Windshield replacement

My daughter-in-law had her windshield replaced yesterday afternoon. She told me about it this morning. She was not happy with the result.

“He took my gate pass and my Sun Pass,” she said. A Sun Pass allows drivers on Florida toll roads to pass through toll gates without stopping. A radio frequency identification transponder recognizes the sticker on the windshield and takes toll money from a user’s account. When replacing a windshield, the technician is supposed to take stickers from the cracked windshield and put it in the same place on the new one. Suddenly not having a Sun Pass or a gate pass is a definite inconvenience.

This morning my daughter-in-law called the windshield place. The automated system’s choices included “If you are calling about a recent windshield replacement, please press (whatever.)” She did. Another recording informed her, “At this time we are not taking appointments for windshield replacement.”

My daughter-in-law does not suffer idiots. Was a time people answered telephones at businesses. In the name of efficiency, businesses went to recorded choices and number-pressing. Businesses do not care about customer dissatisfaction with that system. Businesses that sell the system are very satisfied with the billions of dollars made through customer dissatisfaction. Workers at businesses are happy that they do not have to answer phones and listen to dissatisfied customers, even though the companies have, in most cases, already deposited dissatisfied customers’ money.

My daughter-in-law said, “The guy who came out, there was something wrong with him. He just wasn’t right.”

I thought, “He obviously couldn’t follow directions.”

She said, “When he got here, I asked him if he wanted me to move my car to the street or let it stay parked in the driveway. He said, ‘Yeah.’”

She said, “I’m going to leave it where it is, then. The keys are in the console.”

Windshield Guy replaced the windshield. And left.

“He didn’t even ask me to sign anything or look at the windshield. He just left.”

With her Sun Pass and gate pass still attached to the cracked windshield.

You would think that when Windshield Guy got back to the business and started taking down the cracked windshield, he would see the stickers and say, “Dang. I will call the customer, apologize and make appointment to return the stickers and attach them to the windshield I replaced.” Or, maybe a supervisor would have seen the stickers and asked Windshield Guy, “What’s this?”

Nope. Just, “At this time we are not taking appointments for windshield replacements.”

There are times I think maybe I should take over problems and call businesses and indicate dissatisfaction like the old sergeant I am. But, it's not really my place. If my daughter-in-law does not get her Sun Pass and gate sticker back, I will be more than happy to contact the company. The company should look out for my daughter-in-law. Her husband, my youngest son, spent three years as an infantry drill sergeant at Fort Benning. But it is my daughter-in-law who has the somewhat volatile temper.