wow, what a bad day

[hemi ram55]

Hey all, well i went out to a detail job at this ladies house to do her suv. i set everything up and got ready to dig in. i asked the lady if she could open her garage so i could plug my extension cord in. apparently in her eyes, this was very unprofessional and she flipped out. so then i asked to use her water, had my own hose and all. again this was a problem. so, my question is, all you mobile detailers out there run into this problem?? ill be sure to state clearly that i need to use their power and water for the next customer. either that or i gotta go out and buy a generator and water tank. She complained at the end and insisted that i give her 40 dollars off for the use of the water and power. yes i did give her 40 off just to be nice, though i prob shouldnt have. oh well. :wow:

[Joe@Superior Shine]

Your day was all about paying your dues.............. In any profession you have to pay your dues. You need to have blunders, mess ups, mad customers, etc...... all of which you will grow from. They mold your business , make you stronger.

I started as you did and received little flak about not have my own water and power. I did purchase what I needed as soon as I could and I've been making money with no hassle ever since.

We like to say we can detail anything at any time, anywhere!!! :buffing:

[Kristopher1129]

If you just state what you need from the customer ahead of time...that should take care of that. Its kind of strange that you don't ask to begin with. Cause what if they don't have electrical and water at the location? Wouldn't you rather know before hand?

[C. Charles Hahn]

If you just state what you need from the customer ahead of time...that should take care of that. Its kind of strange that you don't ask to begin with. Cause what if they don't have electrical and water at the location? Wouldn't you rather know before hand?

:iagree: Good point.

[93fox]

Is this a problem you guys encounter frequently? I ask this because this is always in the back of my head when i think of starting a small detailing business. I seriously dont have the money to get a generator and a water tank. I guess what kris said makes sense. Just ask ahead of time and see what you can work out with the customer.

[Superdutytd]

I can't believe she freaked out on you like that. This is what happens when you have to deal with the general public, some people are retarded.

[jimmyjam]

Your day was all about paying your dues.............. In any profession you have to pay your dues. You need to have blunders, mess ups, mad customers, etc...... all of which you will grow from. They mold your business , make you stronger.

I started as you did and received little flak about not have my own water and power. I did purchase what I needed as soon as I could and I've been making money with no hassle ever since.

We like to say we can detail anything at any time, anywhere!!! :buffing:

I totally agree with Joe, it may hurt or be very uncomfortable, but it'll build your character/business since in the long run!

[SeaJay's]

Live and learn! This is why I always state to my customers who I do mobile details for that I will need electric and water supplied. I am sure that the customer knows this before an appointment is set. I've yet to run into an issue with anyone letting me use their water or electric.

And $40 for her water and electric is outrageous! All and all you probably only used $5-$10 worth of water and electric (if that!). She was obviously just trying to get a deal from you.

Some customers are really just out to get the best deal they can and if that means causing a scene and making you give them money back then that's what they will do.

As Joe said take it as a learning experience and just ensure you are telling your customer's ahead of time. If a customer complains you can offer them say $10 off the detail price to cover the water and electric you use. Which when it comes down to it is very minimal compared to having to invest in a generator and water tank set up.

[WindyCity]

Ok here is my take on mobile detailing

BRING EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO DO THE JOB!

If you hired a contractor to work on your house and he had to use your shovels, hammers, brooms, and ladders would you be ok with that or would you think that this guy is not a good contractor?

If you hired a mechanic to work on your car and he needed your craftsman wrenches how professional does that look?

If you hired a painter to paint your kitchen and he showed up to paint without drop cloths and brushes and needed yours would you think that he was a professional?

I have wasted so much time looking for water and dealing with customers leaking spigots, poor water pressure or water sources that are too far away from the detail spot or locked gates. Now I have my hose on a reel in my trailer and I open the door pull the hose out and I spray water! I save 25 minutes a detail simply by having my own water and having a hose reel ready to go.

Also I have cut my total detail time from 4.5 hours to 3 hours because of my trailer. No more plastic bins, no more looking for things, EVERYTHING has a place and is ready to go!

Here is a price break down of my cost to bring my own water

Water tank $140
Water pump $99
Hose reel $100
Goodyear hose $40
Misc (wires, switch, etc) $50

Not having to deal with someone elses water to clean their car, and save
my time so I can make more money, while improving my professional image.........PRICELESS.....LOL

[ShaunD]

Ok here is my take on mobile detailing

BRING EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO DO THE JOB!

If you hired a contractor to work on your house and he had to use your shovels, hammers, brooms, and ladders would you be ok with that or would you think that this guy is not a good contractor?

If you hired a mechanic to work on your car and he needed your craftsman wrenches how professional does that look?

If you hired a painter to paint your kitchen and he showed up to paint without drop cloths and brushes and needed yours would you think that he was a professional?

I have wasted so much time looking for water and dealing with customers leaking spigots, poor water pressure or water sources that are too far away from the detail spot or locked gates. Now I have my hose on a reel in my trailer and I open the door pull the hose out and I spray water! I save 25 minutes a detail simply by having my own water and having a hose reel ready to go.

Also I have cut my total detail time from 4.5 hours to 3 hours because of my trailer. No more plastic bins, no more looking for things, EVERYTHING has a place and is ready to go!

Here is a price break down of my cost to bring my own water

Water tank $140
Water pump $99
Hose reel $100
Goodyear hose $40
Misc (wires, switch, etc) $50

Not having to deal with someone elses water to clean their car, and save
my time so I can make more money, while improving my professional image.........PRICELESS.....LOL

Ok, while I agree to a certain extent, would you let a contractor use your electricity and water if needed? Or would you rather him run a loud gen and use water he got from God knows where? Running a polisher(DA @ that) will not use anymore electricity than an game station being played all day. And the water where I live doesn't cost $40 dollars for 40 gallons out of the tap. Well, maybe my tap water does/should since it is all reverse osmosis water. But, still. Would you ask the pool guy to bring his own water too? People need to be respectful as customers to, especially when someone is working on something of theirs that cost thousands of $'s. The last thing you need is a distracted, agitated detailer scratching your car up because you upset him; not that that would happen. Just saying. I plan on get what I need to be a true "mobile" detailing biz. But, for now I will request the use of the clients water and power if need be. And if the want to charge me I will read their meters before paying 4-5 times the cost of what I used.
I agree Joe that we all have to pay our dues. And again their are certain things that let you know what kinda clients are going to be return customers, and which one you even want to work for. Here to praying that all our clients are more understanding and respectful than the lady that hemi ram had to deal with...
Thank you God for hearing the prayers of a hardworking detailer.:dblthumb2:

[ShaunD]

Think I am going to get one of those Nomads from AG. $200 and you can run it off your vehicles battery for 6 hours without running the engine. That takes care of having to build a tank setup. For now I think it will work for me and a lot easier(light) to haul around. Think I could just have a 50 gallon tank of water and run a hose to gravity feed into the Nomad tank. Seems like an easy enough concept for the time being. All though I talked to a family friend who was doing a detailing biz in La. and said he built his own detailing setup on a trailer for >$1000. He got to 55gl barrels from the junk yard, a pressure washer from the pawn shop, and spent about $500 for a good gen. Then sold everything for $2500. What about running a power convertor off your vehicle to use a polisher and vac, etc.? Something I have been thinking about for awhile.

[LaTuFu]

Whether we are prepared or not, there will always be customers who have an over-inflated sense of entitlement.

Use this one as a learning experience.

Wisdom comes from experience. Experience comes from good judgement. Good judgement comes from bad decisions.

[Joe@Superior Shine]

Explore the waterless wash option!! We wash most cars either waterless or partly waterless (wheels and bottom half water everything else waterless) That will save tons of water so you only need a smaller tank.

[Spicy McHaggis]

I will preface this saying I don't do many mobile details because I HATE them, however I have never had a customer even bat ane ye when I tell them I will use their water and electricity. That being said I do tell them up front before I get there since I wouldn't want to show up and find out that they don't have exterior outlets or anything.

I have never seen the point of spending the extra money and getting a vehicle big enough to have the water tank and generator. Seems like unneeded overhead to me. I don't go to peoples offices, so I just can't think of a situation where I would need to have all that with me.

Also she is obviously a pain in the ass since she asked for $40 back. You could have detailed cars there for a whole weekend and not used $40 worth of water and electricity. I would have left right when she threw a fit about the power. I don't deal with customers like that. They can call someone else if all they want to do is complain.


Explore the waterless wash option!! We wash most cars either waterless or partly waterless (wheels and bottom half water everything else waterless) That will save tons of water so you only need a smaller tank.

I've said this a lot, but it's just not possible to get every car totally clean with waterless washes. If the car isn't filthy thats one thing, but most cars, especially before a correction, need some water pressure to get all the grit and grime out of cracks and crevices. Just my .02

However I understand that you said "most" just saying it doesn't work for all cars, and in my experience not most either. I am amazed at the amount of crap that comes out from behind moldings and in body cracks when you use a pressure washer on them.


Ok here is my take on mobile detailing



BRING EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO DO THE JOB!



If you hired a contractor to work on your house and he had to use your shovels, hammers, brooms, and ladders would you be ok with that or would you think that this guy is not a good contractor?



If you hired a mechanic to work on your car and he needed your craftsman wrenches how professional does that look?



If you hired a painter to paint your kitchen and he showed up to paint without drop cloths and brushes and needed yours would you think that he was a professional?


That post doesn't make much sense. he didn't ask to use her towels and soap he asked for electricity and water. I built decks in a pervious career and we ran our air compressor and all of our tools off the owners electricity for months sometimes. Also used their water to mix the concrete for footers. And never once did anyone complain. They would rather that than running a generator all day long..

some people just want to ##### and moan no matter what you do for them.

[ScubaCougr]

If you hired a contractor to work on your house and he had to use your shovels, hammers, brooms, and ladders would you be ok with that or would you think that this guy is not a good contractor?

Every contractor that's ever been at my house has used my electrical and water. I don't personally equate that with not having tools to do the job.

Buffers, towels, chemicals etc., would be different and more with a contractors hammers, ladders, etc.

$10 off is more than reasonable (IMO), and beats complaints from the neighbors about your generator waking up their sleeping baby. Stating you need water and elec in advance is a good idea.

IMO again, the lady is a flake (temper) and I wouldn't service her again.