People Who Do Crack

I learned all about rock chip repairs this morning. We picked up a rock chip a couple of weeks ago and not too long after there was one of those “Dealfind” coupons on the internet that promised $120 towards a windshield repair or three rock chip repairs for only $20.

 

I have never had a chip repaired before, mainly because I always leave it until it is too far gone and cracks start to spider web all over the windshield. The cracks don’t bother me unless they happen to be right in my line of sight and I don’t really care if the passenger gets a headache from trying to look around the cracks. I picked up the Echo from where Louise works and drove over to Cal-Alta Glass. The guy told me to drive around back and he would meet me there. Once I got to the back, I was there, other guys were there, but the guy from the front never did show up. He must have been referring to the royal “he”, kind of like when Louise says “We should paint the kitchen.” She doesn’t mean “we”, she means me.

So this one guy comes out and has a look at the windshield and tells me that it has a dimple, and I nod like I actually understand what he was talking about. For all I know there are 100 different kinds of rock chips and “dimple” is one of them. He goes back inside and I never saw him again. It’s possible that he and the guy out front went for a coffee break. Another guy comes out with a little round gizmo in his one hand and a syringe in the other. He was here to either fix the windshield or cook some crack. Turns out he wasn’t cooking crack, he was fixing crack. Heh…heh…heh

 

He took the time to explain just what he was doing and how what he was doing would repair the crack. Did you know that a window is made up of three layers, the inside and outside of glass with a layer of plastic laminated between the layers? When a stone hits the window it cracks and there is a tiny air pocket that is formed. It is this air pocket that seems to cause all of the trouble. Moisture will seep into the crack and then with the freezing and thawing, eventually the cracks will spread across the wind shield. The guy told me that with any luck this repair will be 80% - 85% effective, but if there is a problem then we should bring it back right away. I should have suggested that he give me back $3 to $4 and if there isn’t a problem in say six years then I would return the money.

Just a side note, a place called Novus Glass invented the process of windshield repair back in 1972. Can you imagine the amount of glass they have kept out of the landfills? Kudos to them for coming up with an idea that saved me a couple of hundred bucks.

When the patch had cured, the guy told me that the next time, and there will be a next time in Calgary, we should come in and get an “inhouse” coupon which will be cheaper than the “Dealfind” coupon. This is interesting news. I guess you can save money because the retailer doesn’t have to pay the Dealfind people. Lesson learned; I suppose I will call the retailer before using one of the many online coupon sites.

I remember back when my dad came out to visit, he insisted on buying a new countertop for the kitchen. I said no, he said yes, I said no, he said yes… So, we found ourselves at Home Depot and ordered the countertop. When they came to install it, long after dad had gone home, the installer told us that if we had gone directly to the company he worked for we could have saved the 10% - 15% that Home Depot gets for being the middleman. I have to start learning to bargain with these stores.

Mind you, it’s a lot easier to negotiate with people who do crack.

I guess that since I am going to be getting on a plane in the very near future my mind was thinking of this little video today. So, for no particular reason what so ever, I bring you “the Kid From Brooklyn”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVcW-dj26_o