Are some customers too picky?

turbomangt said:
It wasn't till he got home and looked in his own light did he see something. I have flouresant light. incandesant lights, spotlights, high voltage lights. and bulb light. So one thing I don't lack in my shop is good lighting. OH. plus I moved it into the sun several times while working. I think I agree that if he comes back I will give him 15 monutes, then the clock starts. Gary
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Glad to hear you have a good selection of lights :xyxthumbs When you talk with him (before he comes in), tell him about wanting to duplicate the lighting conditions and how you have plenty of different lights to work with. Put the load on *him* to make the defects show up. If he's just wacko maybe this will scare him off, if he's *not* wacko, maybe the two of you will come to a workable understanding. Heh heh, good luck with the guy whichever way it goes.
 
turbomangt said:
It wasn't till he got home and looked in his own light did he see something. I have flouresant light. incandesant lights, spotlights, high voltage lights. and bulb light. So one thing I don't lack in my shop is good lighting. OH. plus I moved it into the sun several times while working. I think I agree that if he comes back I will give him 15 monutes, then the clock starts. Gary
Click to expand...



Glad to hear you have a good selection of lights :xyxthumbs When you talk with him (before he comes in), tell him about wanting to duplicate the lighting conditions and how you have plenty of different lights to work with. Put the load on *him* to make the defects show up. If he's just wacko maybe this will scare him off, if he's *not* wacko, maybe the two of you will come to a workable understanding. Heh heh, good luck with the guy whichever way it goes.
 
I won't deal with customers like that. Period. I have found that most people who are that anal about their cars are anal with just about everything else in their lives. Their wives are usually just as norodic and if they have any, the kids are put thru the ropes about everything just as well. Life's to short to have to deal with people like that. I can smell a customer like that a mile away and won't work for them.
 
I won't deal with customers like that. Period. I have found that most people who are that anal about their cars are anal with just about everything else in their lives. Their wives are usually just as norodic and if they have any, the kids are put thru the ropes about everything just as well. Life's to short to have to deal with people like that. I can smell a customer like that a mile away and won't work for them.
 
Being that our standards here seem to be a notch or so above other detailers, I think this guy is full of bologna.



You might want to mention to him that the defects could've occurred on the way home. All it takes is some dust, dirt, wood chips, gravel, tar, etc to graze over the surface and BAM, you have some marring or scratching. Once it leaves your shop, its fair game. Who knows...He could've gone to the store and someone could've rubbed up against it.



I'm with the others...Ask him to duplicate the lighting, look it over, and then charge by the hour. Don't offer any free-bee 15 minute stuff. Remember, when he left, he agreed the services were to his liking. If he has a problem, I doubt a Non-Autopian is going to produce a finish as close as you mentioned.



In the end, its your call to do business with him. If you think this could hurt your business, think to yourself... "Do I really want someone who is friends with this guy as a client" A lot of the times, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
 
Being that our standards here seem to be a notch or so above other detailers, I think this guy is full of bologna.



You might want to mention to him that the defects could've occurred on the way home. All it takes is some dust, dirt, wood chips, gravel, tar, etc to graze over the surface and BAM, you have some marring or scratching. Once it leaves your shop, its fair game. Who knows...He could've gone to the store and someone could've rubbed up against it.



I'm with the others...Ask him to duplicate the lighting, look it over, and then charge by the hour. Don't offer any free-bee 15 minute stuff. Remember, when he left, he agreed the services were to his liking. If he has a problem, I doubt a Non-Autopian is going to produce a finish as close as you mentioned.



In the end, its your call to do business with him. If you think this could hurt your business, think to yourself... "Do I really want someone who is friends with this guy as a client" A lot of the times, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
 
turbomangt said:
I appreciate all the responses, The turnaround I made with the paint was pretty amazing if I say so myself. It was a mess. ( I wondered why he didn't complain BIG TIME to the shop that messed it up. )I came in as the miracle worker to save the day. When I was done I saw NOTHING at all wrong with the finish. As a matter a fact, he didn't either. It wasn't till he got home and looked in his own light did he see something. I have flouresant light. incandesant lights, spotlights, high voltage lights. and bulb light. So one thing I don't lack in my shop is good lighting. OH. plus I moved it into the sun several times while working. I think I agree that if he comes back I will give him 15 monutes, then the clock starts. Gary
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Gary, I know you're a pro, and obviously passionate about your work. I'm not a pro, obviously, but if you don't mind my saying so, I think you took the right attitude for that customer.



I run two different businesses, totally different from what you do, but I think that satisfying the most obnoxious customer pays off in the long run for two reasons:



1) Satisfaction that your skill and professionalism can satisfy even someone like him (when most others cannot).



2) Practically speaking, the most demanding, obnoxious customers expect a certain (perhaps unreasonable) level of service; from their experience, there are few (or none) who satisfy them. If you are able to put up with their initial (especially) ureasonable demands, YOU will become their sole choice for future business because they know and accept that there's no one better than you. Those kinds of customers become THE MOST LOYAL AND LONG-TERM CLIENTS, generally.



I know this is a big generalization, but in my experience overly difficult customers often become the most loyal customers when you have the patience and ability to satisfy them, as they know no one else can do so (of course, whether you want to put up with their gripes or not is a different question!).



Just my 2 cents.
 
turbomangt said:
I appreciate all the responses, The turnaround I made with the paint was pretty amazing if I say so myself. It was a mess. ( I wondered why he didn't complain BIG TIME to the shop that messed it up. )I came in as the miracle worker to save the day. When I was done I saw NOTHING at all wrong with the finish. As a matter a fact, he didn't either. It wasn't till he got home and looked in his own light did he see something. I have flouresant light. incandesant lights, spotlights, high voltage lights. and bulb light. So one thing I don't lack in my shop is good lighting. OH. plus I moved it into the sun several times while working. I think I agree that if he comes back I will give him 15 monutes, then the clock starts. Gary
Click to expand...



Gary, I know you're a pro, and obviously passionate about your work. I'm not a pro, obviously, but if you don't mind my saying so, I think you took the right attitude for that customer.



I run two different businesses, totally different from what you do, but I think that satisfying the most obnoxious customer pays off in the long run for two reasons:



1) Satisfaction that your skill and professionalism can satisfy even someone like him (when most others cannot).



2) Practically speaking, the most demanding, obnoxious customers expect a certain (perhaps unreasonable) level of service; from their experience, there are few (or none) who satisfy them. If you are able to put up with their initial (especially) ureasonable demands, YOU will become their sole choice for future business because they know and accept that there's no one better than you. Those kinds of customers become THE MOST LOYAL AND LONG-TERM CLIENTS, generally.



I know this is a big generalization, but in my experience overly difficult customers often become the most loyal customers when you have the patience and ability to satisfy them, as they know no one else can do so (of course, whether you want to put up with their gripes or not is a different question!).



Just my 2 cents.
 
turbomangt said:
I appreciate all the responses, The turnaround I made with the paint was pretty amazing if I say so myself. It was a mess. ( I wondered why he didn't complain BIG TIME to the shop that messed it up. )I came in as the miracle worker to save the day. When I was done I saw NOTHING at all wrong with the finish. As a matter a fact, he didn't either. It wasn't till he got home and looked in his own light did he see something. I have flouresant light. incandesant lights, spotlights, high voltage lights. and bulb light. So one thing I don't lack in my shop is good lighting. OH. plus I moved it into the sun several times while working. I think I agree that if he comes back I will give him 15 monutes, then the clock starts. Gary
Click to expand...



Hey Gary, I have been asked by the ICA detail advisory board to attend a meeting in Chicago on the 24th (I believe) and would love to come and visit your shop if I have a few spare minutes. Interested?
 
turbomangt said:
I appreciate all the responses, The turnaround I made with the paint was pretty amazing if I say so myself. It was a mess. ( I wondered why he didn't complain BIG TIME to the shop that messed it up. )I came in as the miracle worker to save the day. When I was done I saw NOTHING at all wrong with the finish. As a matter a fact, he didn't either. It wasn't till he got home and looked in his own light did he see something. I have flouresant light. incandesant lights, spotlights, high voltage lights. and bulb light. So one thing I don't lack in my shop is good lighting. OH. plus I moved it into the sun several times while working. I think I agree that if he comes back I will give him 15 monutes, then the clock starts. Gary
Click to expand...



Hey Gary, I have been asked by the ICA detail advisory board to attend a meeting in Chicago on the 24th (I believe) and would love to come and visit your shop if I have a few spare minutes. Interested?
 
when i get a car in to detail i take the client round the car with a check list and write down any scuff`s scratches and any other problems that heave to be sorted

when the client returns we both walk round the car to show all r sorted



that way every 1 is happy and if they call back the next day to say that there is a problem you can say well sir when the 2 of us walked round the car with the check list you were happy were u not

but if u pop it round we could take a look at it for u



i have not had 1 problem since i started the check list



they only call back to book in the wife`s car to get detailed
 
when i get a car in to detail i take the client round the car with a check list and write down any scuff`s scratches and any other problems that heave to be sorted

when the client returns we both walk round the car to show all r sorted



that way every 1 is happy and if they call back the next day to say that there is a problem you can say well sir when the 2 of us walked round the car with the check list you were happy were u not

but if u pop it round we could take a look at it for u



i have not had 1 problem since i started the check list



they only call back to book in the wife`s car to get detailed
 
I'm the same. Walk round to start with, and then again once finished. I make it quite clear to them that if they're not happy with anything now, I'll sort it as part of the detail. But don't go calling me in a week’s time telling me you've got a mark because it's more than likely you did that yourself after you collected the car.



So far I've been lucky in that I haven't had any really anal customers. If I did though, and someone was going beyond the pail of unreasonableness, I'd feel like handing them the buffer and saying "well if you're so good, perhaps you'd like to try yourself..."



I never would say this as it's not the way to conduct business, but I'm sure one day I'll get a client that I'll want to feed my buffer to (see that as a polite way of saying "shoving it down their throat"!)



Ben
 
I'm the same. Walk round to start with, and then again once finished. I make it quite clear to them that if they're not happy with anything now, I'll sort it as part of the detail. But don't go calling me in a week’s time telling me you've got a mark because it's more than likely you did that yourself after you collected the car.



So far I've been lucky in that I haven't had any really anal customers. If I did though, and someone was going beyond the pail of unreasonableness, I'd feel like handing them the buffer and saying "well if you're so good, perhaps you'd like to try yourself..."



I never would say this as it's not the way to conduct business, but I'm sure one day I'll get a client that I'll want to feed my buffer to (see that as a polite way of saying "shoving it down their throat"!)



Ben
 
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