What is your commission?

[salty]

I got this of a car wash forum. first guy says-

What is a good amount of money to pay a detailer? I am gonna pay comission, but how much?

second guy-

I am in Minnesota and charge $189 for a bumper to bumper detail. I pay my detailers 25% of the gross when they start. I watch thier progress and redo rates. If they do thier details faster without redos I will raise them to 30%.



Works so far.



Tom

Do you know your costs of operation? Can you afford to pay that much money? What is your hourly rate to the customer for service? How did you arrive at the $189 price for a full detail?



Regards

Bud

I am paying my detailers based off of information from other operators and suppliers. One thing you have to think about is, if the detailer knows he is be being paid by the piece he will get it done in a reasonable amount of time with no redo`s. if he is hourly he will take his time. So far I have been very happy will the results paying commission.

Tom

It makes you wonder what kind of work they do.

[jimmybuffit]

Well, here`s my take...



BTW, I pay my staff by the hour, but they (3) are "on call" (yeah, I`m very lucky), and very willing to please. My team understands our time constraints, and altho they`ll sometimes get caught up making something very perfect, it is my job to keep them moving in the right direction. I`m constantly reminding them to keep their `eye on the ball`. And they understand that I`m always aware of their progress, and the clock.



I attempt to keep the atmosphere light, with constant , humourous conversation.



On the other hand: Carwash owners (and dealers) may have an entirely diffrent focus. If they just `dump` the car on the detailer at 8am, and expect it done by 11...



Well, enough rambling. Those guys did not go into business to make cars excellent... They opened a carwash for the $ volume aspect. An Autopian should never expect an acceptable level of cleanliness from these folks.



That`s ok. There is a market for their service...



And there is a market for what you do.



Jim

[Scottwax]

I`ve always payed help by the hour. If I sent someone off on their own, I`d probably do that on a commission basis.

[salty]

I guess the future Autopian`s must start somewhere. I thought the line "Can you afford to pay that much money?" funny. Pay someone $6 to $7hr, give them a $30,000 car and tell them not screw up, oh and have it done in 4 hours. I`m glad i didn`t start this way.

[ScubaStevo]

I like where I work. Get a nice shop, my own hours, and as long as I need. With my current routines, I make about 20-25 bucks a hour with my expenses removed. Well worth it for me.