Lying cheating detailers

[Poorboy]

Poorboy, you`ve made my whole day!

Glad I could help

Educate them and you show you`re more than just a car washer.

Only when they ask

When asked about price, I explain what needs to be done to get the paint looking it`s best and I always do wheels, tires, glass and vac and what the price will be. If I had to do a little more I tell them and let them know it`s included with the first price

Tell them you will do whatever is needed..most won`t care about the process, that`s for us here

- most decide to tip after that!

Tips usually go to employees not the owner of a business, you should charge enough that makes it worth your time and not expect anything more

No, I`ve never called anybody`s car a beater (to their face)

I didn`t think you would, the phrase " daily driver" was my nice way of calling them beaters

now if that guy would just call me back about that job on Saturday!

Good luck

The most common complaint I hear about detailers is that they either don`t do the windows or don`t do them well.

Years ago I had a customer that mostly cared about his windows more than anything else. His vision was bad and smears made his night vision even worse. I used a lot of different methods back then and no matter how hard I tried, from some angle there was a smear. He ended up committing suicide in his car I hope it wasn`t from the windows

[Mr. Clean]

Mr. Clean, that reminds me of one of Paul Harvey`s stories. There was a guy that polished coffins, he was very good at it and the wood looked beautiful. But, he thought, hey, nobody ever really gets to see and appreciate my work. So he decided to do something else, and the world is safer for it - cause the first 007, Sean Connery decided to change careers, and now you know....................the rest of the story!

Excellent story, never heard that one before. You just gotta love Paul Harvey`s stories

[Bobcat]

Suicide in the car - yikes! Did ya`ll see the MythBusters episode where they put dead pigs in a Vette and locked it in a steel storage unit for 2 months!

[7tcbody]

And in the end time is money.

Maybe that`s why so many restaurant workers don`t wash their hands after using the john! Customers don`t pay extra to wash the parts they can`t see I guess.

Seriously though I had lunch next to a really nice "conveyer" style car wash with a quick lube, detail area with pneumatic buffers and car lifts, and beautiful, huge sun screens over the drying/ interior/ tire gloss area. Place even has a waiting room inside with plasma TVs and free coffee.

Guess what?

They dry the car, scrub the wheels and wipe the windows with the same towel. I didn`t get close enough to look at the make but watched a kid use the same one on three cars.

Million dollars+ in the set-up and they still can`t get it right.

[Bobcat]

A chain is only as strong as the weakest link.

[LikeaRock]

I enjoy talking to my customers and telling them my process and what each step accomplishes. Then again, sometimes I start to talk a bit too much and I start lagging behind in time

A chain is only as strong as the weakest link.

That`s true, but the persons involved in these chains couldn`t care less. The general public wants their car "clean" and that`s all that matters, they`re easy and convenient for most so they tend to prevail in the long run.

[Beemerboy]

I enjoy talking to my customers and telling them my process and what each step accomplishes. Then again, sometimes I start to talk a bit too much and I start lagging behind in time

That`s true, but the persons involved in these chains couldn`t care less. The general public wants their car "clean" and that`s all that matters, they`re easy and convenient for most so they tend to prevail in the long run.

Dolan

I have found that most people could careless about what you do to their cars, and explaining it to them is a waste of your time.

A great and well done detail will require no explanation, you just have to WOW the customer

[dr_detail]

This has been quite the thread. Lots of good discussion here. Let me see it I have this right though.... I`m fortunate to have customers with show piece/collector vehicles which I maintain on a regular basis. When the vehicle hasn`t been driven, sat in, or even the garage door opened since my last visit; and if I should bypass cleaning the inside windows because -- flat out -- they do not need to be done (they are inspected), I would be considered a "lying cheating detailer" for charging them full price for my services??

My job is to do what it takes to maintain their vehicles if and when they decide to maybe take them out too be admired. They know there vehicle is clean and ready to go any time, that`s what they pay for.

Excuse me for my arrogance, I feel compelled to add -- that I am in this for the money --and with 20+ years of experience behind me I`m not just a car washer nor just a detailer, I`ve been doing this long enough to commend a title -- I am an Automotive Beautification Specialist who stands behind his work. If I do miss something (I am human and will make mistakes), or the customer isn`t completely satisfied, I`ll do what it takes to correct it. For me this is a business, not a charity and for those who are still green behind the ears, take note: there is a huge difference between quality, honest customer service with a profit and being a doormat!!

[Poorboy]

My job is to do what it takes to maintain their vehicles if and when they decide to maybe take them out too be admired. They know there vehicle is clean and ready to go any time, that`s what they pay for.

Yes that is what people who have regular customers with quality vehicles do and deserve to get paid for it

Let me also add that when I did do many collector cars, it was my job to also find problems like the onset of rust, imperfections when a car was repaired or bought and report it to the owner

One example comes to mind. I had a very rich weekly client that bought a Candy Apple Red 29 Ford Street Rod through a Christies(sp?) Auction, site unseen, when it arrived and was to be detailed I found paint runs, and that the leather seats had not be cured so the color would run when it got wet or if you sweated on it...he contacted the auction thereafter and was compensated by the seller after some negotiations.

On the other hand, If you are doing different cars everyday, week in and week out, and most of them are daily drivers, you can not in a good conscience skip parts of a detail...just my 2 cents

[Mr. Clean]

Dr. I`m pretty certain we are on the same page. A professional can (should) use his independent judgement to determine the best course of action(s)/remedies to provide his valued customer the service and end product he/she deserves. I, like you, am confident in my ability to evaluate and then provide said service(s) regardless of other`s ideas of what is "right" and what is "wrong". Certainly the customer is the ultimate decider of whether or not they have received value equivalent to the monies spent.

As an aside, though I feel extremely lucky to have a client base which own mostly newer vehicles, a few true garage queens as you describe would certainly be nice to pepper your account.

[Bobcat]

"Automotive Beautification Specialist" that`s a good one, do you also do restorations? body work? repaint?

[dr_detail]

"Automotive Beautification Specialist" that`s a good one, do you also do restorations? body work? repaint?

As a matter of fact, yes, I am experienced in these areas -- here`s more about me New To Detail City ? Introduce Yourself!

[Bobcat]

Seems like from your resume that you ought to running a successful business. I`m sure you`ve either done so in the past or thought about it lately, maybe relocating to a state with fewer hassles and restrictions is in order. I like detailing on the side, my regular job is boring but it pays the bills, isn`t very physical and I work with some nice people. I have alot of respect and admiration for anyone that makes it on their own. I just don`t have the balls to quit my day job and do detailing full time.

[karwaxer]

Hi I had a customer who had other detailers?? do his vehicles and they did not do his windows so he did exactly what you said he purposely left finger prints in the corners of some of the windows ( I didnt notice them until I cleaned the windows ) He said he did this to see if I in fact did the windows he was tired of not getting what he paid for. He is still a cust. of mine 10 yrs later.

[Troy@Protekt]

This is a good thread and I`m not ready to see it go quiet just yet.

The key is giving the customer what they pay for. This can cause problems if you didn`t charge enough for the job. If you spend more time than what you had planned to, and charged for, then you are a "cheating detailer" as well. Except the person you are cheating is yourself.

It is a tough call for those of us who like to have somewhat of a set price for our services. You get customers who want to lock you in on a price over the phone or write the check when you get there instead of when you are finished. Then when you find yourself spending too much time on their vehicle you have to make a decision whether to cut a corner so you can stay on schedule. Did you cheat that customer by cutting the corner or did you give them what they paid for (which is your time)?

I`m usually the type that is willing to cheat myself rather than try to get extra money out of the customer. So the key for me is to make sure I charge enough initially so that is not an issue.

Troy