I've watched several SL techs and never yet have I seen them use wire. Today I watched an older tech replacing a ws on a 2012 Kia Optima. I watched for 1/2 an hour as he struggled with a cold knife on the top and sides, then used an extractor on the bottom. Then he used the extractor on the top and still didn't have the ws out when I left. I couldn't bear watching anymore. Would have been the perfect car to use wire on. So what is their policy???

Kinda hard to believe??? Extractor also??? What market was this?

Sioux Falls, SD

All the Hacklite guys here use the wire only. No long knives allowed. Extractor as need to use basis authorized from location manager.

XS is correct (wow that wasn't easy to say). I use the wire on 90% of the cars and trucks, cold knife on maybe a new Malibu and hand wire the bottom. I think I have used my extractor once last month but just for 5 inches in both bottom corners. I had a 2014 X5 last week and I timed myself working at a regular pace with the wire and the one tech.(call it what you want) key is to set up the wire around the whole WS once and correctly. The wire stripped the urethane already pretty much down to about 4mm so all I had to do was wash the pinchweld and Aktivate it. shot my V and set it spot on. total time from start to everything back together was 50 min. Not too bad IMOP. Put it this way, the wire works Great when it works. But to take the other tools away from a seasoned vet is dumb.

XS is correct (wow that wasn't easy to say). I use the wire on 90% of the cars and trucks, cold knife on maybe a new Malibu and hand wire the bottom. I think I have used my extractor once last month but just for 5 inches in both bottom corners. I had a 2014 X5 last week and I timed myself working at a regular pace with the wire and the one tech.(call it what you want) key is to set up the wire around the whole WS once and correctly. The wire stripped the urethane already pretty much down to about 4mm so all I had to do was wash the pinchweld and Aktivate it. shot my V and set it spot on. total time from start to everything back together was 50 min. Not too bad IMOP. Put it this way, the wire works Great when it works. But to take the other tools away from a seasoned vet is dumb.

We weren't allowed them in our vans, if we got stuck half way through a job they wanted us to drive back to our shop to get it. Nothing like telling a customers you will be back later and leave their ws half removed. They never saw the liability in that. Eventually they took them out of our shops and only allowed one extractor per market and only the quality manager was allowed to carry it. You could be 1 1/2 hours away from him depending on the job location and where the quality manager was. Odd part was when techs came in from other markets to help for a couple of weeks their van would be fully loaded, long knife, cold knife, extractor, fein knife all in the open with nothing to hide. Our market had to write our employee numbers on the ws and return them for inspection from our managers to confirm we only used the wire. I loved the wire but hated working without a safety net.

It got to a point that there were too many tools to hide in our vans. Our managers would not just look in our vans daily but actually climb into the back and thoroughly look through it. I kept my cold knife in a Tupperware container in my lunch cooler. It's the only place they never looked. I removed all other tools. It's insane to have to plea for permission to use a tool that you need for a certain job. You're asking a manager who has never installed, so they don't understand or care. I was livid when they forced ALL techs into that trainee toolbox. Sucks going from a nice large ball bearing box into an endless pit of a box. Digging for tools is not efficient. They said customers would be impressed by those boxes, all they did was give off the first impression that you are a rookie. When they banned the fein knife they never explained a new method for slider removal. They suggested just grabbing it and ripping it off the body, prying it off, or hammer and chisel to free it. Great advice from someone who doesn't install but makes or enforces the rules. All I know is none of those methods instill confidence in the customer while they watch.

Other company tech's referred to the Hacklite Tool box as a Play Skool tool set...lol
I was also informed that they film tech's to make sure they do the job by the book. What happen to the hacklite value's. Our most valuable asset is our associates?. And all our associates are empowered?

in regards to the grip and rip on a slider, you still have to get it started in order to do this, and you get glass all over the **** place.

XS, have you seen the tool box yet? You pretty much nailed it. I don't know why they want experienced techs to downgrade and look inexperienced. The drawers can't even accommodate a robogrip, such an unorganized system. Their intention was for us to wheel it in front of the vehicle we were working on to be more efficient. That part they never enforced but I'm sure it's coming. How were they recording people? I figured they eventually would put cameras on the van for that purpose. Last year they gave us a case of urethane and we had to save our empties and hand them in the next day so all tubes would be accounted for. If you gave 10 empties the next day then you were given 10 new tubes, and so on. So very little trust. You're right though, It is ironic how they say they are powered by the people yet be petty over everything. You could have the best numbers in the market but if you showed one bit of dirt on your shirt then you had to wear a black apron. Funny how we weren't allowed to wear black shirts, only red but if the red got dirty then a black apron was ok. Black turtleneck and sweatshirt were allowed, go figure the logic. Nothing like another layer to wear in the hot sun. Looking like a slob is one thing but we are not office workers but mobile mechanics, we are going to get dirty. This was the crap that made me leave. The constant bs just wears on you. The newbies only know the way they are taught so they are loved over the experience techs. We were the ones getting stuff done that the newbies couldn't. I saw kids 3 weeks out of the class leaving with 6 jobs some being BMW, Mercedes etc.. Once they pass the test they are considered techs and they get the full load.

Nice stuff. It's things like that that keep people from being repeat customers. I wish I had a dime for every time a customer told me, " My insurance company made me use Safelite last time. Never again. " My repeat business is what has kept me in business for 34 years. I can only hope Safelite never changes in my area.

If you tape the wire in those spots you never have to worry about it jumping.

They're trying to make the job less of a skill. Hence the wire and the "lil" buddy system. They're paying techs 13 to 14 bucks an hour to do the same job a seasoned vet does. The wire slows guys down who can do 10 to 12 jobs a day doing it the old way. Belron's prices continue to rise and their pay rate for the installers continue to drop. It's a catch 22 for us in the cash market, which means they're almost never competitive, but with the cost of glass going up, we're all fighting for the cash jobs which we aren't making a whole lot on. While belron continues to get mostly all the insurance work...And nothing is being done to stop them

I might add that I like the concept of the RollaDeck over the walk around setting tools. Never cared for mounting to the driver's door glass set-up.
Just my 2 cents.

Never had a problem with a Kia at the top, just Tape it in like 5 spots. Easy as pie. No scratches, no prime...

I think I remember from an old post somewhere that you are in the DFW market... Is this still correct?

I really like the Rolladeck system. Today it made an easy job easier. (Nissan Cube). Since we're talking Safelite, Today I did a repair for a guy that had one scheduled at their shop. He showed up and was told no one was their to do it. He also told me to get the repair done he HAD to purchase new wipers...lol.. now I can't see how that could be true but it's what he told me. BTW... I'm in room 312...LOL

I don't do glass anymore so my observation is from the consumer viewpoint. The Lit'l Buddy and Solo are great tools.

Marcus, careful, only a very small group of suppliers come here anymore. I limit my comments as it is. Can't you feel the love?

Not all cars the wire can be used on, it' says that on the commercial. (Small letters)
So to answer your question they use the wire when it can be used on a vehicle and cars that it can't be used on they don't.
You would have to be trained and own a wire system to know that.
But I guess it's easier to talk about what a guy didn't do than what he did right by not using wire on a car design that prevents it.

He could have used wire, and the point is he hacked the daylight out of that poor Kia. Anyone who knows how to use a cold knife and the extractor (my installers and me for example) could have done it in far less time, and the car wouldn't have got a single scratch. We're talking about the difference between hacks and skilled installers. If the hack that worked on the Kia hasn't learned the needed skills at his age he never will.

Did you even read what I wrote???? The hack didn't use wire. He could have, but he didn't. And you CAN use a cold knife and Extractor without causing damage. The difference is how skilled the tech is. Period. Please read these posts carefully and don't take things out of context.