Coating Questions

[jdbillin]

I’m starting to get into the doing coatings for some of my customers I feel like if they are going to be spending all of this money on the coatings I want to insure that they are properly taking care of them that way they last and they feel like they are getting the best value.

I was thinking of making small 4x6 laminated cards with “care instructions”

Simple things like no brushes at the car wash but what about spray wax or even regular wax?

Is there anything else I should make them aware of before I give them the car back?

Thanks
Jordan

[Mike lambert]

I give written and verbal instructions and we give them the first set of care products. I highly recommend using the coating products that particular coating recommends. After that I’ve learned there’s not much more you can do.

[Jon TDS]

I do send them a thank you email or text. At the same time asking them for a Google review and finally steps on maintaining the coating.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[Mike Phillips]

I’m starting to get into the doing coatings for some of my customers I feel like if they are going to be spending all of this money on the coatings I want to insure that they are properly taking care of them that way they last and they feel like they are getting the best value.



This is what I do. I educate my customer. I teach this in all my detailing classes too.

It's nice to see you "thinking" this through.

Here's the deal. You can be the best detailer in the world and create a flawless show car finish on any car and then install a ceramic coating. BUT if the owner is uneducated and doesn't know how to properly WASH the car or as I always say, they don't know how to TOUCH their own car, then they will put swirls and scratches through the coating and into the paint and some of them won't be smart enough to figure out it was they that did the damage and instead will blame you because the coating did not create an invisible force field that 100% stopped all future damage.


In fact, here's a freebie from my detailing classes (https://www.autogeek.net/detail-classes.html). The first thing I DO and the first thing I teach those that attend my classes to do is, when talking to a potential future customer, ask them,


How do you wash your car?


Their answer will tell you everything you need to know about where their brain is at when it comes to there car's paint and either your reward or your risk should you work on their car.



:)

[Mike Phillips]

I was thinking of making small 4x6 laminated cards with “care instructions”

Simple things like no brushes at the car wash



That is a great idea. Maybe check out VistaPrints.com and let us know what you find out for a cost?






but what about spray wax or even regular wax?



Normally you don't use or recommend a traditional spray wax for a coated car. It won't hurt anything but here's what happens,

Instead of getting the features and benefits of the coating, you now get the features and the benefits of the wax.

Coating features and benefits > than car wax features and benefits


I would instead find out of the coating you install has a maintenance spray-on product and recommend it.


:)

[Mike Phillips]

Here's some resource that you can feel free to draw from that will help your customers.


This article shows how to use multiple towels to wash a car to avoid CROSS CONTAMINATION - which is the cause of most swirls and scratches by most people that are careful about how they wash their car.

NOTE: You could just use a wash mitt or a few wash mitts.


How to safely wash a ceramic coated car by Mike Phillips - Traditional Hose & Bucket Approach (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-to-articles-by-mike-phillips/122818-how-safely-wash-ceramic-coated-car-mike-phillips-traditional-hose-bucket-approach.html)



For your customers that have a "special" car that is NOT a daily driver and thus does NOT get dirty like a daily driver,

How to maintain a Coated Garage Queen by Mike Phillips (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-to-articles-by-mike-phillips/122785-how-maintain-coated-garage-queen-mike-phillips.html)




And for you and all your customers - the most important article I have ever written...


How, why & when to inspect your microfiber towels when detailing cars (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2Fya8l4k4s)




:)

[TTQ B4U]

I’m starting to get into the doing coatings for some of my customers I feel like if they are going to be spending all of this money on the coatings I want to insure that they are properly taking care of them that way they last and they feel like they are getting the best value.

I was thinking of making small 4x6 laminated cards with “care instructions”

Simple things like no brushes at the car wash but what about spray wax or even regular wax?

Is there anything else I should make them aware of before I give them the car back?


A couple things I do:

Make custom placards. I do one for the rear view mirror that hangs and one litterally can tape to the outside driver window or center console, etc. Both are laminated. They Politely say Do not wash and go on to say this vehicle was professionally detailed by......then put your business info, web site, ph#, etc.

I also give them a small 2oz bottle of Wolfgang Uber Rinseless Concentrate. I put 1oz in the bottle and top it off with water. I put instructions to mix that amount with 3gals water for a rinseless wash/drying aid.

Next I give them a 4oz spray bottle of my "blue juice" which is Reload/Cure with some ECH20 to be used as a detail spray. Both nicely labeled, etc. I also include 1 480gsm 16x16 Eagle Edgeless towel and explain how to properly dry a coated vehicle using this towel dampened with the rinseless wash and spritzed with my detail spray. I also show how to dry it with a leaf blower/air and am amazed at how many customers text me back that they either have one or bought a nice cordless one like mine :) I actually just got a text back from a customer yesterday with a picture of his new EGO Blower LOL!

Hope a little taste of my procedure helps you.

[Mike Phillips]

A couple things I do:

Make custom placards. I do one for the rear view mirror that hangs and one litterally can tape to the outside driver window or center console, etc. Both are laminated. They Politely say Do not wash and go on to say this vehicle was professionally detailed by......then put your business info, web site, ph#, etc.

I also give them a small 2oz bottle of Wolfgang Uber Rinseless Concentrate. I put 1oz in the bottle and top it off with water. I put instructions to mix that amount with 3gals water for a rinseless wash/drying aid.

Next I give them a 4oz spray bottle of my "blue juice" which is Reload/Cure with some ECH20 to be used as a detail spray. Both nicely labeled, etc. I also include 1 480gsm 16x16 Eagle Edgeless towel and explain how to properly dry a coated vehicle using this towel dampened with the rinseless wash and spritzed with my detail spray. I also show how to dry it with a leaf blower/air and am amazed at how many customers text me back that they either have one or bought a nice cordless one like mine :) I actually just got a text back from a customer yesterday with a picture of his new EGO Blower LOL!

Hope a little taste of my procedure helps you.


That's nice!


Thanks for sharing!


:dblthumb2:

[JWilliams.RadiantDetail]

A couple things I do:

Make custom placards. I do one for the rear view mirror that hangs and one litterally can tape to the outside driver window or center console, etc. Both are laminated. They Politely say Do not wash and go on to say this vehicle was professionally detailed by......then put your business info, web site, ph#, etc.

I also give them a small 2oz bottle of Wolfgang Uber Rinseless Concentrate. I put 1oz in the bottle and top it off with water. I put instructions to mix that amount with 3gals water for a rinseless wash/drying aid.

Next I give them a 4oz spray bottle of my "blue juice" which is Reload/Cure with some ECH20 to be used as a detail spray. Both nicely labeled, etc. I also include 1 480gsm 16x16 Eagle Edgeless towel and explain how to properly dry a coated vehicle using this towel dampened with the rinseless wash and spritzed with my detail spray. I also show how to dry it with a leaf blower/air and am amazed at how many customers text me back that they either have one or bought a nice cordless one like mine :) I actually just got a text back from a customer yesterday with a picture of his new EGO Blower LOL!

Hope a little taste of my procedure helps you.

I'd give customers a small bottle of V07 and a nice, low priced MF. But, without fail they'd wash the towel incorrectly, and explaining to them how to properly clean MFs was pointless. They either would forget, or didn't have anything else MF to wash, so yeah washing 1 towel by itself was just dumb. I ended up telling them to not wash the towel, and when I went back in like 2-3 weeks for the next wash, if they still wanted to use a QD on their own, I'd swap the towel for a clean one and take that one and wash it. And refill the tiny bottle I gave them. 4oz of QD doesn't go far.

the door hangers for the rear view's a fantastic idea. One side your business card, the other in big writing DO NOT WASH! You can spend a tiny bit more and get some plastic ones that will last a stupid long time. And if you don't want/need custom ones, I'm pretty sure CarPro sells them for cheap.

[TTQ B4U]

the door hangers for the rear view's a fantastic idea. One side your business card, the other in big writing DO NOT WASH! You can spend a tiny bit more and get some plastic ones that will last a stupid long time. And if you don't want/need custom ones, I'm pretty sure CarPro sells them for cheap.

I also just got back my plastic license plate covers. I see Scott (Sizzlechest) here on AG, as he use his all the time and really like how it provides some privacy for the customer by not showing their plate and at the same time spreads the brand around in a subtle way. They weren't cheap as I only needed a handful but I made 6 in case they are destroyed, etc.

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

I’m starting to get into the doing coatings for some of my customers I feel like if they are going to be spending all of this money on the coatings I want to insure that they are properly taking care of them that way they last and they feel like they are getting the best value.

I was thinking of making small 4x6 laminated cards with “care instructions”

Simple things like no brushes at the car wash but what about spray wax or even regular wax?

Is there anything else I should make them aware of before I give them the car back?

Thanks
Jordan

Mikes advice about asking “how do you wash your car” is always a good first move. Assuming they pass that test (or are open to making a change)...the best move I did for my coating customers was offer them the first wash for free. It’s just a simple exterior wash, takes 20-30 minutes and they have to come back in the first 7-14 days.

I have them WATCH - I have more people that just myself, so the way we do it is 2 people do the wash while I explain the process to my client as we go along. (Back when it was only my sis and myself, I’d just have to work double time and help do the wash as well as explain as I went along).

At the end, I offer them a maintenance kit if they’re interested - or offer them a maintenance PLAN...and you take care of it (that is assuming doing this will fit in with your business model.) I don’t make big $$ from just doing washes, but I do offer it to coating customers for a couple of reasons.

A. Maintain your work...the longer it looks great the happier they are and of course the more impressive it’ll be to his/her friends, family and co-workers.

B. RETENTION! I can’t stress this enough, but don’t get into the one and done mindset. Look at each client (the good ones at least) as a life long client, not as a solo job. Maybe you get $1,000 or $2,000 or $3,000 off of that coating job...that’s great! But how valuable would they be to you over the course of a year, 3 years, 5 years? $5,000, $10,000, $20,000? How many more referrals would you get if they’re seeing you every month?

While I don’t make much on the washes, I do greatly increase my retention of clients by seeing them every month. This also opens up possibilities for up-sells, having them “check in” to our shop on FB and making sure things stay buttoned up on how their car looks.

C. Check your work! If you’re selling a product that’s suppose to last for years...its never a bad idea to check it out after a week or two if you can. We’re human, we make mistakes. Maybe you didn’t Eraser that panel as well as you thought and the coating didn’t bond quite right. Maybe you missed a little dust in the jambs or hell, maybe you out right skipped a section of a panel when coating! If you start cranking out higher numbers of cars over the years...all these and then some are bound to happen (no one wants to say that usually, but I have no problem admitting the human factor). Since I’m aware of this, the best insurance I could come up with, was that free follow up wash. If my mind was just glazed over after starring at paint for hours and hours and I missed a little something...I’ll have a much fresher set of eyes during that follow up and if something needs touched up....I can do it right then and there.

Again, I don’t recommend going into anything halfcocked. Have a strategy behind any business decision you make. Any service, any package, any offering at all...there should be a reason behind it. Is it an in the door offer to attract new clients, is it your home run super high value package or specialty service that you’ve become known for, is it a retention tactic to make sure your clients STAY your clients? What are the profit margins like? How long does it take you to do this service vs. how much do you need to make an hour.

These are just some of the things I’ve learned to ask myself over the years before making a move and its definitely a slower process than the usual 2 a.m “Great idea” that you half way put into play the next day and then when it’s not a total hit within a couple of weeks you trash it lol.

Anyway, I know I kind of got off subject here...but wanted to explain why we did the follow up wash and I can definitely say its helped. We’re still working on an even better execution of it (making sure they check in on FB, getting reviews from them, getting them on a maintenance schedule etc), but one thing is for sure...they all love it and it helps protect your work :).