Safelite… where to begin. For those that don’t know, Safelite is the nations largest auto glass repair and replacement company. What most don’t know is that this statement doesn’t begin to explain how large they actually are. They have practically monopolized the entire system and continue to tighten their strangle hold on the industry.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the free market system and have no problem with the size of Safelite, however as a small, local Auto Glass company it is my job to inform you, the consumer, about some of the things that Safelite wants you to believe.
For starters, let me refer to an add campaign that Safelite put on the radio not too long ago about how “local companies are not to be trusted” and “don’t have your glass changed by the guys at the car wash or gas station because they’ll just take your money and jump town”. At first when I heard these commercials I thought to myself, what a bad way to do business, running a smear campaign about your competitor. I assumed most people would feel the same way and shy away from using them. I assumed Safelite had committed ”political suicide”. However, the exact opposite happened! People actually began to turn their backs on the local companies that do perfectly fine work AND put money back into the Tucson community. People were filled with an unjustified sense of fear to use anyone but Safelite because they thought they would be done wrong in some way; simply based on the fact that someone got on the radio and told them this. That’s absolutely insane (and a bit scary to be honest) that people could be so easily brainwashed by such a non-factual piece of propaganda. As consumers we need to question everything. Why are local companies, who are practically forced to sell at the car washes and gas stations to keep up with Safelite, so evil? Why NOT use a smaller, local company that helps our local Tucson economy flourish? None of these questions were ever asked by consumers, they simply took what they were told and put it into practice.
Now, lets say the nasty little add campaign never happened and you, as a consumer need to have your windshield changed. How do you choose between a smaller local company and Safelite? Well, for starters, patronizing local businesses helps our community. Do you think Safelite re-invests it’s earnings into the Tucson community like a local company does? Secondly, Safelite uses their own brand of glass “SGC Glass” which is cheap, non-OEM glass imported from china, whereas most local companies will use OEM quality glass. Ever see a windshield that’s looks really wavy like a mirage? That’s the quality of SGC Glass. (Read my article on “Glass Quality” for more information). Lastly, the quality of customer care that you can expect to receive from a local company will far exceeds that of a huge one. To a local company, such as mine, you are not just a number or another customer in the thousands that must have their work completed today. There is a personal touch and level of caring that you just won’t get from a giant conglomerate, thats just the nature of getting too big, you loose that personal touch.
So before you have work done by ANY company, do your research and make an informed decision as a good consumer.
