I swapped to 100% hourly billing

Jean-Claude

Jean-Claude

Keeper of the beautiful
I got tired of people crying over as little as a $15 charge(not everyone, but GEEZ, don't ask me to do it for free!). Now they know if they ask for me to do something it cost however long it takes and there's no why's about it. My time = your money, period.



$45 flat rate for anything. Not so much that it turns folks off to a car wash, not so little that I burn myself on the really skilled labors. I have actually had a really good response to the change.
 
yeah but if you can book a car for $300 per day vs NO work, what are you going to do???????



$75K per year vs less = might as well do $300 per day in my book
 
Although I basically have an hourly rate of $40 per hour, it rarely gets mentioned to customers. I have carefully designed packages based on what I feel my market wants. I know how long each package will take for a given size car, and have priced them to reflect my hourly rate. I tell the customer that the final price is based on the condition of the vehicle and how long it will take. Most people do not have a problem with that. Although many have success with a flat hourly rate, I feel that would turn away some potential customers. People like to hear a price up front for a particular service. I also think that anything above $40-$50 per hour will decrease the demand for detailing services. The labor rate at a good body shop is about $40 per hour. If one desires to make more money per hour, you must come up with a way to do more cars faster. If that means hiring employees or getting a fixed location, so be it.
 
If I was mobile, then I would definitely be hourly. As a fixed operation we have our fixed prices for detailing, but will add our hourly rate for special services, excessively dirty cars, pet hair, etc.





John
 
It is a hard situation times are hard every state suffers different you have to really pay attention to the customers listen an learn how to read them that will give you an idea what to charge. talk to them about stuff while you look around car to evaluate the damages an work that needs to be done come on lets be real the kid with the honda will pay 300.00 but the guy with the ferrari bitches over 300.00 this is everywhere in every shop you have to up sell your up sells lol. take in the info. they give an use that feel the situation out it if you can get 300.00 for detail get it if you can't say it will cost 300.00 watch their face go on what you know than drop it 50.00 or 100.00 you say ya but i loose you don't cause now they are a recurring customer an a recurring customer makes you 10 x's more than just doing a 1 time detail. an if you feel them out an can get 300.00 or maybe 500.00 go for it but in the end it all comes down to this make money or don't make money period you have to adjust for the times an the area an the best thing about a detail business is you can an still make money.
 
brwill2005 said:
Although I basically have an hourly rate of $40 per hour, it rarely gets mentioned to customers. I have carefully designed packages based on what I feel my market wants. I know how long each package will take for a given size car, and have priced them to reflect my hourly rate. I tell the customer that the final price is based on the condition of the vehicle and how long it will take. Most people do not have a problem with that. Although many have success with a flat hourly rate, I feel that would turn away some potential customers. People like to hear a price up front for a particular service. I also think that anything above $40-$50 per hour will decrease the demand for detailing services. The labor rate at a good body shop is about $40 per hour. If one desires to make more money per hour, you must come up with a way to do more cars faster. If that means hiring employees or getting a fixed location, so be it.
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What I explain is that EVERY business has a hourly billing in one way or another. "Every detailer is pricing/billing to make from $40-$60 per hour. By being up front, you have a fuller understanding of what I am looking to accomplish with your car. Some cars have more complex lines or more surface, some have less. I want to be able to detail your car and not feel that I must rush to meet a price point yet not take so much time that you feel you're being taken. You are getting exactly what you are paying for, an owner/operator that will give you the best job available and I don't bill you for set up or load up time. Only time worked on your car."



I give an estimate of the time it will take to do a given job but let them know it will boil down to exactly what time I spend, more or less. Even the brand new clients love this. I can see why some people may not like the idea and I am sure some will not try my services because of it. But I have a good reputation and I am very convincing. Being convincing is not bad when you know you're shooting straight with people and they can see how sincere I am.



To be blunt about it. I am tired of having to explain that my time = money. When some clients ask for extra services they get uppity when I say that will be $xx extra. Now I can say that will probably take about xx minutes extra and they understand that my time = money and there is no room for interpretation.



It's very important to be honest with your time and let the client see how their money(my time) is being spent. I have the opinion that I must always appear as a UPS driver does. Not running but not walking as slow as possible. Every step appears(and does) to have purpose.



One of the biggest obstacles for all professional detailers is helping the client understand that a real detail does not take 70 minutes and cost $90. When I say that I will work diligently and do what it takes to make their car look as good as possible they seem to appreciate it.



I dunno, I feel like it was the next step for me and it's the right time.
 
I don't think you'll have a problem billing hourly, depending on your market. I changed to hourly about 6 months ago and have never been happier. When I get a call or email I can tell them a really rough estimate of the time involved. If $45/hr turns them off, there not my type of client anyway( not to say I can't educate them on the difference between me and the shop up the street and make them my type of client) Usually the word of mouth calls just let me work my majic and trust that they're getting what they're paying for. The calls or emails I get from people finding me on the 1st page of SE's sometimes takes some pictures or write-ups I've done of cars before their fully convinced. Also until you've removed all the wax and fillers the dealer or previous detailer applied to the car and get it under the lights in the garage you don't know what you're dealing with sometimes, which makes hourly billing a big advantage. I've averaged $1350 on my last two details, which I never could have done with fixed pricing. When I used fixed prices I had a successful business but it wasn't going anywhere fast and the level of clients were not at all the same as they are now. Now with hourly rates and catering to an exclusive crowd I'm in the works of expanding into a huge shop with lifts, wash bay, climate controlled, etc, etc. There is a place for fixed pricing, it's just not for me, because every car is different and presents different challenges even if it's the exact same car. I'm really happy with the business after going from 15 cars a week and making 5 figures to doing 2-4 cars per week well on my way to over 6 figure income. Now just to find the right help for the bigger place to double up the number of cars and make more, and also offer more services and get into the aftermarket business as well as selling products at the shop and online. Sorry to rant on and on, but I can tell you this; none of this came easy. I work around the clock, whether it be on a car, or on the computer, or talking to clients, lawyers, cpas, the list go's on. I think I sleep like a cat, just whenever I can find time.
 
Everyone would like to have high-end clients willing to pay $40 plus for hour for quality auto detailing. The reality, at least in my area, is there is lots of competition. Some is in the form of other actual detail operations, and the other is huge commercial car washes that do 'Express Detailing". The prices at these car washes are quite a bit lower than what you would find at a quality detail shop, and their prices are pretty much fixed. The average person, even with a high income and a nice car, is not going to pay more than twice the price for a service that appears the same on paper. I think it is important to find the right balance between quality and price, in order to get a decent market share.
 
All I know is that I'm much more happy catering to prospective clients who know what they want and that you get what you pay for(Most of the time.haha). When I had fixed pricing with even a little wiggle room I just received a different crowd, and most of the emails would start out with "What would you charge for this or that". Now that I've changed my target market and basically say if you're planning on emailing or calling 3 other detailers to get a quote, then my company is probably not for you. This weeds out all the bargain hunters. It works well for me and I have a waiting list that extends through the end of March(hence needing to find the right team of help). I'm not bragging I just found what works for me in my area. Oh, and being professional and very skilled at what you do helps, you have to have the skills to not just detail cars, but restore every part of the car, without adding new parts. On the otherhand, you could be the best professional detailer in the world, but if you're not business minded and have a knack for it you'll fall flat on your face too unless you have people doing the business end for you.
 
That is great that you have a waiting list, and that you have found a formula that works. What would you say your target market is; new car owners, exotic car owners, classic car owners, import/performance owners etc? What is the age and occupations of your market? How do you reach your target market? Obviously you have reached them well, if you are that busy. What services do you sell the most; maintenance services or restoration type services? One last thought; everyone even the rich are looking for a competitive price. It is the inherent economic nature of every human being. Just because someone wants to find the best price, does not mean they do not want a quality product with high value.
 
Reviving this thread....



I just took on a job and got seriously HOSED. 12 hours of labor, and made about $18 an hour! I took that one on the chin, immediately fired up my website and altered all of my packages to single-stage machine polish and that anythign requireing more than 1 polishing step would be charged hourly-thus developing the "show car" detailing category charged hourly which would come with a lot more prestigious treatment VS the prepackaged stuff. Never again will I work for less than $30 an hour...never.
 
tssdetailing said:
Reviving this thread....



I just took on a job and got seriously HOSED. 12 hours of labor, and made about $18 an hour! I took that one on the chin, immediately fired up my website and altered all of my packages to single-stage machine polish and that anythign requireing more than 1 polishing step would be charged hourly-thus developing the "show car" detailing category charged hourly which would come with a lot more prestigious treatment VS the prepackaged stuff. Never again will I work for less than $30 an hour...never.
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What you are switching to is the same system that I employ. My complete (exterior) detail includes a wash, clay, 1 polishing step, and a sealant. Any polishing after that is billed on an hourly rate. I think it makes it fair for both sides.



EDIT: Looking at your website, your hourly rate still looks low for that kind of work. If you do good work, charge accordingly.
 
I am the same way as of about 4 months ago...



wash and wax, with interior

one step package

hourly

light interior

full interior



....choose one for the outside, and one from the inside - all based on per hour rate
 
mshu7 said:
What you are switching to is the same system that I employ. My complete (exterior) detail includes a wash, clay, 1 polishing step, and a sealant. Any polishing after that is billed on an hourly rate. I think it makes it fair for both sides.



EDIT: Looking at your website, your hourly rate still looks low for that kind of work. If you do good work, charge accordingly.
Click to expand...



Thank you! Im new at this so i just don't feel I can justify higher than $30 right now. Once I get some 6figure sports cars under my belt, then I'll up my ante.
 
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