Clearly, a cut above the rest
Bend man wins ‘World’s Best’ title at Windshield Repair Olympics
By Tim Doran / The Bulletin
Published: October 14, 2010 4:00AM PST
The world has a new champion — and he hails from Bend.
Randy Olson, co-owner of Chip Medic windshield repair, took first place Tuesday in the Walt Gorman Memorial Windshield Repair Olympics, held at the MandalayBayConvention Center in Las Vegas.
Olson, 56, beat out about a half-dozen other competitors, including last year’s second- and third-place finishers that made it to the finals to win the gold medal.
“I was a little intimidated, to be honest,” he said Wednesday from Las Vegas. “I knew I would have to put (on) my A game.”
For Olson, a retired Bend Fire Department captain who owns Dent Medic and Chip Medic with fellow firefighter/paramedic Steve Kaneda, the victory brings prizes and publicity.
“It’s all been pretty exciting for a first-time contestant,” he said. “I’ve gotten a couple of medals, a trophy, $1,000 in prize money and the opportunity to use ... the title ‘World’s Best Windshield Repair Technician’ for a year.”
Olson beat out the other contestants in a two-part competition.
Participants first had to complete a written portion testing their knowledge of standards for the repair of laminated auto glass.
Then they competed in the practical portion, which was scored in six areas: customer greeting, technician comportment, vehicle preparation, products to be used, repair technique and post repair and cleanup procedures.
To keep the contest fair, Olson said, judges damaged the windshields just before the competition began.
The idea was to make the damage and customer interaction similar to what technicians encounter on the job when they roll up to someone’s home or business to fix a windshield.
It was “what you would get on any typical Central Oregon road when the gravel starts flying and you get a windshield chip,” he said.
As might be expected from the new spokesman for his industry, Olson quickly provided the benefits of windshield repair, including the reduced environmental impact — keeping a cracked windshield out of a landfill and saving energy and materials needed to make a new one.
Champ’s secrets
He also became a focal point for some of those attending the trade show who wanted to know the world champ’s secret. Olson pointed to products made by GlasWeld, a Bend company that makes a variety of glass-repair products.
While competing and winning was great, in the end, Olson said, he’s simply grateful for the acknowledgement “that I’m at the top of my field and customers can have confidence in me.”