View From The Trenches

Once again, a glass shop owner has been charged with falsifying insurance invoices and the outcry from some in our industry surprises me. Those who appear to profess sympathy of the accused do so because they say it is in self-defense to the heavy and high-handed attitude of the insurance industry in the rate setting and payment of claims. What a crock!

I have zero love when dealing with any insurer. These corporations have built empires over the decades. They have grown through shrewd investment of premium along with a jaundiced and miserly approach to claims. With that said, I have issues with any person who feels the need to overstate their installation materials and claim “self-defense.” That is a very slippery slope that a shop owner ultimately will fail to traverse.

A cheat is a cheat is a cheat. That is a fact and there is no way around it. If you claim that you installed a dealer-purchased OEM windshield and billed for that while installing a generic, that’s fraud and it’s illegal. If you claimed to buy a moulding and reused the old, that’s cheating. I also believe that if you bill out an OEM or aftermarket moulding and use something off a roll (except an equal style of rain gutter), that’s wrong as well. One is certainly entitled to charge something, but just not retail for a “part” that is merely a faux paus cover. To me, you have cheated the customer first by installing a lower quality part. Needless to say, you compound the act by overbilling their insurer.

In adolescence, the one true and true plaintive cry was “everybody is doing it!” I ask you, when did we as adult shop owners revert back to those acne-laden years? I’m in business to make money, not to steal it from any source, a client or their insurer. All I want is a fair exchange for goods and services, Elementary Economics 101.

Hey, I understand the reality that glass shop owners and insurers have a fairly different view of “what is fair.” At times, I’ve observed more agreement between the parties at a Mideast peace conference than I see between the aforementioned groups. No doubt NAGS’ disparities and the famous 10-percent mark-up are just two areas that makes any red-blooded glass shop owner grit their teeth when dealing with insurers. Still I would say if you have agreed to the rules, play by them.

If we don’t, there is a good chance that we will “inherit the wind.” We have seen in the past months, schemes that involve windshield repairs that have caused State Farm to stop waiving deductibles, a fictitious company billing non-existent glass claims in the Northwest and this criminal case against Glass Emporium (GEMI) announced. All the more reason for insurers to attempt to restrict business to “trusted” corporate vendors and don’t think that they won’t try to do so. No comment from me on that subject. I’d be sued for libel.

In today’s sports, a common tenet often stated is” If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” NASCAR and baseball are the poster children for this credo. I come from the world of golf where playing by the rules is sacred and one calls penalties on themselves. I truly believe that this world would be a much better place to be if honesty and a man’s word were marks of respect instead of ridicule for being “weak.”We as independents are not playing on a level playing field. I know it. You know it. However, that does not give us the right for adjustment on this level by committing fraud.

I have it lucky. Out here in my part of California, winter means cool, sometimes cold weather and rain. I am clueless to what many of you fellow techs have to endure when the weather turns frigid and the landscape white. How you guys get by without turning into miniature polar bears is a mystery to me. Al Gore has a very serious message about global warming but I know several thousand of you would vote if you could for wearing shorts in January in our northern and plains climes.

Going mobile is just unthinkable to me. I understand you can prime glass in shop (or van) and head out for a frosty day of fun and frolic, but just removing a moulding is a chore that becomes a battle instead of an afterthought. Dispensing urethanes without heat and forethought becomes an impossibility unless you possess Conan-like paws.

Fingers that once seemed a part of one’s hand in no way remain user-friendly. Those once supple digits have no love of sub-freezing temps and the thought and hope of ever again doing Hendrix guitar licks fade as you try to stay attached to the (very) cold knife you try to hold in your hand.

Nothing comes easy. In most shops, there are cars that can’t totally become room temperature before work commences. Depending on the owner’s willingness to pay utility bills, the shop itself will never be mistaken for a source of tropical orchids. There’s nothing like insulated Dickies, the uniform of cold weather work wear, to keep those temperature shifts manageable.

Winter, especially around the Christmas holidays, provides a consistent source of tempered glass jobs. Many times, we can thank the criminal element for providing us with work as thefts tend to peak with people packing vehicles with presents. There must be nothing like trying to gingerly remove a near frozen door panel and then trying to vacuum glass shards from within after Father Winter has his way.

Winter is hard on cars and just as hard on those who work on them for a living. You have to tip your hat to those who annually endure the experience. Many of us who work the southern perimeter of this country would never work where snow and ice are the norm for at least a quarter of the year or ourselves are refugees from those climatic conditions.

So let me toast all of you out there! We warm weather weenies are not jealous one iota of you boys of winter. We just question your sanity and your climatic choices. I wouldn’t think of rubbing it in. I just don’t have time. Surf’s up!! Fer sure.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to those who get this far!!

I saw a thread posted on the glassBYTEs.com™/AGRR magazine forum suggesting that perhaps Ralph Nader could be persuaded to look into some of the issues that plague our industry. His address was taken from his website and posted on the forum so that contact could be made.

I sat down and composed this letter over the weekend.

Mr. Ralph Nader
P.O. Box 19312
Washington, D.C. 20036

Dear Mr. Nader,

I was extremely impressed with the reports of your keynote speech when you addressed the convention attendees of the Independent Glass Association. You showed great insight and knowledge toward some of the problems our membership faces. This letter is a request that you and your organization take some time to investigate and to report to the American people on the perils and pitfalls of the automotive glass industry.

I am been in the auto glass business for more than a quarter-century and I personally have never seen the quality and composition of installation so bad and the future seems even bleaker to me. Auto glass consumers suffer on many levels and without your help to reform our industry; they stand to continue to suffer economic losses and perhaps their lives.

Ours is a multi-tiered problem. From one side is a concerted corporate effort to gain market share at any cost. In your speech, you spoke of “an incestuous relationship.” I interpreted that to mean the relationship of casualty insurers and large corporate glass companies that operate third-party administrators. These TPAs relieve insurance companies of claim personnel costs while funneling work back to their own shops. Smaller glass shops are either shut out of the process or are forced to accept low payment rates that are agreed to by both the insurers and the corporate glass company.

Belron, the parent company of Safelite Glass Co. (SGC), is the largest and reputed to be the greatest offender. It is reported that SGC administers almost 60 percent of all insurance glass claims. What is now occurring has now been dubbed the “Wal-Mart effect.” Small local chains along with ‘mom and pop’ stores are closing because of an inability to compete on pricing and profit. This just acts to limit competition even more. It is a captive closed end market and is getting worse. There are additional issues that concern price fixing; the use of a national price list that is neither used by distributors or glass shops but is the only pricing basis used by insurers and TPAs. Those two issues are national in implication and deserve outside attention.

I’m sure you are aware of how critical auto glass has become in providing structural strength to today’s automobile. How replacement glass is being installed today is a national tragedy and the consumer is almost powerless to ascertain if a proper installation took place. The industry has enacted several certification programs to build confidence in their craft but at the same time many shops including the largest chains pay performance based bonuses and incentives to their technicians. The more installations performed by the technician, the bigger the paycheck, thus creating a “see-no-evil” methodology that attempts to deflect poor replacement procedures caused by taking shortcuts back to the installer and away from the corporation that is interested only in increasing the number of units installed.

Price wars usually benefit the consumer. In the auto glass industry, it usually is the reverse. The public easily can compare and make buying choices in almost any other market other than glass. Whether it is electronics, new car sales or even household products, they can choose between equal or competing brands by price or features. In that way, if one wants to buy a GM truck or Clorox bleach, they can choose to make that purchase for whatever reason.

In auto glass, it is “a crapshoot” (forgive the expression). Nowhere is the term “you get what you pay for” so true. Sources of and the quality of production of auto glass vary tremendously. Fit, weight and clarity are just some factors that constitute a well-made windshield. The industry is seeing a steep decline in the quality of production, due much to cheap imports and price pressures that those imports bring to the market. Mouldings, the accessories that protect and visually hide the edges and sealant bonding the glass and usually must be replaced at the time of a glass install also come in distinct grades. Generic coverings are oftentimes used, saving installers money. Adhesives that are used to attach the glass are price-sensitive and lastly, but perhaps most important, the quality of the installer will affect the integrity and safety of the glass itself directly.

The American public is being squeezed literally from both ends when it comes to installation quality. You have such an easy entry to this trade; many practitioners simply are not qualified to be installers. Those who possess a mini-pickup truck and a resale license can walk into a glass distributor and open an account. Low pricing and speed appear to be the only criteria needed. However, I believe tighter state controls on licensing may help reduce but certainly not end that seamy side. If one considers the corporate installer a better bet for a safer install, they are in for a rude awakening. Time is money for many of these companies. As mentioned previously, incentive-laden pay plans are the norm rewarding those able to complete a high number of work orders. It is not unusual for higher-paid senior installers to be laid off as a method of lowering personnel costs making way for less-experienced technicians. Those fired many times either move to other companies or go into business for themselves, which goes back to the aforementioned easy entry.

The poor installation practices that take place have a major impact on the American auto glass consumer. First in importance is the weakening of the structural cage that encases the occupants of the vehicle. In rollovers or airbag deployments, a failure of the adhesion system that secures the windshield to the car can result in ejection of unbelted riders or the dissipation of the airbag’s effectiveness. Water leaks from poor installations can short out electrical systems and create undetectable corrosion issues, costing thousands of dollars to repair. Rust also can occur due to the careless scratching of the coating during the glass removal process. If left unprimed by a hasty or ignorant installer, this also will lead to corrosion, which can undermine the adhesive system itself.

Mr. Nader, there are many of us within the industry that take pride in the product we sell and in the craft of glass installation itself. Yet, many others have shareholders to answer to and lack a personal connection to their clients. I would hope that you and your organization could take time and review the areas named in this letter and consider putting your prestige and weight behind an effort to raise the public consciousness. I can pass on several industry sources that are familiar with steering issues and within a short time provide you with a list of contacts throughout the states you could use as resources. It has been said that sunlight makes the best disinfectant and with your help, perhaps to steal a phrase from you, prevent a car that has had its windshield replaced to become “unsafe at any speed.”

Sincerely,
Neil Duffy
Owner
Auto Glass Menders
San Jose, Calif.