Windshield Chip Repair Experience

Recently, I was filling up at my local ARCO gas station on 16th and W Streets in downtown Sacramento when I saw those pesky windshield chip repair guys doing work on some poor innocent victim's windshield. I wondered just how much she was being taken for a ride, so I walked over to the two gentlemen performing the work and asked them exactly how they can repair cracks right on the spot.

One gentleman in a yellow jacket, we'll call him Mr. K from University Auto Glass, explained to me how they inject the resin into the chip or crack, and then ultraviolet light finishes it off to form the permanent seal so it cannot spread any further. I asked how much it cost for the repair, and he quickly responded: $40 for up to three chips/cracks. He was then quick to ask if I had any chips or cracks (I did) and then we were swiftly off to begin his sales pitch.

After reviewing my windshield and my insurance card, he determined that my deductible was high enough that it didn't make sense to file a claim with my insurance company to get it repaired/replaced--I could buy two or three windshields for the price of my deductible. And so, given the choice of a $40 repair (warrantied for as long as I own the vehicle) or the chance of it spreading and forcing me to replace the windshield--not only for safety's sake but to comply with California law--I decided that he got me. I was in.

The process

He takes a razor to the pit/crack to get as much loose junk out of the tiny crevice as he can. Once that's done, he attaches some kind of apparatus to the window via suction cup. This apparatus delivers the resin to the damaged area, which the technician then hardens with an ultraviolet light. He scrapes off the extra resin with his razor, making it level with the glass, then shows me how there are no black marks (those are air gaps) which cause cracks to spread. The whole thing took perhaps 15 minutes start to finish. Pretty painless. Of course, as any good sales guy would, he professed that this was one of the best repairs he's ever seen and he was sure pretty proud of his work. I had no idea, looked like there was a lot less of a crack, to be sure, but I was expecting it to be completely invisible. What remained was a tiny dot, which is largely absent from my vision as I drive down the road.

So in that short time, his partner had helped the lady whose car had sparked my interest, they had helped me, and were scouting every car in the gas station for potential customers, which of course they found with ease.

Why I did it

Costs and benefits, for one. $40 repair vs $100+ windshield. The repair is guaranteed for as long as I own the vehicle. In fact, they stand behind their guarantee such that if I ever need a windshield replacement, they'll credit me the $40 if I buy my replacement windshield from them. But more so, I did it because of Mr. K, who was extremely up-front, transparent and forthcoming about the product/company... and because it just made sense to prevent the crack from spreading. They've really got you right where they want you--a captive audience that has to wait for gas to finish pumping, and trying to solve a problem that may become a bigger problem unless you--wait for it--act now.

The conversation

While talking with Mr. K about his job and other random stuff, I learned the following:

• They use a Square device to process credit card payments right on the spot. (I've had my own Square for quite some time, and it was really cool to see it being used to run a business. Seeing this more and more.)
• The product is $40, and $25 of that $40 goes to him as commission. In places like the Bay Area, where people have more disposable income, he remarked  that the same job would cost drivers anywhere from $80 to $120. Not sure if his commission increases in kind, but I'm sure it does to some extent.
• Speaking of cost, the gas station I was at charges the auto glass company $1,500 per month for exclusive rights to that corner, according to Mr. K. Wow! By my calculations, when you minus out commissions these two guys would have to do 100 windshields per month just to pay the rent. That's a lot of windshields! They did at least three in the short span of time I was there at the station, so I suppose it's entirely possible... hence their hustle to find dinged-up windows. That, by the way, equates to about a $2,500/mo gross income for Mr. K, or about $30,000 per year. After taxes, that's about $1,750/mo or $21,000/year. Not bad for fixing windows.
• To maintain that corner, the sales/install guys must hustle but also remember who the gas station's repeat customers are, and not to piss people off--especially those who say they do not want the service, because "you get any complaints, and you're gone."

Summary

After it was all said and done, I zipped my card with him, the Square processed it on his iPhone (not company-issued, unfortunately), an emailed receipt hit my inbox 5 minutes later, and I wished him good luck on the rest of what was as very chilly night. With a go-get-em grin, he remarked, "There's no luck in sales!" as he put a hop in his step toward his next customer. I took a few notes for this blog post, then drove toward the gas station's exit. As I departed, he waved at me and I waved at him, as if we were friends, as he stood there signing papers with his next customer of the night.

Business is good, apparently, but only if you're good at sales. And this guy was, from start to finish. The conversation was good during the repair, and he noticed me drive out and gave me a friendly wave on the way out.

So next time, I think I won't look at these hustlers the same way I used to--like car salesman waiting for their next mark. They're solving a problem that could lead to a larger one, it's convenient, and the value is right. (Except if you live in locales where the disposable income is higher... yikes!) In Sacramento, he's on the corner of 16th & W hustling every day... so go check him out if you're in the area and want to get that pesky crack fixed up so it doesn't spread and become a bigger problem than just an eyesore.

This is how you give great #CustomerService

I received an email the other day from the founder of Pandora, an internet radio service that plays only the music you like, based on a simple premise: start off your radio station with an artist or song as a "seed" and watch it grow as Pandora presents you with music it thinks you might like, based on your seed. All you have to do to improve the service is vote a Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down to the song that's playing. It learns what you like and don't like, and then adapts to give you quite possibly the best "radio station" out there.

Needless to say, it's indispensable at work, the gym, parties, the list goes on. Apparently, I like it so much that the email from the founder said I was in its top 10% of users, and that my service might be changing slightly. It outlined the details, which seemed reasonable enough such that I was inspired to write back and thank him, cheer him on even.

What happened next was rare: I got an email from Steve, Pandora's Music Operations Manager, who actually sat down and took time out of his busy day to write me personally and make sure I knew it was personal by including a very unique word that I used in my email: "wallop". That's definietely not a word used in a canned response.

That's what inspired this post. It's a free advertisement/endorsement for Pandora and they paid absolutely zero dollars for it; well, let me take that back--all they paid was probably about two minutes worth of someone's time to sit down and write four sentences thanking me for writing, as well as reassuring me that they were fighting the good fight to keep internet radio alive. These guys are the real deal. I knew there was a great reason I loved them so much, aside from the must-have service that everyone (yes, even you!) should use.

Companies whose customer service sucks, please take note: you can change your ways and respond in a way similar to how Steve at Pandora did. This creates customer delight, such that they are inspired to be walking advertisements for you, wherever they go. I've signed up family and friends to Pandora and they report that they love it, too. So...

ROCK ON, PANDORA!

 

(Email chain reprinted with permission.)

________________________________________________________

Here is Tim's original email:

 

On Jul 7, 2009, at 3:03 PM, "Tim Westergren - Founder, Pandora " <tim.westergren@pandora.com> wrote:  

Hi, it’s Tim - 

I hope this email finds you enjoying a great summer Pandora soundtrack. 

I’m writing with some important news. Please forgive the lengthy email; it requires some explaining. 

First, I want to let you know that we’ve reached a resolution to the calamitous Internet radio royalty ruling of 2007. After more than two precarious years, we are finally on safe ground with a long-term agreement for survivable royalty rates – thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our listeners who voiced an absolute avalanche of support for us on Capitol Hill. We are deeply thankful.

While we did the best we could to lower the rates, we are going to have to make an adjustment that will affect about 10% of our users who are our heaviest listeners. Specifically, we are going to begin limiting listening to 40 hours per month on the web. Because we have to pay royalty fees per song and per listener, it makes very heavy listeners hard to support on advertising alone. Most listeners will never hit this cap, but it seems that you might. 

We hate the idea of capping anyone's usage, so we've been working to devise an alternative for listeners like you. We've come up with two solutions and we hope that one of them will work for you:

Your first option is to continue listening just as you have been and, if and when you reach the 40 hour limit in a given month, to pay just $0.99 for unlimited listening for the rest of that month. This isn't a subscription. You can pay by credit card and your card will be charged for just that one month. You'll be able to keep listening as much as you'd like for the remainder of the month. We hope this is relatively painless and affordable - the same price as a single song download.

Your second option is to upgrade to our premium version called Pandora One. Pandora One costs $36 per year. In addition to unlimited monthly listening and no advertising, Pandora One offers very high quality 192 Kbps streams, an elegant desktop application that eliminates the need for a browser, personalized skins for the Pandora player, and a number of other features: http://www.pandora.com/pandora_one.>

If neither of these options works for you, I hope you'll keep listening to the free version - 40 hours each month will go a long way, especially if you're really careful about hitting pause when you’re not listening. We’ll be sure to let you know if you start getting close to the limit, and we’ve created a counter you can access to see how many hours you’ve already used each month.

We’ll be implementing this change starting this month (July), I’d welcome your feedback and suggestions. The combination of our usage patterns and the "per song per listener" royalty cost creates a financial reality that we can't ignore...but we very much want you to continue listening for years to come. 

Please don't hesitate to email me back with your thoughts. 

Sincerely,  

Tim

Founder   

This is a one-time account message. 

© copyright 2009, Pandora Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

360 22nd Street - Suite 440 - Oakland CA - 94612 

If you have any trouble, please email pandora-support@pandora.com. Privacy Policy

 

 

________________________________________________________

My response:

 

Well, I think this is a great compromise. $1 is quite reasonable, considering how much it probably costs you to play just one song. Thanks for the heads up! I listen every day at work, tell all my friends about it (and invite them, too), and it's especially useful at parties. 

Keep up the good work and I hope you're able to knock some sense into the music industry because they sure deserve a wallop.

Mike

 

 

________________________________________________________

Final response from Steve:

 

On Jul 8, 2009, at 12:37 PM, Steve Hogan <steve@pandora.com> wrote:

Mike,

Hi, I'm helping Tim out with these emails due to the large volume.  We're thrilled to have your continued support, and I'm glad to hear that you think one of our new options will suit your needs.  We'll do our best to keep Pandora as free as possible, and I hope we can be the soundtrack for your workday for many years to come!

We will continue to wallop as best we can!

Cheers,

Steve Hogan

-- 

Steve Hogan

Music Operations Manager

--

PANDORA® 

internet radio from the music genome project

www.pandora.com

-

360 22nd Street Suite 440        

Oakland CA 94612                    

tel: (510) 451-4100 ext. 447 fax: (510) 451-4286

 

Posted via web from michaelpaul's posterous

The TrapCall Bait and Switch

On April 8, 2009, TrapCall, a free service that allows you to unmask a blocked Caller ID, sent out an email detailing "important changes coming to TrapCall." Normally I just shrug these off and read them whenever, but I decided to read this one about 23 hours later. Boy, am I glad I did.

You see, TrapCall made the decision to change the way it does business. TrapCall has decided that its free account will now be ad-supported. But how do you do that? Not everyone has text messaging plans, so that's out. Ah, let's see... how about changing the way you check your voicemail? Yes, that's it.

Now, you've got to change your voicemail number to some other number, which, when I tested it three times, I was twice unable to get through. (My first attempt was greeted with an "all circuits are busy" message, the second attempt went through, and the third attempt was met with a fast busy signal.)

Once you've changed the number and successfully dialed in, you'll be greeted with a "short advertisement." Though how short, I don't know because it's been a while since I keyed in my voicemail password. Why, you ask? Well for one thing, when I set my voicemail up, I entered my password exactly one time and haven't used it since. Reason number two: I'm an iPhone user.

I don't know if you've heard of the iPhone or not, but it's this slightly revolutionary internet connected device that a few people think is pretty cool. One of the selling points on the iPhone was/is its Visual Voicemail feature. For those who don't know, Visual Voicemail is great because you can sort through your voicemails just like email. It provides a visual interface to your messages so you can easily play the ones you want, delete the ones you want, call a person back after listening, and many other great things. It's as easy as reading and deleting email.

Now, after getting so very used to this great way of interacting with voicemail, imagine a world where this valuable feature is gone. That's right, gone. So I've gone from Visual Voicemail bliss to back to the stone age and having to dial in to retrieve my voicemail. On top of that, I have to sit through an ad. Ugh. Way to ruin a great free service.

"But wait," they say, "Visual Voicemail will continue to work flawlessly with the Bug Trap plan! It's only $2.95 a month. Cheaper than Starbucks ;)" Hurray! It can be argued that $2.95 is a fair price to pay for such a great service, but that's beside the point. The point is this: without warning, they told their users, "ohai, btw, you'll need to create a new voicemail account, like, yesterday. and you'll get to listen to an ad b4 u listen 2 yer voicemailz. kthxbai!"

So basically what this means is they've crippled your Visual Voicemail feature without advanced warning, and are basically saying, "You don't like it? Step up to the $2.95 service plan." Classic bait and switch. Don't believe me? here's the tweet straight from the horse's mouth to prove it. And another. And another.

Here's something else that chaps my hide: as of this writing, TrapCall is in BETA. Here, let me show you:


That's the logo from its website at 9:38 PM on April 9, 2009, one day after they sent out their letter, wherein they mysteriously removed the BETA tag. So aside from the obvious, that's also what's rubbing people the wrong way. You don't pay for a BETA service. BETA means that the service or product is in TESTING MODE. So not only is this service in BETA, but they're crippling your visual voicemail, and throwing an ad in there that may or may not be relevant to your interests. Unless, of course, you pay.

Not only that, but TrapCall gave its users very short notice before they made the switchover. The email was sent at 8:56 PM and said "Important Changes Coming to TrapCall Tonight". AKA Zero Notice. They claim to not have switched over iPhone users yet, but some users are reporting on Twitter that they have been unable to access voicemail. Here's a conversation that happened on Twitter about this:


Talk about a way to ruin a great thing. Forcing people to sit through advertising sucks. Bait and swich tactics suck. But the service is useful! *Grumble* However, I'm not going to pay $2.95/mo for it. Perhaps $0.50, or even $0.99, but nothing over a dollar for something that kills a perfectly good feature of my phone for no reason other than advertising.

So, below is the email in its entirety, excluding personal information. It contains nothing about them moving out of BETA, other than the BETA tag being removed from their email's logo.I guess the question is, did they suddenly come out of beta and not announce the switch?

Also, pay careful attention to the "When do I have to make my decision?" section: they say that if you don't wish to upgrade, no further action is needed--but you still have to change your voicemail number to access your voicemail. Say what?

One more thing: we have two phones in our household that were using TrapCall's free service. I canceled my iPhone account with TrapCall immediately, but tested out the other phone to see what would happen when we rejected a blocked call.

First, the blocked call was sent to TrapCall, unblocked, and routed back to our phone. Then we rejected the call and sent it to voicemail, which sent the call back over to TrapCall's servers. But because we had not yet changed the voicemail number to the new number, TrapCall routed the call *back* to our cell phone, where we had to reject it a third time. At this point, the call was routed to AT&T's voicemail system, and we were able to play it without listening to an advertisement.

I don't know how TrapCall's voicemail system works (whether it's a 3rd party voicemail system or whether it just plays an ad before routing you to your cell company's voicemail system), but I do know that once you reprogram your voicemail number to the new one you will be forced to listen to advertisements before your voicemail is played to you.

You're receiving this newsletter because you are a TRAPCALL CUSTOMER TrapCall.com.

Wednesday April 8th, 2009 Important Changes Coming to TrapCall Tonight Dear Michael (Mobile Number 2138675309), We're writing to notify you of some important changes coming to TrapCall's service rolling out over the next week, starting Wednesday evening April 8th, 2009. TrapCall is committed to offering our basic Fly Trap package free of charge, however, we will be making some changes in the way the free package works. You will now need to dial a TrapCall access number to retrieve your voicemails. The TrapCall voicemail number is: 509-554-5555. We strongly recommend that you store this number in your phonebook under the name "Voicemail". back to top How will my service be affected? If you are a FREE Fly Trap account user, the only feature that will be affected is your voicemail, everything else will remain the same: You must dial 509-554-5555 to retrieve your voicemail. If you are a Free "Fly Trap" user, you will hear a short advertisement before your voicemail is played to you. Unfortunatley, if you currently have visual voicemail as a feature on your phone, it will no loger work with the Free Fly Trap package. back to top How can I avoid these changes to my TrapCall service? To avoid having to hear ads or to continue to use your visual voicemail, you can simply upgrade to TrapCall's Bug Trap plan for just $2.95 a month. That's just 10 cents a day or about the price of one cafe latte from your favorite coffee house! To upgrade to TrapCall's Bug Trap plan, simply visit: http://www.trapcall.com/premium back to top When do I have to make my decision? If you do not wish to upgrade, no further action is needed! You can upgrade to a premium plan which will give you an ad-free voicemail experience at any time by visiting http://www.TrapCall.com/premium. back to top How do I completely cancel my account? We would hate to see you go, but if you wish to completely cancel your account and restore your phone to your original settings, please visit https://www.trapcall.com/user/cancel Did you know we have a 15 day trial for all our premium packages? To try one of our premium packages for 15 days Free, please visit http://www.TrapCall.com/premium. back to top We really hope you're enjoying TrapCall. We've got a lot of exciting TrapCall updates to announce very soon! Thanks for your support! The TrapCall Team Follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/TrapCall Become our fan on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/TrapCall/52724928587

Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe. TrapCall and the TrapCall Logo are registered trademarks of TelTech Systems.

Having fun with the help center reps

Today I had a "Live Chat" online with my bank about an auto loan with a loan agent who was all but unreachable. Slightly frustrated that my issue was diverted to a cross-sell for a product I essentially already use, I decided to take a different, to the conversation.

I would also like to point out that, while I understand why scripts are necessary, I really hate them being read to me--especially via text chat. It feels like I'm talking to a robot.

Personally identifiable information (other than my name, since you already know what it is) has been changed.


Duration (actual chatting time) 00:14:11
Operator Gertrude

Chat Transcript
info: Please wait for a representative to respond.
info: Hello. My name is Gertrude. Have you financed a vehicle with Rich Uncle Pennybags in the past 18 months? In the event your vehicle was stolen or totaled in an accident, have you considered how you would pay off your loan and/or come up with a down payment on a replacement vehicle? Rich Uncle Pennybags has a low cost solution that will assist you in these situations. Would you like to hear about it?
info: Your confirmation number for this chat is 123ZOINKSLIKEHEYSCOOB4
Gertrude: Hello Michael, how may I assist you today?
Michael Paul: Hi Gertrude, I just recently got approved for an auto loan and want to know if I can just walk in to a Rich Uncle Pennybags branch to finish the paperwork, or if I still have to deal with "KT", the person assigned to my loan, over the phone.
Michael Paul: KT seems to be unavailable whenever I call.
Gertrude: I will be happy to assist you with this today. In the meantime, have there been any changes to your mailing address, telephone number, or e-mail address?
Michael Paul: no
Gertrude: Thank you for your patience. You will not be able to walk into a branch and sign paper work. Once you and K.T. are able to talk he can set up an appointment with you to visit a branch. While I have you online, I may have a way for you to monitor your account easier. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?
Michael Paul: sure, go ahead.
Gertrude: How often do you use Rich Uncle Pennybags' online banking?
Michael Paul: every day
Gertrude: Great! Based on the fact that you use Rich Uncle Pennybags' online banking often I would recommend Finance Works. We are proud to offer Finance Works, a free personal money management tool. This great software is offered by Intuit, the same company that offers Quicken. Rich Uncle Pennybags is the second financial institution in the nation to offer this valuable money management tool. Finance Works will save you time because you can track, organize, and itemize all of your expenses. You can integrate your other Rich Uncle Pennybags accounts, as well as accounts you hold with other financial institutions. With this convenience, you can manage your expenses in one online banking session!
Gertrude: Would you like me to walk you through setting up Finance Works?
Michael Paul: No thanks, I already use Quicken connected to Rich Uncle Pennybags, but i might look into it in the future
Gertrude: Great! Is there anything else I can assist you with today Michael?
Michael Paul: Yeah, I'd like to assign my loan to someone else, because I'm having no luck with K.T. The guy seems impossible to reach unless you have the secret Bat Phone number.
Michael Paul: :-)
Gertrude: I have his direct phone number, would you like me to provide you with this number?
Michael Paul: No, because I have that direct phone number, too.
Michael Paul: ...unless you have the direct number to his Bat Phone ;)
Gertrude: I will be happy to see if I can get another loan officer to contact you.
Michael Paul: That would be outstanding, I really appreciate it.
Gertrude: May I get your best contact number?
Michael Paul: cell phone: 269-867-5309
Gertrude: Great! I will try to have someone contact you soon. Is there anything else I can assist you with today Michael?
Michael Paul: No, you've been great Gertrude! Thanks so much for having someone else contact me.
Gertrude: Thank you for choosing Rich Uncle Pennybags. If you need any assistance, please contact us at (800) 867-5309, or Live Chat at www.RichUnclePennybags.com! We appreciate your business! Have a wonderful day!
Michael Paul: You too :-)

My Maui Jim Sunglass Repair Experience

If you own a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses, you may or may not be aware that they have a pretty kick-ass repair policy. What was your experience like? Tell the world about yours in the comments below.

My repair experience has been a positive one. So far, I've broken them three four times and only had to pay serious money for repairs once. The first two times, I must have still been under warranty and there were literally no questions asked; I just sent them in along with $8.95 shipping (as of 5/3/2013 it's now $10.00, but who cares), and they sent them back to me ASAP. The first time they repaired the broken piece, and the second time they replaced the entire glasses for free--bridge, temples, lenses... everything. AND they gave me a new case for them. All free of charge.

The third time, however, I received a call from Maui Jim and was informed that I was no longer under warranty since I bought them back in 2003. The bridge was bent beyond repair, so that would need replacement. $49.50. My lenses had pits and scratches in them and I could either do nothing, or they'd give me new lenses for half price. The temples were bent, too, but I learned those are always replaced free of charge -- "it's just something we do for the customer" to foster good relations, the service rep said. I think it's a great policy.

All together, it cost $79.50 to rebuild them into a brand new pair of $250 glasses.

Here's what I know about how they operate:

1. If you break them and you're under warranty, send them in. My experience was that they repaired everything with no questions asked.
2. If you're out of warranty, the bridge will cost you $49.50 as of this writing (9/17/07). Lenses sound like they are $60, as I was given half off and paid $30 for them.
3. Temples are always replaced free of charge if they are damaged
   
4. If you send them to Maui Jim without a case (i.e., you lost or damaged yours) it's possible they might send them back to you in a brand new case. UPDATE 4/18/13: I've later come to find out that not always is this the case. (No pun intended!)
5. Fast turnaround time. Sent them out on 9/7/07, got a call from Repair Dept on 9/17/07 (10 days later) indicating my glasses were received, repair work would be done right away, and glasses shipped out tomorrow 9/18/07, taking about 3-5 business days to arrive. Total repair/transit time: about 2 weeks.
6. Maui Jim Repair Department Caller ID was 309-691-3700.
7. Much cheaper than paying retail of $249 for a new pair
8. Repairing Prescription Sunglasses: Rx lenses that are damaged or need replacement should be returned to their place of purchase. Rx lenses cannot be replaced or remade through Maui Jim directly. However, if your prescription sunglass frame needs repair, you can visit their Repair Department's web page and, follow the instructions, and clearly mark "RX REPAIR" on the outside of the container.

EDIT 07/08/08: If purchased at Sunglass Hut, they offer a kick-ass additional "warranty," if you will. For the first six months, if you absolutely destroy your sunglasses beyond repair (run them over with your car, drop them down a garbage disposal, etc.), they'll give you a significant discount on a replacement pair, so long as you bring in the fragments of whatever's left of the old pair.

EDIT 05/28/09: Here's a link to their repair department.

UPDATE: 4/18/13: Damn! Broke them again! This time the temple snapped while I was taking them off (with both hands)... it seems that my particular style is prone to this kind of thing--you see, over time the temples develop small stress fractures and, as one might expect, they get worse the more you put the glasses on and take them off. Sent them in for repair again, so we'll see what the experience is *this* time! Hopefully they're just as good as I claimed back in 2007 when I wrote this post.

UPDATE 5/3/13: Got them back (no thanks to the Post Office ... technically they arrived on 4/27 but the Post Office held the package instead of re-delivering after they missed be because the package required a signature confirmation. Once again, Maui Jim is furthering my love for this company. My lenses had seen better days and while it was my temple that snapped, I joked around in my letter to them and asked if they had any spare lenses just lying around they were looking to get rid of, I'd love to be the one they donate them to. They did! And so, they continue to earn repeat business and referrals and free advertising from me as a Maui Jim advocate/evangelist. I'm so happy that Maui Jim hasn't lost sight of how to deliver WOW.