Angry Detailer....

E

eurodj2003

New member
Ok so this may be considered off-topic, maybe not, but anyways the other day I did a detail for a good friend of mine.. the usual wash, clay trouble areas, polish with ssr2.5@PC, wax@PC, shampoo interior, yadda yadda yadda.. anyway... he IM's me today while i'm away and says this:



Freind: so apparently you didnt need to wash the car and stuff

Friend: you just put the wax on and buffer

Friend: the bonnet gets dirty but you get a new one

Friend: so it would have taken like 2 hours max



Really makes me angry because he has no idea that it's NOT easy work detailling cars and that he's absolutely wrong. The car he has wasnt washed in over a year, had lots of crap bonded to the paint and was just downright dirty. Meanwhile, being my friend and all I completely undercharged him (he paid $65). Either way, makes me mad that I guess he thinks he's right. Haven't been able to talk to him yet but I kinda just want to punch him in the face.



Anyone else have similar experience or difficulty with customers?

:grrr :grrr :grrr :grrr :grrr :grrr :grrr :grrr

... feels good to get it off my chest.
 
I feel badly for you. A good example of why I always try to draw a clear line in the sand. Friend. Or. Client. But not both.
 
It'sto be expected that some people will not understand what your work involves. That carries across all fields of work. All you can do with a customer (in this case your "friend") is walk through what you did, and actually show them why it's more than they think.



Arguing and albeit "funny", punching, is not the solution (I know you didn't). Just treat him as you would any other customer, and explain. If all else fails, don't do it again for the same price, or at all. :)



Oh, and get a new friend :P
 
Friends are hard to work for, as they have many more expectations than a normal customer. They expect a deal, not just any deal but a deal that your mom would be envious of. they expect perfection, they expect it to be done in nothing flat, and they expect no issues what so ever.



As vroomvroom said. Draw a clear line, and charge them accordingly.
 
That sucks. I recently detailed my friend's truck because I felt sorry for him and seeing his truck in such a condition. I didn't use any abrasive polish as my time was limited. Just wash, spot clay and AIO + EXP. What really made his truck stand out was the tire dressing and washing the wheel wells. He surprisingly keeps the interior clean, so he vacuumed it when I was waiting for the EXP to cure. I didn't feel right charging him for it.



That said, your friend just doesn't understand. Probably thinks that the occasional rain serves as his car wash!
 
He says 'apparently' which infers that he's heard something from someone else about the work you did. To me it sounds like a 'mutual friend' has been talking down your work. Do you have any other friends who would be happy to steal your business...
 
yea he said he has a friend who works in a dealership who told him it only needs to get a wash if its really dirty... i mean... hes like a best friend.. known him since 2nd grade... it's obvious that he's ignorant to all this... lol
 
Whenever someone I know (friend, family, whatever) questions the need for polishing I just show them what it does. This week an in-law of mine kind of infered that perhaps all this "phooey" with detailing wasn't really necassary; that polishing, waxing, washing correctly was all just made up by people with too much time on their hands; so I just showed him; I had some of my stuff with me so I just polished his fender. His first reaction of course was "you covered the scratches in wax, right?" when he found out they were gone that was the end of his skepticism.



Next time your friend wants you to "just wax it with a bonnet" do it, and see how he likes the results. :)
 
eurodj2003 said:
Ok so this may be considered off-topic, maybe not, but anyways the other day I did a detail for a good friend of mine.. the usual wash, clay trouble areas, polish with ssr2.5@PC, wax@PC, shampoo interior, yadda yadda yadda.. anyway... he IM's me today while i'm away and says this:



Freind: so apparently you didnt need to wash the car and stuff

Friend: you just put the wax on and buffer

Friend: the bonnet gets dirty but you get a new one

Friend: so it would have taken like 2 hours max



Really makes me angry because he has no idea that it's NOT easy work detailling cars and that he's absolutely wrong. The car he has wasnt washed in over a year, had lots of crap bonded to the paint and was just downright dirty. Meanwhile, being my friend and all I completely undercharged him (he paid $65). Either way, makes me mad that I guess he thinks he's right. Haven't been able to talk to him yet but I kinda just want to punch him in the face.



Anyone else have similar experience or difficulty with customers?

:grrr :grrr :grrr :grrr :grrr :grrr :grrr :grrr

... feels good to get it off my chest.
Click to expand...



Well. if this moron could do the car without washing, polishing , and waxing in two hours... then why didn't he just do the fracking car himself and save the money?



I agree with ScottWax.. tell him never to darken your door again with his car and to piss off in general!
 
OH MAN!! What were you thinking; washing the car before you smeared some "wax" all over it and charged me $65. I can't believe you'd wash the car for no reason and get rid of all the dirt before you rubbed the paint surface.



Give me a break, this guy doesn't have a clue what he's talking about and obviously his "friend" at the dealer is one of those that SCRUBS a new car with a bristle brush and muddy wash water.



Good luck, maybe you can show him what you actually did so he can appreciate your efforts.
 
I hate when ignorant people try to "educate" you. Pisses me off too.

Body shops WILL often use a polisher right over a heavy dust, I've seen it plenty of times. I doubt they would be stupid enough to use a polisher over a dirty car though.
 
i know how you feel i have been there. Offer to do his car again for free if he helps and show him the amount of time and effort that goes into it. Educate him becasue obliously hes undereductaed
 
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