Another Failed Safelite Repair

[GLASSTIME]

I don't typically post bad post about my competition and I will try and keep this clean. I was marketing yesterday and came across a Fire Marshall who's daughter recently had Safelite repair a small star break at the lower part of the glass. The chip is very small. I was informed that the crack that ran about 10" to the left torwards the passenger side just happened monday morning when his daughter was warming up her car.

The chip had no visible resin in the break, was full of air and moisture! I explained to him the same and he asked what could he do about it!

I told him If I was him I would call Safelite and let them know about it. She paid out of pocket for the repair 99* and was told it had a 1 year warranty?? He asked for my card and wanted to know what I would charge to fix it. I told him and he said he was going to see what safelite was going to do about it. I said the least they could do is come out and fix the crack.

I didn't tell him this but do you guys think this was purposely done to have the customer call back for a replacement?

[SeeClearly]

Chad:

Unfortunately, that is how alot of the bigger companies work. We have documented over and over and over again this same thing. I am not sure it they are hiring bad technicians, or whether this is a motive for their operations. I have my thoughts. Anyhow, we know for sure who is doing the lousy repairs out there (and there are many) and they seem to be shameless about it. You know what though....we fight it everyday, and I would honestly say that we gain new customers each week by simply showing what we offer as a company. We never bad mouth or complain about the others. We simply tell the customer you get what you pay for in circumstances where they are getting repairs for ridiculously low prices. In the meantime, we try to educate the customer on what a proper repair process is and what to expect from a good repair. It is a shame that the customers and repair companies are losing out. What is even more of a shame though, is that these companies have so much influence in both the repair and replacement industry. The conflict of interest in my opinion is glaringly obvious. Unfortunately, we are the little guys out there. In order to have change, we must stand together and have a common voice. I am just not sure how many people on the forum actually take the time to read and understand the issues that affect our industry everyday. Sadly, most will not recognize it on an individual basis until it negatively affects their business. We need a united voice....and that voice was/is supposed to be the NWRA.

Lastly, I might add, the poll that is out there regarding the NWRA is an excellent poll which will hopefully give us all some insight as to how the masses feel about our representation. If you are reading this and you have not voted, you should absolutely take the time to vote. Maybe the results can be forwarded to the NWRA and some small voices will eventually be heard.

[bill lambeth]

Dont judge them by one instance.I know that they probably have some guys doing bad repairs but i dont think they have to do that to get their work.They have plenty of work.I have a friend that installs for them and the sky is the limit on how many w/s he can put in.There prices are really good but there response time sucks and thats where i can beat them.

[GLASSTIME]

Dont judge them by one instance.I know that they probably have some guys doing bad repairs but i dont think they have to do that to get their work.They have plenty of work.I have a friend that installs for them and the sky is the limit on how many w/s he can put in.There prices are really good but there response time sucks and thats where i can beat them.

Bill, Not judging them on one repair. I have seen countless repairs that either aren't filled properly or just look poor. Think about this. They are one if not the biggest vendor. At least in my area. There commercials air day in and day out. I can't take a turn onto a street without seeing one of their vans. Now it's not that i don't like their presence.

If they are that large of a company the forefront of our industry, don't you think by them delivering poor repairs puts a sour taste in customers mouths?
Have you ever thought that maybe by not just Safelite but any other company out there Big or Small performs a poor repair, That makes the whole industry including yourself look bad?

I have had in the time my company has offered WSR alot of customers that trash talks repair due to a poor job they have received from the past. Now when a company delivers such "Crap" "I" have to be the one to try and mediate that customer to re consider repair in the near future. Honestly it shuldn't be my place to do so.

So yes when I see poor repairs over and over I get concerned very concerned.
I understand that everyone has their own theories, opinions ect about this topic. So my views are my views. Yours will definately be different. I don't knock you for your views. It just aggrivates me to see a company as large as they are producing poor work. That's all!

And again it could very well be the employees, but again there should be more QC on Safelites part!

Chad:

Unfortunately, that is how alot of the bigger companies work. We have documented over and over and over again this same thing. I am not sure it they are hiring bad technicians, or whether this is a motive for their operations. I have my thoughts. Anyhow, we know for sure who is doing the lousy repairs out there (and there are many) and they seem to be shameless about it. You know what though....we fight it everyday, and I would honestly say that we gain new customers each week by simply showing what we offer as a company. We never bad mouth or complain about the others. We simply tell the customer you get what you pay for in circumstances where they are getting repairs for ridiculously low prices. In the meantime, we try to educate the customer on what a proper repair process is and what to expect from a good repair. It is a shame that the customers and repair companies are losing out. What is even more of a shame though, is that these companies have so much influence in both the repair and replacement industry. The conflict of interest in my opinion is glaringly obvious. Unfortunately, we are the little guys out there. In order to have change, we must stand together and have a common voice. I am just not sure how many people on the forum actually take the time to read and understand the issues that affect our industry everyday. Sadly, most will not recognize it on an individual basis until it negatively affects their business. We need a united voice....and that voice was/is supposed to be the NWRA.

Lastly, I might add, the poll that is out there regarding the NWRA is an excellent poll which will hopefully give us all some insight as to how the masses feel about our representation. If you are reading this and you have not voted, you should absolutely take the time to vote. Maybe the results can be forwarded to the NWRA and some small voices will eventually be heard.

I couldn't agree more!

[SeeClearly]

Bill:

I am the first to giver everyone the benefit of the doubt. I have endless documentation of the bigger companies doing poor repairs. Unfortunately, there are many companies doing that not just one. And you are right it absolutely depends on who is doing the repairs.

[bill lambeth]

We are on the same page.I do not talk bad about my competition.That is just my policy for me and my guys.Yes these bad repairs make it harder on us in the long run but you have really become a good salesman.Sales is the main part of this business.I dont have a problem getting business,for one I am a closer when it comes to sales and I do very good repairs.

[theglasstech]

Alright guys, I must admit I used to be one of these poor quality guys. Shew there I got it off my chest lol. Seriously though I took a job as a comission based contractor with a company I will not mention.I was trained and sent out in the field thinking that what we were doing was as good as windshield repairs got. I didn't know better. I had never been introduced to a really good repair before. After doing (unfortunately) about 150 repairs I started reseaching the field a little more. I soon quit this company who used equipment that for some reason wouldn't do a quality repair it seemed. I bought all my own stuff and am now in business for myself. I was amazed when I started doing high quality repairs myself. I had no clue what one was supposed to look like. Sad I know. Now I feel my repairs are second to none. The bad part about this whole thing is that these companies are sending these guys out there like this. I know that the manager of this company that trained me and even the owner were incapable of doing quality repairs yet they are growing by leaps and bounds.

[SeeClearly]

Glasstech:

Good for you getting it off your chest. I think with many technicians and also customers, they are not aware of what a good repair can be. What I try to do is to teach them what is a good repair and why. If I go into a customer that already has someone there doing repairs and they are happy with things, I simply discuss and show what a good repair is so they are educated and are getting their monies worth with their repairs. I also agree with you that I cannot understand how people are making such money and growing on such poor repairs. It is difficult enough to grow when you take pride in your work and customer service. I will say it makes things more difficult for us to get into places since they seem to spoil the atmosphere once they are kicked out. What I find though, is that when we do get into these locations, people are actually elated with the service and quality of repairs we provide. Once we are in, it is difficult for competitors to get us out.

[Brent Deines]

I feel the need to point out that unfortunately poor quality repairs are not limited to a single company, or to only large companies. We work with technicians from all walks of life and find that many are not doing good repairs. theglasstech made a very good point when he said that he did not know he was not doing quality repairs. I used to think that individuals and companies that were doing poor quality work were doing so because they don't care about quality, and in some cases I still believe that to be true, but in most cases I think it is more a matter of not knowing any better. It's kind of like being the star basketball player for a small country high school. You may think you are the best baller around, but if you step on the court with a bunch of NBA players you find out what real talent is all about. Granted there are some kids who come from small schools that really are ready for the big leagues, but in most cases how good you look depends on your level of competition.

We are very fortunate in the fact that we get to see repairs done by technicians with varying degrees of experience and skill levels. We also get to see repairs done, and do repairs ourselves, with a variety of different systems, resins, techniques, etc. That's very helpful in building our own repair skills, but something that most technicians don't have the opportunity to experience.

My point is that Safelite probably has some very good technicians and some that are not so good, just like the rest of the industry. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to manage hundreds of technicians and keep them all doing quality work. That's not an excuse for not doing quality work, but just the reality of running a large company.