I cant keep doing my work this cheap.

GlossyTundra

GlossyTundra

Tractor Detailer
I just finished the John Deere 6320 4wd tractor(one of the bigger ones)http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/FR/series/6020.html in about 3.5 hrs. I worked my butt off on that thing cleaning/waxing everything on it. Dressing both sides of tires. Waxing all(read: all) metal parts with cleaner wax. This thing was covered with cow crap all over it. I only charged $60 for the whole job. That seems to be what everyone out here thinks is "expensive" for a detail, so I cant really charge a whole lot more.



And the worst thing about this job is, I COULD NOT GET PICS OF IT!!!!!! It looked so good when it was done.



What should I do, is $60 not that bad for this work, or should I ask for more? My family looked at me like I was crazy when I walked in the house covered in you know what and they were like " and you only charged how much?????".



Brandon
 
Lets re-assess this.....You "detailed" a friggin tractor, covered in cow crap, for $60.00??? How are you going to accessorise that tundra on those wages? Twice that would have been a deal.....but I dont see many tractors on So Cal streets.
 
well the only upside to this was I got to drive it for a while. One of my child hood dreams.



So $60 is bad, its not just me?
 
60 bucks is dirt cheap. for that, i dont think you deserve cheap labor. i say up the price a little more.
 
Brandon--I realize that you can only charge as much as your clientele is willing to pay, but I feel that you were under paid for working with something *excuse the pun* as crappy as what you described. :sadwavey:
 
People around my area are mostly the same way. I would like to charge more, and know that I deserve to be able to charge more, but people won't pay a high price for detailing.
 
Tough decision time.



The most basic rule of business, any business, is to charge at least what you need to make it worth doing. If you can’t find customers willing to pay it you need to find another business.





PC.
 
the other pc said:
Tough decision time.



The most basic rule of business, any business, is to charge at least what you need to make it worth doing. If you can’t find customers willing to pay it you need to find another business.





PC.
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ditto. sucks. but ditto. i've upstarted 4 times in four different industries in my short 28 years of life :o . i think my 4th time is the charmed one.
 
Brandon1 said:
What should I do, is $60 not that bad for this work, or should I ask for more?
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Hey Brandon, there is nothing wrong with making $60 for only 3 1/2 hours work. Especially when you do not have to deal with all of the overhead costs that go along with owning your own detailing shop.



Sounds like you are in the process of creating a great part-time business for yourself. I am sure that in time you will figure out what you need to do to adjust your prices accordingly.



You are a true entrepreneur. Keep up the good work. I know I am certainly impressed.
 
i charge 80 for cars, and they aren't covered in dung. I would definately charge more if i had to clean puke out of car, some goes for ****.
 
yeah, I guess it does not sound that bad. I just got signed on to do 3 other tractors without the cow dung and the front end loader. He said my work was definatly top notch.





I will definatly have pics of these tractors. All still Deere's :)
 
This is a good thread because I see this issue as a real problem for those who want to detail professionally or on the side. Most people don't differentiate between what a person with the kind of skills on these forums can do vs. taking their car to the local "detail" tunnel wash place. The vast majority of people are very happy when they leave the tunnel wash with their car swirled up for $39.95 with the "hot wax" and "underseal" sprayed on there as well. People get the idea in their head that $40 should buy the ultimate detail from any person or place since that's all it costs to wheel in and out of one of those joints.



Now obviously there are many folks on this page that DO have clients that know the difference, and/or have a higher caliber of car.
 
Just show em what their car looks like, and show them what you can transform it into! Can't wait to see pics of these tractors hehe.
 
Tasty said:
This is a good thread because I see this issue as a real problem for those who want to detail professionally or on the side. Most people don't differentiate between what a person with the kind of skills on these forums can do vs. taking their car to the local "detail" tunnel wash place. The vast majority of people are very happy when they leave the tunnel wash with their car swirled up for $39.95 with the "hot wax" and "underseal" sprayed on there as well. People get the idea in their head that $40 should buy the ultimate detail from any person or place since that's all it costs to wheel in and out of one of those joints.



Now obviously there are many folks on this page that DO have clients that know the difference, and/or have a higher caliber of car.
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that is exactly what is happening. Most of the problem is that some people think that the swirls are "supposed" to be there. Makes it that much harder to tell them otherwise.
 
Brandon1 said:
well the only upside to this was I got to drive it for a while. One of my child hood dreams.



So $60 is bad, its not just me?
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:eek: :think: so you consider driving the tractor an upside and a dream nonetheless? :think:



what is wrong with this picture?? :think:
 
NT2SHBBY said:
:eek: :think: so you consider driving the tractor an upside and a dream nonetheless? :think:



what is wrong with this picture?? :think:
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He's always been a huge fan of tractors as a child. If I remember correctly he and his grandfather shared a passion for tractors and they collected toy models of them. He told a nice story about it and shared his collection a while back. So now he was able to maneuver one in real life. Given that tractors are a hobby and are a bond between he and his grandfather, driving one must have been a blast.



I can understand that, even coming from the concrete jungle of suburban NJ.



Now $60 was a steal. You'll know for the next time. Once people see what you can do, they'll be willing to pay for it...hopefully!
 
Brandon1 said:
Most of the problem is that some people think that the swirls are "supposed" to be there. Makes it that much harder to tell them otherwise.
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Not to take this off-topic, but since, relatively speaking, it is so much easier to put swirls in than take them out, dealers promote this idea that they "are all like that" (swirled) so that they can sell the cars on their lot, without having to fix (detail) them.
 
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