Should I Avoid a Job?

Nicholas@Autowerx said:
Don't turn it down, just charge accordingly. I love wrecked interiors. Just means the turn-around will be that much more epic. I did a barf cleanup job just the other day. CG Fabric Clean, steamer, extractor, APC+ for the plastics, CarPro So2Pure coating on everything. It didn't even take longer than normal. I even washed the outside for free since the interior got done so quickly. The customer was thrilled. I say go for the gusto and win a customer for life. :dblthumb2:
Click to expand...

I just literally laughed out loud at work. "Barf Cleanup". I've had only 1 barf call since I've been working on cars. Customer annihilated the passenger door, passenge side carpet, floor mat and seat. Took me about 2 hours to get rid of the mess and smell. Thankfully she didn't manage to get it behind the door panel (she had apparently opened the door when the episode began). Came out great. Thanks for the laugh.
 
Nicholas@Autowerx said:
If the hair doesn't come out using the tools Status mentioned the only other option is to pick each hair out of the carpets individually one by one. This is only usually a problem on cheaper cars with the low grade "trunk carpeting" all over that is impossible to clean.
Click to expand...


I really hate that type of carpet. That's exactly what I had in mind and couldn't think of how to describe it at the time. I've seen it in newer chevy's and Toyotas. It's like freaking Velcro for dog hair.
 
mwoolfso said:
First off, if you are getting all kinds of warning signals based on intuition that should be a good thing (initially). You should be wary and the next steps you have in place with the prospective customer is prudent.

During the inspection ask pointed and open-ended questions so that the prospect has a chance to tell you what will satisfy him/her. Once you have listened to the customer (and they have a sense you were listening to them), you can provide a professional and intelligent response.

Many folks align with customers on a %-correction on paint if 100% cannot be achieve for one reason or another. You can certainly do the same with interiors as well. This dialog should not last too long and if it does seem to drag on then your warning signals are probably correct.

In my experience in professional services (not in detailing), most customers respect cold-hard truth and laser-like focus on elements they are paying you to worry about on their behalf. Some even see it as a breath of fresh air.
Click to expand...


You can usually tell when a customer is going to be trouble. In my experience it's almost always snobby, middle aged or older men. Occasionally, you'll get a snotty, younger dude who has had everything handed to him on a platter. They can also be trouble.

Also, anyone that has worked at or owns a body shop will almost always be impossible to work with. I have some great customers who own body shops, but in generally, they are a pain. They think they know everything!

Women are rarely bad customers. They are almost always realistic with their expectations.

Still 99% percent of people are great customers and will be blown away at what you can do to their car, especially on the interior. They know how difficult it is to clean or they wouldn't be coming to you.
 
mwoolfso said:
First off, if you are getting all kinds of warning signals based on intuition that should be a good thing (initially). You should be wary and the next steps you have in place with the prospective customer is prudent.

During the inspection ask pointed and open-ended questions so that the prospect has a chance to tell you what will satisfy him/her. Once you have listened to the customer (and they have a sense you were listening to them), you can provide a professional and intelligent response.

Many folks align with customers on a %-correction on paint if 100% cannot be achieve for one reason or another. You can certainly do the same with interiors as well. This dialog should not last too long and if it does seem to drag on then your warning signals are probably correct.

In my experience in professional services (not in detailing), most customers respect cold-hard truth and laser-like focus on elements they are paying you to worry about on their behalf. Some even see it as a breath of fresh air.
Click to expand...

Very VERY well said! :dblthumb2:

In the service industry, more often than not... people coming to you don't know how to do what they WANT done. They are both looking for a 'service' and 'doing an interview' with you at the same time. It's during the interview portion that you should take the lead. If the customer actually KNOWS what they want/need then they'll let you know. If not... then guide them in the right direction. ;)
 
I met with the customer on Saturday afternoon. I was able to give the car a good once over with the customer present and was not given the heart attack that I was expecting. There is quite a bit of hair and the car has been neglected for sure. BUT, the only major issue that I found were the seats. They are dark leather, but almost a brushed leather and the color had faded in spots. When I discussed this, I was up front about the seats and told him that I would be able to clean them up and improve their appearance but that there would be no miracles. Seriously, short of dying the seats there is really no way to fix them and no way was I getting involved in that. A very interesting tidbit popped up during our conversation as he mentioned that he was very wary of detailers as he had brought the car to someone else last year and they had left residue on the plastics on the exterior. He thought that it was residue from clay bar but it was leftover wax. I assured him that not only would I not leave any wax behind, but would remove any that the previous person had left. Truck is scheduled for 5/20. Thanks for the advice everyone.
 
Very nice. I always like when there not as bad as the customer says. I'm in one right now that the customer said "it very clean". I spent two hours last night just on the carpets.

I'm sure your customer will be more than happy with your work.Im the MAN
 
garyg7133 said:
I just literally laughed out loud at work. "Barf Cleanup". I've had only 1 barf call since I've been working on cars. Customer annihilated the passenger door, passenge side carpet, floor mat and seat. Took me about 2 hours to get rid of the mess and smell. Thankfully she didn't manage to get it behind the door panel (she had apparently opened the door when the episode began). Came out great. Thanks for the laugh.
Click to expand...

Now i know i won't be able to detail/wash a car, especially the interior.

me and my cousin had to wash/clean a customers car. The outside we managed fine. But the inside was filthy!!!! Food,beer,condoms, food more condoms etc...


We ran to the front and asked my uncle how much would it cost to hire a detailer to come and clean the inside that we would pay for it. He looked at us like. "You guys are stupid (slap) get back to work" haha

We used gloves and had on those paper painter mask...

I gag when I throw up... 😅😢😄
 
As far as dog hair, a pumice stone will take care of that quickly. We have 5 dogs and it works great. I have turned down many disgusting interior jobs. Trust me, people, especially women, will pick apart your work and expect it to be like new. No thanks.....pass.
 
TundraPower said:
As far as dog hair, a pumice stone will take care of that quickly. We have 5 dogs and it works great. I have turned down many disgusting interior jobs. Trust me, people, especially women, will pick apart your work and expect it to be like new. No thanks.....pass.
Click to expand...
Trust me, I was really wary of it. The customer seems like he is going to be picky but I enjoy and am very confident in my work. Once I laid out the issue with the seats and felt that he "got it" I felt a lot better about the job. I met this customer by referral and ran into one of our group members yesterday and he said that if the car looks half as good as some of my others the referrals will be pouring in. Works for me.
 
So today was the appointment. Had a little surprise in that there was an active wasp nest INSIDE the car near the rear hatch. Luckily they were dormant as it was still cold when I started this morning. Started at 8:00 a.m. and finished @ 2:00 p.m. Interior went FAR better than I thought. Outside was exactly as planned. Customer came home, saw the outside and was not interested in seeing the inside as his wife had already told him the outside looked "like showroom". I INSISTED that he see the inside and was met with "HOLY S___!". I think he was pleased. Nice sized tip and an invite to do his Cayenne next " as soon as you can fit me in".... Not a bad day.
 
Flicked it off with micro fiber towel then stomped the wasps. They won't be back.
 
If the wasp would have attacked me. I would have tipped over and died. Hahaha


Cos i'm allergic lol
 
TundraPower said:
As far as dog hair, a pumice stone will take care of that quickly. We have 5 dogs and it works great. I have turned down many disgusting interior jobs. Trust me, people, especially women, will pick apart your work and expect it to be like new. No thanks.....pass.
Click to expand...

THIS!

I have a few. I really only use 2. One big one for the majority of jobs, and one that I filed down to almost a point at one end, and a skinny flat side about 3/4" wide to get into tight areas. For god sakes DO NOT EVEN TOUCH any of the plastics with this, as you will totally rip it apart with just a swipe. For cloth seats this will not be an option. I pet these seats,and other cloth panels and such with a rubber glove and it normally comes out pretty easily.
 
For the dog hair I wound up using my shop vac with carpet comb attachment. Took a while but I got almost every hair without making myself crazy.
 
Just went to my business FB page to find this from the customer :

" Gary did an AMAZING job today on our car. I highly recommend his work. He is very meticulous and detail oriented! Thanks so much, back to showroom quality! "

THAT makes it worth all the effort. I left knowing the car looked nice, but having this show up this morning made my day.
 
Out of all the customers cars i have cleaned, 99% only care about the interior. We have some guys that live on a ranch, and literally 10 mins after the wax he drove it through mud. haha.
 
KennyS said:
Out of all the customers cars i have cleaned, 99% only care about the interior. We have some guys that live on a ranch, and literally 10 mins after the wax he drove it through mud. haha.
Click to expand...

I was REALLY concerned about the interior. The customer originally sounded as though nothing short of showroom quality was going to be enough. Luckily we went over everything beforehand including the leather seats which were a huge issue and some residual wax left behind by the last detailer. Car went so well that I'm scheduled to take car of their Cayenne on Monday morning.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top