Detailing "Work trucks"

[soarinsirg]

Was thrown into the joy of detailing a "Work truck" yesterday. Ram Turbo Diesel (sexy if taken care of). Extremely neglected. The outside had not been washed in over two years (black), and in the inside was just caked with grime. I would say an 8/10, 10 being we might as well just burn the thing. The customer refused to pay an extra fee for the heavy soiling. Also the customer refused to pay for any paint correction, just wanted it clayed and waxed. Hours were spent just removing the dirt. Even the bed of the truck was caked. When the customer came to pick up the vehicle he freaked because the detail was not "showroom" quality. He found a small piece of dirt in the bed of the truck. There was also some heavy stains in the seats that would not come out. What do you guys do in this situation regarding the customer? And curious to how much you would charge extra in these situations. This guy wasn't willing to pay for the work, I was furious that management allowed the car to be worked on for such a price. Boss was not happy with me, even after busting my ass to improve this thing like no other employee at my business could have came close too.

[parttimer]

I think that is where a price quote would have been helpful.
A quick wash, clay, wax is x amount.
If you want stains and all grime removed, x amount.
We aren't free miracle workers!

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[cplchris]

there definitely should have been an upcharge for extremely heavy soiling inside and out, unfortunately from the sound of it you work for a detail shop or car wash that passes the buck onto you, the guy came in and expected a miracle for the price of the cheapest detail package the shop charges....we refer to people like him as CAVE people, which is an acronym for Complain About Virtually Everything. if i were doing the work on the side and someone refused to pay extra for their car being extra filthy, i would respectfully decline to do the job, the way i look at it if i dont average the same money detailing that i make at my actual job, it isn't worth my time.

[danieledwards12]

since it sounds like your not the person "in charge" I would direct them to the people that are higher up than you and let them take care of it. you did your job and you did it right, take pride in your work! let the people above you deal with it, that is part of their job. Mabe they will take pride in their job and do the right thing and stand up for their employees.

[cplchris]

since it sounds like your not the person "in charge" I would direct them to the people that are higher up than you and let them take care of it. you did your job and you did it right, take pride in your work! let the people above you deal with it, that is part of their job. Mabe they will take pride in their job and do the right thing and stand up for their employees.

this x1000, the customer is not always right and sometimes the customer is an outright ***hole. unfortunately most managers in retail and services side with the customer over their own people.

[Dr_Pain]

The question that begs to be asked is:

1) Who quoted the job?
- If you're the one that quoted it, then you should have taken a little more time in bringing some realistic outcomes to the table. We know you take pride in your work (considering you are on AGO soaking up info and sharing your experience), so if the customer's expectations exceed what he is willing to pay for then you bring in the "boss" so that there is no misunderstanding (between you and him) as to what will be produced and if the customer is unhappy, then you have a joined front to answer him back.

On heavily soiled vehicle I overquote or simply quote $/hours. This alleviate a lot of guess work and the client set the expectation.

I can understand your boss's reaction (although don't condone it). As a business owner, I HATE when my clients/patients complain about the service/products..... but that is an emotional reaction. The reality of things is you cannot and will not please everyone. You do have to have a contingency plan when that happens, though. So my advice to you is to have a quick sit down with your boss (when his mental state is back to normal) and revisit the episode so he can give you straight forward Policies and Procedures when you encounter a though customer or hard to quote job.

[soarinsirg]

So the company I work for has a pretty extensive car wash operation as well as, what most of us would say, production detailing. I was a manager for 4 years. I recently stepped down when I graduated college but still detail a few times a week for the cash and joy of the hobby. So these " bosses" that missed the heavy soil fee/ quote heard it from me. I was told the price of what they charge doesn't effect my job of detailing. But really it does because it effects how much time I can spend on the vehicle with justification. I know more about detailing than everyone in that shop. Just because I took a step down doesn't mean it makes them right, which is infuriating. The customer lit up my boss not me. I would rather it have been me, I have better customer service skills and would have handled it better. Also not have screamed at my employee for I fully understand detailing.

[danieledwards12]

I don't know how to do the quote thing, but you are absolutely right cplchris!!! I have had my boss take the customer side instead of mine before and it hurts. I even called my boss to let them know a customer would be calling them in the next 30 seconds to gripe about me. I told my boss what happened and she said she would take care of it. the next morning I was told I was in the wrong.

[Dr_Pain]

So the company I work for has a pretty extensive car wash operation as well as, what most of us would say, production detailing. I was a manager for 4 years. I recently stepped down when I graduated college but still detail a few times a week for the cash and joy of the hobby. So these " bosses" that missed the heavy soil fee/ quote heard it from me. I was told the price of what they charge doesn't effect my job of detailing. But really it does because it effects how much time I can spend on the vehicle with justification. I know more about detailing than everyone in that shop. Just because I took a step down doesn't mean it makes them right, which is infuriating. The customer lit up my boss not me. I would rather it have been me, I have better customer service skills and would have handled it better. Also not have screamed at my employee for I fully understand detailing.

Well, I guess my suggestion (with the understanding of that corp structure) is null and void! Sorry that you have to be frustrated by the ridiculousness. Vent away my friend. It's the only thing you can do at this point!