Can we survive the end of Free Windshield Repair?

[a1repair]

Jaydog
Exactly!

[GlassStarz]

If all your customers shy away from Insurance its your sales pitch. Its easy to do both you can learn to read the customer and lead them in the direction you choose. You can tell a cash customer from a Insurance customer fairly easy after awhile. The goal is to close as close to 100% as you can and learning to lead them to the right answer is how you get there. Many customer who really dont give a hoot about a chip will go for the free repair when they would pass at paying for one. Use it as a sales tool and you will find your closing rate goes way up. walking away from selling either is leaving money on the table.

[Sneck]

I have been a part-timer in this endeavor for 10 years now, and believe it or not - I have only had a total of maybe six insurance jobs. Everyone pays cash or writes a check. Jaydog is right - I have experienced the same thing about customers not wanting to mess with their insurance. Customers are actually much happier paying out of their own pocket because they simply don't trust the insurance companies in the first place (like raising rates). The State Farm issue definately will not be a negative impact on my business.

Sneck

[jaydog]

Glasstarz, I do have to agree with you. I'm sure it has alot to do with my pitch, because I don't want the insurance hassle either. I rather take their cash, or their check. But, as soon as I start talking to them, it seems like I know right away this is going to be a cash job. Jay

[Repair1]

40 or 50 bucks for cash work that would be nice Come to Utah were the repairs are cheap and so are the glass shops. We have repairs advertised for $9.95 on billboards large and small, I seen one yesterday $5.95 this was a national company errrrrrr!!!!!! You quote 50 bucks to a cash customer they look at you like your nuts. I need to get off this subject the blood pressure is climbing

[Sneck]

Repair1,

Is the cheap repair price that you speak of in Utah just a ploy to get the customer in the shop to sell more stuff? Nobody can possibly make a living at that price. Those prices are barely minimum wage when you factor in the time requirement.

How long has this kind of pricing been going on in Utah? Just curious.

Sneck

[Repair1]

This market has been screwed up for a long time thanks to one glass shop. Yes it is a bait and switch however the normal consumer will see windshield repairs for $9.95 they don

[scratchy]

Don't get all dooms day guys. This thing is going to flop bad. As soon as some SF customers start whining and threatening to switch because they can't get the chip fixed for free on their hummer or escalade, SF is going to reverse position. If they had real brass ones they would try and pull this in Texas or Arizona first. SF's #1 job is to retain and expand market share!!! If they drop chip repair others will promote it to steal market share.
AND ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, if it is does go through and the industry follows suit Safelite is dead hands down- forever expanding the market share of the independents. AND THEY KNOW IT!

[mafsu]

This won't hurt Safelite at all. They will just be handling more replacement claims(to their stores). Safelite probably loves this. May even have suggested it to SF, since it's their job to keep down how much SF spends on glass claims.

[scratchy]

I know you have seen the typical Safelite repair bill to the insurance co for a replacement. $650 is common and what I have seen here. They are feeding high on the insurance hog and are themselves a very bloated operation. If you remove the network's cut per job on everybody's work and all of their in house referrals for repair as a bait and switch they are toast. The way safelite even keeps its doors open here in my location is steering the uneducated customer from the insureds 1 800 number on their card or the agent's referral. Their bloated operation will never survive at the street level cash rate for repair or replacement.
Anyways, like I said I think SF is doing a market test. It will not fly nationally. Their market share is #1 and they will never do anything to jeapardize that. Giving the competition an edge by allowing them to market and publicize a better glass program is something they won't be willing to do.