I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe it’s almost 2010. It feels like just yesterday we were concerned with Y2K, stockpiling food in case the world went awry and using payphones to avoid the costly charges that went along with most early cell phone plans. Internet usage was pretty much limited to dial-up for most personal users, and you could take someone to the airport and actually walk to the gate with them.
In just 10 short years, it seems the world has completely changed—some for the good, and some for the bad. And the industry has certainly seen its share of changes, too.
Where to begin? The networks have become a way of life for the industry, and we’ve seen more consolidation of businesses than I think any of could ever have dreamed. Who would have thought ten years ago that Diamond Glass would ever be owned by a staunch competitor, Safelite?
Manufacturing also has seen some changes. The imports of auto glass from China have risen exponentially over the last 10 years, and the number of manufacturers worldwide has risen to more than 900, many of these from overseas.
Then there was the NAGS re-balancing, and the advent not only of the Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standard (AGRSS), and the changes and growth it has endured.
The list could go on and on—much further than I have room for in this blog. But, have no fear, as this January, AGRR magazine will be publishing a special January/February 2010 issue to commemorate its ten-year anniversary.
The issue will be taking a look at some of these massive changes, those industry legends that have impacted the auto glass business, and some of the innovations that have been invented to make techs’ jobs easier over the last ten years.
But, we need your help. What have been the biggest changes you’ve seen? What tools have helped you most? What changes have hurt you most? And who do you see as those who’ve impacted the industry most, for better or worse? Please e-mail pstacey@glass.com. Yes, this is a milestone for AGRR, but we couldn’t have done it without you, our readers, and for this we thank you—and hope to show our appreciation with this special issue.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
The King of Queens Meets Erik Schumacher
In just one short week, the name of Erik Schumacher of Des Moines, Iowa, has become a common one—almost a household one for those in the industry taking particular note of the recently launched Safelite television ad campaign.
But, honestly, I didn’t expect Erik to be making an appearance on my TV; first thing Monday morning, my publisher, Deb Levy, called to tell me she’d already seen it twice—once during Sunday night television and again Monday morning during The Today Show.
But even yet, I still didn’t expect to see it. I DVR most of the TV I watch and normally fast-forward the commercials. But quite often, while we eat our dinner, my husband and I find ourselves watching “The King of Queens” re-runs (recorded while we were both at work) from our kitchen table. And it’s only then that we don’t worry about skipping commercials. Who would think the ad would show up during this random, late-afternoon-played 10-year-old show on TBS?
But it was then, on Monday evening, that I first heard the voice of Erik Schumacher right in my own living room. And not just once, but twice within a short 30-minute span.
I couldn’t believe it. Belron US has estimated that the average adult will see the commercial about 12 times during the two-week span during which the spot is scheduled to run. So I’ve been keeping a personal tally, and right now I’m at about four—which actually isn’t bad considering how rarely I do watch commercials.
I was speaking with one shop owner this week who mentioned to me that TV ads aren’t really so effective—and are somewhat cheap—these days due to the advent of TiVo and various DVR systems, and people like me, who choose to hit fast-forward more often than not.
So, first, I’m wondering, what’s your tally? Was the Belron US marketing team estimate correct? Do you think our DVR world is changing the way—or if—people view commercials? And, if the average consumer is watching the commercial, are you seeing an impact on business—either positive or negative? Please e-mail pstacey@glass.com.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Fall Flurry
This week, we officially moved into the fall season—and with that comes many things: a change in the weather, a change in the colors of the trees, football season and … the flu. That’s right, experts say that fall is a very popular time for the flu, unfortunately, and, this year, they say we need to be even more prepared as the H1N1 virus (also known as the swine flu).
I must say, when I first heard about this last spring, first, I panicked; I’m a germaphobe and was terrified of contracting this. Then, I heard “Oh, it’s just the flu—it won’t hurt you,” and I calmed down. That is, until I wrote the story about a recent Harvard study about preparedness for the swine flu (it appeared on glassBYTEs.com™ this Monday—CLICK HERE to view). The study basically showed that those who contract the swine flu likely will be sick—as in too sick to work—for at least a week.
I don’t know about you, but this frightens me. Despite my own attempts to remain healthy—washing my hands what feels like 15 times a day, using the hand sanitizer at my desk throughout the day, wiping down others’ desks when I need to use them for one reason or another, even opening bathroom doors with the paper towel I used to dry my hands in case the person before me wasn’t thorough—I myself ended up home sick this week for a day with a sinus infection. Though my doctor, who I saw quickly because I was pretty certain I knew what it was, as I’ve had them before, told me I wasn’t contagious (and that it just developed because of the seasonal change—not because of anything I’d done), I couldn’t help but feel frustrated that despite all my attempts to stay healthy I ended up home sick. And, believe me, it was anything but a fun day—an hour at the doctor’s office, an hour at Giant awaiting my prescriptions, and then the rest of the day spent on my couch, not even able to sleep really as I was so uncomfortable.
And that was just a sinus infection, which is nothing compared to what I understand the H1N1 virus to be. So, am I nervous? Yes. Can I necessarily do anything to be sure I don’t get it? No. But, I am fortunate that my publisher, Deb Levy, has taken steps in our office to prepare us in the event of an outbreak in our area. I won’t go into the details of the precautions she’s taken (one of them is the hand sanitizer, for which I’m grateful, scattered throughout the office), but am fortunate she’s had the foresight to do so. This is what the aforementioned Harvard study recommended—not only trying to be preventative, but also making a plan if one or more employees does contract it, so that business isn’t affected.
After writing the story, I had the idea that we should survey readers to see what they are doing—and so far have been quite surprised by the results. As I write this, only 21.1 percent of responders have said they have a plan if an outbreak does occur; 63.2 percent say they believe the concern is overgrown, despite warnings from medical experts.
Though this very well may be true, I was still a bit surprised by it; though the Harvard study suggested large businesses would be more easily impacted, I would suspect it to be the opposite. I personally know many one- or two-people auto glass operations. What would happen if one of the two—or worse, in the case of one-man operations, the sole proprietor and technician—fell ill? In this case, maybe there is no good plan, except to hope for the best.
So, of course, I’m wondering, for those of you who do have a plan, what does it entail? Are you taking preventative measures to prevent the spread? Are you dealing with customers any differently than you have in the past? And, if an employee does fall ill, what’s the next step? Please e-mail me at pstacey@glass.com. (CLICK HERE to take the survey.)
I must say, when I first heard about this last spring, first, I panicked; I’m a germaphobe and was terrified of contracting this. Then, I heard “Oh, it’s just the flu—it won’t hurt you,” and I calmed down. That is, until I wrote the story about a recent Harvard study about preparedness for the swine flu (it appeared on glassBYTEs.com™ this Monday—CLICK HERE to view). The study basically showed that those who contract the swine flu likely will be sick—as in too sick to work—for at least a week.
I don’t know about you, but this frightens me. Despite my own attempts to remain healthy—washing my hands what feels like 15 times a day, using the hand sanitizer at my desk throughout the day, wiping down others’ desks when I need to use them for one reason or another, even opening bathroom doors with the paper towel I used to dry my hands in case the person before me wasn’t thorough—I myself ended up home sick this week for a day with a sinus infection. Though my doctor, who I saw quickly because I was pretty certain I knew what it was, as I’ve had them before, told me I wasn’t contagious (and that it just developed because of the seasonal change—not because of anything I’d done), I couldn’t help but feel frustrated that despite all my attempts to stay healthy I ended up home sick. And, believe me, it was anything but a fun day—an hour at the doctor’s office, an hour at Giant awaiting my prescriptions, and then the rest of the day spent on my couch, not even able to sleep really as I was so uncomfortable.
And that was just a sinus infection, which is nothing compared to what I understand the H1N1 virus to be. So, am I nervous? Yes. Can I necessarily do anything to be sure I don’t get it? No. But, I am fortunate that my publisher, Deb Levy, has taken steps in our office to prepare us in the event of an outbreak in our area. I won’t go into the details of the precautions she’s taken (one of them is the hand sanitizer, for which I’m grateful, scattered throughout the office), but am fortunate she’s had the foresight to do so. This is what the aforementioned Harvard study recommended—not only trying to be preventative, but also making a plan if one or more employees does contract it, so that business isn’t affected.
After writing the story, I had the idea that we should survey readers to see what they are doing—and so far have been quite surprised by the results. As I write this, only 21.1 percent of responders have said they have a plan if an outbreak does occur; 63.2 percent say they believe the concern is overgrown, despite warnings from medical experts.
Though this very well may be true, I was still a bit surprised by it; though the Harvard study suggested large businesses would be more easily impacted, I would suspect it to be the opposite. I personally know many one- or two-people auto glass operations. What would happen if one of the two—or worse, in the case of one-man operations, the sole proprietor and technician—fell ill? In this case, maybe there is no good plan, except to hope for the best.
So, of course, I’m wondering, for those of you who do have a plan, what does it entail? Are you taking preventative measures to prevent the spread? Are you dealing with customers any differently than you have in the past? And, if an employee does fall ill, what’s the next step? Please e-mail me at pstacey@glass.com. (CLICK HERE to take the survey.)
Friday, September 4, 2009
Tweets Away!
I don’t know about you, but that seems to be a question coming up more and more often in various circles—from businesses to personal relationships. And it’s definitely a valid one. As you’ll see from today’s lead story on glassBYTEs.com™ (CLICK HERE to read), social networking is becoming not only a popular way to stay in touch with friends and follow stars like Ashton Kutcher and Oprah—but also to drive business.
As I spoke with readers for today’s article and did some research on both Twitter and Facebook, it seems there are a number of auto glass shops out there finding success with these sites. And it seems the web is becoming more important than ever.
If you read today’s story, you’ll see a little informal survey that Dave Burns of Ray Sands Auto Glass conducts regularly. When he walks into any a home he’s never been to—be it a friend, family member, or whomever—he always asks if they keep a phonebook on hand. Half the time, he’s told no.
I still keep a phonebook at my house, but how often do I pull it out? Only when the power is out and I need to call the electric company—which is maybe once or twice a year when a big storm comes our way.
Otherwise, I Google™ whatever I need or visit one of my favorite pages, www.bigyellow.com.
I’m sure I’m not alone in this view. Would I go to Twitter or Facebook to locate a company? I’m not sure. But, if I Googled a company and found a positive “Tweet” about it, I probably would be encouraged by this.
So, my question to you is: Do you Tweet? Do you think this method would be (or is) successful in today’s market? Or do you think it’s still a bit early to take on, and should be left for social networking alone? Please e-mail me at pstacey@glass.com, or CLICK HERE to sign up for Twitter and start following glassBYTEs.com/AGRR magazine there.
As I spoke with readers for today’s article and did some research on both Twitter and Facebook, it seems there are a number of auto glass shops out there finding success with these sites. And it seems the web is becoming more important than ever.
If you read today’s story, you’ll see a little informal survey that Dave Burns of Ray Sands Auto Glass conducts regularly. When he walks into any a home he’s never been to—be it a friend, family member, or whomever—he always asks if they keep a phonebook on hand. Half the time, he’s told no.
I still keep a phonebook at my house, but how often do I pull it out? Only when the power is out and I need to call the electric company—which is maybe once or twice a year when a big storm comes our way.
Otherwise, I Google™ whatever I need or visit one of my favorite pages, www.bigyellow.com.
I’m sure I’m not alone in this view. Would I go to Twitter or Facebook to locate a company? I’m not sure. But, if I Googled a company and found a positive “Tweet” about it, I probably would be encouraged by this.
So, my question to you is: Do you Tweet? Do you think this method would be (or is) successful in today’s market? Or do you think it’s still a bit early to take on, and should be left for social networking alone? Please e-mail me at pstacey@glass.com, or CLICK HERE to sign up for Twitter and start following glassBYTEs.com/AGRR magazine there.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Competition Time
In the last few weeks, I’ve spent much of my time interviewing past Auto Glass Technicians Olympics (AGTO) contestants, Windshield Repair Olympics contestants, and owners of the companies that supported them in their competition, for an article that will appear in the September/October issue of AGRR magazine. While the competition is still three months away, I have been amazed by all those that started preparing months ago—some as early as the time the competition ended last November.
But, whenever I interview past or current contestants, I always find one thing interesting. Almost all of them will say, “I train for this every single day.” Well, that really makes sense, doesn’t it?
But many go beyond even that. They tape their own installations to watch for areas in which they can improve; do mock customer service activities; and even participate in additional training activities with suppliers to make sure they’re on-par and are doing everything in the safest manner possible.
Now I realize there are only so many technicians who compete in the competition each year, but I can’t help but wonder, do others do these types of training activities, just for the sake of good business? How many companies record installations periodically, or participate in customer service training—with both technicians and CSRs?
While I know many would say there’s no time for this, and I certainly can appreciate that, I’ve also heard many say the investment in the time to complete these activities often pays off—particularly in company referrals, and quotes that turn into jobs when customers call a shop and decide immediately to book the work, based on the skills of the customer service representative who takes that call.
What do you think? Do you conduct on-going training, and is it worth it? Please e-mail me at pstacey@glass.com.
But, whenever I interview past or current contestants, I always find one thing interesting. Almost all of them will say, “I train for this every single day.” Well, that really makes sense, doesn’t it?
But many go beyond even that. They tape their own installations to watch for areas in which they can improve; do mock customer service activities; and even participate in additional training activities with suppliers to make sure they’re on-par and are doing everything in the safest manner possible.
Now I realize there are only so many technicians who compete in the competition each year, but I can’t help but wonder, do others do these types of training activities, just for the sake of good business? How many companies record installations periodically, or participate in customer service training—with both technicians and CSRs?
While I know many would say there’s no time for this, and I certainly can appreciate that, I’ve also heard many say the investment in the time to complete these activities often pays off—particularly in company referrals, and quotes that turn into jobs when customers call a shop and decide immediately to book the work, based on the skills of the customer service representative who takes that call.
What do you think? Do you conduct on-going training, and is it worth it? Please e-mail me at pstacey@glass.com.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Repair, Repair, Repair
I don’t know about you, but every time I get into my car these days I seem to hear the Safelite commercial promoting repair. In fact, I had the opportunity to interview Belron US president and chief executive officer Tom Feeney last week and he stressed that this very commercial has upped the company’s repair ratios by far.
I’m not surprised by this method of advertising; it’s worked for Belron in many different countries, but I was a bit surprised yesterday when I was compiling editorial for today’s glassBYTEs™ and came across a story in the GEICO summer newsletter promoting the benefits of repair. (CLICK HERE for more.)
GEICO promotes several benefits of repair, including the fact that it’s free and that it’s environmentally friendly.
Well, who can argue with that logic?
Though the National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA) and many repair industry players have long upheld the environmental friendliness of repair and marketing it to earth-conscious consumers, I was surprised to see this type of marketing coming from an insurance company—and especially GEICO. I couldn't help but wonder if windshield repair will soon show up on their commercials next to the "Who's Watching?" eyes.
It seems that now, on a national basis, repair is becoming extremely mainstream, but on a local basis, are repair technicians out there seeing the same phenomenon? Are you finding more customers asking about repair because of marketing efforts like these? And have you undertaken any green marketing efforts of your own? Please e-mail me at pstacey@glass.com.
I’m not surprised by this method of advertising; it’s worked for Belron in many different countries, but I was a bit surprised yesterday when I was compiling editorial for today’s glassBYTEs™ and came across a story in the GEICO summer newsletter promoting the benefits of repair. (CLICK HERE for more.)
GEICO promotes several benefits of repair, including the fact that it’s free and that it’s environmentally friendly.
Well, who can argue with that logic?
Though the National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA) and many repair industry players have long upheld the environmental friendliness of repair and marketing it to earth-conscious consumers, I was surprised to see this type of marketing coming from an insurance company—and especially GEICO. I couldn't help but wonder if windshield repair will soon show up on their commercials next to the "Who's Watching?" eyes.
It seems that now, on a national basis, repair is becoming extremely mainstream, but on a local basis, are repair technicians out there seeing the same phenomenon? Are you finding more customers asking about repair because of marketing efforts like these? And have you undertaken any green marketing efforts of your own? Please e-mail me at pstacey@glass.com.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Road Trip
Anyone that knows me well knows I love to cook, and I am a member of a cooking club that meets monthly. The club is comprised of a fun mixture of people—a couple co-workers from here, my sister, who teaches Latin online to homeschooled students and others, and my mom and several of her co-workers at the school system for which she works.
And almost every month, one of them (the teachers, that is), offers the same statement: “Seriously? You guys write about glass? And seriously, there’s a lot of glass news out there?”
And every time, my co-workers, Megan Headley, editor of AGRR’s sister publication, USGlass magazine, and Brigid O’Leary, former editor of AGRR (she now free-lances from home as she raises her son), and I, reassure them that, yes, the glass business is booming.
This week, one of them (who also happens to be my mom) got to see first-hand how widespread
the glass industry is and how many glass businesses really are out there. She and my dad are on their dream vacation right now—they’re spending two weeks in Alaska, and yesterday, they decided to drive from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Anchorage, with several stops along the way. They took the standard (though I must say amazing) photos of glaciers, mountains and scenic highways; they even caught a photo of (soon-to-be-former) Gov. Sarah Palin’s high school in Wasilla; and, lastly, and definitely not least, they took a picture of Gator Glass (also in Wasilla) just for me (and my co-workers).
As you can see, it’s a beautiful location for a glass shop—and for any business for that matter. But I’m sure they’re not the first people to do this—to take a picture of a glass shop in a lovely location to take home to their family and friends.
So, I’m wondering, what’s the most interesting place you’ve ever seen a glass shop? Do you take photos of other glass shops while on vacations or road trips? If so, please e-mail me at pstacey@glass.com.
And almost every month, one of them (the teachers, that is), offers the same statement: “Seriously? You guys write about glass? And seriously, there’s a lot of glass news out there?”
And every time, my co-workers, Megan Headley, editor of AGRR’s sister publication, USGlass magazine, and Brigid O’Leary, former editor of AGRR (she now free-lances from home as she raises her son), and I, reassure them that, yes, the glass business is booming.
This week, one of them (who also happens to be my mom) got to see first-hand how widespread
the glass industry is and how many glass businesses really are out there. She and my dad are on their dream vacation right now—they’re spending two weeks in Alaska, and yesterday, they decided to drive from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Anchorage, with several stops along the way. They took the standard (though I must say amazing) photos of glaciers, mountains and scenic highways; they even caught a photo of (soon-to-be-former) Gov. Sarah Palin’s high school in Wasilla; and, lastly, and definitely not least, they took a picture of Gator Glass (also in Wasilla) just for me (and my co-workers).As you can see, it’s a beautiful location for a glass shop—and for any business for that matter. But I’m sure they’re not the first people to do this—to take a picture of a glass shop in a lovely location to take home to their family and friends.
So, I’m wondering, what’s the most interesting place you’ve ever seen a glass shop? Do you take photos of other glass shops while on vacations or road trips? If so, please e-mail me at pstacey@glass.com.
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