My FIRST bad interaction with customer

[Jeremy1976]

Of course you're free to go about it how ever you want, but that's not business savvy in any way. How often do you think you should clay a car? If you think you have such a huge market available to you that it's ok to only see customers once or twice a year, with them paying someone else to maintain their car in between, then good on you. Is it good for business? Not at all. Even if you can convince them that you need to clay their car every month, you're basically lying to them and they may eventually figure that out and not return.

I haven't gone full time with my own business yet, but when I worked under my friend with his business, we had many repeat customers, some every two weeks. They didn't want to touch their car. They wanted to pay us to completely maintain the condition of their vehicle. One particular guy had a new Jag XKR and 7 series BMW. He also got us a lot of business from his neighbors. We're not going to run a clay bar all over a brand new XKR every two weeks.

Then throw in referrals to people who don't need or want to pay for that extensive of a detail, and you refuse to work a on a car for a referred customer? How is that going to look to the customer that referred you? Probably not going to refer you again.

You can say it's half-assed, but it's expanding a customer base. I would easily tell you that vacuuming and not using an extractor on the carpet and floor mats is half-assed. My buddy's mobile detailing business was consistently bringing in over $10-$13k a month in revenue with only one truck and two guys working. Some of the best profits came from "wash and wax" customers with weekly scheduled visits to businesses where we could do 6-10 cars at the same location before lunch.

Different demographics. I do it part time. I live in Wisconsin where the environment is harsh on your paint and many people want a full detail in spring and fall. Again, due to demographics, people will pay once a year for a full detail including clay to remove all contaminants. However, people in my area are more likely to then go to PDQ or a power wash for their maintenance washes instead of paying $80 for a wash wax.. I have 30-40 repeat customers every spring. Doing it only part time and having 2 young kids that is all I want to do as far as "customer base". Many factors do, and should contribute to the services you offer.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[KneeDragr]

He will be a dick every time you see him, better off standing your ground now.

Agreed. The biggest cheapskates tend to be chronically unhappy people, who pride themselves on getting more than they pay for. They will then get a bit of happiness in their life by bragging to anyone who will listen how they screwed you out of money and how smart they are. Dont give an inch. If he had spent 1000$ + on those cars getting full corrections, then it makes sense to keep him happy, not for jobs where you barely break even.

[Real Riders]

You have been detailing part time for less than a year and you are already able to charge $80 for a wash and wax . I would say you are doing great so I would just look for more customers. How long does it take you to wash and wax the vehicle?

[RTexasF]

When I did a simple wash & wax I always vacuumed the interior, dressed the tires, wiped the door sills, interior windows, and dash wipe down. Every drive through spin-o-matic wash does all that for under $25! Now my way of doing it was hand wash, blow dry, then Optimum carnauba spray wax. This would range from $35-$60 depending on the size of the vehicle. That is the absolute TOP of the market where I live.

If I saw scuffs or spots on the seats/carpets I just took care of it and informed the customer what I had done for them at no charge. In your case I would have taken care of the scuffs. There's a fine line between doing a small favor for someone and charging for every little piddly thing.

Yes, some folks DO want major services for free which is when you explain that it is at extra cost and why. Keep in mind that where I live a hand wash and wax fetches as little as $15. A quote of $80 would bring blank stares prior to them leaving briskly. I'm glad that you can get $80 but you might want to re-think the small favor versus the freeloader asking for the world.

[lane5515]

Customer age is going to determine attitude towards pricing and expected services. If you told a 25 year old it would be $20 extra they wouldn't care as they have always paid for everything. Tell a baby boomer or older the same thing and they will get pissed off - they grew up working hard and going the extra mile in everything they did (most of them).

[RangerDetails]

Keep in mind that where I live a hand wash and wax fetches as little as $15.

Wash and wax for 15$?
People where you live are in the business of losing money?

[Real Riders]

I am still wondering how long the $80 wash and wax takes to complete and is spray wax or liquid wax used? Does this package include wheel/wheel well cleaning and tire dressing or would that also be an extra charge?