Very unprofessional situation..

2

2StepsAhead

New member
After doing a friends truck I was asked to take a look at his boss's sl500. Car had a clear bra line that he wanted touched up and some stains by the gas tank...didn't look like a big deal so I said sure. I call today to pick up the car and I get "well, I kinda want you to take my bmw tomorrow instead.."



So now I ask some questions and I'm hit with...its a repaint, badly swirled and there's stains on the interior that need to be addressed...so now I'm working with a repaint...more defects then I had intended and more interior space + stains to work on...and he ends with the sl 500 is smaller so it won't need as much time as the bmw so I figure ill give you the bmw for the full day..



I explain I never saw an evaluated the car so I'm going to have to look at it...but it will be at night so I picked up a brinkmann (which isn't as bright as I had expected btw...) and that I still need plenty of time to work on any car because its not just size, its condition and I explained I only work on the weekends anyway so I can devote the full day to a car anyway...



Very unprofessional but I could really use the work at this moment in life...but now I'm a little ticked off to put it nicely...
 
I understand your point of view...



We kinda due it just the other way, we just take 'em as they come.

Yes, we quote over the phone! "...barring extraordinary circumstances."



Now, we do three and four cars a day, over twenty cars per week. It does tend to even out, at least in my mind.



Have fun!



Jim
 
whats the big deal? he wants you to do two cars...be thankful...



i dont get why its so unprofessional....instead of the SL on day one and the BMW on day two, its the other way around...am i missing something? obviously you are going to charge more for the BMW...so think of it as you get more money sooner this way
 
toyotaguy said:
whats the big deal? he wants you to do two cars...be thankful...



i dont get why its so unprofessional....instead of the SL on day one and the BMW on day two, its the other way around...am i missing something? obviously you are going to charge more for the BMW...so think of it as you get more money sooner this way
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That's what I was thinking. It would be a different situation if he expected you to charge the same amount for both vehicles.



Lorne
 
Well I look at it like this, if I was having carpeting done...I had the installers come size everything up and make measurements, make sure they can handle the work and I picked out the carpet I wanted...I would feel like I would be throwing a monkey wrench in the works if I called the night before and said oh by the way you're doing a different color carpet in a different size room ok?



I'm not really a big fan of people telling me how long something will take me either, who says the SL will take less? Him? It took me 7 hours to do the Syclone which is also a two seater/smaller vehicle, I go more by vehicle shape then size. If a car is in good condition I have less work cut out for me...also I've never even taken a look at or determined how far gone the BMW is, I'm doing this stuff as side work and maybe I can't personally do much for how horrible he makes his re-paint out to be..



I don't know...obviously I made a bigger deal out of this then it was but I just felt an agreement is an agreement and if I didn't call, when was he going to spring this on me?...I'm sure had I done the SL500 for xxx price and he came to pick it up and I said oh by the way, I charged you xxxx he would've been a little angry because thats not the agreement we reached.
 
2StepsAhead said:
So now I ask some questions and I'm hit with...its a repaint, badly swirled and there's stains on the interior that need to be addressed...so now I'm working with a repaint...more defects then I had intended and more interior space + stains to work on...Very unprofessional but I could really use the work at this moment in life...but now I'm a little ticked off to put it nicely...
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More work = more $$$. Don't quote the guy a price unless he asks. Price out what you think is fair and negotiate from there. If you quoted him a price on the other vehicle, base it off of that and stick to your guns. People do this all the time. "My wife grabbed the wrong car today, so I'll drop off this one off instead". Make the most out of the situation, do an awsome job and treat the guy as professional as possible and you'll do fine. If not, hold the car hostage until he pays you in full. :spit: :idea :grinno:
 
2StepsAhead said:
...but I just felt an agreement is an agreement ....
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So what you’re saying is that the customer was unprofessional.



Well, yes, he was. He’s not the professional here, you are. Sure, it’s annoying. But you’re just going to get some percentage of that when you deal with the general public. Comes with the territory.



Sounds like you handled it professionally. So hold your head high, do your job the way you know how to do it and take the money.





PC.
 
toyotaguy said:
whats the big deal? he wants you to do two cars...be thankful...



i dont get why its so unprofessional....instead of the SL on day one and the BMW on day two, its the other way around...am i missing something? obviously you are going to charge more for the BMW...so think of it as you get more money sooner this way
Click to expand...



I also feel the same way. Maybe I don't know my Beamers and Benz too well, but isn't an SL the largest sedan MB makes? Wouldn't a Beamer (lets say 7 series) be about the same size? If it's a bad repaint and you think it's going to be more work, just charge more. The only thing I could see why someone would get upset over this was if the guy wanted to pay only the amount you quoted for the SL. Otherwise, I see nothing unprofessional and nothing to be ticked off about. He's willing to give his business to you twice! He could easily just hire someone else. You say you need the money too. Beggars can't be choosers!
 
If something that trivial sets you off what will you do on a no-show, threaten them with bodily harm? You say you need the work and now you have a two car deal going where it was one before..........sorry I just don't understand the problem.
 
Sorry to hear, but hey you get 2 details out of it. Btw, did you fully charge the brinkmann? It probably isn't as bright as possible out of the package.



Greg
 
I can understand your frustration at him changing cars but you should price the car accordingly and if he balks then he is not worth your time anyways. Sounds like you explained to me why the car will take longer so he should understand too.



Always expect the customer to be a problem and to try and anticipate their needs ahead of time. That is pretty much true in all retail for the average customer.



As long as he knows YOUR bottom line and understands what you are doing then you got a bonus, two cars instead of a quickie job on one.



PS DONT underprice yourself. Sounds like he knows the car is a problem and just wanted to rationalize to himself when he mentioned the size thing.



Good luck (and post pics) lol
 
BlackElantraGT said:
I also feel the same way. Maybe I don't know my Beamers and Benz too well, but isn't an SL the largest sedan MB makes? Wouldn't a Beamer (lets say 7 series) be about the same size? If it's a bad repaint and you think it's going to be more work, just charge more. The only thing I could see why someone would get upset over this was if the guy wanted to pay only the amount you quoted for the SL. Otherwise, I see nothing unprofessional and nothing to be ticked off about. He's willing to give his business to you twice! He could easily just hire someone else. You say you need the money too. Beggars can't be choosers!
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SL is a two seater.



Just make sure the customer understands that based on the condition of the BMW, it will cost more to detail than what you quoted for the SL.
 
the other pc said:
So what you’re saying is that the customer was unprofessional.



Well, yes, he was. He’s not the professional here, you are. Sure, it’s annoying. But you’re just going to get some percentage of that when you deal with the general public. Comes with the territory.



Sounds like you handled it professionally. So hold your head high, do your job the way you know how to do it and take the money.





PC.
Click to expand...



Definitely agree with PC here. Though it is a little bit unprofessional for the client to change plans all of a sudden, like PC said, that naturally comes with the territory. You meet all types of people from different walks of life and if you're going to serve them doing details, you have to deal with all of them, like it or not. Either way, you always have to maintain your composure and be the bigger and better professional, no matter the circumstances.



Just look at it on the bright side, you have 2 cars instead of 1 now. That should mean more revenue correct? :getdown
 
Well I took the car and his last words were well if you do a good job on this car then we can do the SL...so I went from an easy car to a nightmare and I might not even get the SL at this point because who ever repainted this thing was given the nickname Corey "swirls" They claim he buffed the car using a wool pad put on an angle grinder...but I don't know how much of this I believe, but the clear is amazingly tough to get through, I'm taking a little break right now to see if there is anything OTC I can go grab quick to try and cut this clear coat a little more.
 
Make sure to take pics for us!



My reply would've been really different, but gosh that last post you gave us just kind of irritates me. But you know what I would look at every situation no matter what as an opportunity. Customers are always going to be customers, they can nice, mean, or just troublesome either way you're need to meet their needs and fulfill it or else they won't return for a second time. Give him customer service beyond what he expects and who knows it might blow him away!



But as long as he compensating you right for the BMW I don't really see it being much of an issue so far... just keep your cool and be as professional as possible!
 
now that is a really bad move on his part...make sure to charge accordingly, especially in case you dont get the SL...but dont change the price on the SL at all...just charge the BMW what you think is fair...
 
After reading your last post, it sounds like he got cold feet with letting you detail the benz. He's possibly "testing" you on the beater.
 
Yeah he definitely was...I know its not a big deal, I guess my post might have come off worse then it was.



I just felt it was a weird move to let me see one car, access it and say ok I can do that, then pull out a monstrosity at night. This was a wake up call for me though, I'm relatively new to this and have few tools at my disposal and now I know if I want to pursue this effectively I need to start expanding.



Oh well, here she is:

http://autopia.org/forum/click-brag/89109-7-series-today.html
 
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