rookie mistake

P

pdhenderson

New member
Joined
Nov 14, 2012
Messages
46
Reaction score
0
my tech guy came in today to fix up cables in my office. he cracked a joke about it being like detailing.
well the conversation went on and next thing I know I'm reeling him in. hurting for the ( not the money) but to get another customer, I inadvertently quoted him vehicke unseen.
I saw his other vehicle and it wasn't that bad, well that wasn't the one. it was a 08 grand caravan family wagon never cleaned.EVER.
when I saw it, I thought he bought it off the griswalds and the dead aunt was still in there.
knowing this guy for 5 years I had already committed, and didn't want to be an ass, as he was excited , then I saw why.
luckily I quoted something worth than was not a complete loss.
has any one done this and regretted it? or confronted and raised the quote?
 
My biggest regrets have been mini vans and ford excursions. They can be extremely difficult to get looking nice again. I usually upcharge to 250+ without polish, on those horrible vehicles. They are almost always neglected.

I do confront the customer in the most polite way possible and I do upcharge now, if they bring a pos minivan in. Usually customers are understanding.
 
well, I priced it reasonable for me. but I would have quoted more had I seen it.
i will take that into consideration next time, I thought I was doing the van he drives,
other note
I was doing my neighbors car on Thursday, her teenage son was hovering around. he's a good kid, but was acting weird.
it's there first nice car since moving to Canada and he washes it every weekend and has it out all the time.
so I thought I might have been invading his space , when low and behold, I found his weed tucked into the seats!
being more liberal here with it, although I don't agree I gave it back.
 
statusdetailing said:
My biggest regrets have been mini vans and ford excursions. They can be extremely difficult to get looking nice again. I usually upcharge to 250+ without polish, on those horrible vehicles. They are almost always neglected.

I do confront the customer in the most polite way possible and I do upcharge now, if they bring a pos minivan in. Usually customers are understanding.
Click to expand...

is that what I should charge my wife for her suburban!!!!
 
pdhenderson said:
well, I priced it reasonable for me. but I would have quoted more had I seen it.
i will take that into consideration next time, I thought I was doing the van he drives,
other note
I was doing my neighbors car on Thursday, her teenage son was hovering around. he's a good kid, but was acting weird.
it's there first nice car since moving to Canada and he washes it every weekend and has it out all the time.
so I thought I might have been invading his space , when low and behold, I found his weed tucked into the seats!
being more liberal here with it, although I don't agree I gave it back.
Click to expand...


haha he must have been freaking out. Maybe he should move to colorado. Im the MAN
 
Don't work for less than you honestly deserve, if you think you deserve more, discuss it with the customer, doing a job you regret taking will have you producing sub par results you'll regret later.
 
Whenever I make this mistake, which is often, I make sure to politely inform the client about my error and how much I would typically charge but always give them the quoted price. However, in every one of these cases I confidently ask them for a referral and a Yelp review.
 
pdhenderson said:
my tech guy came in today to fix up cables in my office. he cracked a joke about it being like detailing.
well the conversation went on and next thing I know I'm reeling him in. hurting for the ( not the money) but to get another customer, I inadvertently quoted him vehicke unseen.
I saw his other vehicle and it wasn't that bad, well that wasn't the one. it was a 08 grand caravan family wagon never cleaned.EVER.
when I saw it, I thought he bought it off the griswalds and the dead aunt was still in there.
knowing this guy for 5 years I had already committed, and didn't want to be an ass, as he was excited , then I saw why.
luckily I quoted something worth than was not a complete loss.
has any one done this and regretted it? or confronted and raised the quote?
Click to expand...

As a fellow AG'er from Mississauga, I along with Son1c feel as though if you think you deserve more, definitely bring it up with the client...Personally I would just say something like, "Oh, I had no idea there was this many stains in the carpet...I will have to charge you $50 for me to remove all these stains as they are not only difficult but require more intense procedures..." That's my best guess...plus do him the favour and organize all his personal belongings before you say that so at least he's somewhat happy before he potentially agrees/declines.

SON1C said:
Don't work for less than you honestly deserve, if you think you deserve more, discuss it with the customer, doing a job you regret taking will have you producing sub par results you'll regret later.
Click to expand...
 
Everybody makes mistakes,sooner or later you'll devise a way out that will save face.

My wife's friend was a maintenance customer. I finally got the Durango into manageable condition. Then her teenage son got a part-time job at a restaurant. The time and expense of me trying to keep the fabrics clean led to a price increase, she balked, I dropped her.
 
I would try to do the right thing from this point on, and raise the price. Which is what a pro would do. Continuing on, and doing the car for less than what you deserve, is in some ways catastrophic to your growth as a pro detailer.
 
yes i ate a black cadillac cts recently , i quoted him very low cause he's some what of a friend and hes struggling for money. i only charged him 160 and the exterior alone took me 10 hours. i had to damp sand and use allot of supplies. It probably would of taken longer if my gf hadn't helped me compound some of the panels
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top