to stay competitive, so we really have to be cautious of that.” She said they’ll be very strategic about orders to save costs where they can and help customers. But she also hopes customers are understanding of their situation. “Shop local and support that small business, because they definitely need it,” Quezada said. ...read more read less