Question Concerning Friends and Detailing

I

Imatk

New member
So I have friends that have pretty much taken the piss with me about detailing. Saying I was crazy, anal, etc. etc. etc. for washing / detailing my car so much.



I just had a guy (not a friend) come up to me this weekend while I was polishing my car and say, "You know you can pay people to do that for you."



Anyway so NOW after I've gotten better with my PC and my friends have seen the results they now want me to do their cars!!!



Thing is... I love doing it, but it is definately a lot of work to do a car properly and I totally understand why people get paid very well to do it.



So on the one hand I want to do it for my friends and help them out... also I just enjoy doing it... but on the other hand it's kind of... I don't know annoying that they made fun of me and are now wanting to benefit from my hard work.



What should I do?



Thanks again everyone... this place makes me feel like I'm not so "crazy, anal, etc. etc. etc."
 
Imatk said:
So I have friends that have pretty much taken the piss with me about detailing. Saying I was crazy, anal, etc. etc. etc. for washing / detailing my car so much.



I just had a guy (not a friend) come up to me this weekend while I was polishing my car and say, "You know you can pay people to do that for you."



Anyway so NOW after I've gotten better with my PC and my friends have seen the results they now want me to do their cars!!!



Thing is... I love doing it, but it is definately a lot of work to do a car properly and I totally understand why people get paid very well to do it.



So on the one hand I want to do it for my friends and help them out... also I just enjoy doing it... but on the other hand it's kind of... I don't know annoying that they made fun of me and are now wanting to benefit from my hard work.



What should I do?



Thanks again everyone... this place makes me feel like I'm not so "crazy, anal, etc. etc. etc."
Click to expand...



The fact that they now come running to you should be all the satisfaction you need. If they are truly your boys, then have them pay a few bucks for teh supplies you will use $20 beans or so and lunch/drinks in addition to having them help you so they understandjust how much work goes into it! Then they will have a deeper appreciation for your work and not take you for granted and ask every 3-4 months! I say give the first one as a freebie and after that just make up excuses that you are busy or that you're getting paid for one and can't do the freebie.
 
I have my friends (guys) help me out with the work, they buy the supplies and keep them so they can do it themself later. As for the women... I just cut the prices in half and they are happy.
 
When I first started out Idid a few friends cars just for the practice. Now that I am doing it for money my friends are like anyone else. Make an appointment and bring your checkbook! They have to understand that your time is worth something. If they want it bad enough they will pay for it. If you are still wanting the practice then by all means knock yourself out and hook them up! They can pay for the products and lunch to compensate you for your time and energy. Friends might warrant a discount.....but only if they don't "expect" it.
 
I volunteered to do my next-door neighbor's car this past Sunday. It was just a quick wax and wax, I invested about an hour. Since we moved here a year ago he's always acted aloof toward us. He's about the the same age and has a kid in the same grade as our oldest, but he would barely acknowledge us in passing, if that much. I decided to do a little bridge-building and offered to wash and wax his car. It turned out fairly well, especially for the time I had available. On top of that, he hung around the whole time and we had a nice chat, with him helping me do the final buffing.



Diplomacy through detailing. :bigups
 
Imatk said:
So on the one hand I want to do it for my friends and help them out... also I just enjoy doing it... but on the other hand it's kind of... I don't know annoying that they made fun of me and are now wanting to benefit from my hard work.



What should I do?
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Do they help you out with something when you need it? Did they ever help you out without any prior favors by you, just because they are nice? Do they help you out with something even after you give them hard time, especially if you gave them hard time exactly about same thing? If yes is the answer to either one of these then they are friends and things go both ways, treat them like they treat you. If not they are probably just acquaintances and don't go in same category like friends.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone... I appreciate it.



I'm thinking perhaps they are more like acquaintances like you wrote Zoran.



So I guess I'll just give it a pass :)
 
What do they do? I've been using my new Vapormaster and some products on my neighbor's cars for practice. He owns a paint store so he brings me painter's tape and foam brushes for a permanent trim repair kit I am learning. Maybe your "friends" can trade something of value?



Rob
 
For my real true friends I'd work for nothing. I get them involved in doing the simple things. Its nice if you can show someone how to do something the right way.



Oh yeah, they do know to bring beer.

When it comes to the friend of a friend...$$$ is the only way to go.
 
I charge my friends. I used to hook them up with free or extremely cheap but now good friends get a good price, not so good friends get a not so good price. Its up to you. A detail is a lot of time and hard work, I have some friends that don't realize that and don't care to take the time to so they can kiss my arse and pay me. The ones that do understand and hang out while I'm working, they are the ones that get a real good price cut. I offered a really good friend of mine a deal and he said no. Thats a good friend. He knows how much work it is. I told him a price and he thought I was giving him a deal(wich I was) but I told him I wasnt and that was that. Other friends will just come out and say "hey I got like 20 bucks, wanna detail my car this weekend? " No, but thanks.
 
I usually do different discounts depending on that person's relationship to me but I generally follow this:



Family - 50% off

Close friends - 25% off

Referrals / Friend of friends - 10% off
 
I too am kinda going through the "what do you charge friends" phase.

My BEST friend, who is the kinda guy that would do anything within his power/abilaty for me, and me the same for him (We're always helping eachother out with misc favors and stuff, towing cars, driving eachother to pick up cars, etc.), I've got no problem at all cleaning his car for free. Its an 84 Datsun Maxima that he paid 300 bucks for, he loves those cars to death (He has 2 of them), but uses them for whatever he needs to do (He dragged home a couch on the roof of the car a few weeks ago for example), so I've got no problem putting a lot of effort into the interior for him, but obviously I'm not gonna spend hours and hours making the exterior flawless. A simple wash and wax is good enough for that car, and is more than he even asks.

His girlfriend (they're not on the best of terms as of lately....well, the last year or however, LOL) has a black Q45, and their roommates have a gold PT Cruiser. I told both of them that I'd do both cars for $40/ea. The cruiser being a fairly new car with a light color and the owners not really being too picky about their car, just wantint it to be clean and neat, I washed, clayed, and waxed. Due to the weather and our conflicting schedules, I havnt finished the interior, but I'm doing a fairly simple but thorough job. The Q45 on the other hand, its a little older, they bought it used, and its black, so the paint looks HORRIBLE. I plan on going all out and seeing just how good my PC can get the swirls out. I'd say she's a good friend, and she always offers me the opportunity to pick up a job or two with her company (pays pretty good, but its a per-job sorta deal) when they're available, so I think 40 bucks for what would normally be like a 185 dollar job is fair enough. Covers my expenses, and I know that she's going to get me a LOT of referals.

The guy that owns the convenience store down the street from me has a silver Integra, and we chat when we see eachother around, I dont even know his name, but he stopped by my house to borrow a few tools to install an intake on his car today, and i told him about my detailing business. He first off told me to bring some business cards by the store next time I was in the area and he would gladly put them on display on the counter and promised to recomend my services to people he thought might be interested. He asked how much to detail his car, I told him 110 for the whole thing. Again, normally a $150ish job (being a silver car in relativly good shape), I think thats fair enough, and he was more than happy with the price. If I get a lot of customers from that store though, I'll be more than glad to offer him some freebies every once and a while.

As far as family, neither of my parents really care all that much about their cars being perfect. My dad has backed his G35x into the garage door a few times (Dont ask), he drives the front bumper up over the parking space curbs or whatever, and my mom drives a goofy-*** minivan and doesnt particularly need it to be perfect. I do their cars for free, but I dont bother doing anything too fancy. Girlfriend obviously gets the best I have to offer for free, I'll be more than happy to do her parents cars/trucks for free, but again, they're light colored vehicles and are in decent shape, so I dont think I'd bother polishing them.
 
HenrikP said:
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
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Build a man a fire, and he's warm for a day.



Set a man on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.



Wait, what?

Tort



:D
 
ZoranC said:
Or they can always "pay", not neccessarily in money. Cost of job = New collection of products for you.
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Be like, "I'll tell you what, I've been hearing great things about this little company called Zymol and the Concours wax they sell. I'll put one free coat on for you if you buy the jar."



Him: "Sure, ok, here's my charge card.".......$175 later. :idea :D :chuckle:
 
Nimble said:
Be like, "I'll tell you what, I've been hearing great things about this little company called Zymol and the Concours wax they sell. I'll put one free coat on for you if you buy the jar."



Him: "Sure, ok, here's my charge card.".......$175 later. :idea :D :chuckle:
Click to expand...





:chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle:
 
Nimble said:
Be like, "I'll tell you what, I've been hearing great things about this little company called Zymol and the Concours wax they sell. I'll put one free coat on for you if you buy the jar."



Him: "Sure, ok, here's my charge card.".......$175 later. :idea :D :chuckle:
Click to expand...

Even better, it has to be applied with Metabo :D
 
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