What we really have to be worried about, or address

[Masterglass]

Fixed my first windshield in 1986. These carwash outfits with the 10 minute repairs are going to cost us the insurance bussiness. A competent repair connot be made in 10 minutes. See them all the time, they are terrible, full of air (black) and pit filler is usually gone. They all are after the insurance bussiness and will hurt us in the long run. I don't care what kit you are using, have them all, it cannot bee done in 10 minutes.

[Delta Kits]

These carwash outfits with the 10 minute repairs are going to cost us the insurance bussiness...See them all the time, they are terrible, full of air (black) and pit filler is usually gone.

Welcome to the forum!

I agree that technicians who do lousy repairs, leaving air, not using pit filler, not removing moisture, that sort of thing, are bringing down the industry. No question.

What I don't agree with, is the sentiment that "carwash outfits" are the only ones to blame. While there are certainly those who do that type of work, that's true for many other types too.

Certain windshield repair equipment suppliers who sell to RV owners, for example, say the death of the industry is due to "tents." Glass shops in fixed locations say the death of the industry is "mobile technicians."

Discounting self interest as a cause for a minute, I think everyone is saying that bad repairs are bringing down the image of our industry. I completely agree.

That's why Delta Kits has expanded our training program, trying to get people trained who will not come to our training in Oregon.

I'll tell you this, I know firsthand that there are carwash companies out there that do take pride in the quality of their repairs.

You know how I know?

They have come to training. Not only the owners, but paying for their employees to come as well.

The fight for the quality of the industry is not against them. The fight is against any technician that does substandard repairs, regardless of their location when they do it.

Does a repair full of air and no pit filler look any better if it was done in a shop?

[mafsu]

I agree with you Jeff. I know of lots of people who work out of such locations post on this forum. These folks are interested in bettering themselves and their business. I don't think anyone happens across this forum because they are looking for somewhere they can give out advice. All these folks are trying to learn something and become better at their trade. So lets not bash someone for where they do their work, but instead come down on those who take no pride in their work and are not interested in the welfare of this industry.

[scratchy]

I think alot of repairs are done bad due to poor choice of resin. When someone has 6 different viscosities to choose from the likelyhood of grabbing the wrong one is very high. I am now running with Magnibond on everything but long cracks and am having the best results yet. KISS works.

[Delta Kits]

Obviously equipment & resin choices play a part.

I still think it's about training and desire however.

We have not had a single person attend training that could do repairs as well before he arrived as he could after.

These training classes include brand new technicians, all the way to technicians that have been doing repairs for 10-20 years.

All the training in the world though won't help if you don't care whether you do a good job or not.

[screenman]

I have sent people away from my training and back to their bosses after only a couple of hours when it was obvious they were not interested in the job. When I train someone I put my reputation at stake and it tokk years to get I am sure most kit suppliers do not set these standards.

A lot of kits are sold in the UK with a video showing you how to do the job, If it is that easy why is there not thousands out there getting the sort of living I do from repair.

I agree with Delta training, attitude and practise.

[optic-kleer]

Apart from the qualities and requirements mentioned by Screenman in the previous post, we should not forget self discipline. By that I mean having the balls to say "i'm sorry but I really don't think that the repair I have just completed is up to my required standard. This ones on me, no charge".
We have all done fixes that are not 100%. Some breaks just can't be repaired to an acceptable standard. We have many vehicles brought to us each week, day, month that have already been repaired by both the nationals (you all know who i'm talking about" and one man bands with terrible equipment, no experience or any training at all. This is what we need to stamp out.
I have trained a lot of ex-national glass company techs to use Delta equipment and I am amazed at the feedback I get regarding standards of what is and isn't acceptable. Could this be a ploy by the national glass repair companies to discredit glass repair and thus increase profitability by increases in subsequent replacement figures?

[Masterglass]

First, I would like to apologize to all for a downbeat post. It had been a long day and during the week I had lost a few jobs because I could not commit to completing the repairs in 10 minutes like the other guys at the carwash. I was not implying all car washes. There is a large chain in houston using 1 company in particular. Employees are all hourly, and the way they are set up, when a repair is sold, it has to be completed by the time the car is finished being vaccuumed and ready to be put on the line. I agree that some will clear out only so much, which I believe has primarily to due with how long it has been on the windshield. The longer it has been unprotected, the more contamination, i.e. road oil from rain, has had a chance to build up. Thats why I love Delta's chip savers and hand them out as my bussiness card, also Delta's Premium Bond is excellent all purpose resin. I failed to state my biggest problem with them is I have repaired 4 cars in the last month where the customers told me they had a repair done by them in the past and upon inspection it was not a true break in the glass, but a chip which all they did was put pit filler, cured and scraped smooth then charged the customers insurance company for a repair. Maybe I should have but I didn't tell my customers this fact. I make it a rule not to knock another techs work to customers.

I still state that advertising "10 Minute Repair" is not doing any of us any good. I have 3 kits from different manufacturer's and at one time or another have had exposure to all I have seen advertised and not one does a top quality repair in 10 minutes. I have read post from other techs new in the bussiness who were doubting themselves because they took longer than ten minutes. Repaired my first windshield in 1986, not trying to brag but stating that I still take 20 minutes minimum and do not believe a good quality job can be done any faster.

I would like to thank David for all of his great post. I really appreciate his positive and honest sharing of life in the "windshield repair bussiness". His marketing ideas are right on as well. There are alot of great repairs I see as well, strange how most of the good ones I see were done by independant repair techs.

[GlassStarz]

If you think the insurance companys care whether its invisible or not you are sadly deluded. The only thing a insurance company cares about is how much money they can save plain and simple.
Its our responsibility to do as good a job as possible. Dont think just because some dont do a good job regardless of thier location that somehow the insurance companys will stop covering our work face it 10 bad repairs cost them less than one replacement $$ is thier driving force nothing else.

[gold star wsr]

Masterglass, try this, it works for me : Whenever someone asks me to complete a job in 10 minutes, I just look them in the face and ask "Do you want it done fast, or do you want it done right?" ... Sure, some repairs can be finished in 10 minutes, but I usually say 20 to 30 minutes, then if I am done sooner, the client is very pleased. It's not just the car-wash guys, though, that are doing shoddy work. They just seem to have the highest profile.