Last night I received an email from a potential customer that wanted paint correction done; however, he ONLY wanted paint correction. He said that the car was clayed and that he will wash and wax it before/after the polishing. I have never heard this before. Anyone have the sort of thing happen to them?
Customers wanting to do their own work...
- Thread starter SoCalB6
- Start date
JohnKleven
New member
Sounds like a good deal to me.
imported_Prestige Detail
New member
I say roll with it and run as fast as you can! :wink1:
imported_Ivan Rajic
New member
I luckily had such a request only a couple times in my 4+ years of detailing. I say luckily because I'll either do everything or nothing. There are no exceptions because I never know what the person has done to prep it for polishing. Also, if the client is bringing the car to me there's no point for them to wash it as I'll have to wash it JUST before claying and/or polishing.
If the car isn't properly clayed and you swirl it up during polishing, it's your fault even though you didn't do the claying... too many variables for me to like that sort of deal, but to each their own.
If the car isn't properly clayed and you swirl it up during polishing, it's your fault even though you didn't do the claying... too many variables for me to like that sort of deal, but to each their own.
imported_dfazekas
New member
LUSTR said:
I agree with you on that one. You never know how well they did with prep/ what all could go wrong because of it.
Figure its better to play it safe when it comes to that.
imported_Ivan Rajic
New member
SoCalB6 said:
You can politely explain that a swirl removing process consists of washing, claying and polishing, all of which is done by the detailer or his employees Explain clearly that even if they miss one small spot claying, or not washing thoroughly enough, there's potential of you creating more swirl marks or scratches in the paint. With that, you would be responsible for the swirls due to your negligence and the only way for you to not be neglectful is to do everything yourself.
You can MAYBE offer not to wax after polishing for a discount, but make it clear that it'll be a small discount as waxing is a small/easy part of the process.
maxepr1
New member
I have to say that Lustr said it right on! I am asked alot "I'll wash it and clay it, you just correct it"! I say in a nice way that the price is the same if I do it or you do it. If it comes to me clean it doesn't matter it's going to get washed again and clayed again. So don't worry about it. Lately I've heard "well I'm trying to save you time, so I cleaned for you". Ya thur the tunnel wash!!
imported_Ivan Rajic
New member
maxepr1 said:
+1 on the above. It's another great way to explain/show that your process is done completely by you and can't be separated into different bits and pieces.
RaskyR1
Rasky's Auto Detailing
I have no issue with them bringing the car to me clean and clayed. But I will still re-wash the car and check the claying before polishing. It's definitely nice in the winter if they wash it before bringing it to me and it can save some time. No discount really either way.
imported_Ivan Rajic
New member
RaskyR1 said:
Yea that's definitely a nice thing and I actually always encourage clients to run the car through a touchless wash, especially in winter, if the car is extremely soiled. However there's no discount and I'll still do a thorough wash and clay, etc. after they bring the car.
Street5927
New member
I had a customer request this same thing. Since I do not do mobile detailing, I told them this would be worthless because the dust, dirt and other contaminants will only have to be washed off again after they deliver the vehicle. It is worthless to correct a dirty car.
I've had people say they will have the car washed and ready, and I tell them if I don't wash it, I can't guarantee a completely clean surface to safely polish. If they want to wax after I finish, no problem (had a couple people want to do that) but if I don't wash/clay the car, I won't polish it either.
Scottwax said:
could not agree more with this. you never know if the customer is gonna do a proper job of washing or claying. after about 10 minutes of claying most people(besides us detailers) will stop claying. which means the car is not clayed. and like someone else metioned the drive over to drop the car off will collect dirt and who knows whatelse so it will still have to get washed again
Jean-Claude
Keeper of the beautiful
This stems from folks wanting to save money. I will tell them I charge what I charge so that it gets done for a reasonable price and is done the right way the first time. Discounting a price and having to finish half a job could be a real nightmare. Keep away from that!
WAS
Driven
Personally, I'd polish away if the client wants to wash / clay on their own. Simply have them sign an agreement that states they understand that results may not be optimal due to the fact that they're taking responsibility for some of the steps involved. I've experienced where a customer will call and ask for just an interior shampoo, so I quote an amount based on shampooing and vacuuming (since you obviously have to do both). Every so often, the customer will ask "can I vacuum it myself ?". I say sure, but understand that the shampooing process (extractor) isn't designed to pick up lots of gravel, sand and other soiling (which we get lots of here in the winter since they sand / gravel the roads), so if the carpet isn't vacuumed well enough, the shampooing results might not be optimal. Most customers then simply forget about trying to save money and just pay. The odd one still decides to do the vacuum step themselves, and I've seen vehicles where there was still gravel and sand on the carpets. I just shampoo away and that's that. It's like a Maaco cheap paint job. Might not look the best, but if that's what someone wants to pay for, go for it.
As long as your hourly rate is still good, why not squeeze something like this in on a morning / afternoon before heading to a "complete" correction / detail ? The most important thing is to ensure that the customer knows what to expect, and that they understand that by not having you do all the steps, the result may not be as optimal as it could be.
As long as your hourly rate is still good, why not squeeze something like this in on a morning / afternoon before heading to a "complete" correction / detail ? The most important thing is to ensure that the customer knows what to expect, and that they understand that by not having you do all the steps, the result may not be as optimal as it could be.
From my experience, this kind of customer is normally a person who :
Is extremely fussy about the smallest details.
Never trust anyone completely.
A newcomer to detailing, and is a giant sponge that've absorbed lots of info (correct and incorrect) from the Internet, but doesn't want to go to the extent of doing extensive work by DIY.
Actually, he doesn't trust you at all because he thinks you're not knowledgeable enough to wash and clay properly. But alas.....he has read too much about swirls, and is a bench-expert on swirls without any machines at home. So, he NEEDS your compounding and polishing services out of pure necessity.
But be careful.....such a specimen MIGHT not be aware of how much $$$ to achieve that kinda results he sees on the websites. Such a customer could be very ignorant and naive when it comes to prices. When he collects his car from you, he could check every sq foot on the hood with a fancy, expensive bright torch light...while paying very little.
If he's satisfied when collecting car,....you're partly-lucky.
If you don't get any calls after a few days....you're very lucky!:grinno:
If he's not satisfied.....you could be a hot topic on Facebook etc.
Personally, I would never entertain such car owners:grinno:
That's a potential IED waiting to explode.
Is extremely fussy about the smallest details.
Never trust anyone completely.
A newcomer to detailing, and is a giant sponge that've absorbed lots of info (correct and incorrect) from the Internet, but doesn't want to go to the extent of doing extensive work by DIY.
Actually, he doesn't trust you at all because he thinks you're not knowledgeable enough to wash and clay properly. But alas.....he has read too much about swirls, and is a bench-expert on swirls without any machines at home. So, he NEEDS your compounding and polishing services out of pure necessity.
But be careful.....such a specimen MIGHT not be aware of how much $$$ to achieve that kinda results he sees on the websites. Such a customer could be very ignorant and naive when it comes to prices. When he collects his car from you, he could check every sq foot on the hood with a fancy, expensive bright torch light...while paying very little.
If he's satisfied when collecting car,....you're partly-lucky.
If you don't get any calls after a few days....you're very lucky!:grinno:
If he's not satisfied.....you could be a hot topic on Facebook etc.
Personally, I would never entertain such car owners:grinno:
That's a potential IED waiting to explode.