TAMPA, Fla. — Former employees of Service Pros Auto Glass, a windshield replacement company operating at Tampa Bay car dealerships, told the I-Team they were trained to use high-pressure tactics to push customers into filing insurance claims for windshield replacements.
They provided us with a 26-page sales training manual they said outlined a step-by-step process aimed at turning 10 to 14 percent of scheduled auto service appointments into windshield replacement sales.
Watch report from Adam Walser
The company's attorney wrote in a statement that the material we received appears to be an older edition of sales training materials and is not the company's current material.
That attorney also wrote that Service Pros has been reviewing and revising its training materials since June 2026, with the assistance of outside counsel.
The investigation into Service Pros Auto Glass — operated by At Home Auto Glass, LLC — follows an undercover visit to a local dealership on Sept. 2, where a salesman told Tampa Bay 28 photojournalist Josh Whitston that two small chips in his fiancée's car windshield required a full windshield replacement.
An industry expert who inspected the vehicle reached a different conclusion.
"Those are definitely repairable. There's no reason to replace this windshield," Linda Rollinson said.
Rollinson owns a competing auto glass company with decades of experience and serves as a board member of the Auto Glass Safety Council.
She said the salesman's description of the damage was misleading.
"It just hit the first layer. It didn't even touch the laminate," Rollinson said.
When told the salesman described the damage as a through-and-through crack, Rollinson responded: "He was exaggerating highly."
After the I-Team's visit to the dealership on Sept. 2, the company said the salesman violated company policy and no longer represents them.
An insurance agent previously told the I-Team that unnecessary claims carry long-term consequences for consumers.
"That claim is going to stick with you for years to come, and your policy is going to potentially go up," April Wilkins said.
Former employees describe a high-pressure sales culture
Former Service Pros manager VaShawn Pope and former salesman Paul Umland provided the I-Team with a document they say was the company's sales manual — distributed when At Home Auto Glass took over the company they previously worked for in 2025.
Both men said they quit because they did not agree with the business model.
The manual instructed sales representatives to "point out damage and make out to be a big deal" and to tell customers "all repairs are failed repairs."
The pitch the salesman gave Whitston in September mirrors the language listed in the old sales training materials as Step 2.
"In the state of Florida, this front windshield here is deemed safety equipment. So whenever you do have like damage like this. They do recommend to get that replaced. The cool thing is that it's at no cost to you," the salesman said in his pitch.
Umland pointed to one passage in the manual that stood out.
"So this is one of the things they tell us. I mean, it's in red," Umland said. "Fear. Fear is a major motivation in people making impulse decisions."
That phrase appears boldfaced and underlined in the manual.
Pope described the environment that customers encountered.
"Right away you have somebody trying to shove a windshield down your throat before they even go and see a service advisor. And they say no and they keep going, they keep going, they keep going," Pope said.
"Very high pressure," Pope said, describing the work environment.
Pope said the goal was clear.
"They want to drive fear to their customers. The more fear their customers have, the more they're going to want to say yes," Pope said.
The manual also references the word "greed" in connection with the fear of loss, instructing salespeople to educate customers "on how 17 percent of their comprehensive coverage payments goes towards windshields, whether they use them or not."
Customer Evan Moritz said a salesman used that approach on him in 2025 when he took a car to a dealership for service, persuading him to file an insurance claim for small chips on his new car's windshield.
"He really harped on the dangerous risk," Moritz said.
Moritz filed a claim with his insurance company, then later canceled it.
Subcontractor speaks out
Former Service Pros Auto Glass subcontractor Jorge Reyes, who owns a mobile windshield installation business, said he signed up to work routes for the company and frequently arrived to find no damage warranting a replacement.
"I'd get the job, and I'd get there, and there wouldn't be any damage on the glass, so I'd inform them, say, hey, you know you don't need a windshield right now," Reyes said.
Company revises training materials
The company's latest handbook, obtained by the I-Team and distributed to employees in July 2026 according to a source, states: "Every pitch we make should be truthful, clear and fair."
The new manual replaces the word "fear" with "focus on safety."
At Home Auto Glass full statement
The following is the complete statement provided by counsel to Tampa Bay 28 on September 28, 2026:
"On Friday, September 25, at 4:22 p.m., Tampa Bay 28 sent counsel a 26-page document that it describes as a sales and training manual received from a former employee. This weekend, the company reviewed the document. It appears to be an older edition of sales training materials, and it is not the company's current material. The company has been reviewing and revising its training materials since June 2026 with the assistance of outside counsel, and that work is ongoing.
Rather than debate the contents of an older document, the company can say this:
Safety comes first at At Home. A windshield is a safety component, designed with the penetration-resistance and injury-avoidance properties that federal motor vehicle safety standards require. 49 C.F.R. 571.205, 571.212.
Not every chip or crack warrants the same treatment, and the appropriate service depends on the nature, location, progression, and visibility effects of the damage and on the vehicle's requirements. At Home replaces windshields; it does not perform repairs. Its representatives are expected to recognize these safety issues, approach only customers whose damage qualifies for replacement, and accurately describe the damage they see. Damage that can be repaired is not to be presented as requiring replacement.
At Home trains its team to identify qualifying damage. On September 17 the entire sales team met for additional training on accurately identifying qualifying damage and on accepting and documenting a customer's decision to decline.
Because litigation is pending, counsel is responding on behalf of the company. We ask that this statement be published in full with any report, including online, and reported on air in full."
— Shyamie N. S. Dixit, Jr., Esq., B.C.S., Dixit Law, P.A., counsel for At Home Auto Glass, LLC
State confirms investigation
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regulates auto repair businesses, filed an administrative complaint against the company in June after determining it was operating under the name "Service Pros Auto Glass," which was not registered with the state as required by law.
When we asked a department spokesperson in July 2026 whether she could confirm or deny an investigation of the company, she confirmed: "We do have an open investigation through our Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement."
The department would not provide additional details.
Consumers who wish to file a complaint about an auto glass shop with the state can use this online complaint form [complaints.fdacs.gov] or call 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352).
Out-of-state residents can call (850) 410-3800.
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