A string of dead end phone calls..

[Eric7810]

I’ve had a pretty good year doing detailing as a side hustle (this is my sixth year). In the month of May I grossed $5k.

Last week I had four callers who inquired about my work. Every one of them ended up giving me the ‘let me run it passed my wife and I’ll get back to you’ line and never called again.

One guy asked about an ‘18 Yukon XL three kids, rail dust, dirty. He wanted int, ext, and ceramic coating. I quoted $880 sight unseen. (I know some of you are cringing at that quote). He didn’t like it.

Another guy with an ‘04 Bonneville wanted int, ext, wax. Quoted $280. Had to talk to wife. Nothing in response.

My garage has been idle for a few wks now. These peaks and valleys happen but this valley feels different.

That’s just my $0.02 for the day. Anyone have any thoughts about the business end of things?


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[Eric7810]

I guess I’m asking if there are any pros out there who could give me a hug and tell me everything is going to be ok…


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[oneheadlite]

Unfortunately I can't speak on the pro detailer front, but I can say in the automotive repair business (even as a technician, not a service writer) I've taken some phone calls from price checkers. They'll call asking unusually specific questions about your pricing (usually asking for your hourly rate during the call as well), then of course it all sounds great and they'll talk to the spouse and "call back" (they never do...).

Not sure how you're listed, but maybe you got on someone's radar enough to price check?

Since it's side hustle and not main gig, hopefully it's just denting your fun money and not causing sweat for the daily bills. Hope some dirty cars start showing up at your door soon!

[Rsurfer]

One word, ECONOMY!!

[luckydawg]

The economy is bad and getting worse
Elections have consequenses-- not trying to turn this political- but its just a fact. Money is tight and getting tighter by the month

[PaulMys]

The economy is terrible now, but people who regularly spend $500+ to have their car detailed are usually immune to the "penny-pinching" that most of us do in a bad economy.

Hell, even in a good economy I wouldn't spend $500. That's why I learned to do it myself. Lol


I have a term for the people you have dealt with recently, Eric.

"Tire Kickers"

[Eric7810]

I agree. Honestly though, I was hoping to hear from you guys and be able to blame this slump on something other than Joe Burden’s economy.


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[WhiteShadow89]

I felt this was relevant enough with your situation that I thought I would share. I do detailing on the side, it is my passionate hobby where my actual career (cyber security sales) pays the bills. A few years ago I was in a slump of my own. I had always had peaks and valley's before, but as time went on I began to wonder when things would turn back around. It took me 80 days before I finally posted a sale for the quarter, but after that deal came in it was like the floodgates bursted and the journey back to the peak was that much sweeter. My point is that some slumps feel different and go longer than others to the point that you begin to wonder if you need to swap jobs, consider career changes etc. For me, I am a man of faith and I trust in God's plan that everything would work out. Have some faith and keep digging down, things will turn around. When they do your trip back to the peak will be that much better.

[John U]

Who wears the pants in those families?

Checking with the wife is a “cop out” for making a decision. They could of just said that is more money then I want to spend. Thank you.

I was at a tire dealer once looking at mag wheels. He mentioned to run it past the wife….. I said “the wife could care less about wheels”.

[vaca22]

I've played in this one particular golf tournament for years now. The standard going rate for one of these events used to be $125. At one point in time, it became more fashionable (LOL) to charge $150. So $150 was generally what you could expect to pay.

The organizers of that tournament bumped that up to $160. It was $160 for the past...I'd say 3 or 4 years now.

A friend of mine volunteered to be on the organizational committee. He asked if I had registered this year. I told him I did, but why? He said the committee was concerned that only about 60 people registered this year, as opposed to 100 last year. That seemed like a big drop-off.

As I logged into the site to pay, I noticed the price had increased to $170. I called my friend back and told him exactly why there were much fewer applicants - $170 is a line that people are not willing to cross now for this kind of event. People are watching every last cent, and I don't blame them.