Oops! I Broke it!

[a1repair]

Greetings fellow WSR Techs,

Was wondering what everyone does, when a windshield your repairing breaks beyond repair? After all compost does happen every now and then. Approx. 1 in every 1000 for us.

Our policy has been, we replace it for the cost of repair. Ninety-Nine % of our WSR are done at car dealers. What say you?

[mafsu]

If it happens at a car dealer, they replace it. It was already broken when I got to it, I am simply trying to prevent them from having to spend the money on replacing it. None of my dealer or fleet accounts have any problem with this.

[GlasWeldTech]

same here. It was already damaged when I got there.

[paintlessplus]

I have always advised the customer that before I start..there is a small chance that the fracture may spread while attempting to repair. I tell them the story that I once had a customer put his thumb on a chip to show me where it was, and as he did this we heard a popping noise and a crack ran out across the windshield. This is a true story that happened on a hot day. I then have them sign my invoice/disclaimer after I ask them..."do you want me to try to save it for you?" As Mafsu said that glass was broken before you started. If you break it without forwarning the customer, and then start apologizing profusely... you will look like an incompetant. I explain the procedures, the risks, the benefits, the expectations, and my guarantee, before my bridge ever touches the windshield. Thats exactly what any other professional such as your doctor or dentist would do. Occaisionally the patient dies during surgery. Bob

[cure4glass]

What timing for this post! I left out this morning at 7 am with three jobs scheduled( 5 repairs total).I usually try to lay low on sundays but as a convenience to my customers I set them up for today.The last repair was requested by my personal insurance agent for her husband's best friend's automobile, This agent happens to be one of my best sources for insurance repairs.By 9am I had already picked up $155 bucks and was feeling pretty good.I introduced myself to the guy at the last stop, he seemed like a real nice guy, he told me how well the agent had spoke of me and my work,I was proud to hear that she told him I have been doing their repairs for a number of years.I looked at the damage to my "agent referred" repair( 2004 explorer)and it was a typical combo, except it was about 1 inch from the edge in the Black part of the glass,already in a vulnerable part of the glass.I did'nt even get my bridge mounted and a vein began to slowly crawl across the shield approx. 4 inches by the time I could stop it.I went ahead and filled it.It was actually a good looking repair.After I was done,I called the agent at home then I showed the owner, he was surprised at how well the cracked filled. I told him to get it replaced if he would rather and I would pay the $100 deductible,which I think would be a $100 bucks well spent.

[mafsu]

Considering the circumstances, Good Move.

[paintlessplus]

Hi cure4glass , Nothing like an education from the school of hard knocks. You did a very honorable thing by offering to pay his $100.deduct. Murphys law comes into play when you work on friends cars in this business. I am very cautious of any repair with visible legs within 10 inches of the edge of the glass. I always start these repairs with extra resin and let it leak from under the seal as I gradually tighten my rear legs of the bridge until I get a good enough seal. I spend extra time and use alot of patience with numerous inject and vac cycles. This seems to work best for me.

The following wording is at the bottom of my invoices........

I the undersigned, authorize my insurance company to pay Paintless Plus, for all repairs and services listed on this invoice. If I do not have insurance coverage, I agree to pay in full at the time service is rendered unless prior billing arrangements have been made with Paintless Plus. I have been instructed as to the expectations, warranties and disclaimers involved with windshield repair and understand Paintless Plus' policies regarding these matters.

THEY MUST SIGN BEFORE I WILL TOUCH THEIR CAR. I don't do this to have a piece of paper to hold over their head, but....it sets the tone that this is a professional business arrangement, and with the proper explaination, I have never had anyone balk at signing.

This business is not about trying to be a nice guy, or do the right thing, if something goes wrong mid repair. It's about doing your best to save a windshield and save the customers money.

May all your future windshields never crack out.................Bob

[repare-brise]

In my experiace I have only had one WS do this to me, it was at a dealers lot, when it broke I heard opportunity knocking. In thje past this particular dealer categoricaly refused crack repair. I went and got the sales manager, explained the circumstance, showed him the crack(about 12" long) and told him i would repair the extra dammage at my cost. I repaired the crack and showed him the result(or lack of evidence as he put it), he was amazed to say the least. From that day on they have had many cracks repaired(they even admitted to me that they look for them a the auctions now, they can pick the car up for about $500 under regular cost, then for about $100 I fix the WS, and they make an extra $400 profit, I am thier favorite sib contractor!). So a percieved problem, is actually an opportunity, there is no such thing as a problem, just solutions.

Merci

[glassdoctor]

Our policy has been, we replace it for the cost of repair. Ninety-Nine % of our WSR are done at car dealers. What say you?

Basicly I agree with this, for "good" dealers especially. And especially if dealers are your main biz. You don't bite the hand that feeds you. The impression you make by standing behind your work will pay off in the long run. The $100 or so it costs, you will get back many times over. Some dealers are very laid back and cool about this kind of thing, so a rare failed repair may not be a problem.

Doing repairs is supposed to be saving them money. Odds are that a car with a typical chip would sell as-is without being repaired, and they know it and we should know it too. But if turn a 1/2" break into a 3 foot crack, odds are they will have to replace the windshield.

I look at it this way... if I broke a windshield and just said, "hey tough luck buddy, it was broke before I worked on it" then they have every right to tell me don't bother trying to save them any more money. They could save more money by not doing repairs until the customer requests it.

That's the dirty little secret: dealers could get by with only doing a handful of the repairs that they pay us to do. Many of the cars we repair would sell just the same without repair. Of course, I would never tell a dealer that.

I know of a few dealers who only do repairs per request when they are sold and they don't do very many repairs. I don't want any of "my" dealers doing it that way. So I don't plan to give them any reason to doubt the service I provide them, and sticking them with the bill for a w/s I broke might do it.

Having said all that I must admit I think I have only paid for one windshield in 10+ years. The few that have broken they were real cool about it and/or it was a repair that I was concerned about and had mentioned the unusual risk and got approval to try to "keep this one from cracking out". This way you are off the hook if the repair blows up... both parties know where they stand.

[paintlessplus]

This statement may offend some but ....here goes....I'll never pay for a windshield or pay that customers deductible. It's his car and his insurance.

To do so would be an admission of guilt. That I was inept. That I didn't have the ability to know my limitations. The problem with paying out is that in the end you are out the cash, and the customer still thinks you screwed up. I don't think he'll call you for his next chip.

If the glass breaks due to my negligence, (dropped bridge, ladder fall ect.) then of course I'll pay. But, we are dealing with a fragile, unstable, and unpredictable object that is subject to the laws of physics.

Do your ground work before you open your tool kit. If you don't, then do the honorable thing and pay up. Bob