Need advice. One problem I am not able to overcome

Real Riders

Real Riders

New member
Joined
Jul 18, 2013
Messages
749
Reaction score
0
Mike, I need some advice. I have worked for Used Car dealers in the past but now I have been also doing Rinseless Washes for individual clients. The used car dealers understand that used cars have flaws, small nicks , and light scratches on most of their cars. The individual clients seem to not understand this. Here are some examples I encountered in the last month.


--- I did a Rinseless last month on a Dodge Charger and after I finished , the customer asked me how it turned out and I said , It looks good other than the rock chips on the front . Then the owner says " I don't remember seeing any rock chips on the front"

--- I was doing a Rinseless on a Dodge Truck last week -- I arrive at the truck and the first thing I see is a big scratch on the plastic trim on the front bumper. I call the client and let her know. I do not start washing (only cleaning wheels) until she arrives. I show her the scratch and then clean the truck. Her husband shows up later and says "I have never seen that scratch before"

-- Today I do a Rinseless on a Honda and yesterday on a Hyundai at the Post Office . The Hyundai cleaned up nice with no problems but today while cleaning the Honda, the owner of the Hyundai is leaving work and I hear this in a panic voice --- "Oh no, my car has a scratch on it and it wasn't there yesterday" . I go over with a microfiber and Waterless Wash and it wipes right off ( looks like the car was outside in the dew last night and it was a streak of dried up water that looked like a scratch)

Here is my question. If you do Rinseless Washes on the same cars each week, the cars over a period of 5 years will have more rock chips, scratches , dings, and other problems as the cars age. There is no way I can be liable for every new flaw, scratch, rock chip, and ding for the next 5 years, so how do you handle this problem I have not yet been able to overcome.

Thanks

Marc
 
Very easy solution my friend. ALWAYS do a pre inspection of the vehicle with the client.. I can send you the VIF if you need it.
 
EVOlved said:
Very easy solution my friend. ALWAYS do a pre inspection of the vehicle with the client.. I can send you the VIF if you need it.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree and I will do a pre inspection when I can. The problem is the clients are at work at the Post Office and can't do a pre inspection with me since they are either out on a route or working the front counter. Normally the client is available to do a walk around but not when they are at work. If you could send me a VIF to [email protected] that would be great.
 
Lets say you are cleaning doctors cars at the Hospital each week and they are too busy with patients to do a pre inspection each time you show up to clean the car. What do you do? Is is better not to clean the car if the customer is not able to do a pre inspection?
 
Between you and me:
•For those clients making these (impolite) remarks about the sudden appearance of any "before unseen" marks on their vehicles within your earshot:
-How are they able to keep up with their vehicles' ongoing day-to-day, week-to-week condition when it sounds like they don't ever put a hand on their vehicles to begin with?
-I'm sure they don't have the wherewithal to perform their own (clandestine) VIF before your scheduled detail, so they can later on: "try to trip you up".

Anyway...and IMHO:
By now your clients should have faith in your being trustworthy.

(End of editorial)
_______________________________________________

•If the clients can't make it to the pre-inspection/walk around, let them know that:
-You will still be doing it with your camera (even video equip.?) in hand.
-The pictures taken during the pre-inspection (and even afterwards it appears) will suffice as their "signing off" the VIF.

I know: PITA...
But you've got to protect your backside (and reputation)!!


Bob
 
I wouldn't worry about this too much. In all honesty, these people probably haven't seen the rock chips or scratches until you pointed them out. There is just no feasible way to prevent this type of damage from occurring on daily driven cars.

I would LOVE for somebody to explain to me how washing a car causes rock chips in the front bumper.

If the client isn't around to do a vif each time, just walk around the car before you start with a camera and take pics of any new damage you see. If you do these cars regularly you will be able to differentiate new from old damage. Store the pics and if it ever comes to it, the metadata in the image file will prove that the damage was there before you worked on the car.
 
The way ill handle it is by doing a pre inspection with customer tagging along trying to see all flaws(and taking pics of the flaws found) then let the customer know there might be some hidden defects once contamination is removed off the paintwork in most safest way and if their are flaws found while the vehicle is begin washed call the customer and let them know so you can know whether to proceed or not
 
I never do work on a car without pointing out all the flaws up front, that way I don't have to deal with all the "that wasn't there before" remarks.
 
I've been using an inspection form by Mike Phillips.. It's very well done and can be edited for your own particular use and situation, sort of like a living document..

Mike Phillips VIF or Vehicle Inspection Form

Another tool in the old arsenal is a digital camera. These are so inexpensive today and a picture is worth a thousand words and calms an accusing car owner right down....
 
For clients that can't do a walk around with you, take pics of any damage/defects that you see upon arrival before washing the vehicle. Clients that are going to accuse me of damage that could obviously not be my fault are no client of mine.:)
 
When a car comes to me for the first time and it's dirty it is impossible to see all the flaws and this is often why customers aren't even aware of them. No amount of pre-inspection is going to catch everything. Take photos and video. Most customers never look at their vehicle from 12 inches away. I have found it to be a very delicate balance between when to mention minor flaws and when to not say a word. Once you point out one the customer starts looking closer for others.

It isn't the fear of being responsible for the damage that concerns me since it would have to be shown HOW I damaged the vehicle and it just doesn't make sense that, being as focused on the improvement of the vehicle's appearance as I am, I would do anything to possibly cause the damage. It is the risk of losing the customer. Your confidence and image can make a big difference in this area. If you look and act like a professional you can prevent a lot of headaches.
 
Sent the VIF, I believe the pictures combined with not telling people about the little things unless it is something you want to correct and explain to them what caused it and how you can fix it is the solution if you can't do a VIF.
 
As every one else has said do a walk around with the customer and note EVERY defect on a VIF. I tell the customer that some one needs to be there to sign off on it before I begin working. Then after you wash the car take pictures of every defect and make sure the date and time stamp is turned on. When you get home upload all the pics to a file with the customers name and date.

We live in a sue happy world so you gotta protect your self. I mean how bad would it suck if you got blamed for a scratch on a custom paint job and had to shell out $10,000+ to get it fixed because you didn't take pictures and didn't do a VIF

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using AG Online
 
I work at a high line car dealership and have see and had this happen to me countless times (my wheels weren't curbed, that dent wasn't there...).
our dealership now requires pictures of the VIN, all 4 sides, wheels, and windshield, as well as any obvious damage. this has saved our service department thousands of dollars over the last few months by proving damaged vehicle were damaged on arrival.

a $50 camera and a folder in your computer is a good way to CYA in case your customers don't believe you.
 
No way i have the time to look for every little defect especially when dirty... No one can see them all as they may be filled with dirt. Just explain to customers that once clean its possible you will see chips and scratches that weren't noticeable before because of dirt. Similar when removing swirls, explain rids will be noticeable because they were masked by swirls. Obviously big obnoxious defects can be documented.

If a customer is always saying i didn't notice that before.. May be time to separate from that customer.
 
HD.Detailing said:
No way i have the time to look for every little defect especially when dirty... No one can see them all as they may be filled with dirt. Just explain to customers that once clean its possible you will see chips and scratches that weren't noticeable before because of dirt. Similar when removing swirls, explain rids will be noticeable because they were masked by swirls. Obviously big obnoxious defects can be documented.

If a customer is always saying i didn't notice that before.. May be time to separate from that customer.
Click to expand...

We have a winner. I was about to post a very similiar comment.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using AG Online
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top