engine waiver

[dr_detail]

Being in the detailing business does not have to be about being sued, signing waivers, insurance claims, Mechanics Liens, litigation, legal actions, enforcing contracts, attorney's fees, court costs, pre-paid legal services, disclaimers, photographing every car from every angle, pre-estimate checklists, and not being liable for any damage that may occur.

Trust your customers and your customers will trust you.

Frank, I know you've been doing this along time, and I respect that. I do even think I've seen your name as a by-line in a magazine or two over the years. And I have even put some of that wisdom into action. If the name and the person are the same; you really know your detailin.

I give any and all customers I come in contact with the philosophies that were instilled in me at my first summer job at the Happiest Place on Earth (before Eisner turned it into a greed churning conglomerate) -- treat each customer as if they are the only one you have, and go above and beyond the standard call of duty to make things right. Don't be a doormat though. When it comes to covering my behind, and having detailed vehicles who's value exceeds what many people will only hope to make in a lifetime, I will not take unnecessary risks. I am not gonna set my self up and sign a blank check for disaster. You may want to jump into a pool without looking, but I wont. The Next time you park in a pay parking lot, please turn that ticket over look at the fine print. If you go to a doctor, read the paperwork you sign -- do you agree to arbitrate? Will your car-wash replace my broken antenna because I forgot to lower it? Look at all the fine print on the back of an invoice from Jiffy Lube (get a magnifying glass). Out of the thousands of cars I've done in the past 17+ years, I have only come up against two where things had be resolved with a judge. If I make a mistake, which I do -- I am Human -- I fix it. I don't try to hide behind a "waiver" or a "release of liability" nor am I insinuating others to, I do though take some measures in protecting myself from catching AID's. There are those out though who are not as honest, and will not admit when they are at fault -- and for those, we all need to suffer.

As a foot note, My '64 Buick Electra is not an $80,000 vehicle; it is a well maintained daily driver though. And if I brought it to your place of business and you or one of your employees damaged my grill, messed up the chrome, or in any way botched any of the numerous original unobtainium parts that adorn it, (look at the headliner) you can bet your A$$ I'd want it replaced, and if you dorked around with me yes, I would file suit -- because for me, that car is an small investment that I can have fun with while it appreciates -- it's not some beer can that lost $15K the day I drove it off the lot.

 

[The Fuzz]

As a foot note, My '64 Buick Electra is not an $80,000 vehicle; it is a well maintained daily driver though. And if I brought it to your place of business and you or one of your employees damaged my grill, messed up the chrome, or in any way botched any of the numerous original unobtainium parts that adorn it, (look at the headliner) you can bet your A$$ I'd want it replaced, and if you dorked around with me yes, I would file suit -- because for me, that car is an small investment that I can have fun with while it appreciates -- it's not some beer can that lost $15K the day I drove it off the lot.

Right on, my man!! :bigups I feel the same way. If you think people are trustworthy, then think about this.... If a bank suddenly decided to give out $10,000 loans without intrest or scheduled payments... how many people do you think would pay them back? Do banks just 'trust' everybody? If they did then we wouldn't need credit reports or references when we go apply for a job. Blind trust is flat out foolish in business.

 

[The Fuzz]

The intellectual level of this thread isn't going good. To prevent anyone else from saying something like "you don't need any kind of contracts, insurance or legal protection at all in business", I am going to close the thread now. My head is still spinning because of that comment.... I gotta go to sleep now and maybe when I wake up, the world will be right again.


One other thing, Mr. Trusting.... If the world is so trustworthy, then why would you have THIS WHOLE BIG DISCLAIMER on your own website? 'smatter? Can't you just trust people that they aren't going to rip off your material and make money on it? The same people you wrote that for are the kind of people who take advantage of detailers without any kind of legal protection.

I also find it interesting that you posted you don't even offer engine detailing. Its easy to be all ballsy about not having a waiver or service agreement when you don't even trust yourself to do the tricky stuff. The fact that you don't even know how to do engine detailing should have kept you from posting in this thread to begin with. You are simply not qualified to give advice on what we need waivers for and what we don't.