I guess it leaves me to wonder what a name really says about you and for that matter what your company’s name says about your work. Obviously you are not going to name your company, “Tint Trouble” or “Film Flops,” but what about your company’s name makes you stand out. Most importantly have you used your name to your advantage? Your shop’s name must be displayed. I can’t imagine going to a place of business and there being no identifying sign that I am there. You may laugh, but I have seen it. What about when a customer enters your shop? Do they see your name displayed inside? What about on your attire? Do you greet customers on the phone with the shop’s name?

Word of mouth is so important to our industry. Most companies see significant business from recommendations of past customers. If your customer can’t remember the company’s name how can they tell their friends to use your services.

So how do you make yourself stand out? Also, what made you choose your company’s name in the first place? Most companies have a story behind their name. Do you ever have the opportunity to explain the name to your customers? Maybe you have even considered getting the story printed for the wall of your shop. What better way to ensure people remember your name than to explain why you chose it in the first place. On that note, I promise a hot-off-the-press magazine to anyone that knows what my new last name will be when I see you in Memphis at the Tint-Off and Conference this September and in Las Vegas at SEMA in November.

When I am not at home tending to the cone-head, I have been spending time at work talking to people within our industry about our own burden—misconceptions towards window film. There are so many incorrect ideas about film floating around and trying to battle these misconceptions has really been tiresome for everyone. Just like my pup and her cone, we can’t lose these misconceptions and we definitely don’t want to have them following us around. Somewhere along the way, possibly in the early days of window film, an image was created for the product. This image consists of purple automotive film, dark interiors and spending loads of cash. You and I know these are all untrue, but how many times have you had to explain to someone that these are incorrect? How do you defend against these misconceptions and where do you think they came from?

In our up-coming May-June issue of Window Film magazine we took a look at five of these misconceptions and explained why there were not true. When your issue arrives check out the story and let me know what misconceptions you want to add to the list.

I will admit that I don’t watch every single Tennessee basketball game. I don’t memorize the schedule the way that I memorize football season, but there is just nothing like the NCAA Tournament. The whole season is determined in a matter of a few games and you find yourself cheering for teams that you hadn’t thought twice about before. The best part of the tournament is when a small team with a determined player makes it much further than they are expected. I think it is human nature to want the “little guys” to succeed (I say that with quotations because it is not often that you refer to basketball players as little guys).

Of all the things I write about in our industry my favorite, by far, is doing “Film Stars.” I love hearing the stories of installers who have spent their lives perfecting their craft. On top of being stellar at their jobs, it is inspiring to hear someone care about their work as much as they do. These guys (and girls) are truly the gems in our industry. Far too often we hear such negativity among industry members and forget about what a great backbone we have in these small tint or window film shops.

I know what you are thinking. You are telling me, “Get off that giant, old soapbox, Hodge!” And I will, but I think it’s important for us to remember who is making the industry look good. They install film and tint everyday and if they don’t do a good job it doesn’t matter what film they used. Face it—they make us look good.  

This year when you are cheering for that 12 seed team raise your glass to your local window film shop and toast the REAL game-winners.

This week I have had one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. The Window Film magazine staff was invited to visit Seoul, Korea to take an in-depth tour of a film manufacturer’s facilities (more on that in a future issue). In the days leading up to my departure I began to have nerves about all of the unknown things I would run into in Korea—the language, the food, the style, etc. However, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that the culture has been both welcoming and intriguing, and food I have encountered delicious—I seriously am in love with Korean barbeque now. The lesson for me is that trying something new can pay off in major ways.

Nexfil, the company I visited, may be discovering the same thing. Their chip-dyed film is both different and intriguing. The company tried something different and it appears to be paying off for them. We were granted a tour of the different film lines and were able to sit down with the company’s president, ShinSoon Lee to talk about film, the industry and what is in store for Nexfil (for more on this interview, the chip-dyed film and a tour of the facilities stay tuned for a future episode of Film’d—click here to sign up to receive the video as soon as it is released).

I suppose it is always a question of risk versus reward for window film manufacturers. Developing a new product or line can be expensive, but if you find you niche (shout out to Donna Wells’ column in the November-December issue of Window Film) it can pay off big-time. So with that in mind, I’m interested to hear from those in the industry about risk versus reward—what have been your experiences? Does taking a risk generally pay off for you? What risks has your company taken?

If you want to check out more of my personal pictures from my trip to Seoul check out the slideshow below.

4. Save your energy.
The whole country is in the midst of an energy-savings craze. While this is good news for our great-grandchildren it’s also exciting news for the window film industry. Almost every booth said that the industry is continuing to head in the direction of energy efficiency. People want to save money, protect their belongings and promote a healthy planet, and making their homes and vehicles as energy efficient as possible has become a top priority. Everyone seems to expect concerns over energy efficiency to continue to grow and become more important to manufacturers, dealers and consumers.

3. Is this real life?
In my blog before the SEMA Show I talked about not knowing what to expect. Little did I know that I was about to enter an alternate universe where the cars are insanely expensive, the girls unarguably beautiful, and the line for the men’s bathroom much longer than the line for the ladies’ room. There were times throughout the week that I had to remind myself that SEMA, while glittering with its shiny cars and flashy accessories, was not everyday real life, especially for your average window film installer. Making the most out of the week seemed to be everyone’s goal because they knew this was a one-time opportunity. When I stepped off the plane in Virginia I was shot back to reality at the sight of a good old beater car, instead of a shiny, new, lime green Ford Mustang, and a long line at the ladies’ room. I suppose it’s time to get back to reality.

2. Just tell me the truth.
I spent quite a bit of time chatting with window film installers and asking them about their SEMA experience. One of these installers gave me food for thought. He told me that while he was visiting window film booths he asked the same question over and over, “what makes your film/product better than the others?” He shared that often he was unable to get a straight answer. The lesson here is that these window film shops and their installers don’t want a sales pitch. They just want the facts and a solid, reliable product.

1. Its all about “PPF.”
Paint protection film was the hit of the SEMA Show for the window film industry. Nearly every single window film booth was displaying a variety of paint protection film and as soon as a demo started the crowds would form. Paint protection film, or “PPF” as the industry affectionately calls it, has proved to be a great add-on for tinting shops. Technicians’ familiarity with film and experience installing gives them a leg up in training and the crowds around the demos proved that the interest is there. Watching the paint protection demos didn’t feel that different from observing an actual window film or tint installation. Granted, there are differences like bumpers and rounded edges, but it seems like a trade that a tinter could pick up easily. After seeing the amount of PPF at the show I am expecting to see more installers and tinters adding PPF to their repertoire.

What did you learn at SEMA? E-mail khodge@glass.com to share your experience.

On a side note, you can expect a new episode of FILM’d in the next few weeks and be sure to check out our SEMA Show video reports from the show last week.

In addition to yard sales our webmaster introduced me to Freecycle, a website where people post furniture, electronics, and other items that they just want to get rid of free of charge. If you find an item in your area that you are interested in you just set up a time and place and make the exchange, no money involved. The trick to yard sales and Freecycle is being able to separate the good from the bad. While some may argue that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, I would argue that some trash is just trash. It really is a talent to be able to determine the difference between treasure and trash. Not everyone possesses that intuition.

Unfortunately for the window film industry not all consumers are capable of discerning the difference between the good and the bad and, most importantly, the misleading. So, who makes sure the consumer is receiving important– (and truthful)– information and not the junk?

In July, we published a story about dubious “information” published the internet that was reported to Window Film magazine. When we followed the source trail we found that it was written by a “home professional” from an “Ask the Pro” section of the website. However, the website doesn’t note that and unless you continued to search the website you wouldn’t know. The fact of the matter is that to the consumer’s eye it just looks like factual information which is completely misleading.

In addition to this, a question on Angie’s List was brought to our attention. The question, asked by Roger Linville (who is listed on Linked In as being employed by glass manufacturer PPG until 2009 and is now an independent consultant) asked, “Our front windows face southwest. We have no shade trees in the front yard, so we are expecting the front rooms to get hot this summer. We also have condensation between the panes. We plan to replace the glass, but I am getting conflicting advice. Should I get low-E glass and rely on it to block the infrared heat waves, or get clear glass and have an infrared-reflective film applied? Which will give me the best results?”

The answer to Linville’s questions came from Todd Overpeck at Glass Doctor and guess what he recommended— low-E glass and not film. Within the response to the question it states, “Overpeck says adding tinted film to a clear glass window is a lower-cost alternative, because it blocks the sun, but does not stop the heat. Since the film doesn’t stop the heat from escaping, you don’t get the energy savings and your home is colder in winter, he says. Another advantage to low-E glass is that it’s clearer than the reflective film.”

After reading this I was confused. Not only was this information about window film misleading, but I also didn’t understand why Linville would ask the question to begin with. After working for PPG for over 28 years as the marketing communications manager Linville should know a lot about glass and energy efficiency. So that leaves me wondering why Linville would ask the question in the first place. I’ll leave it up to you to solve the mystery.

So now what? As much as we’d like to be, we can’t be website police all the time and some mis-information is bound to live on in cyberspace. Is the answer to continue to put truthful education about window film out on the web ourselves and hope that it gets read? Is it easier to combat misinformation with correct information? How should the battle be fought? Are there non-traditional ways of informing the public that might spark interest?

If you find news material about window film that is false and misleading e-mail me at khodge@glass.com and we will do our best to look into it.