full time detailers - question

[tldesigner]

If you live in the Southeast and love to take your car through the twisties... then head to the infamous road called the Tail of the Dragon! (Check out their wed site at www.tailofthedragon.com)

It`s 11 miles of road with 318 turns... need I say more!?

[cahlroach]

I have done the dragon several times. In both my Honda and my Subie.

It is awesome. While Deels Gap and Brasstown Bald are a lot of fun, the Dragon is the best road I have ever driven on.

[cahlroach]

SVT01

After reading your post this morning, I felt the need for speed. I just got back from going up to Deel`s Gap over to Brasstown Bald, back towards Suches and then one more run up Deel`s Gap. PM me or e-mail me if you want to go with us in the future.



On today`s run, we only had four cars, which is actually about the right number. My S2000, a BMW Z3 2.8, a Boxter and a Miata.

[69-912]

Yes I went last year. My dad rides his bike there sometimes and I plan to take my Porsche this summer



I posted a thread about it a few weeks ago.

[CosminTX]

if you detail cars full time you will deal with car dealers and customers that may question your final invoice or your quote.
they hope you will forgot your prices, or you don`t remember a certain car , or any extra work you did on it....
to me....that person can`t afford me or he try to steal from me or he think`s i am an idiot who will work for free.
as reference i discuss the process and prices in advance , 90% time i give quotes in writing with detail of what`s included.
what`s your taken on this subject ?

[imported_Stokdgs]

I absolutely discuss the pricing with Clients before I see, and again when I see the vehicle/s, and then make up the Invoice with the price quoted (so I wont forget either), and then review it when done, adjust if necessary, and give it to the Client on pick up.
They can also see all my pricing on my Website, and I give them another business card which has my website address on it.

I also make sure they know exactly what I am going to do, and if they are standing in my garage, I will show them the products I am going to use, if they want to know this.

I also if they want to, update them nightly, etc., on the progress, send a few pics if wanted, so there is absolutely no surprises for either of us later.

Some of my Clients live close by and sometimes come by to see their "baby" getting the SPA treatment, and I am ok with that as long as they dont interrupt too long.

At least out here, a lot more people are wanting to get "educated" on how to Detail a vehicle properly, and after talking to me or seeing my work, they tell me horror stories of friends or even themselves after going to the "Dealer", etc., for Detailing services..

Again, out here, since almost everyone is very computer-android-blackberry-texting, etc., literate, I use the quickest way possible to keep them apprised, and therefore, never have any issues when they come by or I deliver their"baby"

Dan F

[imported_Flash Gordon]

if you detail cars full time you will deal with car dealers and customers that may question your final invoice or your quote.
they hope you will forgot your prices, or you don`t remember a certain car , or any extra work you did on it....
to me....that person can`t afford me or he try to steal from me or he think`s i am an idiot who will work for free.
as reference i discuss the process and prices in advance , 90% time i give quotes in writing with detail of what`s included.
what`s your taken on this subject ?

Its not just in this industry. There are jackholes everywhere trying to pull a slick one :wink:

For someone new, I tell them my hourly rate and give my best guesstimate on time :smile:

[muttgrunt]

To counter this from happening, I always make sure they`re clear on our hourly rate and I always quote high. You`re better off quoting for 150-250 higher than it actually costs. Yesterday we worked on a vehicle that took us 1.5 hours less than we actually quoted him originally, so it`s a win-win situation.
If someone gives you the green light when you quoted him or her $125-200+ over what it might cost, they usually won`t give you problems in the end.


Now that you`re already past that point - I say screw them; they`re obviously not going to be a repeat client, so charge them in full for the good work you did and move on.

[CosminTX]

with clients is much easier , they usually get it up front before i touch the car. if any sign of sensitive client they sign before i start.

what really get`s me out of shell is volume detailing/ dealer where u have a deal , u take pic with the car, write down the cars and the price that was discuss upfront and when u give the invoice after few days i have questions like : wasn`t 50 less here? or i though that was just a quick wipe? or stuff like how much it was? x? ( x is few ten bills less...?!) or what car is this? :-B

what i did so far is have a fix rate /car and that means ready to pick-up , no machine polish involved and no any fancy crap , just clean in and out ready for delivery. sometimes it take me more or less, but the price cover any soiled area if is the case.

now i run into this sentence : can u do me a favor , or can u give it a quick wipe to be ready.....i am like WTF? when i start with a car that quick goes into a full detail ready to pick-up.
i feel like they wait at the corner to catch me with my guard down.....:Boxing:

[PAR Detailing]

I am a punk 22 year old who does this as a part time job but in my experience in detailing and my other professions, you have to stand your ground. Some, and I say some because not all of humanity will do this, People will want to take advantage of you. I find it hard to not give a car the best treatment if the client is not willing to give me what I am worth. It is hard but keep things as consistant as possible and cover everything upfront.

I had a client with a Panamera, he was going to have his clear bra redone and I mentioned to him I could polish everything to perfection before it went on.(there were some minor swirls) He was all game to have his brand new car perfect but We discussed the price and regardless of what I saw, he didnt see it and wasnt willing to pony up with the money for it. He is still a consistant client of mine and by covering every base I could with him upfront I avoided alot of hassle.

Do the best you can and try to avoid the problems when possible but its not always going to be possible because there will always be "that guy" out there.

Jon

[CosminTX]

"you have to stand your ground"

thank`s
i can`t get irritated anymore with people like this , i will just ignore of the way they try.... and rise the price to let them know quality has a value.

[imported_Stokdgs]

Well heck, if you are talking about people at car dealerships, can you think of any one time you had a pleasant experience at a car dealership anyway???

If it was me, I would make them sign the paper you have your quote on, the number of cars, time in, time out, etc., and make sure it was a Manager or above that was signing the paper.

I would also insist they give you a Purchase Order number or whatever they want to call it, for the entire job, so that everyone knows up front what it is going to cost, and when you come back to collect, you show them the PO number and your check is cut against that PO number, and no one has memory lapses, etc..

Unless its someone you absolutely trust to not mess with your bacon, I would always ask for the PO number and make sure the boss signs your Estimate for Services Invoice, before you did anything.
Pretty soon, they will get used to it, and it wont be a problem anymore.

I had an opportunity to detail for a local chrysler/dodge/jeep dealership, but decided to not follow through because of they way they all act..

Good luck with this..

Dan F

[imported_Auto Concierge]

In life.........when things happen to you, 90% of the time it is not that that person did (whatever) it was what you ALLOWED to happen.

Dealerships work under one premice "Buy low, sell high" period. The "Bing" has an account with Aston Martin where he lives and makes them "Very aware" of what/who/what/where on every car as they will always question things and they have a great relationship because of this.

With retail clients it will depend on your skill level and experience, if you can command a certain pricepoint due to being able to do what your competition cannot you say things like this "You want the car right? or rightnow"...... quality takes time and time is money and in my case $65 shop/$75 mobile per hour...........

Seperate the "Wheat from the chaff" as you will be better for it in the end, because price shoppers have no loyalty whatsoever and this has been proved thru the ages time and time again.:2 cents