How not to spend thousands on a new windshield

May 19, 2013 News

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By Tiffanne Ramphal

“It’s better to repair a windshield than to replace it.”
This is the predictable opinion of John Bakker of La Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, one of Guyana’s few windshield repair technicians.
With a new windshield probably digging a $140,000 hole in an unfortunate car owner’s pocket, Bakker’s modest trade has been growing in demand and he is now contemplating hiring an assistant or two.

John Bakker is one of those persons who discovered their talent only after it hit them right in the face. He left Guyana in 1989 in search of greener pastures in light of the harsh economic conditions present at the time. He spent eight years in Antigua, two of which he worked as a House Attendant in a hotel and the remaining six he spent as a Brew House Assistant and then as a Foreman at the Antiguan Brewery. There, he was responsible for making beer, Guinness and Vita malt.
John then moved to the US Virgin Islands where he spent another eight years. There, he worked at a shipping company where his brother was also employed. John explained that the company would cover most of his expenses, including housing and transportation, and so his time there was well spent. He would, at times, be sent on assignments to oversee projects that are being undertaken jointly by his company and others in the Caribbean region. It was on one of these escapades that he discovered his true calling.
In 2002, his company was contracted by a Guyanese company by the name of Mazaruni Granite Products (now under BK International) to facilitate the shipment of granite from Trinidad and Suriname to Guyana. Being a Guyanese, Bakker was thought to be the ideal person to oversee the project.
It was at the Mazaruni Granite headquarters in Georgetown that his fate first greeted him. He said that he would often go to the headquarters to liaise with management on matters concerning the project. While at the office one day, idly going through some of the magazines, John came across an advertisement about a training programme in glass repair by a training centre in Las Vegas USA.
Bakker said that he tore out the advertisement and it remained with him until 2005, three years later, when he finally called the centre to inquire about the programme.
At that time he was thinking about moving back to Guyana and was looking to make investments in a worthwhile field. He recognized that glass repairs was a unique venture, because it is not a very popular profession, and that fact proved to be very advantageous to him since competition and scarcity of job opportunities would not affect him.
“I knew I wouldn’t go wrong, because it is a unique field to get into… no one really does it.”
He called the ‘Glass Mechanix’ headquarters and subsequently made his way to Las Vegas to attend the one-week training programme in glass repair.
According to Bakker, his personal demand for standards made him invest his money to get training. He could have simply bought the equipment and learnt to do the job via video or by other means.
“However, this was not the path that I chose. I wanted the professional training and expertise that could have only been provided by the company itself.”
Bakker sees his customers as his best form of advertisement. He recalled when he had just returned from the training programme in 2005, getting work was difficult. He said that his career started “very slow”. So he turned to placing advertisements in the newspapers in order to publicize his line of work and hopefully to build on clientele. He related that he also printed fliers which he distributed on foot to taxi drivers, people on the bus parks and generally everyone else.

He said that he got no response for a period of time but he did not give up hope, but eventually calls started coming in. One customer turned into two, then two turned into five and there was no looking back. His customers played a major role in his development as a windshield repair technician and as such he provided them with the best service possible.
“I take my time and make sure my customers are pleased.”
The dedication and personal interest John gives to his customers and his job has proven to be very fruitful and rewarding. He has been able to build a list of loyal clients and they in turn bring in new customers.
Added to the challenge of gaining customers, Bakker related that the work has its own difficulties. He said that he learnt a lot independently; some of the nitty-gritty that was not covered during the training session, he had to figure out on his own. Also, each windshield and crack is different, thus pose varying challenges.
In addition, obtaining materials may be testing at times since everything that he works with has to be ordered and imported. In light of this, he always tries to have a sufficient amount of material in stock.
The technician explained that there are different types of cracks and the application to rectify the damage would depend on these. There are the ‘bullseye crack’, the ‘stars crack’, the ‘half-moon crack’, wiper scratches and stone chips, all of which are fixed in different ways.
The process, though, essentially involves the use of an instrument called an injector and a liquid called resin. The liquid is what is applied to eliminate or fill the crack and the injector is what forces the resin into the crack. A miniature drill is sometimes used to keep the crack from continuing.
Looking back at eight years of being in the profession, Bakker is generally satisfied. Even after venturing into different fields, he is convinced that he has found his passion, what he loves to do. He adds that apart from it being a relatively profitable field, it is gratifying to know that he can help people who are in difficult situations.
“Many times there are people who are not in a position to replace their damaged windshield and so for me it is very rewarding to be able to fix their problem without costing them too much.”
His wife, who previously worked two jobs, also relates that she is very happy with her husband’s line of work. She says now she can afford to “go on vacation and relax”.
At present, in addition to his regular client base, Bakker’s services are utilized by many car dealers whose imported vehicles sometimes have cracks or scratches on the windshields. He has also been journeying to the interior and working with mining companies.
While there are a few others in this profession locally, the demand for the service is unlimited, with at least 10,000 vehicles being imported annually.

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