View From The Trenches

Much can be said about the big time saving high-dollar devices we have to extricate glass from vehicles. Names like Express, Extractor and Freedom come to mind. No doubt without their invention, many of us would have lost our knuckles, fingertips and occupational longevity along with our patience to stay in the trade by now. However, like in life, the “little folks” of tooldom need a little appreciation, respect and “props” for their existence. Many of the tools and devices we use are fairly specific to our industry. Below are my Fab Five nominees for a little appreciation.

Cold Knives- This is the most basic tool in our inventory and in my case, the most used. I would rather try to navigate my cable knife around a glass perimeter than any other tool out there. I just feel I have far more control and thereby can limit most paint damage when and wherever I can. I carry four or them, each with varying length of blades. The two great improvements to this most elemental utensil are the quick change and the Ultra-Wiz type blades. When the quick release style of knife was introduced, I didn’t care that much for it. The time saving was nice but I felt it lacked feel. However with the tight fits we are seeing more of, the old style of the tool has a nut that secures the cable to the blade which had an ugly way of scratching paint if one didn’t watch out. The place I had most trouble with was pulling along the tight posts of current Nissan trucks or SUVs. I found with the quick-release model I could extend the blade a bit longer and easily get clearance.

The new style of cold knife blades is a godsend. I hated to waste time grinding down a new blade in order for it to be sharp or thin enough not to require the need to inject steroids in myself. Anybody who had a “fattie” while trying to remove an old 1981 Escort that Ford liked to install with a minimum thickness of urethane would appreciate the blade’s evolution. I do buy only the paint-protection style these days, but I really attempt not try to test those properties.

Wire- This is an area that I thought and in fact prayed that I had seen the last of. Gosh, I hated wiring glass out. Many of us “old fogies” had started in this trade by using piano wire to remove windshields or backlites. When someone tried to teach me the use of a garrote, I informed the instructor that the device was hardly new to me since I was pulling glass when I was 14. Weightlifting skills were appreciated since wiring out any glass seemed to require the pectoral muscles of a Mr. America. With the advent of the cold knife and various other power glass removal tools, I foolishly thought I had gratefully seen the passing of an era. Obviously I had not slept at a Holiday Inn when I had that presumption.

Today I am using wire more than ever. Body shops required more glass removals and with today’s raw edge glass designs, I have found using wire for removal has minimized collateral damage to surrounding painted areas technology has marched on as well. I started using Tightwire at least ten years ago and found it to be a major improvement as it was far more flexible, cut faster and required less exertion than the old piano wire. Yet, this year I can truthfully say, I have found something that works even better in many applications—Squirewire. My friend Larry Carlson from Austin Auto Glass has touted the properties of this product to me for at least a year. He got so fed up with my procrastination to buy it; he included a roll of the stuff as part payment of a semi- transcontinental bet that he lost to me. I am extremely grateful for his stubbornness along with his ability to lose to me in fantasy baseball. To those who have a tough time removing Jeep Wrangler DW 1668s, try Squirewire. I cut any part of the windshield out that I can with a cold knife. Wrap Squire around the remaining outside perimeter and then pull from the inside. If one can lock one end in somehow and just pull the other, it cuts out clean and rather quickly. The inside pull method works well on the newer Volkswagen shields along with many encapsulated back and sidelites that have little outside clearance if one is forsaking power tools for the sake of paint. It’s not perfect; Squirewire doesn’t saw well nor does it like setting pins. Also working with it without thick gloves and safety glasses is like searching for gas leaks with a match. However, it makes some cutouts very easy and it has become an integral part of my tool inventory.

I’m aware of a removal tool called the GlassBot that incorporates wire and spares the brute strength but I have never seen it in operation. I’ve heard rumors that some of the large-glass installation firms are looking into mandating use of the “Bot” to help minimize customer paint damage as glass designs are evolving more toward the tight fitting raw edge of the late-model Jettas and Eos. It’s a little ironic to see old ways return as new solutions.

Another “can’t do without” tool for me is my “Super Scraper.” This urethane removal implement is a part of every install and all ten fingers of mine thank me daily for its use as well as the pinchwelds to which it is applied. If any of you ever had a razor blade fold over while scraping glass or metal as I have, you certainly will appreciate its invention. I carry two of these scrapers so that I don’t waste the time and effort of changing blade widths. I have found that this tool does the least amount of damage to a car body when removing urethane, which of course minimizes the chance for corrosion. It doesn’t hurt that at least for me sure speeds up the removal process and saves my fingers for golf and riffs on “Guitar Hero.” Body shop techs have had me order scrapers for them since they appear to be unique to our industry. The blades come in three widths and I’ve found I almost never use the smallest one. My only two complaints on the tools are that some blades are very easy to snap and the weakest part of the tool is the ring that secures the blade to the tool. It wears easy and loses tension rendering the tool unusable. I carry back-up replacement parts for that reason.

Remember how many mechanics and body men used to drool over our plastic bones? I knew I could win friends and influence people if I handed out installation sticks when I worked at an account. That tool has evolved into a set of hard and durable tools that have been marketed in our industry as “Prybabies.” Every tool truck has a set of these utensils designed to push, dig, separate and pry parts and articles that easily damage, scratch or break. I believe that I use at least one component of the set on every job that I do. I use them for everything from removing roof rails and door trims to leveling mouldings after installation.

Last but not least, for those mobiles where light is a precious commodity, pick up an LED flashlight. I’ve got a few sizes and use them inside door panels and other areas that need illumination. They pack a big punch in small packages. There are rechargeable models made but they are pricey. They retail for around $135, which I thought was a ridiculous amount to spend on a flashlight. The battery-operated model I bought was far cheaper, yet, when I went to replace the 3-volt replacements, I found that its cost was almost $15 a pair. Choose wisely, my children.

The one tool I would like to see less of is the long-handled utility knife that some of our budget-minded installers use as the primary tool for below-dash urethane detachment. I realize that the cost of having a cordless or pneumatic removal device is fairly high, but nothing speaks “hack” more to me than watching some guy fold the top of a windshield down while spraying glass fragments indiscriminately as he slices away at the attached uncut urethane. The tool indeed has its uses, but not as a removal tool of first choice.

Tools make the professional and the proficient professional uses the right tool for the job. I’m sure all of you out there keep your eyes open and your ears perked for anything that can make your installation life easier, faster and safer. I’m just wondering what Mr. C is going to send me this year when he loses again in baseball.

As the economy slows, we in the auto glass industry are trying to come to grips with the tension that job uncertainty brings into the workplace. From the managers, techs and CSRs, the pressure to perform against the prospect of permanent layoffs or closures can certainly lead to work place conditions that resemble the Iron Curtain of old and in some places the Gaza Strip of today. Trying to find a “happy place” can become a very challenging affair.

This is a two way street. If you are an owner, oftentimes you are put between a rock and a hard place. Your customers have dropped off, pay slow and or demand such deep discounts, bidding and doing a job can become an act of just trading dollars. All you can hope for at times is to have enough business to pay your overhead and stay afloat.

If you are a tech or a CSR, it’s not hard to get a whiff of trouble. Phones are checked every 15 minutes just to assure operational status. Techs have three jobs a day and draw them out. I can easily confirm the concept that there is nothing more conducive to daydreaming or labor unrest than only to have an able installer under utilized. Most of us can do our jobs in our sleep and use our mental facilities for other things while we install. In a sense, we can become the poster child for the maxim “Idleness is the tool of the devil”.

Last week, on the AGRR Forum there were a few posts that really caught my eye. In one a rookie owner had to come to grips with an employee who was stealing both gas and glass. As he was getting advice from others, a person posted a reply that appeared to justify the offending employee’s action. That sparked a further furor about what possible justifications someone could have for stealing from his employer. In a nutshell, it seemed to me two sides of a coin that may come more and more into circulation in the times ahead.

I may be better off talking to my stone-deaf Labrador but let me remind some of you out there the trial and tribulations of employers. It’s not that easy in many cases. If you work for a mom and pop store, I know this; I was the last one paid as the one signing the checks. When I was paying $20/hr, I was also paying almost 8 per cent on top in Social Security taxes, and $15 per every $100 earned to Workman’s comp. I was paying full medical on the employee and one half of his family insurance, which in the late 80’s cost me $500/mo per employee. An employee got two full weeks paid vacation after a year and three weeks after 5 yrs. I closed my shop between Christmas and New Years with full pay and gave a few hundred dollars in bonuses to everyone. All this when NAGS discounts were skyrocketing to 80 –85 per cent off NAGS. I had employees leave and try to set up their own businesses, trying to do so with my customers. Only one succeeded more than 3 months. What to me was the most egregious personal offense was a false workman’s compensation claim that actually occurred during a beach volleyball game. The man had sick time that would have covered him until State disability kicked in along with medical insurance but he figured correctly if he claimed the injury under work all expenses would have been paid in full instead of eighty/twenty. To make matters non-negotiable, he filed his claim without my knowledge. A caller from a State agency actually reprimanded me for NOT reporting the original claim. When told that is hard to report something that was completely false, the caller just said it was easier to pay than to fight the claim. What some of you non-owners may or may not know is that at least in my state of California, businesses overpay Worker’s comp premiums and are rebated back a percentage if no claims are paid out. I lost about $7000 in unused premiums and I had an increase the following year due to paying for that knee repair. After trying to treat my folks as family, that last act was a wake-up call for me to return to just working for myself and by myself.

But I am very mindful that techs suffer indignities as well. Bad working conditions, unreasonable job assignments, unrealistic install times and bad materials are just a few of the many reasonable complaints that installers run into on a daily basis. It is not hard feeling unappreciated when no one acknowledges the physical toll and the mental stress that does occur to many of us. I’m very aware that pay plans are being squeezed as are working hours as this recession deepens. Yet at no time would I ever accept trying to justify stealing from your employer under any situation. It makes not one scintilla of difference if you are working for Mr. Big or Mr. Pig; theft is never the answer to discontent. It is the lowest form of behavior and if it was up to me, punishing a very soon –to-be-ex-employee would involve major civil rights violations on my part.

It is a symptom, however, of a greater theft that is occurring throughout our industry and perhaps throughout the entire economy.: the demise of quality over achieving particular price points. Cheap glass, deceptive referrals, inferior installs have become standard practices throughout much of the auto glass world. How can one expect the front-line troops of installers to respect their employment when they see other acts of greed that they are witness to? Still it is certainly no excuse to accept such a rationale. It is a sad state of a society that accepts the lame statement of “doing to him before or while he does it to me” as an viable justification for a person’s actions.

In these uncertain times, worrying about your next paycheck and concern if one ‘s job could end at any time makes for a very stressful life. I don’t believe that there are few people immune from feeling a sense of dread if they are faced with the prospect of layoffs or reduction of work hours. I have become a witness to one such experiment at a dealer-owned body shop where all six repair techs have had their hours reduced in order not to drop the last man hired. Each tech now only works 4 days, a 20 per cent reduction. This outsider can already see the effect it has had on the relationship between the last man on the totem pole and the other five guys. Let’s just say it’s not a positive one. Even when such decisions are voluntary, (I would suggest a vote myself) tension still exists in many situations. Many of us have been living too close to the edge when it comes to finances, it is all to easy to start tipping over rows of one’s economic dominoes if your paycheck suffers reductions or worse just stops.

Just remember, for many owners and managers, layoffs are not a pleasant thing to conduct. It may be very easy to issue an order from Corporate to reduce manpower, but when it comes down to the shop level, it’s not so easy to implement in most cases. Management has families too and on the local level, the act of telling letting people go becomes a very personal act. This is where altruism suffers most. It is a very rare case, where somebody falls on their own sword to spare someone below them. There are too many that are looking over their own shoulders trying to assure themselves that the same thing won’t happen them at a later date.

Labor and management will always have an adversarial relationship but it certainly can co-exist. For the folks that are working for the “Indies” out there, just be aware that each party needs each other; now more than ever. When it gets down to basics, both sides allegedly share human qualities and need to acknowledge that fact. We all want security and a life outside this industry. I wish you all well and good luck.

I have been amazed at the way Americans have embraced government intervention lately. We’ve seen bailouts, payouts and stimuli. The time may be coming when another National Recovery Act is re-introduced. For many of those non-historians out there, that was a law that President Franklin Roosevelt tried to enact to regulate various industries at the start of the Great Depression. If that were the case, just perhaps this Cinderella Kid from California would be named to oversea the auto glass industry. (I believe that I have paid my fair share of taxes.) This is what I would do in my first 100 days.

In the manufacturing sector:

1) Demand good quality glass. If we are going to allow unfettered importation of auto glass, we should make all manufacturers accountable to a higher standard—not a minimum one. Have continual testing of fit, finish, acuity and strength. If 5 percent of production fails from a particular company, ban sales for a year and require a national recall. A free market isn’t free unless people are aware and knowingly accept the hazards of a manufactured good.

2) I would also require the placement of bar codes or perhaps an equal technology like RIFs to be added in the manufacturing process that would enable product tracking.

3) Raise your prices to cover your higher expenses.

As for distributors, they will have to bear much of the regulatory responsibilities that affect both the manufacturing and retail side of auto glass. Charge more for your services to cover your increased costs.

1) Re-introduce quality control. Buy, install and actually use light racks to inspect the glass you sell to retailers. You will be the “first responders” to report on product defects and manufacturing quality.

2) Maintain tracking records with the new technology of who bought what and when. This should also help alleviate the problem of too much product being sold out the back door under various guises. It won’t stop it but could very well slow it down.

3) Since retailer certifications would be issued (see below), distributors would be restricted to only selling product and adhesives to only those companies in good standing possessing current licenses.

Failure to implement and to enforce said regulations would be just cause for closure and loss of operational license and at minimum a substantial fine.

Retailers:
1) First and foremost, no glass entity could own any interest or be involved with whatsoever in the insurance claims administration business. That would be my very first official act in office since what exists today is a reprehensible, incestuous and unacceptable relationship.

2) All shops would have to possess a proficiency license in order to buy glass and adhesives. Multi-point operations would qualify individually. This would apply also to body shops, fleet operations and anywhere else that has a professional interest for installing auto glass.

3) All shops would have to maintain, retain and report installation records on a Carfax database tied to VIN and the newly introduced glass serial numbers. Those reports would document a current AGRSS grade-level installation procedure.

4) Prices would be raised to offset higher product and reporting costs.

I figure by enacting the above regulations I easily could create both an international and national firestorm and provide a fairly significant economic stimulus for lawyers and lobbyists. I believe I could cause the stress level of both Chinese and European trade diplomats to rise. I suppose that the Insurance Institute of America and elements of our glass associations would be camped outside my office door. I might even get to know both of the Ohio senators by name. That underscores what is the most nettlesome problem in this industry, which is self-interest and greed.

We can make and install auto glass much better than we do at the present time. We don’t because no one holds the industry culpable either financially or ethically. Some of our biggest and smallest operators bandy the term “free market” around like blood oaths yet do everything in their power to subvert the concept. It’s the simple truth and unless that changes, nothing really will.

Auto glass installation used to be a craft, and that concept has been pushed aside over the years by greed. From inside a mini-pick-up to the corporate boardroom, revenue per unit is topic number-one and taking any job is topic 1B. Some talk the talk, but fewer and fewer walk the walk. One can hold all the installer Olympics one wishes to. but if you give the winner or anyone else six mobile jobs a day, craftsmanship goes by the boards in a hurry.

In truth, the idea of having a czar of auto glass is intriguing but impractical. Regulations are useless without the manpower and the money to enforce them. The public has shown zero desire to have them much less help pay for them. The industry powers would most likely work to gut them. The hacks will always be among us as well as the corporate gluttons.

However, I sure would like to give it a try.