will insurance continue to waive ded.?

[GlassStarz]

Really no ones buisness what you charge
One of the twits who eventualy got banned from here used to go on and on about what others charged but somehow thought it was better to drive 100 miles round trip to do a $50 repair rather than do one on the corner for $25? Charge what you can get in your market and get the max from the insurance customers when it all adds up you make a living

[screenman]

One of the things I would like to add to this is, when a customer asks you to match someone's price ask them for proof of that price, then ask them why they would want to change to you and if the reason is poor service or poor quality tell them the guy was not charging enough to give them top quality and it will be hard for you to do the same. Use this lever to negotiate a higher price, be a better negotaitor than the guy you are selling to. Let them know that your customers that pay a higher price will get preferential treatment, put it across right and they will want to be one of the higher payers. Last but not least and very very few poeple do this well,work out how much it costs you to do each job. You may find it costs you $15 to do each job that way you are earning $10 now that is slave labour, if the job costs you $1 then maybe it is worth doing. Credit to you lot for inventing deflation when we first started over here you were getting I think $45 +++ for a repair now that was 20 years ago. Be strong, be good, be fair and be honest with your customers and yourselves and hopefully with a lot of luck and hard work you may get a good living.

As for waiving deductables, well over here it is very very hard for an independant to get paid by the insurers as they will only pay direct to a very few replacement companies, this is not how things used to be. We have a couple of invoicing companies but these only work with a few insurers. Personaly I would rather they scrapped deductables completely and then we might get an even playing field to compete against the replacemnet companies on.

[WillSDQ]

Guys, I know nothing of this business, but, I am not new to business itself. Is it not logical that if the insurance companies were to stop waiving the deductible that this fact would actually make WSR a more appealing option for a person who must now pay most of the cost to have a windshield replaced? What I am saying is, wouldn't a guy rather pay a 1/4 of the price to have a WSR tech. fix his windshield rather than purchase a whole new windshield? Or am I missing something here? To take advantage of this new situation, it will make us change our marketing strategy. It will change from, "fixed for free" to "save big money by coming to me first". And of course the staple of our argument of, "maintain your factory seal", "its the green thing to do", "less time wasted waiting for your repair", and so on.

The economy is very bad now. But if you take advantage of the situation, money can still be made in any market. I think with money being so tight, a new campaign of "we are here to save you money" and "don't wait until your chip turns into a crack" would be advantageous for all WRS businesses now. Being new to this, I can tell you that 80% of the driving public do not even know that chips can be fixed. And most people, with money being so tight, will purchase policies with much higher deductibles in an attempt to save money. A family on a budget will act much sooner if; 1- they know repairs are even possible, and 2- they can spend $45.00 with you instead of $200.00 for replacement. NOW is the time to strike. "If not now, When?"

[harrellbenjamin]

It might seem to most if you have an existing business that is doing great it would give you the incentive to turn down repairs for 25.00.That amount is an insult to your skills and profession.Its a must for survival in the long run to be able to stand your ground and demand a fair price for you efforts.It will cost you money in time and aggravation chasing 25.00 repairs..........travel time,phone calls,messages back and forth,gas,vehicle use,waiting for the customer,the customer cancles etc.etc..................its like working a minimum wags job!! JMHO...........

[lordstanley13]

Well first off, all I can say on this matter, I wouldnt doubt that someone that works for a company will say they are always a leader. Actually, I think it hurts their insurance company more by not waiving deductable than just paying it, it kinda gives the customer an impression to get a new windshield rather than fix it, and it shows how cheap that company is.

As for 25.00 for a windshield repair?? He better be sending you 60 jobs a week if you are mobile and expect to make some kind of profit on the repair after wear and tear on your vehicle, gas, and equiptment and supplies, not including your time you take out of your day. On top of all that, what happens if the repair fails?, You crack the windshield out?, or the size of the chip or crack is larger than norm?? You need to take all that in consideration before you listen to some person sitting behind a desk bragging about how great their company is.

If for some reason all companies go with not waiving deductable on repair, there will be alot of people out there neglecting their chip and just replacing which will in turn cost the insurance companies and the customer alot more per year.

25.00 could be a fair price if the customer comes to you, and they provide you steady work. Belle Tire is getting away with it, but then again, I went in there to get tires on my truck last week and ended up getting 4 jobs from the sign on my truck from customers that were told they would have to leave their car there for a few hours to have the windshield repaired. I had my kit with me that day. Did their car in an adjacient parking lot while I waited for my tires. So when it was all said and done and the insurance companies paid me 200.00 for waiting on my 400.00 tires, I actually wasted time, and knocked 50% off my tires on the spot!!! LOL

[T-Bone]

hey, that might be a low price, but it helps me get my name out. i wouldn't call it whoring the lowball or whatever. This is a nice guy, and i have a very small business, so by going with this state farm agent, he is getting my name out all the more. Sounds like a smart business move to me. If i told what i charge some of my fleet accounts you would flip your lid. but i am laughing all the way to the bank and making my customer happy.

[screenman]

Charge a proper price and you would laugh even louder.

[Frank EU]

Like I told in previous replies (both recent and five or more years ago) the following has been copied from a recent one (called ''insurance companies'')....
I cannot repeat myself enough times; being Repair Only I just wish that ALL the insurance companies would stop dealing with automotive glass totally. Not just State Farm. They paved the path for others and that is just fine. Away with all the steering, it is killing the dynamics in the entire auto glass market place. Let the customer decide what to do and where to go; also...who's vehicle is it anyway? I am very confident that the customer will think twice before ordering that all new windshield -at the expense of the insurer >>thus will see a repair only guy first. And that very idea my dear fellow repairers....is the ultimate fear amongst the replacement companies. And I, again, as a repairs only guy, I just don't care. Change is needed for the sake of the customer, the dynamics in the market place in general and more specific for the entire auto glass repair industry. The sooner the better.