It’s been 10 years since Michelle McFadden opened up First Class Auto Tags and Services in Broomall and she still considers it her “happy place.” Her experience in the industry goes back even further and she has been helping people with auto tag needs and more for more than 40 years. “I started working in this business when I was 18 years old,” she said. “I never thought I’d be in it this long, but I love it. I love helping people and taking some of the stress away from dealing with PennDot.”
Michelle grew up in Upper Darby and graduated from Upper Darby High School. After high school, she was offered a job at Best Auto Tags in Darby, PA and she spent three decades there, learning the auto tag business, helping customers, and understanding all of PennDot’s rules and regulations.
In 2013 she decided to open up her own business on West Chester Pike in Broomall. “I was 54 years old and it was time for a change,” said Michelle. “I knew it would be hard to find another job at that age and it opened my eyes that I could actually start my own business. Even though it can be stressful at times, I know in the long run it was a good decision.”
Navigating PennDot rules and regulations can be a challenge, so it’s a good thing for our friends and neighbors that Michelle understands their very specific rules, forms, and processes. “I love a challenge,” she said.“And I really want to take the burden off of the customer.” With her years of experience dealing with PennDot, she is often able to answer questions in a matter of minutes.
When First Class Auto Tags and Service first opened, they offered all of the core services such as title transfers, license restoration, and notary services.They’ve since grown to offer additional services to their customers such as FBI fingerprint and even traveling notary services. In the future they are looking to add auto insurance to their services, to truly make it a one-stop shop for customers.
Working alongside Michelle is Emily Walmsley, Michelle’s daughter. “Emily is a hard worker and I respect her opinion on things,” she said. Michelle has been teaching her all the ins and outs of the auto tag business and looks forward to Emily taking over the business when she retires.
Emily is a 2010 Marple Newtown High School graduate. After high school she took Computer Science classes at West Chester University and she loves the technology side of the business. “When we updated our website recently, Emily’s input was instrumental in bringing a lot more traffic to our site,” said Michelle. Like her mom, what Emily also finds rewarding about the business is helping customers. “There is nothing better than knowing that someone has been happy with our services,” Emily added.
Whether it’s a title transfer, a temporary tag (license plate), or a completely new license plate, Michelle and Emily can guide customers through the PennDOT protocols to get what they need quickly. “I want my customers to be happy when they walk out the door,” said Michelle. “It’s really rewarding knowing that we made the process go smoothly. We often work with people who are relocating and it’s an exciting time in their lives!” Recently, a customer made a trip back into the store, to thank Michele for her help. “We collect license plates here and we had a customer come back just to give us a plate he found for our collection,” she added.
Michelle has lived in Broomall since 1988, making it easy for her to run over to the office even on her day off. When she’s not working, she loves spending time with her children (she also has two sons) and grandchildren, and she also enjoys traveling. There are many places on her bucket list after she retires!
Although there are many auto tag businesses in the area, this little abode located in Joe’s Cycles really specializes in all of your PennDot needs. “Weknow PennDot,” said Michelle. “And if there’s something we don’t know, we will quickly learn it!”