can only imagine where this guy thinks his 2 billion will come from.

http://www.glassbytes.com/2014/11/solera-ceo-glass-is-a-2-billion-market-opportunity/

It appears when he uses the word "glass", he is referring to both auto and home or residential. Could that have anything to do with why Safelite is trying to build a "network" of flat glass installers?

If you want to keep others hands out of your pockets, be very careful of signing any "NETWORK" agreements. Be especially careful of the network agreements that automatically renew each year.

If you have any current network agreements that automatically renew, you should review them to make sure the hand didn't slip deeper into your pocket.

Make sure you can terminate agreements on your terms before you sign on the dotted line.

Personally speaking, I have yet to see any agreement that would justify turning over your customer to another entity, effectively making you the subcontractor.

Even if one hopes to "gain business" via "referrals", no contract I have ever seen guarantees such referrals in exchange for what the shops gives up in discounts, and never is the grantor of such referrals in a position to grant such referrals under an actual subcontracting or franchise agreement in the first place.

The one exception to this assessment is fleet type accounts, where the owner of the fleet did in fact, turn over management of repairs, (NOT claims), to the fleet management company. However, again, in those contracts, I have yet to see any guarantee of referral in exchange for the discounts the shop offers, or is required to give.

Having said that, the only reasons, financially and economically speaking, for any shop to consider signing is the "HOPE" of new business that they would not otherwise have, which is extremely risky given the lack of any guarantees of any quantity of referrals, or, secondly, the simple "HOPE" that less steering will occour if one is a contracted shop, but again, with no guarantee that anything will improve.

To me, proof of such above assumptions and conclusions being logical and true, is that such guarantees of referrals of business have been glaringly missing from any of the contracts since day one. I find that interesting and important since the lack of guarantee of any quantity at all is the one thing that may have kept the Feds and the anti-trust issues at bay. With no valid franchise agreement, with the insurer not contracting for the repairs to the car, allocating markets, territories, and pricing, is clearly stated to be an antitrust violation.

JMHNLO

Larry, I think Safelite is planning on offering the insurance industry third party claims administration for flat glass. They do not have to do flat glass repair in order to administer the claims. I have, in fact, seen a copy of the letter that they have been sending to flat glass repair shops.

Wonderful. Now there will be a whole slew of houses with rusted out wood sashes...