Same Stuff Different Week
by
Alan
on Sat 06 Feb 2010 05:18 PM CST
It’s kind of funny that after years in the windshield repair business some things never change; events are as predictable as night and day. The last 2 weeks has been a case in point. Whenever the weather guys start predicting a winter storm hitting Oklahoma City, I know the party is about to start 2 days before the storm hits.
A week ago last Monday I saw an increase in calls about windshield repairs. With a storm due to hit Oklahoma City on Thursday the phone rang off the hook Tuesday and was incredible on Wednesday. Everybody was trying to get a windshield repair done before the cold front arrived. Never mind that the chip had been on their windshield for days or weeks before in many cases. Quite a few of these windshields could have been repaired the week earlier when work was slower. Even if the person didn’t have the money for the repair we could have billed their insurance company in many instances.
Some calls highlighted before the ice storm arrival include:
The guy that called at 2:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday, his windshield had been chipped several weeks and he didn’t want the cold front to crack his windshield. According to him if the storm hit he wouldn’t drive it anyway as it would be parked in a garage. But yes, the repair had to be done that afternoon.
Another was a call at closing time on Wednesday in which the caller had decided that they ‘had to get’ the chip repaired on their windshield before the storm hit that evening.
The pre-storm event is followed by events that take place during the storm while the ice and snow is falling. The caller who is demanding a crack repair because they can see the crack moving across the windshield as they drive down the road. Then there’s the caller who is in an absolute panic because his windshield has cracked and he doesn’t want it to fall in on him.
Of course the crack calls are just half of the problems during the ice storm. Then I get calls asking for a price on almost any auto glass for their car. That’s because they have gotten creative in finding ways to remove ice; some of these include:
There was the guy that called me for a windshield replacement for his truck because it had a long crack in the windshield. It cracked because the chip ran out when he poured boiling water on the windshield to remove the ice. According to him the chip had been on his windshield for weeks. I could have billed his insurance company for the repair; but since he let it crack out, he would be paying for the windshield since it was going to cost about $200 for a replacement and he had a $500 insurance deductible.
Another story was the guy that had a rubber mallet and he knew that rubber wouldn’t break his windshield when he used it to remove ice. About a dozen huge stars later the ice had been removed and he was in need of a new windshield at a cost of over $600. Hard to believe that a car that is less than a year old needs a windshield replacement due to ice removal.
The back window of a Hyundai Elantra that was destroyed removing ice.
Then there was the lady that called because she needed her back glass repaired. It seems someone had cleaned the ice off for her and now the back window was in a million pieces. I had to explain to her that there was no repair option and why.
The worst call I took was from the lady that called and blasted me for not showing up at her home to put stretch wrap over the back of her auto. It seems somehow she had broken the back glass on her car. She had gotten a hold of a glass shop that had to order the window for her car; they had promised to come out and put stretch wrap over the opening. Since they didn’t show up, it was my fault. Never mind that she had called me in the morning and was told we only do windshield repair, no replacements of any glass. Never mind the address of the glass shop was north Oklahoma City and we are located on the south side. And of course I was told that she would never use my glass shop for a replacement again; something we have never done.
With that, Monday ushered in the post storm activity. There was the usual avalanche of calls concerning windshield replacement quotes and questions about crack repair. Let me tell you at times I was on the phone with one caller while other calls came in and left a voice message. A huge number went to our website and sadly, they just couldn’t take a few seconds to read that we repair windshields and that we don’t do replacements. Then there were some interesting calls; like the person that called for a windshield repair, they wanted a quote to repair their windshield--it seems a pole had gone through their windshield and they didn’t want to replace it.
One of my contacts told me of a guy needing a windshield replacement. He used an ice pick and hammer to remove ice from his windshield. And if that’s not enough, I was told of someone else using a baseball bat to clear the ice from their windshield; I think you can guess what they needed next.
Chopping at the ice with anything can crack a windshield like this.
Then as in the past were those that called us several times because they were using some of the different phone books in the area. A classic case of this situation a couple of months ago happened. A guy called needing to get a price for a repair on the back window of his 96 Mitsubishi Eclipse. When he told me that the window was shattered I told him that there was no repair option and recommended another glass shop. When asked how he found Glass Aid, he replied in the AT&T Real Yellow Pages. Forty minutes later he was back on the phone requesting a repair for the back window on a 96 Eclipse. This time when asked, he responded that he was using Yellow Book. This trend of calls continued throughout the afternoon and by the end of the day he had used the User Friendly Book, the Trans Western phone book, Google, Yahoo and sent me some emails. All were requesting a quote for a back window on a 1996 Eclipse. I wish I had that much spare time.
So what can be learned from all of this? First if you get a chip on your windshield and the weather is dry, take time to get it repaired. In doing windshield repairs since 1989, I’ve never seen a windshield repair itself, but I’ve seen thousands that cracked out. Waiting until a storm is on the way isn’t a wise move. Second spend a couple of bucks to get an ice scraper; I’m sorry but to me it just doesn’t make sense destroying a windshield that costs hundreds to replace due to the lack of a $2 or $5 item. Patience! When you know that an ice storm is coming, plan ahead by giving yourself some extra time to clear your windows. And as I’ve written before, never use anything metal or glass to remove snow and ice. In other words no screw drivers, pocket knives, ice picks, hammers, shovels, pop cans or bottles, among other things I’ve been told people have used.
A windshield that was scratched by using a metal item to remove ice; replacement is the only way to repair this damage.
Finally, know who your insurance company is and what your deductibles are. You would be surprised at how many I talk to that have no clue what their deductible is and believe that their insurance agent is their insurance company.
