Truck Windshields

[GlasWeldTech]

I charge the same for big trucks as I do for cars. Most truckers I have met are usually more friendly than everyday people. I do charge a little more for MOTORCOACHES. These people never want them fixed until they start to run. Funny, One day I was repairing a Motor Home and I had given him a price to kind of turn him against getting it repaired. I made good money and he was happy but I was chatting with him and asked how much one of these Motor Homes cost. I must have OFFENDED him as he told me quick that I was working on a MOTOR COACH and proceeded to give me a history lesson. He was an oil man from Texas towing a custom Escalade to match the Coach. After he had paid me I told him it would have been cheaper if it had been a MOTOR HOME...

[ChipperFixer]

GlasWeldTech here is a real motor home.http://www.esnips.com/doc/041523de-055a ... -MOTORHOME -

[ChipperFixer]

When you repair this guy's windshield you use Glas/Welds HIGH-TECH duck-tape.

[GlasWeldTech]

8 years and this High Tech Tape has put lots in the old Checking Account. I use so much of it that we buy it by the Liter.

[freightshaker]

Shaker, you'll have to keep us posted as to how well you do with the truckers.

Will do.

Just getting started out and I have butterflies in my stomach just going to talk to people. Wish I could have taken LR's training, probably would have helped with my confidence a lot, but money is very tight right now.

[screenman]

If it is your repair quality you are nervouse about I would suggest you pactise a lot more, as each failure to repair properly will hugely knock your confidence more. The market is littered with poor quality tech do not be one of them please, for your sake and ours.

[freightshaker]

Well, it's not the quality of my repairs that worries me.

When I first started, I didn't have anything to make a good chip on my practice windshield with, so I used a scratch awl and tapped it with a hammer. Talk about some really gnarly chips! (A lot of glass missing at the surface....cracks spreading out eveywhere) But those difficult chips are what I cut my teeth on, not easy bullseyes. I was surprised that they turned out so well. Then I found that teeny tiny bullseye maker in my kit that I had somehow missed. But heck, by then, bulleyes were no challenge.

My biggest worry is getting out there and running into something that I haven't seen before. I know that it's just chips and cracks, but I still worry that something will stump me. (And of course a customer will be standing right there when it does):icon_redf

Another thing that worries me is that it just seems to take me a long time to do a chip (do it right). Most of the time, it takes at least 45 minutes to an hour (even longer sometimes). They are pretty nasty chips, but still....geeeez.

I can't help but think that if I had some training, that it would help a lot. But it ain't gonna happen, so I just have to deal with it and hopefully get enough money coming in eventually that I can get the training.

I believe that the quality of my repairs is pretty darn good for someone who's been doing it for no longer than I have. I guess it's just butterflies in my stomach.

[screenman]

freightshaker, sound like you have done some good practise, could I ask if you filled aech chip or damage with water before you started the repair process as this makes them a bit more real life. As for the time it takes that should no be a problem, the customer will think he or she is getting value for money compared with the 5 minute repair guy. Try and write a list of the time spent doing each section f your repair and you will see were you can save ime. But remember make them soaking wet before you start no cheating.

[GlassStarz]

Screen do you dream of water? you do realize some of havnt seen a chip with water in it for a year? LOL 107 tomorrow yup the waters gone

[Brent Deines]

...Another thing that worries me is that it just seems to take me a long time to do a chip (do it right). Most of the time, it takes at least 45 minutes to an hour (even longer sometimes). They are pretty nasty chips, but still....geeeez.

I can't help but think that if I had some training, that it would help a lot. But it ain't gonna happen, so I just have to deal with it and hopefully get enough money coming in eventually that I can get the training.

I believe that the quality of my repairs is pretty darn good for someone who's been doing it for no longer than I have. I guess it's just butterflies in my stomach.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. When I started I had never seen a windshield repair done before, and videos/training were not readily available, so I had no way to judge how good my repairs were. I see the same problem with new windshield repair technicians all the time. They either think they are doing good repairs when they aren't, or they are doing good repairs but have given false expectations by manufacturers and suppliers who sometimes use deceptive advertising to sell their products.

You may be doing great repairs, but if you can make it to a good training class I think you will be able to improve your speed and become more comfortable setting expectations for yourself and your customers.

I know it's still a bit of a jaunt, but I think Delta Kits will be holding training classes in Texas and Florida this winter, or maybe you could get a cheap flight to Vegas and spend a day with us at one of the upcoming trade shows where we will be doing product demonstrations. We often get special deals on flights out of Eugene to Vegas for as little as $120 round trip.

I usually find that the guys who have a few butterflies and take a little too long are the ones that end up doing the best repairs. It's the over confident "my repairs are always perfect in 5 minutes" types that we tend to have trouble with.