Industry Legend George Corporaal Passes
February 22, 2013

by Casey Neeley, cneeley@glass.com

Auto glass sales innovator George Corporaal has passed away. The mastermind behind "gifting" marketing which garnered much attention and imitation, reportedly died in a Naples, Fla., hospital with his wife and son by his side.

Famous for offering customers a free box of steaks in exchange for choosing his auto glass shop, Minneapolis-based Glass Service Co., Corporaal's commercials and advertising strategies were much talked about.

The successful tactic eventually led to a change in Minnesota law.

Corporaal was also one of the first members of the auto glass industry to file lawsuits with insurance companies over alleged shortpays.

"I worked for him for 12 years and he was always good to me. He was kind of an innovator when it came to the steak deal of course. It worked for the time when it was out there," says Ken Custer, president of Glass Plus Inc, in Mound, Minn.

Custer says Corporaal was able to take things in stride and wasn't afraid of trying new ideas.

"In our market, he was an innovator," says Custer. "He took some risks, which is hard to do. He grew his company quite quickly and he was great to work for."

This story is an original story by AGRR™ magazine/glassBYTEs.com™. Subscribe to AGRR™ Magazine.
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