Added Services

[screenman]

Graybeard

PDR = paintless dent repair

Adhesion aid used like a primer to help paints, laquers etc stick to plastic.

Double decker buses I did not know this as I live 150 miles from london but they are still in use in Lincoln where I live.

[chips1144]

I should point out to my American friends that Laquer is the british term for clear coat.
Screenman, laquer was a term used here for many years to describe cellulose paints. just trying to helpout.

[ACT 1]

I avoid rain-X like the plague. I did offer windshield wiper blades for a short time, however, I found it to be an inconvenience carrying them around. In addition, I'd rather not have so much tied up in inventory, as sizes vary greatly from vehicle to vehicle. So I no longer offer them.

gold star wsr: I have just started my wsr business I am located in Southern California in a desert community. I have to start part time with the hope of developing enought momentum to go full time within a couple of months. I work full time days m-f and therefore my weekeneds are my best time to develop the business. In my area we have a street fair which is held on a college campus which has about 300 vendors and is open weekends year round. So I decided to try that venue to introduce the business and so far after 3 weekends I am at least paying for the space rent. I am looking for some products that I could also offer at the booth in order to generate some retail sales. You mentioned that you did windshield wiper blades for a while but decided it was not working for you. I was thinking of wiper blades when I read your post perhaps in my enviroment they could work??? I would appreciate and opportunity to talk to you sometime about your wiper blade experience. If you would send me your phone number I will give you a call. Thanks

Tom Torres
A Glass Act
760-535-8774

[DaveC]

Tom,

There is a distinction between wiper blade "refills" and blade assemblies.

Believe it or not, if you just want to deal with replacing the blades, there is a way to limit the inventory you need to carry to just keeping two blades in stock, which will suit nearly 98% of all blade replacement needs.

[ACT 1]

Dave C. I had not even considered the distinction between blade assemblies and blade refills. Obviously I am at the begining of looking into this, so any additional info you would like to share would be appreciated............Regards....Tom

[sunshine wr]

I was thinking of offering Aquapel & blade assemblies together as a "clear vision" package to my customers, with a discount if it's an up-sale. Has anyone tried sales such as this?

[Wago]

Sunshine,

There are some good windshield treatments on the market that you could possibly upsale. Unfortunately, Rain-X is not one of them because it has a silcone base. Silcone doesn't mix very well with any current manufactured resins. Stay away from it!!! I quess the trick to upselling window treatment is simply subject to your ability to market it. You'll need to spend some time developing a clever marketing stradegy to push this item as a profitable add on. The majority of my used car dealership accounts just use Rain-X cause it's cheap. My only successful upsells to date with windshield treatment products have been with RV centers. I'll do both sheilds, front side glass and mirrors for around $50-$65. Takes approximately 15 minutes doing a nice job. Sometimes I'm asked by these folks to simply sale them product. When I do I'll mark it up around 300% and they have no problems paying that. Guess it all depends on you!

Star Quest, You mentioned a windshield treatment for RV's for the windshields, front side glass, and mirrors, what product do you use for this service?

[johnnyone]

What about rear view mirror reattachment. They are always falling off the the glass. People are asking do you do that? I usally send them to a glass shop..Does any body do that? it seem like it would be a easy one

[StarQuest]

Wago,

I've tried a number of after market glass treatment products but still found Aquapel to be the most reasonably priced and effective. Unlike other products currently on the market, Aquapel is not a silicone based product like RAIN X.

The main differences are

1. Over the counter windshield treatments use a silicone based formula and Aquapel is fluoropolymer-based. 2) Over the counter treatments last for only a few weeks before re-treatment is necessary. From my experience with use, Aquapel will last anywhere from 4-6 months.

Johnnyone,

3M makes an excellent mirror tab adhesive. Cures in 30-60 seconds and really works! I charge $7.50 for rear view mirror replacements and never had anybody complain. The other nice part about this product is it has a very long shelve life and you'll get 50-60 repairs. If your interested, let me know and I'll PM you with a item#.

[jonnyques]

For headlight restoring, check out this link. I saw them in Flordia last year and it looked good. There are also several posts about headlight restoration on doordings.com, a PDR chat site. I may buy one this year at the Expo, but it will be retail only. I have asked many of my lots if there interested and none are. Another avenue may be body shops. A car is hit and needs one light replaced. The other is cloudy, Im sure they replace both of them. Restoring could be a way to save them money. For anyone looking for add on services I cant stress enough how benificial the Flordia expo is. It will save you time and in the long run money by making informed decisions on the products you want to provide. And heck you can even say hi to the guys from Delta!
http://www.brightsolutionsinc.com/
PS I also agree that the more you can do at a lot the better. They like to get everything done at once. I know that if someone does more than you they can get the account. I do PDR and glass. As the dealers become aware that I offer both I get the glass while Im doing the dents. These are lots that have had a glass guy. Im not saying they wont still give him work just that I have yet been told NOT to do a windshield because they only let so and so do them. Glass has added a substantial increase to my PDR income. Truth is I like doing glass better! JMO