How to deal with the feeling of overcharging a customer?

S

smokinfastlegen

New member
I know I have posted plenty of pics on this forum of cars I have done, unfortunately though, a good majority have been family member's cars. The few cars that I have done for clients though (Like the 500hp RX7 FD, or a white acura legend coupe) have received the full treatment. Though im not officially a detailing service, I do like to offer car cleanings for people (thought of a name too: Legendary Detailing, where the shine is Legendary [ok ok, cheezee i know.] ) Anywho, the cars I have done all received polish via g100 (83-->80-->wax) and interior cleaning with mat extractions. While I like doing detailing (and being around cars), I often feel im overcharging even when I know I am undercharging for the amount of time spent on the car (i normally charge like $100-150 for doing a whole car, but spend like 2 days.) Has anyone else felt this? And if you have, what have you done to get over it?



Thanks.
 
thats def not overcharging... in fact thats almost undercharging... especially for a 2 day process



but that also depends on where you live. I live in southern california, so i cant afford to charge that much, or else i wouldnt be making any money...



To deal with those feelings i just remind myself of how much work im doing, how much id like to make off the job, what products im using, and the services the customer is recieving... Im still unsure when i quote people thinking itll scare them off.
 
When I first started out, I was undercharging because honestly, I didn't know what detailing was worth. Like you, I thought I was overcharging because I thought pretty much anyone can detail their own car so I shouldn't charge too much. Figured out soon enough that not everyone can detail, or wants to detail and are willing to pay $$$ for quality work. Once I saw a few cars that the local car wash had "detailed" for more than I was charging, I started raising my prices.
 
that sounds reasonable to me, especially if you take two days to do so. if you feel that you're doing a good job and it shows to the customer, then i wouldn't be bothered by it (be honest and charge what you think you're worth). you got to remember... Autopian grade work is far above average and just think of all the hacks who charge that much in a few hours with the bad work they do...
 
Write a list down with all your services and the cost of said services. Once you detail and you perform all the services that the customer wanted in their detail package you'll see that you are charging exactly what the customer is paying for.
 
smoknfastlegend said:
I know I have posted plenty of pics on this forum of cars I have done, unfortunately though, a good majority have been family member's cars. The few cars that I have done for clients though (Like the 500hp RX7 FD, or a white acura legend coupe) have received the full treatment. Though im not officially a detailing service, I do like to offer car cleanings for people (thought of a name too: Legendary Detailing, where the shine is Legendary [ok ok, cheezee i know.] ) Anywho, the cars I have done all received polish via g100 (83-->80-->wax) and interior cleaning with mat extractions. While I like doing detailing (and being around cars), I often feel im overcharging even when I know I am undercharging for the amount of time spent on the car (i normally charge like $100-150 for doing a whole car, but spend like 2 days.) Has anyone else felt this? And if you have, what have you done to get over it?



Thanks.
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Since you are not a true business, you are not subject to the joys of taxes, liability ins, worker comp, admin fees, advertisement costs, etc. I would say your profits are going to be way more just because of limited costs on your part. For your situation I would consider your true costs involved in the process, then divide the profit by the hours of how long you spent. Are you making a fair hourly rate? I am going to assume you work 9-5 and work on these cars after work. To be conservative I will say it takes you 8 hours over the course of two days. I am going to guess its costing you somewhere around $40 a detail between products and wear and tear on your machines. Lets figure it was a $150 detail and subtract your 40 and your at 110. 110/8=13.75hr. Although your numbers may be higher or lower, you can see what I am try to explain. If your spending more hours and money, you def should increase your prices, and if its lower than it will be your call. Ultimately it all comes down to what makes you happy. Additionally, look at what local detail shops that are performing similar work and see what they charge. Obviously if your work is better than you should def feel better about your prices. Best of luck to you in whatever you decide!:heelclick
 
Lots of good advices given! If not already, get a note book to not only keep

track of the hours/expenses but to write down your thoughts too. :)
 
MCWD said:
Since you are not a true business, you are not subject to the joys of taxes, liability ins, worker comp, admin fees, advertisement costs, etc. I would say your profits are going to be way more just because of limited costs on your part. For your situation I would consider your true costs involved in the process, then divide the profit by the hours of how long you spent. Are you making a fair hourly rate? I am going to assume you work 9-5 and work on these cars after work. To be conservative I will say it takes you 8 hours over the course of two days. I am going to guess its costing you somewhere around $40 a detail between products and wear and tear on your machines. Lets figure it was a $150 detail and subtract your 40 and your at 110. 110/8=13.75hr. Although your numbers may be higher or lower, you can see what I am try to explain. If your spending more hours and money, you def should increase your prices, and if its lower than it will be your call. Ultimately it all comes down to what makes you happy. Additionally, look at what local detail shops that are performing similar work and see what they charge. Obviously if your work is better than you should def feel better about your prices. Best of luck to you in whatever you decide!:heelclick
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that is not true, he is still subject to them but he is just not paying them. if he damages a car it will have to be fixed, but not his insurance as it would be for a pro. all it takes is one damaged car to spend most of your profits. and if he is working on a car and some one trips because of power cord he is using, he might end up getting sued. lease and insurance were the first things i got before i even opened the doors to my business.
 
that is not true, he is still subject to them but he is just not paying them. if he damages a car it will have to be fixed, but not his insurance as it would be for a pro. all it takes is one damaged car to spend most of your profits. and if he is working on a car and some one trips because of power cord he is using, he might end up getting sued. lease and insurance were the first things i got before i even opened the doors to my business.
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That should be the main thought written in the notebook!
 
advs1 said:
that is not true, he is still subject to them but he is just not paying them. if he damages a car it will have to be fixed, but not his insurance as it would be for a pro. all it takes is one damaged car to spend most of your profits. and if he is working on a car and some one trips because of power cord he is using, he might end up getting sued. lease and insurance were the first things i got before i even opened the doors to my business.
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I def agree with you 100%, but I get the impression he is doing this as a hobby and its extra cash. Obviously we are all responsible to claim what we make for taxes, but I'm sure that 99% of people who do it as a hobby don't. Technically there should be an LLC made and taxes should be paid, but I was offering my advice based on the idea of it being a hobby and it was more for friends. Again, you are right 100%, and I too am not willing to take the insurance gamble and have had it since the start of my business. While washing cars for family members and family friends when I was 14 I didnt have anything though, so I initially did work without all the true cost associated with a real business. Once I was in college and saw the money potential, I officially went into business and enjoying all the costs involved:rofl... NOT!!! Well, I would rather do it all right and be by the books then run the risk of losing what I work so hard for. Taxes and other expenses are no fun, but the more I pay means I am making more too. Best of luck and I appreciate you making light of my oversight. I don't want to give bad advice.
 
Right now it is more of a hobby, but i hope that I can eventually bring it to fruition as a business. I have applied for a business license and hope i can get it soon so I dont have to worry about said things such as taxes. The only nice thing is detailing to me isnt really a hobby, its a serious addiction, and I have an overstock, so before it goes bad I really need to use it all. :P



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I would also like to tell you a brief story about pricing.



I owned a restaurant a few years back. I would always try to keep the prices down so my customers where happy. I always had fresh fish and it was delivered 3-5 days per week. While i was walking through my dining room one day, a heard a person say to her husband.. "how good can the halibut be its only $8.95!!" The next day I raised the price to $13.95 and sold MORE halibut than I ever did!



The moral of my little story i believe is something called "perceived value". If someone told me they could detail my car for $59.99 and another guy told me $200, I would assume that the more expensive guy was giving me that much better of a job, and was more skilled.





So charge more if u do good work and see what happens!!



Good luck!
 
David703 said:
I would also like to tell you a brief story about pricing.



I owned a restaurant a few years back. I would always try to keep the prices down so my customers where happy. I always had fresh fish and it was delivered 3-5 days per week. While i was walking through my dining room one day, a heard a person say to her husband.. "how good can the halibut be its only $8.95!!" The next day I raised the price to $13.95 and sold MORE halibut than I ever did!



The moral of my little story i believe is something called "perceived value". If someone told me they could detail my car for $59.99 and another guy told me $200, I would assume that the more expensive guy was giving me that much better of a job, and was more skilled.





So charge more if u do good work and see what happens!!



Good luck!
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Well stated! You just have to make sure your doing work that stands up to the price.
 
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