I viewed AGRSS as a shining light for the Auto Glass Industry, a beacon to rally around. I see the light fading. I hold an alternate seat on the panel that put the AGRSS standards together. I was a registered shop, I am no more.
The panel consisted of representatives from Safelite, Diamond/Triumph, and people from other Big companies. I know of only one person at the meetings who represented the small independent shops.
The standards are great. The cost, time, effort and paperwork involved in becoming registered or renewing membership is prohibitive to the average shop.
I have not observed AGRSS impacting the Insurance Company’s conscientiousness. (Thank God for spell check)
They have no effect on the TPAs or SGC net. If they did, we wouldn’t be pressured by the CSR to do mobile installs in unsatisfactory working conditions.
I am not aware of AGRSS policing its members. Their bark is weak and their bite is toothless.
I am reading the disillusionment (spell check again) surfacing in the industry and I sadly have to agree with it.

Well said. When insurance co's and tpa's begin to adhere to them (agrss standards) and help to disseminate the information concerning safety, then maybe it will help. Further they need to talk about two men sets and the value of the work being done in the shop. Who cariies every clip etc that is needed when that cheap plastic breaks on removal?

I think the big industry players have a duty to support and lead the drive for quality. If they use their time and resources to help with this cause it should help everyone and should be viewed as a good use of their time as far as the industry is concerned. The small shops also have to be a part of this (as many of them always have been in the past) and I am sure at least Diamond Glass would welcome them and applaud their efforts. As industry players we compete over business every day but if we can all raise the quality and professionalism in the industry we all benefit.

Hence the opinion that AGRSS, and to some NGA certification, is being used as a marketing ploy with no verification process in place to assure quality work is being done by those who claim to adhere to the standard. It was the next logical step.

I agree, sadly, with Sglass, but I have not given up hope. I can only hope that opinions expressed are being read by the 'powers that be' and also hope that this wasn't exactly what was intended to happen. The countless hours by so many volunteer individuals to make these things happen should not be allowed to be wasted.

THat's my opinion, and I'm stickin' to it.

This is Deb Levy responding in my role as the volunteer chair of the marketing committee for AGRSS. My "job" is to get the word out about AGRSS, so I feel compelled to join in and comment on some misconceptions and inaccurate information being posted in this thread.

COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE
First, let's address the composition of the Standards Committee and the Council itself. It is simply not true that it is dominated by any one "type" of member--large companies included. In fact, in order to be an ANSI committee, the committee must be balanced and can not have more weight in one area that any other. You can see the list of companies represented on the Standards Committee on www.agrss.com. You can see the list of AGRSS-registered companies on www.safewindshields.com. I assure you when you go through the list of registered companies, you will find forward-thinkers and the guys who want to do it right, and these won't necessarily be large companies.

COST AND TIME TO BECOME REGISTERED
Anyone can follow the Standard without being registered to do so. Registering requires a written commitment to follow the Standard, a fee (which is around $200) and completion of a self-audit. Completing the paperwork does not take a lot of time--making sure that your systems are in place to meet the Standard might take a bit of time, but that's what the process is about. The self-audit process is an excellent way to check that your company is following the Standard. It's a quality control check for you. It's a way of documenting that you follow the Standard. In addition, a number of marketing aids and programs are made available to registered companies to help them promote their commitment to safety. AGRSS also offers help for companies that don't pass the self-audit or need help with the paperwork.

INSURANCE INDUSTRY AWARENESS
has grown tremendously. In fact, last year State Farm began referencing the Standard in its Offer and Acceptance Agreement. The Standard has also been referenced in recent legislation introduced in Louisiana and New York. METRYX tracks AGRSS registration on the first screen, and provides customer satisfaction results against to its insurance customers who request it.

AGRSS POLICING
AGRSS actually does provide oversight and vigorously protects its trademarks and copyright protections for registered companies. Anyone who has ever said they are a registered company when they are not can attest to this. You will probably never know of any instances where this occurs because AGRSS does it very quietly. Its intent is to get the behavior to stop, not publicize it. Again, the commitment is to safety. Our efforts at awareness have been in place less than four years tremendous strives have already been made.

It takes time to change an industry and the AGRSS auditing process continues to evolve. I would expect you'll see more advancements from our forward-thinking Council in the future.

It's always good to have a conversation and I appreciate the opportunity to respond as well.

Regards,
Deb Levy

Hello Deb
I appreciate your response. I still stand by my observation. The standards committee still had one small shop on it. I am not referencing the registered members, just the committee.
The fact AGRSS is referenced in NY legislation was not due to any actions by AGRSS. It is referenced because of a small group in NY trying to get the standards recognized.
Yes State Farm did refer to the AGRSS installation procedure. This leads to the question: Why do LYNX CSRs still encourage mobile installations on State Farm’s claimants in unsatisfactory replacement conditions? I have experienced a CSR aiding an insured to have some one else mobile and replace their windshield in unsatisfactory conditions because I refused. (ANYONE else experience this?)
I would love to see AGRSS become the industry standard But as long as TPAs penalize shops for tying to follow the standard and rewarding the installers that will mobile install in any environmental condition AGRSS will never achieve credibility in the industry.

Sglass,

I'll echo your point about LYNX CSR's pushing mobile service.

I have had them call me and say that the customer has requested mobile service. When I talk to the customer, they often say that they didn't want the job done at their house but the CSR recommended it.

9 times out of 10 they come in to our shop for a "proper" job.

I have to agree, many, many times, lynx calls stating "the customer requests mobile service". while talking to the customer we come to find they in fact would prefer to bring it in and have the job done right, in an environment suitable for proper installation! My question has benn for a very long time,,,, why does lynx promote mobile glass work????

XXX...heres a possible answer for you..in my state D/T and S/L have closed all but a few of their physical locations (closest one to me is about 40 miles away), leaving them prety much mobile only. With their "customized offers" ,I would bet they are probably just slightly higher than my cost. So if you were lynx where would you steer your jobs? My shop is the only shop that does auto located in a city with a population of 85,000 and im lucky if I get one lynx referal every 2 weeks and yes i have given them customized offers and have not ever seen an increase in referals. D/T and S/L could actually put a parade on with the amount of vans you see going down our streets.

How many people are going to attend the AGRSS thing in orlando?? I know last year there was alot in vegas..

Watch glassbytes.com or glassexpos.com this week for updated information regarding the AGRSS conference.

IN MY OPINION IF YOU WANT MORE PEPLE TO TAKE AGRSS PROMOTE IT BETTER WE HARDLY SEE ANYTHING ABOUT IT IN TEXAS UNLESS ITS BINSWANGER. IF YOU WANT MORE PEPLE TO JOIN SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS A LITTLE MORE AND LOWER THE FEE ($200) PER SHOP WITH GAS PRICES AND GLASS PRICES AND NGA ,IGA,LYNX ,SGC INSURANCE RATES AND GLASS MATE(AND ANY OTHER FEE I MAY HAVE FORGOT) $200 IS A LOT OF MONEY FOR SOME SHOPS .

MY SHOPS WILL NOT JOIN AGRSS UNTIL THEY PROMOTE IT BETTER ( NOT JUST IN INDUSTRY MAGS.) TRY HOT ROD MAG ,LOWRIDER MAG, ANY MAG OR PUBLICATION THAT HAS TO DO WITH CARS. WHEN THEY LOWER FEES AND PROMOTE BETTER THAN YOU WILL SEE AN INCREASE IN MEMBERS AND EVERYONE WILL STOP POSTIN NEGATIVE THREADS ABOUT AGRSS,IGA,NGA, NAGS LYNX,SGC.

Just my opinion.... since AGRESS can't be policed its worthless. My reasoning on this is that I know Agress shops that advertise that they follow the standard and then really do not. Also because I am old school I hate to urethane a DW506, or a DW685...d

In all fairness, there has to be a "law" before it can be enforced. Simply getting a standard in place is a huge step. Obviously, the next step is policing it. I think the point about Lynx is quite valid as it cuts to the core of whether the standard is truly being observed, or whether it is simply a "me too".

While getting companies like Lynx and SF to acknowlege that a standard has value and is thus recognized is the first step toward building business practices based on safety standards; standing up and recognizing the important elements in trading agreements and field contact is the next step.

I think that this forum and the allegations set forth regarding Lynx CSR practice is a great piece of information for AGRSS to investigate in order to assert this fact via communication with those referenced. I also think it is a great story idea for AGRR if those at the heart of the matter are willing to ruffle a few feathers for the good of the consumer and the industry.

If steps toward compliance at all levels are not taken, the standard is only a paper tiger.