I see PPG is raising their price by 3.5% on all glass units on October 9th.

I just got notified about that too. I love Mygrant so it just helps me to continue buying from the best vendor in the country!

I wonder if PPG notified Lynx?
(Note to Self: Have more fun with smileys in future...)

I have not bought a peice of glass from ppg since there last increase.

as soon as i saw the notice, i knew there would be a thread on this. i just can't believe people here would be unwilling to help PPG continue to break even. they exist to help us without regard to their own profit margin. ha ha

i have no choice its either ppg or an independant that buys from ppg, or pilkington. luckily i live in a market that i can raise my prices also. insurance for the most part pays decent.

Isn't Jim Latch in charge of ARG sales now and was he in charge of LYNX at one time? Now he is going to use his same strong arm tatics to try in put the nail in our coffin?

Does anyone have his email address I say we all tell him how we feel about it!

I personally think it is great that PPG is raising there price and saying its to help them survive.. What in the **** have they been doing all these years? Did not a recent glassbytes note show that PPG HAD A RECORD YEAR.. A RECORD ******* YEAR bend over grab your ankles while we outsource all of our jobs, make more money , whine some, then make more money. PPG Cry me a ******* river you *******s. You waste so much money on your stupid ass mailings , and your **** mixing inventory.. Good think i dont run ppg , cause they would be reporting records every day with me at the helm! Oh while your at it have fun listening to your day care AKA PPG Prostars have a fit they are required to buy so much and now how's pa gonna get that new cavity fixes, hows jr jr gonna eat rice pudding at nite with this increase.. And thanks for the notice *******S atleast NAGS publishes the data gets it out there ALOT longer than you *******s do... Also I want to throw this out there.. If anyone follows thru with the same price increase i do not know how this could not be price fixing?? its not right when gas companies do it!! And there is a hell of alot less glass suppliers than gas conglomerates... You PPG ****S take your XYG **** and shove it right up your tight ass's..

I have decided that I am going to pass through this price increase to all my customers. The last increase and fuel chrages I ate along with the decrease in NAGS but now I have to pass it on. I just hope the insurance companies zand TPA's don't throw me off.

We have never been a company that sues the customer or the insured and I don't want to start now. But on the same hand I cannot continue to accept less and less money for my product. Hopefully they relize and accept the 3.5% increase and don't make me change our whole business practice!

Wow dude!

Has anyone else done what SB is doing and how did it work out for you?

Print the letter post it in your reception areas, staple it to the back of your invoices for your repeat customers. When Pilkington and the others send out their letters do it with them also. Raise your price and make a fair living. We always want someone to fix our problems for us, but never use an opportunity like this to improve our situation.
I did it last time and increased prices by almost 6%. Some competitors did not do it, but 1 is already out of business and another has no electric or water in their shop(been shut off) so I have stuck with the extra charges and seen an improvment in the long run.

By the way the competitor that I expected to really try to cause problems with my increase went from charging $25 flat labor to install glass, up to $85 plus adhesive when required. He is still going strong to right now. Sometimes your competition may be wishing you would go up so they could feel justified in an increase themselves.

The next question is, which distributor will follow first??? And if you think that someone won't, think again.

Agree with SBOK.

Been posting those increase letters for customers to see for the last two years.

Most get it. Some don't at first, but...yesterday, customer came in with moldings falling off a DW1217. Yes, you read that right, a DW1217.

XYG, Safelite installed six months ago, $169, mobile 70 mile one way to get to him. lol

Seems it's not a 'workmanship' problem, and not warranty-able.

As was in another string...why chase competitors pursuing a bankrupt business model over a cliff?

YEAH, what EX PPG CUSTOMER said! I mean didn't they all just have a 3% raise within the last 5-6 months. I'm going to go on the record and say in my opinion Mygrant will not raise theirs, not in the immediate future anyway, they were the last company to impose fuel/delivery charges. I feel they are the only distributor that truly is concerned about the plight of independent shops. It shows in their prices, their willingness to match if the competition is lower, just yesterday I had a SGC referral for an ins company that gets -25%, 27 kit, & 115 flat labor, the only part Mygrant had in stock for it was Carlite..I was looking at paying $3 more for the glass than I could bill so I was either going to have to go through the POP process with SGC and get offered 12% over cost (that's what it was last time on NET part), or refuse the job and it was a repeat customer so my favorite CSR at Mygrant gave me the Carlite for the price of the same part in FYG, they didn't have to do that and we know it cost them profit but they did it because they care about their customers. We will be forever loyal to them no matter what the other guys do, because they have supported us thru tough times. That's what a business relationship is supposed to be about, caring about and understanding the needs of your customers. Mygrant treats us like we treat our customers and it's because of them we will be able to continue to provide quality products and service to our customers, and not have to CAVE and buy crap from our competition.

Its nothing more than price fixing :(

Can't wait for the next AGRR article to let us know how many millions in increased sales PPG has next quarter.
If they know "Escalating costs continue to burden", why does NAGS keep lowering lists and TPA's continue to lower discounts? I already know why but...

September 20, 2006
To Our PPG AutoGlass Customers:

Escalating costs continue to burden the auto glass industry. While PPG Auto Glass remains committed to reducing our operating costs where possible, we are unable to absorb the cost increases from our suppliers without an increase in our own price. Therefore, effective October 9,
2006 PPG Auto Glass will implement a 3.5% price increase across all glass units.

PPG Auto Glass appreciates your understanding and support and will continue to identify and implement additional ways to offset operating costs without compromising service or quality.
Regards,
Lisa M. Detwiler

Just received Fax Pilkington is raising 3.5% too.
Are we expected to just eat 3.5% or can we ajust too?

sbok,

In regards to the insurance companies are they paying the increase or did you find yourself having to go to court for the difference?

We have no problem with our cash and wholesale. We just don't want to find ourselve kicked off the programs and still shorted the 3.5% increase. What has been your experience if any?

TPA and INS CO. not absorbing the increased costs either.

Farmers was 8% off NAGS going to 15% off NAGS sept 22,2006

Workmen's Auto going to 30% off NAGS sept 26, 2006

Zurich from 5% off NAGS to 15% off NAGS sept 22,2006

NAGS must STOP PUBLISHING a list price . I do not want to blame NAGS for this industries problems but by publishing a LIST price that is entirely abused and manipulated by ins. co. they are certainly NOT HELPING!!!

Can anyone tell me how and why a NAGS LIST PRICE has any relavance in this industry? Maybe I am just fed up and not thinking straight but I cannot see how we can be FORCED to use NAGS LIST for any invoiceing, despite what ins. co. say. It has not correlation to anything real in autoglass.

So glass costs up avg 3.5%, and ins. co. wanting 5 to 10% decrease in glass cost, so we all lose another 10 to 15%???

What will happen if we don't honor the discounts they are requesting I cannot afford too?

There has got to be a lawyer out there that can find a way to fight NAGS or the TPA's on this issue of using NAGS list prices. I mean come on. The vendor's do not sell to us using the current or even last edition of NAGS like they did before the rebalance. Heck it's on a part by part basis for our cost now.
We need to pressure the darn TPA's to assist us. You think they would want to help us as most of the TPA's have their own glass shops too that they need to make a profit with.
Safelite/ Lynx/ and all the others needs to wake up if they want to make more profit. Help the frigin industry by fighting NAGS and the insurance companies themselves. They (the TPA's and NAGS) are the ones contributing to the crumbling of ALL GLASS SHOPS profit margins by not standing up to the insurance industry and getting us better billing discounts. I don't care whether you are on the darn networks or not. The insurance company is only going to pay you a certain amount and that is the fault of the TPA's continually offering deeper and deeper discounts. Even if you get off the networks, the TPA's are going to continue contributing to the decreasing profit margins in our industry. Who's in bed with whom and why?

Nice letter from Pilkington I just saw. Imaging that. There health care cost have increased, along with driver salaries, energy, transportation cost, oh and raw materials.
I guess the TPA's don't have that problem. They must get free health insurance for their employee's. I wonder what their turn over rate is on employee's. They must never have to give raises. Oh and their employee's must walk to work so they can save on the ever increasing cost of fuel. Oh I just had a thought!!! Gas prices are dropping aren't they? Does this mean we can stop paying the vendor's for the delivery fee they imposed on us due to the rise of gas prices?
Oh but we must just suck it up and take a lower profit margin to help our vendor's out. We must also help the rise of insurance rates by lowering our invoices to them. Gee, it's seems everyone around us is having RECORD PROFITS except for the guys running the glass shops.

Who is in chrage of AGR aftermarket Jim Latch or Steve Shaw?

Can you post the letter?

I tried to find it on their website but I guess they don't post these issues on there.
This is what it states:

September 21, 2006

Dear Valued Customers,

The drivers of cost for our industry, to include raw materials, energy, transportation, health care and overall labor cost continue to encumber the market. These energy and other costs are impacting our entire industry.
As Pilkington continually endeavors to improve our product and services while remaining competitive and affordable we are no longer able to fully absorb these increasing costs and must seek to recover some part. As a result, Pilkington will initiate a general price increase of 3.5% on all automotive glass parts, to be effective October 9th, 2006.
We sincerely hope you will understand the necessity for this general price increase. We hope the basis of theses additional costs, which are affecting consumers and us in North America, will abate as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
William A George
Director-Marketing

Copy it and send it back to the sister company of PPG and all their clients and I am sure they will understand and accept it!

Copy it send it back to PPG's sister company and all there clients! I am sure they will understand and accept it!

WOW just more B.S. to have to worry about.