Your own work vs. another perso/shops work...

**LikeaRock** · 07-14-2006, 10:40 AM

A good friend of mine`s dad got a free detail from a local body shop. It was their "$250 day spa special". They had the chance to use it on the truck or their Audi, I keep the Audi up on a regular basis so they took the truck there, a White Ford F-350 CCLB. Exterior isn`t in bad shape, needs some swirls removed, wheels polished, clean the frame/wells, etc. Interior is pretty dirty from trips to the beach, dirtbiking, etc. The truck was dropped off for the "day spa" at 8 AM yesterday and was done before 2. When I stopped by yesterday to see their work, I could pick things from 30 fet away.

Nerf bars weren`t polished, trim around nerf bars wasn`t cleaned/dressed, wheels were cleaned like a 1 year old cleaned them, windows were spotted, still had some visible road tar, etc. Paint felt smoother than before, they waxed it but didn`t clay it. Open up the drivers door, you can instantly see they didn`t do a damn thing. There`s dirt on the side of the seat, dirty doorjambs, door pockets weren`t cleaned, steering wheel was dusty/spotted, and the most noticeble thing was the carpet. They did a half-assed vacuum and didn`t even attempt to shampoo. If they did, my guess is that they did the ol` glass cleaner trick. Open up the rear doors and there was still sand on the rubber mat, lift up the mat and there`s still dirt and grime underneath, soda spill is still on the center console, soda spill on rear armrest is still there, doors were barely wiped down if even that, I could go on and on...
On top of that, they stole a bunch of change (losers!) from him, stole a $5 from the ash tray, and they broke his Siruis radio mount. They were pretty dissapointed with the work to say the least. Owner of the shop has a nice letter coming to him...
What I don`t understand is HOW places like this get work. The 15 year old cheerleading squad could have washed the truck better than these guys did.
I guess all I can really say is thank goodness for people like us!

**Beemerboy** · 07-14-2006, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by LikeaRock

A good friend of mine`s dad got a free detail from a local body shop. It was their "$250 day spa special". They had the chance to use it on the truck or their Audi, I keep the Audi up on a regular basis so they took the truck there, a White Ford F-350 CCLB. Exterior isn`t in bad shape, needs some swirls removed, wheels polished, clean the frame/wells, etc. Interior is pretty dirty from trips to the beach, dirtbiking, etc. The truck was dropped off for the "day spa" at 8 AM yesterday and was done before 2. When I stopped by yesterday to see their work, I could pick things from 30 fet away.

Nerf bars weren`t polished, trim around nerf bars wasn`t cleaned/dressed, wheels were cleaned like a 1 year old cleaned them, windows were spotted, still had some visible road tar, etc. Paint felt smoother than before, they waxed it but didn`t clay it. Open up the drivers door, you can instantly see they didn`t do a damn thing. There`s dirt on the side of the seat, dirty doorjambs, door pockets weren`t cleaned, steering wheel was dusty/spotted, and the most noticeble thing was the carpet. They did a half-assed vacuum and didn`t even attempt to shampoo. If they did, my guess is that they did the ol` glass cleaner trick. Open up the rear doors and there was still sand on the rubber mat, lift up the mat and there`s still dirt and grime underneath, soda spill is still on the center console, soda spill on rear armrest is still there, doors were barely wiped down if even that, I could go on and on...
On top of that, they stole a bunch of change (losers!) from him, stole a $5 from the ash tray, and they broke his Siruis radio mount. They were pretty dissapointed with the work to say the least. Owner of the shop has a nice letter coming to him...
What I don`t understand is HOW places like this get work. The 15 year old cheerleading squad could have washed the truck better than these guys did.
I guess all I can really say is thank goodness for people like us!

Doran

This is why my weekend biz thrives up here...LOL

Really I understand what you are saying about the lack of detail that was paid to your friends truck....you are looking at a place the hires people mainly off the street gives them a few hands on lessons and then calls them detailers..they have about as much experience as the cheer leading car wash squad you mentioned...they are following a detail chart and also a time line to complete the work....another thing that I see is that most people don`t have a real idea of what detailing is....when I get new customers that have used the local guys they never go back to them....I make it a point to show them what I have done different and also my 30 plus years of experience as this....Send me a PM with the name of the shop I think I know who they are

**Dans Detailing** · 07-14-2006, 01:06 PM

Thats why my "slogan": on my business cards read " Where details matter most!"

**MrRogue** · 07-14-2006, 06:33 PM

Shops like that, its all based on time, the faster they roll through them the more money they make. They don`t care what they look like as long as they get them done in ___ number of hours.

**Maxima Lover** · 07-15-2006, 12:49 AM

I was just thinking about this today. I`m painting a guy`s condo who has a 2001 black Mercedes-Benz S600. It came up that I detail and he told me about the place he is having do it $100. I asked what they did and it was pretty much a wax job labeled as a "Full Detail". He said he had to keep getting it done every month because it would start to look bad again. I educated him about swirl removal as well as what a real "full detail" includes. He was impressed and said that I had 2 new customers (him and his fiancé who has a Mercedes-Benz 430).

People will always think it`s the best they can get, until they see it done better.

EDIT: I just saw it was a $250 detail. How can they honestly charge that and pay a couple kids next to minimum wage more or less to wash it.

**TrueDetailer** · 07-15-2006, 01:24 AM

That is just how the business is.

There are some shops out there that take pride in their work and go the extra mile to make the car look great.

Then you got your hack shop that don`t care, they just want the money. They`ll give it a quick wax,vacum and throw some armor all over everything. Grant it, to us thats terrible. But some people out there just don`t relize what they`re actually paying for and what they are getting in return.

Another thing people need to relize is there is a differnce between a full detail and a full restoration. On a full detail you clean everything. On a restoration, thats where you get into dying,polishing,waxing jambs, underhood, etc... Everything that you need to do to make it look new. Some people get them confused, And thats when peopel start picking things out.

Me personaly, on a basic full detail. I don`t polish any metal, dye any fabric or plastic, remove hard waterspots,etc. Not for $125-150. Some people see this as being a hack. I do however offer a $250-300 restoration which includes Everything. From top to bottem, bumper to bumper.

**onemeanmachine** · 07-15-2006, 08:43 AM

Like everyone else has stated, there is an obvious difference between guys who are out to make a quick buck, and guys who honestly give a **** about what they do. I always try to go the extra mile to make sure a detail is as good as it can be, and that`s for me, not for the customer. My customers are always amazed at the work, yet I`m still not finished because it`s not "just right" yet. Granted, I`m merely a part-time mobile business, that`s paying my way through school so I can afford to take a little extra time. I feel that good work pays off with more referrals, so I`m not willing to risk my reputation on a hack job to save time.

P.S.- TrueDetailer, I love your avatar, that`s great!

**CharlesW** · 07-15-2006, 08:52 AM

There was a hack shop in my area that did a lot of used car dealer work.
The dealer would run them through the drive-thru car wash and deliver the vehicle to the guy`s shop.
He did a "full" detail for $40. Spray dressing on almost everything that wasn`t painted and a lot of the vehicle that was painted. The engine compartment wasn`t cleaned, just sprayed with some type of dressing that made it look shiny. Even the caked on grease was shiny.

The carpet was soaking wet when the vehicle was returned. Probably no extractor and a shop vac with a dirty filter. I think they used Meg`s #66 with a rotary. Some halograms, but not really much worse than many shops. The dealers loved him till he went out of business.

Charles

**LikeaRock** · 07-15-2006, 11:21 AM

Going the extra mile is what it`s all about! You can either choose someone who can talk the talk or walk the walk, the people who talk the talk are the ones who sell themselves all day long but can`t prove it in their work. I walk the walk every day, I`m young and look even younger than I am so I always get underestimated with my work. I tell friends what I`m doing and they think "Oh you do like wash and wax, vacuum, and spray Armor All?", but once they see what I really do it really opens their eyes as to what detailing really is. Like everyone else on here I chose detailing because it`s a trade I enjoy. I`ll always be quality before quantity

Dolan