mobile crew

Well I do the mobile detailing myself in my business. I would like to have a couple guys. I have all the needed paperwork . Problem is I only have the EXT,my avatar. My next plan is to find a nice van and equip it with everything. I guess while in this process I can find a Good Honest hard worker to run it. He can even take over the business,if he so desires.
 
SS,



I know what you're saying. Sending people out in your car is akin to giving someone complete conrol of your livelyhood. At least when you show up, you are showing up in a cool car that shows off your detailing ability. You know, keep an eye on Craigslist and pick up a dent trailer for $1500. There out there these days!!right amount of time to detial a car!!



Flawless,



We have an agreement with two of the local country clubs and do exactly the same thing - that's good stuff!!!!! 18 holes and a couple cocktails is just the



Drew
Showroom Shine said:
Well I do the mobile detailing myself in my business. I would like to have a couple guys. I have all the needed paperwork . Problem is I only have the EXT,my avatar. My next plan is to find a nice van and equip it with everything. I guess while in this process I acn find a Good Honest hard worker to run it. He can even take over the business,if he so desires.
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Finish Line said:
Flawless,



We have an agreement with two of the local country clubs and do exactly the same thing - that's good stuff!!!!! 18 holes and a couple cocktails is just the



Drew



Flawless, I am up early to prepare for a final Demo at a very high end Golf Course today. There is no way for a non waterless / no Rinse model ... not even being considered. First off, service occurs in a Parking Deck without a clarifier. No way during a drought , with a potential for brown fairways can you be seen wasting water, and lastly neither the property, the city nor the State Water Control Board will allow the run off. Zero discharge environment.



In this environment, you can deliver the benefit of convenience .. no waiting, customer can golf while you shine! Get some helpers for the wash. Do all services on the spot, on site. Or, book appointment. Or, do some Maintenance & Prevention Detailing and bang those out.
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Thanks for the input fellas.. thankfully, down here in MS there are never any droughts and the EPA is so far behind that water containment for a detailer is not even in there minds.. im gonna give the golf course a try for the first time this weekend. hope it goes well!
 
Are you working WITH the golf course, or just setting up and hoping they will come? Get some cross promotions going so the course is referring your services or promoting them. Time is too valuable to sit and wait for a customer. If worked right, you can have cars waiting for you when you arrive.



I begin a country club in two weeks and will finalize the plan this weekend with the club owner. I'm giving them 10% of the money. In turn, they will promote my business through their emails and signage. They bill the members and cut me a check once per month. All detail appointment money goes to me. I'm only offering three packages..A, B, and C. I don't want to turn anyone away because I'm stuck with a full detail. Package C is a polish/seal combo. Anything more will be appointment.



Get volume going. Check your insurance and so forth. Remember, if ONE person asks about water discharge, you may have a short utopia situation. Make a great first impression!!!



Rob
 
We actually rent a parking space from the CC. We've done this for three years now. Normally just Thursday thru Sunday, three standard int/ext details per day. So, we make $750 per day on the CC business. Also, we get members have the cart kids bring their carts out for a detail. Not big money but, it's a steady income for three days, five months out of the year.



Drew
 
WCD said:
Are you working WITH the golf course, or just setting up and hoping they will come? Get some cross promotions going so the course is referring your services or promoting them. Time is too valuable to sit and wait for a customer. If worked right, you can have cars waiting for you when you arrive.



I begin a country club in two weeks and will finalize the plan this weekend with the club owner. I'm giving them 10% of the money. In turn, they will promote my business through their emails and signage. They bill the members and cut me a check once per month. All detail appointment money goes to me. I'm only offering three packages..A, B, and C. I don't want to turn anyone away because I'm stuck with a full detail. Package C is a polish/seal combo. Anything more will be appointment.



Get volume going. Check your insurance and so forth. Remember, if ONE person asks about water discharge, you may have a short utopia situation. Make a great first impression!!!



Rob
Click to expand...



Rob, thanks for the input.. This Golf Course is not quite a 'serious' country club.. It is a full 18 hole course in the neighborhood I live in. A long story short, the head of the neighborhood association sent me two warnings to move my trailer out of my driveway.. so i had to go get a storage unit for it. neighborhood policies i guess. anyway, i called her and let her know that i wasnt storing anything and that my 'business' was in that 14 foot enclosed trailer! After explaining what i did for a living, she informed me that last year someone was coming to the country club parking lot and washing the golfers cars when they were playing.. she said he is now out of business. All in all, she told me i could go up there and do the same thing. so basically, i am going to go up there at 7am on Sat and Sun with two part time workers and see how it goes. Im going to be working on my wifes car at first, so they (golfers) will see what i am doing. SO.. we will see how it goes.. only offering two services. Wash, dry, clean wheels, tires, and dress the outside for $30. Vacuum and basic cleaning interior for an additional $30. Anything else that is needed can be sceduled for a week day appt.. PLUS i only live around the block, so there is no travel time/gas for me! should be a good money maker for the weekend!
 
Flawless ...



Couple things. 1st, I do not have a 14 ft trailer, in a Water $mart Eco Detailing model, there is no need for that size. no need to beat up a tow vehicle, etc. My neighbors love my HHR, all the kids want to know why their daddy does not have cool stickers on their car?



Also, $30 + $30 seems very expensive to me, and I am going to set up at the Resort that charges $250 for greens fees and $625 a room & up at the hotel.



$29 for the service you described.



Plus we offer a discount to the 900 employees, and a decent rate for the 70 company vehicles, plus all the golf carts. We will be there 7 days a week.



The $29 service get's us lots of bites at the apple for many other services. Most of the cars we are removing finger prints. But the marketing idea is to create activity, then we can upsell the good stuff. Simple on site menu, as Valet does much of the selling.



-jim
 
Jim,



Charging $29 for an int/ext service is why you have to drive an HHR!! Sorry, couldn't resist!!!:laugh: I, seriously don't know how you do it unless you are actually retired and detail for fun. We charge $125 (starting) for interior work! There is absolutely NO WAY someone can $29 and survive! They may think themselves profitable but, fact is...their margins have to be in the toilet!



Anyway, I applaude your dedication to the eco-friendly service. But, the fact remains, at least in my view and experience, you can push waterless only so far. As for meeting code compliance, use of water could be an issue. But, run-off is the real issue. Last year, we actually had to install a sand seperation system in our shop to meet code. So, we, as I imagine are most of the Autopians, are doing their part in the way they are best able.



Thanks!





Drew
 
I have experienced the autopian route to detailing for a business. It can be done and I've made good money with it. But I thinki I've hit a wall and limited my clientele.



I have a few properties that have a large count of people as an audience to what I offer. A golf course that's not the upper nor the lower echelon of golfing and a very large gated business park where other mobile guys get run off by management(contact).



At the business park, I have to collect all waste water. The golf course does not care. To be honest, collecting isn't that big of an issue when you're setting up for a full day at a location. I only have to pump from the berm once at the end of the day.



My rates go something like this:

Basic int/ext $35 coupe, $40 sedan, $45+ for SUV.



Wash and wax starts at $75 and takes me, by myself, about 1.75 hours.



My average bill is around $95. Some way more, some just the basic....you get the idea.



I have hit a wall though. If I work my rear-off I will bill about $350 on a good day. Not all days are good though. My typical day at those two locations are in the $200+ range. Not chump change, but not what I want nor what I could do. At the end of the day I am tired and it is starting to wear on me.



I think the best route for locations like these, the ones where you have a large captive audience, is to charge minimal and pay some flunkies to do the basic knuckle head work. While I inspect all work before it passes back to the client. The truth is that people who are not actively calling you are not looking to pay bigger dollars for higher quality work. I know this sounds like blasphemy on autopia and I recognize how it may sound. But the reality is that to make money you need to give people what they want and be honest about it.







Here's the math as I hope it works out.



2 guys at $7 per hour while potting the tips and splitting it between them.

$20 for a basic inside/outside for a sedan and $5 more for a suv. 2 guys should be able to do 3 or 4 basics in an hour. More if nothing is going on and I can help. At the least, I will be the Gordon Ramsey of Hell's Kitchen(minus the abusive way he speaks), I will make sure everything is up to par before it goes out. (at those prices it won't be perfect, but no obvious mistakes will be acceptable)



If they can spit out 4 cars per hour. At minimum, I will pocket $63 per hour after they are paid. Up-sells will happen. I do it now and only get better at it. If I can focus on sales, I can do that much better. Up-sells mean a lot more money.



The idea is that a $20 basic int/ext wash is A LOT more appealing to people than a $35+ basic and should bring much more bulk. As it stands, I do a larger suv basic for $65 at these places. I can see it in most of their faces when they hear it. It kills a sell. And it comes from the fact these people didn't show up today looking to spend any money on a wash. They came to work or play golf. The cheap "end-cap isle price" is the incentive to the ball rolling. The fact that I have some knuckle heads doing the bulk of it makes it where I can afford the cheaper prices and can now reap the benefits of being cheap. Bulk work for bulk prices. And they get the level of quality they are wanting, not more.



I have plenty of house call work that I make good money at while taking my time that I will offer that Autopian experience to those who are actively looking for it. But I am not selling what they are not buying at golf courses and a 5k person business park.



Those people are not looking for a top-tier detail. They want a quick/cheap wash. By myself, I can't offer that.
 
Jean-Claude,



If you are able to perform 4 int/ext per hour, you have not hit a wall at all!!! Sounds to me like you have a great system in place! We normally take about 45mintues for a basic int/ext. We always apply a quick detailer when drying and perform a air purge and vacuum as well as a complete interior wipe down. But we are nowhere near being able to do 4 of these per hour.



As for the country club business; we don't do walk-up wash and dry service. Totally pre-arranged completes for the members. They play a round of golf and come out to their car, which is why we are able to get in only 3 per day. But, if you can get in three per day, three days per week, it's a good gig - at least for us.



I totally get the hole being wiped out at the end of the day! That is especially true on those days that a crew is performing complete details.,



Hang in, man. The season is once again upon us and it's just about time to see the $ start coming back.



Drew
 
Finish Line said:
Jean-Claude,



If you are able to perform 4 int/ext per hour, you have not hit a wall at all!!! Sounds to me like you have a great system in place! We normally take about 45mintues for a basic int/ext. We always apply a quick detailer when drying and perform a air purge and vacuum as well as a complete interior wipe down. But we are nowhere near being able to do 4 of these per hour.



As for the country club business; we don't do walk-up wash and dry service. Totally pre-arranged completes for the members. They play a round of golf and come out to their car, which is why we are able to get in only 3 per day. But, if you can get in three per day, three days per week, it's a good gig - at least for us.



I totally get the hole being wiped out at the end of the day! That is especially true on those days that a crew is performing complete details.,



Hang in, man. The season is once again upon us and it's just about time to see the $ start coming back.



Drew
Click to expand...





The 4 per hour thing is an estimate based on 2 gophers doing the brunt of the work.



That's a plan I have set to take place in a few weeks.



As it stands I do well to get a int/ext done by myself in 1 hour. But I charge more, right now....
 
I will let you guys know how it goes in two weeks. I meet and plan out with the club owner here on Sunday. Then we go on Saturdays. I plan to get 4 per hr. at 20 per exterior only, or 35 with interior vac and glass. $80 is one step plus a little more. Goal is 80 or more per hr. gross. My employee gets 12 per hr. once fully trained. I'll let you know if I'm holding to that hourly rate once the reality of washing and moving cars sets in.



Jim-like you on this a bit...$35 full service wash (polymer product does a bit more than a wash as you know) and then hope to get detail business.



Have 2 details Sat. and 2 more on Sunday.



Vegas on Wed. through Sunday!



Hope some of you are going.



Rob Regan
 
What if my margin was thin @ $29 ... but I got many many bites at the apple to upsell and develop relaitionships ... what if I considered that a marketing expense?



What if that price point allowed me to gain access to 70 onsite resort vehciles and over 900 emplyees, plus every high end luxury customer ...



What if?



What if I told you this model just secured a $500 detail? What if I told you the average ticket for many of the locations was ...



-jim
 
Well, first, I would say, if you are considering the a $500 detail a big win, you are priced WAY TOO low!!



If you perform 100 details @ $29 per, you are at $2900.00 total, for which; we do approximately 9 details. So, my answer would be, you need to increase your pricing. It makes no difference what your overhead is for labor, if it takes you 29 details to gross what we, and likely what most other Autopians do in 9 details, your margins are pretty slim. But, as I said before, if you are retired and just looking to do something to get out of the house, more power to you.



Though we are not in the same geographic area; if we were, my customers would not be people seeking out your services. We offer different types and levels of service.



But, I do wish you well in you pursuits!!



Drew
 
Relaited, what are you doing for that $29? That is just a wash, vacuum, clean wheels and dress tires, windows inside and out, vent and interior dusting (prior to vacuuming)
 
I too am putting together a business plan to expand into this same market/service. While would like to offer just high end reconditioning services, there are not enough people I am attracting to keep me busy enough to quit my other job
 
Yes, that is about the service. Some people do call it a mini detail. Was working with some Car Wash guys, they are concerned over the mandatory conservation requirements this summer .. they called it detailing.



We are about at 20 minutes, Team fo 2
 
Drew, can't tell you how many other Detailer's customers come in to us. We offer convenience. I would not be that confident. Most locations, we offer Maintenance & Prevention type, not reconditioning.



But we are getting into it. And, it ain't bragging if you can do it ... so stay tuned!



-jim
 
I think at minimum if you QD the car you can call it a "mini detail," but other than that, its just a car wash!



That is another problem with this industry as I see it. From all the calls I get comparing my detail (two step at least with light interior work) to the "majority" of crappy detailers for $45 when I am much more, its obvious people call a detail something different!
 
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