I've finally done it! Hourly Pricing!

[statusdetailing]

I am now basing all my pricing on an hourly rate of $40 per hour. This excludes custom paint correction, which is $50 per hour to make up for the higher cost of compound, sanding discs, wear and tear on equipment etc.

This is a huge step for me and took a lot of courage. This puts me in the high end for the pricing in my area. . .if not the most expensive.

I think this will save my clients some money in some cases and help me make a lot more (like on trashed vans and SUV's) in other areas.

Please take a quick look at my new menu and tell me what you think. I'm wide open to criticism. It is loosely based off suggestions in Renny's book.

Welcome to Status Auto Detailing, Springfield Mo. (http://www.statusautodetailing.com/#!service-menu)

Thanks!

[Dr_Pain]

Congrats! A nice scary step in the right direction!

BTW.... if I ever decide to make a website.... I am stealing yours!

[Setec Astronomy]

Ok...so how do you finalize the price with the customer? If they come in for a "deluxe" package, do you just tell them it will be 4-5 hours and charge them that when they pick up? What happens if you are only 3/4 done after 5 hours? Or has your clientele progressed to the point where they will pay you whatever it took when you are done?

[zmcgovern45]

Nice!

I really like the site, too!

[silverfox]

Absolutely....price your services by the hour! That shows your time is worth something to you and people do understand this.

[richy]

I understand your trepidation at raising your prices. You are well above what I charge, LOL.

[statusdetailing]

Ok...so how do you finalize the price with the customer? If they come in for a "deluxe" package, do you just tell them it will be 4-5 hours and charge them that when they pick up? What happens if you are only 3/4 done after 5 hours? Or has your clientele progressed to the point where they will pay you whatever it took when you are done?

I have a pretty good idea of how long most cars take to finish. I will give them an estimate over the phone based on that, plus whatever issues, like special stains, dog hair, scratches, they tell me about.

I will explain to them that if they need an exact quote I can give it to them upon arrival the day of the detail or upon inspection in advance.

I'm pretty confident that I can give 90% of my clients a very close estimate over the phone. The other 10% are probably lying to me about the condition of their vehicle or are just in complete denial about how bad their car is. When they arrive I will have to explain to them the extra time that xyz problem will take. if budget doesn't allow, I will have to explain to them how I won't be able to take care of the problem. For example: Red stains

Upon arrival is (and has been) when I try to upsell things like synthetic sealant, headlight restoration, fabric protection, or even a higher level package. I've found this is the best time for me.


Your other question was basically how do I deal with a detail that takes longer than expected. I'll eat the quote I gave them upon arriving, because it's most likely my bad if I didn't notice some weird thing up front (unless of course, there is a dead body in the trunk). My trash can isn't big enough for dead bodies.

I never give my customers an exact idea of how long I will need their vehicle's that day. On most of my details I explain that it will be some time in the early to late evening. It's never been a problem. Most people drop their cars off before work and pick up after anyways, which normally gives me plenty of time. I also, always give my clients a courtesy call about 3/4 of way through the detail to let them know how things are going and when I expect to finish.

[statusdetailing]

I'd like to ad that I am very flexible with my clients. Lot's of clients drop off the evening before. It's not uncommon for a client to pick up the morning after. Whatever works best for them. I will also, on occasion, take a client back home or to work and pick them back up in my own vehicle. Although my insurance covers it, I don't personally like to drive clients cars.

[statusdetailing]

Nice!

I really like the site, too!

Sweet! Thanks man! I obsess over it a little too much, but it's fun.

[statusdetailing]

Absolutely....price your services by the hour! That shows your time is worth something to you and people do understand this.

I began to realize that most people have no idea how long us, true detailers, spend on a car. People are shocked and in almost total disbelief when I tell them I'm going to work on their car for 6-8 hours or more.

"Express" detail shops like auto magic and mister hot shine have really ruined what detailing should be. . .not that there's not a place or a market for it. It just creates a lot of misconception.

[statusdetailing]

I understand your trepidation at raising your prices. You are well above what I charge, LOL.

You're making me nervous man!

I've put my foot down though. It's all or nothing, because I've found that it's just too difficult to make a true living with $30 an hour or less.

When I started my business I was single and lived with roommates. No health insurance, ate like crap, hardly any bills. $20-30 an hour got me by with no problem.

Once you start living like a normal human being, I just personally don't feel like $30 an hour can cute it.

I'm married and will probably have kids in the next few years. I need health insurance and 3 meals a day. I need to be able to afford top of the line equipment and dress nice. I can't bum around forever.

I rent a nice house with a very nice 2 bay shop beside it, where I run my business (only $915) a month plus utilities. I don't know how some of these guys do it, running shops and mobile operations making only 20-$30 an hour. And there are huge expenses! It's sad, because I think they could make that much at a much easier job.

I'm in no way knocking you. I have no idea how much your living expenses are or the cost of living in your area. It also looks like you upsell coatings and such which can't be huge profit.

[Setec Astronomy]

I'm in no way knocking you. I have no idea how much your living expenses are or the cost of living in your area. It also looks like you upsell coatings and such which can't be huge profit.

I thought Richy was joking because he knew you. AFAIK Richy is a weekend warrior who works out of his house, and has a regular full-time job. Hard to compare his scenario to yours.

[statusdetailing]

I was just checking out his site. Richy, you have done some sweet cars and it looks like you have a very nice house.

We are definitely coming from two different worlds. I'm trying to put food on my plate haha.

As a weekend warrior I can definitely see charging less and getting away with it.

Not that a weekend warrior does any less quality work.

Dang Richy! Looks like you do Incredible work!

[Mike Phillips]

I began to realize that most people have no idea how long us, true detailers, spend on a car. People are shocked and in almost total disbelief when I tell them I'm going to work on their car for 6-8 hours or more.




Exactly.

It's not really the average person's fault they don't know or understand though it's just not part of their general knowledge of their car in general.

Anyone that hangs out of this forum is way more knowledgeable than 99.9% of their customers.

I'll guarantee you that the average car owner does NOT know



The differences between doing a one-step versus multiple steps, at least as it relates to TIME.


How thin their factory clear coat paint is and that if they higher the wrong detailer the pads and products some people use can do more damage than good and leave swirls in the paint at the same time.


That when machine buffing, polishers must be moved slowly over the surface, not at light speed. If you take just this one factor into consideration and divide a customer's car's PANELS up into smaller sections, and share this with the customer, just this alone can begin to explain the time factor.


So Jeremy, you're correct. Most people have no idea how long it takes to do the job right the first time. It's your job and my job and anyone else that is in this for money to first educate themselves and then educate their customers.

I've seen people come to this forum and lurk and then start threads like,

Pro Detailer wanted in Resume Speed, Ohio

And these people were educated on this forum. The know what they want and they are willing to pay.

This is one of the reasons I wrote my VIF the way I did.

Even if a person just reads the info on these pages and then uses this to verbally explain to your customer what's involved in doing a detail job right the first time you're helping yourself and your customer.

Worst case scenario is a person turns you down. If that's the case,

A: They probably were not a good customer to have in your customer base in the first place.

B: They'll go to someone else and either get a good job or hack work done. If they get a good job then they are probably paying for it like they would have paid you, if they get hack work done then they'll probably remember that guy that tried to help them by sharing what a quality job really means.

One thing that will help you is to stay the course, that is stay consistent. You'll outlast the competition and build a core customer base that will send you work via word-of-mouth advertising.


Good job on the website too. It's important to have a "package" for everyone and let "them" decide what they want for their car and their budget.

:xyxthumbs:

[runrun411]

I've said it before and I'll say it again and again. To those of you who do this for a living, my hat goes off to you guys. Your customers don't realize how much time and effort goes into detailing. I'm just a hobbyist who really enjoys polishing his own cars. When someone ask me to do their cars I tell them I would charge too much and it would take to long. People think that they can haggle you down to a price that suits them and think you can do presto change-o on a car in an hour. they are simply nuts. Detailers don't get enough for what they do.