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Guest Bryant James Iriel Devlin

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Not to forget the calibre of your competition (in my experience) sky rockets.

Forget about the $99 tint shop. Your competing with companies dedicated to this line of work.

They are highly professional people and most have invested a bit of money to buy equipment to get the supply done in house.

a lot of builders don't care for window film, understandably they have bigger things on their mind.

Just like a dealership you'll always have people knocking on they're door asking for the work. Don't know what it's like up they're but down here we have the 3M distributor and mep (eh are the distributors of Llumar Madico and shortly suntek) who bid against you. As well as solargard franchises who do jobs for what it would cost me to do.....

Plus side is there is PLENTY of work going on. A friend of mine who is a dedicated comm tinter has 3 staff and can't get all the work done. And he's just a small independent.....

It will also take a fair amount of time to introduce yourself to these people enough times they actually remember who you are

Your in is probably going to be asking if they would like a quote for a job they have already been awarded..... which they always do.

There's always a problem and we as the finishes are always late cos of some reason and it's always gotta get done asap.

But the sacrifice brings a reward and much better money for yourself..... Plus it ain't seasonal

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GTS has summed up my experience pretty well.

And he does.

 

But with FG nothing negates the high powered risk of thermal stress situations despite film to glass ideals.

 

And getting that dreaded call from a customer saying they have a crack in one of their panes is no fun. :broken

Devil

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GTS has summed up my experience pretty well.

And he does.

 

But with FG nothing negates the high powered risk of thermal stress situations despite film to glass ideals.

 

And getting that dreaded call from a customer saying they have a crack in one of their panes is no fun. :broken

Devil

 

 

I find that being very upfront about your knowledge and understanding of thermal stress with the customer lets them know that you do in fact know what you're talking about. Showing them how you've done everything possible to keep the glass within safe thermal limits by way of the film you recommended and consideration for external shading etc etc, while also explaining the things that are outside of your control, such as glass edge condition.  In ten years or so, I've only ever had the dreaded 90 degree lightning strike appear after one of my installs twice. On both occassions the customer's attitude when they called was "you did say there was a chance this could happen... oh well, can you recommend a good glazier?"

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GTS has summed up my experience pretty well.

And he does.

 

But with FG nothing negates the high powered risk of thermal stress situations despite film to glass ideals.

 

And getting that dreaded call from a customer saying they have a crack in one of their panes is no fun. :broken

Devil

 

I find that being very upfront about your knowledge and understanding of thermal stress with the customer lets them know that you do in fact know what you're talking about. Showing them how you've done everything possible to keep the glass within safe thermal limits by way of the film you recommended and consideration for external shading etc etc, while also explaining the things that are outside of your control, such as glass edge condition.  In ten years or so, I've only ever had the dreaded 90 degree lightning strike appear after one of my installs twice. On both occassions the customer's attitude when they called was "you did say there was a chance this could happen... oh well, can you recommend a good glazier?"

I take the same approach as UT with thermal stress. I educate the customer on the issue, specify the safest low tsea option I can( which will always be a compromise with the customers aesthetic requirements) and make sure that the customer understands the risks THEY are assuming in tinting Lami. I find if the customer is thoroughly educated then it is not an issue. I also encourage my customers to call me if a pane does go as I can arrange a reglaze in toughened at trade price and I will retint for free, I never wash my hands of a customer.

I am seeing more and more Lami installed, especially by the 24 hr glass merchants where safety glass is called for but it is quicker to cut and install Lami than wait for a toughened piece to be manufactured.

The best quality glaziers I work with always try and use toughened glass though due to the adhesive failure/ separation issues with Lami and the chipping issues when cutting through 4 edges of glass. Nice to know Glaziers dislike the stuff almost as much as tinters do :lol

Sorry, got a bit of the track of the original post.

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Left auto almost 3 years ago.  We don't focus just on commercial however.  Residential pays now.  This is the first year we have done more revenue in commercial work.  The residential work funds us for the upfront cost to commercial work, and the waiting period for payment.  I personally don't want to stop doing residential, because I like the interaction with customers while in their home.  However, once you get management companies and construction companies that call you for every job and give you the contract, you will easily grow, as these people constantly refer you.

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I feel the same way TJ... I generally have the highest profit margins with residential although sometimes it happens with smaller commercial jobs just because I have a min to go out... but the resi jobs pay upfront and hold me over during the waiting period for commercial.

 

And like you - I enjoy talking with homeowners. I've met some really interesting people over the years. :)

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Personally, I hate the homeowner work. Even if you get 2-3-4.00 more PSF, the sale, coddling and time involved make it a net wash to commercial work. The only bonus is that you get paid at completion and sometimes a deposit in advance. Commercial work will give you the spec,scope and time line. All in need to do is put a number on it and perform. The downside is that it typically takes 60-120 days to get paid. It is not unusual for us to have 40-50k on the street. Not to many years ago I would not have had the backing or stomach to deal with that, but now it's just a normal day in the office. I personally know other shops that have significantly more on the line every month, with bigger overhead and liabilities. I'm not sure I want any more.

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Tom that's a hell of a lot to have in bundles on a desk that you can't touch nor feel.

It only takes one ruthless developer to go down on you when you least expect it to and you've got sleepless nights forever.

120 days out is just ridiculous imho and I wouldn't accept those terms.

Devil

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