Thanks everyone. My main concern, 8 months into the business, is consistancy in the quality of my repairs. I get a lot of very good results but also quite a few distinctly average ones. I have learnt that time is a great healer on most repairs and if the customer is willing to wait you can get some great results.
Question is, am I just seeing the variation in different types of damage we come across, and their relative repairability?
Does that make sense?
TG
Consistency
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Delta Kits
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mafsu
That's a tough one. It could well be what you stated. Do you notice that you repairs are inconsistent when repairing similar damage. Jeff is right the longer the damage has been there the less likely the repair will turn out perfect. What is your customer's opinion of the repairs? Just remember noone will be as critical of your repairs as you will be. I think everyone goes through a period when they 6 months or so after they first start out when they are ultra critical of their repairs.
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GlassStarz
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glassdoctor
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I agree with the other posts...
Sometimes you can be overly critical of your own work. But then again some people think everything they do is golden no matter how crappy it is. 8) I know wsr guys like this... they will brag all day, but I have seen their repairs and they need to go back to school. anyway...
Some breaks will just not turn out as good, for a variety of reasons. Fresh, clean, dry breaks are always the easiest and best looking. Anything old or contaminated with moisture or other crap may not fill as easy and may not look as good when done.
You will learn when it's "your fault" and when it's just a tough repair. Sometimes lack of concentration or a mistake may screw something up, but other times it's something beyond your control. I think even the brand of glass makes a difference, although I don't have any hard evidence.
I feel that some of my "best" work has been repairs that actually didn't turn out looking awesome, but I knew it was really tough for whatever reason, and it was repaired as good as possible given the circumstances.
8 months is good experience, but with more time you will find you can anticipate problems better, get more tough repairs done better, and certainly know when there's nothing more you could have done. Consistency will improve with time.
The X factor though is an individual's work ethic, pride, whatever you want to call it. I know come of my competitors locally that have 20+ years experience and are not consistent at all. A good percentage of their work sucks, plain and simple. There is no excuse for that. All I can figure is they don't take pride in their work, they are lazy, or they have bad eyesight or something. Guys who care enough to spend time on these boards and try to get better won't have this problem.
Sometimes you can be overly critical of your own work. But then again some people think everything they do is golden no matter how crappy it is. 8) I know wsr guys like this... they will brag all day, but I have seen their repairs and they need to go back to school. anyway...
Some breaks will just not turn out as good, for a variety of reasons. Fresh, clean, dry breaks are always the easiest and best looking. Anything old or contaminated with moisture or other crap may not fill as easy and may not look as good when done.
You will learn when it's "your fault" and when it's just a tough repair. Sometimes lack of concentration or a mistake may screw something up, but other times it's something beyond your control. I think even the brand of glass makes a difference, although I don't have any hard evidence.
I feel that some of my "best" work has been repairs that actually didn't turn out looking awesome, but I knew it was really tough for whatever reason, and it was repaired as good as possible given the circumstances.
8 months is good experience, but with more time you will find you can anticipate problems better, get more tough repairs done better, and certainly know when there's nothing more you could have done. Consistency will improve with time.
The X factor though is an individual's work ethic, pride, whatever you want to call it. I know come of my competitors locally that have 20+ years experience and are not consistent at all. A good percentage of their work sucks, plain and simple. There is no excuse for that. All I can figure is they don't take pride in their work, they are lazy, or they have bad eyesight or something. Guys who care enough to spend time on these boards and try to get better won't have this problem.
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Ford Motor
I Have read through most of the winshield repair forums and noticed that the key to success in this business is the quality of the repair. The members of this forum appear to be dedicated to quality and success. Would any member care to encourage or perhaps discourage a wanna be like myself to get into this business?????????
NOT EVERYONE HAS THE COURAGE TO WORK FOR THEMSELVES
WE ARE THE EXCEPTION TO THAT RULE
NOT EVERYONE HAS THE COURAGE TO WORK FOR THEMSELVES
WE ARE THE EXCEPTION TO THAT RULE
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glassdoctor
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Ford Motor
Quality work definitely gives us an advantage, and a good rep., but unfortunately it's not the key to success in this business. I know several old farts in my area that do so-so work on a good day and pathetic repairs on oa bad day. Side by side their repairs look really poor compared to mine. But they have been doing wsr for 20 years. How this happens I don't know exactly, but it's common. In THEIR mind they are the best, and they get out and hustle for business, and some are just good salesmen. They find a way to get the job. That's the key. The repair they do is beside the fact as long as it's passable.
I'm not trying to be negative. It's just the way it is. I wish just doing quality repairs was the key. Half my competition would have disappeared years ago. My experience is with fleet and dealer business, but I would think retail is no different. Actually retail is probably less imortant to do quality work because most people are uneducated about wsr, whereas dealers etc. have been seeing wsr for years.
If you are a slick salesman or you have some connections, you probably already have what it takes. The repair is the easy part.
Quality work definitely gives us an advantage, and a good rep., but unfortunately it's not the key to success in this business. I know several old farts in my area that do so-so work on a good day and pathetic repairs on oa bad day. Side by side their repairs look really poor compared to mine. But they have been doing wsr for 20 years. How this happens I don't know exactly, but it's common. In THEIR mind they are the best, and they get out and hustle for business, and some are just good salesmen. They find a way to get the job. That's the key. The repair they do is beside the fact as long as it's passable.
I'm not trying to be negative. It's just the way it is. I wish just doing quality repairs was the key. Half my competition would have disappeared years ago. My experience is with fleet and dealer business, but I would think retail is no different. Actually retail is probably less imortant to do quality work because most people are uneducated about wsr, whereas dealers etc. have been seeing wsr for years.
If you are a slick salesman or you have some connections, you probably already have what it takes. The repair is the easy part.
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Ford Motor
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