Pricing questions
- Thread starter Bill1234
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Bill1234
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- Apr 22, 2012
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Paint correction to me enhances just the look of the vehicle. It never really does too much for maintenance factors such as what clay and wash a wax do,etc. Ill say here is what paint correction does but dont feel compelled to buy. Right now he is leaning heavily towards no paint correction
Which is fine, I understand what you're saying. What I'm saying is that people may not want a correction. Regardless if you think it's 1000x better or not. You're still charging that client for something that they don't want. So why not accomplish what they DO want, and be done with it?
Setec Astronomy
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- Aug 31, 2010
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Bill, why can't you just say that this vehicle belongs to the parents of a friend of yours? That you're home from college for the summer and kicking around with nothing to do and you want to do this to make a little spending money? You've got people with real businesses with real overhead and rent to pay spending time giving you advice like you have a business, when you don't.
If you would be more forthcoming with the situation the quality of the advice would improve and maybe you would get somewhere towards improving your skills and actually being able to charge what these professionals who are advising you do.
precisionmobile85
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The more detail you add the more precise the info would be. I obv charge relatives, friends and friends of the family different than some person I don't know from a hole in the wall....that info would be a good start
Setec Astronomy
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Bill, we all started in the same place with detailing. This isn't a contest to see who can sound the oldest or most experienced.
The truth is that most people who post on this forum tailor their responses to the experience and skill level of the person asking the question. The reason is, as with any acquired skill, there are certain basics and prerequisites for mastery. I remember a thread some time ago where you said you had been detailing for five years, yet last month you started a thread asking what to tape off when you're polishing that made it sound like you've never done it before.
Listen to some of the responses you've gotten in this thread--you have one professional detailer saying that it would take him and his partner 3.5 hours to do this vehicle, or 5 hours by himself, including one step of polishing, and shampooing the carpet and floor mats, then compare that to you and your friend a month ago: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/101719-question-time-spent.html , where all you did was basically a wash, clay and wax with an interior vacuum in the same 3.5 hours. Yet you are prepared to adopt the pricing of the experienced pro detailer.
Although you don't realize it, I am trying to help you. I'm not really sure why you want to detail this vehicle. I'm not sure if you think it would be fun, or if you want to get some more experience detailing, or if you want to impress your friend, or if you want the money. But the one thing I am sure of is if you are more forthcoming you will get advice that will be much more valuable to you than price targets from professional detailers who detail hundreds of vehicles a year. You're not going to be able to get the same results that they are, nor in the same amount of time.
Since this seems to be a recurring theme of you not knowing how long a job will take, and therefore not knowing what to charge or what you will be able to get done, perhaps you should offer your friend's parents an hourly rate, perhaps 12 or 15 dollars an hour. I'm sure there are a lot of minimum wage workers that would love to make that under the table. Or maybe drop the pretenses, tell them that you would love the challenge and opportunity of polishing up their truck, it would be good experience for you, and if they will provide lunch and iced tea, that will be enough.
Perhaps then you'll actually get to polish something, and will have some idea what it takes and how long, which will help you on your next project, or maybe on this couple's other car that you could actually charge them for. And most of us grew up with parents, friends, neighbors, etc. there's no need to refer to them in some sort of code like we're on a secret project. That's the great thing about a forum like this, you can come here and bare your soul, and you're fairly anonymous, your friends can still consider you the detail king.
And just to reiterate, we all started in the same place, which is nowhere, knowing nothing. Some of us learned by swirling up our parent's car with a scotch-brite pad, I think most of us really learned about detailing cars when we got our own, then we expanded out to parents, relatives, friends, neighbors, where we worked for free or lunch or a small amount of money. There's no shame in that. I personally am kind of horrified when people are running a detailing "business" and they haven't even mastered the detailing of their own vehicle.
Bill, you're young, this is the time to learn, college is the time to mature from a teenager who thinks he knows everything to an adult who realizes how much about the world he doesn't know. A good friend of mine once told me the more he learned, the more he realized he didn't know. And people with an open mind keep learning. And I think that's about all the life advice I have for today, perhaps some of it will get in.
Oh, and PS...I just sat here for maybe an hour, trying to help you, I hope you can see that...but I'm pretty sure you will make me feel like I wasted my time.
The truth is that most people who post on this forum tailor their responses to the experience and skill level of the person asking the question. The reason is, as with any acquired skill, there are certain basics and prerequisites for mastery. I remember a thread some time ago where you said you had been detailing for five years, yet last month you started a thread asking what to tape off when you're polishing that made it sound like you've never done it before.
Listen to some of the responses you've gotten in this thread--you have one professional detailer saying that it would take him and his partner 3.5 hours to do this vehicle, or 5 hours by himself, including one step of polishing, and shampooing the carpet and floor mats, then compare that to you and your friend a month ago: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/101719-question-time-spent.html , where all you did was basically a wash, clay and wax with an interior vacuum in the same 3.5 hours. Yet you are prepared to adopt the pricing of the experienced pro detailer.
Although you don't realize it, I am trying to help you. I'm not really sure why you want to detail this vehicle. I'm not sure if you think it would be fun, or if you want to get some more experience detailing, or if you want to impress your friend, or if you want the money. But the one thing I am sure of is if you are more forthcoming you will get advice that will be much more valuable to you than price targets from professional detailers who detail hundreds of vehicles a year. You're not going to be able to get the same results that they are, nor in the same amount of time.
Since this seems to be a recurring theme of you not knowing how long a job will take, and therefore not knowing what to charge or what you will be able to get done, perhaps you should offer your friend's parents an hourly rate, perhaps 12 or 15 dollars an hour. I'm sure there are a lot of minimum wage workers that would love to make that under the table. Or maybe drop the pretenses, tell them that you would love the challenge and opportunity of polishing up their truck, it would be good experience for you, and if they will provide lunch and iced tea, that will be enough.
Perhaps then you'll actually get to polish something, and will have some idea what it takes and how long, which will help you on your next project, or maybe on this couple's other car that you could actually charge them for. And most of us grew up with parents, friends, neighbors, etc. there's no need to refer to them in some sort of code like we're on a secret project. That's the great thing about a forum like this, you can come here and bare your soul, and you're fairly anonymous, your friends can still consider you the detail king.
And just to reiterate, we all started in the same place, which is nowhere, knowing nothing. Some of us learned by swirling up our parent's car with a scotch-brite pad, I think most of us really learned about detailing cars when we got our own, then we expanded out to parents, relatives, friends, neighbors, where we worked for free or lunch or a small amount of money. There's no shame in that. I personally am kind of horrified when people are running a detailing "business" and they haven't even mastered the detailing of their own vehicle.
Bill, you're young, this is the time to learn, college is the time to mature from a teenager who thinks he knows everything to an adult who realizes how much about the world he doesn't know. A good friend of mine once told me the more he learned, the more he realized he didn't know. And people with an open mind keep learning. And I think that's about all the life advice I have for today, perhaps some of it will get in.
Oh, and PS...I just sat here for maybe an hour, trying to help you, I hope you can see that...but I'm pretty sure you will make me feel like I wasted my time.
Bill1234
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- Apr 22, 2012
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Never did I say we want to sound the oldest or most experienced. I just asked for pricing help and am pretty experienced to do the work without having a business .
I want to take this job because they asked and I feel I am perfectly capable of doing the work but am asking here on being compensated fairly.
If you want to attack me or my posts go ahead but id rather you not comment to bash my experience when im learning like everyone else here
I want to take this job because they asked and I feel I am perfectly capable of doing the work but am asking here on being compensated fairly.
If you want to attack me or my posts go ahead but id rather you not comment to bash my experience when im learning like everyone else here
Setec Astronomy
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- Aug 31, 2010
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Bill1234
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Setec-Ive been getting help from people here and they do not attack me or my work I do. They tell me their opinion and thats it. I read your response and let you know im fine with who I am and that I want to take this job and be compensated fairly
Heisenberg
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- Aug 16, 2013
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Setec, you always chime in with pretty sound/realistic advice on Bill's(and others') threads. My advice, in having dealt with him on other forums, is to do what you just suggested and just ignore the threads and stop trying to help. It's just a bunch of wheel-spinning and it gets exhausting. He likes to just use the forums to think out loud and from what I can tell, has no intention on taking anyone's advice to heart or having an honest conversation about something. Just my two cents - I prefer helping people but there are some who cannot be reached and you obviously put a lot of time and thought into your posts.
Setec Astronomy
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Yeah, thanks for that, I decided to put him on ignore so I can go on with my life.
ScottB
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- Mar 3, 2006
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Guys it's Sunday afternoon and I am getting complaint after complaint. Please offer your advice to the original post and move forward. I am certain that all your suggestions are being considered.
In the end, you have to charge what the client perceives of value, and covers your time and expenses along with some profit. If you don't mind low balling to get the job then do so. Sometimes word of mouth can be worth more than one expensive detail, so consider the client !
In the end, you have to charge what the client perceives of value, and covers your time and expenses along with some profit. If you don't mind low balling to get the job then do so. Sometimes word of mouth can be worth more than one expensive detail, so consider the client !
swanicyouth
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- Mar 3, 2011
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If it's a friend or family - do it for free. You will need their help one day.
If it's just dude off the street - charge him as much as you can get.
If the job is worth $500 tell him: "this job is prolly worth $800; but I may be able to do it for $650".
To me, that's maximizing your profits and smart business. If your feeling extra generous, when he picks up tell him you'll take $600 if CASH.
You'll still be $100 ahead.
That's a lot of WAX.
If he low balls, tell him to go elsewhere. Tell him your a member of AGO and keep up on all the latest products, techniques, and info that's out there.
If it's just dude off the street - charge him as much as you can get.
If the job is worth $500 tell him: "this job is prolly worth $800; but I may be able to do it for $650".
To me, that's maximizing your profits and smart business. If your feeling extra generous, when he picks up tell him you'll take $600 if CASH.
You'll still be $100 ahead.
That's a lot of WAX.
If he low balls, tell him to go elsewhere. Tell him your a member of AGO and keep up on all the latest products, techniques, and info that's out there.