Hard to deal with customer

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powerpunk5000

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So we just launched a groupon, for detailing which I dont advise as groupon takes 50% of what you charge. So we got our first customer thru there, Went and did the job and pocketed a whooping $25 after fees, not including supplies or gas. But to my surprise the guy gave me a tip of $20. He lives about 25 mins away. So I get a call almost three days later ( two days later but at 6pm at night.) Saying " hey I just pulled the car in the garage and noticed that the roof of the car was not cleaned or waxed." Which the roof of the car was cleaned. But it was exposed to the elements for almost 3 days one of which it rained ?

I dont want any bad reviews as our company is still starting but seriously 3 days after you call and say the roof wasn't done after it sat outside in the rain? What you would you do? How would you handle the situation?
 
I'd send him the photo documentation of the in-progress work and final product.

It's obviously difficult to take the time to adequately document the work when you're only paid $25, but it should be done both for your portfolio and for your protection, so the value is there.

I find my customers do appreciate when they 'think' they have an issue and I can say, "Let me take a look at my photos and see if I have any documentation of that", then I can show them or send them the photo and follow up with, "refer to the attached photo, it appears that damage was an existing condition" or "As you can see from the attached photos, we did clean, polish and seal the roof as was agreed upon, if there's some additional work you'd like done or you are not satisfied with the results, I'd like to discuss that because I want to ensure you are fully satisfied" or "yes, we missed that item during the work. I'll stop out at your earliest convenience and take care of that, it should have been addressed as part of the original work, so there won't be any additional charge"

Obviously if the owner expected a filet for the price of a hamburger, either the expectation wasn't set or they're trying to pull one over on you, both cases need to be straightened out.
 
It's going to be a pain but I'd offer to come out and go over it again, and then give him a discount on a next wash.

I'd say the last thing you wanna do is show him a picture of the roof being waxed, the customer for whatever reason is not satisfied... showing him a picture of you waxing the roof is not going to make him satisfied.

And I agree Groupon takes enough to not make it worth it... In fact when I see a company selling something on Groupon it makes me wonder how much profit they are making if they can offer a discounted price and still lose 50% on top of that discount!
 
You could explain that you washed and waxed it, however "If you want me to come back out and re-do it again, I will."
 
I would assure him that it was, but offer to do the roof again if he wants to come over. if it was washed, clayed and waxed, it will only take a few minutes to redo. I doubt he would drive that far unless he sincerely believes what he is saying. Face to face with the customer and car is the best way to make sure he's happy. Consider that he could be a lifelong customer worth thousands of dollars. BUT if he is unrealistic, let someone else have the blessing.
 
Unrealistic expectations. Seriously, if someone showed up at my house to wash anything for $25 you can't complain about the quality, let alone 3 days later, after x, y and z. Don't worry about OP. Just explain your thought process like you did in this thread to the customer and if they don't understand...they're out of luck because THEY lost a great service.
 
JayClark79 said:
It's going to be a pain but I'd offer to come out and go over it again, and then give him a discount on a next wash.
Click to expand...

I agree with taking the time to make it right. Going out of your way now for such a minor issue can land you a long term customer. I disagree with discounting a service. Instead, offer a simple service as a courtesy such as a spray wax with your next wash.
 
IMO, STOP with Groupon...PERIOD. All you will get are difficult customers like that. Additionally, 3 days later...that is unreasonable. As for worrying about a bad review on Yelp...you can respond to the bad review if it happens. I know we recently had a thread about Groupon and there were quite a bit of thoughts on it.

Additionally, you will see you check from Groupon in about 30 to possibly 60 days later....Craigslist is another market NOT to tap into.

IMO your hard work and your quality of work does not deserve Groupon customers....you are way better than them!
 
Scott@IncrediblyDetailed said:
Unrealistic expectations. Seriously, if someone showed up at my house to wash anything for $25 you can't complain about the quality, let alone 3 days later, after x, y and z. Don't worry about OP. Just explain your thought process like you did in this thread to the customer and if they don't understand...they're out of luck because THEY lost a great service.
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The problem is they pay $50, But we pocket $25 so there expectations are higher. Groupon charges them $50 but takes 50% leaving us $25 profit and he did give us a $20 tip because he didn't know that groupon took so much. I dont think he would be a long term customer because he said the only reason he paid for the service was due to him working in the garage and having to move his car out of it for a few days.

Extra work was already done on what we charged in the groupon as well, We finished off the chrome polish, did the wheel wells and the door jams, Vents, ext. Which was not covered in the original groupon but we went out of our way to do these extra things. If the guy lived 5 mins away no problem but to travel 25 min to do a 10 min job 3 days after is absurd. You have to factor in the gas I have to use to go back there for 10 mins to do something.



I will attach some pics of the car for you guys to look at

Home


It is the cadillac cts on the front page
 
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Audios S6 said:
I'd send him the photo documentation of the in-progress work and final product.

It's obviously difficult to take the time to adequately document the work when you're only paid $25, but it should be done both for your portfolio and for your protection, so the value is there.

I find my customers do appreciate when they 'think' they have an issue and I can say, "Let me take a look at my photos and see if I have any documentation of that", then I can show them or send them the photo and follow up with, "refer to the attached photo, it appears that damage was an existing condition" or "As you can see from the attached photos, we did clean, polish and seal the roof as was agreed upon, if there's some additional work you'd like done or you are not satisfied with the results, I'd like to discuss that because I want to ensure you are fully satisfied" or "yes, we missed that item during the work. I'll stop out at your earliest convenience and take care of that, it should have been addressed as part of the original work, so there won't be any additional charge"

Obviously if the owner expected a filet for the price of a hamburger, either the expectation wasn't set or they're trying to pull one over on you, both cases need to be straightened out.
Click to expand...

Here are some photos


View image: 20150419 150806 1 1


View image: 20150419 150608


View image: 20150419 150427


View image: 20150419 150547


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Your work deserves better customers. IMO, fire the customer as well as Groupon. IMO they are not the target customers you want or deserve. All they are looking for are deals. Their friends are the same.

I bet you the customer you are talking about has said to you "if you do not come here and fix my situation, I am going to let ALL my friends know". In this case...so be it!!

Your talent deserves better.
 
F that noise!
Tell him and Groupon to pound sand. You deserve way more than $25... or $50!

The cheapest you would get me to do any job is $125 and that is NO paint correction OR interior!
I may be expensive, but i do it on the side and if you want me to do your car that bad you gotta pay.
 
As ridiculous as it might be, it would take you maybe 5 minutes waterless wash the roof and throw some wax on it. It would also involve driving time, but it might be worth it over a bad review when you are just starting out.
 
DetailKitty said:
F that noise!
Tell him and Groupon to pound sand. You deserve way more than $25... or $50!

The cheapest you would get me to do any job is $125 and that is NO paint correction OR interior!
I may be expensive, but i do it on the side and if you want me to do your car that bad you gotta pay.
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I'm with you DetailKitty. I give them the price and if they don't like it "take a hike". I do it on the weekends and it's my way or the highway and I have them in line.
 
I know I am one of the most expensive guys in my area, but I also do very little wash and wax jobs. I have really even considered completely dropping my basic services and only taking correction work. We have quite a few cheap volume shops in our area and honestly most of the headaches come from the cheap jobs anyways. Being a part time guy I can do this without much worries though.
 
There are two ways to handle this.

Amateur way:

1. Tell the dude to get bent.

Professional Way:

2. Make it right and offer to re-wash the car. Unfortunately, you signed up for Group On... God only knows WHY you would do that when they take a whopping 50% !!!!!

It doesn't matter if your right or he's right. When your a professional at ANY job, you have to do what you reasonably can to make the customer feel the job is right. This is the cost of business and the process of dealing with people / customers - some who are harder to please than others.
 
swanicyouth said:
There are two ways to handle this.

Amateur way:

1. Tell the dude to get bent.

Professional Way:

2. Make it right and offer to re-wash the car. Unfortunately, you signed up for Group On... God only knows WHY you would do that when they take a whopping 50% !!!!!

It doesn't matter if your right or he's right. When your a professional at ANY job, you have to do what you reasonably can to make the customer feel the job is right. This is the cost of business and the process of dealing with people / customers - some who are harder to please than others.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. I would also take the time to explain that the job WAS DONE PROPERLY in the first place. You are providing this courtesy so as to have a 100% satisfied customer and it will not be repeated in the future. You don't want this jackleg to make a habit of this.
 
I'm tired of this "customer is always right" mentality. We live in a culture where people want things their way at their pace for their price and don't understand when they don't get it. Customers are not always right.

I worked in a customer service role for six years where I saw people literally cry over not being able to return 10 dollar cables, physically throw items at me that they were told were non-refundable, and call me names that would make sailors cover their ears. Guess what? Some of them still got their way because they know they can throw a fit and no one wants bad publicity or to deal with confrontation. They were raised and nurtured in a society where *****ing and moaning gets you results.

If I did detailing as a full-time job, I'd probably be more inclined to "make that right" for the customer, even though it's not your problem, but since I can pick and choose who I service as a business owner, I'd tell him how it is and offer a comp service next time because that's ridiculous and unreasonable. I almost signed up for Groupon a long time ago then they kept calling and trying to get me to sign up every day; it was worse than a car salesman. I read some of everyone's horror stories on here and I definitely do not want those types of customers.

Sorry for the rant. Just can't stand this kind of stuff.
 
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