RaskyR1
Rasky's Auto Detailing
ShineShop said:OCP didn't increase in price. This has been discussed ad nauseum. The price went up to include the cost for the warranty and pay for increased marketing & support for PRO installers. Add to that the fact that Dr. G listened to the installer network and increased the amount of PRO in warranty packs to 15cc and that further softens the blow. Maybe it's because I know installers in Australia or that I attended the OCP installer session at SEMA last year that I assumed that Optimum would be bringing the PRO product in line with what it costs and what was included outside of North America. If anything, OCP was being undersold with respect to price compared to what everyone else was paying for years. I fully recognize the changes are a bitter pill to swallow for some but overall it's going to make the network of installers stronger and more profitable in the long term. If Optimum jacks the price again after this correction then I'll be right there with you Chad but I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon. I've got a lot of respect for your talent Chad but I think you're making a mistake on this issue. I'm getting more and more calls, e-mails and messages every week for OCP and selling it like hotcakes. Even after the price increase this product adds to your exclusivity as a detailer offering it (as does offering CQF) and brings customers to you and more importantly puts $$$ in your pocket.
Scott, like I had also noted earlier in the thread, you can twist/justify it anyway you like, but for me to buy 40cc of the same product at the time this last change was announced, it was 600% more than it cost in 2012.
I really have to agree with Charles on this as his response was very well thought out and very well written...he really did hit the nail on the head. Had Optimum not handled this like they did the previous 2 changes, all of which were met with several unhappy installers, most, if not all of this, could have been avoided, had it only been handled properly. Clearly Opt is doing damage control now if they've already changed the warranty packs to contain 15cc, as many, including myself, were well aware that 10cc was not enough to do most cars, especially when wheels were involved. That's an example of simple feedback they could have obtained had this been done right.
Proposed changes should have been discussed well ahead of time with the installers and they should have gotten feedback from everyone involved. After revisions and a final decision on the changes were made, there should have been a period of time before they went into effect, and they should have actually listed what new benefits there was, or shown/explained what "increased marketing & support for PRO installers" actually involves, rather saying, "just wait and you'll see". Also, a quick comment on the "increased marketing & support for PRO installers", I don't recall CarPro Finest increasing our cost for things like this, and as an installer yourself know very well just how good they take care of us and what they've done to help in these areas.
At the time of the announced change I had cars scheduled until mid December, most of which were Opti-Coat jobs, and I even had cars scheduled in April, and June of 2015. Now I've had to go back and explain things to them. Had there been notice given I could have bought up enough product to cover them.
I'd really like my involvement in this thread to end with this post. I wish all the OCP installers the best of luck, but after 3 strikes, I've made my choice and there is no going back now.
Cheers,
Rasky