[Brent Deines]

This may not be the best thread to post this in, but it does have to do with etiquette on the windshield repair forum.

I received a PM from a new member a couple of days ago, saying that he will no longer be a part of this community due to the way he was received by the long time members.

I can't imagine why, but it seems that this person didn't like being told he was a fool and that he should have done more research, and should have read all the other posts in the windshield repair forum before asking a question, etc. I've got news for you folks, it's not just the newbies that start new threads on topics that have been covered a hundred times already.

The guy came here to get advice from people he thought were here to help, and thought were professional in every aspect of his business, but what he found was a bunch of cynical, self professed experts, who are much more interested in telling people how successful they are than helping others become successful, or at least that is the way he perceived his welcome into this community.

I needed to ponder this a bit before posting, so I went back and read all of his posts and the replies he received, and I have to tell you, I would not have stayed here either, had I been treated the way he was. Have we all forgotten what it was like when we started in the windshield repair business?

When I started in this business I had never seen a windshield repair done, and knew absolutely nothing about sales, starting a business, running a business, or anything other than punching a clock for someone else. I was down on my luck and desperate, so on my dad's advice I ordered a windshield repair system without checking out any other equipment or researching the market. I did everything wrong, except for one thing; I learned to repair windshields quite well, with nothing more than simple instruction manual to guide me for the first year or so (later when I moved to Oregon my dad trained me).

I guess my point is that if I can do it anyone with enough drive and the right attitude can as well, so telling people they have to be great salesmen, or have to do a ton of research to succeed in this business seems a bit overstated to me. Certainly I would recommend those things as well, but to squash someone's dreams because they don't fit the mold that we would like them to fit is counter productive to say the least. I was, and still am to some degree, an introvert, so had I listened to the advice some of you gave I would never have started my windshield repair business, and that would have been a shame as windshield repair has been very good to me.

Worse yet is making someone feel stupid for not doing all the right things in the past. We all make mistakes, so why beat someone up for something that cannot be changed. Do we really think they don't already know they made a mistake. Now I know many of you look at it as tough love. You're trying to help someone make the right decisions to save them some future pain, and maybe even get them battle ready by pushing them around a bit, but from the feedback that I have received from not just one, but several new users, suggests that some of us may need to consider revising our tactics.

I know that the vast majority of the old timers on the windshield repair forum have the best of intentions, and I should point out that a few of you have taken the time to PM new members to apologize for a less than friendly welcome in some cases, so please don't misunderstand what I am saying here.

I am simply saying that maybe if we be a bit more sympathetic to those new to the industry, or those struggling in the industry, maybe we can help more people than we currently are. I can't tell you how many people have contacted me just to say how much help the forum was to them when starting their windshield repair business. To me that is what this forum is all about. All I ask is that all of you old timers give it some thought, and decide for yourselves if you are truly interested in helping others, because you can't help someone if you drive them away, whether you mean to or not.