Windshield Repair Forum

Well said Brent. Some of my most loyal customers are companies that have tried a much larger one and found them wanting in terms of quality and service.

I appreciate the response Brent. That's the kind of input people need to hear. I had a customer ask me yesterday, "do you use good resin like Safelite say's they do?" My response was, yes in fact our resins may be even better than theirs.

Am I overly concerned about Safelite's ads and claims? No. Business is up for me. But the resin claims they make are something that needed to be addressed by someone like you.

clearquest wrote:the resin claims they make are something that needed to be addressed by someone like you.

Their claims are all smoke and mirrors. They have to justify their outrageous pricing in some form or fashion.

I have noticed an increase in calls when these ads are running, but it's not enough to make a huge difference.

Brent is a smart & respectful business man, and he could have jumped on here and started telling people off about their opinions about other manufacturers and what they should/shouldn't do to compete or step up to the plate. But, why?

If you use Deltas resins and your happy and your clients are happy, why should he have to justify anything?

I say you use whatever resins you think are right, and if everyone is happy, then GREAT!

One little thing I would like to say about these SL ads, if the resins are as superior as they are, and their repairs are the BEST, why do they ALWAYS have to use a computer generated rock chip? I want to see the REAL DEAL!

My 2 cents...

ATX

I wouldnt worry to much about sl because worring is not going to do anything but waste your time and energy.The one thing that burns my but is that they are not even american owned.The largest windshield company in our country is owned by another company in another country(Belron).I have to tell you guys what happened just a week ago to me with a safelite guy.I was at my rental company and we walked in at the same time and he said what are you doing here and I told him.He made some sly remark about me being there competitor and I just laugh.When I got ready to leave after the repair I rode by where he was replacing and he still did not have the glass in.I yelled at him and said I made my what about you.He looked at me and just frowned.We just need to keep doing what we are doing and not worry about them because there pockets are so deep that no one in this industry can do anything about it.

Also, because Safelite is a large corporation, their employees are are told exactly how to act, what to say and to follow a set procedure when it comes to doing repairs. They are even measured by how long each repair takes. Independent guys have an edge because we can tailor our approach to each customer and to each repair. Relationships and a level of salesmanship make all the difference between just doing a repair and having a long term customer.

I decided to see what SL would charge me for a 1 chip repair via their website quote form.

$109.95 + $19.99 mobile fee + $4.99 repair supply fee + 8.25% tax = $146.06 !!!

$278.95 + $24.99 for mobile service + taxes, this is what they would charge to replace it!

I looked up the cost of glass & materials, and it's $80, and I'm sure they don't pay as much for materials as I would!

Ridiculous!

All Safelite are doing is following the Autoglass UK model that started way back in the early 80's. They don't wheel and deal their prices on the internet or the phone. Their business focus is targeted directly at the insurance companies and their fully comprehensive customers. That is where the real pricing goes on and you won't see that anywhere. Their TV advertising is all about branding. Ask somebody where to get a burger and you will probably say McDonalds, ask about glass replacement and repair in the UK and they will probably say Autoglass. That is what Safelite are out to achieve, to become a fully national brand.

Had an ex-SL tech show me their employee handbook and I believe SL is supplied resins and tools from GlassMedic. So I don't know if any test have been done on GlassMedic resins or how they compare to other resins on the market. The handbook was quite interesting though.

If Safeless could show REAL chips and results as to automated cartoon looking pics they may have more credibility. But it would be hard for them to get a decent REAL before and after set of pics.