Where did all the business go?

[Scottwax]

where's the business?? I caught this and everyother thread on page 2 since i have been soo buried that i havent been here!! My staff is up to 8 guys, and we have 5 marinas on contract with about 8 boats/week at one, 6/week at one, and 2 /week at the others. This is all on top of having cars being booked for the next couple weeks!!! All i can tell you is market yourself to the max. Spend alot of $$ on getting business, and you will make $$

Not much you can do here when the pollen is as bad as it is. People just put it off for a few weeks. Really rough when you have to dust after washing, after polishing and after sealing so the customer can enjoy the detail for 5 minutes until their car is green again. The pollen finally let up early this week and I am slammed for the rest of the month.

 

[Woob]

Why do you say that?

I was kidding. RTP Area is very nice. It would be nice to have another Autopian around here. CHarlotte would be another good area also.

 

[tpgsr]

Not much you can do here when the pollen is as bad as it is. People just put it off for a few weeks. Really rough when you have to dust after washing, after polishing and after sealing so the customer can enjoy the detail for 5 minutes until their car is green again. The pollen finally let up early this week and I am slammed for the rest of the month.

Do you typically use that time as your couple weeks off?? or do you still have the group of customers that want you to fight it out, and deal with it?

 

[AutoNova]

Well it started to pick up this week again and I am booked about 4 days this week. The pollen is starting to slow down just a little bit thanks to some rain. I wish I had the money to do some big advertisising, I did spend about $700 on a coupon mailer earlier this year and it was a total flop. So I am left with flyering and putting out business cards on every car I can.

 

[tpgsr]

AutoNova, Do you have any waterways near you?? Anywhere that you could enter the world of marine detailing? The reason taht i ask is marinas are a real good source of income. I have 9 boats to do this week ranging from 35-45 ft., and not one of them is under $550, and several are entroching on the $800 range. With 3 staff members, each one can be done very efficently with great results. It also puts a big check in your pocket at the begining of the year so you have some $$ to spend on boosting your automotive business for the rest of the season. Just something to consider.

mike

 

[Scottwax]

Do you typically use that time as your couple weeks off?? or do you still have the group of customers that want you to fight it out, and deal with it?

I still have my weekly regulars (about half my weekly income) and I still do some wash/wax jobs and details but mostly on garage queens. It isn't like I am down a huge amount, maybe 15-20% over normal weeks. Picks right back up when the pollen finally goes away.