Any Advice

beachcities · 05-11-08, 04:35

I was buffing out a red corvette using m105 and a yellow ccs cutting pad with a makita rotary at 1500rpms. I did two passes and it got the swirls out that I was attempting but it left some bad buffer trails and holograms. But I am pretty sure it would have come out with my second pass which would be 106ff.
Well, the customer came out to look at the car and started flipping out. "You f-ed up my car, you sob" and screaming at me. I told him that I was going to buff this out on my sencond pass with the buffer but he wasn't having any of it.
He said he was going to sue me. I gave him my insurance information and told him to please not sue me. He called over to his neighbors and they all said the car looked messed up to and he would not let me touch the car anymore.
Now he will not take anything I say seriously, called me every name in the book, and he is convinced the three panels I worked on (hood trunk lid, and roof panel) all need to be repainted.
Any advice on how to go about dealing with this. Any other detailers in south orange county, ca who could maybe help me fix this? Any help is appreciated.

advs1 · 05-11-08, 05:33

get some one from a local body shop that you are in with back up the fact it doesnt need repaint. i would go pick up the body shop guy, buy him lunch and have him go with me and hand the car owner a card and say it just needs to be completed and to let you finish the detail. i would help but i'm not a body shop and im only moderately close to south oc. maybe get a flex and tell him this machine removes holograms??

RDAVEX7 · 05-11-08, 07:32

I feel your pain man, some people are just hard headed. I am from O.C. and I know there are alot of people who will set you up to get something out of you down there.

Holden_C04 · 05-11-08, 08:30

Some people are hard-headed and require more hand-holding. I have dealt with many in the past like this. You have to work hard to convince them, but they usually come around when you try. Just make sure they pay full price.

integritydetail · 05-11-08, 08:40

I like to get each section LSP ready before moving to the next. Sounds like you do the whole car before you do the second step, is that correct? I don't know what to tell you about this guy, but maybe you could try that next time to prevent the freak outs. It'd be hard not to trust you if you had even one panel finished, you know?

soccer6planet · 05-11-08, 08:41

Thats crazy, if he thinks the need to be repainted already, explain to him that if "they need to be repainted" then you could not hurt them anymore than they already are and to let you take the scratches out, cause if it needs to be repainted you are not going to hurt it any more, even though we all know it does not need to be.

victory · 05-11-08, 09:44

Not a pro detailer, but have plenty of experience in customer service/public relations. The way you handled the situation initially may have actually hurt you. Saying "I'm going to take this out on my second pass" could sound to the customer like "I ****ed up, just give me a second chance." The last thing I'd want to hear if i was a lay person in that situation is anything that sounds like "I want a do-over" because it sounds and looks like you did something wrong the first time. The message you needed to convey was "There is nothing wrong, this is an absolutely normal part of the process, just ask anyone who does this professionally"

Secondly, proceeding to beg him not to sue you and giving him your insurance information was essentially an admission of wrongdoing in his eyes and put you in a position of weakness. If it progressed to this point, you needed to be assertive and tell him that he really doesn't know what he's looking at, and that a lawsuit would only succeed in making him look foolish when you march out hoards of expert testimony on a topic he knows relatively little about.

Now, you need to call him, and whatever you do, do not be apologetic. Only make affirmative statements: "I want" not "i would like" and never admit there was or is a problem with the work you performed. Tell him outright that you understand why he is distressed, and explain to him that his satisfaction is the only thing you care about. Now, explain to him that neither he nor his neighbors are detailing professionals and they did not understand what they were looking at. Come up with a suitable analogy: For instance, what he is doing is a lot like threatening to sue a plastic surgeon because you don't like how you look halfway through the operation. Follow this by telling him that you want to complete the work you started and prove to him that the problem he perceived was non-existent and that when you finish he will be absolutely satisfied. Tell him if he thinks his car needs to be repainted now, then he has nothing to loose.

If he's still not convinced, it's time for some theatrics. Tell him that you think a lawsuit would only waste his time and money, because any detailer or body shop pro will testify that there is nothing wrong with the process you used on his paint and that, exactly as you told him, all that he needs to do is allow you to complete your work. Lets face it, this guys seems about as dense as they come. If he wants proof, tell him you are going to drive over to his place and that you will educate him using the paint on the hood your own car before you ever touch the paint on his again. Put some holograms on a small spot of your hood using a similar process you used on his car and buff them out as he watches and you explain exactly what's going on. All it costs you is a micron of clear for a very persuasive example that no even someone that thick headed can argue with.

Worst he can do is sue you and look like a jack@ss in small claims court.

advs1 · 05-11-08, 10:51

yeah, tell him: do i go to your work and tell you how to cook mc nuggets??? LOL, j/k

NCZ13 · 05-11-08, 11:29

yeah instead of saying that it will come out in the second pass, you should have said the panels arent done yet.

the customer doesnt know what a pass is, and is probably under the impression that what your doing is just going around the car giving it the ol' buff n wax. rather than polishing the paint to perfection.

salty · 05-12-08, 12:49

Sorry to hear that. I usually have fun with people when I'm wet sanding their paint, "how's that look".

Just send him to Autopia, we'll straighten him out for you.

DaGonz · 05-12-08, 04:04

I hgve had people "stop by" while I have been detailing their car and sometimes they too freak out a little, especially if you are doing any wetsanding.

You have to tell them it's all part of the process.

I liken it to a surgeon performing an operation. Wahing and claying is like anesthesia, buffing is like actually doing the surgery and applying the LSP's is like closing up the incision. In the end, the patient is fine.... and so is the car!

brwill2005 · 05-12-08, 11:23

It sounds as if this guy is acting very irrational. Tell him you can finish the polishing and the paint will be corrected. If he refuses, tell him he owes you nothing and move on. I do not see what he could sue you for. In the future try not to do business with those types of people. Usually they have too much $$ for their own good, and have completely unrealistic expectations. You can usually tell who they are in your conversations before the detail. I like to think my customers trust that I am an expert at what I do, and will not jump to conclusions half way through the job. If I get this sense that someone thinks they are an expert at what I do, I will not do work for them.