Windshield Cracked

[maxryde]

Hello All, My first post. I am new to WSR (6 Months) and am I glad I chose to get into the biz!!! It Has been a real enjoyable addition to my auto restoration biz, (vinyl repair). I have been using a pop up tent and doing well until this gal who works at the business I set up at (I repair the employees vehicles FREE as a perk) had me do her car and the s%#$in thing cracked. So I gave her the traditional explaination, unstable, already broken ETC.. I even oftered to replace the thing. Problem is while she wouldn't accept the replacement glass she has still been telling folks to avoid me. Bad deal! Any ideas? THX Scott DBA Rock of the Westies, in Birdsview Wa. P.S I haven't done 1000 reps yet and somebody said this would happen @ about 1 in 1000. I guess I'm good to go for a while

[sydfloyd44]

OK, Listen up everyone!!!!!!

Here is the SIMPLE trick to how to handle having a windshield split on you.

Talk to the customer BEFORE you start working on the vehicle.

I have seen this happen far too many times. Talking to the customer before you start working on the vehicle will not only eliminate any surprises if it would break, but it also sets the customers expectations. A couple of guys I work with never do this and when they get done with the repair, the customer usually says "I can still see it" or as a customer said about 1 1/2 hours ago (literally) "couldn't you get it all out?".

Explain the repair procedure, why it is done and an idea of what it will look like when it is done. (depending on type and location of damage) At this time, I normally ask the customer how long the damage has been in the glass. If they say "oh, probably about 2 years", I seize the opportunity to explain what contamination is and the problems it can cause in the repair and final outcome. The customer then has the opportunity to ask further questions if they have any.
I have found that by doing this, you avoid the dissapointment when the repair doesn't look that great. Not because of being a bad repair but because of the location, severity or age of the damage.

Hope this helps everyone!!! Trust me... TRY IT!!!! You will see your customers responding differently when they see the repair for the first time. You will start hearing "well thats not so bad" or "thats a LOT better than it was!!"
Make your customers EXCITED about the repair that just saved their windshield, their wallets and their insurance companies bank account.

[DaveC]

I do the full explanation in advance as well as obtaining a signature on my invoice, which has both guarantee and release of liability for crackouts. I even do this for any free/courtesy repairs as it allows me to write-off these "freebies" as a promotion.

Maxryde, I bet iff you spoke to the other employees at the location, they would probably tell you that this gal is normally a pain in the a$$ about everything anyhow;)

[maxryde]

Thanks for the advice syd, funny your suggestion is exactly what I did prior to doing the work, the gal said "I'll be the lucky one' when I said ''one in one thousand will crack out in the repair process''. She has since been "let go" from employment there, (unrelated to this situation) but the chatter about my "breaking her windshield" still go's on. The last time I set up, a new employee had some damage and after I took his keys one of the other workers told him about the ''windshield I broke'' he came out to see what I was doing just as I was cleaning up. You could tell the relief on his face when I showed him the repairs!!
Thanks to you too Dave, now how about the details on those deductions? Do I have to issue an invoice to document the work etc....

[glassdoctor]

Something else you can do it try to be extra careful to talk to the customer before you do repairs that pose and extra risk. Breaks near the edge of the windshield, ones with a long leg or leg that is a surface crack, etc. Some stars can be risky even when they don't "looK" that bad. Some, like a huge combo, may be more obvious to the customer that it's possible for problems to occur.

[glassdoctor]

Sometimes warning your customers doesn't work, even if the repair goes well. I did one last summer that actually was a very good repair for what the damage was... a large "double" combo. Kinda like a big peanut shell. It was down near the wipers in the middle of the windshield, practically out of sight to the driver. So the only real issue was stopping it from cracking.

I explained to the old guy what to expect, and that often, this type of damage was not even repairable. His other other option was to buy a new windshield, so he wanted me to try a repair. I took plenty of time and resin and patience, and was able to get complete fill... a good, although golf-ball size repair.

BTW, I could have passed on it and made more money during the hour I worked on it... but wanted to do the right thing. I knew that the average repair guy would butcher this repair.

This guy actually seemed rather dissatisfied, kinda pouting about the fact that he could see it, and how he had one done before once that he couldn't see as well. I think he just wanted to get a freebie, you know... like going to a restuarant and after a good meal, you complain that something was undercooked and therefore you don't have to pay. Some people are like this. Well, this time I just kept a poker face and didn't even give a hint of not getting paid.

I made it clear that I guaranteed 100% money back if my repair failed... but offered nothing more. Fact is I saved this guy from a $250 deductible. I gave him the choice and the repair was better than advertised.

Trust me, I do excellent work, and this reaction is very very rare. Just thought this example might be interesting to new techs.

[GRT]

I agree with sydfloyd. I tell my customers: 1) The # 1 reason to do the repair is to retain the structural integrity of the windshield to keep it from cracking out (and I run my finger across the windshield at this time). 2) Then I tell them the second thing is to try and get the repair to clear up as much as possible. I let them know every repair is different, so some clear up alot better than others. I can't guarantee them anything. I tell them even if its the best repair in the world they could still see it if they look close enough. I let them know that its possible that the windshield could crack out while working on it since this is the weakest point and already broke. I tell them its very unlikely but it has happened before. If they act too concerned about this, I either dont do the job or let them know if it cracks out on me then it most likely was ready to crack on its own, so they are damned if they do or damned if they dont. 9 times out of 10 the customer says all I want is to keep it from cracking out, I'm not worried about what it looks like. Then when I give them an excellent looking repair they are extremely astonished at how good it looks. In other words I give them low expectations and high end results. Now, having said all that. Yes I do have confidence in my work and Yes I do good quality repairs 95% of the time. I just found that this sales pitch works best for me. It Definitely gets me more referrals. But it also CMA, and every once in a while I do have a repair I'm not happy with, which I'm much more unhappy with than the customer. Just how I do it.

[scratchy]

Hello all. New poster here. I had one crack last week after someone brought up the topic. It had a mind of its own. I got it stopped and filled, but got a little more wary of what the damage looks like it might do if touched. A small chip with two parallel lines in it is a CRACK that has not run yet. I have seen many long cracks which have this at the impact point. Its broken glass we are dealing with. Most customers are hoping for the best repair possible. Many wait too long to get help and the results are less than perfect. If we could be called soon after most breaks occur everyone would win. Funny thing, I have seen many repairs with top notch resin look significantly better a week later during inspection than at the time the repair is finished!! Wahoo!