Getting paid from clients

[RyanPaul]

Hi everyone, I recently started my business and have had a few clients so far. I always feel a little guilty when getting paid, and I am wondering if anyone else feels/felt this way.

I believe the problem is that it is impossible to restore an interior to 100% and there is always a spec here, and a spec there that can be cleaned and this irritates me. The client will come look at their car and they will be blown away, however in the back of my mind I know that I could probably spend an entire day working on their car to get it perfect. This is not possible because I want to remain profitable, and working 16hours per car is a great way to go out of business fast.

Hopefully this post makes sense. I believe it comes down to me not being satisfied with my own work because I wish I could make every car perfect, but the time it would take just isn't possible.
Did anyone else feel this way when they first started out?

[2011 Kona Blue]

Hi everyone, I recently started my business and have had a few clients so far. I always feel a little guilty when getting paid, and I am wondering if anyone else feels/felt this way.

I believe the problem is that it is impossible to restore an interior to 100% and there is always a spec here, and a spec there that can be cleaned and this irritates me. The client will come look at their car and they will be blown away, however in the back of my mind I know that I could probably spend an entire day working on their car to get it perfect. This is not possible because I want to remain profitable, and working 16hours per car is a great way to go out of business fast.

Hopefully this post makes sense. I believe it comes down to me not being satisfied with my own work because I wish I could make every car perfect, but the time it would take just isn't possible.
Did anyone else feel this way when they first started out?

I don't feel guilty getting paid but the whole time I'm working on a customers vehicle I am worried they won't be satisfied with my detail. I think we are our worst critics. Lol. Probably the majority of my customers standard of detail is far lower than my standard of detail. Lol

I want my customers vehicle to look like it did when they took it home off the showroom floor. With that said, many of the cars i detail are mini train wrecks and looking like show room quality is just unrealistic for me to expect. My customers barely wash their vehicles in years so you can forget about the car being clayed and waxed or sealed.

We all know factory paint are the bottom of the barrel paint jobs to begin with. The clear coat is almost non existent on a factory paint compounded by the fact many people put no protection on the paint to begin with. Lol.

5 to 7 plus year old car that has barely been washed and never had a paint decontamination or wax can be challenging to make look like it just left the paint booth. Ha ha

[thebamboo23]

It's none of that.

It all starts at the mind. Regardless if you're asking for $150 or $150,000 you need to have your mindset right.

You're providing value for a money. You are solving a problem that people have with their cars.

[dcjredline]

But the problem they (and myself) are having is we dont feel we did SOLVE the problem, or arent going to solve the problem. Not provide them with enough value for their money.

[Calendyr]

Think of it as hourly pay. Yes you could spent twice the time but then you would have to bill twice as much. I don't feel guilty billing and one of the reason is that by the time I bill the customer, I am usually completely exhausted after spending 5-10 hours without any real break working my back off for that person.

[2011 Kona Blue]

But the problem they (and myself) are having is we dont feel we did SOLVE the problem, or arent going to solve the problem. Not provide them with enough value for their money.

Some cars paint are just a wreck and the best way to solve the issue is getting a whole new 5k paint job! I tell my customers. I don't fix dents and do auto body repair. I don't fix and repair rust spots. I don't put back paint that is gone off the car. I am not painting their car. I stress this to all my customers and make sure the expectations are realistic.

You can polish a turd but at the end of the day, its still a turd.

[Firehouse Mike]

Some cars paint are just a wreck and the best way to solve the issue is getting a whole new 5k paint job! I tell my customers. I don't fix dents and do auto body repair. I don't fix and repair rust spots. I don't put back paint that is gone off the car. I am not painting their car. I stress this to all my customers and make sure the expectations are realistic.

You can polish a turd but at the end of the day, its still a turd.


:iagree:absolutely set expectations! This is a great time to upsell services such as stain removal and headlight restos. Most importantly is to NOT sell your work as a "full detail". This will get you in a bad spot real quick with customers. I wrote a blog on this a few weeks ago...Firehouse Mobile Auto Detailing (http://www.firehousedetail.com/#!Why-Firehouse-Mobile-Detail/c1ayl/5519b00a0cf2aa18116da7b5)

[LavJordan]

I feel the same way aswell! Detailed this guys f250 for him, first real customer outside of family and friends! And god when it came to asking for the money I felt terrible. Yeah sure I worked for 5 hours and was asking a wee $115+tax, and yeah the guy was absolutely blown away and was asking about his RV and accord for the future, but I kept feeling like I robbed the guy.

Maybe I have gotten to comfortable at minimum wage

Or maybe its the OCD firing and telling me I need to do more before I can accept money :detailer:

[Justin at Final Inspection]

I very seldom feel guilty. Like mentioned. I am providing a service that they cannot do themselves. I know my work is good and what I charge is what I charge. There are times that I do go above and beyond what I originally told them was included. Weather it's a courtesy vac, or hydro2 the wheels etc. I like to follow the under promise over deliver method.

[HUMP DIESEL]

I don't feel guilty about getting paid, but I do have the stress of the "What if". I think it is more self inflicted. The shop I use is owned by my best friend and he is very meticulous with everything he does. I always get him to go in after I have left, and just look at the car. The latest one I have in was a 40+ hour correction on a hammered, piano black Mercedes.
His comment was, "If this client is not blown away, there is something wrong with him." "From what it was, to what it is now."

So I take solace in that sometimes we have looked at a car for so long, that the defects are always there for us. It takes a objective eye to look at it and say, your fine.

HUMP

[Dereksdtail]

It's gets easier as your skills improve and you get more efficient, I don't feel guilty anymore cause I have skill and knowledge I feel are good enough to get paid for💰

[tuscarora dave]

Some cars paint are just a wreck and the best way to solve the issue is getting a whole new 5k paint job! I tell my customers. I don't fix dents and do auto body repair. I don't fix and repair rust spots. I don't put back paint that is gone off the car. I am not painting their car. I stress this to all my customers and make sure the expectations are realistic.

You can polish a turd but at the end of the day, its still a turd.

:iagree: I let them know that I am great at what I do, but...I am not a magician. I'm cleaning it, not magically changing it back into a brand new car.

A lot of my clients say stuff like "Geez, it looks better than brand new!!" and in many cases it does, but...none of them really are. A scratch is a scratch and if they want that repaired it needs to be done by a qualified technician... Is that me? Well, how much do you want to spend, and how quick do you want it back? If you're in a great big hurry that you need this done in less than a day or 2, perhaps you'd take it to a body shop and wait a week or 2...

Of course I say all of this with a respectful attitude.

100% clear communication up front.

[Paul A.]

I used to feel that way. I agree with calendyr's point and have settled into my "hourly rate" mindset i.e. I do what the client asked for within the time frame i estimated it to take. Bam...that's the price charged and i don't feel the least bit guilty anymore.

Trust me, i totally get what you were saying though!

[trashmanssd]

I think its like any awkward human interaction, it just takes doing it a few or bunch times depending on the person to become comfortable doing it. Imagine if every time you got paid from work you had to go in and ask for your pay check it would be awkward at first then it just becomes normal. Or like firing someone from a job most people are terrified of doing that, but after you do it 4-5 times it isnt all that bad you realize there is a reason they are being let got and it is what it is.

[99monguse]

My problem is that I cant just say " that's good enough, that's all they're paying for"...I end up spending TOO much time for what I'm being paid for.