help with wash/package....

[Envious Eric]

ok, my original idea was to go with a wash and spray wax package for 20-30 bucks....but now I realize that OCW is not the wax i thought it was, but actually better!!!



which leads me to this thinking....should i charge more for OCW, or take it out completely and add a QD after washing as an added bonus.....or do nothing because most wont notice anyway.....



I am thinking that I should just offer the wash, and charge 10-15 bucks to spray wax it with OCW....



thoughts????

[ScubaStevo]

ok, my original idea was to go with a wash and spray wax package for 20-30 bucks....but now I realize that OCW is not the wax i thought it was, but actually better!!!



which leads me to this thinking....should i charge more for OCW, or take it out completely and add a QD after washing as an added bonus.....or do nothing because most wont notice anyway.....



I am thinking that I should just offer the wash, and charge 10-15 bucks to spray wax it with OCW....



thoughts????



Ok, so you`re wanting to offer a wash and WAX package without the wax? That doesn`t make sense.



Just because a product is good doesn`t mean you should charge more $$$ for it.

[Envious Eric]

my thinking is that since optimum is a really good lsp wax, I should charge more just the same as most people upcharge for sealant over regualr wax....



i was thinking the spray wax was something that lasted only 1 week at most for a good shine, not about 3 months protection with one application!!!! so it would not be a wash and wax, just a wash with a QD!!!



does that make sense??? because I have another package that includes a wash and 66 but charge 60+, but that is a different wax obviously because it its a cleaning wax

[Scottwax]

I`d charge $15 more than your standard wash package for cars and $20-25 more for trucks and SUVs to apply OCW. True, it only takes minutes even with big vehicles but it has value beyond just your time.

[Envious Eric]

that is what I am thinking too....I just think about the fact that I did a few washes for people and now they dont need waxing for another 2 months so I just screwed myself out of more business from them until they "feel their paint isnt the same".....stupid me in a sense

[David Fermani]

that is what I am thinking too....I just think about the fact that I did a few washes for people and now they dont need waxing for another 2 months so I just screwed myself out of more business from them until they "feel their paint isnt the same".....stupid me in a sense



Sell the OCW as a "every 2 month thing" and spray wax as a "maintenence item" that should and could be applied at every wash. It gives your finish more durabilty combined with normal/regular waxings. $15 pays for the complete bottle, and you can probably do a a couple dozen vehicles with one bottle, so it keeps paying for itself over and over. Upsell, Upsell & More Upsell.....

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

....should i charge more for OCW, or take it out completely and add a QD after washing as an added bonus.....



I am thinking that I should just offer the wash, and charge 10-15 bucks to spray wax it with OCW....



thoughts????



Do you want to be in the car wash business? or the detailing business?



Are you trying to fill a need that your customers have for getting their car washed on a regular basis? or are you trying to fill a need that your customers have for getting their car detailed on a regular basis.



Find a need and fill it. Your decisions about a wash/package should be based on the need that you find in the marketplace and how you intend to fill that need.

[PhaRO]

I`d rather have a weekly customer at $20-$30 then a three month at $35-$45. One is spending $260-$390, the other $35-$45. Now if your logic is to get both then we are talking about $15 more every three months. The cars you clean on a weekly biweekly basis will be much easier to clean then those you do less frequently. You also wouldn`t have to wax the whole car each time. Rarely do my weekly customers pay to have anything else done to their cars. They don`t have too because I keep up with it. I could charge them every three months to detail their cars more but most tip me more than enough to cover the cost.

[Scottwax]

I`d rather have a weekly customer at $20-$30 then a three month at $35-$45. One is spending $260-$390, the other $35-$45. Now if your logic is to get both then we are talking about $15 more every three months. The cars you clean on a weekly biweekly basis will be much easier to clean then those you do less frequently. You also wouldn`t have to wax the whole car each time. Rarely do my weekly customers pay to have anything else done to their cars. They don`t have too because I keep up with it. I could charge them every three months to detail their cars more but most tip me more than enough to cover the cost.



Completely agree.



=========



Frank-I will ask you this again. Say you have a customer whose car you detailed a month ago and he calls and says he has some important clients to take out and wants you to wash his car and make sure the interior is up to snuff. Do you turn him down because he doesn`t want a full detail and you don`t consider yourself a car washer? Or do you tell him you will take care of what his car needs and charge him accordingly?

[Driven Auto Detail]

I don`t know if this will help, but I think I can relate...



A few months ago I decided I wanted pursue detailing as a business. I spent a lot of time laying out a handful of detailing packages & figuring out prices based on like 4 different sizes of vehicles. When I posted that information to get feedback, I received the same suggestion that Scottwax is trying to give here (I think). Don`t focus on what you think the customer wants. Rather, focus on what the customer tells you they want.



After more thinking, I decided to do just that. My thinking now is to ask the customer questions about what they want, what they are looking for in a detail job, what are their expectations. Based on the feedback of the customer, I`ll taylor my work to what they want. Once I figure out what the customer wants, I`ll come up with a price. The price will consist of: product cost + what I want to make per hour X the number of hours I think it will take to complete the job. No matter what though, I`ll still always give the 110% effort.



Anyway, I hope that that is what Scottwax is trying to suggest. If not, everybodydisregard my post :) .

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

Frank-I will ask you this again. Say you have a customer whose car you detailed a month ago and he calls and says he has some important clients to take out and wants you to wash his car and make sure the interior is up to snuff. Do you turn him down because he doesn`t want a full detail and you don`t consider yourself a car washer? Or do you tell him you will take care of what his car needs and charge him accordingly?[/QUOTE]



Scott,



My customers know that I am not in the business of washing cars.



When a customer has a need to have their vehicle taken care of on a more frequent basis, they simply call me and set up an appointment for a complete detailing. Sometimes this is done on a month to month basis. Sometimes it is every six weeks or so. So, rather than just washing and vacuuming their car, it gets a complete detailing, even though it was just detailed a month ago.



For example: I have a few customers who are in the real estate business and they all get their vehicles completely detailed on a monthly basis. These people have a need to have their vehicle always looking good for their clients and I simply fill that need by doing a complete professional detailing, rather than just washing their car.



Since I started my detailing business back in 1986, I have always remained focused on offering professional detailing services, not car washing.

[Envious Eric]

Frank, I understand where you are coming from, but at the same time, I cant seem to get it through peoples minds that its more than what the local car wash give you for 7.99...in their mind, why am I trying to charge 30+ for a simple car wash up to 50 dollars, the nadd waxing on top of that....so I am stuck with 20 for cars, and 25 for larger vehicles taking about 45 minutes to ONR and dress everything....The people I am running into seem to be on the cheaper side of things (maybe they have better things to spend their money on rather than their car)....



that is why I feel it necessary to up charge for a waxing with OCW...I think I can either do it one of two ways....



1 - wash and wax for 30-35+ every week

2 - wash every week, offer wax every month for an additional 15 bucks, saving them 25 over the whole month...for 20-25



honestly, the 20 bucks an hour is rather annoying when I know there are detailers out there doint the same thing for 50+ an hour and making a killing on it!....



while I cannot just turn these people away, what happens when I need to do a detail on the same day I have only 3 washes scheduled....well, I have to tell the wash people that I have to reschedule due to scheduling conflicts...sometimes they are cool with it, and sometimes not....but I right now I would rather get the detail and a new weekly wash person rather than lose him forever because my schedule was filled with 20 dollar washes for the day....what would you do ,keep the wash schedules since they are weekly, or try adn reschedule and get the detail in.....???

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

Frank, I understand where you are coming from, but at the same time, I cant seem to get it through peoples minds that its more than what the local car wash give you for 7.99...in their mind, why am I trying to charge 30+ for a simple car wash up to 50 dollars, then add waxing on top of that....so I am stuck with 20 for cars, and 25 for larger vehicles taking about 45 minutes to ONR and dress everything....The people I am running into seem to be on the cheaper side of things (maybe they have better things to spend their money on rather than their car)....





As you can see from your own example, due to the way the car washes and some professional detailers market their businesses, the general public can become rather confused, when it comes to crossing the line between `car washing` and `detailing`.



Let`s look at it another way. You have the local car wash down the street offering to wash a car anywhere from $4 or $5 up to maybe $9 or $10. That same car wash will usually offer to detail a car for anywhere between $29 to $49. On the flip side you have a detailing business owner charging $30 or $50 for a wash and a couple of hundred dollars for a detail. All of these variations in pricing only help to confuse someone looking for a simple way to maintain the appearance of their car.



As a detailing business owner, unless you can make a distintion between your professional detailing services and the car wash down the street, you will forever be trying to convince your customers that what you do is somehow worth more than what a car wash does and that is why you charge more. That is a rather defensive way to operate a business. Don`t you think?



Once you decide that you do not want your detailing business to be associated in any way, shape of form with the marketing tactics of a car wash, all you need to do is go out there in the marketplace and aim at finding true `detailing` customers. People who understand from the start what detailing is all about and are willing to pay the higher prices for what it is worth.

[beachy]

If you Google PREMIUM mobile detailing in San Antonio, you will only come up with one detailing company- MINE!



My advertsing says mobile detailing, where you work, or while you relax, implying that my clients don`t have to sit around in a waiting room, or get someone to drop them off at a shop.

It also says CAREFUL hand car washing, not just car wash.



You have to figure out what makes your business special, why should someone choose you over the next guy? You cannot compete on price with the big guys, but you can easily, I mean EASILY establish a higher value. For instance how much time do you spend checking every little nook and cranny, vs the 7.99 wash that runs cars through a tunnel, and sprays a little "cover-up" on the dash at best, and usually doesn`t bother to remove bug guts, tar, road paint, grease, etc. etc. etc. And cannot add on things like headlight restoration, or 3-step polishing?



I use these points and more all the time; especially sell them on how much time I spend, which is normally 3-4 times what the high-volume shops do, and for less than half the price. If your customers don`t understand that, then they are not for you.

[Advanced Detailing]

You will always come across people who do not understand the difference berween a real detail and what most commercial car washes offer as their detail package. It`s either up to you to educate those who are interested in finding out what a real detailer does and offers or you have to market yourself from the beginning towards those who are understanding and looking for what we offer. Once you establish yourself as a "carwasher", it becomes very difficult to break away from that. I sometimes do a carwash for a regular of mine if they have some kind of emergency , but otherwise they know that i only do full detailing. Most of my customers have their vehicles detailed every 4-6 weeks. you will never be able to convince a large portion of the population that what we do is actually worth what we charge. Some people are just not willing to spend that kind of money, no matter how much they think, they like to care for their car. Luckily for me down here in south florida , there is lots of money to be spend. I just had to establish myself from the beginning as a real detailer and not a car washer who happens to also wax cars, with no training whatsoever. You have to find your market and establish your prices accordingly.