View From The Trenches

The news has been full of protestors lately. A diverse group of people has been showing their disdain for the financial services industry and the super-rich in many parts of the country and even some foreign capitals. However, as members of the auto glass community who are amidst a serious malaise of their own, is there just one entity we could point to as bastions of greed and gather at to perform some symbolic gesture to show our particular distaste and dislike for? Or are there just too many?

Should we meet in Ohio? Columbus to be exact? It could be considered Ground Zero since it is the American corporate headquarters of the world largest auto glass firm. One could probably accurately suggest that Belron is the auto glass industry’s equivalent to Goldman Sachs.

Should independent retailers be pitching tents and organizing rallies in the parking lots of Safelite Solutions? After all, it is the third-party claims administration (TPA) arm of Safelite Auto Glass that many would say is the most oppressive division of Belron. The company bids its claim services to insurers, altering the entire retail marketplace. This also means the company dictates rates and practices direct to miserly insurers and to those shops lucky to get the crumbs of missed customers the TPA is unable to steer to its sister company, Safelite AutoGlass. As for the installation arm of Belron, it will always be this my belief that the company’s pioneering “pay for performance” pay plan does little, if anything, to improve installation standards The same goes for the company’s use and dependence on its in-house manufactured glass products. In short, shareholder interests usually take precedence over the consumer’s.

Or, should we gather in Bloomington, Ill.? Hartford, Conn.? Vie for some picketing space in the Big Apple? After all, insurers are as much to blame as anyone for the malaise in auto glass. Who has marketed large deductible policies that virtually eliminate payment for auto glass claims as a consumer benefit? Who have accepted and encouraged outside corporate entities to relieve themselves from handling most glass claims? Insurers have managed to limit glass price variances and liability by contracting TPAs while saving internal personnel costs and other fixed expenses. Are their clients any better off when their glass claims are awarded to the shops with the lowest bids? Or when the TPA validates the opinion of the insurer that aftermarket is equal or superior to original-equipment glass?

Insurers have found the perfect device for retailer self destruction by creating Offer and Acceptance contracts (O&As). By dangling the prospect of increased volume, insurers encourage shops to lower prices and perform more services for less remuneration. Once an insurer has acquired enough shops, it simply is a matter of time until a further spiraling down of prices begins and other retailers in the region feel the need to respond so that they, too, can acquire some “free” referred insurance business.

As long as we have picket signs and a desire for outdoor living, concerned citizens of the glass world could travel to Pittsburgh, Toledo or even the exotic locale of Shenzen province in China. These are where some notable aftermarket glass manufacturers have their corporate headquarters. Should we be protesting the quality fade that has become the standard for replacement parts these days? How many shops and ultimately consumers have ended up paying a higher price in warranty issues or needing another replacement sooner from the choice in glass brands that currently exist in the auto glass market? “Change” was a buzzword in the last presidential election; however, if I as a shop owner have to keep changing out glass parts because of distortion, fit or attachment issues, it is not a good thing.

However, in this recession, perhaps we should just stay home and wander down to Main Street and state our case there and save some gas. After all, this is where we can find perhaps the two most important players that have affected our businesses. First of all, it is our neighbors, John Q Public, along with our local competition, meaning ourselves..

The American consumer is virtually ignorant of what we do and how we do it when it comes to auto glass and its installation. They can become lemmings if they depend upon the suggestions of their insurers or they can turn into ignorant misers, thinking value lies only with low prices as the shift to paying for auto glass out of pocket steadily rises. This mentality is validated by the existence of marginally qualified shops who pander to this line of thinking by pricing its services at a subsistence level. The overall effect from these two forces do little to improve tradecraft and product and generally has continued to push quality lower and lower.

All of us should be “mad as hell and not going to take it any more.” For many, we are watching the decay of an entire industry take place in front of our faces. It is one thing for an industry to be overtaken by technology like cameras or VCRs. That is not the case with auto glass replacement. In our case, we are generally doing it to ourselves with help from the outside. If we don’t make some serious changes, instead of wanting to pitch a tent in protest, we may be forced to live in one.