Glenn Lewis of Lewis Automotive became his own boss at the turn of the century—and hasn’t looked back.
Originally published in our “Family Owned & Operated” issue.
First thing’s first: Glenn Lewis would like everyone to know that the “Family Owned” theme for this issue was his idea. (He’s right. And it’s a GREAT idea!)
“That’s what business is really about, after all—like the old family-owned hardware store,” said Glenn. “When you go in there, you know you’re going to get the right object, there’s no lying or cheating and you’re gonna get treated nice.”
Glenn’s dad Gordie started Lewis Automotive back in 1964, and Glenn remembers being five or six and hanging out at the garage. “They have pictures of me sitting on the floor,” he recalled. “My dad would give me these carburetors and some tools to play with, and I’d pretend I was working on them.” When he was a few years older, Glenn liked to roll around the garage on the creeper, an activity his own son would discover decades later.
In 2000, Gordie retired and Glenn took over. He loves being his own boss. “You answer to yourself. Every day, when you get up, you have to make sure things happen because you’re the last stop.”
A sense of accomplishment is one of Glenn’s favorite parts of the job. “When you go home at the end of the day, you think about that car that came in broken, but left running. And you fixed it. It makes you feel good.”
Great service is essential in Glenn’s business. “When I’m talking to a customer, I pretend I’m on the other side of that counter. The customer is our boss.”
