How do you handle these types of people

brondondolon

brondondolon

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Got a call from a guy putting his car in the car show out here. Its an el camino show car with a custom paint job, custom interior, and the engine was all chrome. He wanted the engine detailed and polished the interior looking brand new and the exterior detailed and waxed. I gave him a "sight unseen" quote for $160 and he said I was astronomically expensive. Then he said that every one else is charging about $50 and $60 for the detail. So i said "for interior and engine too?!" and he said yup. So i told him " well you know you get what you pay for. I use only the highest end products available and know what im doing. Be careful though with those guys and good luck."

I personally felt like i was giving him a great deal at $160 or am i crazy? I was quoting him so low because i figured id make his car shine like never before and then people would ask about how he got it so clean and hopefully id get some referrals.
 
There is always going to be someone cheaper, and there is little you can do to dissuade someone from going that route if they are shopping on price.
 
I real tight ass.

We all get them, I make a point of doing like you but if someone asks for discount or a cash price I tend to say thanks but no thanks!

I has a £1k job on a lambo and the client told me no photos or videos and I had to start it at 8am and finish by 530 over 2 days.

He asked for the best price so I gave home the same price as any other customer but promised to add a carpet protectorant and a free wash and wax for his wife's mini.
 
brondondolon said:
I personally felt like i was giving him a great deal at $160 or am i crazy?
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I wouldn't have touched the car for that kind of money...

In Renny Doyle's book on how to start a car detailing business I have section as a guest contributor on page 125 called,

The Learned Skill of Turning Down Work

Read that section if you have the book. If you don't have the book the I'd recommend getting it.



brondondolon said:
I was quoting him so low because i figured id make his car shine like never before and then people would ask about how he got it so clean and hopefully id get some referrals.
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He sounds like he doesn't know anything about quality work when it comes to car detailing and at that price and his knowledge level he wouldn't appreciate all your hard work and thus wouldn't share it with anyone.

Like Kenny Rodgers says...

You have to know when to hold em, know when to fold em and know when to walk away...


:dblthumb2:
 
i'd put together a quick list of exactly what you'd do, nothing crazy - a four-five minute bullet point list and provide that. that will legitimize your estimate on paper and give him something to use against the other guys. there is no way the other guys will be able to do that, let alone to a high degree, for those prices.

sometimes i see prices on this forum that boggle my mind. i look at expenses on a granular level for my business so i know exactly where i'm screwing up (not a detailing business). so, even if you break it down to a pretty basic level, how many dollars per hour are you making with your quotes? i am not asking for that answer, but i'm just saying, it's most important when comparing your work to others. sometimes you just have to turn the work down if it's below your profit vs. time standards.
 
I don't say this because I'm not a detailer by profession, but with people like that you are better off just walking away. They either don't understand your work or they do and try to squeeze you, either way they usually turn out to be a pain in the....

You're better off doing the job for someone who appreciates your work too....
 
I once had a customer who thought he was doing me a favour by offering me £50 for a detail so I googled the local drive through cash wash and explained he would save money there as his BMW x6 takes a full day.

But the guy made the big mistake of talking at me not to me, so I learned mikes lesson of why and how to turn down jobs and how to remain calm
 
brondondolon said:
Got a call from a guy putting his car in the car show out here. Its an el camino show car with a custom paint job, custom interior, and the engine was all chrome. He wanted the engine detailed and polished the interior looking brand new and the exterior detailed and waxed. I gave him a "sight unseen" quote for $160 and he said I was astronomically expensive. Then he said that every one else is charging about $50 and $60 for the detail. So i said "for interior and engine too?!" and he said yup. So i told him " well you know you get what you pay for. I use only the highest end products available and know what im doing. Be careful though with those guys and good luck."

I personally felt like i was giving him a great deal at $160 or am i crazy? I was quoting him so low because i figured id make his car shine like never before and then people would ask about how he got it so clean and hopefully id get some referrals.
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If I look at this, I would have scared him away. For the engine alone, I would not have touched it for less than what you are asking for the whole thing. If it has chrome all over it, you need to polish it before a show. He is asking for the interior to look new, even with it being half a car, it is still a job that could take 2-4 hours depending on how it is now, are the carpets stained? What is the seat material? Getting into the gauges, radio dials and such, so another 100-200, then the exterior. You have to clean it, polish it with one step and then wax. Another 6-10 or more hours if we are being meticulous and getting something ready for a show. What about the wheels? What about the chassis area inside the fender wells, what about the fender wells? If you are using premium products, you are using 25-50 in just material, not including wear and tear on equipment.
We really do as a group need to start making the distinction between ourselves and others and price accordingly.


HUMP
 
Sounds like 8+ hrs of work. Guess that guy thinks detailers make less than minimum wage
 
HUMP DIESEL said:
If I look at this, I would have scared him away. For the engine alone, I would not have touched it for less than what you are asking for the whole thing. If it has chrome all over it, you need to polish it before a show. He is asking for the interior to look new, even with it being half a car, it is still a job that could take 2-4 hours depending on how it is now, are the carpets stained? What is the seat material? Getting into the gauges, radio dials and such, so another 100-200, then the exterior. You have to clean it, polish it with one step and then wax. Another 6-10 or more hours if we are being meticulous and getting something ready for a show. What about the wheels? What about the chassis area inside the fender wells, what about the fender wells? If you are using premium products, you are using 25-50 in just material, not including wear and tear on equipment.
We really do as a group need to start making the distinction between ourselves and others and price accordingly.


HUMP
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This, this, and this.

Disclaimer: I'm part-time, but I won't even consider a job if I'm looking at less than $30 an hour. It isn't worth my free time, and time away from my wife and kids. I wouldn't have quoted that guy less than probably $700/800 for a concourse engine bay, interior, and one stage polish and LSP.
 
brondondolon said:
Then he said that every one else is charging about $50 and $60 for the detail.
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This is the key statement in your situation and it really boils down to 2 things in this prospects head:

1. If he was truly happy with the $50-$60 service do you think he would be looking around?

2. It's possible he is so cheap he was looking for a cheaper deal.

To me #2 seems unlikely and if I am wrong then you made the right decision to move on. As for #1, I get a sense that this prospect was simply not being transparent. I would have asked him why he was looking around if he has always been satisfied with sub-$100 deals. No matter what the answer - you learn a little about what really drives his behaviors and decision-making. Then, and only then, can you see about breaking through this guys shell and get a level of trust he never provided anyone before you. This doesn't guarantee you get a deal but it does end things on a different note.
 
Wow, spend all that money on a car to let a hack screw it up? No way!!

Probably still expects $160 results for $60.

Great job on not lowering your standards.
 
He would've flipped on my price for that car lol and my base price is $255 for that. I just let people like that go somewhere else don't need that kind of customer ever!
 
I had this happen to me in the beginning but hanging out here and reading both detailing books has helped me grow. (Renny's and Mike's)


Sure busting your butt off to just get some work is fun and all in the very beginning, but once you have put in some work and you know to yourself that you are doing higher end work than others. Getting handed $20 for hours and hours of work gets old and gets to become a real drag.

Especially when you think, wait a minute. It actually cost me money to do their cars.

However, when someone hands you a couple of hundreds (multiplied by however you see fit) then all that sweat, tiredness, hunger, products you used aren't so bad and sure you get home all tired and are ready for a shower, food and sleep, but you wake up the next day hungry for more.


Sure, I had washed cars, wet sanded them, buff them, etc... in the past, but discovered a whole different side of this profession when I found AGO.

I found this to be very true especially when I go visit one of my family members shops. I go talk to there detailer and we just do different type of work than they do, nothing wrong against that and like I said before, body shops are not detail shops, well most lol and (Different courses for different horses)

Copy/paste

Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Detailers that hang out on discussion forums know more than detailers that don't...


onlinedetailer.jpg


It's just as easy to do things the right way the first time as it is to do things wrong all the time. Like I always say,


"Detailers that hang out on discussion forums like AGO know more than detailers that don't hang out on forums at all"
​
A great detailer brings four things to the table...

  1. Knowledge
  2. Skill
  3. Experience
  4. Passion
Knowledge is shared, transfered and obtained via detailing discussion forums better and faster than any other media.

Anyone agree or disagree? Make your case.


:xyxthumbs:
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I tell people to kiss off all the time. If you want cheap go find it and suffer with a botched job. When you come back to me the price is double. Now granted I don't do this for my living but I'm also not going to waste my time trying to save some jerk money. These people are professionals at this. Why do you think he has the show car and you don't?
 
I would just ignore the guy as he was just trying to low ball the price. If he actually got that price from a reputable detailer he would have jumped at that price.

Just move on and don't loose sleep over it.

Ed
 
Thats fair price OP. Tell him to go elsewhere and tell him to be sure to call you and tell you how bad it looks and how much he regrets getting cheap after spending so much time and money getting his car to show condition. I love these turning down customers like this.
 
That customer put loads of money on a show car & too cheap to pay you $150-200 for the detailing ! Drop that customer right now , don t spend energy or some sort on him ,he s low balling you mate .

It s what I m thinking .
 
You'd think this guy would think "Ok I spend thousands, ten thousands on this car to get it looking it's best"

Now I am going to spend another thousand to pamper her and getting looking her best for her big day....

but no... "I'll pay $50 bucks to get it all the hard work, money and time messed up within a few hours. "

I like how the customer in the video explains his reasoning on why he gets the luxury detail package.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNAmZPgcBzU]Miracle Detail - RTL - Formel Exclusiv - £5000 Car Wash - YouTube[/video]



"Well first of all, a car like this is like a beautiful lady."
:iagree:



"she has to be taken care of"

:iagree:


"it's like taking a woman out to buy an expensive dress, one a year"

:iagree:

I love making her feel and look her best. :kiss:

phew... is it getting hot in here? :surrender:


:coolgleam:
 
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