Windshield Repair Forum

With all the talk about what to charge fleets and dealers and than seeing some of the low fees some of you are getting for a repair has led me to make a change I have been just thinking about all summer.
I'm raising my initial fee $5 for the first repair. The second repair on the same w/s will remain at $15. This increase will be for fleets and dealers only, my cash price and insurance price (contracts) will stay the same.
To my surprise, no one has balked or complained about the increase. The $5 increase may not sound like much (that's the idea) but multiply $5 by 1200 dealer and fleet repairs per year....cha ching!
The accounts I'm a little leary of informing about the increase are the rental agencies. Big volume there...any thoughts?

I needed to add that this was my first increase in about 8 years. Been in business for 13 years.

Hi there Dave, Can you please advise me your pricing ?? I charge $40.00 for a car dealer exter chips $5.00 ea a 30 day Payment over 4 cars for repair I charge $35.00 ea extra chip $5.00 Fleet accounts $35.00 -Fleets with a credit card $40.00--some of the other repair people in the area charge extra $10.00 per chip ??????

I went up 5$ per the first repair last spring. No comments from anyone!!

I raised my prices about a year ago with my rental companies. My stomach was in knots for a couple of days before informing them. Instead of an across the board $5 raise, We compromised on a smaller raise on turnbacks and a larger raise on vehicles still in service. It has worked out great. The only problem they had was an increase in turnback costs. So they were happy with the deal.

Inflation in the last 8 years over there I think has risen by 22.4% that means unless you are doing a lot more work you are effectivley earning a lot less.
I do not tell my customers I am putting the prices up I just do it. I have never been into a shop or anywhere to see a sign saying prices going up next week,they just creep them in. More often than not the person who pays the bill is not the person who hands out the work.

If you are only doing a 1,000 repairs a year you do not need to be a mathmatician to work out how much extra $2 on each will get you. Do not forget your costs will be the same, the only increase is your bottom line.
The going rate for a repair in 1988 was $45 you should be getting about $100 now, I know very few people will pay that.

Do not be the cheapest be the best.

Remember the old saying work clever not hard.

I haven't changed my base fee for 1st chip repairs but I did increase my fee on second (or more) chips on same windshield earlier this year when gas prices rose. I went from $10 to $15 on retail customers and $10 or $15 for dealers/fleets depending on break size. With gas prices falling, I don't plan to reduce my fees.

Dale...