My tone was probably a little too surly when I wrote this. It was not my intention to knock people who do Exotics. Or to complain about the board. My intention is to offer a different perspective and add some new information, new ways of thinking. This forum is really great and I've learned a lot from it that is essential to my business.
You're right, I don't do a lot of exotics. But you know what? I do a lot of Mercedes and BMW 5 and 7 series's, Land Rovers, etc...
And yeah, I can train a new guy in a couple of days. But it takes months to work out the kinks with someone and get them to where they are working efficiently. I have a low turn-over rate because hate training new people and finding out if they are any good or not. I had a lot of growing pains learning to run my business. But now I have an extremely low complaint rate, my detailers are very solid and I run a right ship. Its just that I'm always reading about people trying to one-up each other on here, doing more and more complex and delicate jobs. I just read about a guy who put 17 man hours into restoring holograms from the paint on a Corvette. He used strong soaps and alchohol to remove all polishes and oils from the paint to be EXTRA sure the holograms were out, he even taped up the whole thing to do the polishing. Thats really impressive, but so much stress. I'd rather send a few guys out to clean up some toddler-trashed mini-vans and then spend my time figuring out how to secure a $50,000 annual fleet account by charging less money and providing better quality than the compettition (and making more money)
So I guess my alternative point of view is this:
- Porsche Carrera GT's and Ferrari's are great. They are beautiful cars. Their owners are probably wealthy enough to pay well too. Also, it is prestigious to do this type of vehicle, and I think very fulfilling to so many people on here to work with such beautiful pieces of machinery. Thats really great to be doing a job that you love.
- However with so much talk of these exotics, its easy to assume that this is the only way to go, the only version of detailing, the only way to satisfy the customer, the only way to run a respectable business. But you know what? Not very many people own exotics, the market is small. A lot of people have cars that a pretty too, but cost less, they want their cars to look good too, but they don't want to pay someone to put 17 man hours into removing holograms from their clear coat when a $5 spray sealant and 15 minutes can conceal them for months and some kind of sealant or wax should be maintained on the vehicle at all times anyway. Or heck, put sometime into it, take an hour or two and compound it with some
Meguiars, then seal it with some Bead Max or Zaino Z-2.
And heck, the day I did 70 quick vacs, wipe downs, washes, and waxes for $30 a piece? Those cars looked great when I was done and I made $1000. Its no 17 man hour corvette detail, but it was definitely a good value for everyone involved.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy  Well, I wish you luck with this thread, but your premise is a bit like walking into a GMC dealer and complaining that all they have is trucks when you want to buy a car.
This site is "heavily weighted towards a boutique brand of detailing" because that's the kind of site it is. I kind of doubt that when you print out your detailing schedule for your employees that can be trained in a couple of days, that any Porsche Carrera GT's or Ferrari's are on the list.
But to each his own. |