Man, how hard can it be to start a diesel? Wait for the glow light to go out then crank. If it doesn't start, the glow plugs would be the first thing to check. You'd think that most modern diesels would give some kind of alert if the glow plugs are bad though. I remember from my dad's later diesel Benzes that the glow light would turn on after starting if one or more plugs were out. It's not rocket science. :-P
With Betsie I wait an additional few seconds after the light goes out, because it makes the difference between cranking for 1 second or a split second. I always pre-glow, even when the engine's warm.

My dad's 2006 C200 CDI you can start without glowing in almost any weather.

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"The MB W123 is so bulletproof, you can drive them forever. Which is a good thing as it takes that long to get anywhere."
Betsie: 1984 W123 300D (hobby, 280k miles)
Myrla: 2001 Mazda Protege 2.0 ES 5spd (daily driver, 130k miles)
The Turd: 2007 Toyota Camry (wife's car, 118k miles)