Service Options/Levels & Pricing Arrangement?

[Ohio Detailing]

Gentlemen!

I am about to reboot and reconnect with my beloved 'estranged' hobby-turned-career that I got away from in recent years due to pursuing other ventures, and focus once again on professional detailing... and I was wondering if I could petition as many of the awesome members here on AutoGeek as possible for their input on something please?

When formulating the architecture of a 'service menu' for customers to browse through, what is the best method for arranging the levels, options, and pricing? It can quickly become a tangled spider-web of pick-and-choose (clay barring, interior carpet shampooing, waxing the wheels, buffing/restoring headlights, or multi-phase paint correction and on and on and on...) so what I'm looking for is your insight on devising a streamlined visual shopping cart of sorts, that the client can quickly glance at, choose, and order -- like a fine sit-down restaurant.

I don't want to inundate them with customizable line-item services, but I also don't want to skimp on or remove the possibility for those very profitable "add on" services either.

In closing, before we get this forum-party started, my initial thoughts were that it would be best to:
1) Have a professionally designed, dynamic, and visually appealing streamline ONE PAGE flier produced that covers perhaps 4 levels of service options (everything from a basic hand-wash, to paint correction and wheels-off high-line detailing paint pampering!) and
2) Then at the bottom cover a quick concise assortment of "ALSO AVAILABLE" choices to whet their appetite for babying their wife-on-wheels even more... along with a personal consultation and "walk around" on their car, so I can increase the dollars-per-detail by offering services I believe would benefit them most.

SO... THE DUALITY OF AN EYE PLEASING COMPANY FLIER AND THE TIMELESS ADDED TOUCH OF A PERSONAL WALK-AROUND AND CONSULTATION...

*Anyway, please share any/all thoughts on what you've found works, and doesn't work, when devising your pricing structure! THANKS

 

[AutowerxDetailing]

I don't detail full time so I can't really give you any feedback on what type of advertising works best; however, I can tell you that in my personal opinion simplicity is the best standard to live by from a design standpoint.

I will be interested to see where this thread goes because I have been thinking about putting together some sort of a menu to give to customers when I arrive on-site, sort of like what you have in mind.

I think my best advice would be for your core services to put together packages that would cater to the needs of your clientele. I used to do 2-step polishing with every detail (mostly because I enjoy it) but I realized that some people honestly cannot tell the difference between swirl free paint and "shiny" waxed paint. Now I offer a simple "wash and wax" that caters to the majority of my clientele and it's a win/win. I put in less time on each detail and they get a better deal with results that are exactly in line with their expectations.

 

[Ohio Detailing]

I don't detail full time so I can't really give you any feedback on what type of advertising works best; however, I can tell you that in my personal opinion simplicity is the best standard to live by from a design standpoint.

I will be interested to see where this thread goes because I have been thinking about putting together some sort of a menu to give to customers when I arrive on-site, sort of like what you have in mind.

I think my best advice would be for your core services to put together packages that would cater to the needs of your clientele. I used to do 2-step polishing with every detail (mostly because I enjoy it) but I realized that some people honestly cannot tell the difference between swirl free paint and "shiny" waxed paint. Now I offer a simple "wash and wax" that caters to the majority of my clientele and it's a win/win. I put in less time on each detail and they get a better deal with results that are exactly in line with their expectations.

Very good post and points. Thanks so much for subscribing to the thread also!

I am a detail person - no pun intended. I design websites, and my other career/passion is also very detail oriented. I have also learned through many of my interactions and formal training through my own professional endeavors that less sincerely IS MORE. Reading and evaluating the customer and his/her needs will always play a pivotal part in the sales and serving process, from meeting to delivery of their revitalized automobile! I advertise my services as meticulously methodical. I'm not the fastest detailer, and certainly not the cheapest. I prepare the cars correctly, take the time to perform a detail worthy of both my time/effort, and their expectations, and have the genuine pride and gratification each time of handing over a transformed vehicle.

But... what I need guidance on, is how to devise the most appealing and attention-keeping literature "menu" for my clientele to easily sort through and find the service level and options that are conducive to their goals and budget. I welcome the challenge though, I'm decently proficient with a computer, and I have been fortunate enough to be offered an integral position running my own business out of a preexisting business with a customer base already in place - so I can hit the ground running.

I think far too often (not in detailing, but in my other experiences as a professional - which I assume carries over into this realms like anything else) business owners (detailers) don't invest enough time and attention to marketing themselves through the myriad of free and profoundly effective online techniques/social networks/blogs/websites etc. I can't wait to 'build my digital empire' to compliment and accompany my efforts and personal interaction with clients - which will also ensure I stay at the top of their mind, e-mail inbox, and credit card statement!!

 

[Ohio Detailing]

BUMP

Here is what I came up with last night. This is just a first draft of course, and nothing that is ever offered up during a first attempt is perfect, so please offer your thoughts (see below).

Here is the pricing-strategy I have conceptualized, and I'm still in thought on developing a Menu, similar to what would be presented at a fine dining experience, for clients to pick-and-choose their choice in paint-pampering and meticulously magnificent interior revitalizing:

Level-1: Double Hand Wash (entire exterior professionally cleaned; sunroofs to wheels/wheel-wells and tires with final paint-gloss, tire dressing, and even door jam cleaning) = $69
Level-2: Double Hand Wash + Interior (vacuuming, vinyl/dash/leather cleaning and conditioning, window polishing) = $129
Level-3: Double Hand Wash + Interior + Hand Wax (comprehensive detail featuring application of the finest paint jeweling rich refined-white carnauba wax) = $249
Level-4: Double Hand Wash + Interior + 2-Stage Polish & Wax Paint Correction (exhaustive vehicle revitalization, including hand-applied premier polish and top-coat wax for brilliant depth and warm clarity to renew paint) = $319
Level-5: Double Hand Wash + Interior + Clay Bar Treatment + 3-Stage Polish-Synthetic Sealant-Wax Preparation & Perfection + Carpet Shampooing (full Restorative Dynamic Detail service unmatched in thoroughness) = $499

*Much of my business belief and practices are adopted from past experiences over the years along with materials/labor calculations, and also following Todd Cooperider's work and web-presence. Although Todd is one of the top recognized detailers in the USA and I realize I am not, it is always a work in progress I obsessively pursue with unyielding passion, plus it isn't a magical formula or hidden secret to the fine art of automotive detailing - it's a balance of patience and impeccable attention to detail. I'm always honing in my skills with continued exacting precision.

With that all in mind, I have mirrored my pricing off of a hybrid of raw materials, my time considerations, the clientele I'll be serving, and Todd's (Esoteric Detail) listed costs, but I have virtually cut everything in half to make our services affordable, appealing, and not cost-prohibitive. Also, the overhead involved and area I'll be working in is very affluent and wealth-saturated. They won't be coming to me haggling about pricing, but rather, simply wanting someone to competently care for their automobiles.

Thoughts fellas? It's a continuing work in progress, like everything else!

 

[Flash Gordon]

I don't care for all the levels you are offering. Do you have to get to level 5 before interior cleaning is included?

Just charge by the hour and let the customer tell you what they want done

 

[Ohio Detailing]

I don't care for all the levels you are offering. Do you have to get to level 5 before interior cleaning is included?

Just charge by the hour and let the customer tell you what they want done

Hey Flash,

Interior starts right at Level-2.

That's a great idea about the 'by the hour,' except I'll be operating out of an already established business that is expanding to offer a more comprehensive assortment of offerings, and their clientele seem to want to know what they are paying for in advance so there pricing is predictable and there's no ambiguity.

 

[rustytruck]

I think you need to keeP it simple. Is there any way you can narrow what you do ? You range from simple car washing thru wheels off paint correction. That's a lot do you need to be a full service shop or can you create a niche? Look at my website the service page is easy to understand because there is not a lot on it I sell my express detail all the time. I tell the customer it includes no shampooing and no stain removable. If the customer asks about shampooing the rugs or seats or cleaning I give them a approximate price and then tell them what it costs upon seeing the car. It's up to them if they want to add on or just get the express detail either way I have some business. Remember you know a lot more than the customer. If you know a lot about business than you know it's the customers prospective that matters. If a customer looks at your menu there is a lot of stuff that won't understand.
Et

 

[Flash Gordon]

Hey Flash,

Interior starts right at Level-2.

That's a great idea about the 'by the hour,' except I'll be operating out of an already established business that is expanding to offer a more comprehensive assortment of offerings, and their clientele seem to want to know what they are paying for in advance so there pricing is predictable and there's no ambiguity.

Understood, but trying to do every car (proper) for the same price is a losing battle unless you charge more then you should to begin with. Then you end up chasing away some of the customers you're trying to atrack...its very frustrating indeed

I would only offer the basics (wash/wax, windows, interior wipedown and vacume) for a set price then try and upsale the rest of your services. Depending on your location would be a big factor in determining what to charge for this. $99 would be a good target if you can make that work

Once you get more cars under your belt you'll have a better idea how long each one will take and will be able to adjust your price if needed

 

[RZJZA80]

You simply can't have a fixed set like this and hope to cover everything. I can understand if you had a carwash setup where you had to get them in and out as quickly as possible, but pricing IMO, should be on a per car basis, every car and every owner will want/need different things.

 

[Ohio Detailing]

First of all, THANK YOU gentlemen for the the insight and opinions

I think you need to keeP it simple. Is there any way you can narrow what you do ? You range from simple car washing thru wheels off paint correction. That's a lot do you need to be a full service shop or can you create a niche? Look at my website the service page is easy to understand because there is not a lot on it I sell my express detail all the time. I tell the customer it includes no shampooing and no stain removable. If the customer asks about shampooing the rugs or seats or cleaning I give them a approximate price and then tell them what it costs upon seeing the car. It's up to them if they want to add on or just get the express detail either way I have some business. Remember you know a lot more than the customer. If you know a lot about business than you know it's the customers prospective that matters. If a customer looks at your menu there is a lot of stuff that won't understand.
Et

Great idea about leaving out the shampooing/stain removal, not all cars will even need it, so including it might be overkill or create unneeded work in the end. Plus, I can always mention it as we do a walk-around when they first bring their car into the wash bay for an appointment.

I did try to keep it simply, but maybe 5 choices for service-level is still too much, I whittled it down as much as possible, only using one or two sentences for each - I fear if I streamline it even more it will leave too much remaining to be verbally explained, and sometimes these types of customers want black and white. This is all very good though, gets my juicing flowing for continued revision.

Understood, but trying to do every car (proper) for the same price is a losing battle unless you charge more then you should to begin with. Then you end up chasing away some of the customers you're trying to atrack...its very frustrating indeed

I would only offer the basics (wash/wax, windows, interior wipedown and vacume) for a set price then try and upsale the rest of your services. Depending on your location would be a big factor in determining what to charge for this. $99 would be a good target if you can make that work

Once you get more cars under your belt you'll have a better idea how long each one will take and will be able to adjust your price if needed

I used to detail, for years, through high school and college, so I know the time and materials investment it takes (plus, I obsess over my own and continually research new products and techniques). Am I a professional high-line detailer? No, not yet - but those years of past experiences really served me well, and I truly feel that $99 is a far cry from the investment of labor, man hours, and chemical usage needed to appropriately detail a car that I can be proud of and the customer will be in awe of.

Plus, like I said above, I am being recruited by the business owners of an already-established prestigious automotive performance business that is expanding to include 3M wrapping and detailing (I will be involved with both, after attending 3M training school). Customers with $50-150k cars and another $20k in the engine and tuning, won't bat an eyelash at a couple hundred bucks for a quality detail.

I do like your idea on up-selling though - start more basic, and then cater each detail package to each individual car! Nice.

You simply can't have a fixed set like this and hope to cover everything. I can understand if you had a carwash setup where you had to get them in and out as quickly as possible, but pricing IMO, should be on a per car basis, every car and every owner will want/need different things.

EXCELLENT POINT - this might be the best piece of advice yet. I might set up my entire business strategy, marketing, and website to simply say "Pricing by Appointment and Consultation Only," so they are intrigued and more likely to call - plus, they know they're getting CUSTOM service for their vehicle's needs!

 

[rustytruck]

where are you going to be located city/state? I would be interested in doing a Google search in your area to see what kind of services are being offered and at what price point. If the cars are going to be at the shop for aftermarket parts and upgrades and for vehicle wraps why doesn't the owner inflate his prices to include the cost of a basic detail and then pay you on a per car basis. His shop would get a reputation for always doing nice work and for always returning your car in like new condition. Probably getting a little sidetracked here. Sorry just thinking out loud.

 

[AutowerxDetailing]

EXCELLENT POINT - this might be the best piece of advice yet. I might set up my entire business strategy, marketing, and website to simply say "Pricing by Appointment and Consultation Only," so they are intrigued and more likely to call - plus, they know they're getting CUSTOM service for their vehicle's needs!

Based on the type of business you are going to be attached to I would say that requiring a consultation to make a customized quote would be the best way to go. You could make a non-public menu of services with service times and associated pricing and build custom detail packages specifically tailored to each vehicle's needs.

I don't have the technical knowledge of HTML coding but what I really want to do for my website is make some sort of "build your own detail package" that would be very similar to how you can build a pizza on dominos.com. Customers would be able to select from core detail services and add options like wax or sealant, carpet shampooing, headlight restoration, etc. and really dial in exactly what they need for their vehicle. At the same time some people don't like to make those types of choices so I will still have "standard packages" with popular services (sort of like the meat lover's pizzas or whatever). Ultimately I would want them to be able to book the appointment right online but that is a long ways out for me because my availability sucks.

Anyway, I thought I would share my idea with you because it seems like your business is going in exactly the same direction I wish I could take mine. rops:

 

[ray6]

Gentlemen!

I am about to reboot and reconnect with my beloved 'estranged' hobby-turned-career that I got away from in recent years due to pursuing other ventures, and focus once again on professional detailing... and I was wondering if I could petition as many of the awesome members here on AutoGeek as possible for their input on something please?

When formulating the architecture of a 'service menu' for customers to browse through, what is the best method for arranging the levels, options, and pricing? It can quickly become a tangled spider-web of pick-and-choose (clay barring, interior carpet shampooing, waxing the wheels, buffing/restoring headlights, or multi-phase paint correction and on and on and on...) so what I'm looking for is your insight on devising a streamlined visual shopping cart of sorts, that the client can quickly glance at, choose, and order -- like a fine sit-down restaurant.

I don't want to inundate them with customizable line-item services, but I also don't want to skimp on or remove the possibility for those very profitable "add on" services either.

In closing, before we get this forum-party started, my initial thoughts were that it would be best to:
1) Have a professionally designed, dynamic, and visually appealing streamline ONE PAGE flier produced that covers perhaps 4 levels of service options (everything from a basic hand-wash, to paint correction and wheels-off high-line detailing paint pampering!) and
2) Then at the bottom cover a quick concise assortment of "ALSO AVAILABLE" choices to whet their appetite for babying their wife-on-wheels even more... along with a personal consultation and "walk around" on their car, so I can increase the dollars-per-detail by offering services I believe would benefit them most.

SO... THE DUALITY OF AN EYE PLEASING COMPANY FLIER AND THE TIMELESS ADDED TOUCH OF A PERSONAL WALK-AROUND AND CONSULTATION...

*Anyway, please share any/all thoughts on what you've found works, and doesn't work, when devising your pricing structure! THANKS

If you're going to include headlight restoration-
For headlight restoration we charge $20-40 for "commercial" restorations with a 1 year warranty. "Consumer restorations are 30-60 with a 2 year warranty. Detail "like new" restorations are 40-80 with a 3 year warranty. This is on the west coast.

For mobile you could probably charge more. Rates are set to derive a wage of about 50-80/hour. I would stick to a high level restore "like new" as an add on and charge 40-60.

ray6

 

[Ohio Detailing]

where are you going to be located city/state? I would be interested in doing a Google search in your area to see what kind of services are being offered and at what price point. If the cars are going to be at the shop for aftermarket parts and upgrades and for vehicle wraps why doesn't the owner inflate his prices to include the cost of a basic detail and then pay you on a per car basis. His shop would get a reputation for always doing nice work and for always returning your car in like new condition. Probably getting a little sidetracked here. Sorry just thinking out loud.

Hey Rustytruck, he will be! We talked about this last weekend, but customers spending $10,000+ for example on a new engine build or supercharger install, shouldn't be without their cars for a week and then come to pick them up buried in mechanic's dust! This isn't by any means 'swindling' the customer into paying a little for a service they didn't order, it's providing a great full-circle service so that when their car is delivered they can focus on the performance, and not the filth!

 

[Ohio Detailing]

Based on the type of business you are going to be attached to I would say that requiring a consultation to make a customized quote would be the best way to go. You could make a non-public menu of services with service times and associated pricing and build custom detail packages specifically tailored to each vehicle's needs.

I don't have the technical knowledge of HTML coding but what I really want to do for my website is make some sort of "build your own detail package" that would be very similar to how you can build a pizza on dominos.com. Customers would be able to select from core detail services and add options like wax or sealant, carpet shampooing, headlight restoration, etc. and really dial in exactly what they need for their vehicle. At the same time some people don't like to make those types of choices so I will still have "standard packages" with popular services (sort of like the meat lover's pizzas or whatever). Ultimately I would want them to be able to book the appointment right online but that is a long ways out for me because my availability sucks.

Anyway, I thought I would share my idea with you because it seems like your business is going in exactly the same direction I wish I could take mine. rops:

What an idea, that sounds like something right up my alley. Pizza detailing, haha! I love it. That would take quite the expert in online design to create though.