Windshield Repair Forum

I have read several posts complaining that buisness slows in the winter and recieved a couple emails asking why I dont consider this the slow season so here is my take on Winter.

Where I live they spread a lot of gravel and salt in winter months so everyone gets blasted with stones( I have done one real estate guys Explorer 3 times in the last 4 weeks) it gets cold and stays that way for weeks at a time, granted that isnt the case some other places (Why am I not in these other places? Duh) People tend to put off stuff like windshield repair but everyone knows that cold weather will cause that chip to pop and result in the need for new glass so the sale is easy. Customers are more receptive to the cold call some actually seam happy to see me.
I find that closing the sale is much easier when its cold and people respect someone with the ambition to cold call in it.
It is important that I plan my work days around the weather and start a little earlier and also work a little later than I normaly do I actually increase my weekly sales by 25% or better but work 50% less when its cold. Its the old "Plan your work and Work you plan" formula.
Winter is realy the prime selling season for me but also crappiest time to be outside so I have to plan a little better and make sure i have all the things like warm clothes and warm packs for my gloves on hand when you get cold its depressing and a depressed salesman sells nothing (Im sure this is the opposite in places like Texas and Florida where the heat is overwhelming in the summer so I guess you just reverse my calender)
For me its simple
Work harder on the days when nothing is falling out of the sky because it might be a couple days before you see the sun again and I use the impending bad days in my sales pitch
" You know mr customer its going to be below zero friday night so if you dont fix this now you might get up saturday morning to find a big crack in you windshield, Repairs are free but replacement means you pay your deductible do you really want to have to spend a couple hundred bucks in the middle of the holiday season?"
Plan my work area in advance scouting areas on crappy days so im ready when the weather breaks
Make Fleet intro calls on cruddy days and service the fleet guys that will let you work inside on the bad days
Set myself a goal for sales $300 is my minimum and I dont stop until either I reach it or it gets dark and if I havnt hit my mark I add the missing amount to the next work days goal in the summer when i hit $1000 for the week I tend to goof off the rest of the week but in the winter I work everyday its nice because there might be 10 days in a row that its crappy and I can goof off then (Man there is some wierd stuff on daytime TV)
Most importantly stay upbeat a positive attitude will do more for sales than anything else, a guy with a bad attitude could be selling $20 bills for $5 and not sell a thing. People like to see a cheerful person this time of year it brings them up as well and happy people say yes
Plan Your work Work Your Plan!
Winter can be profitable if you go about with the right attitude

Great post GlassStarz!

Starzs
Great post again, Vermont is cold and you are right on about cold weather and glass. Hope u use electric gloves and heated vest to keep you motovated....

(This is partly my .02 and partly a question for discussion, since I do mainly dealership work.... )

Is there really an increase in work in the winter due to all the sand etc put down on the roads?

Of course, it does create rock chips for us to fix, which is good. But that doesn't neccessarily mean those are repairs we will be doing right now. For example, how many repairs you will do next month actually happened due to THIS winter's DOT maintenance?

Many of the "DOT" inspired chips will be the ones we will be fixing next summer or next winter...

It's all good... it creates work for us, but to me it seems to be a year round effect rather than a seasonal impact. But then I don't do a lot of retail.

Some customers are the "I just got a rock chip" kind and some are "yeah, I got that a while ago... can't remember when"

I appreciate this post its a goodin
Thx

Holiday Greetings to all you wsr...

I'm new to the wsr business. I'm using Delta equip. and resins and completed their training in Eugene. This morning I was reading the posts regarding winter weather repairs so I thought I'd try it myself. We had an Artic Blast here in TX yesterday with overnight lows in the teens. This afternoon I attempted to repair 2 "bat wings" in 30 degree temp. The results did not meet my quality expectations and I didn't charge the customer. There was air left in both (black spots). I had the customer run his defroster to warm up the window (the truck was standing out in the cold) and I used a 12volt hair dryer to help warm the screen. I even tryed the cigarette lighter. I do know that my resin was cold as well as the injector.

So, my question to all you Northerners is...At what temp. do you call it quits outside and how do you keep the resins and equip warm. I use a pickup truck and there's no room inside for my equipment.

Dale...

First remember bat wings often just dont go away they are the ugly step sister of our buisness.
Second if its cold use a thinner resin it will flow quicker and better
Third put a big thick rag on top of the injector instead of that dumb uv shield (will do the same thing but help keep the warm that is coming from inside insulating the injector)
Fourth charge the customer if you dont charge when the repair isnt invisible you will starve. our job is to save them buying a new windshield if the repair is invisible thats a bonus.(obviosly do as good a job as you can but hey they all dont go away)
Fifth I have done repairs in 0 degrees F but generaly I take the day off if its below 15f. I dont need the money bad enough to stay out in that stuff. Im a artist and cold days are for studio work.

I have also found that popping a mini bullseye in a batwing helps the repair to look much better. I dont usually see temperatures under 50* so I cant say it will help you in cold weather.

Bois,

In cold weather you should be keeping your equipment inside the cab where it will stay warm. If that poses a problem (space) at least keep your resins inside the cab and than inside a coat pocket when you are outside.
Here in Maine during the winter months, 90% of the vehicles I repair are inside. If the temperature is below freezing I do my best to have the vehicle inside at least 30 minutes before I arrive.
If I know that it is too cold to perform a quality repair than I explain this to the customer. I will NOT risk my reputation for quality work just to make my quota for the day.
If you must repair in cold weather there have been some great tips on this forum. I use a lot of them.....

Ask your customer to start car and turn on defroster (med).

After you arrive, leave your vehicle running so your equipment stays warm.

After you've cleaned out impact point, gradually warm area around break (from the outside) remember to allow glass to cool down just a bit. During the colder months there almost always will be moisture inside the break. Be very cautious when using heat!!

Cure the finished repair a couple minutes longer than you usually do when it's warmer.

This cold spell is unusual for Texas isn't it?

Last winter I worked out of a carwash my equipment would be sitting next to me so I often threw one of those glove warmer packs into the tool box. Worked well