Tierd of being called a "car washer".

Thejoyofdriving

Thejoyofdriving

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Im sure other detailers have ran into this one before. Your talking to someone and some where along the way they ask what you do for a job, and you reply oh, i detail cars. So they go oh, okay, your a car washer. You try to explain that detailing is really a highly skilled job and that there is a lot more to it than just "washing a car". It really bothers me,most of these people ignorant and they dont want to listen and they make some smart remark like, oh of course theres more to it, you have to wax too. Just felt i had to vent and was wondering what you guys thought of this.
 
Yep they are out there, what can you do...Here is what I get a kick out of. I give a price around 200 to 300 for a full detail, and they say I can go down town and get one for 40 bucks. I guess I'm a smart a$$ and tell them you better jump on that. :D
 
sparkie said:
Yep they are out there, what can you do...Here is what I get a kick out of. I give a price around 200 to 300 for a full detail, and they say I can go down town and get one for 40 bucks. I guess I'm a smart a$$ and tell them you better jump on that. :D
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for $40 they are only getting turtle wax spray wax!!!:D
 
sparkie said:
Yep they are out there, what can you do...Here is what I get a kick out of. I give a price around 200 to 300 for a full detail, and they say I can go down town and get one for 40 bucks. I guess I'm a smart a$$ and tell them you better jump on that. :D
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:iagree::cheers: nice answer
 
Thejoyofdriving said:
Im sure other detailers have ran into this one before. Your talking to someone and some where along the way they ask what you do for a job, and you reply oh, i detail cars. So they go oh, okay, your a car washer. You try to explain that detailing is really a highly skilled job and that there is a lot more to it than just "washing a car". It really bothers me ...
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I bet. Just like I am sure it bothers professional detailers when car washers call themselves detailers.
 
I am not detailing full time yet but yes I have gotten this a few times. My best one though is a guy down the street from me. He drives a nice Benz (not sure which one) I told him a price and he started laughing at me and said he could go get everything done at the local drive threw car wash for $30. I then responded with the statement "Your going to go pay the local drive threw place $30 to scratch your car for ya"? I ended up doing his car last week after I showed him all the stuff that the drive threw place did to his paint.
 
I have yet to be called a "car washer".......

I suppose it may be the way I present myself and the clients I seek..

I am lucky that this is not my #1 source of $ and as such I can almost hand pick my customers...
 
Thejoyofdriving said:
Im sure other detailers have ran into this one before. Your talking to someone and some where along the way they ask what you do for a job, and you reply oh, i detail cars. So they go oh, okay, your a car washer. You try to explain that detailing is really a highly skilled job and that there is a lot more to it than just "washing a car". It really bothers me,most of these people ignorant and they dont want to listen and they make some smart remark like, oh of course theres more to it, you have to wax too. Just felt i had to vent and was wondering what you guys thought of this.
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Why don't you show them a couple of Paul Dalton's videos...
 
Years ago when working as a mechanic in several dealerships and making a pretty good living , I had a couple of people call me a grease monkey . They were very quickly corrected and sometimes not very politely .
 
MotorCity Honda said:
I have yet to be called a "car washer".......

I suppose it may be the way I present myself and the clients I seek..

I am lucky that this is not my #1 source of $ and as such I can almost hand pick my customers...
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Oh i have never been called a car washer by one of my clients, most of the guys i deal with are CEO's of company's or they hold some other well respected position. Also i dont deal with lower end vehicles, usually im doing a Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes ect. so need less to say these guys that i work for are smart intelligent people. Its the ignorant not so smart people out there that i encounter in everyday life that i am having this problem with. In the end it doesnt really matter what they say but, ya, i take pride in my work, and i feel that being called a car washer is a sort of way to demoting me to one of those guys at a drive through car wash that dont know what they are doing.
 
I always make a point to say to customers when they ask why Im not rushing through, Sir or Mam, I am a car detailer, I take pride and care in every part of your vehicle where I try my hardest to restore it to new.

If you want a wash that will swirl up and put minerals on your paint and miss all those spots I get in the interior, then you can drive down the road.
 
Thejoyofdriving said:
Oh i have never been called a car washer by one of my clients, most of the guys i deal with are CEO's of company's or they hold some other well respected position. Also i dont deal with lower end vehicles, usually im doing a Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes ect. so need less to say these guys that i work for are smart intelligent people. Its the ignorant not so smart people out there that i encounter in everyday life that i am having this problem with. In the end it doesnt really matter what they say but, ya, i take pride in my work, and i feel that being called a car washer is a sort of way to demoting me to one of those guys at a drive through car wash that dont know what they are doing.
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They might not say it-but they are thinkin it. Its the same for every "trade" that doesnt require a formal education- people put you in a general category. For instance-carpenters- just like detailers- get a bad rap because of so many "wannabes" that say they are carpenters when in reality they are drunks that carry wood or drive a nail- unlike a real carpenter who can build a beautiful oak staircase, or read plans and build intricat roof systems on multi million dollar homes. Its very similar.
 
lethalxls1 said:
They might not say it-but they are thinkin it. Its the same for every "trade" that doesnt require a formal education- people put you in a general category. For instance-carpenters- just like detailers- get a bad rap because of so many "wannabes" that say they are carpenters when in reality they are drunks that carry wood or drive a nail- unlike a real carpenter who can build a beautiful oak staircase, or read plans and build intricat roof systems on multi million dollar homes. Its very similar.
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The same is true of professions requiring formal education as well... an oral surgeon will at some time be referred to as a "dentist", a nurse practitioner gets called a "nurse", the CFO of a corporation will get called an "accountant" etc., etc,. etc., as a general rule, people want to reduce things to their least common denominator and rarely mean to be insulting... I'm not saying it's not insulting, just that usually, no harm is intended.
 
^ yeah but there is a big differance in being called a dentist when you are a oral surgeon then being called a grease monkey when you are a mechanic.
 
lethalxls1 said:
^ yeah but there is a big differance in being called a dentist when you are a oral surgeon then being called a grease monkey when you are a mechanic.
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Not to the guy that invested and extra 2 or 3 years of his life to become an oral surgeon. It's all about RESPECT for the hard work and pride someone takes in there chosen occupation.
 
Most of the people I know haven't the slightest idea what a real "detail" is. And that's why I expect a responce like "you like to wash cars huh". That's one of the reasons I enjoy coming to this web site so much, you get to converse with people who have a like interest in the "skill" of detailing, and it is a skill.
 
Thejoyofdriving said:
Im sure other detailers have ran into this one before. Your talking to someone and some where along the way they ask what you do for a job, and you reply oh, i detail cars. So they go oh, okay, your a car washer. You try to explain that detailing is really a highly skilled job and that there is a lot more to it than just "washing a car". It really bothers me,most of these people ignorant and they dont want to listen and they make some smart remark like, oh of course theres more to it, you have to wax too. Just felt i had to vent and was wondering what you guys thought of this.
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oh, quit complaining you "car washer"!:D

JK,
I know what you mean. Like it was said before, they are out there. I would say 98% of the average population does not know what a true detail actually consists of.
It's all about educating the customer, though a lot don't want to hear it and so on. It's life. I just smile. What else can you do......:cheers:
 
TexasTB said:
Like it was said before, they are out there. I would say 98% of the average population does not know what a true detail actually consists of.
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ABSOLUTELY AGREE!! :whs::iagree: Most people are shocked when they hear that at times i may spend up to as much as 20+ hours of work on 1 car. :buffing:
 
makdaddy626 said:
Not to the guy that invested and extra 2 or 3 years of his life to become an oral surgeon. It's all about RESPECT for the hard work and pride someone takes in there chosen occupation.
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Like the respect a Proctologist gets for his hard work and pride in his occupation hahahaha.
 
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