Ah ok. Well, to be honest with you, some people come to me with questions that make me think they are wasting my time. Asking details about the products and process is one of them. The reason I hate that is that it makes me want to think they are simply trying to figure out how to do it themselves and are wasting my time.
Think of it this way: Would you call your mechanic and ask him what tool he will be using to replace your alternator, what product he will use to for on it and so on? No, you would take the car there and ask him to fix it.
I always explain to my clients the general process (detailed cleaning to make sure there is no dirt anywhere, decontamination of the paint, application of the coating and so on). But when people start asking me what products I use to do each step, my spider sense starts to tingle and I usually cut the conversation short. If you need to know what brand I use to wash the car and then do the decontamination, you are not gonna be one of my clients for sure. Even if you are really interested in buying by services, you would be a problem customer 90% of the time. So depending what questions you asked, it is very likelly what they felt and why they got pissed off.
Detailers are not there to give coating lessons over the phone for free. We all answer a lot of general questions so that our clients understand the general process and give informations about the benefits of the products, but it is definatelly not reasonable to expect us to give detailed explanation about every step we need to take. Think of it, you would not do this with any other specialist (electrician, surgeon, carpenter, etc).
As for discounts, I don't give any either. I hate haggling and I also hate when people try to get stuff for free. The price I show reflects the time it will take and the cost of the products. As a consummer, I always shop around and compare the offer and the price before making a buying decision. But once I decide what I will buy, I don't try to haggle, I feel it is very disrespectful... To me, that is me saying : "I don't think you are worth the price you are asking, so if you want my business, take a pay cut". You will find that most detailers feel the same way I do about this. We work our asses off during the summer time, often 70 hours weeks to make up for the dead season of late fall to early spring. So when I talk to someone and they start haggling, I usually cut the conversation short there too with : "Sorry, those are the prices based on time it takes and product costs". If they are not interested, too bad, already booked 2 to 3 weeks ahead anyways.
So what you consider people being d?cks, to me is just people super busy and not interested in wasting their time. Because in this business, the phone rings a lot more than we can handle. Most of the people that call me do not end up doing business with me because 1) They don't want to wait 2-3 weeks 2) Can't afford my services 3) Are looking for a car wash and can't bother to read the description of my business before they call to bother me. So out of 10 phone calls, I usually book one and I am pretty certain that every detailer who has been in the business for a while will be in the same situation, especially those who are in a position to offer coatings and PPF.
