Being tested tomorrow must bring A game

akj said:
I would normally agree. But this is another production customer. But one won't have much work but will pay more

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Then why even ask this question then no point really then quality is not a factor then!
 
quantim0 said:
Just don't go too overboard and kill yourself for the amount of money you are charging. If you provide a $400 detail for $150, that is what will be expected of you in the future from this customer.
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This is what happened to me in the beginning. Provide the work that you are being paid for and maybe an quick cheap extra thing.
 
quantim0 said:
Just don't go too overboard and kill yourself for the amount of money you are charging. If you provide a $400 detail for $150, that is what will be expected of you in the future from this customer.
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Pureshine I meant on quantimo's comment. When is it overboard for you? Just wondering...
 
Well thats way over board! I mean if someone wanted a basic interior cleaning I would do some spot removal for free to make the new customer happy. Its little things that make customers happy and go a long way. Remember word of mouth is everything in our business and if you do a couple little things extra customers appreciate it a lot. By all means I do not mean give away a $400 job for $150.
 
Pureshine said:
Well thats way over board! I mean if someone wanted a basic interior cleaning I would do some spot removal for free to make the new customer happy. Its little things that make customers happy and go a long way. Remember word of mouth is everything in our business and if you do a couple little things extra customers appreciate it a lot. By all means I do not mean give away a $400 job for $150.
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Ok gotha, gotcha. I have been learning the business side her on AG thanks to you guys
 
I'm not familiar with the waxes you have, the the WG dgps 3.0 gives a warm glow like a carnauba but can last (in my experience). I would go with that if I were you.
 
This detail was for a dealer. The car was already sold he just wanted to see what results i could do. The customer paying for the detail. (dealer) would only see the car a few hours at most before giving it to the new owner. That's why i said I'd rather best look vs durability. It has serious water spots all over and over all slightly dirty.
I went with megs UP on a white pad them moved up to an orange pad. I ended up having to use m205 on an orange pad. And finishing with megs ultimate carnuba wax. I also clayed the car to. It turned out extremely well. The dealership owner was gone for the day when i returned it.
But everyone there loved it. Everyone was completely amazed at how good it looked.
They made their "detailer" come look at it. And had a bit of fun at his expense.
And to top that off i got 2 new personal customers one of which is a car collector and compets in car shows.
So not only did i get new customers but one of which will surely be a good contact to more potential customers.

Thanks all

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akj said:
This detail was for a dealer. The car was already sold he just wanted to see what results i could do. The customer paying for the detail. (dealer) would only see the car a few hours at most before giving it to the new owner. That's why i said I'd rather best look vs durability. It has serious water spots all over and over all slightly dirty.
I went with megs UP on a white pad them moved up to an orange pad. I ended up having to use m205 on an orange pad. And finishing with megs ultimate carnuba wax. I also clayed the car to. It turned out extremely well. The dealership owner was gone for the day when i returned it.
But everyone there loved it. Everyone was completely amazed at how good it looked.
They made their "detailer" come look at it. And had a bit of fun at his expense.
And to top that off i got 2 new personal customers one of which is a car collector and compets in car shows.
So not only did i get new customers but one of which will surely be a good contact to more potential customers.

Thanks all

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Click to expand...
Sounds like you got a new enemy as well :laughing: awesome to hear though!
 
af90 said:
The dealer's "detailer"
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O yea haha... funny thing about that my little sisteris dating his boss. The boss of the shop part of the dealership anyway.

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Well i got one before pic then realized my camera lens was busted so it's not good at all do I didn't take any after shots.
The owner who was testing me out was gone home when i brought it back so i wasn't able to find out what he thought but by the reactions from the other people there i feel like i did very good. Should find out tomorrow.

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akj

OK, this is a bit long. (Like I've never done that before!) :rolleyes: It's just an observation, not so much from detailing but from being in business since January 1985 working for myself.

I think you might be a bit to over the top on what, and when. Need to hone down your process and work each 'package' to include this, this, this and this. If they are asking for something that's not included in a particular package then *first* Y-O-U need to be able to (with confidence) tell them EXACTLY what is included with each package and W-H-Y it's included.

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with offering more than the next guy if that is what gets you the business you want, BUT you cannot question your procedure from one vehicle to another.

I think it may have been Jason Rose in Mike Phillips book when he was saying in the beginning he had his mother go around and question all the local detailers while he stood in the background taking notes (in his head most likely) about what they did, and WHY they did it. They (he and his Mom) had worked out a plan to figure out what the competition, and what the market was like when he was just starting, in order to get a handle on how to move forward with his fledgling business.

That is critical to the understanding of what you want to offer. Figure out what the other guys are using and either use something different/better, or use it and add a quick step or two to the process.

I totally understand you are wanting any and all business at this point, and I get it. By doing the dealer account(s) (wholesale jobs) you may indeed use that to reach your ultimate goal of real work down the road (retail jobs).

The scary part is once you get the reputation of doing cheap/wholesale work, then when you're NOT at the dealership they'll expect you to do all your other jobs for pretty much the same price. IOW's.... They'll see you charging $100 for a quick "inventory job" and figure "What the heck, the customer wants a job done so we'll just tack $25 onto the price and quote $125 to the customer and have this guy do it for him. Besides... he'll be HAPPY we sent him the business." Sure, the customer pays you the $125, but you COULD HAVE gotten $250 for the job had they not quoted the job for you.

I've thought about talking to some of the guys I know at the local Chevy dealer, and I'm sure I could get work from it, but honestly... I don't want to go down that road. Should I at this point? Probably so!!! Do I really want that much work at this point? Not really. (Especially as its "wholesale work".) I'd rather be known as the guy that isn't the cheapest in town, but puts more hours into a job than anyone else they know. At the end of the day my hourly rate isn't what a younger man is capable of earning, simply because I don't move that fast these days. BUT.... (and this is huge) the *job* will be quoted on a minimum price that were I able to get it done faster would indeed pay $40~$50 an hour. (Honestly, it doesn't hurt my feelings if I make $25, I'm just not going to do it for less at a dealership.)

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Enough of all that....

As for waxes, sealants and the like... if you're going to do 'production work' you would be WELL SERVED to get yourself some products that are most suited to that work. AG has more than enough high end products. Use those on HIGH END detailing! Same thing for OTC products. They are great to have when you need them, but not very cost effective.

Grab a gallon of DG951 AW and a gallon of Megs D156 Synthetic X-Press spray wax. Both of them are worthy of any DD out there (and even more) and will seriously help with production work. They'll look great over an AIO and not cost you an arm and a leg to throw in a wax package along the way.

I'm going to experiment with both of them and "polycharging" this week. By stepping them up with polycharging they transcend from one level (and they are darned good as it is) but move up to the esoteric market. That's rarified air there. When you start looking at products these days that are 'polycharged' the bottles are small and the prices are fairly large.

I am not saying this is a cost effective solution, but it MAY be a way to offer customers that "something extra special" that the competition isn't offering. :dunno: I do know that it'll seriously ramp up the qualities of these already excellent products. Who knows... imagine one guy is using the same product as you and you are using the 'polycharged' version when you're version lasts for months where his lasts for weeks he'll be bumfuzzled as to what makes your process so much better than his. :laughing:

In any event, making the product better doesn't cost me more in time and labor. If that plays out to actually bumping up the profit then so be it.

Bottom line is you want to be known as the guy that goes above and beyond. (Not the guy that does it cheaper than everyone else.) Remember, "Cheap stuff isn't good, and good stuff isn't cheap". If one guy is doing a $75 job then you do the SAME $75 job (don't get into price wars.... EVER) but make your job better. Make it slicker, or make your finish more durable, or be more reliable, or take longer to do the job, or whatever..... ;) It's building 'brand awareness' and be careful of how/what/when/where that brand is represented.
 
cardaddy said:
akj

OK, this is a bit long. (Like I've never done that before!) :rolleyes: It's just an observation, not so much from detailing but from being in business since January 1985 working for myself.

I think you might be a bit to over the top on what, and when. Need to hone down your process and work each 'package' to include this, this, this and this. If they are asking for something that's not included in a particular package then *first* Y-O-U need to be able to (with confidence) tell them EXACTLY what is included with each package and W-H-Y it's included.

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with offering more than the next guy if that is what gets you the business you want, BUT you cannot question your procedure from one vehicle to another.

I think it may have been Jason Rose in Mike Phillips book when he was saying in the beginning he had his mother go around and question all the local detailers while he stood in the background taking notes (in his head most likely) about what they did, and WHY they did it. They (he and his Mom) had worked out a plan to figure out what the competition, and what the market was like when he was just starting, in order to get a handle on how to move forward with his fledgling business.

That is critical to the understanding of what you want to offer. Figure out what the other guys are using and either use something different/better, or use it and add a quick step or two to the process.

I totally understand you are wanting any and all business at this point, and I get it. By doing the dealer account(s) (wholesale jobs) you may indeed use that to reach your ultimate goal of real work down the road (retail jobs).

The scary part is once you get the reputation of doing cheap/wholesale work, then when you're NOT at the dealership they'll expect you to do all your other jobs for pretty much the same price. IOW's.... They'll see you charging $100 for a quick "inventory job" and figure "What the heck, the customer wants a job done so we'll just tack $25 onto the price and quote $125 to the customer and have this guy do it for him. Besides... he'll be HAPPY we sent him the business." Sure, the customer pays you the $125, but you COULD HAVE gotten $250 for the job had they not quoted the job for you.

I've thought about talking to some of the guys I know at the local Chevy dealer, and I'm sure I could get work from it, but honestly... I don't want to go down that road. Should I at this point? Probably so!!! Do I really want that much work at this point? Not really. (Especially as its "wholesale work".) I'd rather be known as the guy that isn't the cheapest in town, but puts more hours into a job than anyone else they know. At the end of the day my hourly rate isn't what a younger man is capable of earning, simply because I don't move that fast these days. BUT.... (and this is huge) the *job* will be quoted on a minimum price that were I able to get it done faster would indeed pay $40~$50 an hour. (Honestly, it doesn't hurt my feelings if I make $25, I'm just not going to do it for less at a dealership.)

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Enough of all that....

As for waxes, sealants and the like... if you're going to do 'production work' you would be WELL SERVED to get yourself some products that are most suited to that work. AG has more than enough high end products. Use those on HIGH END detailing! Same thing for OTC products. They are great to have when you need them, but not very cost effective.

Grab a gallon of DG951 AW and a gallon of Megs D156 Synthetic X-Press spray wax. Both of them are worthy of any DD out there (and even more) and will seriously help with production work. They'll look great over an AIO and not cost you an arm and a leg to throw in a wax package along the way.

I'm going to experiment with both of them and "polycharging" this week. By stepping them up with polycharging they transcend from one level (and they are darned good as it is) but move up to the esoteric market. That's rarified air there. When you start looking at products these days that are 'polycharged' the bottles are small and the prices are fairly large.

I am not saying this is a cost effective solution, but it MAY be a way to offer customers that "something extra special" that the competition isn't offering. :dunno: I do know that it'll seriously ramp up the qualities of these already excellent products. Who knows... imagine one guy is using the same product as you and you are using the 'polycharged' version when you're version lasts for months where his lasts for weeks he'll be bumfuzzled as to what makes your process so much better than his. :laughing:

In any event, making the product better doesn't cost me more in time and labor. If that plays out to actually bumping up the profit then so be it.

Bottom line is you want to be known as the guy that goes above and beyond. (Not the guy that does it cheaper than everyone else.) Remember, "Cheap stuff isn't good, and good stuff isn't cheap". If one guy is doing a $75 job then you do the SAME $75 job (don't get into price wars.... EVER) but make your job better. Make it slicker, or make your finish more durable, or be more reliable, or take longer to do the job, or whatever..... ;) It's building 'brand awareness' and be careful of how/what/when/where that brand is represented.
Click to expand...

Felt like this was short. 😄

Thanks
 
IOW's.... They'll see you charging $100 for a quick "inventory job" and figure "What the heck, the customer wants a job done so we'll just tack $25 onto the price and quote $125 to the customer and have this guy do it for him. Besides... he'll be HAPPY we sent him the business." Sure, the customer pays you the $125, but you COULD HAVE gotten $250 for the job had they not quoted the job for you.

What is IOW's and didnt get this paragraph

Got lost in this part:
What do you mean the could have gotten $250 for the job had they not quoted him?
 
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