Questions for the mobile detailers out there

W

White95Max

New member
1. How do you find shade when you detail cars at someone else's place? Do you only use sun-friendly products like PB's?



2. How do they find out about you? Word-of-mouth? Phone book ad? Business cards?



I'm sure I can think of more just give me a while.



BTW I'm seriously considering becoming mobile this year to add more convenience for clients, and I can generate more business too by talking with clients' neighbors.



I'm motivated too, because the more jobs I can do, and the sooner I do them, the faster I can afford a new car, new wheels, and new tires! :cool:
 
Is that what the other mobile guys have? I thought about getting one of those canopies...I just wondered about it being a PITA to set up in windy conditions. I wouldn't want it to fall on the car or something.
 
I got one last fall on clearance at ****'s Sporting Goods...Spilchy uses one, and I think someone else had posted that they had them on closeout. I haven't taken mine out of the box. Spilchy is the man to ask...I think he put some wheels on his.
 
I don't remember. It's a 10'x10'. The box says $130; I think it was half price or something, or maybe $70 or $80. I was a bit crazed when I bought it...I think from standing in the sun working on a car...
 
That brings up another reason to get a canopy....sunburn. Shade is great, but if it's not naturally available, I would really like to have some way of producing my own shade.
 
Be careful of the cheap ones. I have two that I use for my track team and they are a pain to set up. The other two from Costco (192 each) came with side walls, weight bags, and the legs are much better constructed. I set up two for a 10x20 area of shade. In the wind, it's not very wise to try and use them. I had one in my own driveway once..I was visiting a relative in the hospital and actually thought I should go home and check it out because it was getting windy. When I got home it was about 5 houses down the street, my truck was damaged, and the canopy was ruined.



When detailing at actual customers' homes I find there is ample shade within their property and then detailing in the garage is usually possible.



I mostly use the canopies when at businesses.



Good luck with the mobile operation, Rob
 
That's a good idea to use the garage at their location if they don't have shade. I'd guess that most of the time people are paying for a detail, they are doing so on a garage-kept car so they have space in a garage.



What about electric power? Do you guys carry a generator or use their electricity?
 
lots of thetime your stuck in the sun anyway. Thats when you invest in some poorboys/Clearkote products. Im partially mobile but i only do it on weekends. SO theres no need for a canopy for me. Word of mouth is the cheapest and best way to get clientel. Also freebies to prove yourself if your worthy.
 
1. I try to schedule details so I can do the polishing and sealing early in the morning or late in the day when the sun isn't so direct if no shade is available. Poorboy's and Clearkote products do make it much easier if you do have to polish in the heat of the day.



I've seen a lot of canopies on sale lately, but the wind is always blowing around here. I'd need some kind of cement base to keep it from blowing over.



BTW, I wear a ton of sunscreen from spring through late fall.



2. Flyers really helped me in the beginning. Getting listed in the phone book helps too, but if you do excellent work you will get a good reputation and your customers will do your advertising for you. Once I had done a total of 1000 cars, I had a client list large enough to keep me busy without advertising myself. You get the repeat and the referrals. Only 6% of my new business comes from the yellow pages or my website.



3. I use my customer's plugs. It has never been a problem. Many of my customers have maid services and I've yet to see a maid bring a generator for their vacuums. There are some office complexes where electricity isn't easy to come by so if you do a lot of work in office complexes, you will probably need a generator.



I wish I could find a really compact one, even though it may be only a few times a year when I really need one. Besides, in residential areas, I think most people would rather you use their outlets than run a generator for a couple of hours.
 
Scottwax said:
Besides, in residential areas, I think most people would rather you use their outlets than run a generator for a couple of hours.
Click to expand...



That's what I was thinking. After a few minutes listening to the generator, the neighbors would be more than willing to run an extension cord over so they wouldn't have to put up with the noise!



Do you carry a vacuum in your 626?
 
Just another comment about watching out for cheap canopies. I knew better, yet for some reason thought a $60 sale canopy at Dicks Sporting Goods would do the trick... basically, it took my dad and I a half hour to get it up, and when I went to take it down... the thing wouldn't move. I ended up bending or breaking at least 9 out of 10 of the little bars just to get the thing taken down.



I found a $40 used EZ-UP brand canopy (suposidly the best of the best!) but it's only 8x8... not sure what I can even use it for, but the price is right.. lol
 
You can fit it in the trunk or do you put it in the back seat?



I have a 5HP Craftsman Wet/Dry Vac that I could use, or I also have a big dustbuster (not much suction though). I'm not sure about fitting the Craftsman Vac into the Max though, and if it won't fit in the Max it probably wouldn't fit in the Protege either. :(
 
So basically I would need to carry:

Vacuum

QEW and buckets (w/ GritGuard)

lots of MFs

All of my products except extra jars/bottles of products (so I don't leave some critical product at home)

PC with all my pads

extension cord

Camera

Business cards to hand out to neighbors if they inquire.



Anything else?
 
i have a question about the wet/dry vac with a blower option it. i have a rigid that has that but im not sure what to use the blower on. can someone help explain
 
You can use the blower option to blow water out of crevices in the car.

You could also use it to speed up the drying process for floor mats.
 
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