Don't you get tired of customers...

M

Maxima Lover

New member
...asking if you can "buff out" paint chips on the bumpers after they've hit something.

...telling you over the phone that their car "isn't that dirty" when it's really a mess.

What else do you get tired of customers doing/saying?
 
Maxima Lover said:
...asking if you can "buff out" paint chips on the bumpers after they've hit something.

...telling you over the phone that their car "isn't that dirty" when it's really a mess.

What else do you get tired of customers doing/saying?
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Yea, I've heard that over and over, I don't know how many times!
I give them the price on a basic detail, they will tell me that they can go down town and get one for like 35 bucks. I would say, thanks for calling, have a nice day.
 
I've never had someone ask me if I could buff out something like that, but they've asked me if my wax will "hide" their door dings :bubba

It's always a great laugh when the people who make fun of you for being so concerned about caring for your car finally ask you to detail theirs, I always get achuckle out of that
 
Something that irks me that really probably shouldn't, is when a customer brings me a car that is totally thrashed inside and out. It takes all afternoon to clean it up and repair their years of neglect. Then when they come to pick it up they suddenly become detail oriented and point out a spot on the tire that didn't get glossed because it was on the bottom when you glossed them or something like that. It shouldn't bother me, and what it really does is just motivate me to be more thorough, but it ticks me off still the same. If they were so detail oriented then their car wouldn't have looked like a dump when I got it. They obviously have no appreciation for how much work it is to transform a heap like that, so really, where do they get off nit picking? Again, it shouldn't bug me since they are the boss and they are paying for perfection, but it does anyway.
 
I feel your pain Jngrbrdman, I do a bit of work for dealers unfortunatly and they are the worst at that, the other day I did a solid black "A" class benz that was trashed and spent ages on the paint only to take it back and cause the mats were a bit damp he took them out and laid them over the bonnet of another black car I did the week before.

I think why do I bother? "'cause I detail as if I own them" when I dont have a busy schedule I spend the time on them regardless of who owns them.

But that just sh&*s me to tears
 
Sparkie said:
Yea, I've heard that over and over, I don't know how many times!
I give them the price on a basic detail, they will tell me that they can go down town and get one for like 35 bucks. I would say, thanks for calling, have a nice day.
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Sometimes I wish they had taken it to a cheap place like that first so I had something to work with. I'm not their trash man.


LikeaRock said:
I've never had someone ask me if I could buff out something like that, but they've asked me if my wax will "hide" their door dings :bubba

It's always a great laugh when the people who make fun of you for being so concerned about caring for your car finally ask you to detail theirs, I always get achuckle out of that
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You mean you don't have the special door-ding-hiding-wax? What kind of detailer are you? LOL


Jngrbrdman said:
Something that irks me that really probably shouldn't, is when a customer brings me a car that is totally thrashed inside and out. It takes all afternoon to clean it up and repair their years of neglect. Then when they come to pick it up they suddenly become detail oriented and point out a spot on the tire that didn't get glossed because it was on the bottom when you glossed them or something like that. It shouldn't bother me, and what it really does is just motivate me to be more thorough, but it ticks me off still the same. If they were so detail oriented then their car wouldn't have looked like a dump when I got it. They obviously have no appreciation for how much work it is to transform a heap like that, so really, where do they get off nit picking? Again, it shouldn't bug me since they are the boss and they are paying for perfection, but it does anyway.
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I know what you mean. They should just be happy with a wash and vac. They're also the type of people that will bring it back in 6 months looking the same as when they brought it to you the first time.
 
I get all kinds of questions about scratch repair.
I tell the, "Use the rule of thumb: if you can fill it with your thumb when you rub it, or if you can get your thumbnail in there, it can't be buffed out. Other than that, we'll see."

I'm tired of most everything.
 
How about when a vehicle is so neglected that it takes 20 min. to remove the junk and trash out of it so you can start work.

When you "unearth" some type of very permanent red stain after an hour of extracting the carpet only to have the customer ask when she picks up her car "Where did that stain come from, it wasn't there before you cleaned it?

Saved the one I just heard for last... "Can I mail you the money, I left my checkbook at home"? :lmfao
Dave
 
I guess the one question I get that irks the hell out of me and I continually rant to my team is:
a phone call at 3p " is my car ready?". "NO!!!! As I said when you called for your appt, courtesy call night before and this morning at drop-off, YOUR CAR WILL BE READY FOR PICK-UP BETWEEN 430 AND 445P!!!" Absolutely amazes me, I even tell people we will not call them to tell them their vehicle is ready. We have it down to a science and unlike a body or repair shop, we are not relying on arrival of parts. Pains me to think of the wasted time of finding the phone,then fielding these phone calls because they did not listen 3 times. Sometimes I just want to tell them "it will be ready when I told you" and hang up. I really could go on. IBMS!!!!!!!!!!!
 
detailz said:
I guess the one question I get that irks the hell out of me and I continually rant to my team is:
a phone call at 3p " is my car ready?". "NO!!!! As I said when you called for your appt, courtesy call night before and this morning at drop-off, YOUR CAR WILL BE READY FOR PICK-UP BETWEEN 430 AND 445P!!!" Absolutely amazes me, I even tell people we will not call them to tell them their vehicle is ready. We have it down to a science and unlike a body or repair shop, we are not relying on arrival of parts. Pains me to think of the wasted time of finding the phone,then fielding these phone calls because they did not listen 3 times. Sometimes I just want to tell them "it will be ready when I told you" and hang up. I really could go on. IBMS!!!!!!!!!!!
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LOL
 
DLR Detailing said:
Saved the one I just heard for last... "Can I mail you the money, I left my checkbook at home"? :lmfao
Dave
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I've never had anyone say that. I've done details for people I know where they haven't been home and they leave me the key to their house and car. I just go to work and leave when I'm done. They send me a payment right away. I figure if they trust me with their house, I can trust them to send me a check for $150.

How do you respond? Follow them to their house maybe?
 
New one on me too. I guess I'll give it a week then give a courtesy call to verify satisfaction and remind them about payment.
Dave
 
1. When potential customers call and inquire about services and know darn well that they are not serious about having there care detailed.

2. people who think you should give service away i.e. wanting to have a complete detail for $25.00
 
tooklean said:
2. people who think you should give service away i.e. wanting to have a complete detail for $25.00
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Ohh I HATE that. I get it once in awile with a new customer who expects me to detal they're center console,dress stuff for a $30 wash and vac.
 
I hate it when a customer tries to nickel and dime you to death. A classic example would be be if they hire you to wash and wax and then ask you if you could just vacuum the interior "real quick". Usually these are the people who have the most expensive cars, and who very rarely tip.

Other things that bug the crap out of me,
1) when a customer stands there and asks you a million questions about detailing. I learned to do what I do through years of research, practice, and not to mention trial and error as well. Now I don't mind if someone asks me what is the difference between a glaze and polish, or a wax and a sealant. But to sit there, staring over my shoulder while I am trying to work and asking about every motion I make............................................

2) Like Jngrbrdman said, when they compare your services to a quantity-driven tunnel wash swirl installer. I have found that typically these people are the real nit-pickers and it is not worth the aggravation of dealing with them.

3) People who know nothing about detailing and think they know everything. These are the people who insist that polish doesn't do anything and feel that it is perfectly legitimate to dry their car with a bath towel. Dawn wash is real popular with these people too.
 
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