For those with people unable to drop off their car on weekdays.

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dfoxengr

New member
Does this occur regularly?



Do you find many of your customers have a hard time either dropping off on the weekdays or complaining of hassles getting someone to follow them to your shop to give them a ride back?



It seems to me this would come up often and I was wondering if anyone had thought to keep a company loaner vehicle, similar to dealership systems.



Besides good maintenance and insurance required, what else would be needed to keep yourself protected? A waiver?
 
I'm sure John will chime in as he has a few loaners and they work very well for him.



For me I'm just part time so loaners aren't feasible. I do try to be flexible with drop off and pick up times but IMO it's really on the owner to figure out. I don't schedule my car for service if I haven't figured out a ride ahead of time and I feel it should be no different with detailing. Having loaners just makes things easier for customers and it will probably snag you a few clients you normally wouldn't land without one.
 
I do 100% pick up and delivery when mobile is not possible. I have commercial unowned auto insurance. If they are more than 10-15 minutes away I charge a fee to pick up the vehicle. A lot of people I detail for would not be able to purchase my services if I did not offer this.
 
When I had my shop I didn't have many people at all complain about it, they usually had no problem arranging a ride. I was also around a ton of shopping and restaraunts so alot of people did that to kill time as well if they couldn't get a ride if it wasnt a long detail. If I was in more of a remote location maybe it would have made a difference. If someone wanted to get something done and didnt want to wait and couldnt get a ride, and was close enough I would drive them home/work and pick them up after. Or once in a while if they wanted I would pick up/drop off the vehicle.
 
Providing loaner vehicles is a great way to go. We have 6 loaner vehicles that go out pretty much every day. This just makes it easier for people to come in to your shop and have services done. It's especially great for larger services where they would be out a car for several days. It also gives the customer the freedom to pick up that night, or if they can't just stay in the car overnight and pick up in the next day. I think the loaner program is great, we have had loaners since 2006, BUT you can't have just one. The reason is that people will be running late to pick up their car, and the next person to take the car is sitting in your lobby waiting for the customer to get back with their car. This makes the whole experience inconvenient, when you're trying to provide a convenience.





dfoxengr said:
Does this occur regularly?



Do you find many of your customers have a hard time either dropping off on the weekdays or complaining of hassles getting someone to follow them to your shop to give them a ride back?



It seems to me this would come up often and I was wondering if anyone had thought to keep a company loaner vehicle, similar to dealership systems.



Besides good maintenance and insurance required, what else would be needed to keep yourself protected? A waiver?
Click to expand...
 
I'm pretty sure Johns got Scion TC's if I'm not mistaken. I just picked up a car to use as a loaner myself. Need to get it insured and stickered up.
 
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