Parking lots

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klvrslvn

Let us, sweat the details
Just out of curiosity have any of you just posted up in parking lots of businesses and just done wash and vacs all day? And if so what was the result and were did you do it?:dnaughty
 
I have picked up some great customers that I take care of at their place of work and I end up getting lots of business from people who see us working there.

One thing that I use to do that I no longer do, is give deals for employees of businesses with plans on spending a day or two there servicing them. What ended up happening is we got a lot of customers with crappy cars in crappy condition.

I'm sure it can and has been done successfully but it's not my first choice for getting business.
 
I have found that alot of my buisness comes from inquiries when I'm in parking lots and usually lead to new clients. But like Troy said you can spend alot of time working on cars that really aren't worth the time and probably won't become regulars.
 
Oh sorry about that I'm Owen owner of Se7en Cities Mobile Detail Service. I service virginia in hampton roads surrounding 7 cities. I appreciate the feed back I was just wondering if it was a good way to pick up some quick cash on days that I don't have appointments.
 
Thanks T-Mac! So I had my first zero day.... boy did that suck. I need some motivating words to get back on the horse in the morning! lol
 
What kind of customer are you after?

From your first post I'm guessing you are going after the quick and easy jobs. If that's the case then coupons in local mailers would do well for you if you did them well.
 
I actually have permission to meet in 3 spots.

I set up in one spot that is surrounded by banks and medical buildings and a couple of huge firms. I set up 2 blue tents and hang a banner, and place stand up signs in designated areas for cars driving through. Business is slow there because of all the illegals undercutting my prices that come dribbling through there day after day. It gets frustrating. What i do for 25 bucks they do for 10. What sucks is that i have permission to be there and a million dollar insurance policy along with being city compliant (i make sure nothing gets down the storm drains and into our ocean). Although I have met a few loyal people in there and continue to wax and maintain a few cars in there.

another building is surrounded by a 24Hour fitness and another huge building. I went there once and set up signage , It proved to be very slow. I was way in the back also, so it was hard to be very visible. It was when i walked up to people parking for 24Hour Fitness and asked them if they'd like their car cleaned, i got the business. I am going to give it a few more swings before i call it quits.


I also set up in a designated spot in Laguna beach. a lot of rich people use me there every Tuesday. I do very well on Tuesdays making from 350 - 500 bucks working alone.
It pays to have rich friends that let you set up on their expensive property.
 
One slow day, I decided to set up in a parking lot that contained a large grocery store, a fitness center, and several other small businesses. My thinking was this: women shopping and people who are serious about their physical appearance - two excellent client pools.

I set up my portable sunshade, and hung a sign advertising my lowest wash price. I then started out with my own vehicle....you know, to look busy. I took the magnetics off the sides and pulled it alongside my trailer and got started. I figured the customers would start showing up in droves and I would just have them park nearby, leave me the keys, and skip merrily off to do their shopping whilst I brought their car back to vivid life. :D

REALITY: In the first five minutes I accidentally lay my hand across the two buttons on my keyless entry panel that LOCK the doors(the UNLOCK code no longer works)....with my keys, wallet, cell phone, water, and money all inside. It was noon, September, Florida......Oops. I walked to a shop and borrowed their phone to call my wife, who could be there by 6:00 pm with my spare key after work.

Being the positive trooper that I am, I said..."All is not lost" and proceeded to give my Ford Exporer the best exterior detailing it has had in awhile.


RESULTS: My first contact was an old bum who walked up to me with a 5 gal bucket full of old rags, some wax, and other bottles of God knows what in it. He had a sleeveless T-xxxx with a Confederate flag on it and the words Git-R-Done Detailing. He told me he was a detailer and his "trick" was that he got to all his jobs by city bus. I asked him how he gets water into his bucket. He replied that most of the cars he does aren't that dirty so he just wipes them down and gives them a real good wax job. He then commenced giving me tips on the finer points of detailing. :wall

The bum left after about 10 minutes. After that I got about 5 drive ups asking for prices and a card. ( I have a flier with my price list) I got one full detail scheduled for an F150 for the next day. At about 4:30, the grocery store manager came out and told me I couldn't be set up there...the store owned the lot (no I didn't get permission) :wall
I had to take my sunshade down and put away all my equipment. But that was okay, because the sun soon went away and we had one of the worst thunderstorms we've had in weeks over the next hour. My rig was in the farthest section of the lot away from the buildings and my trailer is an open model. So I sat under a tree to be close enough that my wife would see me when she showed up.

My wife finally showed up and rescued my tired, wet butt. I will never do that again.
 
over the last week and a half i have been flyering picked out newer cars at the wal mart and canadian tire stores near my house with my business card and pricelists hoping to get some calls comming in . once my 30 flyers are all gone i think i might hit the small sport car part shops or something to get some clients
 
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