[Brent Deines]

This subject has been covered in other threads and plenty of opinions have been voiced on both sides of the topic. I don't think splitpit is being negative here, just very passionate about his stance on advertising "free windshield repair".

It is a hook, or gimmick, and it has been used very successfully. I don't think there is really any question about that. As far as I know it is also legal, so the only question is whether it is ethical and/or is it good for the advertising.

My kid's orthodontist advertises that kids can get a "free" bicycle if he does their braces. It isn't really free, but he is very good at what he does, so we use his service and yes we did end up with a bike. I have no problem with that, and don't see it as false advertising in any way, but others might. He has a very good reputation so in my opinion his advertising has not hurt his business or the industry in any way, but again, that is just my opinion based on my experience.

I do agree with splitpit that we should not put all our eggs in one basket, and we should have a marketing plan that goes a bit deeper, but I think everyone is well aware of that, and if/when the insurance companies quit waiving the deductibles for windshield repair (State Farm already has) the "free windshield repair" method of advertising will simply be modified or eliminated. It may be a temporary setback for some, but I don't think anyone will suffer a lot for it.

In any case, all of this has been said over and over again in other threads. Is there anything new here, or are we just trying to convince others that our point of view has to be the only point of view?