Need advice...How do I politely turn away a potential customer?

david b

david b

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Just some quick background - been detailing part-time(seasonal - I'm in the upper Midwest) for 3 years and have a pretty solid customer base, mostly repeat customers. Then I get the call out of the blue from someone who wants the interior of her minivan cleaned up and she says "it's not that bad" - yeah, right! Been there, done that and it's no fun.

The question is - how do I send her to the 'other' guy and let him deal with that mess and do so in a polite manner? Btw, I think Mike P has an article here somewhere talking about turning down certain jobs.

Thanks in advance,
David
 
I do have an article on this and I cover this in all my classes (along with a ton of other tips and techniques)


The learned skill of turning detailing work down by Mike Phillips


It's real simple, just say your schedule if full but you have a buddy. And really have a buddy.


Yesterday, I gentleman asked me about removing the 10 year-old PPF off the front of his Porsche, which he just purchased from another person. He got a good deal. But part of the good deal was a baked-on, scratched-up, clear bra on a black Porsche which looked horrible.

I thought about taking the job but I didn't feel like messing with removing the PPF so I told him I had a buddy and gave him the contact info.


:)
 
I've had to do this many times...

I tell people I don't do interiors. Period.

And I don't... it's not a lie.
 
david b said:
Just some quick background - been detailing part-time(seasonal - I'm in the upper Midwest) for 3 years and have a pretty solid customer base, mostly repeat customers. Then I get the call out of the blue from someone who wants the interior of her minivan cleaned up and she says "it's not that bad" - yeah, right! Been there, done that and it's no fun.

The question is - how do I send her to the 'other' guy and let him deal with that mess and do so in a polite manner? Btw, I think Mike P has an article here somewhere talking about turning down certain jobs.

Thanks in advance,
David
Click to expand...

So you don't actually know the condition of the minivan?
 
Likewise we do not do interior-only jobs. Because of this, I have a buddy, and it's a win/win for everyone. My buddy gets work, the customer gets what they need, and I leave the customer with a good customer-service experience. And that is the most important thing, even though they didn't do business with you, they still have to feel they got excellent customer service from you.
 
LSNAutoDetailing said:
Likewise we do not do interior-only jobs. Because of this, I have a buddy, and it's a win/win for everyone. My buddy gets work, the customer gets what they need, and I leave the customer with a good customer-service experience. And that is the most important thing, even though they didn't do business with you, they still have to feel they got excellent customer service from you.
Click to expand...

This is probably the best scenario... you and your buddy give each other business. AND the customer thinks you are truthful and not greedy so they will (hopefully) come back to you with a job you do want.
 
I just price way high.
I love interior that just need vacuum blow out and ONR wipe down...
I don’t really like them where you’re covered to elbows in grime, so I try to only do those for $500+


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
david b said:
Just some quick background - been detailing part-time(seasonal - I'm in the upper Midwest) for 3 years and have a pretty solid customer base, mostly repeat customers. Then I get the call out of the blue from someone who wants the interior of her minivan cleaned up and she says "it's not that bad" - yeah, right! Been there, done that and it's no fun.

The question is - how do I send her to the 'other' guy and let him deal with that mess and do so in a polite manner? Btw, I think Mike P has an article here somewhere talking about turning down certain jobs.

Thanks in advance,
David
Click to expand...

Just say you don't have the equipment to do Interiors
 
sudsmobile said:
So you don't actually know the condition of the minivan?
Click to expand...

Not sure what this means? EVERY minivan that I've seen has been trashed...just the nature for that type of vehicle in my opinion. In fact, dealerships near me include it as part of their new vehicle promotional material - "...our minivans come standard with cruise, tilt, air, crusty french fries, melted Crayons, etc...come and see us..." (Sarcasm alert)

Thanks all for the feedback!
 
DetailKitty said:
I've had to do this many times...

I tell people I don't do interiors. Period.

And I don't... it's not a lie.
Click to expand...

Likewise!

If someone wants that, I contract it out to my trusted associate, and he will perform the service with me.
 
Yikes...I have a interior detail set on a Volvo C70 tomorrow. Hopefully it's not a bad one :(
 
When I was a very young man, I worked at a rather high end clothing store. We altered new suits for free, and charged for re-altering if a person had become larger or smaller.

One of the most extensive types of alteration on trousers is called a recut, and needs to be done when a pair of trousers needs to be "taken in" more than about 2 inches. It prevents the two pockets from being moved too close to each other in the back. Essentially, the trousers are taken apart and put back together again, smaller in all dimensions. It is needed when body builders buy new suits, or when people lose a lot of weight. It was the only alteration we charged for on a new suit, and we charge $12.00 (back in 1977).

If someone brought a suit in for re-alteration that needed the pants recut, the cost for that work alone was $175.00.

Why? Because we didn't want to do the work.

I might tend to quote a price that would do one of two things - Make the customer decide you're too expensive, or make you happy that they didn't think you were too expensive. For example, let's say you quoted an interior detail on a very bad minivan at $750.00. Your customer is likely to say "That's too expensive", and find someone else, do it themselves, or not get it done. If they say "go for it", you will have done, say $500.00 worth of work for $750.00. either way, you've left it to the customer to determine the value for your services, while not accepting a job you don't want to take.

If $750.00 isn't enough to make you happy, quote $1,000.00. Or $1,500.00. You just have to come up with a price that allows you to be happy if they say yes.

My 2 cents - probably worth about what you paid for it.
 
You have to temper that kind of price gouging with the expectation that your reputation may suffer as a result. I have plenty of friends that have said something like "You won't believe what such and such wanted to charge me for a thingamajig." You can bet that person is going to tell everybody that will listen and at least a few people will put you on their list of businesses they won't be calling in the future. There's one local business that I've never even stepped in their doors because I've had several friends tell me they were a ripoff. I don't even know if it's true.
 
david b said:
Not sure what this means? EVERY minivan that I've seen has been trashed...just the nature for that type of vehicle in my opinion. In fact, dealerships near me include it as part of their new vehicle promotional material - "...our minivans come standard with cruise, tilt, air, crusty french fries, melted Crayons, etc...come and see us..." (Sarcasm alert)

Thanks all for the feedback!
Click to expand...

I take offense to that. Just kidding:)

As an owner of a minivan I take great pride in the fact that my van looks better than 95% of the cars on the road at any given time. My interior is probably cleaner than 99% of the vehicles on the road. My kids are lucky if they get a cracker in our van. I just took out my two car seats a few days ago. It had been 6-12 months since they had been removed. There was hardly any dust or crumbs around the seat. Weathertech mats are a must with children. I don't even tell my kids to clean off their shoes when they get it. Weathertech mats should be standard equipment on all vans and trucks.
 
LEDetailing said:
I take offense to that. Just kidding:)

As an owner of a minivan I take great pride in the fact that my van looks better than 95% of the cars on the road at any given time. My interior is probably cleaner than 99% of the vehicles on the road. My kids are lucky if they get a cracker in our van. I just took out my two car seats a few days ago. It had been 6-12 months since they had been removed. There was hardly any dust or crumbs around the seat. Weathertech mats are a must with children. I don't even tell my kids to clean off their shoes when they get it. Weathertech mats should be standard equipment on all vans and trucks.
Click to expand...

I had to factory order my truck. (No regular cabs on the lot).

My Weathertech mats I ordered arrived a week before the truck. Lol

Nothing protects as well.
 
LEDetailing said:
I take offense to that. Just kidding:)

As an owner of a minivan I take great pride in the fact that my van looks better than 95% of the cars on the road at any given time. My interior is probably cleaner than 99% of the vehicles on the road. My kids are lucky if they get a cracker in our van. I just took out my two car seats a few days ago. It had been 6-12 months since they had been removed. There was hardly any dust or crumbs around the seat. Weathertech mats are a must with children. I don't even tell my kids to clean off their shoes when they get it. Weathertech mats should be standard equipment on all vans and trucks.
Click to expand...

I've found that given the opportunity, people can trash just about any kind of car. We did an interior detail on a '17 Civic a few weeks ago. I gave a quote without even asking about the condition. It's a '17, how bad could it be, right? Yeah, that car likely qualified as the state's third largest quarry. I ended up charging her 50% more than my original quote and frankly I think she was happy to pay it.
 
I have been there many times.

I’m actually considering dropping my interior-only services and incorporating them through packages only.

Networking with my competition has helped give me “buddies”

Swamp them with all the “not so fun jobs” so I can focus more time on what I truly love doing... Buffing paint


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
I have been there many times.

I’m actually considering dropping my interior-only services and incorporating them through packages only.

Networking with my competition has helped give me “buddies”

Swamp them with all the “not so fun jobs” so I can focus more time on what I truly love doing... Buffing paint


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
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