Windshield Repair Forum

This will be more of a rant post, so please afford me the right. This will not apply to everyone but probably a good many here. If the shoe fits wear it, some might have to wear both shoes!!!!!

I can not tell you how many times we have been called by a customer who has bought a used car, a network referral, one of our dealers that has a car for delievery that was just traded or being delivered in between our visits, or just any old Tom,Dick,Harry or Jane that has a chip that has previously been attempted to be repaired. I say attempted becuase the level of quality in these repairs is disgusting. You hacks out there do just good enough job from keeping a skilled technician from making it better and a horrible enough job to make people have a negative outlook on repair.

Sure we do our best to qualify on the phone but that only goes so far when the repairs are as bad as they are. People think they are not filled. You should be ashamed to charge for work like this. Even if it is only 10.00. That is another problem, why would you want to spend 30-45 min doing the job the right way for pennies. Why are you whoreing yourself out like that anyway?

So anyway,we show up at the clients only to find a mess created by a hack that could not possibly have any ethics or skill base. We then have to explain to the customer that there are hacks out there like you and that there are professionals that do quality work.

Come on guys take some pride in your work. Just becuase you own a kit does not mean your ready for business. It really does not take that much skill to learn this trade. Really it does not. Put a little effort forth, practice do what ever you need to but lets get it right. If you can't get the hang of it maybe its not for you. Be REALISTIC with yourself.

I know, I know, your thinking go cry to mommy sailor. Well I did not expect it to sit well with everyone but sometimes the truth hurts folks.

Thanks for reading. Your thoughts would be interesting.

Quote "This will not apply to everyone but probably a good many here"

Really? Based on what information?
The fact that people frequent the forum should indicate that they are desirous of gaining knowledge about WSR and perfecting their WSR skills.
In short. If people only wanted to do repairs which were inferior to yours, I doubt very much that they would take the time to use the forum.

Mr Bill,
To answer your question yes and no. Yes many people coming to this forum do so because they want to become better techs. However a great many just come to get some marketing tips. I have found that many people get involved because they think they can make a quick buck but don't give a darn about the quality. This can happen in industries such as ours.

People are told how easy it is to do repair's and so they get involved because they are told it only take a few minutes to do a chip. Now the techs who have been around for a while know better but also this biz seems to have a revolving door in it. I agree with SGT about people needing to take more time or at least getting some training.
David
Coitster

I think your on the right track Bill. I find most hacky repairs in my area are the result of do it your selfers and the replacement folks at times. Do your homework SGT to find EXACTLY who is in your area and what kind of tech they are and I believe you will look at things differently.

It behooves you to do so to help educate your customers. Telling them that "that there are hacks out there" can be detrimental to your customer and you, (nobody likes a bad mouth) and when we run into this sort of thing I tell my customers that getting a repair from the person who would prefer to sell you a replacement is mabey not such a good idea. (What is their incentative to do a good job?) There are dealers who do it your self, get free repairs from the replacement guy or take in trades from do it your self owners. So I wonder why would you assume the folks here are possably responsible?

I agree with SGT 100% and have made the same rant numerous times before. I constantly see repairs done for dealers and rental companies that are substandard or even horrible. This gives all techs a bad name as the offending party has educated their customer that this is what to expect from a windshield repair. As far as negative response to SGT's post, if you are doing good repairs you know it. If so you should not be offended by his post.

I to, SGT, have been called by my dealers to repair chips on sold used cars where the customer complains after the deal is closed. Guess the customers don't see the break until after they take possession. Anyway, I make the trip to the dealer only to find that the chip has already been repaired.

This is what I do; If the previous repair is good (won't crack out) but looks bad, I will give the customer a warranty even though I didn't do the repair the first time. I do this to satisfy the customer's concern and make the dealer happy. Maybe I shouldn't.

If the previous repair is bad (i.e., may crack out) I will re-repair, if possible, and charge the dealer my usual fee.

Dale...

Fellow Techs, I appreciate both the support and oppostion posts. I totally expected it to get mixed reviews and respect your opinions.

I think we all need to be realistic about this issue. I do not care who is doing the bad repairs. It might be a replacement tech who has a vested interst in replacement, it might be a new technician who just got his kit with no training or enough practice to complete a good repair, might be a get rich quick guy or worse a skilled tech who does not care enough to utilize the skills they have for whatever reason(time,money,poor work ethics). What ever the reason, it hurts the industry.

Where do I get my outlook from? Real world experience and past posts and conversations from technicians across the country dealing with the same issues.

IMO THE BOTTOM LINE IS....THERE ARE IS A WHOLE LOTTA TECHS OUT THERE DOING SUB STANDARD REPAIRS, AND YES, LIKE IT OR NOT SOME ARE HERE ON THE FORUM. THIS IS THE BIGGEST ONLINE COMMUNITY FOR THIS INDUSTRY. TO THINK THAT THER ARE NOT TECHS HERE ON THE FORUM DOING POOR REPAIRS IS JUST NOT REALISTIC. YES, THAT IS WHY THE FORUM IS HERE, TO LEARN AND I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MORE THAN WILLING TO HELP ANYONE BUT PLEASE PUT THE INFORMATION YOU AQUIRE TO PRACTICE USE FIRST.

I also have been called to fix repairs that have already been repaired... this usually is on star breaks where one or more leg has expanded from the original repair. I explain to the customer that if resin isn't injected to the very end, it will crack out & maybe the guy who had done it previously just didn't take enough time on the repair. What I'm finding though, is that the repairs I'm having to re-repair were done by a company in town who does replacement plus repair & these guys are paid by the hour and are not working for themselves. I tell them that I cannot guarantee that the original repair will not continue to crack out on other legs of the star, but I can guarantee that the leg that I fix will not go any further, then I make sure that I make a note on my invoice of what the original repair looks like and what I did to fix it. I don't bash anyone but... I am getting quite a few new customers who will never call these people again, not even to fix a repair & I charge my usual amount on the new repair. There is no way we can educate the entire public... just one at a time. I have a great deal of pride in my work - I consider myself an artist & am very concientous of doing the repair right the first time & never rush a job. Will any of my repairs crack out? Only time will tell.:eusa_doh:

Gwen

I think we only need to look at some of the questions asked on here by some guys who have been doing repairs for a long time to know that not everyone does quality repairs all the time.

I try my best a lot of the time but not everytime and I am honest enough with myself to know that. Yes sometimes I shortcut a dry out and that repair will reappear,sometimes I over pressure to speed a repair along but most times I get it right. There just happens to be a lot of people who never do.

This is a business that people think they can get into for a couple of hundred bucks ( Am I starting to sound American) and most tool companies sell on the fact you can learn in 2 hours and repair in 20 minutes. Do your training and do your practise then do your best. Do not worry about anyone else.

When I started WR I worried about what the competition was doing. It didn't help my business at all. For me, if I concentrate on what I'm doing things seem to fall into place (most of the time).