Many people in the industry have contacted glassBYTEs™ directly, and still others have expressed their views on the AGRR Magazine Industry Forum, concerning aspects of the recently introduced METRYX™ registry service of LYNX Services.

Many of the concerns centered around three main points. We asked LYNX officials to respond to these concerns. The questions and the LYNX responses follow.

Q: This appears to give LYNX Services a lot of information into individual shop's proprietary and business information. It seems as though too much information will be focused in one place and the market data could be open to abuse by other PPG Industries' operations. How can service providers trust this registry tool?

A: LYNX Services has operated for more than 10 years in a sensitive position with respect to information, such as pricing, that glass service providers rightfully consider confidential. LYNX Services will continue to uphold its position of trust and its procedures for confidentiality in order to make the registry and the programs it supports a success.
Most of the information on the registry is information that service providers want to promote and disseminate to the consumer/customer. LYNX Services will perform this stewardship in a responsible and professional way. The information that is confidential and pertains to accurate administration of the registry will be used only with responsible third parties to validate data entered on the registry. We have invited the participation of NGA, IGA, NWRA, AGRSS, as well as a number of other suppliers of training such as sealant makers SIKA, Dow, etc etc and training providers such as Performance Achievement Group and Auto Glass Consultants. This is not the entire list, but it is representative. Each of these will be included on the registry, with a check box for a glass repair or replacement company to indicate the kind of training that the company or the technician has completed. In turn, each of the companies has agreed to help in validating the data on the registry by reviewing on a monthly basis the names of the companies/technicians that have registered as having completed training. In this way, these third parties provide oversight to help validate the registry information. This validation will be done through confidential means established with each cooperating third party.

Q: LYNX Services is asking for confidential information that had not been shared before, such as technician driver license and last four digits of that same person's social security number. Who will have access to this personal information and how will they use it?

A: This data and other information that pertains only to the administrative capability to manage the accuracy and viability of the registry will be accessible only by password secured users with direct responsibility for glass programs administration. It will be treated, like pricing, as confidential information of the company and will not be disclosed except as previously noted in the verification of registry data.

Q: There is concern that a third-party administrator is not entitled to have this information. If the goal is to monitor service, there are other ways to go about it than collecting this information. Why not make AGRSS™ registration mandatory? Or track customer satisfaction with shops?

A: LYNX Services has created the METRYX Industry Services Registry in response to needs expressed over the years by both the auto glass retail service community and the insurance community.
Many constituents of the industry, such as AGRSS, the NGA, the IGA and others have advocated steps to promote professional standards within the industry. But few have the resources to create and maintain the registry, or are in a position to incorporate the information into work processes, so that is may be utilized by customers. LYNX is simply taking appropriate steps to meet the needs expressed by many in the insurance and auto glass industries, and is seeking the cooperation and support of organizations like AGRSS, NGA, NWRA, IGA and others to make the concept a sustainable reality.

There is no universally accepted level of credentials as yet adopted by the industry as the single and sole measure of qualification or professionalism. AGRSS standards are perhaps the best example to date, having earned ANSI recognition. METRYX is cooperating with AGRSS, and with numerous others who are providing training and professional development for the industry. METRYX is a mechanism to record the completion of that training and other verifiable achievements. Whether or not the completion of any available training leads to improved or significantly better service is not known at this time. Ongoing Customer Satisfaction surveys will continue with the added ability to compare results among auto glass service providers that have trained technicians with those that do not. In time, technician training may very well become a requirement for continued program participation. Industry demands will likely lead to continuously improving technician training materials and curriculum from both current, and yet unknown sources.