Pricing adjustments for repeat customers...

L

LeadingEdgeDetail

New member
I'm just wondering, is it customary to lower prices if the same person gets you to come back and do additional cars?



A Scenario that comes to mind...



Car #1 is an '02 Jeep Cherokee, Claybar, KlasseAIO, shampoo carpets, basic full detail.

Car #2 is a '55 VW Bug ShowCar, waxed wheelwells, undercarriage, engine bay, EVERYWHERE. The car did not have a spec of dirt anywhere from anything.

I charged him $300 for the Bug and $180 for the Cherokee. Working from 9am until about 8pm.



About 3 days later, he called me to detail his Dodge Ram and his Wife's Neon. I did the truck, but lack of shade caused me to abandon the Neon, and I merely gave him a free wash and vacuum for the Neon. He was more than happy!



Now he has called me again and wants the bug done again for a car show on Sunday, as well as his Wife's Karmann Ghia show car.

He also wants his Dodge Ram fully detailed again, as well.



I would not feel comfortable charging the same price as before, but I also don't want to give up something when I don't have to!



Lately I have been much faster detailing than I ever used to, enabling me to do 2 or even 3 cars per day... That can be $200 each, so $600 for a 12 hour day.. That would be fine and dandy for 3 seperate people, but a single guy? I can't bring myself to do that!



How would you guys work this?
 
I think regardless of who it is, lowering the price is up to you. I wouldn't do it too often though as they might expect it from you the next time you detail the car.



Charge for whatever is being done. If anything, throw in something extra instead of giving a discount. That will probably make them happy as well.
 
tustah said:
Charge for whatever is being done. If anything, throw in something extra instead of giving a discount. That will probably make them happy as well.
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agreed - that is what I do and its usually a floormat cleaning for free and takes about 10 minutes....its not a thorough cleaning, more like a spot cleaning
 
they are calling you back because your price justified the quality of work that you have provided for them.



Have you ever seen a lawyer lowering his/her fee for repeat clients?



If this is how you make your living don't EVER sell yourself short.



One other thing that you can do is charge the same price but send ME the discount amount that you don't feel good about taking - that way all 3 of us would be happy.



I am here to help. :D:D:D :funnypost :funnypost :funnypost
 
^^^^^^ thats true also and why I only do it for those who are three or 4 details in, and only every other 5 months or so!....so it comes out to twice a year roughly
 
The customer is a "Whatever it takes, make it perfect" type of person... Not the type you try and "upsell", because they have already upsold themselves as far as they can go!



:Paypal:
 
StumpyDetailing said:
The customer is a "Whatever it takes, make it perfect" type of person... Not the type you try and "upsell", because they have already upsold themselves as far as they can go!



:Paypal:
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It's obvious the customer likes the quality of work you do , if he was unhappy about price he wouldn't call you back . Treat him right and you'll both be happy . How long ago did you do a full detail on the Ram that he fells the need for another one? :buffing:
 
It is Ok to lower the price, because you previously detailed it.

I estimate my prices by time not by vehicle.



So a vehicle I have detailed before will take less time, unless they trashed it.



thats why its important to evaluate each vehicle's condition
 
If you are doing less work, then you should charge less money, but explain to the customer that their vehicle required less steps to fully detail than last time. That way, it will encourage them to call you more to keep their cars as close to perfection as possible, making them even easier to detail each time. You can end up making more money because even though you may be charging less for the job, it is also taking you less time and enables you to do other cars that day, or that customer just having you do all their cars in one day instead of having to split it over 2.
 
Scottwax said:
If you are doing less work, then you should charge less money, but explain to the customer that their vehicle required less steps to fully detail than last time. That way, it will encourage them to call you more to keep their cars as close to perfection as possible, making them even easier to detail each time. You can end up making more money because even though you may be charging less for the job, it is also taking you less time and enables you to do other cars that day, or that customer just having you do all their cars in one day instead of having to split it over 2.
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That is the exact way I am thinking :)



I won't give him an estimate, I'll just tell him it'll be less than last time, and I'll figure out how much it took once I finish :)



Then charge him a combined price for that and his other car, and he'll be more than happy, and I'll have made $400 in 7 hours, or $57 per hour :)
 
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