A lil bit of advice needed

[Jesstzn]

I have only been doing upper end cars locally here for a little bit with the idea to build a small clientel for semi annual detailing and scheduled washing. Mostly busnessmen who are too busy ( or as one lawyer put it .. too lazy ) to take care of thier cars.



Recently the local GM dealer was bought out by a pretty aggressive group and the owner approached me today.



I guess he was given one of my fliers and word of mouth.



He asked me about doing some of the high end trades they get that thier $8/hr wash bay kids aren`t capable of doing nor is it economical to have thier $27/hr body men doing.



This may also involve new cars that have been swirled on the lot.



It would only be a car or so a week but the part that makes me a little uncomfortable is he is willing to pay but they don`t want the car off the lot for 5 hours. He sort of implied he was willing to sacrifice a little of the quality for the shorter time.





I don`t do this for a living .. I have a full time job ( work from home ) but fortunately I have a good staff of 7 and my work day is 5 am to 8 am and 24/7 on call. So in essence I have all day to do as I like.



I am not sure I want to put cars out there that don`t make *me * happy and also I think it might reflect on future private customers.



The swirled new car / trucks are never bad at this dealer so 3 hours for those is no biggie. But unless I give up doing the interior and say the claying it would be tough to do a DACP/*82 / NXT in 3 hours or less.



I only do this cuz I like detailing , it supports my hobby and I like the satisfaction at the end where you stand back and say * I did that* .



What do you think ..

[Thomas Dekany]

If you don`t NEED this money, then don`t do it. YWho needs additional stress? It`s like going on dates where the girl had made demands prior to going out that you don`t want to follow to begin with. Relationships like that will never last too long. m2c



PS: Your reputation is on the line. Do you think the dealer will back you up or take the blame and say **It was me wanting a quick job, it is not his fault**? I hate dealers. They are worse then lawyers.

[ncal]

It sounds like you aren`t dying for the money and you pride your business on its high quality. Taking a job and giving it only 75% because of the dealer`s constraints raises a few potential red flags. If the dealer is already prequalifying the work who is to say that he won`t be more of a problem in the future? Or if he is willing to sacrifice quality what prevents him quickly finding the cheapest detailer who can do the job. Like tdekany said, your reputation is on the line with every job so that is most important. If the pay is at your standard I would tell the dealer that you can handle the time constraint but ONLY for vehicles that will take less that amount of time or he`s going to have to alot more to get a decent job. However in my opinion....

[imported_aqua]

The first conclusion I got: All dealers are the same all over the world. It´s amazing.



The main difference is dealers have no emotional feeling about the cars. Are trade objets. So they are going to squizze you. I know it by experience.



He wants to short the time???, No he really wants to cut the price. I am sure he will demand a high quality when the job done.



I suffered the same case one month ago. I said the dealer:



First reality: I am on this to earn money. If I cut the price, you will get low quality, then you´ll be unhappy with my service, then you´ll find another detailer, meanwhile I destroy my hard gained reputation.



I offer a high quality job. If you want it, you have to pay for it.



Result: 1 month later he started to bring some cars. Now he is not happy with the price but very satisfied with the service.



Hope this help

[6cyl's_of_fury]

Set the job to be done on your terms or not at all.

Never lower your standards to speed up or cut corners, ultimately its a reflection upon you and no-one else. Never compromise your own standards to satisfy another.

[04BlackAV]

Yeah some of those high end trade ins could be in bad shape.I couldn`t imagine doing a swirled black Escalade in 3 hrs.

[jimmybuffit]

You`ve gotten some very good advice so far.



Stick to your guns. Do it your way.



Or not at all.



Jim

[Jesstzn]

Thank you .. What I charge was never in question .. That wouldn`t change .. And I wouldn`t drop the quality of the exterior work .. what might not get done is the complete interior detailing ..



Good advice so far .. keep it coming.

[Big Leegr]

If price is not the issue, why does he care how long the car is off the lot? It sounds like you`d plan on having it back the same day anyway.



If you did the work on the lot, would that make him happy, or would that be an insurance/worker`s comp. issue? (liability)



If the $8.00 wash boys are able to do adequate interior work, that would leave you all the time for the outside.



Another thought is why not split the time into 2 days? If he has a limit as to how long the car can leave the lot at a time, bring it back before time`s up, then take it off the lot the next day.



In the end, if you aren`t hurting by not taking the job, but might be by doing so, it doesn`t make sense to take it. As you said, it would be only "a car or so a week."

[togwt]

~One man’s opinion / observations ~



“…nor is it economical to have thier $27/hr body men doing.â€�



I also do this detailing thing just ‘cus I love it, but the above statement would make me drop it.



~Hope this helps~



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/ Jon

justadumbarchitect * so I question everything *

[GoodnClean]

I make way more than $27 an hour detailing, like TOG says that statement would drive me away.



I`ve said it before but you and I are in similar circumstances, I passed up on a dealership that wanted me to do cars too. To me, the real joy of it is seeing the reactions on the owner`s faces and knowing I`ve made something that is a big part of their lives better. I wouldn`t get that if I were working for a dealership...

[Jesstzn]

I had a little chat withthe dealership owner over the weekend ..



I explained to him why I *won`t* change my detailing protocol to accomodate shorter off lot times. ( Money wasn`t the issue for them as I was being paid the same )



That my current small clientel was built up based on my quality and word of mouth and that if I changed that there is a possibility that lesser quality of work could be reflected as the norm for me.



I told them if in the future they feel they have something special .. give me a call but *only* for my normal full detail.



He agreed and saw my point. We will see what happens ..