Question for those who operate out of their home....

512detail

512detail

New member
As I`m sure you do, I receive many calls weekly about potential details.

I received one today at lunch that raised that red flag in the back of my mind.

The caller did not want to talk about a job or a potential job, he just insisted on knowing exactly where I was located.

All I would release was that I was not a brick and mortar building and was located in a residential home in Kyle.

He said "I know where Kyle is, but where specifically are you located?" in a very demanding tone.

I inquired again what type of vehicle he had and what type of service he was inquiring about.

He would only ask me where I was located.

I advised him I do not just give out my location and if he wanted an estimate I could come to him, or meet him anywhere within a 40 mile radius of Kyle.

He said "forget it" and hung up

(now maybe I just see the worst in people these days, but I think he was wanting to case my house as Kyle is a very small town and it takes less than 10 mins to go across the entire town)

Which brings me to my question...

At what point do you (Or should I) actually have the customer come over to your home (my home)?

I know that was just one of those one-off type calls but it really got me thinking about the risks associated with having that type of money inside my garage.

I have a security system but no cameras, so I guess saving up for cameras is going to be my next move.

I now find myself rethinking all these people who drive over for estimates and I already try to keep my garage closed as much as possible so people don`t see inside.

Just wanted to open up this discussion...

I`ve only been doing this three years out of my house and have not had any issues but I guess it`s better to be proactive with regards to something like this than reactive.

-Brandt K.
 
I`m not most people, so my advice will probably not be the best. The first thing I would do is get that phone number that called you, see if I could get the caller`s name and address from a reverse directory listing. If not, I`d contact every solar panel company, every local church and charity, every local car dealership, every low interest lender, and give that guys number to them. Maybe next time he`ll think twice before badgering someone on the phone. I`ve zero time and tolerance for that type of person.

To answer your question, though...I would not have someone come to my house for an estimate, only to have the work done, and only then if I knew them well enough. If you offer a lower price to do the work at someone else`s house, they typically go for it, since they do not have any drop-off/pick up complications.
 
You did the right thing, it could have been another detailer too, but your first instinct is usually the right one.
 
JBM said:
You did the right thing, it could have been another detailer too, but your first instinct is usually the right one.
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never thought about the other detailer possibility

I`ve seen a few other people come and go in the past 3 years so it wouldn`t surprise me

I kind of miss those other guys too because I know I sent them most of their business, lol
 
pgp said:
Could it be the "Tax man" -local business license department ?
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susan combs (comptroller in tx) doesn`t recognize my business as a taxable entity :)

I have a dba filed and I filed my truck as property for my business and they don`t tax me on it
 
I am on your side and would be very weary about the way the conversation was going in your opinion. But thinking further into it I came up with this thought...

If you had a brick and mortar place would you have answered his question? Other than it being the place you live there really is no difference between a shop and your home (as far as having "that type of money inside my garage") cause you would have the same things at your shop.
 
dcjredline said:
I am on your side and would be very weary about the way the conversation was going in your opinion. But thinking further into it I came up with this thought...

If you had a brick and mortar place would you have answered his question? Other than it being the place you live there really is no difference between a shop and your home (as far as having "that type of money inside my garage") cause you would have the same things at your shop.
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great point and I thought that as well

I still think I need to be more careful in general

still figuring stuff out I guess
 
I think you did the right thing Brandt. Why give anyone information that isnt willing to do the same? You don`t do this to feed yourself so why put yourself in a position you aren`t comfortable with? Your work speaks for itself, stick with good people that you have a connection of some sort with is my opinion.
 
So sketchy, i would have asked him "may i ask why you are insistent in knowing my exact location?" to see what the answer was... which was probably going to be the same one before hanging up on you haha. I agree with what was mentioned in regards to a shop. When i have someone`s car in my garage, i actually feel better than if i would have a shop because people will figure no one will be at the shop, making it a potentially easier target and at Home, well, i`m at Home and i got retired neighbors who are always Home and constantly coming outside to hang out.

I`m leaning more towards the possibility of it being another detailer trying to check your place out .
 
Because of this post I took my exact info off my FB and regular web pages. I think it is still a good idea as you do!
 
Migue said:
I`m leaning more towards the possibility of it being another detailer trying to check your place out .
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Man I really hope that guy who did Ron`s black vette isn`t down here in Texas trying to stomp on my turf.

This is Mopar territory, haha

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My wife and I were just thinking about this the other day. I live in a small quite town on a dead end street. Plus I am a stay at home dad with retired neighbors so I generally always home either working in the garage or watching the kiddos.

My first thought reading this was it was the local tax collector.
 
I hope that if it was, they don`t get "smart" and call again posing as a client that wants to drop by,give you all the car info and trick one into giving an address.
 
If you`re going to be legit, you`re going to have total transparency with your location. I personally wouldn`t feel comfortable doing business with someone (giving them my vehicle) if they tried not disclosing their location to me.
 
David Fermani said:
If you`re going to be legit, you`re going to have total transparency with your location. I personally wouldn`t feel comfortable doing business with someone (giving them my vehicle) if they tried not disclosing their location to me.
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I agree David but within the context of this call, I was not comfortable giving my location. He was not at all inquiring about a detail. I even directly asked him if he was. He was inquiring about where I was located only. And btw if you look in google my location clearly shows up a few houses down from where I actually live, so if he found my phone number online, then he could also see the map marker I have placed on google.

I have no problem with transparency and I`d like to think I`m a pretty good person to have detail one`s car, but this was different IMO.



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Justins00ss said:
My first thought reading this was it was the local tax collector.
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The texas comptroller does not tax me. Im a registered, legitimate business. I file taxes on my truck through my dba every year. Irs, however, another story, lol.

Trust me, i used to own half a liquor store and my business partner /friend caused a lot of trouble with the comptroller/irs so I am familiar with tax man issues, which do not apply to me here. If he was the tax man wth not identify as one? I know the IRS doesnt call, this was something different, something fishy.

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