[Blind Squirrel]

Over the past year, many of the insurance companies handled by SGC have arbitrarily lowered their windshield repair prices to flat rates. This is yet another example of how they take total control of our business.

So, consider this scenario:

You are a funded, capitalized, legitimate business with Yellow Page advertising, an ad budget and you invest time and money into network meetings, and have even joined the chamber of commerce. You have worked out an operating budget with your accountant and you know how much you need to charge for windshield repair so that you can pay all of your operating expenses, your salary, and a 10% after tax net profit.
So, your repair price (for mobile service) is what it is. It may be 40 or 60 or 75 or 100, but it is what it is. If it's on the high end, you either figure out how to market and sell and produce the required volume for your business to succeed or you fail. I know there are some of you here who do get out and knock doors and sell and some of you that are horrified with the idea. I do know for sure that I would not have attained the level of success that I have without it. When it truly becomes a matter of survival, your perspective changes, or not.

So, now you have all these insurance companies with their various pre-set rates that you have agreed to accept and they are almost all less than what you need to operate a profitable business.

Suppose I call you up on the phone and ask what you charge for a repair. You say it's 59.95 for the first chip and 10 for additional chips. Then I tell you that YOU WILL come to my location and repair my windshield for 38 and 8 (which is what Shelter Insurance has their rates set at). I DICTATE to you where you will be and what I HAVE DECIDED you will be compensated.

My point here is that if you are foolish enough to think you can be successful in business under these conditions then you deserve whatever fate befalls you.

I accept the network rates on the basis that I am always already there, knowing that the rock chip damage I'm looking at can be repaired and I simply find the owner of that vehicle and let me them know that I can repair these rock chips with a 30 minute process that's guaranteed to seal the damage and save it from cracking, and in most cases the service if free!

I cover the entire city of Denver servicing fleet accounts. I am always in the immediate vicinity of cars with rock chips. This is the main focus of my current business plan that I look for these retail insurance (and cash, checks, and credit cards) jobs. These are sometimes referred to as "collateral sales".

I use a 3 step process of find the chip, find the owner, then ask.

As I've said many times already, I DO NOT accept dispatched jobs (where the network calls me) more than 10 miles away. Because I will receive NOTHING if the damage turns out to be unrepairable. When a network calls, the first thing I ask is the customers address. Since I know this city like the back of my hand, I instantly can tell how far away it is and if it's too far, I simply tell them, I'm sorry, that's out of my service area.