Customer no where to be found!!!

the_invisible said:
These incidents I have witnessed occured under normal circumstances where all legal contracts have been signed by the customers, giving authorizations to the licensed auto tuning shop to have the works performed.



What I am saying is that placing a lien or a claim of ownership on customers' vehicles is an extremely rare occurence.
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Gotcha. Makes sence. When people realize they're loosing their vehicle, they usually roll over and pay the bill(and some). You have to be a pretty big looser to loose your car to a Mechanics lein for a couple hundred bucks.



brwill2005 said:
Number one, what idiot leaves their car for a detail, and does not come back to pick it up? Number two, why make a customer sign a repair order to get their car detailed? The last thing people want to do is read and sign another piece of paper that is just a bunch of legal BS. I want my customer's to have as pleasant and easy experience with us as possible. I don't want them to feel like I am threatening them with repossessing their car if they leave it for a couple days.
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I think anyone in the auto repair business wants to give their customers a good experience & ROs are commonplace everywhere within the industry. Why should the detailing industry be immune to it? ROs protect both parties. Until you've been burned you might not see the need. I had a client get murdered while he had 2 brand new S/SL Benz's at my shop. I ended up keeping them for almost 2 months before his father picked them up. I Good thing I ultimately got paid, but legally w/o an RO they didn't have to. And if I damaged their cars I was liable too.
 
bwalker25 said:
Any vehicle left 2 days beyond agreed upon pickup date will be towed at the owners expense."
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I know towing companies insist the owner of the car pays the towing company's fee for towing the car before they will release the car. See if they will also demand your payment for having detailed it before the owner can take the car?



How long has the car been there? It'd be annoying, but I wouldn't start getting worried about them not picking it up unless it's been two weeks. It sounds like you're already past that point.
 
Well...its finally gone. After ignoring 14 phone calls, he picked it up today. What a pain in the a%$. I really try and be flexible when peolple need to pick their vehicles up after hours, but this guy took advantage of it. There's always one. Now I have a disclaimer on my site. Great feedback guys, thanks.
 
Funny you should ask, there was none. I was expected one but he acted like nothing was wrong. It was hard not to flip out, but he was refered to me by a previous customer of mine. I chose to keep my cool. Oh, and then he says "I'll give you a call about my other car." What??? Seriously???
 
It sounds like he didn't know how much it put you out. Just figured you left it in your enormous lot and it didn't matter. You should have at least explained to him, without raising hell, that you only have so much room and someone leaving their car there for a month makes it hard for you to work other cars around it, etc.. Sometimes ignorant people, you explain it to them, and they're willing to cooperate.



But, I imagine the reason you didn't explain it to him was because you were furious at what an ignoramous this guy was. Just if he does call back about his next car...
 
Yeah, I told him about the parking issue the second message I left for him after the car was done. Guess he wasn't bothered by that. Ah well, its a learning experience for me.
 
I did, and after I told him that....suddenly he appeared the next day. I try and cut people some slack because everyone is so busy, but there is always one guy that ruins it for everyone else. He's the first I actually had to almost use it.
 
rexrock said:
I did, and after I told him that....suddenly he appeared the next day. I try and cut people some slack because everyone is so busy, but there is always one guy that ruins it for everyone else. He's the first I actually had to almost use it.
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That is so true. It only took me being burned once for me to get some forms drawn up.
 
Why not go the extra mile and offer to deliver the car to your customer? Wouldn't that be a much nicer resolution for your customer then harassing them with phone calls and piling on stress that they obviously doesn't need?



This whole thread is a bit mind boggling to me. Detailing is a service business, you should be thinking in terms of what's best for your customer, not yourselves. When you truly take care of people you'll earn there business, and referrals, for life. I doubt you'll ever see that customer again.







David Fermani said:
I think anyone in the auto repair business wants to give their customers a good experience & ROs are commonplace everywhere within the industry. Why should the detailing industry be immune to it? ROs protect both parties. Until you've been burned you might not see the need. I had a client get murdered while he had 2 brand new S/SL Benz's at my shop. I ended up keeping them for almost 2 months before his father picked them up. I Good thing I ultimately got paid, but legally w/o an RO they didn't have to. And if I damaged their cars I was liable too.
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Why wouldn't they have to pay for the work? They were there for detailing and if the vehicles got taken w/o paying for the bill they'd be committing theft of service. I can see how a RO would be useful for a mobile business but for a fixed location it isn't necessary. All you have to do is not give the vehicle back until the bill is paid.
 
There was no harassing phone calls. I left a message when the vehicle was done and then another when I felt he had plenty of time to get here. The calls I made I made in between were to see if he was getting the messages or if there was a problem. Believe me, if there was a problem on his end I would have gladly taken the car to him. Funny, he got right back to me after the storage fee was going to be implemented. There is a point at which you as the business owner or as a person are taken advantage of. Its also known as responsibility on his part. I have been in various business settings and I know all about the "customer is always right" saying. Don't preach. He was very happy with the work, and I showed no anger or frustration toward him. But again, I had to implement this policy because of his actions.
 
MichaelM said:
Why wouldn't they have to pay for the work? They were there for detailing and if the vehicles got taken w/o paying for the bill they'd be committing theft of service. I can see how a RO would be useful for a mobile business but for a fixed location it isn't necessary. All you have to do is not give the vehicle back until the bill is paid.
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An RO is a binding contract. Without it, you have no documented agreement. Try going to any reputable repair shop like a dealership, Pep Boys, Good Year, etc and try having them work on your car without signing one. Motor Vehicle Repair Act. Here's some good info to read:



Florida Motor Vehicle Repair
 
MichaelM said:
This whole thread is a bit mind boggling to me. Detailing is a service business, you should be thinking in terms of what's best for your customer, not yourselves. When you truly take care of people you'll earn there business, and referrals, for life.
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Think you're reading this thread wrong. This whole thread is a business man who has every right to tow his customer's car, but is agonizing because he doesn't want to do it despite the bind it puts him in.



rexrock said:
I did, and after I told him that....suddenly he appeared the next day. I try and cut people some slack because everyone is so busy, but there is always one guy that ruins it for everyone else. He's the first I actually had to almost use it.
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Other people are harping on the 2nd part, but I think it's the 1st part I put in bold that's the lesson. You just gotta be firm with people sometimes.
 
One last story, My friend who ownes a detail shop in NY had the same problem detailed a car and the guy never picked it up when it was done, day after day week after week Nothing left calls and mailed a letter Nothing. About 5-6 weeks later the guy shows up at his place with the cash my friend asked him what happened he told him he was in jail and could not come up with the money to bail himself out. lol
 
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