Has anyone ever been asked this?

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D.C.Detail

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hey everyone! just a quick question for you all.

so the other day i had a customer text me in regards to taking care of an 06' crown vic police car. He wanted to know if i could remove the "faded paint" which still showed all the police lettering from when they have the vinyl on the car.

Anyways, after talking to him for a bit he asked me a question and said business aside, how do you think *other local detailer* would do on this job? Compared to you?

Now that completely threw me off guard, i wasn't sure how to answer that so i answered according, i said: A: I don't know *other detailer* very well except as another detailer in the area. B: as far as photos of past work he has done he does very well with interiors however from the exterior photos he has published he mostly does wash and wax's. C: he referred you to me cause he knows i have experience with paint correction. Then i said that it would be hard to say how well he would do on this job, however if you needed your interior taken care of he would do very well.

Then i proceeded to say that if you want to see some photos of my work to check out my Facebook page.

Now in my opinion, i think i answered that question very professionally, i did not dog the other detailer at all (as far as i can tell) what do you all think?

Has anyone ever been asked that and what kind of responses did you give. also i feel sorta like i was being scammed to try to get some information? does anyone else get that feeling?

just wondering. Thanks in advance!

Eric
 
Compass11 said:
hey everyone! just a quick question for you all.

so the other day i had a customer text me in regards to taking care of an 06' crown vic police car. He wanted to know if i could remove the "faded paint" which still showed all the police lettering from when they have the vinyl on the car.

Anyways, after talking to him for a bit he asked me a question and said business aside, how do you think *other local detailer* would do on this job? Compared to you?

Now that completely threw me off guard, i wasn't sure how to answer that so i answered according, i said: A: I don't know *other detailer* very well except as another detailer in the area. B: as far as photos of past work he has done he does very well with interiors however from the exterior photos he has published he mostly does wash and wax's. C: he referred you to me cause he knows i have experience with paint correction. Then i said that it would be hard to say how well he would do on this job, however if you needed your interior taken care of he would do very well.

Then i proceeded to say that if you want to see some photos of my work to check out my Facebook page.

Now in my opinion, i think i answered that question very professionally, i did not dog the other detailer at all (as far as i can tell) what do you all think?

Has anyone ever been asked that and what kind of responses did you give. also i feel sorta like i was being scammed to try to get some information? does anyone else get that feeling?

just wondering. Thanks in advance!

Eric
Click to expand...

I was asked just last week what sets me apart from my competition. I answered STUPIDITY!! Most people have sense enough to get out of this business
 
Yeah sounds like he was just trying to get the process out of you so he can do it himself. However I think you answered it professionally. With the comment about how the other guy does interior well I would have left that out. To me I would have taken that as he does better at interior then you. But none the less I think you answered his question well.

I would have told him " It's hard to say his approach and process. Detailing is an art as much as it is a skill. Picasso and Vangoh were both great painters however their styles and techniques are completely different. The same goes for great detailers. All great detailers have their own techniques and processes. With that said I can't tell you how he would do it. That is a question I don't know the answer to unfortunately. Now I can tell you this. Although I don't know his skill level I do know mine and I wouldnt offer a service I was not capable of doing. My name and reputation is on the line therefore I only offer services that render results superior to my competition. If you have any more questions I'd be glad to answe them :) "

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using AG Online
 
wow....wish i would have posted this up before i answered that question...but yeah as far as commenting about his interior work.. probably shouldn't have even brought it up, but i dunno i was just so thrown off guard by the whole thing i wasn't thinking straight...
 
Hey it happens. You answered it fine IMO. Did the guy end up hiring you?

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using AG Online
 
I usually just respond with this.
I don't know any other detailers personally but my reviews speak for themselves. You can find them on x,y,z and find my work on a & b. look for theirs also and call me back.
That's what I tell my customers, no need to mention anything else, I never ever diss anyone else but I won't let someone talk down to me.
 
yeah, he said he's going to have me do the work but it wont be till mid May, so hopefully he pulls through. This is my first season with a garage and where i actually feel comfortable getting business from complete strangers (before it was all acquaintances and friends) so i'm gonna take any business i can lol... however this car is going to break me...lol but the before and afters and also the 50/50's will be well worth it for portfolio reasons.
 
Compass11 said:
yeah, he said he's going to have me do the work but it wont be till mid May, so hopefully he pulls through. This is my first season with a garage and where i actually feel comfortable getting business from complete strangers (before it was all acquaintances and friends) so i'm gonna take any business i can lol... however this car is going to break me...lol but the before and afters and also the 50/50's will be well worth it for portfolio reasons.
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Nice. Well see you answered it right then. Here's my question though. So the crown Vic had vinyl graphics on it. After they were removed the paint still shows where they were. Is it possible to completely remove that? Reason I ask is I have a ram 1500. On the side I had 2 emblems one says 5.7 hemi the other said ram. Well I removed just the one that said ram and kept the 5.7 hemi emblem. Problem was once I removed it I can still see where it said ram (exactly this guys problem). I've don't 2 paint corrections since and although they are hardly visible they are still there. Is it possible to even remove this issue? I assumed that the problem was beneith the paint.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using AG Online
 
in this specific application i believe they are removable, reason being, this car is HEAVILY swirled and scratched up.....now..with that being said, if you look at where the graphics were, you can see that it is much much less swirled and scratched, due to the graphics protecting the paint from what ever they washed it with...so hopefully all i'll have to due is some major polishing and it should all even out. and yeah...that may be a dodge thing, because i have a stratus RT and where i removed the badges in the back they are completely visible....damn near a complete different shade of red...so i'm thinking its obviously been resprayed...but anyways, yea, i do believe the 'Vics issue can be resolved probably around 95%
 
I usually explain to my clients that ask about other detailers by telling them the difference between production and non production work. That conversation alone usually sets the differences very strong in their mind.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online
 
YES.

I quoted an Audi Q7 for a 2 step paint correction. This included interior clean up (customer had a 3 year old kiddo), wheels+ sealant, chrome polishing. The paint was in bad shape. I gave him a "first of the season" discount which came out to be $550. A day later he tells me that Audi can do the same work that i can for $180.00... Didn't get the job, and i don't care :)
 
GenesisCoupe said:
YES.

I quoted an Audi Q7 for a 2 step paint correction. This included interior clean up (customer had a 3 year old kiddo), wheels+ sealant, chrome polishing. The paint was in bad shape. I gave him a "first of the season" discount which came out to be $550. A day later he tells me that Audi can do the same work that i can for $180.00... Didn't get the job, and i don't care :)
Click to expand...

I have done q7'S and my dd is a q5 and believe me I would touch either for less than £500 to detail to the standard I do our own cars


Lots of my wife's friends bring up their mercs, volvos and bmws to get them cleaned. I do this between software testing contracts as I enjoy the work out and it allows my wife and all the kids to play in the garden.

One mother who is a child minder brought me the worst car ever, I washed it and waxed it but refused to clean the car inside as it had kid sick and smelt like a toilet, needless to say her kids don't visit!

My dad used to say dress well drive a clean car as it says what kind of man you are! Take pride in everything you own!

I don't understand people who spend say £30 to £50 grand on a really nice can and let it look like sh!t!

That's one thing my dear father taught me as a kid! Keep it clean son!!
 
You answered fine. That guys a tool. He was totally trying to find out your technique so he could give it a go himself.

You should charge him an extra hundred just for being a jackazz.
 
Compass11 said:
hey everyone! just a quick question for you all.

so the other day i had a customer text me in regards to taking care of an 06' crown vic police car. He wanted to know if i could remove the "faded paint" which still showed all the police lettering from when they have the vinyl on the car.

Anyways, after talking to him for a bit he asked me a question and said business aside, how do you think *other local detailer* would do on this job? Compared to you?

Now that completely threw me off guard, i wasn't sure how to answer that so i answered according, i said: A: I don't know *other detailer* very well except as another detailer in the area. B: as far as photos of past work he has done he does very well with interiors however from the exterior photos he has published he mostly does wash and wax's. C: he referred you to me cause he knows i have experience with paint correction. Then i said that it would be hard to say how well he would do on this job, however if you needed your interior taken care of he would do very well.

Then i proceeded to say that if you want to see some photos of my work to check out my Facebook page.

Now in my opinion, i think i answered that question very professionally, i did not dog the other detailer at all (as far as i can tell) what do you all think?

Has anyone ever been asked that and what kind of responses did you give. also i feel sorta like i was being scammed to try to get some information? does anyone else get that feeling?

just wondering. Thanks in advance!

Eric
Click to expand...

I don't see why a lot of you are saying this potential customer was trying to find out the process so he could do the job him/herself. I don't get that by what the OP originally posted

If someone asks me my process I reply with "It's really very boring. I'm sure you wouldn't be interested"
 
I agree, after meeting him he def was not interested in doing it himself, I just thought maybe he was a friend or acquaintance of the other detailer that was maybe trying to find out if I was doing to put him down or figure out my processes
 
D.C.Detail said:
I agree, after meeting him he def was not interested in doing it himself, I just thought maybe he was a friend or acquaintance of the other detailer that was maybe trying to find out if I was doing to put him down or figure out my processes
Click to expand...

Good chance. I had a man call a while back that said he purchased a Groupon coupon and was wondering how he should proceed in redeeming it. After explaining I've NEVER signed up with Groupon he told me the company that did sell it to him was using my company name! After explaining this wasn't me 4 or 5 times he still wanted to know if I would honor it :rolleyes:

I have a very strong feeling this guy was actually the owner of said company
 
Flash Gordon said:
I don't see why a lot of you are saying this potential customer was trying to find out the process so he could do the job him/herself. I don't get that by what the OP originally posted

If someone asks me my process I reply with "It's really very boring. I'm sure you wouldn't be interested"
Click to expand...

I've never been asked how such and such detailer would handle a job, but I've been asked a hundred times how I would go about doing this or that. Most of the time they are only interested in my technique so they can attempt it themselves. Not all,...most.

In this case I was mistaken. I think he was genuinely interested in how the other guy would do it. An odd request.
 
DaVinciAutoSpa said:
I've never been asked how such and such detailer would handle a job, but I've been asked a hundred times how I would go about doing this or that. Most of the time they are only interested in my technique so they can attempt it themselves. Not all,...most.

In this case I was mistaken. I think he was genuinely interested in how the other guy would do it. An odd request.
Click to expand...

It's so annoying (and obvious) when you get a call from someone pretending to be a potential customer and all they want to know is "How Are You Going To Do It?" In all my years in business I can't think of 1 customer who actually cared (or even wanted to know) how the job gets done. As a matter of fact most customers when I try to educate them look at me like I have a 3rd eye
 
Humor it up a little:

"I am not sure how good the other detailer is. However, if he does a higher quality job and at a lower price than I do, I will get my work done from him too!"

That's how I deal with production quality car washes. I mean, why not? Honesty and humor is awesome. :)
 
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