Who else videos cars before detailing?

**briarpatch** · 12-05-2020, 02:05 PM

So, I just had a customer bring me a second vehicle....both high-end cars, at least to me. They dropped it off, and did not have time to do a walk around with me. I noted all the trouble spots (bird poop etchings, scratches, carpet stains, etc) on a video on my phone before touching it. As I was finishing it off, I noticed some scratches on the driver's door that I'd not noted on the video. Of course, I'm starting to freak out a little, trying to think how I could have caused them. I watched the video again on my phone, and did not see them. Thankfully, I took the time to cast the video to my TV, and there they were!! Suffice to say, I was relieved, and then went back out to work on them and try to correct them as best as I could.

I did take the time to point them out to the customer at pick up, and, was actually tipped very nicely. Just out of curiosity, how many of you guys do this before detailing a vehicle?

**dgage** · 12-05-2020, 04:04 PM

As a consultant for 20+ years, I’d say do anything and everything to cover your butt. And I think video does that well. To take it further, don’t start and stop recording and even better if you upload the video to the cloud immediately to get an unassailable time stamp. And you can also send a link to the video to your customers. Do a before and after video and you can highlight previous problem areas you were able to fix and those you weren’t. Add a paint thickness gauge to help communicate why you weren’t more aggressive on a defect for an added bonus and professional look.

**briarpatch** · 12-05-2020, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by dgage

As a consultant for 20+ years, I’d say do anything and everything to cover your butt. And I think video does that well. To take it further, don’t start and stop recording and even better if you upload the video to the cloud immediately to get an unassailable time stamp. And you can also send a link to the video to your customers. Do a before and after video and you can highlight previous problem areas you were able to fix and those you weren’t. Add a paint thickness gauge to help communicate why you weren’t more aggressive on a defect for an added bonus and professional look.

Thank you for the advice....some good stuff there