What would be your reply?

This is a great thread! I wish I had something to add (to the topic, that is).



At my kickboxing gym, we see that all the freakin' time. People that say they are black belts in whatever, who come in and are far to good to learn something new-I almost think they don't want to learn a different/new technique for whatever reason. Some don't understand that we are kickboxers and not point fighters...they are fun to spar with! :P
 
We need someone to start up a martial arts thread in the "Hot Tub" forum. Seems like there is a lot of people involved.



Last time my brother and I were driving past the local Audi/MB/Porsche dealer, I remarked how it would be fun to work on some of those cars...to which he replied, "They would never let you do the kind of work you'd want to do, you'd probably hate it" And he's right. There's no fun in not doing the job right.
 
StickKing1 said:
And he's right. There's no fun in not doing the job right.
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Yep:xyxthumbs 100% Agree. If I am going to be detailing high end cars but not have the chance to detail them properly I would rather not detail them at all. Many people would not know or see the difference but if just one did and said, "Geez, their detailer sucks big time!" I would be highly embarrassed and generally feel like doo doo.



I wonder if the service manager of the local Porsche or Ferrari dealer gets picky over the crs they buy? I mean they might not be buying Porsches and such but still, I wonder if they get pissed when their new "black" Pontiac comes from the new car prep area all hacked to hell or if they say to that service manager, "Whatever you do, DON'T detail it!"??



I would love to see a program like Dateline, 20/20 or someother investigative news show do a hidden camera expose on hack detailers, both independant pros and those with dealers. That would be, I am sure, very revealing and interesting, especially for the general public.



Anthony
 
Anthony Orosco said:


His Reply:



"Have you ever waxed a black or dark colored car? If you have, You may have noticed that some waxes leave little sections of the paint darker than the rest of the car.(Hard to explain in words). You avoid this when you work the wax on the paint for over several minutes. Others know what I'm talking about. Hand waxing is for the weekend detailer. I have also found the I get a better shine and the wax lasts longer when it was put on with a machine rather than hand. Plus, when someone in the business waxes 10 cars a day, they don't want their arm to fall off or waste time achieving so-so results.
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Anthony,



I would probably respond with a simple "just trying to help" response. Forums and responses such as what you received make me so happy I found Autopia and these forums - everyone seems eager to help, and none I have read have responses with smart a&^ comments like that guy did to you. I am still a newbie so sorry I cannot for I my 2 cents.:xyxthumbs
 
Anthony Orosco said:
Accumulator ,



Man O man....those kness to the groins are always a shocker:shocked



We used to give women anti-rape clinics and I would always go home just beat up and bruised and needed a day to recover. One gal I was working with was a rape victim and because I stressed our clinics be very realistic she must have had a freakin flash back or something but she locked my fingers up, just as I showed her, and just about broke two of them if I had not screamed out from the sheer pain!:scared :D LOL



Anthony
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1099hijacklive.jpg




....and this is your thead! :lol
 
Mtnsummit,



Thanks for the input. As of yet the guy has yet to respond back to me so I reckon I'll just keep movin on:)



Scott and Shineshop,



LOL.....yeah this thread has taken on a mind of its own. We should see just how far off topic it gets. Anyone have any cooking related stories that deal with self-centered wannabie detailers, hack detailers at dealerships and gung ho martial artists?? Or dates gone wrong? LOL :)



Anthony
 
I saw a detailer use a rotary and Meguiar's #66 QD on a brand spanking new plastic ripped off Hyundai Sonata...Not like BMW's, MB's, RR's, or Bentley's, but give me that car and I'll pamper it.



Martial Arts. I'm just a tan belt in the MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program), but I'm still learning.



Wannabe detailers, hmmmmmmmm saw a can of TW and AA spray stuff in my cousins house (has a Honda Element.) He just cleans to make look good for the average joe.



My reply - Whatever, moving on. You don't deserve my comments.
 
Anthony Orosco said:
I would love to see a program like Dateline, 20/20 or someother investigative news show do a hidden camera expose on hack detailers, both independant pros and those with dealers. That would be, I am sure, very revealing and interesting, especially for the general public.
Click to expand...



Ugh, the bias in those stories is awful. Did you see what Barbra Walters and Co. do to Audi? If they were to do one on detailing, it¡Â¦s very possible they¡Â¦ll have a fake ¡Â§hidden camera¡Â¨ of Scott using a rotary or Anthony doing dealer work.



:rolleyes: :down



Ugh, basically, insignificant events are portrayed as emotional stories that gain sympathy and attention from their viewers¡K here¡Â¦s an example:



http://cbs2.com/specialassign/local_story_206134434.html



Isn¡Â¦t it ironic when their own news vans (not to mention ambulances) are Econolines? The same goes with this article:



http://cbs2.com/specialassign/local_story_051180659.html



The LAPD has yet to drive a Toyota. And only Volvo has a roof that doesn't collapse in a rollover?



Ugh, just imagine some annoying Dateline reporter stalking you, waving a microphone around¡K ¡Â§SIR! IS THIS HOW YOU TREAT CARS??? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY?¡Â¨



Ugh! Bias, bias, bias!
 
Here is a dealership story....



I had a Porsche Boxster that was in my local stealership for some warranty work (sidebar: their first solution to fix the problem was unacceptable to me and basically they had no freaking idea how to fix it…I had to call in the regional Porsche rep. to get if fixed). They knew I was upset and they had the car so long that it accumulated all kinds of dirt and dust on it from sitting in the shop (they forgot I said don’t detail it) that they wanted it to look good when I came and got it. I picked it up on Friday evening at about 5:30. It had been detailed, but the fact that it was artic silver effectively hid the swirling. However nothing would hide the greasy crap they applied to the tires or to all the window, door and convertible top seals. I put down the top and I noticed the greasy crap everywhere. When I inquired why this stuff was all over the car, they replied that the customers really like the shiny look and this stuff last a long time. I being the p#$$ed off smart a$$ that I was asked whether the customers also liked the greasy marks on the windows and the dust, dirt, and other crap that was going to stick to every seal for “a long timeâ€� also? He got my point and wanted to have the car “recleanedâ€�. I said the damage was done and I would work on getting it cleaned up (which took forever because the seals fold and bend over themselves and the stuff was in all the folds). I then proceeded to answered the Porsche telephone questionnaire in the negative about the condition of the car when I picked it up. I got three phone calls from people at various levels of command at the dealership about this in the next couple of weeks. The general manager was really upset and said my answers really hurt them with Porsche and that I should have had them fix the problem. I explained if they would have followed my instructions not to detail none of this would have happened and I could have answered positively on the questionnaire. I get the best service from them now.
 
brian,



Good to hear about the positive outcome, although it bites having to had go through the ordeal to get that service, but hey no pain no gain, eh?



Perhaps you have paved the way for others in regards to that dealership thinking twice about doing the car owner a "favor":xyxthumbs



Anthony
 
bet993 said:
Here is a dealership story....



I had a Porsche Boxster that was in my local stealership for some warranty work (sidebar: their first solution to fix the problem was unacceptable to me and basically they had no freaking idea how to fix it…I had to call in the regional Porsche rep. to get if fixed). They knew I was upset and they had the car so long that it accumulated all kinds of dirt and dust on it from sitting in the shop (they forgot I said don’t detail it) that they wanted it to look good when I came and got it. I picked it up on Friday evening at about 5:30. It had been detailed, but the fact that it was artic silver effectively hid the swirling. However nothing would hide the greasy crap they applied to the tires or to all the window, door and convertible top seals. I put down the top and I noticed the greasy crap everywhere. When I inquired why this stuff was all over the car, they replied that the customers really like the shiny look and this stuff last a long time. I being the p#$$ed off smart a$$ that I was asked whether the customers also liked the greasy marks on the windows and the dust, dirt, and other crap that was going to stick to every seal for “a long timeâ€� also? He got my point and wanted to have the car “recleanedâ€�. I said the damage was done and I would work on getting it cleaned up (which took forever because the seals fold and bend over themselves and the stuff was in all the folds). I then proceeded to answered the Porsche telephone questionnaire in the negative about the condition of the car when I picked it up. I got three phone calls from people at various levels of command at the dealership about this in the next couple of weeks. The general manager was really upset and said my answers really hurt them with Porsche and that I should have had them fix the problem. I explained if they would have followed my instructions not to detail none of this would have happened and I could have answered positively on the questionnaire. I get the best service from them now.
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Interesting about the phone call whining from the GM of the dealer. Everyone remember that dealers are judged by their "CSI" (not the tv show! Customer Satisfaction Index) and that is scored directly by their scores from your survey answers. I recently purchased a new VW Jetta Wolfsberg and told my buddy who is the GM to not have his clean up guy touch the car. He said that they have to at least wash and vacuum the car as part of the PDI process so I said fine but if there is one drop of dressing anywhere on the car or any scratches etc... I would freak. Needless to say when I went to pick it up they went through the features of the car and eventually opened all the doors and the hood and what did we find? Leaves and pine needles in the weather stripping and dust everywhere. He was incredible embarrased and begged me to still give him a 5 out of 5 on the delivery when I got a call from VW. I have no problem doing that because I didn't want them touching it anyway but what if I did? Apparently the scores they receive directly affect the number and model of cars that are available to them by the manufacturer so the scores are very important. Hit em where it hurts and eventually most of the better dealers will change or cease to exist.
 
Since we are way off topic anyway....



One of my brothers bought a Honda Oddyssy and upon delivery, he noticed a small chip on the rear door. The dealership told him to bring it back and they would touch it up for him. Instead of just filling in the very small chip, they reshot the whole door....leaving massive amounts of orange peel and overspray all over the back half of his new van. To say he was upset is a massive understatement. Supposedly they are going to wetsand and buff out the paint on the rear door and he specifically told them they better follow the wool pad and compound with a foam polishing pad and a swirl remover and then a foam waffle pad and glaze and he had better not see a single swirl mark on his paint and in addition, they had better use clay to remove the overspray, not a buffer.



We will see how well they follow directions (as well as good paint finishing proceedures after wetsanding) when he takes it back in.
 
I'm by no means a professional, but I find that applying wax by hand goes much quicker than by machine (PC, not a rotary) with the same results. He must go through a heck of a lot of product if he's sitting there "working it." And how long does it take him to do one car? That dealer must be PO'd at him because they seem to like those 15 minute wax jobs.



"Oh no sir, your car isn't ready yet. Yes, we know the oil change should take only 20 minutes, but eh, our detailer is working the wax for a few minutes, it really turns him on!"
 
At least it's not just UK car dealers who don't care! I've posted a thread about my swirls in the University but they were there when I got the car and only became apparent when I first washed it, after a week and over 1000 miles. I have spent the last 11 months arguing and shouting with the supplying dealer, my local dealer, the leasing co, the manufacturer and a local bodyshop who employ 2 or 3 "ex Aston Martin" panel beaters (their attempt was to simply hand glaze using 3M which washed out in 3 washes). I spend most of my time seeing exotic car dealers and classic car restorers and even there there is an absence of knowledge although they are a totally different creature to the main dealer. I am sure that cost is as much of an issue as anything but my car went back to the dealer at least 3 times so surely the labour costs involved equate to at least properly prepping the car in the first place. As a new Autopian, I am learning how to avoid grief in future. My next car will be due when this one hits 70,000 miles (at 37k in 12 months now) so hopefully in a year or so I can order a new car and specify that it is not to be touched at all.
 
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