2 lessons for people thinking about detailing for money.

[samiam513]

I was woken up sunday morning by the phone. I pick it up, and it was my best customer. He owns some pizza shops, and other stuff. He said "hey sam, I spilled some stuff in my wifes truck, and I need it cleand IMMEDIATELY." I say, "okay, I can get you today." he says "great, what will i cost to have the spill taken out?" I say "I don't know. I'll halfto see the spill." he persist, but I don't budge.



I go pick up the truck. I get in, and it has a smell to it. Smells like somthing I can't quite identify. I say owell, I'll un internionally get it out.



So I srart cleaning. I do the outside, do the front, middle row, rear row, and the smell kept getting stronger. I get to the back, and I feel somthing oily. I start shampooing the carpet, when suddenly it comes up!! I say WTF!! I look under it, and then I feel the carpet with my hands really well. Underneath the carpet I found crisco!! The kind used to fry chicken!! It had gotten everywhere! I start disassembling the rear of the interior, becasue it had melted and run all through it. The oil in the crisco has gotten under the glue holding down the carpet, and the carpet was toast because I used everything I had to get the grease out (even engine degrgeaser!)



Lesson #1 This job has it's highs and lows. The lows can be really low. This is one of them. I took me about 6 hrs to do a 2 hr job.



Lesson #2 No matter how much somone persist, do NOT give a quote over the phone. If the spill was just a spill, it would have cost him alot less, but the spill was a spill, then a melting, then a rubbing trying to get it up before the truck came to me.



Happy Detailing!

 

[Scottwax]

The blood I cleaned out of a Tempo was worse, I guarantee it! Nothing like the smell of about 2 pints of dried blood that have been in a car 10 days parked in the sun with the windows up in June. I nearly hurled when I first opened the door and the smell hit me.



I learned the hard way not to take on jobs like that or to give a price without seeing what I was in for.

 

[thevolvoguy]

The blood I cleaned out of a Tempo was worse, I guarantee it! Nothing like the smell of about 2 pints of dried blood that have been in a car 10 days parked in the sun with the windows up in June. I nearly hurled when I first opened the door and the smell hit me.



I learned the hard way not to take on jobs like that or to give a price without seeing what I was in for.

Gross. :down



Are you cleaning serial killers cars now, Scott? :nono

 

[2wheelsx2]

Lesson #1 This job has it's highs and lows. The lows can be really low. This is one of them. I took me about 6 hrs to do a 2 hr job.



Lesson #2 No matter how much somone persist, do NOT give a quote over the phone. If the spill was just a spill, it would have cost him alot less, but the spill was a spill, then a melting, then a rubbing trying to get it up before the truck came to me.



Happy Detailing!

So what did you end up charging him, by the hour, or triple or regular rate?

 

[Scottwax]

Gross. :down



Are you cleaning serial killers cars now, Scott? :nono

:lol



Nah, he dropped a glass and tried to catch it, and a piece bounced up and cut his arm open. A friend of his drove him to the hospital.

 

[safetyman2010]

I was woken up sunday morning by the phone. I pick it up, and it was my best customer. He owns some pizza shops, and other stuff. He said "hey sam, I spilled some stuff in my wifes truck, and I need it cleand IMMEDIATELY." I say, "okay, I can get you today." he says "great, what will i cost to have the spill taken out?" I say "I don't know. I'll halfto see the spill." he persist, but I don't budge.



I go pick up the truck. I get in, and it has a smell to it. Smells like somthing I can't quite identify. I say owell, I'll un internionally get it out.



So I srart cleaning. I do the outside, do the front, middle row, rear row, and the smell kept getting stronger. I get to the back, and I feel somthing oily. I start shampooing the carpet, when suddenly it comes up!! I say WTF!! I look under it, and then I feel the carpet with my hands really well. Underneath the carpet I found crisco!! The kind used to fry chicken!! It had gotten everywhere! I start disassembling the rear of the interior, becasue it had melted and run all through it. The oil in the crisco has gotten under the glue holding down the carpet, and the carpet was toast because I used everything I had to get the grease out (even engine degrgeaser!)



Lesson #1 This job has it's highs and lows. The lows can be really low. This is one of them. I took me about 6 hrs to do a 2 hr job.



Lesson #2 No matter how much somone persist, do NOT give a quote over the phone. If the spill was just a spill, it would have cost him alot less, but the spill was a spill, then a melting, then a rubbing trying to get it up before the truck came to me.



Happy Detailing!

A very good example of how detailers need to be trianed in proper techniques and understanding of the chemistry in which the products they use work. There is never an excuse for anything to be "toast" because you used a product on it with no understanding of how it would affect it (today or in the long run). You should have thouroughly inspected the vehicle before beginning to determine what was actually causing the odour and when you encountered a problem, stopped working on it and searched for proper solutions. You will find that almost all customers will be deceptive when it comes to the severity of a problem. Like the lady I had come in to the shop claiming her baby bottle had leaked in her trunk and when I inspected it the ENTIRE spare tire well was full of milk (she spilled a 4 litre jug it turned out). You are quite correct that you can never accurately predict how much a job should cost over the phone and you should NEVER give a firm price until you can diagnose problems and estimate the time needed to correct them in person. People who call around demanding a firm price are looking for the CHEAPEST price and you probably don't want to deal with them in the first place so have them drop by for an estimate and explain that you can't estimate how much it would cost to correct a problem without actually seeing the problem first - anyone reasonable will understand that.

 

[SickOfItAll]

A very good example of how detailers need to be trianed in proper techniques and understanding of the chemistry in which the products they use work. There is never an excuse for anything to be "toast" because you used a product on it with no understanding of how it would affect it (today or in the long run). You should have thouroughly inspected the vehicle before beginning to determine what was actually causing the odour and when you encountered a problem, stopped working on it and searched for proper solutions. You will find that almost all customers will be deceptive when it comes to the severity of a problem. Like the lady I had come in to the shop claiming her baby bottle had leaked in her trunk and when I inspected it the ENTIRE spare tire well was full of milk (she spilled a 4 litre jug it turned out). You are quite correct that you can never accurately predict how much a job should cost over the phone and you should NEVER give a firm price until you can diagnose problems and estimate the time needed to correct them in person. People who call around demanding a firm price are looking for the CHEAPEST price and you probably don't want to deal with them in the first place so have them drop by for an estimate and explain that you can't estimate how much it would cost to correct a problem without actually seeing the problem first - anyone reasonable will understand that.

This is the kind of case where I expect experience would make a world of difference - personally, if I ran into a car that had Crisco ground into the carpet, I wouldn't even know where to start - actually, I'd probably tell the person I'd have to try it a different day, and then ask here



As far as quotes - ALWAYS in person, definitely. I'll quote my friends over the phone, but I also make clear to them that if the job looks worse than they describe, the price will get bumped (though it depends on the severity). If you *have* to give an estimate over the phone - make it a price range so you can give yourself some breathing room ("well, it should cost somewhere between $50 and $100 depending on how bad it is, but maybe more - I can tell you for sure once I see it.") I try and get quotes over the phone for various jobs as well - and a lot of people hate to do it, and with good reason - but realize that not everyone is looking for a firm price. They just want to have some idea of how much they'll be out of pocket for, without wasting too much of everybody's time.

 

[2wheelsx2]

A very good example of how detailers need to be trianed in proper techniques and understanding of the chemistry in which the products they use work.

So, I am curious. How would you get out Crisco spilled all over the carpet. Mop up the excess and then use a degreaser?



I had a friend who spilled a liter of motor oil in her trunk, and she just lift it there for months. I told her I couldn't clean it.

 

[imported_CBX Carl]

Our small Auto garage is flooded with customers calls of Emergency and I need the price NOW.



I am the calm one so I address the issue and politely express that the vechicle must be viewed and inspected to offer a proper quote. Some customers walk and never stop in while others trust us and bring the car in.



We do quite a bit of call-back from other chains and shops. Customer got a great price on the job but results were not what they inspected.



Occasionally in the summer we have a contract detailer work out of shop and customers attempt to compare/haggle his work with that of the local car wash. We try to educate them but to no avail.



It is difficult for some to actually value their own work but in time we figure it out, no matter who the customer is.

 

[safetyman2010]

So, I am curious. How would you get out Crisco spilled all over the carpet. Mop up the excess and then use a degreaser?



I had a friend who spilled a liter of motor oil in her trunk, and she just lift it there for months. I told her I couldn't clean it.

Without actaully seeing the vehicle and assessing how severe the problem was I can't say how I would proceed. If there was a lot of Crisco (and by Crisco I believe you mean lard) then I would probably remove the seats, carpet and underpad. I would then wipe as much as possible out with towels off of the interior floor and plastic and if necessary, throw out and replace the underpad and then pressure wash and then shampoo the carpet (possibly repeatedly as necessary). I deal with a professional disaster restoration and carpet cleaning company and I would consult with him before starting an unusual job like this just to make sure that I was taking the proper steps to CORRECT the problem without causing any new ones.

 

[safetyman2010]

Our small Auto garage is flooded with customers calls of Emergency and I need the price NOW.



I am the calm one so I address the issue and politely express that the vechicle must be viewed and inspected to offer a proper quote. Some customers walk and never stop in while others trust us and bring the car in.



We do quite a bit of call-back from other chains and shops. Customer got a great price on the job but results were not what they inspected.



Occasionally in the summer we have a contract detailer work out of shop and customers attempt to compare/haggle his work with that of the local car wash. We try to educate them but to no avail.



It is difficult for some to actually value their own work but in time we figure it out, no matter who the customer is.

It's too bad many people have the lowest price in mind when shopping for services and don't compare the services they are getting quotes for - they only compare the prices and then take the lowest. We also do a lot of re-cleans that other shops have already done - take a look at my website for a few of the more memorable ones. Almost all the pictures in the gallery were cars that were already done by another shop (the engine on the crown victoria was supposedly done the day before - you can judge the results for yourself). www.shineshop.ca

 

[BumpersPlus2]

I love doing re do's, I charge the same rate , and the hacker detailer has USUALLY gotten at least 1 part of the car clean, so It saves me some time.

 

[Corey Bit Spank]

How do you spill crisco inside your car? I guess I'm lucky my mom likes to keep her car clean. We had indoor-outdoor carpeting down for maybe 50k miles, until it got bad looking. Hm.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

How do you spill crisco inside your car? I guess I'm lucky my mom likes to keep her car clean. We had indoor-outdoor carpeting down for maybe 50k miles, until it got bad looking. Hm.

if only I were so lucky with my wife... she spilled pickle juice all over the pass. seat of her car. I cleaned it up but it still reeks in there... may have to pull the fabric completely off the seat to see if it got into the foam pad underneath.

 

[imported_zenhog]

So, I am curious. How would you get out Crisco spilled all over the carpet. Mop up the excess and then use a degreaser?



I had a friend who spilled a liter of motor oil in her trunk, and she just lift it there for months. I told her I couldn't clean it.

You might have skipped over chapter one of the lessons on this site - David has an EXCELLENT article on cleaning basics - and it describes the different types of spills/stains and what has to be used on each type to loosen the stain and remove it.



Here's the article:



http://www.autopia.ws/articles.php?articleId=12