Galson Auto & Body Wins 2014 BBB Pinnacle Award

By Mitan Sidhu

HOUSTON: It was a special day again last week for Galsons Auto & Body as it was recognized for being the best in its category, Automotive Service and Repair – winning the Pinnacle Award – from the Better Business Bureau of Houston at its annual awards day luncheon this past Wednesday, May 7 at the Westin Galleria Hotel on West Alabama. Galsons has won the highest award twice before, in 2005 and 2007 and has received the Distinction Award – meaning it was one of the five or six finalists in the category – in all the other years since 2006.

The BBB of Houston, which was established 21 years ago, as a non-profit organization that is supported by local businesses, to promote honest business practices, from advertising to selling services and products. It also provides an array of services, including, but not limited to consumer education, mediation and arbitration; and also grades companies on a sliding scale –  A, B, C, D, or F – to facilitate selection by consumers.

Galson Auto & Body is a family run business that is owned and run by Harjit, Seema and Ravi Galhotra. They have been in business for over two decades by Harjit after he was pondering his choices after being laid off from his engineering position. The company has been diligent about providing reliable and trustworthy service to their clients, thereby securing their trust. That approach has paid off, and has created a ripple effect through referrals. According to Ravi Galhotra, some of their clientele are now “friends of friends of friends”. He said they want their clients to trust them with their vehicles “as though they were entrusting their babies to them”.

Asked as to whether they would consider starting a franchise, Ravi’s immediate response was, “Absolutely not”. He said that theirs’ was a “hands-on approach, right from documents and invoices to repair and delivery”, and they do not want to compromise on the quality of their work in any way. Their company handles all aspects of automotive services, from mechanical to body-work; providing their clients with loaner cars if needed, and will even pick up and drop off the vehicle that is in need of repair. They aim for customer satisfaction, and as a testimony to that, they now have clients who live as far off as Clear Lake and Austin.