A question for all you weekend and on the side detailers

[Spike73]

I would like to start getting a little bit of business on the side detailing cars. I know lots of college kids have done this to get money on the side to work through college (I`m not currently in college, but just using this as an example). But I was wondering, what happens when you get the "bad" kind of customer that says crap like "you put swirls/scratches in my paint", and claims other kinds of stupid damages that you know you didn`t do, and tries to sue you or something??!! Like if you do an ONR wash, which we KNOW that it will not scratch paint, but they say you did? How do you do a basic detail for a stranger when you don`t know if they are going to be a PITA about something? How do you cover your own hide with people like this? Do you have to have some kind of insurance policy, even if you are just detailing as a hobby? Just wondering what you experts out there would say. I don`t want to get into a problem. Right now I`m just detailing for friends/family. Thanks for your input.

[getcha]

This is why pros and amateurs alike take a photo documentation of the work showing the before and after and clear up any damages present before beginning work.



If you are concerned about not being paid you should request at least a portion before you start.



If you are concerned with your own skills an insurance policy is a smart way to do it in the event you unintentionally cause some damage.



CYA is a very important part when dealing with strange people in general

[Thomas Dekany]

I would like to start getting a little bit of business on the side detailing cars. I know lots of college kids have done this to get money on the side to work through college (I`m not currently in college, but just using this as an example). But I was wondering, what happens when you get the "bad" kind of customer that says crap like "you put swirls/scratches in my paint", and claims other kinds of stupid damages that you know you didn`t do, and tries to sue you or something??!! Like if you do an ONR wash, which we KNOW that it will not scratch paint, but they say you did? How do you do a basic detail for a stranger when you don`t know if they are going to be a PITA about something? How do you cover your own hide with people like this? Do you have to have some kind of insurance policy, even if you are just detailing as a hobby? Just wondering what you experts out there would say. I don`t want to get into a problem. Right now I`m just detailing for friends/family. Thanks for your input.





Do you mean swirls? How do you scratch up a car with an ONR wash?



getcha advice is spot on. Take those pictures.

[dublifecrisis]

aside from pictures, there are also forms that someone put links to a while back on here that were pretty nice. they were like pre-inspection forms that had car diagrams where you could walk around the car and jot down things etc...



OR- you could create your own. Have the customer outside with you as you do the walk around. This will kinda give the impression right away that you are thorough and are well aware of what the car condition was prior to and would help deter anyone trying to take advantage of a situation like you mentioned.



I am one of the "weekend warrior" detailers that does 8-12 side jobs a year. Mostly it`s for people I know so I haven`t had to worry about this yet.

[Murphman]

I am a side-jobber for the past 4 years and I am getting a fair amount of business and some higher end cars as well. You will have issues on occasion, like slow payers, and customers who are more particular than others. I have done way fewer friends/family than strangers. The sad thing is... the friends are the one`s who were the slow payers. Any issues that I have run across even afterward, I bring to their attn and they have yet to hold me responsible for anything. I DO have business insurance attached to my home owners policy just incase. It is very inexpensive and covers a variety of possibilities... IMO, don`t go without it!!

[StadiumDetail]

I detail for a primary income, but I`ll add my $0.02 anyway. All the suggestions so far are a great way to protect yourself, and Murphman`s comments about picky and slow paying customers are spot on, but nothing is going to beat your own two eyes. The types of customers that will complain the way your are worried about are easy to spot, just always be sure to look at the car and meet in person before setting up the appointment.



I`ve had a few in the past, and every single time I took the job anyway I was worried the whole time that in the end the customer wasn`t going to be satisifed for one reason or another. Sure enough, it was always "you did this" or "this should have been done" or "so and so`s car looked better than this" (even though so and so paid more), one time I even got "my 80yr old mother can do a better job than this" :rolleyes: . I just go and get the keys, hand it to them, and say "I`m really sorry you feel that way, but with the condition the car was in and how much you were willing to spend, this is as much time as I could put into the vehicle without loosing money. But to make things better, here are your keys, you don`t owe me a dime." They back up real quick then, no one want to be the ******* that conned a person out of work. I get paid what they think it is worth, usually around 75% of what they owe, and they go away happy . That`s the key, make sure they leave happy, bad word of mouth is worse for you than loosing a little bit of money.



Now, those cases are few and far between. In 800+ details, I`ve had maybe 10 that I had the above issue with, 3 of those never paid and are never allowed in my shop again, and out of those 3 I`m willing to bet no one would trust their word if they say I did poor work (not paying bills and all).

[Spike73]

[QUOTE one time I even got "my 80yr old mother can do a better job than this" :rolleyes: QUOTE]



Are you serious? OMG!! I can`t believe they would say that you you! You are a professional! Dang! I thought people were better than that. Oh well.



Thanks for all of the advice, guys. I`ve really learned a lot from all of you pros out there who post info here in the forums. You are an invaluable source of information for us who are just trying to get started. You guys ROCK!!



:bow:bow:bow

[bwalker25]

Make sure you have a contract with the person you are going to be doing the work with. Make sure the contract is SIGNED and DATED states the type of work being done and to what extent, also document the defects in the paint all before starting any type of work on the car.



1. Get Insurance, to cheap not to get it, so better to have it than not need it than need it and not have it.

2. Get Business forms (contract allowing you to work on the car, and a form documenting damage that is prior exisiting to you starting work)

3. Make sure the customer signs / dates each form

4. Have a set of business "terms of service" that outline your return policy / payment policy / etc etc, and have them initial/sign th at.





It may seem like a lot of work to get customers to jump through hoops, but everytime you take your car to say pepboys those guys make you sign and date stuff before they start. And if after they start and find something out of order, they will call you and get verbal authorization before continuing work.



Just CYA and you will be fine. On more than one occurance contracts/forms/etc saved my rear....



Edit:



We have a business terms of service because our credit card processor requires us to inform customers of our general business practices and get the customer to sign / date...some extra work but if it covers my butt then I`m all for it....