Before you start a customer detail do you first….

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imported_dirtdiggler

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Before you start on a customer detail do you first… go through a walk around the car pointing dents and scratches and so on for the record? I was curious if that is common practice to avoid a customer accusation of denting the car while doing the detail.. “it wasn’t there before you touched itâ€� just a curious. Thanks



Dirt diggler
 
every time i get a car in the shop i kick myself for not doing that while the customer was there... then tell myself i'm going to start doing that next time. i think it's a good idea, but just hard to do. most of the time when a customer drops off a vehicle or i pick one up i don't have time to go through the car... plus the vehicles are usually dirty so you can't see all the defects. i haven't had a customer try to pin anything on me yet, so i'll just keep doing things the way i have been.
 
I do a customer interview asking what Sean indicated. I do an overview of LSPs and the differences between them if the customers are interested. I use that same form and it is very good :up During this session, I'll take some ETG readings, note them on that form, and on another form I have with a drawing of a car. I'll record the ETG readings,both before and after paint correction on that other form. They tend not to differ by more than .1 mil or so ( more might be starting to get into the territory of endangering the clear)
 
Any car that I detail (not a true professional) I ALWAYS do a walk around the car unless I really know the person. I do this to point out glaring defects like dents, chips, curb rash, etc... Basically, covering my butt.



Half the time I feel bad because I'm pointing out stuff they never knew that had wrong with the car.



It also gives me an opportunity to explain what will come out and what will be greatly improved upon while explaining about clear coat thickness and the need to visually improve the vehicle while not abrading away on the clear to get every last scratch out of the car. This will change once I get to work more on my rotary skills ;)



To date, I've NEVER had someone disapointed in how it looks because it looks a billion times better than before! More importantly, the walk through with them prevented any accusations by them that I caused damage that was already there.



edit: When I do the walk through to point out defects, I always get: "You can thank my wife for that one." :lol
 
I don't do this much with regulars unless I notice something wrong before I start. With new customers, I go over the car with them and the process I recommend to get the best results.
 
dirtdiggler said:
Before you start on a customer detail do you first… go through a walk around the car pointing dents and scratches and so on for the record?
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No. I do not go through a walk around the car pointing dents and scratches and so on for the record.
 
I've asked my wife for another digital camera to be used solely for taking pictures of the vehicle before starting. I usually try to do a a walk-around with the customer, but sometimes it doesn't happen and sometimes the car is too dirty to see everything. But there's been a couple times where customers have made comments like "I didn't notice that before" while looking to me for a response; once, the entire grille was busted up on a BMW and he "didn't notice it before." Nobody has actually accused me of anything, but there's been a couple awkward moments...so just to be safe, I'm getting a digital camera so I can do a "snap-around" before I get started.
 
I have something like that, but a really basic form. I have a sheet with my letter-head at the top, and then something that says "Previous Exterior Defects:" with about 5 lines to write in, and then another section that says "Previous Interior Defects:" with another 5 lines to write stuff in.



Then at the bottom, I just have something saying that the owner gives me permission to operate and/or move the vehicle within the general area that the detailing will be taking place, a place for them to sign, and a date box.



If there's no damage, I just "X" out the blank area under interior/exterior defects before they sign.
 
I think prior damage reports can hurt just as much as they can help you. Most of the time, you will be evaluating a pretty dirty vehicle, which is going to cover up many defects. I'll quickly glance over the vehicle for glaring damages, which they almost always already know about, but I don't try to list all the damages and have them sign it. Just a hypothetical senario...customer brings a car in that's fairly dirty inside and out, and you walk the car with the customer to note any prior damage. You mark down what you find and the customer signs it. Now after cleaning the vehicle, you notice numerous dents or scratches, and a rip in the upholstery that you didn't see before( or mark down with customer) because the vehicle was dirty, but that you also know had to be there prior to working on the vehicle. Customer comes back, sees the other damages and because they were not included in your signed damage sheet, try to say that you're at fault.



When a customer inquires about a defect on their car after it has been detailed, this is what I tell them, " Yes, I noticed that before/after I washed your car. I went over that area several times, but that is about the best I'm going to be able to get it." Or for dents I'll tell them, " I noticed a few dings on your car after washing it (and will point out the dents). I have teamed up with a company that handles dent removal, would you like me to have them contact you for a free estimate?"

I have not had anyone try to accuse me of damage to their vehicle. Of course, if something was my fault, I would explain the situation to the client and take every needed to measure to correct the problem.
 
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