AGRSS Validation Preparation

Are you asking yourself if AGRSS is a hoax? Do you think maybe AGRSS is a waste of your time, a waste of your money?

Well, the time is here and the auditors have been trained. They are getting their processes together. They are getting scenarios figured out so that they can walk into any glass replacement shop and figure out by asking a few questions and spending a day or less with your crew to analyze whether your shop is abiding by the AGRSS Standards. They will look at your crew and your processes in black and white; they will not ask trick questions, they are merely there to assess your everyday practices.

The number-one reason the Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standard (AGRSS) and AGRSS Council exist is to promote the safe installation of windshields and auto glass. My belief is that if you can embrace that the heart of AGRSS is in the right place, and that they want your family to be safe in your car once you have had a piece of glass replaced, then I believe that you can embrace the validation process.

I know that there are so many of us out there that are having a hard time truly embracing change—embracing the fact that someone is going to come into your shop and tell you whether you and your crew know how to install auto glass. I truly think this is where most of us as installers and shop owners put on the proverbial brakes and say “Wait just one second, I have been doing this for 30 years (or whatever number of years you want to input there), and you want to tell me I do not know how to do my job. What experience do you have?”

I know it is hard, I have been on working on myself the last few years realizing that this is good for me, and that this is good for our industry. To be honest they have brought things to my attention that I may not have even considered, maybe ignored or turned my back on. We must remember that the intent of AGRSS is to promote safe installation of auto glass. I know you have seen more than once a replacement that a “hack” installed—an install that made it quite clear that the installer had no idea what the heck he was doing. Butyl sets, round beads, narrow beads, lack of primer on the glass, lack of primer on the body, the list goes on, and on, and on …

I know that some of us are thinking “What do a few seconds matter?” Maybe it is a few minutes, days or degrees. All of this stuff matters to the manufacturer that produces the urethane and primers that we use to install auto glass. They have spent multiple thousands of dollars on research, of which I have no idea, but my guess is that it is beyond what any of us would imagine. Based on their research they have given us guidelines to use when using their products. They know their products work when used according to their recommendations; they have done scientific tests to prove it. If your argument is that you have been doing it a different way for years and you have not had a problem, then you have a problem. Even if you did your own testing in your shop I would be willing to bet that the unapproved way is not the best way. It may not even be a safe installation. You may never know if someone died because you did not want to follow the manufacturer’s directions and specifications.

Here is my frustration. I can tell my own technicians that they need to shake the primer stick for thirty seconds and I can have the manufacture rep tell them to shake it for thirty seconds, they may even answer the question properly on a test to shake that same primer stick for thirty seconds, but when it comes to the actual install they may only shake it for four seconds. Four seconds! That does not follow the manufacturer’s specifications and it is wrong. The windshield may not leak today and the windshield may not fly out tomorrow, but it is still not right. You know how to do it right, so do it right.

There are also specifications as to the temperature your urethane and primer need to be kept so that you have product that is useful to the full extent of its shelf life. We need to know the product we are using and use it properly. Unless you are on Fear Factor you will probably not drink a glass of milk that is past its expiration or one that has been sitting on the counter all day or all week. Most of us will not use product if the product is beyond the expiration. Did you know that some products’ shelf life is cut in half if it is stored in too high of temperature? Did you know that some products should be destroyed if it is stored at below zero degrees? If you are storing product at 48 degrees and its minimum storage temperature is 50 degrees that is a no-no; you would get written up. It may be a major violation or it may be a minor one; these things and more are being decided right now.

If anyone is wondering, I am of the mindset that I will abide by the AGRSS and my manufacturer’s recommendations so that I can provide the safest auto glass installs in my market. I can only hope and pray that others are doing the same. I am sure many are, but I also know that many of my peers are merely testing the water, which is fine in my eyes. Do your homework and look for the benefits. If you’re sole reason to join AGRSS is to get an extra dollar on every invoice you may end up disappointed. I can only hope that that is a residual benefit since it takes more of my employees and my time to do the job right in the eyes of ARGSS and my urethane manufacturer.

I want to thank SIKA publicly because the company has gone out of its way to provide AGRSS required documents, training material and hands-on support to my company. Overall they continue to improve their product to make my life easier.

Spring has sprung for those of us in the northern hemisphere; work hard, make money and have fun.

Many blessings in your endeavors!

Making Lemonade from Lemons

Life is neither a bowl of cherries nor is it a box of chocolates. There are things that come at you in life that make you say “What the …” and I have had one of those weeks.

I do know that to get the most out of life you need to make the most of whatever life has to throw at you. It is important to know that you are in control of your destiny because you are in control of your decisions and actions as well as your reactions. You have probably heard people say that life is more about your reactions rather than your actions. You have the ability to throw a tantrum and get mad at yourself or someone else, possibly throw things or curse and swear to get the frustration out in your power. And you also have the ability to support, praise and thank those people who are making your world a better place to live. What some people do not understand, and I am probably singing to the choir, is that when you throw that tantrum and say those nasty things, you eventually have a much bigger mess to clean up. Or it could be that you have left a mess for others to clean up behind and you certainly do not make friends and influence people that way.

I relate this to the auto glass industry because we all have a choice. We can be part of the problem or we can be part of the solution. As far as I know no one has “THE” solution for the auto glass industry. We have AGRSS pushing their process and they are in the validation stage so that they can statistically state that AGRSS-registered shops are better companies with better employees and better processes. There are national companies, independent companies, local companies, everyone who has training and logos and recognition to show that one glass company is better than another.

I have decided that I too need to join in. I do not have the answers, but I do believe that if we can get enough of us working together then we can move forward. In the glass industry there is a huge giant in front of us called “The Insurance Company,” which many do not want to confront or they believe that they cannot make a difference. Being an AGRSS-registered shop I believe that my shop can provide the safest install with the best processes that ultimately protect my assets. I am part of associations like the IGA and NGA because they have the testing and training and the national recognition for which that insurance company is looking. I also am a member of the Michigan Glass Association mainly for two reasons; the first is so that I can help in the grass roots effort to making auto glass replacement a thing of importance rather than a thing of inconvenience. The second is so that I can be around other like-minded men and women that want to make the auto glass industry a great place to work and a great industry in which to be involved.

Ultimately AGRSS does not mean a thing to getting referrals until the insurance agents are educated as to what AGRSS does for its customers and it is my opinion that it will only get to the insurance agents and insurance company when AGRSS can statistically prove that AGRSS-registered shops are better. Some may call me naive for believing in and supporting AGRSS when it seems nothing else has worked, but it is my belief that there is no other organized effort to legitimatize our industry. Life is good, so let’s stick together.

Many blessings in your endeavors.

Labor Shortage or Labor Sabotage?

The labor market we have here in the Minneapolis area may be different than what you have in your neck of the woods, but here it is difficult to hire experienced technicians. What I mean by that statement is that the technicians who are worth hiring are already employed and they are not switching companies.

The other side of the coin is that the technicians who are looking aren’t worth a hill of beans. They may be fast and they may have great customer skills; they probably also put out quality work. The problem with these guys, though, is that they are lone wolves wandering through the workforce looking to see who will pay them the most money. They are definitely not team players and most of the time once you have hired them you would not hire them again because you don’t want to deal with the baggage.

Two of my best guys have come from another company but they were looking for other reasons; they weren’t lone wolves looking for a raise. They were job-searching because the company they were working for was going down fast and they did not want to go down with it. I seriously think this is the only type of experienced technician that is worth hiring.

I really don’t think I am the only one that thinks this way either. Others in the industry seem just as frustrated. But what do we do? We are desperate! Right? I say wrong. We bow down to these guys and their experience and their demands and we end up with a load of baggage that I know I do not want to deal with.

I also know that when we hire a rookie that they are going to make mistakes and there is definitely a training curve, during which it seems you need to babysit them every step of the way. The other thing I think we as owners are afraid of when it comes to hiring this most recent generation of kids is that they have a poor work ethic, and I am right there with every one else. There is nothing worse than an employee who can not think for him (or her)self to get the job done, to move on and get the next job done. I have tolerance for those who need training but those who need continual guidance are a waste of my time. I could have done the job in the same amount of time it took me to motivate the unmotivated and I would have been a whole lot less frustrated.

But I say we need to open our arms to these young guys and train them up; those who are not worth hiring will fall by the wayside and find another career. If your market is anything like ours here, you probably know just about all of the technicians out there and if you do not, then you know someone who does and the guys who are making a bad name for themselves are going to find it harder and harder to stay in this career. This is a good career. You can make good money installing auto glass, and you should, so we should be able to hire worthwhile installers.

When I think about other careers—lots of other careers—they often make you take a personality test to see if you will be a good fit for the company to which you are applying. I am not ready to submit to doing that, but I will take a potential technician’s personality into consideration during the hiring and probationary period. Basically, someone is trainable, or they are not, they will be a team player, or they will be a lone wolf. I know who I need on my team and it is definitely not the lone wolf.

So if an installer comes up to you and says I make X and if you pay me more I will come work for you, do not hire him. That is where I stand.

Many blessings in your endeavors.

Greetings from Minnesota

I guess we need to have a formal introduction here. My name is Clint, and I have owned an auto glass repair and replacement shop for eight and a half years. I worked for another auto glass company for a little less than a year before they went bankrupt. They grew to 27 locations in 10 states in only eight years until the growth rate destroyed them. I started from scratch basically; I was servicing about 20 accounts as a scratch removal and rock chip repair technician. I had no business ownership experience so I had no idea what kind of unpredictable whirlwind of a business I was getting myself into.

At first I was working out of my home, the same way it seems most shops get their start, and my wife was handling the paperwork. She handled it for a couple of years before she kicked my “business” out of the house. It was a good thing she did, because our marriage was much better off with marriage and business separate from one another. For years (eight in fact), I concentrated on growing the gross numbers; some years it was 100 percent growth, some years it was only ten. The problem was that I had no idea if I was making money or losing money. I had no plan other than growth. I soon found out that was a dumb move.

It’s now year eight and I finally have a business plan and a budget; I also have key indicators so that I can know the direction of my business as it happens rather than 45 days later. I now feel like I am on top of my business rather than being crushed by it—I am sure many shop owners know what I am talking about. This is an exciting time in the auto glass industry. There are so many changes, so many challenges. I started after the auto glass boom so I really do not know what it was like 10 years ago so that kind of gives me an advantage of looking forward rather than looking back.

Now you know about my business, but I am also a husband of 16 years and a father of four beautiful kids. The oldest is 15 years old and the youngest is five, so I always have something to do. We have a Bernese mountain dog, two cats and a frog; gotta love kids. I love to wake-surf, rock climb and most of all I go on dates weekly with my wife.

I will be blogging here every other week or so and I hope you find my view points intriguing. I am learning as I go, and life is good.

Many blessings in your endeavors.