Psycho Customer Story

R

RAG

New member
Man,



IF you've been in business long enough, you're just bound to run into ignorant and looney customers - fortunately I've only ran into a couple really bad ones in my day...and normally I wouldn't publicize a "negative" dealing with a customer, but I can't pass on this one:



About 6 or 7 months ago a secretary for a company I do a lot of high-end detailing for brought me her new BMW (black). Long of the short, the dealer performed a "courtesy buff" and swirled the hell out of the paint, and when I mentioned her "new" paint had a problem and that she should have the dealer fix it or may me $250 to do so...she absolutely freaked (previous thread with pictures: http://autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/79314-dealership-strikes-again.html). After feaking out on me, for the next 6 months or so till last week.



Last week she brings me her car for a wash and "interior cleanup" and car wash. My empoyee and I couldn't believe how bad the car was inside and out...man was the paint TORN UP! After looking at her paint and wheels that will now not come clean, I thought to myself: "maybe now she realized why she can't take her car to the local tunel car wash every week". But No. She freaked out when I charged her $25 for a car wash and $50 for a partial interior detail (over an hour spent on the inside). She made a big deal about how I was taking advantage of people just because they didn't have time to take their car to the car wash (presumabley because the car wash is such a better "deal").



Anyways, her tone and attitude was quite disturbing to say the least.
 
Yeah... you'll never be able to win with those type of people. They just don't understand what goes into a detail vs. the local swirl-o-tunnel. To them its basically the same thing other than the fact that you come to them instead. Maybe if she looks a bit more closely at all of the customer's cars that you do work for at her company, perhaps she'll realize the difference, but I doubt it. Not that you should even care. People like this who expect a whole lot for next to nothing are not your customers anyways. btw, did you not quote her a price for the service beforehand?
 
People like her are exactly why I no longer have a yellow page listing. 90% of what I was getting the last few years from the phone book were like her. Trashed cars and no understanding of what a real detail costs.
 
You know what I do with those kind of customers, I send them to the tunnel wash down the road and politely say if you want your vehicle professionaly detailed feel free to stop by foranother estimate, but it will probaly cost more. None ofthem have come back, but those kind of cutomers I have dealt with before and you can never make them happy so just politely point them towards someone else the can nickel and dime. Just my two cents!
 
Scottwax said:
People like her are exactly why I no longer have a yellow page listing. 90% of what I was getting the last few years from the phone book were like her. Trashed cars and no understanding of what a real detail costs.
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Does a $400 /hr. lawyer take advantage of a client when he charges $400 for a simple phone call on behalf of said client? No, this is what it cost to do business with a professional. End of story.







Scottwax:



That holds true for ANY business...



Unless you are selling sandwiches, or own any high volume-low price business, dont waste your cash on the Yellow Pages.
 
I always let the customer know up front what a job will cost. Before I touch it we are in agreement on cost and what I will do.



This allows the loony ones to lose it before I waste my time on their vehicle.
 
The location where I detail also runs a tunnel wash (touchless).

I love assisting people that spend $8 on the automatic wash and complain it didn't clean their car very well then procede to ask me if I vacuum the inside for them. I just tell them that I charge $70 per hour to vacuum their car and if they want it clean they can pay me $35 and I'll do it by hand. Otherwise, "it looks pretty good for $8".
 
"I don't clean cars, I DETAIL cars!"



that is what tell people when they question the price sometimes....then it goes into why my way is better than the local car wash
 
She made a big deal about how I was taking advantage of people just because they didn't have time to take their car to the car wash
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:LOLOL



what a sad perception of reality she has. so with her logic, any business is taking advantage of anyone...just because the customer doesn't "have time" to do it themselves. yes...yes. excellent thought process. i guess transplant surgeons are ripping off recipients when they charge big bucks for a new organ. if only the patient had read their Time Life Home Surgery book series, they could have saved a bundle!!! :p
 
paradigm said:
:LOLOL



what a sad perception of reality she has. so with her logic, any business is taking advantage of anyone...just because the customer doesn't "have time" to do it themselves. yes...yes. excellent thought process. i guess transplant surgeons are ripping off recipients when they charge big bucks for a new organ. if only the patient had read their Time Life Home Surgery book series, they could have saved a bundle!!! :p
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Some people really are wacky. Trying to make sense out of their logic will only give you a headache.:laugh:
 
On my website, I list my wash+wax at starting at 115. I had a lady who called last night with an Expedition, black. She asked if my wash and wax will make her car look like the ones my website (mostly polished cars). I tried to explain to her I wouldn't know unless I looked at her car.



She told me the car was well taken care of and washed every weekend by the kid's at her Church's car wash. It also happened to be a black car. Then she said she would drop it off and pick it up in two hours for 115. I told her it says the prices begin at 115, for a smaller vehicle, and for a bigger SUV it would be 140. She gets all pissey and says that is too much money.



I tell her its no problem and have a nice day. She calls back this morning saying that she will over me 120, I told her no it was 140. She gets pissey and hangs up. Then she calls back and says she will pay 140 but wants it polished. I told her that would likely run north of 300 and probably closer to 400 to do it right, and its not worth it in her case because she lets the little kids wash the car.



She curses and hangs up. I am laughing at this point. She calls back 20 minutes later and starts preaching to me and asking for my forgivness, at which point I reassure her that its okay. She blesses me (20 minutes after cussing) and I haven't heard back yet.
 
TH0001 said:
On my website, I list my wash+wax at starting at 115. I had a lady who called last night with an Expedition, black. She asked if my wash and wax will make her car look like the ones my website (mostly polished cars). I tried to explain to her I wouldn't know unless I looked at her car.



She told me the car was well taken care of and washed every weekend by the kid's at her Church's car wash. It also happened to be a black car. Then she said she would drop it off and pick it up in two hours for 115. I told her it says the prices begin at 115, for a smaller vehicle, and for a bigger SUV it would be 140. She gets all pissey and says that is too much money.



I tell her its no problem and have a nice day. She calls back this morning saying that she will over me 120, I told her no it was 140. She gets pissey and hangs up. Then she calls back and says she will pay 140 but wants it polished. I told her that would likely run north of 300 and probably closer to 400 to do it right, and its not worth it in her case because she lets the little kids wash the car.



She curses and hangs up. I am laughing at this point. She calls back 20 minutes later and starts preaching to me and asking for my forgivness, at which point I reassure her that its okay. She blesses me (20 minutes after cussing) and I haven't heard back yet.
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peace be with you.
 
LOonIes are out there. :P

I won't boar you with my stories, but getting the price out and clear before the work starts helps to fend off the loonies.

I will start getting a Sig on a work order before I start the work very soon. I don't need the worreis about collection of my money at the end of the day.
 
jsatek said:
Does a $400 /hr. lawyer take advantage of a client when he charges $400 for a simple phone call on behalf of said client? No, this is what it cost to do business with a professional. End of story.







Scottwax:



That holds true for ANY business...



Unless you are selling sandwiches, or own any high volume-low price business, dont waste your cash on the Yellow Pages.
Click to expand...
Thats a damn good point, I really like that.
 
I turned down a Black Explorer after the dealer washed it and scratched the hatch .. the guy came to me ranting and raving about the dealer and how he was thinking of threatining to sue him for the damages. Wanted me to try and fix up the mess ..



I graciuosly declined and explained to him that I can do some correction but not scratches to the metal and that I wouldn't make him happy and I didn't need an unhappy customer badmouthing me and sueing me for something he was told up front I couldn't correct.



Nice thing about a small town... word gets out on who is an a$$hole and who isn't and who bitches no matter how good the job is done.
 
Ryan,

I have turned the table on a few customers like this.

When they start bitching about the price I tell them I dont nor dose my employe work for free but it is at no charge and to never call me again. They usualy change their attitude.
 
A bunch of great points here guys. BTW, I feel much better about the whole situation now that a little time is passed...I was pretty bummed on the deal, as I'm used to "amazed" customers, not displeased ones.



Regarding the price - I did not quote her beforehand for a couple reasons. First, she was clearly in a hurry and I was in the middle of drying a car. Second, she gave me vague "marching orders" in a tone that made me feel like I could use my descretion on how much work to do. BUT, this was clearly a mistake...I now wish I would have called her up and told her that the car was a "bit dirtier than I was anticipating (considering it was only 6 months old) and that it would run about $50 to perform a quick touchup on the inside." Then she could have said that's too much money, at which point I would steer her down the road as suggested above. Up till now, I've had many customers "turn me loose" and let me choose how much as needed and have never had anyone express dissatisfaction. But I won't fly this way anymore.
 
toyotaguy said:
"I don't clean cars, I DETAIL cars!"



that is what tell people when they question the price sometimes....then it goes into why my way is better than the local car wash
Click to expand...



This business can be down right depressing sometimes when you come to realize how cheap people are. And it isn't just that they are cheap cause they're driving an $80,000 ride half the time, it's more ignorance than anything. Maybe .05% of people out there have a clue - this is our slim customer base.
 
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