Do you charge extra to add dressing on interior?

Maestro Sam

New member
Joined
Jun 6, 2015
Messages
386
Reaction score
0
Just had a question.
Do you guys charge extra to add dressing on plastic, vinyl, leather and etc after a interior detail or is it included in the interior detail package?
 
Are you thinking of charging extra for the dressing due to the extra time involved?

I rarely take the time to dress my personal vehicles. I just use Meguiar's quick interior detailer and call it good. Maybe offer a package with a QID like product and then offer a high-end dash coating from any of the quality manufacturers on AG. Then you can charge the additional fee due to the cost of the higher-end product and the customer is happy because their dash will stay dressed longer.
 
Interior surfaces are included except for seats. Leather seats are cleaned and then dressed for an additional charge.
 
I would have established up front what the customer wanted and charged accordingly. This is not an add on item.
 
I use quick interior detailer, it cleans and protects without making the surface too glossy.
 
Interior is included. No charge.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
Of course it's included in a interior detail for no extra charge.. IMO "detail" means all the bells & whistles. If you're not willing to include something as simple as dressing as part of an interior detail, you may as well be doing an ordinary car wash interior cleaning.

That being said, I always make sure to ask the customer whether they like the look and feel of their interior dressed/conditioned prior to doing it. Some people prefer everything clean and matte, while others love what the conditioner does to their leather trim.
 
Man I thought I was the only one who didn't charge extra.
 
Charging extra to dress/condition the interior during a regular car wash, now that I could maybe understand.. But for a "detail" job it should be included no problem.
 
Some things should just be included and are assumed to be included. Did your car dealership charge extra for door handles or seat belts? Does Taco Bell charge extra for napkins? If you piece out your services too much then people will get confused and they won't call you. $20 for this, $5 for that... It gets confusing. If you offer an interior detail then you should specify what that includes and if there is a particular service they don't want, then they don't have to have it, but your price stays the same. It's like ordering a hamburger and telling them to hold the tomato. The burger doesn't get $.10 cheaper for that. Same price.

The only time that becomes a problem is when they ask for a full detail but don't want it clayed or polished. Uhm... That's not a full detail. That would be like ordering a cheeseburger, but hold the cheese. It's no longer a full detail if you can't do the things required. If you don't offer just a wash and wax, then don't ever hold services that are essential to the results you want to get. I've had it happen a couple times from people trying to get a better deal, but those aren't the clients I want. I'm not doing this for a living, so it allows me to turn away business if doing the job would lower my standards, give others a bad impression of my work, or if the time isn't going to be worth the money.

Anyway, interior details should include vacuuming, carpet cleaning, dash protectant, leather conditioning, and window cleaning. Sometimes they may request 'nothing glossy on the dash' and that is totally fine. There are a lot of products that aren't glossy. Those interior detailers don't often provide a lot of protection, but they do get the job done and they may be good enough. But don't forget there are other low gloss dash protectants that do the job better and customers will love. And not all cars have leather interior, so the extra charge on that comes out in the wash. It doesn't take that much extra time and if you are charging based on how long it takes you do do an interior with leather, then you'll make more money on the cars without it and be fine on the cars with it. It's not worth nickel and diming them on the price.
 
Well, someone has to offer a different opinion here.

In my area, the high end shops (including mine) offer separate interior and exterior packages. If you get an exterior package, I include vacuuming, cleaning the interior glass, and a quick wipe-down to get rid of any dust. If the customer wants more than that, I have interior packages. One level includes the use of a quick interior detail product and spot cleaning of any stains. The top interior package includes full carpet extraction, full interior cleaning, and application of a dressing. I'm not the only one doing it this way. I modeled my pricing an packages after my two biggest competitors.

Bill
 
Back
Top