Clove Auto Body is Celebrating its 25th Year with the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce

Judging Clove Auto Body is easy. All you need to do is look at the finished products that exit the garage.

And, apparently, those repairs are fine quality since it’s the customers’ praise that keeps the Port Richmond business busy.

“I’m honest to my customer. I tell it like it is. Some places try and inflate the bill, but I don’t do that,” said vice president John Constantino. “We have a great reputation. We do an excellent job on the cars.

“I really don’t do any advertising other than Facebook or my website. I don’t think advertising works for this business,” he said. “I think the most important thing is if you have a good reputation, people will remember that and they’ll recommend you to others.”

Those recommendations are a big reason why Clove Auto Body is celebrating its 25th year with the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce. The business was established 30 years ago by Joseph Sr. before John and president/brother Joseph Jr. took over in 1994 after their father’s death. Their mother, Frances, still works there as the secretary. 

With that background, it’s easy to see why loyalty is important to Constantino. And that’s especially true with his customers.

“I’ve had a lot of my customers for years,” he said. “It’s a great feeling. I’m proud of that. I’m proud to see I have repeat customers all the time. It means a lot. It’s not easy these days because there are so many body shops out there.”

While Constantino is responsible for fixing customers’ vehicles, one of the reasons he stays a Chamber member is how the organization helped fix a major problem affecting his business.

“Every winter without fail this pipe would break in the street. When it iced over, my driveway was a sheet of ice,” he said. “I made a phone call and the next day they were there and fixed it. And I never had the problem again. 

“They fixed it the right way. They didn’t put a Band-Aid on it this time. They were always just patching it up,” said the 2017 Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award recipient.