new pricing

bigron62

bigron62

New member
Im trying something new ..ive lowered my rates from $125.00 to $75.00. i cant get any buisness due to the poor economy ..my new approach is less work for less money ..in the past i really only wanted to do full details 125.00 and up that was for top of the line work multiple steps/ clay ..extract int ..scrub all int panels scrub off scuff marks on kick panels and fully dress int and all rubber weatherstriping . im going to switch to a express detail type job to get customers again ..im thinking wash car/ clean wheels /dress tires / vacuum int / wipe down int / clean glass / clean mats?..wipe down jambs and apply wax and thats it ..i could do this in a few hrs and keep my hourly rate about the same. im going to offer the other stuff of course but not push it so i can build a customer base again . when i get calls i say $125.00 and up and i get nothing so im going to try this ..im going to change my biz name also and re do my brouchures ..if this doesnt work im gonna hang it up but im confident in this ..my craigs list ad also has an offer for people to wash theyre own car and bring it over and ill wax it for $25.00-40.00..:eek:i dont know what else to do ...not using the extractor or all the dressing will save alot of time / money
 
Ron. I started wash and wax specials this year for those customers that had the full detail done already..it worked like a charm for me, was really easy to clean the cars once they had been cleaned previous.

Your not far off to lower the price if you can't get the higher dollars, but then you also can't continue doing the same level of work. For some of my customers it wouldn't matter..:D

You also need to get higher end customers. they are in your area you just have to find them..they will have the $$ to pay your price...mine do:D
 
It's really hard to land new customers these days. I know in my area there are so many $25 guys/kids around that selling a $200+ detail gets harder every year. I've done something similar for 2011 and went back to doing basic details even though I really don't to. I have a huge tunnel wash joint to compete with and to be honest they are killing every detail business around here by offering $10 wash & wax jobs. Most of my regular clients are very loyal and won't let anyone but me touch their vehicles, but there will always be the bargain shoppers who think $100 is absolutely outrageous. You've gotta do what you've gotta do in this business to stay afloat.
 
dave as much as i know i do the best work around here people cant afford it right now .my die hard old customers are driving the same cars as 5 yrs ago like me . on state employees furloughs have taken peoples extra money and the housing/ construction is in the crapper . im changing my biz name from proshine professional detailing service to ron's detailing ..i think its a good time to change things for the future . i used to make 1500 a month easy and counted on it and booked jobs months in advance ..not anymore. im hoping this lower pricing will bring new customers and then the friends/ family come soon after .. moving 25 miles away didnt help and my back injury caused me to basically shut down for 2 yrs ..now the economy . im gonna give it all i got and start over basically and if it doesnt pick up in the spring ill find something else to do ..luckily i make good money at my regular job ..everyone was telling me to open a shop 4 yrs ago and i wanted to wait to get my 20 in with the state ..whew man im glad i didnt do that. here are some cars i did last year
 

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How about BIG RON'S DETAILING AND BBQ PIT..eat some lip smackin ribs while i do a half ass detail on your car all for under $100.00..i could even set up the kiddie pool on the front lawn for the kids:lmfao . ya think it would work?
 

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bigron62 said:
How about BIG RON'S DETAILING AND BBQ PIT..eat some lip smackin ribs while i do a half ass detail on your car all for under $100.00..i could even set up the kiddie pool on the front lawn for the kids:lmfao . ya think it would work?
Click to expand...


Sounds like Toby Keith's song Trailerhood...RON
 
bigron62 said:
How about BIG RON'S DETAILING AND BBQ PIT..eat some lip smackin ribs while i do a half ass detail on your car all for under $100.00..i could even set up the kiddie pool on the front lawn for the kids:lmfao . ya think it would work?
Click to expand...

Sounds good here :bigups If you watch Diner's Drive ins and Dive it has worked for other business's :rockon

Sit down for lunch and your car is washed and waxed $99.95 for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids under 12 , extra adults $10 extra each :hmmm:
 
Good move, Ron! Interesting that you hit my numbers exactly. I was doing all my "regulars'" cars at $125. Over the past six months almost every one has said something like, "Could you just do the glass, wheels and interior this time?"

Rather than piecemeal (more importantly... to try to preserve a decent detailing income) I suggested that I do a complete detail, except only a one-step on the paint, no engine, no trunk, for $75. So far, everyone's happy... including me!

Hey, on the BBQ topic... I cooked a 20lb Butterball turkey on a Weber, just like yours, on Christmas. Best bird I've ever cooked!

I'm a turkey fryer guy, but I can only do a 12 lb without blowing the patio up.:rofl

So I bought some hardwood lump charcoal, made an "indirect heat" fire, tented the turkey with foil, infused and basted with Seagram's Wine Coolers!, and cooked it for three and a half hours. I removed the foil and let it brown for twenty additional minutes. It was AWESOME!
 
JohnHenry said:
Hey, on the BBQ topic... I cooked a 20lb Butterball turkey on a Weber, just like yours, on Christmas. Best bird I've ever cooked!

I'm a turkey fryer guy, but I can only do a 12 lb without blowing the patio up.:rofl

So I bought some hardwood lump charcoal, made an "indirect heat" fire, tented the turkey with foil, infused and basted with Seagram's Wine Coolers!, and cooked it for three and a half hours. I removed the foil and let it brown for twenty additional minutes. It was AWESOME!
Click to expand...


:lol2:
 
John Henry i see what you are doing too . its like me and my wife when we go out to eat nowadays we cant really do the fifty dollar dinners but thirty is do able and thats what im going to do . give people what they can afford ..or ill find something else to do that people can afford ..
 
So Ron, really your not lowering your price your adding an option. Remember that it is infinitely harder to up sell than down sell. My standard detail starts at $100. If my customer isn't comfortable with that I feel them out by finding what their areas of concern are. I can then make suggestions until we find something they're happy with. Be it interior, exterior, wash-n-wax, or hand wash. Also, be careful with reducing pricing now because when the economy turns around people won't be so receptive to a price increase.
 
I have never been a fan of lowering prices. I was told once that the quickest way to go out of business is to lower your prices to compete with other people in your area, and I believe it to be true. There will always be SOMEONE who will be willing to go $5 cheaper just to get the business.
What I would do rather than lower your prices is come up with a different package that states that less work will be done, but your car will still end up looking great in the end. I tried as hard as I could to stay away from the word "Express Detail" for a long time, but finally I accepted it and use it now to explain my lower priced services. People now understand that it's just not going to be a complete detail. I tell people it's not really meant to repair any damage like swirl marks and scratches, but the one step polish/wax will certainly clean up the paint a bit and provide a level of wax.
What I also did was research products until I found ones that were able to give me a maximum final product with minimal effort. Will the end result of a 2 hour Express Detail be the same as a 6-8 hour complete detail, absolutely not, but it may be what people are looking for at a price they are willing to pay. I agree with what JDMSer said about raising your prices vs. lowering them. If you lower them, it is going to be very hard to raise them back up should you start to see you are loosing money.

Of course adding a BBQ to your service would make me choose the service that offered me a pulled pork sandwich above a service that didn't offer me a sandwich no matter what the price :bigups
 
im not lowering my price on full detail just putting a package together that most people will go for .. it will be the biggest item on my brouchure .. if they want more of course ill do it but im not gonna get real pushy on the upsell thing ..options will be on the brouchure fot extra services ..if it doesnt work ill come up with a new side biz ..
 
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