Flat Glass Residential/Commercial vs Auto Tinting

[Young Tinter]

I feel as if I'm getting the hang of auto tinting, for every 10 cars that come i can complete 7 of the cars and send the other 3 on there way without tint. 7:3 ratio. But the little things suck (deteriorating felt, annoying customers, researching brand new cars, having a panic attack if I left the ignition on for too long or not, BMWs, etc.)

 

So, everyone says commercial is where the money is and im sure its easier than automotive (right?)... Why the hell am I not doing flat glass!? 

 

Summary: what are the pros and cons of doing flat glass tinting over automotive tinting?

[TintDude]

I preferred autos because I'm an introvert and prefer to work alone in my own domain. You don't get that with flat, you have to travel, be in other people's environment and rarely alone.

Plenty of ladder work in flat also, so that's not a lot of fun for some people. So for me autos worked, and I enjoyed the challenge.

[TintDude]

Also, there is another layer of BS a lot of times if you are doing commercial work. Expect to wait 90 days to be paid often.

 

And General Contractors aren't the most enjoyable people in the world to deal with.

 

Thermal fracture is also a pitfall, so you can't just put any film on any window. 

[TintDude]

Oh and expect to do a lot of "free estimates". It helps to be clean cut and be a good salesman as well.

 

[TintDude]

And you can't be pulling up in a beater, you are going to need a niceish at least looking work vehicle.

[Young Tinter]

2 minutes ago, TintDude said:

Oh and expect to do a lot of "free estimates". It helps to be clean cut and be a good salesman as well.

 

Can most free estimates be done through email online? I hate to drive two towns over for an estimate

[Young Tinter]

5 minutes ago, TintDude said:

And you can't be pulling up in a beater, you are going to need a niceish at least looking work vehicle.

Oh wow

[TintDude]

Rarely will you be able to just walk up and tint some flat glass, there will almost always be something in the way that needs to be moved. That can be a real chore in itself and can lead to other complications like breakage etc.

 

Sometimes windows will be nearly inaccessible and you'll have to get creative and ballsy on a ladder to get them done. I lost count of how many times my life was in the balance just to stick some plastic.

[TintDude]

6 minutes ago, Young Tinter said:

Can most free estimates be done through email online? I hate to drive two towns over for an estimate

 

 

No, because they will tell you, "one window is 60x by 40" or whatever but when you get there it's 100 french panes or something else stupid, or just wrong.

 

Plus you'll need to see what kind of glass it is, whether it's partially shaded and so on. Plus you don't want to show up to a job blind, not realizing you needed a ladder or something else.

[TintDude]

Plus there will be a lot of times when you will need 2 guys for whatever reason and hiring someone comes with its own pitfalls. Not the least of which is matching payroll taxes and EDD fees. It will cost you more than what you would pay 2 guys to afford one employee.

 

Don't even think about paying under the table.