Do you guys ever turn down work?

[karwaxer]

Hi I have been in business 20 yrs and I turn work down all the time. I also am not interested in bringing the dead back to life, luckily most of the vehicles I get called for are no more than 3 or 4 years old. I also work pretty much from a fixed price list but being that all my work is booked over the phone I state that the price may go up if the vehicle needs extra work ( tree sap, over spray, oxidation etc. ) although I rarely do raise my quoted price. If someone calls me with a much older vehicle I have a detailer in my area that pretty much specializes in these types of jobs and I refer them to him and usually he sends me a finders fee for getting him the job. Glad it worked out for you in the long run.

[Flexin]

I have turned down work. I need the money but if its not worth it I`m not doing it anymore. I agree that if you said you would do it then I would do it. I have gave quotes on cars for a special I was offering at the time and if they came back I would still give them that price. I had a guy that called and wanted his 66 Mustang buffed. I gave him a really good deal and he said he would call back. I didn`t hear from him for about 3 months. But I remembered the call because of the car and I told him he could have the price I gave him before. He was happy. I got the job. Done deal. Now I had a customer xxxxx and whine about a price on a full detail. He wanted it for nothing. I told him there was no way in hell I was doing it for the price he wanted to pay. He came up. I said no. He wanted done the next week and said are you busy that week. I said no. So he came up a little more. I said I will do it for this price (I bit higher then his last offer) if he was coming next week. He agreed and then didn`t call the next week. If he does come back he will only be getting that car done for FULL price and full price only. Or I will turn that down.

But anyway. If you did say you would do it for $70 I think you should do it. Now if you still told her that the price could be higher after you see it then go look at it. If its way to much to do for $70 then tell her what you will do it for. If she doesn`t like that then tell her what you can do for her for that $70. If she still isn`t happy I would just let her go get the $45 job.

James

[C. Charles Hahn]

Personally, I NEVER take a job if the customer balks at the price I quote them. I just say "I`m sorry I couldn`t help you, but if you can get a better deal elsewhere, I strongly encourage you to take advantage of it."

The way I look at it, I put entirely too much work into the vehicles I detail, to be short changed. When I do a detail, the vehicle comes out show ready, or as close as possible. Other "pro" detailers in my area do what it takes to make the customer happy, despite the presence of still obvious defects. AKA, cheap, shoddy work.

[Bob]

I do all the time. However, to me detailing is just side work. I turn work down for several reasons....I don`t have the time, I know the people and they will be a pain in the butt no matter how perfect the work, and so on.

[NavArch]

Excellent! You seemed to have approached the customer with a smile and good attitude, and it paid off. And - the customer turned out NOT to be someone wanting too much for too little.

Favorable word of mouth and networking will increase your business. A glance thru the yellow pages will reveal a lot of entries for mobile detailing services. Most potential customers won`t know one from another. So, a suggestion from one of your previous customers will go a long way.

[detailz]

Absolutely!! Of course you have to believe in your product, first. Even after going over the entire detailing process, you will have customers say ` too much` or `i can get it done for x$ down the street`- in which I have a couple of responses prepared. My favorite being:

" Sir/Mam, I am sure, like myself, you have gone to Applebees or Rubys for a hamburger?"
Typically the answer is yes. If they say no, just tell them to bear with you on the story and that you think they will get the point
"Why did we go to Applebees for a hamburger and pay $10 when we could could have gone to McDonalds and pay $1!?"
"Obviously there is a difference in quality and service. Much as there is in my detailing package. The risk is yours, too take, by going elsewhere."
"I understand that you feel my prices are too high;however, I have put much effort into offering superior service/value and can not compromise my product by lowering my fees. I will apologize once for my price but will never apologize for the quality of my finished product"

In a nutshell, I am telling them--- YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
You will also notice I used "we" in my story, it takes out the confrontation and shows that you can relate to their initial sticker shock

I have had occassions when a customer was referred to me and insisted that he wanted me to do his car but wouldn`t/couldn`t pay my price. He was absolutely adamant that I come down on my price. I would not budge, I know what my service is worth and after about the third request for a lower price, I started raising the price. That threw him for a loop. You should have seen his face. I offered him one last chance to accept my initial price or I was going to continue to raise my price. He promptly took it and has been a loyal customer since.