Got my clearkote shipment

I have talked to Everett about putting some of his more popular produts in larger containers. I think quarts of VM or CMW would be nice to have for high volume users. I can see how the larger bottles could be more trouble on his end too. Extra inventory, overhead, etc.
 
:waves to Scott:



Hello from a fellow resident of ROCH CHA CHA !



Nice weather from last week got me giddy to detail, but now the 30's/40's freezing rain/snow combo is not playing nice!



NY D - Can't wait to see that picture of the product!
 
mirrorfinishman said:
Doesn't this 'no labels' thing sound a bit unprofessional?



Are you saying that you are afraid to let your 'everyday customers' know about the fine products you are using on their high priced vehicles? When one of your customers asks about your products, do you tell them a lie? Are you ashamed of the products that you use? Why all the mystery about what you use?
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I just dont feel that my customers need to know about products that i use. They come to me for a reason, for me to detail the car. Not to buy products. When customers ask what kind of products I use, I explain to them i use the products that i have found to be the best for pro auto detailing.



I am not ashamed of the products I use, everyone on autopia knows what i use when i post pix of cars that i do and i give steps that were taken.



mystery about products, if you were a detailer in my area, why would i want you to know what i use. Business is Business, Friend are Friends.



many people here on autopia have asked me what i use and i tell them. I even post pix of my products like the one above.
 
NY detailer said:
mystery about products, if you were a detailer in my area, why would i want you to know what i use. Business is Business, Friend are Friends.
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You shouldn't be afraid of your competition. They should be your friends. After all, there are more than enough cars to go around. Like over two hundred million registered vehicles in the USA. I certainly would never view my competition as the enemy. Then again, I'm not hiding anything from my customers either. My customer's put their trust in knowing that I have always used Meguiar's Professional Products.
 
mirrorfinishman said:
You shouldn't be afraid of your competition. They should be your friends. After all, there are more than enough cars to go around. Like over two hundred million registered vehicles in the USA. I certainly would never view my competition as the enemy. Then again, I'm not hiding anything from my customers either. My customer's put their trust in knowing that I have always used Meguiar's Professional Products.
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I am not sure where you are going with this. Every big corparation has secrets, why not a detailer?



I never said competition is an enemy, but no need for them to know what i use. I have some good friends that own detail companies and we play this game with each other all the time.



To be honest, i dont like the way you say.........



" I certainly would never view my competition as the enemy. Then again, I'm not hiding anything from my customers either. My customer's put their trust in knowing that I have always used Meguiar's Professional Products"



Are you trying to say something towards me? If so why not get it right out and say it.



so you use meg's pro prodcuts, are they good.. yes.. are they the best.. IMO no, some work great, other companies are make better. Does meg's call Mothers and say what they are doing, NO.
 
Keeping secrects an lying to customers are two totally seperate things.



I dont thinks its any secret on autopia what i use.



A lie to a customer would be that i hand glazed the car, when i did not.



A secret is, when i glazed the car and don't tell what kind of glaze i used as i keep a secrect.



I still dont get that somewhat of an attitude towards me. May i ask what i did to you?
 
NYD, in my opinion, removing the labels takes the emphasis off the product and puts the spotlight on you, the detailer. If they are a car enthusiast and really want to know the products you use, terrific. More than likely, the customer doesn't want to know what you used on the trim around the window vs. what you used on the rubber seals around the door. They want their car to look new again and you are in the profession of doing so. Yes, this does include paint correction in lieu of a suggestion to take it back to the dealer.



I don't ask the surgeon what brand of scalpel he uses nor do I ask the maintenance man what brand of vacuum he uses after office hours. If I am alive and kicking after my surgery and the floor looks great every day, I congratulate the facilitator. If I pat the maintenance guy on the back, I don't want to hear "Hey, wasn't me, man--thank the Oreck!"



The sense of mystique to the client is reason enough to support your label removal. Concealing detailing recipes from your "friends" (who would steal product from you) is merely additional benefit. As a detailing professional who will have been in the business 20 years 19 years from now, I understand your reasons for taking naked bottles with you on the job.
 
thinksnow said:
NYD, in my opinion, removing the labels takes the emphasis off the product and puts the spotlight on you, the detailer. If they are a car enthusiast and really want to know the products you use, terrific. More than likely, the customer doesn't want to know what you used on the trim around the window vs. what you used on the rubber seals around the door. They want their car to look new again and you are in the profession of doing so. Yes, this does include paint correction in lieu of a suggestion to take it back to the dealer.



I don't ask the surgeon what brand of scalpel he uses nor do I ask the maintenance man what brand of vacuum he uses after office hours. If I am alive and kicking after my surgery and the floor looks great every day, I congratulate the facilitator. If I pat the maintenance guy on the back, I don't want to hear "Hey, wasn't me, man--thank the Oreck!"



The sense of mystique to the client is reason enough to support your label removal. Concealing detailing recipes from your "friends" (who would steal product from you) is merely additional benefit. As a detailing professional who will have been in the business 20 years 19 years from now, I understand your reasons for taking naked bottles with you on the job.
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wow, nice post.



as for the friends, we have this little game that goes back and forth and we try to figure out what each on is using. The funny thing is I give some of my bottles with no labels, and they love it, They are friends so i help them out, but they dont even know what they are using. We have some trust in each other. Funny thing is all they have to do is become a member here and they will know what i use. lol
 
mirrorfinishman said:
You shouldn't be afraid of your competition. They should be your friends. After all, there are more than enough cars to go around. Like over two hundred million registered vehicles in the USA. I certainly would never view my competition as the enemy. Then again, I'm not hiding anything from my customers either. My customer's put their trust in knowing that I have always used Meguiar's Professional Products.
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If Brian has competition that is close by, I can certainly see why he would want to protect his products and techniques from prying eyes. I don't mind sharing what I use here because I have no direct competition on this board. The Dallas/Fort Worth area is very large and those of us in this area are pretty spread out. If there was another Arlington area detailer on autopia, I would be pretty tight lipped about what I use.
 
This has been a good post. Both sides have their merits. In all the years that I have been in business I have never told one customer what products that I use. First off I have no idea what I will use on your vehicle untill I see it. With 27 different things to polish you vehicle with, it will depend on color, paint finish, newness of vehicle and many other important decisions that I will make when I see the vehicle. My customers come to me because they know that no matter what I use it will be better than what anyone else uses. They put all their trust in me. Integrity goes along way in our business. Give the customer more than they ask for and they will not ask questions. So no matter what you use, telling your customers or not, just give them the best that you got.
 
id have to agree with thinksnow here.i myself take the lables off of the products i use or put them into different dispensers.to me IMO it shouldnt really matter to the customer what products you use because their entrusting you with their vehicle to make it immaculate,brand new,etc.thats why they come to you since youre the detailer.besides that youll never know who could be another detailer trying to home in on your secrets posing as a customer:p
 
I believe NY detailer has every right to want to keep his products unidentified. If there are other detailers on the same dock hes working at hes obviously not going to scream out how great Clearkote products are. From what I see detailing is a really cool profession. Im sure some of you professionals are prob thinking work is work, but to be completely honest im a second year student at college wit an undeclared major. I'm honestly thinking about getting involved with detailing at some sort of job level. Detailing is the only subject that actually interests me and i can read tons of posts compared to roman civilization. About the whole issue of competition and rival detailers, its NY detailer's job to make cars look good. With that said its not a guarantee 40 hour a week M-F 9-5 job. If the weather is really is bad for a week even months then hes pretty screwed. I think on top of the that hes not always guaranteed perfect weather, he doesn't want other detailers to know what hes using. If the other detailers want a shine like his they should do a little research on the web, not steal his products.
 
It makes sense to me to do what Brian does. I have obvious reasons for sharing with people what I use, but not everyone is in the same situation. I think the analogy to KFC is a good example.
 
MFM... Since you are such a fan of the meguiars line of products, does it upset you that when you look at an msds sheet of theirs it says "TS" which is trade secret... They are hiding their labels. Are they afraid of their competition?? Maybe not, but they know it is there, and they know that they need to keep certain things secret inorder to protect the integrity of their product and their company. I personally will tell anyone what I am using, because i believe that without the proper process, the product will make no real difference. Just thought i would throw in my $.02 and a small example.

megssheet.gif
 
Yes we all do have secrets...



I use Armor All. :D It looks like Armor All, it smells like Armor All, it dries out like Armor All, it shines like Armor All. It must be Armor All.



yeah right...just a early April fools sick joke.





With Aloha,

Ranney :)
 
tpgsr said:
I personally will tell anyone what I am using, because i believe that without the proper process, the product will make no real difference.
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You just hit the nail on the head tpgsr!!!:up When I'm working on a car I will leave the product out in the open and right next to me for all the world to see. If another detailer sees it...SO WHAT...I am confident enough in my process to not worry about it.:cool:
 
1 Clean WS6 said:
You just hit the nail on the head tpgsr!!!:up When I'm working on a car I will leave the product out in the open and right next to me for all the world to see. If another detailer sees it...SO WHAT...I am confident enough in my process to not worry about it.:cool:
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True, but I still don't want my competition to have any real idea of what I am doing or using. Technique is 90-95% of the results, but I'm not giving the other 5-10% of the equation away either. ;)
 
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