Smart Glass Denver Sucks.
Sales tactics on a post-it note!?
At least I didn’t get broken up with via post-it note, I guess. It was, however, almost as shocking. I got into my car today after work… loaded all of my stuff in the trunk, then went around to the passenger side to throw my bags in, and then I finally wandered over to the drivers side to park my tush and un-park my car. As I closed myself into my car… I did the usual buckle-up, keys in the ignition, and looked in my mirrors to begin to back out. Well, much to my surprise, there was a post-it note with cryptic handwriting stuck to my left side mirror, which read:
Please call me about your car! 303.296.0809 [signed] MB
So I paused thinking, “did someone hit me and leave me a note? Is my car THAT dirty that I didn’t even notice?” So, I got out. Did a little inspection. And nothin’. No dents, no dings, no damage. Why would someone leave a post-it note if nothing bad happened? Oh geez, is my car about to blow up? Is someone trying to warn me of something? I start freaking out and thoughts of every intense thriller movie with car blow-up-scenes started going through my head. I call James. Then, I call the number.
I get put on hold for 4 minutes! I hang up. I call again. After 4 billion rings, some dude answers. I say, “hey, are you the person who left a post-it note on my car?”. The dufus on the other end basically tells me that one of his guys probably did. I’m like, “who are you?”. He tells me he is from some auto glass repair place and they would like to fix my cracked windshield. WTF!? Since when did people start soliciting via post-it note?
LAME. I am here to tell you tonight that SMART GLASS sucks. They kind of freaked me out tonight. That had to have been the stupidest sales tactic I have ever scene. SMART GLASS - way to scare me off.
25 Responses to “Smart Glass Denver Sucks.”
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Wow. So, so lame. What a bunch of idiots. Let’s destroy them via the intarwebs.
Type in “SMART GLASS DENVER” into Google - James’ post is numero uno and mine is on the first page too! James has made it his goal tonight to destroy them :)
Friggin’ awesome. My posts will be coming soon, 3 blogs in all. :)
[...] check for damage, and you’d probably have your guard down. This is pretty much what my friend Kristi did today, before dialing the number and learning that some crackhead at Smart Glass Denver was [...]
Saying that this company sucks because they used a creative marketing tactic is rather asinine. They offered you a service, which if your window was cracked, sounded like you could use… and delivered their message in a way that they knew would get your attention. Sounds smart to me.
Maybe you should lay off the movies and TV and come back to reality if you really think a postit note on your car is nearly as bad as your car being damaged. If your baseless judgement wasn’t childish enough, this definitely is.
Freak -
There is a big difference between creative and deceptive. If they wanted to offer me a service, they could have simply left a business card.
I don’t appreciate solicitation. If I want to fix my window, I will. When you’re in an industry such as auto glass repair… my guess is that reputation and service are among the top qualities people look for. I can tell you right now that receiving a post-it note on my car doesn’t exactly scream quality. It’s a cheap sales gimmick and it’s frustrating.
I spoke to a friend today who also had the same thing happen to them across town a few weeks ago, and they too had the same feelings as I did.
So, I appreciate your comment. But hopefully you’re not in the marketing business :)
I saw this on Consumerist and was really appalled at the lack of common sense and decency the glass company has.
My concern as a woman, is that in the time it took you to look around your car in a parking lot or on a parking deck and assess the possible damage (that you rightfully & logically assumed existed), you were vulnerable to anyone who wanted to do you harm. Parking areas are not always the safest places.
This is one of the worst advertising plans I have ever seen and I’ll be adding this to my blog this evening.
I’m really sorry this happened to you.
that is the weirdest thing ever!
marsneedsrabbits -
Thanks for the comment - It’s good to know I am not crazy! It was little sketchy, and I am thankful it was just some stupid scam - could have been worse. Hopefully all this will circulate back to SMART GLASS so that they realize how stupid this is.
Thanks for posting a little blurb on your blog - much appreciated! Have a great weekend! Side note: I love your title: marsneedsrabbits - is that the name of your blog? Love it!
Joanie! I know :)
Hope everything is going well out yonder… can’t wait to see you guys in October - so far away!
Working on a post on my blog as we speak. This makes me FURIOUS!
I’ve had horrible luck with unscrupulous car service businesses since moving to Denver. Got ripped off by Brakes Plus and when I went to complain that they gave me the most expensive repair package when I had asked for the least expensive, the mechanic called me a “lying bitch” in front of his manager and the customers.
It never ends around here. I don’t know how some people sleep at night, really I don’t.
And don’t get me started on the old pieces of scotch tape I have on my front door from people taping flyers to it - directly under my “no soliciting” sign.
Drunkbunny -
Wow - sounds like you’ve definitely had some bad luck for sure. The car industry as a whole seems to cause a lot of frustration. And it seems as though soliciting will never end, which blows my mind since it pisses people off to know end. So why do they keep doing it? People are clueless!
Anyway, thanks for the comment and the post on your blog! Much appreciated! I am pretty sure that Smart Glass is pretty screwed if any new potential clients google them… the whole first search page is full of horrible reviews. Fantastic!!
WOW, YOU ARE TRULY A LOSER. SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO THEN SIT ON YOUR BUTT AND PLAY ON THE COMPUTER ALL DAY! I HAVE BEEN USING SMART GLASS FOR YEARS, AND THEY ARE GREAT! THE WORK THAT THEY DO IS WONDERFUL, AND I WILL CONTINUE TO USE THEM. JUST BECAUSE THERE MOBILE AUTO GLASS TECH SAW YOUR WINDSHEILD AND DIDN’T HAVE A CARD WITH HIM YOU ARE GOING TO ACT AS IF YOU HAVE BEEN VIOLATED. THIS IS REALLY YOUR LOSS!
Wow Sarah! How many windshields have you had to replace?! I am glad you’ve had a great experience with Smart Glass - I think you should spread the word. I’ve found that the easiest way to do so is on the internet. Course, that might mean sitting in front of your computer and you know what that makes you. You’d be just like all the other computer losers such Bill Gates, the dudes from Google, and just about everybody with a white collar job. Maybe you should write up some post-its and stick ‘em around town… sounds like a great way to amp up biz for Smart Glass.
[...] it’s been a week. A week since I discovered the infamous post-it note on my car mirror… and just when I thought all the hoopla was starting to die down… I [...]
Hi Kristi,
I’ve been reading you blog (and James) for a while now. I believe I may have even commented a couple of times. I understand what you are saying but see some glaring discrepancies in your story:
In the Westword article you claim “We are not trying to take the company down. We wanted to get the word out there.” But in the comment above you say, “James’ post is numero uno and mine is on the first page too! James has made it his goal tonight to destroy them :)”, and “the whole first search page is full of horrible reviews. Fantastic!!” It seems you two are giving mixed messages here and the pitchfork and torch vigilantism seems over the top.
Also, you and claim “that [the marketing tactic] being kind of a dangerous thing” is what ticked you off because it frightened you, stressed you, and put you in the dangerous position of wandering around you car in the parking garage. If I was a scared female in that situation I would NOT take out my camera, turn it on, put my target in the viewfinder, focus, and take a picture of the post-it note (as seen above). Girls (and guys) be safe and careful out there. If you ever find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, get in your car and lock the doors immediately. Don’t bother taking pictures.
That being said, I agreee with you that this is a gimicky, and slightly lowbrow, way of getting your attention.
Hey Hubs -
James actually put the post-it back on my window and took a picture of it when I got home. There is no way I would get out of my car and do that.
Anyway, thanks for visiting our blogs and thanks for the comment. Have a good weekend.
That happened to me a few years back. Same thing, post-it said call me about your car, I was thinking what did they do to my car??? Called and they said something about my windshield….which wasn’t even cracked. WTF?!
Ah man - lame. Yeah, the more people I talk to, the more I hear the same thing. Good news is - sounds like they’ve now stopped :)
Took my son to a movie, came out to the lovely little sticky. I did a reverse lookup on the number, saw a business, Googled Smart Glass, and here I am.
So they are still at it.
By the way, my sticky is the same handwriting. Almost identical to your picture.
WOW - You have GOT to be kidding me. When will people learn? Smart Glass Denver really does suck :) If you feel so inclined… feel free to post a comment on this article:
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2008/01/smart_glass_snafu.php
Maybe Naomi will believe me now!
Same post-it note was on my car yesterday 5/14/08 in Highlands Ranch at my office. I agree - leave a business card or a flyer if you want someone to trust you, just a bit. A post-it note signed “MB” isn’t working and it’s very creepy. I’ve warned everyone in my company and posted on my blog as well.
I can’t believe your post-it even had the same initials! Insane. It’s definitely creepy, and far from credible. In my opinion, putting anything on peoples cars should be banned all together - it’s annoying, a waste of paper, and… most of the time it flies off your car and becomes litter. Some companies are so cheap and desperate for business, it’s ridiculous the kind of tactics they’ll pull. Thanks for posting about this on your blog as well!
I am a autoglass salesman in florida i do leave hand written notes on peoples windshields but i say who i am and the fact i work for a autoglass company and work with all insurance companys and do cash jobs as well i am professional and classy about it.I leave my cell and home phonenumber so only i will get the commission on the deal and not one of my coworkers . Autoglass sales people have it tough rejection allday and people who stereotype us as crooked carsalesman and scam artist . We offer a positive service to people. I am a man of integrety before i sign somebody up for a windshield replacement i always make sure for my customers there insurance rates and their insurance policy won’t be cancelled if i push a replacement .If there insurance comapanys tells me otherwise i won’t sign them up for replacement just repair instead . and then i send thank you cards once the scheduled repair or replacement is completed. the autoglass sales people who try to committ insurace fraud give are profession a bad name
Word.