When is the Car Clean Enough???

[Beemerboy]

I ponder this all the time, I see local detail shops turning back cars that I would still have to work on to meet my standards. I wonder how can the customer be happy with that?

Wheel wells are pressured washed but are not dressed, they use a AIO and that's it...I can still see swirls galore. Smudges on the windows, I hate that!

I am so anal about the cars that I detail that I don't want to have a customer find something that I missed.

I think maybe I don't have to do as much as it seems like the local guys are doing OK.

Just me thinking out loud again.

 

[audiboy]

I think it all has to do with how much pride people have in their work. I see it all the time in aircraft maintenance when it comes to cosmetic jobs. Do the jobs get done right? The short answer is yes. Do they look neat and does it show that they care about their finished product? Not always. If I'm the one inspecting and signing off the work and it doesn't look neat, I make them do it over. A lot of people don't like that, but I give them a small lecture on why I expect the best. Some of them may not agree, but at least they understand where I come from.

I guess I'm just trying to say that standards are going to vary with everyone and I think that experience and knowledge play a factor in that as well. With a job like detailing, I should hope that their standards would at least cover the basics.

 

[LikeaRock]

I ponder this all the time, I see local detail shops turning back cars that I would still have to work on to meet my standards. I wonder how can the customer be happy with that?

Wheel wells are pressured washed but are not dressed, they use a AIO and that's it...I can still see swirls galore. Smudges on the windows, I hate that!

I am so anal about the cars that I detail that I don't want to have a customer find something that I missed.

I think maybe I don't have to do as much as it seems like the local guys are doing OK.

Just me thinking out loud again.

You're not thinking out loud on your own at least, I imagine all of us think the same thing. I know I do. When I was working at First Class (Off SR Ave) we always skipped out on lots of stuff. We would get totally swirled up black cars and do a quick clay and hit them by hand with P&S Ultracoat Polish, it was rediculous! I have to admit that there are small imperfections I just can't quite remove and they stick out like a sore thumb to me when I'm done. We're all perfectionists though, why else would we be here? :dnaughty

EDIT: After reading audiboy's post I have to agree that peoples' standards vary greatly, and if they're used to the work that a certain detail shop/person does on their vehicle(s) then they might assume you can't get a more thorough job from someone else. I go through this a lot with new clients, and I try to explain the differences to them and why every step is so vital in the process. But if the customers standards aren't up to yours so to speak, they don't appreciate the detail you go to. I blame the shops for that

 

[Beemerboy]

You're not thinking out loud on your own at least, I imagine all of us think the same thing. I know I do. When I was working at First Class (Off SR Ave) we always skipped out on lots of stuff. We would get totally swirled up black cars and do a quick clay and hit them by hand with P&S Ultracoat Polish, it was rediculous! I have to admit that there are small imperfections I just can't quite remove and they stick out like a sore thumb to me when I'm done. We're all perfectionists though, why else would we be here? :dnaughty

Dolan

Thanks I think that you know the shops that I am talking about.

Trash in trash out!

 

[Poorboy]

I ponder this all the time, I see local detail shops turning back cars that I would still have to work on to meet my standards. I wonder how can the customer be happy with that?

Wheel wells are pressured washed but are not dressed, they use a AIO and that's it...I can still see swirls galore. Smudges on the windows, I hate that!

I am so anal about the cars that I detail that I don't want to have a customer find something that I missed.

I think maybe I don't have to do as much as it seems like the local guys are doing OK.

Just me thinking out loud again.

Dave you have too much time on your hands :dnaughty driving around checking out the competition. :rofl Most people just don't care and wouldn't know a swirl if it jumped up and bit them in the A$$

 

[Beemerboy]

Dave you have too much time on your hands :dnaughty driving around checking out the competition. :rofl Most people just don't care and wouldn't know a swirl if it jumped up and bit them in the A$$

That's the problem Steve it is biting them in the A$$$$$$$ big time!

 

[PhaRO]

I suppose there is always something left to do. The more you focus the more there is to do. I think some folks just don't focus very much though lol.

 

[TrueDetailer]

I've seen this type of thread on a few sites now. I don't think its how much pride one has in their work or how much skill one has.

Theres two types of detailers. Those who detail as a hobby, and those who detail to make a living.

Someone detailing for a living does not have an unlimited amount of time to complete a detail like a hobbyist does. When you start detailing for a living, thats when you learn when enough is enough.

 

[Poorboy]

Someone detailing for a living does not have an unlimited amount of time to complete a detail like a hobbyist does. When you start detailing for a living, thats when you learn when enough is enough.

you bet :bigups I know it's a hard concept to relate to, but the old saying "time is money" is a reality.

 

[joyriide1113]

you bet :bigups I know it's a hard concept to relate to, but the old saying "time is money" is a reality.

And that is where hobbyist have advantages towards pros. Hobbyist can dedicate more time and try new and improved techniques without the worry of not making it to the appointment.

The same is vice-versa as well as most pros encounter different problem more often and already know how to adress the issue.

 

[jsfofec]

And that is where hobbyist have advantages towards pros. Hobbyist can dedicate more time and try new and improved techniques without the worry of not making it to the appointment.

The same is vice-versa as well as most pros encounter different problem more often and already know how to adress the issue.

Very true. I spent four days the week before Christmas detailing my Honda Pilot. A pro may have 4 hours to get it done.

Day 1: Wash with ONR - Clean/Polish with PwS
Day 2: 1st coat of DG 105
Day 3: 2nd coat of DG 105
Day 4: topped with Souveran

On Days 2 and 3 I'm doing the interior and on Day 3 the tires and wheel wells

A pro will never have this kind of time, but then I will probably never learn the shortcuts and have the skill and technique a pro has

 

[Beemerboy]

I've seen this type of thread on a few sites now. I don't think its how much pride one has in their work or how much skill one has.

Theres two types of detailers. Those who detail as a hobby, and those who detail to make a living.

Someone detailing for a living does not have an unlimited amount of time to complete a detail like a hobbyist does. When you start detailing for a living, thats when you learn when enough is enough.

I fully understand this and agree with you. However I am still appalled in looking at some of the local detailers cars that are being turned out.

The example is the windows they have been wiped down but there are obvious smears in them, I can see them at 10 feet.

I can get about any car clean in about 3 hours, I have to cut some / allot of corners. Will the customer be happy probably, but its not the product that I want to represent. Now I'm not doing this for a living and that's the difference, and that's one of the most compelling reason that I don't pursue this full time, along with the fact of my age and family responsibilities.

None the less the local detailers are full most all the time, so they are making there customers happy or maybe they don't know what they are missing / looking at or what to expect

 

[Beemerboy]

you bet :bigups I know it's a hard concept to relate to, but the old saying "time is money" is a reality.

Double edged sword here Steve, do a great job and you will get referrals and repeat business. Do a crappy job or less than what the customer is expecting, and you won't see them again and they will bad mouth you.

 

[LikeaRock]

Steve-
I don't think it's that Dave has too much time on his hands, but sometimes I come accross people who have had their vehicle(s) detailed bu such and such person/shop and I can point out flaws everywhere. A client of mine is a real estate agent and recieved a gift certificate (a gift from one of her clients) from a local auto body shop that does detailing. I maintain her Audi on a regular basis so they used it on her husbands Crew Cab Ford. This thing was dirty as hell, sand everywhere from Pismo Beach trips, dog hair, dirt, various liquids spilled everywhere, and the exteiror was in poor shape as well. When the truck was back at their house I instantly saw that the windows were smeared, the wheel whells weren't cleaned/dressed properly, the wheels still had brake dust on them, they did a quick clay but the paint felt grabby like there was no LSP applied. And the interior, well, I do a more thorough cleaning of the inteiror with my $50 washes than these people did for a $275 "All day auto spa" Pretty pathetic IMO...

I fully understand this and agree with you. However I am still appalled in looking at some of the local detailers cars that are being turned out.

The example is the windows they have been wiped down but there are obvious smears in them, I can see them at 10 feet.

I can get about any car clean in about 3 hours, I have to cut some / allot of corners. Will the customer be happy probably, but its not the product that I want to represent. Now I'm not doing this for a living and that's the difference, and that's one of the most compelling reason that I don't pursue this full time, along with the fact of my age and family responsibilities.

None the less the local detailers are full most all the time, so they are making there customers happy or maybe they don't know what they are missing / looking at or what to expect

You hit the nail on the head with that comment above. I do this to earn my money but my business isn't crazy busy either, so I have the advantage of taking a lot of time with most any job unless the customer needs it finished by such and such time/date. Our vehicles we detail and even our personal vehicles are rolling billboards, people will eventually pick up on the details we don't leave behind :bump

Double edged sword here Steve, do a great job and you will get referrals and repeat business. Do a crappy job or less than what the customer is expecting, and you won't see them again and they will bad mouth you.

What I said relates to this, some people assume that what you see is what you get and there's not much else you can do to fix/hide certain flaws, and when you've got some jacka$$ telling you "You can't do anything about that" the customer might not expect any better from someone else, so they use/refer that person. I won't go naming names publicly, but a guy I worked for for a VERY short time worked in this way. If you PM me I'd be more than glad to shoot his name, or maybe you've heard Eric/Tim/Mark at P&S bad mouth this particular person

 

[rabbi]

A pro will never have this kind of time, but then I will probably never learn the shortcuts and have the skill and technique a pro has[/QUOTE]
Very well put. There is no way I could make a living at detailing at the rate it takes me to do the exterior of a car.

 

[Beemerboy]

A pro will never have this kind of time, but then I will probably never learn the shortcuts and have the skill and technique a pro has

Very well put. There is no way I could make a living at detailing at the rate it takes me to do the exterior of a car.[/QUOTE]

Rabbi

I use to think the same thing but I have learned where the corners can be cut not compromising my ideals of a good product. If I had the demographics, weather and was 25 years younger I would go full time, but approach this from a high end market not the flip and turn that I see here from the local detailers

 

[Poorboy]

It really depends on who your clients are....some people are very cheap and will cut coupons and look for the $49 special at their local car washes, a lot of these people lease cars and really could care less about perfection, they just want a fairly clean and shiny car...if it lasts them a couple weeks that will be fine for them ...other people have seen good work and are willing to pay more to have their cars pampered as they would themselves ...
Look at the people who go to Supercuts for their hair vs a Salon where they have a personal hair stylist not someone saying "NEXT"

 

[jsfofec]

other people have seen good work and are willing to pay more to have their cars pampered as they would themselves ...
Look at the people who go to Supercuts for their hair vs a Salon where they have a personal hair stylist not someone saying "NEXT"

Exactly true. If I was to have somebody detail my car, it would be based on a referral from here and I know I would be paying more, but it would be worth the extra expense knowing somebody is caring for my car like I would care for it. And yes, I'm one of those guys that goes to a salon and pays 3-4 times as much for my haircut...it's worth every penny. I've never had a bad haircut from there.

I always believe, you get what you pay for

 

[Beemerboy]

It really depends on who your clients are....some people are very cheap and will cut coupons and look for the $49 special at their local car washes, a lot of these people lease cars and really could care less about perfection, they just want a fairly clean and shiny car...if it lasts them a couple weeks that will be fine for them ...other people have seen good work and are willing to pay more to have their cars pampered as they would themselves ...
Look at the people who go to Supercuts for their hair vs a Salon where they have a personal hair stylist not someone saying "NEXT"

Ole wise one that is a very good analogy, and I don't want the supercut customers

 

[jaybs02]

Many great pionts have been put up.

I think that an important thing is the quality of the person preforming the task.
I'm sure in a busy shop the some detailers don't have the time and for others it's just a job. I'm sure that in a budget shop even the finest detailer is pushed to get the next one in so they may not take the time to do it to thier standards or may cost them their job for not keeping up. Some shops deal with quality others with cheap prices, and if you are lucky you will find one that offers both.

Steve mentioned Supercuts, I have found a person who works in one that gives a great haircut and I pay a great price. I will only let that one girl cut my hair, she has been doing it for years for me.

The opinion that counts the most is the owner of the car, whether it's yours or your customers, you should always put in the best effort to achieve the best results within the time alotted (you don't always have the time), because it is a reflection of you.

JMHO
"J"