A detailers worst nightmare... A question for discussion.

[Nth Degree]

I'm sure there are a lot of nightmare situations, but the other day I had that sinking, sick-to-the-stomach feeling when I noticed burn through on a ridge of a car.



When I had met with the owner to assess and quote the car I was informed a little about the history. The car is 14 years old and he is the third owner and has had it about 6 months. The previous owner had the car detailed, full correction.



Long story short; one area I made worse before discovering it. I went back to the video I took as I took paint measurements and, sure enough, can see (barely) that the damage existed before. I hadn't noticed because my lighting all reflected off that ridge, so it looked like just reflection. As I went along I discovered other areas where paint had been burned through or clear was thin. Some areas had been touched up, some areas had blending from repairs, etc. I'm not sure whether the owner was previously aware of these areas.



My question is: How do you approach a customer about issues found with their car that they were likely not aware of? How do you handle the skepticism as to whether you are responsible or it was pre-existing if you didn't notice or document it prior?

 

[RaskyR1]

I would stop where you are at and call the owner, be honest and tell him the situation. If you haven't done the whole car yet at least you can prove there was previous damage.



I wrote an article the touched on this a couple months ago...



Poor wash media, rotary risks, documenting damage, and the detailing network – Detailed Image

 

[MarcHarris]

+1 to stopping now and calling the owner. Don't look at this as a detailer, look at this as a car owner. If ANYTHING happened to your car while someone else had it whether it was a complete mess up, an oddity, or an act of God, what would you want to happen? You'd want to be notified ASAP.



Call the owner, but have a plan of action. Get a couple of ideas of how to proceed prior to calling. Potential for him to have it fixed, for you to have it fixed, etc.



When you call, be straight forward. Don't beat around the bush. Tell him there's an issue with his paint you want to discuss, and tell him that despite your efforts and keeping a priority in safety, that there's slight damage to an edge. You caught it right away, stopped, further inspected it and other edges, and you found more signs of damage from when the car was worked on in the past, and you want to know how he wants to proceed.





I've found some damage on several cars while working on them that the owner and I over looked when walking around the car together. I stopped and called them right away to inform them of the damage right after I took a cell phone pic and sent it to them. By the time I called, I could say "there's a picture on the way of the damage for you to see, here's what to look for.........." and then go on. No one likes hearing these things, but every person has appreciated knowing ASAP, no matter how big or small.

 

[Jean-Claude]

If there was blending done, that is substantial evidence that someone covered damage up and that the damage is there regardless of this detail. It's a sorry situation to be in but honesty and being forthright with your client is best. Not that I am suggesting that you are not doing that, but just encouraging you to do as you know you are.

 

[CosminTX]

1. carry insurance ! and don`t forget to add masking tape to that ...

2. inspect the car prior any work and document with pics/vid

3. let the owner know about any damage

 

[Lotuseffect]

+1 on calling the owner immediately. You dont want to be known as the guy who damaged a car and charged for it. Will the owner be pissed, quite possibly yes, even likely he will be. It is going to be a delicate situation. You have to assure him as soon as possible you did all your paint measurements and this still happened. SHow him all the prior damage which you have not touched. At the end it will be a bitter pill to swallow but think about it. If you were him, would you be truly upset if the detailer was honest with you and told you up front and made restitution after discovering his mistake? Maybe he will never be your customer again, maybe not, but at least he can't ever say you were a dishonest detailer.



Remember, you can judge the character of a person by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.

 

[Nth Degree]

The owner was happy with the overall results. I showed him the various other issues with the paint and where it had been touched up in the past. I explained that, while the damage was initially caused in the past, I was responsible for making it more noticeable and was willing to take care of a repair. He told me not to worry about it. I didn't bother to call him at the time because what was done was done and I accepted that, worst case scenario, I might be paying for a repair. It was just a freak incident that I hadn't noticed it before during inspection, washing or claying. I was even more than careful with the rest and he lives an hour away so I wasn't going to have him drive up just to look at it. Had this been a Toyota or Honda it wouldn't have been so stressful. It was a Ferrari F355 GTS. It will probably cause me to be more cautionary when a person tells me a car has been corrected in the past.