Doing headlight restoration at Walmart

Setec Astronomy said:
The thread you are thinking of was on another forum. I agree with the other posters here, it's not a good idea. If you want to just put business cards on people's cars (targeted for headlight correction), you might get away with that, but doing the work in the Wal-Mart lot is going to get you into trouble. Consider the source in that thread, that guy used to go into the houses he was detailing cars at and take pictures of people's bedrooms and post them on the internet...he don't have a lot of sense.
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Setec Astronomy said:
He was young and dumb then...I guess he's still, well, I wouldn't be doing corrections in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

It wouldn't have been so bad if the guy's bedroom wasn't a mess. He claimed afterward to have permission to post all those pictures. It was "look at this rich guy's lake house that I got to detail at! and he left me alone while I was doing it and said I could go in the house etc. and I took all these pictures" including the unmade bed. Then he boasted about how much he got paid, etc. Anyway.
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Incredible !!!

Would love to see/read that thread if you can locate it
 
Flash, I tried looking for it but all the pictures are gone from those old threads.
 
Hum?
I wouldn't do this.
Hack detailing at it's finest.
I taze people who come up to me in parking lots
 
Working-conditions at the Wal-Mart parking lots around my area
are not, IMHO, neither conducive or geared towards "Detailing".

They're reserved for 'productivity' in the areas of:
-Overnight Semis/RV-parking (aka: Dens of Iniquity); and:
-"Shake and Bake" portable meth labs...


Bob
 
Detailing by M said:
Hum?
I wouldn't do this.
Hack detailing at it's finest.
I taze people who come up to me in parking lots
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I would love to see an actual dictionary description of hack detailing ;) I have seen the term thrown around a lot. My interpretation of it was people not knowing what they were doing. But the way you seems to use it sounds very snob.

As a mobile detailer I see no difference between driving to a client's house, driving to a client's workplace, or driving to a walmart. Of course you can't do a complete detail at a walmart because you don't have access to water and electricity, but for doing spot repair jobs like headlights there is no technical problem there. As for the legality, I would argue that walmart would probably like it better that people are shopping in their store rather than sitting at home while this work is being done... but that's just me ;)

Anyway you guys convinced me not to try it. So I am back to doing nothing else than working on the damn website... I am so eager for that thing to be completed... geez it takes a long time!
 
Lol, Call me snob, I call myself a professional.

By all means go try it.
Please update asap.

Sent while I was Detailing or something related to detailing ;)
 
Calendyr said:
As a mobile detailer I see no difference between driving to a client's house, driving to a client's workplace, or driving to a walmart. Of course you can't do a complete detail at a walmart because you don't have access to water and electricity, but for doing spot repair jobs like headlights there is no technical problem there.
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I think most of everyones hangup is the fact about using a Wal-Mart parking lot. It just seems kinda ghetto if you really sit down and think about it. Do you want to be the guy that corrects headlights in a Wal-Mart parking lot? If you do headlight corrections at local businesses people might hire you to do full details on their cars. I just don't see anyone getting good clients sniping a Wal-Mart parking lot.

I'm behind you 100% with your eagerness to work and do good work, but Wal-Mart isn't a good baseline to work from IMO. Hell at least try Target :cool:
 
Well it seems a lot of members have concluded that detailing at a Walmart parking lot won't be a good idea.

So maybe some of you guys can come up with a better idea?

I think Detailer's go to the owners residence? So maybe something like that? (Just trying to help)
 
hernandez.art13 said:
Well it seems a lot of members have concluded that detailing at a Walmart parking lot won't be a good idea.

So maybe some of you guys can come up with a better idea?

I think Detailer's go to the owners residence? So maybe something like that? (Just trying to help)
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Like I explained earlier, getting clients like that would best be done by stopping at area office building. People with BMW's, Lexus' and Mercedes. Where I work full time, the "Oil Butler" comes in every month to change peoples oil in the work parking lot. People EAT IT UP because it is so convenient. The headlight idea is a good idea which could turn into full details with the right clientele. I'm not crapping on peoples rides, but I would much rather find the guy with a crap load of money, "above" detailing their own car, and wouldn't mind paying someone to do it instead of people with a Chevy Malibu that doesn't mind washing their car with Dawn and never waxing it because it doesn't cost anything.

In my area, there are a TON of people with nice cars that aren't taken care of. Some care and would pay, some could careless and are fine with the baked on brake dust enhancing the color of their wheels. Just gotta find the ones that care and want to pay.
 
I think that is a good idea, my lady's sister says a Detailer comes to do her co workers cars.

I've seen Detailers doing teachers car's at the local high school. I once saw a Detailer doing a teachers car at my local college.
 
Calendyr said:
I would love to see an actual dictionary description of hack detailing ;) I have seen the term thrown around a lot. My interpretation of it was people not knowing what they were doing......
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Well Professionals don't run up to people in parking lot's begging for work.
A Hack would, a hack detailer is a professional detailer.

You answered your own question:
My interpretation of it was people not knowing what they were doing

Let your customer find you through the web.
That's how you get customers.

But going up to people in a parking lot is the lowest form of sales.
Like my girlfriend said: She would be scared if someone came up to her in a parking lot begging to work on her car when all she wants to do is buy some milk.
 
I agree with going up to random people looking for work. I really doubt well known Detailers (that we all know about) go up to people like this.

If anything people go up to them at parking lots. (I'm exaggerating, but you get the point)

Documenting one's work and then sharing it online to others to see, seems to be working for others. Even better starting a youtube channel and having your own business name.

That and quality work, with quality cars seems to really impress people. So little by little

http://youtu.be/ACu1yRyjzOU

http://youtu.be/-n9AZFYfH-E

http://youtu.be/htsl7ICY8Nw

http://youtu.be/ubpS0zs7LEU

http://youtu.be/Ugl35QexkkQ
 
Ok I'm finally chiming in. Nothing at all wrong with talking to people anywhere to get work. The IT company I work for does ZERO advertising. We have added 2 people to staff in the post year. All our work comes from word of mouth and referrals. If I see a guy with a new Stang swirled and brake dusted, I'm leaving a card. There are no big detailers where I live. There are lots of Cadi's and Benz that could use the work they just don't know it's available out here.

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2
 
Nothing at all wrong with talking to people anywhere to get work

That's not what this post is about.
We all do this.
The OP want's to set up shop at WM.
 
Why don't you talk with the store manager and see if this is a service they could offer and sub the work to you?
 
Walmart already offers the service. and I won't give you permission to do to work on their property. liability people, liability

Sent while I was Detailing or something related to detailing ;)
 
Actually that is not what I was saying at all. Message was intended for someone very specific in a responses to a post he did. You are assuming things here.
 
Flash Gordon said:
Why don't you talk with the store manager and see if this is a service they could offer and sub the work to you?
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What does this mean then?
You're referring to a different post? This post were talking about Walmart

Sent while I was Detailing or something related to detailing ;)
 
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