A broken storefront is a security problem first and a glass problem second. Getting that order right is most of what determines how long the whole thing takes.
In the first few minutes
Keep people away from the opening, inside and out. Cracked glass still standing in a frame is not stable — tempered glass in particular can let go all at once, with no further impact, some time after the initial damage. Treat a standing cracked pane as something that is about to fall.
Do not pull the remaining glass out of the frame. It is tempting and it makes things worse: shards come out of the glazing pocket unpredictably, and a frame damaged during clearing turns a straightforward reglaze into a system replacement.
If it is safe, photograph the damage before anything is touched — wide enough to show the whole opening and the surrounding frontage, then closer on the frame itself. Insurers ask for this, and so will we.
What to tell the glazier on the phone
Four things get you an accurate response instead of a site visit that turns into a second site visit. Roughly how big the opening is. Whether the glass is gone entirely or still standing in the frame. Whether it is a fixed pane or a door. And whether the building can be left as it is overnight or needs securing today.
If you know the glass make-up — tempered, laminated, or a sealed insulated unit — say so. It changes both the price and the lead time significantly.
What a board-up should actually do
A proper board-up clears the remaining glass out of the frame safely, protects the glazing pocket so the frame can be reglazed later, and fixes the board in a way that holds without destroying the aluminum it is fastened to. Screwing plywood straight through a storefront frame secures the building tonight and costs you a new frame later.
The other thing that should happen on that first visit is measurement. If someone secures the opening and leaves without measuring, they are coming back before they can even order the glass.
Then the waiting
Clear tempered glass in common sizes is often a few days. Anything custom — laminated, insulated units, tinted or coated glass, or an unusual size — is fabricated to order and takes longer. That gap is fabrication, not scheduling, and no contractor can compress it much.
If the same frontage has now been broken more than once, that is the conversation to have while the opening is boarded rather than after the replacement is already in. Laminated glass in the vulnerable bays costs more once and stops the cycle.