Hacks!!

S

SubyDude

New member
Well being new to the professional side of detailing I had not encountered much of the struggles that most have. But today, at one of the office parks, where I have some clients there is some no talent hack kid working on cars. Somehow he scored 3 of the women with SUVs in one of the buildings. Pretty much made me sick. This kid is probably no more than 19 if that. So I watch him for a bit. He was finsihing one and about to start another. So this 2nd one he washes with the same wash water. He just added water to the bucket. No more solution or anything. He didn't wash the top of the car and only half of the hood. I think it took him about 10 minutes to wash the whole (or half) thing. After he was done he tossed the dirty wash wash water on the vehicle!!! He pulls out 2 clean white towels. Couldn't tell if terry or MF. Well he didn't wash the top be he did dry it. After he was done drying this dark blue volvo suv I could see how dirty his towels had gotten...go figure what with the awesome wash job he did! Well my blood was rising so I couldn't watch any more. But in the few minutes I did watch I saw about 25 things he did wrong. So now I have competition in one of my best spots. I am ok with competition but not when it is a no telent hack that probably charged 50 bucks for all 3 SUVs.



I am mainly just ranting, but what do you guys think? Can I approach these people and tell them how much better I can do? Or are they just going to be happy with sub par work on there 40-50k SUVs? I know hacks will always be around and will always have some percent of the business. Its just hard to live with.



Sorry for the rant.
 
Do you have any kind of cam corder? Get a little movie of what he does (or doesn't do) and then show it to the people whose car he just did.
 
Ticks me off to no end. Some members here feel that wash&wax jockeys or even hacks have their place in this field, i do not agree.



I personaly would try to talk with the owners and let them know (to the best of your ability) what he did wrong and why you can do much better.
 
GregCavi said:
They will run themselves out of business. Just sit back and enjoy.



Greg
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I'd like to think that. But if the condition of the finsih is not important to the owner they will continue to use the hacks. Just look at all the local swirl and scratch joints. They are full every sunny weekend.



All I would have to do is show these ladies the swirls and I think they might get the picture. But then I would tell them my price which I am sure is a lot more than this kid's. So I just dunno.
 
SubyDude said:
All I would have to do is show these ladies the swirls and I think they might get the picture. But then I would tell them my price which I am sure is a lot more than this kid's. So I just dunno.
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Exactly, these people are more than likely price shoppers. They might have really nice SUVs, but they want to cheap out when it comes to the little things. They probably don't care too mcuh about having the greatest finish, they just want something done for cheap.
 
If they refuse your services based on price at least they will know that they have the option of getting a much better service by you. This is also why i have buisness cards. I will point out all the flaws to them and then hand them my card. If they turn me down right away at least they now see the problems and they will start to dwell on them until it drives them nuts and they call.
 
kpagel said:
Exactly, these people are more than likely price shoppers. They might have really nice SUVs, but they want to cheap out when it comes to the little things. They probably don't care too mcuh about having the greatest finish, they just want something done for cheap.
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I have also found that there are people out there who dont know that there is something better out there.
 
I took a look at his work after he left. looks like crap! I could pull a ton of dirt off still. His drying job was aweful. Left streaks all over. Not that I was expecting it to look good lol.



Well I will think about how to approach this folks. This is a good business park for me and I really don't need this kid in there hurting business with his cheap work. So I think I need to do something. Not that my porche and vette customers would pick this hack, but price does tend to motivate people.
 
I ran across a few brochures for a detailer today on a bench in the hospital. (Not a marketing method I'd suggest, BTW). It mentions how the owner is a 20-yr member of the International Show Car Association, so you're supposed to presume he's experienced. Then I noticed the ad uses the word "we", so apparently he isn't the one doing all the work. Not so bad so far, but then I look over his methods, let's see here; paint cleaning, paint sealing (to close the pores of the paint to prep it for waxing), then waxing, THEN the "finishing touch", polishing/buffing to "remove minor defects including most swirls and minor scratches. We use top quality orbital polishers, sanding/buffing papers, and bonnet pads..." ARGGHHHHH! Seriously, it listed polishing/buffing after all the other steps and referred to it as the "finishing touch!"
 
I've got some competitors who beat me on price but do mediocre to awful work. They don't really bother me too much - I don't like dealing with price shoppers anyways, and people who care enough to pay my price can spot the difference in quality a mile away.



I also enjoy parking the cars that I finish next to the ones that they do. The white car I maintain weekly has more noticeable reflections than the dark blue car he maintains weekly.
 
SubyDude said:
I'd like to think that. But if the condition of the finsih is not important to the owner they will continue to use the hacks. Just look at all the local swirl and scratch joints. They are full every sunny weekend.



All I would have to do is show these ladies the swirls and I think they might get the picture. But then I would tell them my price which I am sure is a lot more than this kid's. So I just dunno.
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So, if the paint condition is not important to the owner, why do you want that person as your customer? If you put in efforts that are not noticed by the customer, and they are happy with the cheap price, regardless of results, it seems that they are not your target market.



You can't be all things to everybody.

Just my 2¢.
 
BigLeegr said:
So, if the paint condition is not important to the owner, why do you want that person as your customer? If you put in efforts that are not noticed by the customer, and they are happy with the cheap price, regardless of results, it seems that they are not your target market.



You can't be all things to everybody.

Just my 2¢.
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No, those people usually are not who I am after. But there are people in this park that are. Like I said, I don't think my guys with high end cars are going to start using this cheap kid. But its more about education than anything. Its people that don't realize what they get. They just see price.
 
Approach him as a potential customer and ask to see his MSDS sheets on the chemicals he is using!! Inform him that if he does not have any onsite and OSHA, or the city comes around, that it could be a $5000 fine, or more.



Rob
 
WCD said:
Approach him as a potential customer and ask to see his MSDS sheets on the chemicals he is using!! Inform him that if he does not have any onsite and OSHA, or the city comes around, that it could be a $5000 fine, or more.



Rob
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Well I don't to intimidate the kid. I would like him to never touch a sponge again! But I also don't need him bad mouthing me around town.
 
I'll give you a piece of advice ( whether you take or not is up to you ) Hack's will come and go in every profession , don't waste your time worrying about them . Don't bash his /her's work to potental or current customers, it only makes you look bad . Smile and wave at your so called competition ( as hard as that may be ) in the end you look more professional . If your providing the very best you can to your customers you have no competiton ! The way I feel about the so called competition is , They can't do what I can do on my worse day, and I'll never do what they do on their best day ! Best of luck to you . :buffing:
 
Rollman said:
I'll give you a piece of advice ( whether you take or not is up to you ) Hack's will come and go in every profession , don't waste your time worrying about them . Don't bash his /her's work to potental or current customers, it only makes you look bad . Smile and wave at your so called competition ( as hard as that may be ) in the end you look more professional . If your providing the very best you can to your customers you have no competiton ! The way I feel about the so called competition is , They can't do what I can do on my worse day, and I'll never do what they do on their best day ! Best of luck to you . :buffing:
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Great advice!!!
 
My advice: Don't bother talking to his "clients" about him. It will just leave bad impression about you. If they don't care then they don't care. If they do care they will be back once they see results and they will need paint correction jobs. (I hope your paint correction prices just went up)
 
ZoranC said:
My advice: Don't bother talking to his "clients" about him. It will just leave bad impression about you. If they don't care then they don't care. If they do care they will be back once they see results and they will need paint correction jobs. (I hope your paint correction prices just went up)
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The problem i have with responses like this is some people really dont know that there are people out there that can make their vehicle look like it came off the factory assembly line. I dont mean that you should talk ish about this guy to the customer. What i am saying is talk to the owner as polite as possible and casually point out the faults in the vechicles appearance (make no mention of who washed it or cared for it). Tell them what you can "drastically improve and/or remove these problems". Show them what can be fixed, more importantly, actually show them what is wrong.



Just hand them a card and walk away saying "have a nice day". Some of these people will dwell on what you showed them, bad enough to call you and start setting something up, some wont, that is ok, these are the ones you dont want to do work for anyways.
 
I was(while working) approached by somone asking who I worked for. I explained that my dad owned the business and who we were. This person then proceeded to inform me what a crook our local competition was. I simply told the person that I heard stories but that I wasn't going to bad mouth a competitor. This has happened several times. When you have a good reputation there simply isn't a need to bad mouth your competition. It just makes you look like your out to get someone who beats your price.
 
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