Opinions please: I have seen several competitors doing this

[rlb]

I do not repair cracks larger than 1 inch. I do not think it's profitable over 3-6 inches. There are too many variables involved in repairing cracks if you do not have an environment that closes off UV rays and one that allows you the time to give your customers a great outcome (cracks can be fast or frustratingly slow). I have 2-6 customers a day that will pay cash to repair their long cracks in their windshields. I send them to others that have the proper resources to give them a quality repair. If I had a shop and a steady strong flow of customers and a working team, I would offer long crack repair. If I repaired long cracks, I would not accept part insurance and make my customers pay the difference. I strongly believe, its best to allow the customer to pay. Most will pay too avoid replacement.

[shepardh1]

Safelite asks their clients if the damage is less than the size of a dollar bill. If it is 4 inches, they will approve the repair and dispatch it to a repairman. The repairman then does the repair and submits an invoice and gets paid. If the repair fails 2 months later, the customer calls and speaks to Safelite again to get a replacement. When Safelite discovers that the replacement is required due to a failed repair, they withdraw the money they paid the repairman from his account.

This is why I do not accept insurance payment for crack repairs. I try to talk people out of having the repair done, but if they insist, I give them verbal and written disclaimers that my success rate on cracks is much lower than chips and that I can not guarantee it. I am new to this work (4 years, about 10,000 chips repaired) and still have a low success rate on cracks.... for some techs, the success rate is much higher.