Could a new crowdfunded economy company change the way you do business? While the potential could be there, some AGRR company owners are scratching their heads. John McAuley, a SuperGlass Windshield Repair franchisee in St. Petersburg, Fla., is not sold.
WeGoLook is an online and mobile sharing economy platform. It hires “lookers” who undergo a background check. The company claims its team can inspect just about anything, including automotive glass. The agents review off-fleet and off-lease vehicles for damage, including glass, and even offer custom insurance solutions for vehicles, such as pre-inspection.
The company offers “customized nationwide inspections and data capture for any asset, vehicle (including fleet), heavy equipment or property featuring templates specific to any industry. Utilize the WeGoLook mobile app to geotag, time/date stamp or FaceTime to enhance current reporting,” according to the company website.
But are AGRR owners impressed? If WeGoLook finds damage, will it contact a local AGRR company? That is up to the OEM or dealer.
“I don’t do a lot of fleet or off-lease work, but I do dealer work,” McAuley says. “My technicians are out there every week walking the lots looking for damage. I’m not saying there isn’t a place for this service, I just don’t know.”
The president of Patriot Auto Glass in Northern Virginia says his team is usually called in by a dealership service department.
“I just don’t think it will generate a lot of business,” says Mike Delaney. “They may notice a chip or a crack and that is good, but I work with local dealers. Most of my customers are doing service work. A vehicle comes in for maintenance and the service manager may spot a chip or crack and call me. But this doesn’t happen a lot.”
Terry Mollica, vice president of business development for WeGoLook, says the company is still growing and this is one area with potential.
“We don’t currently do pre-inspections of vehicle glass prior to a claim being authorized by an insurer, but we could,” he explains.
“Right now we mostly do fleet cars, high-end vehicles where the companies would like to keep the original windshields, such as Volkwagens,” he says. “These windshields can be expensive. For many of these vehicles you can’t just do an aftermarket windshield, you need an OEM version.”
What do you think? Email your thoughts to jreed@glass.com or visit the glassBYTEs.com™/AGRR™ magazine forum here.
