Can I vent?

L

Lowejackson

New member
What exactly does Factory recommended or “Selected by� mean. Products like Autoglym are factory recommended by Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Aston Martin, is this just marketing or something deeper?



(I do know the Queen uses Blitz wax on her cars)



Steven

Alfa 164
 
I would assume that most car care product mfr's want to be associated with, if not in business with, the car mfr's, especially the premium brands.



At the same time I'd think a car mfr wants to sell or at least recommend a particular brand of car care products to their customers.



For example, I'd bet the Autoglym folks get together with the Jaguar folks and talk paint and paint care. Both sides do testing and evaluation. Autoglym perhaps makes slight modifications to their formulas to improve product performance. Jaguar likes the performance and agrees to place Autoglym in their "selected supplier" distribution system.



This arrangement works nicely for both parties and is good for consumers as well. For the car owner who does not want to experiment with a million different products, it makes for an easy choice. And there are some nice marketing and cross-promotion synergies as well.
 
Yesterday I cleaned my nephew's suburban. I picked it up the night before and started at 630 AM. I cleaned the carpets, floor mats, seats, windows, wheel wells, wheels, engine, paint and I am sure much more. Anyway later that night (did I mention I did this for free?) his brother sent me a text that said 12 hours is a bit obsessive, don't you think?

Now it doesn't really bother me about this car because the owner was very appreciative and his wife could not believe it. But his brother called me obsessive. I have spent (on a conservative estimate) a few thousand dollars at PAC on two polishers, endless product, a pile of towels and now he says I am obsessive.

I work five days a week and spend my Saturday's helping my family protect their investments and I am obsessive. My car is dirty right now and I am obsessive. I call it giving. Giving because I am willing to clean vomit out of a car when I don't even have kids. Giving because I don't ask them to buy product. Giving because I don't charge them. Giving, because to tell you the truth I would rather be golfing. Giving because I care what the end result is. Giving because I care enough to email PAC to ensure I use the right polish. Giving because I do a test spot to ensure I don't wreck their paint.

You know, I am pretty good at this. I can remove a defect with a rotary and not leave buffer trails. Which is more than I can say for the $8 hacks at the car wash who use one polish on every car, never clean the pads, and leave a 3D image on the car without removing a defect. I use what I consider good products. I do many things on the interior by hand. I don't have a fancy extractor. I don't use products that will harm the car, or leave ungodly odors. I research, I learn, I practice.

Do I sound mad? I am. I have spent many Saturdays helping when I could be doing something else. The pad and polish combo I picked was specific to his car and short attention span. I had damn good results (not perfect, but really good).

As a commentary......I have noticed that many folks want results from a detailer like STREET DREAMS but only want to pay the time and money for a drive through. Well results cost money and require time.



:StarWars:
 
The simple solution............ stop doing it. Go golfing instead.

If your good at something never do it for free.
 
CamoZ71 said:
The simple solution............ stop doing it. Go golfing instead.

If your good at something never do it for free.
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I couldn't agree more.Let him see what it's like to have a trashed car and then if he calls you back to clean it up again .Tell him you will think about it!!!
 
Thanks for the support guys. Love the quote from Batman! I am sure I will chill in day or two. You are right though, I should start charging.
 
If you really enjoy doing this, fill free to come to my house any time you would like. I have 3 cars that are in desperate need of your attention :wizard:

Maybe you could find someone else closer to you that would appreciate this. Do you have any widows/widowers or single parents in your area or at your place of employment?
 
I have a group of "regulars" that I do cars for on a fairly consistant basis. One couple that are friends of ours (due to our kids mainly) have the nastiest cars, and wait months till the call, then they never act like they appreciate my work. On the contrary, they nod and and start telling me some story about some relative of theirs - that I could give a sh!t about. They pay, but never tip and if it wasn't for their kids telling me how they can't believe it's their car, I probably wouldn't do their stuff again.

Ron White was right, you can't fix stupid...
 
The bottom line is this. If you like to do it, and it makes you feel good to do it for loved ones, then by all means, keep doing it. If however, you do a good deed for someone, and then they turn around and spit in your face, don't just move them to the bottom of your list, take them off it completely.

Believe me, I know just how you feel.
 
Flash Gordon said:
If you really enjoy doing this, fill free to come to my house any time you would like. I have 3 cars that are in desperate need of your attention :wizard:

Maybe you could find someone else closer to you that would appreciate this. Do you have any widows/widowers or single parents in your area or at your place of employment?
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That is a good point, I could start looking for service ops. And if I were in TN I would gladly lend a hand.

bmw5541 said:
The bottom line is this. If you like to do it, and it makes you feel good to do it for loved ones, then by all means, keep doing it. If however, you do a good deed for someone, and then they turn around and spit in your face, don't just move them to the bottom of your list, take them off it completely.

Believe me, I know just how you feel.
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I do enjoy it which is hard for some to understand. It is a Zen thing for me. I will keep doing it and I may have to let some comments roll of my back. I do enjoy the feedback, it helps me see if I am centered or way off base. :out:
 
Well, the offer stands anytime. Elvis has an awesome car collection here and the BBQ is the best in the world. So :toetap05:

Nothing is wrong with you. This is a hobby you enjoy just as some ppl enjoy woodworking or bird watching :Snowman:

If you decide to come to Memphis I will see if I can scrounge up a few soccer mom mini vans. This should quinch your detailing thurst. Well, that or make you have a reality check/find a new hobby :cursing:

I think finding someone who would really appreciate this service would do your soul good. I call it soul food, and I have an endless buffett waiting on you :cornut:
 
I started doing the same as you Bio, helping out others as I enjoy detailing. Only as my costs started to grow did I start charging (though I'm really cheap compared to anyone else). I do it as a hobby (weekends as I have a FT job)and enjoy the end result.

I've stuck to mainly family and friends, and they've all been amazed at the transformations and have always offered more than quoted. I do it not for profit, namely for the instant satisfaction of a job well done, well that and it pays for cool stuff to use on my cars also :devil:. If someone were to complain after the work is done for no good reason (I'll fix anything I missed), then I'll just refer them to the yellowpages next time as I don't have the time, nor the need, for that.
 
Same situation here...I've been called that before.

As for Christian I wouldn't ever clean his car again since he called you obsessive. Unless he's down equal favors for you.

I treat detailing as a hobby and it's therapeutic in a sense...except when the girlfriend calls my cell phone 10 times!
 
Don't take the "obsessive" comment as an insult even though that may be how it was intended. All good craftsman and artists are obsessive about their work. What you do and the attention to detail you give is admirable.

Keep up the good work. Others would love to have your passion about your work.
 
scoTampa said:
Don't take the "obsessive" comment as an insult even though that may be how it was intended. All good craftsman and artists are obsessive about their work. What you do and the attention to detail you give is admirable.

Keep up the good work. Others would love to have your passion about your work.
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I am :chillpill:-ing now. Thanks for letting me vent and for the support comments. I am sure we all want to feel something we enjoy is valid, thats all.
 
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