How are you guys dealing with this?

HiMyNameIsSean said:
Funny thing is, I gave him a card almost right away, and as I was leaving he gave it back to me, and I said you might as well hold onto it, and he goes no man your crazy, 150 dollars is crazy. Anyways, I'm really getting stressed out over this, and I think I'm thinking to much about it. Im just gonna sleep it off.
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Bro chill...

Its some stupid jack *** in a gas station. He is trying to make himself feel better by talking like that.

He clearly is abused like a junk yard dog all day at his job, hence the behavior. He just needs to talk down to someone once in a while.



(Similar to the scum that yell at 15 year old girls in the supermarket because they are bagging the groceries in an unsatisfactory manner)





Ill bet 150 that he doesn't have the 150 to spare.
 
some of my clients assume that they need a repaint done on their cars simply becuase its swirled and scratch....jaw dropping reaction when they see the results of my work. alot of people take thier cars to the hack detailers 3-4 times a year...they end up spending just as much in the long run as a basic quality detail job.



i also try to warn my clients of the brush style car washes...
 
yakky said:
Yep, you could have even stopped with the Poliseal and I'm sure he would have been just as happy. All too often autopians thing people want perfect paint. Most people just want their car cleaned well on the inside and a little more shine on the outside. If a customer comes to you ASKING for paint correction, then yeah, its time for a full detail, but most people could care less.
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Exactly, offer people what they want and are willing to pay for. I have said it so many times; even in the wealthiest areas of this country, there is a limit to who will pay for high end detailing that is done by one person at $40-60 per hour. Once you build a solid reputation, the questions and calls from the price shoppers will start to dis-appear.
 
photo albums work, saying you remove defects, not just hide them, and side by side comparisons work! SHOWING is much better than TELLING
 
toyotaguy said:
photo albums work, saying you remove defects, not just hide them, and side by side comparisons work! SHOWING is much better than TELLING
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Or even better, show them on their own car. Find what they are willing to pay ($75...$50?) then present a solution that you can perform in a shorter amount of time than your full detail; maybe an hour or two. If the "other guy" does a full detail for $75, tell them you will do exactly what the "other guy" will do for that $75 only better.



If they decide to make an appointment, educate them on what you do differently than the "other guy" then show them a sample correction on one panel (or half).



Normally, people will fall into three categories in this approach:

  1. Won't make the initial appointment and starts making excuses... weren't really looking for a detail in the first place.
  2. Will make the appointment and be happy with your "other guy" detail... doesn't care for correction, just a clean car. You probably just made a new client or at least someone that will refer you.
  3. Will make the appointment and will be amazed by the difference... you just found an ideal customer!



If you find someone that will look at that "other guy" detail and not be happy with the results and is looking for more, that is a person you don't want as a customer. Politely offer to fully refund their money (being out ~$75 for an hour or two of work is a lot better than wasting a full 8 hours on a complete detail they still are not going to be satisfied with) and give them a card with a personal discount written on the back. Tell them when they are actually interested in seeing what a real full detail is, they can call you back.



This is all where sales ability comes into play. I have never had anybody accept a refund on their "other guy" detail. The best results with this method is your ability to sell yourself and your services. If it ends badly, you need to better connect with your inner salesman. I say to people all the time... "put a your car in front of me and a buffer in my hand and I will sell you a detail."
 
zjm8 said:
Most people could care less about swirl free paint. There are many that love and will pay for a perfect finish, but most people have zero to little knowledge about their cars paint. Easy thing to do is; drop your standards (I know this is a hard thing to do) give him a price that is approx the same as the shops in the area, and spend two hours on the car. Of course if you have someting more important to do, just turn it down. But its easy money for about two hours of your time.
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1) I believe the phrase is "People couldn't care less about...", which means that they really don't give a hoot about X, and therefore trying to convince them that your detailing services are valuable can be a difficult task.



2) Drop our standards? Do you mean...lower the quality and thoroughness of our work?



Sure. That's exactly the message that you want to send. Before, they questioned the value of your services...that having a shiny car could really be worth XXX.XX dollars. Now you give them less-than-awesome work in a short amount of time, which just reassures them of their initial doubts? Next.
 
Nice to hear from a customer today that he refused the Mercedes dealer's offer of a free detail because he'd rather pay me and have done right. :)
 
I have only detailed about half a dozen cars for friends and family but I really let my work speak for itself. I like to educate the client, and sadly most of them don't know what a clay bar does, but are amazed at the results it makes. I just did an Acura TL last week and after the owner saw the results, he said he would let people in his development know of my work and spread the business. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to expand your business, but you need to make sure that your work will give them that "wow" factor that will cause them to keep talking about you.
 
toyotaguy said:
90% of the people who call me dont know the difference between a claybar, a polish, and a wax...SEEING IS BELIEVING!!!!
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The local tunnels and hacks don't help with terminology either, as you know. The tunnel wash on the corner lists their "Works detail" package with at least 5 different types of "waxes", lol. You get sealer wax, clay bar wax, polish wax and hot wet wax (wtf?!). Oh, and there's also my new favorite, "interior upholstery leather polish".
 
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