AGSC Members Meet in San Antonio
Members of the Auto Glass Safety Council™ (AGSC) from across the country met recently in San Antonio for the association’s annual Member Meeting. The meeting was held on Wednesday, September 26, just before Auto Glass Week™ got underway.
The meeting, led by AGSC marketing committee chair Peter Brown of Tiny & Sons Glass in Pembroke, Mass., highlighted topics such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), finding your social media market, and the AGSC Registered Member Company audits (validation) program. Brown also is a member of the AGSC board of directors.
“There’s so much info when it comes to ADAS it feels like we’re getting bombarded,” Brown said.
One thing everyone in the room seemed to agree on was spending more time educating customers on the technology in their vehicles.
“It’s not uncommon for a customer to walk in and need his vehicle recalibrated and not have the slightest clue on what systems he has or the time it takes to complete it the right way. That’s when we as business owners and technicians need to step in,” Brown said.
Jeff Martineau, an auto glass industry sales representative with Clarity Sales Associates and member of the marketing committee, agreed that having customer education at the forefront is crucial.
“We need to do a better job of letting customers know why and when they’re required to have a recalibration,” Martineau said.
Several members noted that the AGSC is moving from its “infancy” stage to adolescence, where the base and verbiage are already established and the focus is now on getting the word out to the public.
Alicia Maples, owner of Fix a Crack, gave a presentation on the importance of knowing a company’s customer base. She highlighted how positive online reviews directly translate into increased business.
“First we must understand where our customers live online. Is it Yelp, Facebook or even Google? No matter the social media outlet we need to do our best to tailor the experience toward them,” Maples said.
She, along with many in attendance, agreed that most customers can leave a review online based on the company’s service and their comments can sway others to or away from the particular business.
AGSC audits were also a key focal point during the meeting.
AGSC to Offer Regional Training Program
The Auto Glass Safety Council™ (AGSC) will hold a regional certification training course on January 25, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver Conference Center in Aurora, Colo. The class will run from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and the exam will follow at 12:30 p.m.
The session will include a threehour training course, along with time to take the certification exam. The course will be led by Bob Beranek.
The AGSC also will hold a training course in Long Island, N.Y. The course will be held at the Long Island Marriott on Thursday, March 28, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The exam will follow at 3:30 p.m.
The 2019 training program and certification tests will be free for technicians who currently work for an AGSC Registered Member Company. For technicians who do not work for an AGSC Registered Member Company, the training program is free and the cost to take the certification test is $49.
https://agsc.org/colorado/
https://www.agsc.org/newyork/
Certified Techs Recognised in Competition
The winners of the Pilkington Clear Advantage Auto Glass Technician Competition (AGTO) were named in September in San Antonio, Texas, at Auto Glass Week™.
AGSC Certified Technician Jason Martin of Wisefly Auto Glass in Vernon, Fla., took the gold for the AGTO regular-size company division.
AGSC Master Technician Travis Crebs of TechnaGlass in Taylorsville, Utah, took the silver for the AGTO. AGSC Certified Technician Collin Walton of Don’s Mobile Glass Inc. in Merced, Calif., took the bronze.
The AGTO judges also recognized Martin with the Ingenuity Award for inventing a system that can make a vehicle level no matter where it is located.
ADAS at Top of Mind at AGSC Committee Meetings
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) were front and center at the committee meetings of the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC) in San Antonio in September.
AGSC’s Education Committee, chaired by Jacques Navant of Don’s Mobile Glass, continued its work on updating the technician certification test and enhancing the Master Tech program.
The AGSC Education Committee was followed by a meeting of the AGSC Marketing Committee, which is chaired by Peter Brown of Tiny & Sons Glass. Its focus was on the development of new programs to increase membership and provide new services.
“We’ve got tons of great ideas,” said Brown. “Our challenge will be choosing among them as we go forward.”
This committee was followed by what proved to be the main attraction of the day: the first meeting of the newly formed AGSC ADAS committee. Through a lively and thoughtful exchange of information, the committee developed guidance on how AGSC members will want to handle ADAS in the future.
“There’s a ton of misinformation out there,” said committee chair Jeff Olive of Glasspro. “We want to help our members and the industry know what is necessary and what is not.”
Olive said the day was extremely productive.
“We are not sure what form our work product will take,” said Olive, “but the information we approved will be available soon.”
The AGSC AGRSS™ Standards Committee also met during Auto Glass Week™. Members reviewed the newly revised standard and discussed what steps, if any, are necessary to accommodate recalibration issues in the standard in the future.
The meetings were followed by a CEU Insurers’ Forum for insurers and Registered Members.
“We got a good response,” said Jennifer Cannon of Century Glass. “Both members and insurers gained a ton of info.”
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