View From The Trenches

First of all, we in the auto glass business are not alone. There are other sectors out there that are suffering from the same ailments with which we are afflicted.

This weekend, I was the guest of one of my golf buddies as I played in a tournament near his home. After Saturday’s round, I had the chance to sit down at dusk and share a beer with him. His best friend, a general contractor who played with us earlier, stopped by and joined in the festivities. Inevitably the conversation turned to the economy and the challenges the contractor and I face in maintaining a steady work stream.

If you think the auto glass business is tough, try being in construction. Basically, if someone can pick up a hammer and knows the route to Home Depot, they call themselves a contractor, he told me. In fact, Home Depot and other building material stores will sell any commercial product to anyone and are a Mecca for daily laborers, loitering nearby looking for work. Those stores also encourage a do-it-yourself attitude among homeowners and amateurs—at least we have not seen those same conditions exists at a Service or PGW warehouse. (Not yet, I say—but as a wise man once said, “never say never.)

The discussion I had with Mike the contractor strangely mirrored many of the topics that impact us. One topic touched on was a conversation he recently had with his new partner about the bidding process. They are of two minds. The new guy wants to get business, even at cost, just to stay busy. Mike, who just turned 50 and has a quarter century in the trade, strongly disagreed. He said to me, “I run a for-profit business. Every job I bid I want to make money on. Why work and just stay in place? If you don’t you are just lowering your chances for longevity and ultimate survival.”

Truer words were never spoken and that should be a mantra for every business, especially ours. Why is it that auto glass shops have a self-destruct methodology by continually lowering prices just to get work? In short, you are basically cheating yourself and the industry you represent.

Just today alone, I was told by three call-in customers that my cost-plus bid was high by more than $100. I was taken aback simply because if true, some shop or service was making a marginal gross profit. How can anyone expect to stay in business with that sort of pricing? In fact, one of those bids was for a tempered part on which my acquisition cost was higher than the “winning” shop’s installed price. I’m a competitive guy who truly hates to lose but, in so many cases lately, I am disgusted at the level at which some people prostitute themselves and the industry they allegedly represent.

Mike talked about quality and selling himself and his track record rather than trying to pitch price and demean the competition. He has remained in business for more than a quarter century by providing a good product, showing up and finishing up on time and catering to the needs and wishes of his client. How many CSRs and owners mention their positive attributes when talking to customers rather than stressing price and speed of install? Who is to say whether, if given a choice, a customer would spend more money for better quality? I am finding a fair number of customers that will.

We are working harder to find quality. Sad to say, many of our replacement parts are, in my opinion, inferior products and the number of brands distributors stock that generate confidence are shrinking as well. If you think all glass is the same, then you might as well join the amateurs who believe the same. Mike talked about how lumber has changed over the years, how a two-by-four isn’t and discussed the case of contaminated Chinese drywall installed after the Katrina disaster that is being appealed in the courts. Items such as conduit, wire and even PVC pipe have dropped in price but also in commensurate quality over the years, all due to the effect of the flat-world economy. Our opinion of tools seemed to echo each other as we decried the short-life or even efficacy of many once-proud brands.

We talked about the economic and competitive pressures that we each confront. We both face rivals who ignore licensing, labor laws and tax regulations to undercut bids. Both industries have segments that embrace the underground economy making any sort of oversight either impossible or even visible.

Workmanship and practices are not at the level they once were even as short of a time as 20 years ago. Outcomes such as electrical fires, floods caused by improperly fused copper or PVC pipe or just storm induced water leaks caused by poor sealing or roofing procedures are just a few manmade disasters caused by unskilled or shoddy workmanship. Earthquakes (something we tend to get out here in California) tend to reveal other structural deficiencies. Almost all of these problems are caused by the easy entry aspect of the building trades, piece work pay plans that encourage speed over quality and lack of painful regulatory penalties that could act to discourage those to try to subvert codes and building practices.

Does any of this sound familiar? The only thing missing in the construction business is the size of the insurance sector and the lack of a single international company that wishes to take it over.

Once we finished our drinks and it was time to head to bed to ready ourselves for the next day’s competition, we walked Mike out to his F-150 crew cab only to find that he had a cracked windshield. He sheepishly admitted that he let replacement slide due to time constraints and budgetary considerations. I rolled my eyes in feigned disgust. As I write this column, I am weighing whether I want to contact Mike to do the install. I am scheduled to play two nearby tournaments in August and plan to stay with my friend since I live 100 miles away. Who knows? Since his truck has a lumber rack that extends well over the windshield, I may have to drive by a Home Depot to pick up a body to help me set his new glass. He may only want to pay cost. If he insists, I’ll try to select an appropriate aftermarket brand and demand a cash payment.