Windshield Replacement Training?

Discuss all aspects of windshield replacement, including techniques, billing, etc.
EliteAutoGlasswv
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Windshield Replacement Training?

Post by EliteAutoGlasswv »

I CURRENTLY OWN A DETAIL SHOP AND I DO WINDSHIELD REPAIR. I want to get into the replacement business. Is there any training facilities I can go to? Online training?
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Brent Deines
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Re: Windshield Replacement Training?

Post by Brent Deines »

I've heard good things about Auto Glass University and most recently about Horizon Glass in Sacramento. Two very different programs but both worth looking into depending on what kind of training you want and need. I have not attended either personally, just going on what others have said. If you need contact info let me know and I will email it to you.
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Re: Windshield Replacement Training?

Post by benswindshieldrepair »

Elite, I attended Horizon Glass's 2 week school and I will attest to the training they offer. It is fast paced and you better be prepared to work! The first couple days are pretty tough but by the time 10 days are over, you are well prepared for the world of replacement. Obviously, you won't replace every windshield you will encounter in your business in 10 days worth of training but you will get a great foundation for a great price and Mike and Norm at Horizon have literally replaced every windshield imaginable so after you attend the training, Mike will answer his phone or email/facebook messages to help you any time you need it. I highly recommend you look them up.
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Re: Windshield Replacement Training?

Post by EliteAutoGlasswv »

Thanks guys! I'm gonna contact Horizen!!!
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Re: Windshield Replacement Training?

Post by Dempsterglass »

No offense to Horizons program but I have seen many techs that have come out of the 10 day class destroy more cars than I can count. Retraining them was a hassle. They get a crash course then believe they can handle anything.
I was in the Sac area for 24 yrs until this yr. I have been a store manager and trainer a good portion of my career for a couple big companies as well as family company. The number of trainees I've recommended to do something else is staggering. The ones that are detail oriented and mechanically inclined have done well and a few have gone on to own their own successful businesses. Proud to have trained them by my side for a minimum of 30 days before they were allowed to do car solo. Even after that it was regularly supervised for next 6 months with routine follow ups.
Perhaps my standards are to high, but my customers are happy and loyal
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benswindshieldrepair
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Re: Windshield Replacement Training?

Post by benswindshieldrepair »

I would NOT call Horizon's school a crash course, Dempster. It is 10 days and it is intense, but its just like anything else. The doctor who got C's and D's is still a doctor right? In my first hand experience, Mike and Horizon glass do a great job of training people. The key is "people" and the margin of error is very high. I can say that I owe a huge debt to Mike even after I paid him for the course. He is very skilled and knows his business well. It's impossible for him to police the work people do after they leave his wing and frankly, there's a lot of shortcuts to be made in this business...none of which he teaches. :)
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Re: Windshield Replacement Training?

Post by Dempsterglass »

I believe you just qualified everything I originally posted. And I'm sorry but a 10 day training course just touches the basics and for these guys to then go out and blindly install glass on a variety of vehicles whose owners lives depend on it is unacceptable. I know they have no control over what these techs do once gone but their crash course for guys looking to get in and make a quick buck generally end up being the low cost hacks that destroy cars because they "think" they know what they're doing.
I know because I had to fix them as well as do hundreds of tear down inspections for CA State BAR and insurance agencies. Ive trained a lot of guys over my career. They work with me for a couple months and then paired with another tech for a few more months before let out alone if they follow procedure. They are monitored regularly after that. I have fired many because they just don't have that attention to detail needed. Sadly they go somewhere else. Quite a few of my trainees have been very successful and started their own business because they are as anal as I am. My pride and joy techs and very good friends to this day.
As I stated I have fixed more vehicles than I can count from their graduates while I was in Sac area until this yr. I have hired many of their grads as trainees and quite honestly only two were decent techs that made it past 90 days of additional training with me. Ultimately they were let go due to to many small work related issues that couldn't be trained out of them.
Ive been doing auto glass since 1990 and still learn things each yr with each new model and new removal tools.
Also a C or D doctor still went to school for the full time not an online crash course and I still wouldn't want that doctor working on me.
I'm now here in Kalispell and mobile all over Flathead. If you would like to meet up I would love to see your work ,BS, grab a beer, learn a trick or get taught one ( no charge :D ).
I would like to meet another decent glass tech in this area. So far I keep seeing nothing but leaking, non bonded, parts missing/broken, no primered rust jobs from the local shops around here and its frankly pissing me off to no end.
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Re: Windshield Replacement Training?

Post by Dempsterglass »

Meant to say teach a new trick :D Here's a tidbit. When Wyotech first opened in Sac I was approached to teach their auto glass course due to reputation and being certified Master tech as well as ICar certified (rare for a glass only tech). They didn't want to allocate the training time to glass that I recommended so I declined position. About a year later I'm out doing inspection with BAR rep and after we stop by Wyotech to check in. Their two week glass program was teaching how to do urethane back filled butyl sets. I almost came unhinged and the following conversation with the facility director that I originally interviewed with wasn't very edited on my part.
Those students also thought they were getting great training by an experienced teacher who has done it all,until they discovered otherwise.
They eventually got a new instructor who I know was a dam good tech but he was only there a year as they kept wanting him to get course down to shorter time.
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Re: Windshield Replacement Training?

Post by Brent Deines »

I don't have a dog in this fight as I have not attended Horizon's training class, or any other for that matter. I will however say that I have heard from several technicians who have attended Horizon's class and were very pleased with the quality of training they received.

Here's the thing about training. I feel most technicians should work as an apprentice in a reputable shop for a minimum of 6 months before they are turned loose to replace windshields, side lites or back glass on their own. A year would be better. However, there are a number of problems with that. Here are a few:

1) Like Demsterglass, I have not seen very many good replacement technicians, regardless of how long they have been doing it, so it is extremely difficult to find a good mentor. Just because someone offers training does not mean they offer quality training. Apparently even Wyotech got fooled into believing in a self proclaimed expert.

2) If you can find someone to hire you and train you correctly, they sure as heck won't do so if they think you are going into business as their competitor, which means it is nearly impossible to get training in your area and not many people can afford to move to another city or state for 6 months to a year before moving back home to start their business.

3) I don't think any training class will leave you completely prepared to go into business for yourself but I certainly believe some training, by a qualified technician, is better than no training. A lot better! At the end of the day however, what will really make a good technician is a combination of initial training, ongoing support from a qualified mentor, mechanical ability, problem solving skills, and most importantly, how much the individual cares about doing things the right way. Some things you can teach and some you cannot.

4) There are no laws requiring training of any kind to be an auto glass replacement technician and although I got every certification that was available to me they are more or less meaningless in my opinion. I know plenty of certified master technicians who do lousy work and even more who have gotten certified by the adhesive manufacturers who still do not apply the adhesive properly.

Like I said, I have no dog in this fight but I do admire and respect Ben for seeking out the best training he could find and from what he and others have told me, Mike (Owner of Horizon) is available for email and telephone support after the class has been completed and does not charge for that service. I think that is fantastic! I also checked with some local glass professionals in that area that I trust and they all say Mike is very good at his craft.

I was very fortunate to work side by side with my dad for about a year when I started installing glass. I was pretty comfortable with most installations long before that but it was great to have someone to turn to when I ran into something I had not encountered before. Even after a year I would consult him when I came across a particularly difficult installation. My dad was an excellent installer by the time I got started but he learned pretty much on his own (some help from a former glass shop owner of 30+ years) and would be the first to tell you he would have benefited from a 2 week training course taught by a master technician. After I became a master certified technician I trained a number of other technicians. They all got more or less the same training but some picked it up very quickly and some will never be good installers despite my best efforts.

I guess my point is that a problem solver with an eye for quality get a couple of weeks of quality training and be a better technician than most in the industry today. Others may learn nothing at all from two weeks, or two years of training regardless of how good it is. We face the same problem with our windshield repair training classes. Everyone leaves our one day course with the basic knowledge and skills to become an excellent windshield repair technician. Some will go on to use that knowledge and skill as a foundation to build a successful business and some will discard everything we taught them and never do a decent windshield glass repair again. It is beyond our control at that point. We would like to offer longer training courses but the reality is the vast majority of people who enter the windshield repair business will not get any training at all and those that do are not willing to spend the money for more than a day, let alone a week or a month of training. The problem is very similar in the auto glass replacement industry.

I've not seen any installations done by either benswinshieldrepair or demsterglass so I don't know if either do quality work by my standards (I'm pretty picky) but my guess is that both care about quality so I hope the two of you can get together at some point. I had a good relationship with a couple of other glass shop owners and always found it valuable to share information with them.

Does Wyotech offer a program specifically for auto glass installation? Do they offer more hands on training than Horizon? What other training options are available and what are the pros and cons of each? I'm sure many forum readers would appreciate a list of training options throughout the country.
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Re: Windshield Replacement Training?

Post by Dempsterglass »

Brent well said on so many points and I concur. I'm not trying to pick a fight or put down the guys at Horizon.
I'm just skeptical of a 10 day class because of my personal experiences with many of its and other similar programs graduates whose work I have had to fix and fire because they weren't quality techs.
The guys at Horizon are capable techs by reputation and I've never had an inspection from their shop. Whether that means they don't have any warranty issues or they are quick to resolve before they become BAR violations or insurance resolution. Issues is another story. I also didn't run in same install circle as them. I did bulk of work throughout my career for customers and dealerships in Sac area for Mercedes, Porsche, Audi,BMW, Ferrari,Aston Martin,Maserati,etc as well as several custom and top end body shops doing exotics, show cars and SEMA cars.
My point is even someone like myself who is highly mechanical and detail oriented wouldn't feel confident going out after a 10 day class. When I got into this business I was lucky to get a mentor who was as anal as I and my uncles whom I learned to work on cars from (show cars mind you) . I felt comfortable on my own on any car after 6 months of side by side training and my work proved I was capable.
I couldn't imagine a new guy with today's extensive glass units, tiny pinchwelds, floating glass sets ,air bags and integrated electronics. Let alone the plethora of poor fitting glass making the install even more difficult if they choose to use the cheap stuff.
My offer to meet Ben is genuine. I hope for the future sake of this industry he is one of the good ones.
It would be nice to know that customers are getting factory quality in this valley by someone other than me.
Check out my website or FB page. I regularly upload the poor work I'm running into here.
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