Discounts???

J

jasper99006

New member
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
27
Reaction score
0
I had a guy talk me down in price because he had 3 cars for me to do so I said I would do them for $150 (just polish and wax) but then I was working on an SUV that the guy paid me $250 (included tip) for just one rig. I was feeling guilty cause this other guy was going to pay $100 less and I was going to have to do 3x the work. I contacted him and told him I could not do it for $50 a car and the guy got mad. I tried to explain that I have to do the same work on all 3 cars and my work is worth what I charge and I didn't feel it was fair to my other clients that pay me full price... Should i have done the work? Keep in mind he was going to be a pain in the butt. What do you guys offer?
 
There is no way i would polish and wax 3 cars for 150. Maybe an in and out clean on each, and only if the interiors just needed a quick once over.
 
That is insane, if you know what you're doing you shouldn't polish and wax 1 car for $150, let alone 3. That guy was a cheapa$$ and would have never been happy no matter how good of a job you did. It's not worth your time or stress to try and make people like that happy. Tell him to go to the local car wash if he wants to pay those prices.
 
When I first read this, I thought you meant $150 for each car....lol. Until I saw the part about $50 a car. No way would I do that for 3 cars....
 
I'd like to add to my post that obviously I understand offering a break in price if you are doing multiple cars, especially if you can knock out more than one in a day (like if they are both just wash and waxes) but you can't sell yourself short. You have to charge what you feel you are worth. That is all assuming you have the experience to warrant the prices.
 
$50 per car is REALLY LOW BUT, you did offer to do that job for that price and you and he agreed to the price...can't say I blame the guy for getting upset. You may have to eat this one...unless you really do not want the business and your reputation will not be adversely impacted.
 
I have had people call me and ask me to do work for a super low price and I just refer them to the local gas station car wash. I do give discounts to police fire fighters military and multi car discount if the are not getting paint corrections.

And if you are mobile I would charge a fuel charge after x amount of miles from your house.
 
My entry level polish package goes for $180 per sedan- or should I say that that is the starting price for a quick 45-60 min polish job with all the other full detail services. Additional polishing time requires more money. Depending on the condition of the vehicles, if I have 3 cars from the same person I dont mind offering a discount of 15-20% but thats all. My wash wax services start at $60. If you're washing, waxing and polishing for just $50 per vehicleI would highly encourage you to get an AIO wax to help redeem your situation somewhat.
 
Wow that is real cheap. I do this as hobby the first car I ever polished that was not my car I charged $80. As I got better and got more knowledge and saw how much work goes into the job I increase the price.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2
 
Tend to agree with the others, If he is looking for a $50 detail he probably won't be happy with the results. Now the flip side is you did agree to the price and he does have some warrant to be mad but business is business.
Going forward I would adopt a strict fee schedule that is published and states a multi car discount %.
Have him check Groupon or those things there's always details for @50-75 there, basically wash and spray wax jobs.
Also it's been my experience from my primary business that if you work for a certain fee that's what people will want to pay and it's really hard to go up from there without pissing off existing customer base.
Good luck
 
I tend to look at these types of situations pretty logically. That is, if you spent the time allotted to those 3 cars towards detailing another set of vehicles, then backing away from this low-ball deal was the right thing to do; as long as you can also accept that you have lost a potential client. If you spent the time not working, then in effect you lost $150 worth of opportunity and a client.

What you could have done, rather than say "I decided to not perform any services for you at a price of $150." (which is what the client heard), is offer a solution where the client would get $150 of your services. Maybe wash all 3 and polish/wax 1 of his choice. The objective would be to negotiate some way out of the situation while still maintaining a transaction with this client. Since this is a renegotiation, you need to take a hit on profit. The conversation may still wind up ending the same but in my mind you exit knowing you did everything possible relative to your pricing policies.

Lastly, as to your pricing policies, you need to establish pricing and negotiating policies that avoid this type of situation in the future. The next time someone tries to negotiate you downward from your standard prices you may want to consider the above approach during the initial negotiations. Maybe ask the prospect how much he/she is willing to spend and then offer approaches that would be mutually beneficial to both of you.

This is just one perspective in a couple of areas of business. You need to combine all of the feedback you receive and adjust your approaches as you deem necessary.
 
You need to work on your negotiation skills. If you agreed to a price then that should be the price. One thing to remember when you start to lower your prices the customer is going to see how low they can get you. I find it is best to hold your price but give him a little something extra to show you appreciate him bringing you 3 cars. Tell him if he dose all 3 cars you'll treat his windows with rain x or treat his seats with fabric guard. Just something small like that.
 
Sometimes it's easy to get excited about a multi-car job, so you might bite and give too big of a discount like you did. $150 for 3 vehicles is way too low, but like op suggested you could possibly offer a freebie for an altered price. These types of customers are usually very hard to please under any circumstances, no matter how good of a good you do in the end.
 
I only do this on the side, but my basic package, which is Wash, Clay, AIO, Vac interior, clean glass, wipe down dash is $180 for a small car, $210 for medium car, $240 for large car/small suv, $300 FOR Medium suv/truck, $375 for large suv/truck. I will add a 2nd finishing wax/sealant layer on each for an additional $25. Most of my clients tend to be over 40, and don't look to negotiate on price. I only do about 10 vehicles a year, but am slowly building a client base from them. I also will do correction on an estimate basis only.

I know this isn't my lively hood, so I am able to be firm on price. I do believe if you want to offer discounts, do a flat % based upon quantity. Publish the price list and discounts, it will stop the low balling. Don't sell yourself short.
 
bigez said:
When I first read this, I thought you meant $150 for each car....lol. Until I saw the part about $50 a car. No way would I do that for 3 cars....
Click to expand...

Got me there too. Hope you reputation won't be damage by this guy bad mouthing you.
 
OK well I am sure my Reputation won't be damaged as he met me where I work and he asked me if I would do it on the side. I have been trying to get back on my feet from being unemployed and I did get a little $$$ hungry so $150.00 would take care of one bill... however I am starting to get intrest from much better people then that guy. I was told he is cheep and is NEVER happy. My Prices must be way low for my services but I do live in the land of cheap... I charge $150 for full detail on most cars +$25 for trucks small SUV and $200-225 for large SUV. I have worked at a few dealerships here and I've been told by many that I am the best in town... I just need to figure out my fee based on $35 an hour and stick to that... Thanks for the input, I don't feel so bad for blowing this one off..
 
When is the last time someone was venting and said " boy that Joe Blow the detailer really screwed me". Most people (excluding AG member, we are a different breed) Don't have the time or really care about who is washing their cars. They just want them clean and shiney. Most don't know the difference between a cleaner wax or a polish and wax, nor do they wanna know. They wanna pay X amount and receive Y in return. Most customers base how much they are going to pay you based on what ever one else is charging & what they think they should pay. They base it on absolutley nothing, just what they think it should charge. THey have no idea how much supplies cost or what your time is worth. I can't tell you the amount of times I've had customers tell me "$350 to polish & wax my black suburban, I can get it done cheaper at the car wash". I'll explain the difference and all that, but most people don't appreciate the extent of work that we do.

The guy knew he was getting a smoking deal @$50/car. You screwed yourself when you quoted that price. Its always better to start high, see how the customer reacts, then if needed, adjust the price. You outright shot yourself in the foot.

Now do I think its going to hurt your reputation? Maybe a little if your in a small town, but me, I'm in LA, and no one is going to complain about me to their friends, they are just going to find someone else. Your in this to make money and doing $50 details isn't going to accomplish that. Have you figured out how much your spending in supplies per detail? Then break it down by the hour and see how much your really making. It sucks when you start looking at it that way and realize that it costs a lot do detail.
 
I sell cars but I learned something a long time ago. Sometime the best customer is the one you don't get. The client that pays the least is usually the unhappiest.
 
I say forget about that guy and move on with your detailing future and charge what you're worth from here on out, or do a real quick AIO, vacuum and wipedown inside honoring the price and then be absolutely clear to him that it was 3 for 1 deal just to get some experience. Triple the price next time and let him go elsewhere if he doesn't like it.

A lot of us have made this same mistake in the beginning and have learned from it. I personally had to do a ton of free details to get the practice that I needed to have the experience that I have now.

You'll likely move on to a better clientele and this guy will be history before long. I say shame on him for allowing you to do 3 cars for $150. Good riddance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top