Overworking a job

StealthXJ

StealthXJ

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Lately my detail jobs, no paint correction, have turned into 8 plus hour deals. Yesterday I detailed a Ford Ranger for a total of 10 hours and made $175! It was a gorgeous day, so I enjoyed myself, but there is no reason that it should take me this long and only make this amount of money! Now, the upholstery had some really nasty spots that I should have charged extra for, but I didn't know that it would take so long. That only probably added and hour.

I honestly hate dealing with the money side of everything, but I know what my services are worth. Heck, I couldn't afford my services! Haha!

Anyways, how do you all go about adding charges for certain really bad areas? Does anyone here place an hour cap on their services then add a few if it goes over?
 
Do you inspect the vehicle prior to quoting a job?

If not, you need to have clearly defined services and prices... your interior detail may include steam cleaning or extracting, but you should make it very clear that stain removal will be extra and quoted upon inspection only. You may include a light polish in your exterior service, but defect removal/correction work should be quoted only after inspection. Charge for these additional tasks by how long it should take you multiplied by your hourly rate, and even give a range in your estimate so you have some leeway if needed. There are just too many unknowns when dealing with certain aspects of detailing.

If you are working with set prices, you cannot set out to make every vehicle perfect, simple as that. You will not make any money, as you demonstrated in your Ranger example. Just make sure you are open and honest about your services, and as long as your customer knows what to expect, then you will be fine. If they think they are getting a perfect inside and outside treatment for $175, you didn't do your job to educate them in the first place ;)


To give you a comparison, on an average sized sedan, we will spend roughly 8-10 hours on the exterior for all necessary cleaning, decontamination, single step correction, and coating application and our prices start at $775 for the job. Much nicer than $175 after a hard day of work.
 
Wow, now that is some money, although I have not had a polish or coating customer. And, I did inspect the vehicle, I am just new to assessing stains and issues and how long they will take. I added another $30 to a two vehicle quote after seeing the carpet on the same person's f-150.

Thank you for the advice.
 
Listen to Zach, his work speaks for itself and he draws the type of customers that don't flinch when he quotes, because they know why they go to him.

Read Mike Phillips post: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ps-starting-part-time-detailing-business.html Specifically: match your services to your client or market

You're website looks great... but it looks like you're targeting a classic car market. Secondly you have packages that state "Coming Soon".
Coming soon tells me you're not there yet, it says, please pass on me and go to someone who is offering it. Build your packages and offer them.

Secondly in an another thread you state:
I always want to give more than 100% to every vehicle
Click to expand...

As Zach mentions above, do what your packages dictate, what your customer has agreed to pay and do it to the best of your ability. Anything beyond that is on your dime/time.
 
One thing you will learn is that you have to stop doing more than what you are being paid for. I think we have all gone through this phase of trying to make everything perfect... even if the total bill is $50. In the end, you are working to make money... even if it is just a part time gig. You'll initially shrug it off because you "enjoy the work" anyway, so at least you are making some money, but you won't be able to support a business with that ideology for long.

As far as assessing and quoting work, be very honest about what you're looking at. Interior work is certainly not something I specialize in, but when I see a stain on carpets or a deeper scratch in the paint that the owner would like removed, I never promise anything. I quote the work and let them know we can improve the area, but that due to unknown variables, there is no way we can be certain of some things until we start working.

If you ever watch any of those house flipping/fixer upper shows on TV you'll see that contractors will start out with a quote of say $30,000 for a job, but by the end of it they may be at $40 or $50,000 because of the unknown issues that were uncovered along the way. Detailing work is no different... you don't exacty know what you are getting into until you start working on it (at least for more specialized services like paint correction work and stain removal).

For general cleaning that the majority of vehicle owners are interested in... wash & wax, clay bar, vacuuming, extracting, etc... you should have well defined packages and learn not to stray from your routine as that is where you lose money. These services should not have any major variables/unknowns involved so you should be able to set a price for a given size class of vehicle and stick to it without even quoting a car.

Agreed that your site looks very nice overall!
 
you absolutely need to go over the car with the customer before hand, its a must if you want to make money.

1. point out spots that you may not be able to correct (deep scratches, hard stains, smells, etc.)
2. let the customer know what you will have to do in order to get the job done. (wet sanding, headlights, stain removal, etc.)
3. be honest, and forward about the services you provide. be straight forward about your prices.
4. do not undercut yourself.
 
Stealth,

If you continue to over deliver, I could see this possibly hurting your business in the long run. Hear me out on this. If your customers come to expect a certain level of detail (8hrs for $175), they are going to continue expect it on the next detail as well. You will eventually be selling your services short and the customer will expect bargain prices for exceptional work.

I would have a problem not doing exactly what you are doing as well. I would have a difficult time stopping myself.
 
LEDetailing said:
Stealth,

If you continue to over deliver, I could see this possibly hurting your business in the long run. Hear me out on this. If your customers come to expect a certain level of detail (8hrs for $175), they are going to continue expect it on the next detail as well. You will eventually be selling your services short and the customer will expect bargain prices for exceptional work.

I would have a problem not doing exactly what you are doing as well. I would have a difficult time stopping myself.
Click to expand...


Exactly right... when this guy comes back again next year and you tell him it will be $500 for the same 10 hours of your time, he may not be very pleased. You've got to price your work accordingly or else you will either get stuck doing excessive work for little to no money, or having to upset and possibly lose a lot of customers when you have to drastically increase your pricing.
 
Thank you all for the feedback on my website and all of the experienced advice! I listen to it all and take it to heart. I want to succeed and get the right customers too. I will take some time to revise my content and really get out there, not being afraid to say no.
 
StealthXJ said:
Thank you all for the feedback on my website and all of the experienced advice! I listen to it all and take it to heart. I want to succeed and get the right customers too. I will take some time to revise my content and really get out there, not being afraid to say no.
Click to expand...

Saying No is easy, the hardest part at first is asking for the money... I remember the first time I quoted someone over $300, I am pretty sure I was noticably sweating and looked scared/unsure of myself just telling them that is how much it would cost. It feels like a lot of money because to us this is something we enjoy doing and not something you would ever consider paying someone to do, but you simply have to charge properly or else you're only going to fail in the end.

Confidence will sell your work... confidence in your knowledge, confidence in your skill, confidence in your results, and confidence in your pricing.

It all comes with time and experience... you'll get it!
 
For interiors, I never promise I'll get stains out. Too many variables and I let them know it. I'll tell them I can spend X amount of time on it (if it's a budget detail) and do my best. This gives me some breathing room in case it isn't perfect. The longer the stain sits, the harder it is to remove.

It took me a little over a year to outgrow the 100% satisfaction guarantee for little money.
You can still give it your 100%, but once you get a routine down you'll get faster. You'll know which products to reach for first, your muscle memory will strengthen, and you'll get more efficient from each job.

A sedan or small truck like the Ranger "should" only take around 2 hours to wash, clay, and seal. Throw in an hour for interior stains, and a half hour for getting distracted by squirrels and you're around 3.5 hours. That's $50 an hour gross.
 
Busy mind said:
For interiors, I never promise I'll get stains out. Too many variables and I let them know it. I'll tell them I can spend X amount of time on it (if it's a budget detail) and do my best. This gives me some breathing room in case it isn't perfect. The longer the stain sits, the harder it is to remove.

It took me a little over a year to outgrow the 100% satisfaction guarantee for little money.
You can still give it your 100%, but once you get a routine down you'll get faster. You'll know which products to reach for first, your muscle memory will strengthen, and you'll get more efficient from each job.

A sedan or small truck like the Ranger "should" only take around 2 hours to wash, clay, and seal. Throw in an hour for interior stains, and a half hour for getting distracted by squirrels and you're around 3.5 hours. That's $50 an hour gross.
Click to expand...

Now, I'll admit, I was enjoying the weather and never really rushed, but as much as I do, there is no way that it would ever take me close to 4 hours! The wheel wells, wheels and tires took me a little over an hour alone, and I still went back afterwards and touched up some then applied 303!
 
Don't worry about how long or how much.stick to the idea of making the customer happy and doing a great job.In time you will be efficient,you will adapt to quickness and better products that will get the job done .once you become know as a great detailer,your services will be more valuable.Then once established you can charge cause they are calling you for a good job.180 for a ford ranger is all not that bad if you can do it in 4 to 5 hrs and go home for the day.every market is different some guys on here wouldn't touch that for 180.00,but I would cash is cash.Get your reputation going,and in time the calls will come in with people who know your work and you can set the pricing how ever you want.we all started somewhere.
 
My only further insight on top of others is to make follow up notes on your inspection forms and note the time it takes you to tackle variouis matters and vehicles both in total and per panel. You'll get better and faster over time but it will come to a point that you will be able to look at the hood of a family sedan, know that it needs "x" amount of passes with product "x" and it will be divided into say 6 sections thus allowing you to calc. out the time just that hood will take. Move around the car and practice doing the same.

Take notes on estimates and actual and you'll quickly be able to estimate things. There are also times as noted that your customers aren't expecting "perfection" and that 4 passes with an AIO is all you're going to do and you'll take what that offers. Again, walk around the vehicle, estimate the time and move on.
 
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