Thoughts on packages/prices for my detailing buisness! - Page 2

Aesop F1 · 08-01-09, 06:36

I think your Ultimate is about $100 shy of what you need to charge. I offer a one step polish around that area, and then its more to get the 2 or 3 step polishing. Just my opinion on that. Other than that I would say you are pretty spot on with your prices. I would charge something like $40 per hour for paint corrections.

StumpyDetailing · 08-01-09, 09:55

THat is a very good point Aesop.

Customers know what polishing is. They know it makes the paint really shiny.

THerefore you only need a 1 step polish, 1 step wax, to be your "polishing" package.... Which can and will take 6 hours.

3-step polishing is a multi-day job done properly, so that should be in the ~$500 range. or not at all.

Maybe spot-compounding, but not the entire car...

CumminsCrazed · 08-02-09, 07:23

ok well, no one around here really does "full details" like i plan to do so to them.....wash and wax for 100 bucks is good, which is why my prices arent so high, yet anyway

StumpyDetailing · 08-03-09, 04:51

Remember, our idea of a "Full Detail" is actually a "Paint Restoration" and can and does fetch over $500.

People will spend $500 to make their car look like it was just painted... instead of spending $5000 getting it painted

CumminsCrazed · 08-03-09, 07:51

i understand that, but im not sure people here can/will grasp that haha

WAS · 08-06-09, 11:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by CumminsCrazed

i understand that, but im not sure people here can/will grasp that haha

I'm in the same boat. People don't even REALLY understand what a wax is. I get lots of people just asking for a wash and wax and that's it... which I will do, but I much prefer going deeper into paint correction.

detailingnmore · 08-07-09, 10:04

It is an uphill battle to educate our customers on how technical caring for a vehicle's appearance really is. I did my complete detail service for a friend, including paint correction and stain removal and had him help me. When we were done, he was shocked how much time and how involved the processes were to do it correctly. He was exhausted, and his arms were killing him from using the buffer for a short time. He's an ex football player so is in shape. I left with a smile on my face knowing that I actually got through to someone!

CumminsCrazed · 08-07-09, 03:59

so how would i go about explaiing to someone what "paint correction/restoration" is so they can grasp it and understand it

DetailnByDustn · 08-08-09, 01:14

How big is your target market? Other Detailers in the Area?

WAS · 08-08-09, 06:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by CumminsCrazed

so how would i go about explaiing to someone what "paint correction/restoration" is so they can grasp it and understand it

I personally have had luck with using the word "polish". People equate the word "polish" with shiny and reflective. Other than that, I'm not sure what other terms to use... even saying "wax" is tough, because people get an unrealistic expectation of what a wax will do to their paint finish. In fact, I got in an argument today with a customer who believed that the "hand wax" that he paid for as part of his package should have gotten all the scratches, RIDS and swirls out of his black finish. I explained what waxing does.... and the conversation got even more interesting when I started to explain what clear coat failure is and how it's affecting his roof....

It's hard to put into a few short words what paint correction is. In my shop, where the customer area is, I have pictures on the wall showing a hood with tape down the middle, one side "before" and one side "after". So far, that has been by far the most effective method of explaining what paint correction is in a nutshell.

EcoAutoCT · 08-13-09, 04:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by WAS

I personally have had luck with using the word "polish". People equate the word "polish" with shiny and reflective. Other than that, I'm not sure what other terms to use... even saying "wax" is tough, because people get an unrealistic expectation of what a wax will do to their paint finish. In fact, I got in an argument today with a customer who believed that the "hand wax" that he paid for as part of his package should have gotten all the scratches, RIDS and swirls out of his black finish. I explained what waxing does.... and the conversation got even more interesting when I started to explain what clear coat failure is and how it's affecting his roof....

It's hard to put into a few short words what paint correction is. In my shop, where the customer area is, I have pictures on the wall showing a hood with tape down the middle, one side "before" and one side "after". So far, that has been by far the most effective method of explaining what paint correction is in a nutshell.

Visual aids can only help those who don't understand identify the differences and benefits of wax vs polish. None of my packages, except paint correction, make any mention of polishing, and this was done with the intention of preventing any confusion as to what is or is not included. The key to selling someone on an extended service is to gear your pitch toward their needs. Don't over explain to the uninterested, keep it simple for the inexperienced, and know when to break out the big boy words when the issue is pressed.

I haven't had anyone that expected full correction for a wash/clay/wax price make a complaint yet. I have had people assume that a vehicle was buffed after the work was complete, even if it were just waxed and I didn't correct the customer when handed the opportunity. The terminology outside of the online community, even amongst other 'detailers', is so often misused that it perpetuates the confusion of a full detail vs paint correction.

WAS · 08-14-09, 12:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by EcoAutoCT

Visual aids can only help those who don't understand identify the differences and benefits of wax vs polish. None of my packages, except paint correction, make any mention of polishing, and this was done with the intention of preventing any confusion as to what is or is not included. The key to selling someone on an extended service is to gear your pitch toward their needs. Don't over explain to the uninterested, keep it simple for the inexperienced, and know when to break out the big boy words when the issue is pressed.

I haven't had anyone that expected full correction for a wash/clay/wax price make a complaint yet. I have had people assume that a vehicle was buffed after the work was complete, even if it were just waxed and I didn't correct the customer when handed the opportunity. The terminology outside of the online community, even amongst other 'detailers', is so often misused that it perpetuates the confusion of a full detail vs paint correction.

None of my packages mention anything about polishing either, as none of my packages include paint correction. Paint correction, for me, is a per-vehicle quote, not that I get very many as it is (no shop in my small city does it, so no one around here is aware that it can be done).

Agreed, the terminology even between detailers and body shops can differ quite a bit.