I am wondering what other shops are seeing volume-wise this year vs. last? We are down somewhat. We do market ourselves and are trying new things. We haven't seen much of an uptick since Nov/Dec yet.

we are down as well.

and it has been dead as all get out the past two weeks, even the phone has stopped ringing.

Talking to suppliers I am told they are off about 20%,
which is about what we are down as well. I think the answer lays in higher deductibles and a milder winter here in the midwest. Fuel costs, Christmas and now the beloved property taxes. Hopefully the tax refunds will start kicking in soon. Too bad that auto glass is a "need" item and not an "I want" item!!!!!!!!

George, You brought up an interesting point. Several states , including mine do not have yearly vehicle inspections. In the ones who do, it is my understanding that you cannot pass with a broken window. Perhaps we could do something that will make vehicle inspections a national program.( I'm sure it will be fought by the insurance industry) Could we possibly hear from someone whose state does have inspections and how it works? This is a sure way to turn auto glass into a "need" item and not a "want" item.

THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA DOES HAVE STATE INSPECTION ONCE A YEAR. AS CAR AND TRUCK SALES INCREASE IN THE SPRING TAPER OFF SOME WHAT IN SUMMER AND THEN PICK UP IN THE FALL. THE VOLUME OF BUSINESS FOLLOWS SUIT TO THE INCREASE OF SALES AT THOSE TIMES. THE WEATHER IS A BIG FACTOR ALSO, HARD COLD SNOWY WINTER YIELDS A HIGHER VOLUME OF BUSINESS, WERE AS A SOFT WARMER RAINY WINTER CAUSES LOW VOLUMES.

I'm in the Pacific NW and we have been extremely busy this winter. Normally it slows way down but this year seems like our busiest in 7 years. Yet if you look out of sales figures, it was the worst we've ever seen. Can't figure it out except that we are doing triple the work and getting paid less (Thanks to NAGS).
We do have a law about the cracks in the windshield. The police will give tickets to people with cracks longer than 6 inches. It was big on the news for a few days. So those people who saw the news got their warning. Not that it increased our sales! There is just much road debris here.
Had a lady come in yesterday that moved here from the hurricane area just to get her windshield replaced! She told me the glass shops there are booking 3-4 weeks out due to the volume. Sounds like they need some more help.

NAGS isnt the reason we are getting paid less, we are. Low cash prices are killing the industry. Have you not looked at your financial numbers to see why you are not making money? We need to stop blaming everyone but ourselves for our troubles

We are in North FL, our sales after Katrina fell dramtically! Since Jan our sales have increased to normal levels. The new Nags has hurt us as well.

We do many chevy, ford and dodge pickups and the prices really hurt.

I am also really upset of the different ways insurance companies are handling Nags, some use old, some use new and some make up their own. Even with pricing who really knows what something costs until the bill comes.

I hope this gets better soon. I have talked to rep's fromt he major suppliers and they have no answers.