I love competition. I would be the first one to view or to play in one. In golf, in spite of my age and my profession, I try to shoehorn practice time so that I can do my best in senior tournaments come the weekend. Winter is the worst season. With its short days and demands for installs, if I do find time, it would be on a driving range—something I hate. I dislike it because the practice does not in any way duplicate game-like conditions. So when I read of the Best of Belron events or the Auto Glass Technician Olympics, the thought comes to mind of how unnatural these competitions actually can be when compared to real life.
What is the criteria to become “numero uno?” Is it technical knowledge? Proficiency? Coordination? How can these traits, much less unnamed other traits, be determined under laboratory conditions being viewed through the critical eyes of judges? What do these “games” prove? While there is indeed the pressure of actual head to head competition and the fear of failure, do these “beauty contests” actually identify the “best of the best?” My first thought is no.
My first complaint comes with participants knowing what cars are being used in the competition and how antiseptic those vehicles are. Let’s see a four year-old BMW with plastic degradation or a DW1341 used during one of these events. I would love to see DW951 Corvettes brought in without any peripheral replacement parts and see how well and how long the install would go.
What about throwing in a late model Jetta and limit removal to the use of mechanical wire systems? I wonder if that criteria was already in play this past week in New Orleans since Belron is rumored to be mandating use of such tools at some point here in the U.S. If so, I will eagerly wait to see how time for removals was rated.
If we are testing for tempered glass replacement, let’s actually break an Audi, VW or even a Mazda sidelight and rate the competitors on how fast and on how thorough they do clean-up as well as install. How about jam up a door motor with glass or make them refit a regulator riser to its rail?
What about molding removal? Bring in a few used Honda Odysseys, late model Acura TSXs or 2012 Explorers and judge the contestants on how fast and well they remove said moldings without collateral damage to either those parts or to their retaining parts. I would hope the use of “liquid clips” would be a cause for point reduction
Would anyone like to see solo cutouts and installs of Honda Ridgeline back glass assemblies done in a competition? I don’t believe the contestants would.
Mobiles have it the toughest and that very prevalent business practice is basically ignored at these gatherings. Give these guys 4-6 jobs in a 50 mile radius of various types of jobs and rate them for time as well as competency. Doing installs under controlled, almost laboratory conditions in these “Olympic” events don’t always reveal who may be the best when dealing with adversity. The other factor that I would assume to be very hard to rate is conscience. If things go south, so to speak, how do our best react to that?
Not to ignore our glass repair technicians—having a fresh break of any length makes for an easier repair. Let’s see how our elite techs deal with old dirty cracks and not do the competition in air conditioned convention centers. I’d like to see both ends of temperature extremes and how well they deal with negative work conditions. Same goes for the installers.
I am not here to bash anyone. I have viewed message boards that have trashed the world’s largest glass company’s own internal contests whoseU.S.competitions were being held this past week. More power to them. I may not agree with many of that company’s policies or programs but I do respect good technicians from any employer. I am not smug enough to believe thatColumbusdoes not have any great ones either—they do. What concerns me much more is that there are far too many “hack” independents that exist that can’t hold a candle, much less a suction cup, to many in that company’s employ. Either raising their skills up or removing them from practice would improve the overall reputation of the entire industry more so than any contest could or would do.
However, I do applaud any attempt made by the auto glass repair and replacement industry to try to identify and reward the crème-de-la-crème of our practitioners. It could elevate and perhaps inspire others to raise the level of professionalism. Let’s also realize it for what it is—an attempt. I strongly believe that there are, at a minimum, hundreds if not a thousand or so auto glass technicians in this country that could easily form an elite corps. Some of us are gifted at technical knowledge. Others are extremely proficient with tools and other manual aptitudes that our trade demands. Having both skill sets is indeed a cause for celebration and affirmation. But the reality of actually identifying the very, very best is a tricky and slippery endeavor to undertake. After all, take a lesson from college football, the existing BCS system is hardly one that is infallible.
