Full Time Mobile(current or past) Pros : Question for you

[Migue]

I know there is an existing thread about working around the Weather, but i did not want to Thread Jack and after doing various searches on the subject i couldn't find what i needed, so my questions are ( 2 Questions):

1) What do you do when:

-You're on the way to see a customer/detail a vehicle and it starts to lightly/moderately rain ... Do customers ever call you to try to reschedule at the very last minute? Do you end up rescheduling? or do you end up just showing up,doing your wash and then finishing the detail inside their garage?

As you can tell, the question is more directed towards a paint correction detail scenario. I can totally understand rescheduling a wash only and if the rain is heavy, but I figured washing in light rain, then bring inside garage and doing the paint correction in there may not be a reason to cancel/reschedule a Job . i was just randomly thinking about this scenario and wondering what i would do since that's a missed opportunity due to some mildly inconvenient weather.



2)When scheduling full paint correction(2/3 Step including Interior, 10+ hr Jobs) at the Customer's House/location :

-Do you have to get the customer to agree to leave the vehicle in the garage and you come back the next day to finish and so on? I'm thinking i would let them know that in order to get a multi-step correction done, they'd have to be willing to have their vehicle out of service for at least x amount of days and keep it in their garage, otherwise it will affect the quality of my work.


I would greatly appreciate any and all the input/shared experiences, I'm trying to get ideas on how i should handle/work with those situations once i start going Mobile (hopefully do more work from Home in my Shop/Garage). Thank you all

-Miguel

 

[Trouble]

I know there is an existing thread about working around the Weather, but i did not want to Thread Jack and after doing various searches on the subject i couldn't find what i needed, so my questions are ( 2 Questions):

1) What do you do when:

-You're on the way to see a customer/detail a vehicle and it starts to lightly/moderately rain ... Do customers ever call you to try to reschedule at the very last minute? Do you end up rescheduling? or do you end up just showing up,doing your wash and then finishing the detail inside their garage?

As you can tell, the question is more directed towards a paint correction detail scenario. I can totally understand rescheduling a wash only and if the rain is heavy, but I figured washing in light rain, then bring inside garage and doing the paint correction in there may not be a reason to cancel/reschedule a Job . i was just randomly thinking about this scenario and wondering what i would do since that's a missed opportunity due to some mildly inconvenient weather.



2)When scheduling full paint correction(2/3 Step including Interior, 10+ hr Jobs) at the Customer's House/location :

-Do you have to get the customer to agree to leave the vehicle in the garage and you come back the next day to finish and so on? I'm thinking i would let them know that in order to get a multi-step correction done, they'd have to be willing to have their vehicle out of service for at least x amount of days and keep it in their garage, otherwise it will affect the quality of my work.


I would greatly appreciate any and all the input/shared experiences, I'm trying to get ideas on how i should handle/work with those situations once i start going Mobile (hopefully do more work from Home in my Shop/Garage). Thank you all

-Miguel

1)

Unless there is a 100% chance of it raining I continue as planned

2)

Get quicker. Most people are not going to want to deal with you for 2 days just for a detail/paint correction

 

[mleroy1989]

I check the weather the day before and reschedule if it's poor. I've also been caught in light rain and was lucky enough to be able to work in the customers garage.

I second Troubles advice of getting quicker. I'm not saying my process leaves a vehicle in showroom condition, but my customers are happy with my work. A full paint correction for me would take 3-6 hours, possibly less if I do megs105 and then finish out with D151.

Like I said, may not meet show car standards but that's not what I'm working on! I'm in the business of building happy, repeat clients.

 

[Migue]

Thanks for both replies, i'm wondering about the occasional 15/20 + hr details on higher end/exotic vehicles or customers that do want that show car finish, I've seen them here and there and wondered how that gets scheduled with a customer when you're Mobile. I'm sure there will be vehicles that will take that long due to just overall paint and interior condition and level of finishing.

 

[Trouble]

Thanks for both replies, i'm wondering about the occasional 15/20 + hr details on higher end/exotic vehicles or customers that do want that show car finish, I've seen them here and there and wondered how that gets scheduled with a customer when you're Mobile. I'm sure there will be vehicles that will take that long due to just overall paint and interior condition and level of finishing.

People in that league will have the facilities and another vehicle to drive, so rain is not an issue at all

I think some of the 20 hour details you read about are exagerated or the detailer is just slow. A lot of the time I think it's all the picture taking they do that eats up the clock. Plus they get mesmerized with the car they are working on

I would worry more about getting everyday customers if I were you. Hammer out a couple thousand daily drivers. You'll learn shortcuts without sacrificing quality

 

[JSFM35X]

I have long though that the number of hours I see posted on some details is way exaggerated. In the beginning, when I first arrived here in 2008, I honestly thought that anyone who spend more than 3 hours on their car was slow or had nothing better to do. Then I attended a detail weekend because I purchased a flat black Infiniti that looked like a turd. The more I tried to fix, the worse it got. Ron lent me his flex and it was my first time polishing and it took me all day (9 hours to one step the car) and apply a sealant. Not only was I beat but that did not include the interior! Now I can vacuum, wipe down interior, hit the inter glass, wash, decon (Iron, clay) and 1 step the car (2 step larger/deeper defects) and wipes with IPA Coat (2x) and treat trim and tires in about 5-7 hours. I realize that my cars are not as toasted as the ones professionals see but what could that add? 2-3 hours max for more time on the wheels and possibly another full car polishing step? To me this is for a show car shine not a concourse DE-elegance type detail.

My goal is to have my car look the best in any parking lot I frequent, but when I go to detail geek events, I can hold my own, most likely not bring home any trophy or anything.

 

[Migue]

People in that league will have the facilities and another vehicle to drive, so rain is not an issue at all

I think some of the 20 hour details you read about are exagerated or the detailer is just slow. A lot of the time I think it's all the picture taking they do that eats up the clock. Plus they get mesmerized with the car they are working on

I would worry more about getting everyday customers if I were you. Hammer out a couple thousand daily drivers. You'll learn shortcuts without sacrificing quality

Absolutely Trouble, my plan is to take on as many beat up DDs as possible and hey, even keep it that way for the most part, i was just wondering about the exotics/more luxurious end of the detail/correction and you have confirmed my assumption that a customer at such level would have an additional ride and the space/time for the high end Job which i'd like to do on occasion as well just to become more experienced at the various levels. I've done 90-95% corrections before, on Black vehicles for $, not as often though .

I'm currently working on designing my Menu and prices, so i'm taking friends' vehicles(free of charge for now since they must drive it and drop it off at my House), doing a very thorough interior detail(no carpet/fabric extraction) and an exterior one step with D151 (Of course including a very good wash,clay, wheels etc...) since i know that's the package most Daily Driver owners would want (more affordable & quicker while still providing quality results). Working on 1 vehicle per weekend day (2 total) and timing myself with every step i do to get an idea of how much i should be charging.

 

[Trouble]

A good mobile detailer needs to be part meterologist. Don't set your schedule according to what your local guy predicts or you'll never work