Mobile Detailers, out of curiousity, how do you treat your work truck?

R

raadkins16

New member
Note: I am NOT a professional, and just another member who enjoys learning about detailing.



However, I have seen about 6 mobile detailing trucks this week and not any of them looked decent. Couple had terrible dents and dirty windows you could not see through. For you Autopian professionals, how do y'all treat you work truck? Do you feel the way your truck is taken care of portrays a certain message to your customers? This is totally just out of curiosity, as I am not sure how customers that get professional detailing done feel about it since I have never used a detailing service before.



I also thought about how it must be extremely hard to take care of it due to your busy detailing schedules.



Feel free to post your comments and set me straight if need be! :)
 
Absolutely, I keep my Xterra clean as possible...its tells a lot about the pride you take in your work, and the care for your clients cars...think about it...



if you cant take care of your own car, how can you take care for someone else's? There is always 30 minutes in the day to keep your car looking clean....
 
I keep mine sparkling as much as I can. The last thing that I want a client to see is me pulling up in a dirty car to work on their vehicles.
 
I'll just let the pics talk for themselves......:woot:



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Would you hire a broke financial advisor?



Would you let a mechanic work on your car when thiers is not running?



Would you take singing lessons from someone that sounds like an american idol reject?



Your vehicle should be a representation of your work.. when selling a service you should be able to show them the flaws in their vehicle and then walk over to your ride and show them "what you can do for them'



Just my approach of course
 
I'd pay someone $1000/yr to keep my white Express swirl free. . . not to mention remove the "stripes" caused weekly by unruly shrubbery and such. Santa Barbara driveways are narrow! It is always clean and reasonably polished. My interior has to be organized or I go insane. There are definitely some shabby looking rigs around town though . . .
 
AMDin93103 said:
I'd pay someone $1000/yr to keep my white Express swirl free. . . not to mention remove the "stripes" caused weekly by unruly shrubbery and such. Santa Barbara driveways are narrow! It is always clean and reasonably polished. My interior has to be organized or I go insane. There are definitely some shabby looking rigs around town though . . .
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$1000 is about what it would cost just to do the full swirl and scratch removal process.....:rofl
 
It's not a truck but sometimes it goes several weeks between seeing water. Doesn't matter to anyone that I've dealt with as the results speak for themselves.
 
I am not mobile as of yet, however I plan to keep my vehicle as clean as I can. It is a representation of your work, but it's not a priority to keep clean when you have a schedule to keep up with. If I am going to a client for the first time then I will make an effort to shine up my car before I go. Just looks more professional, although sometimes can not be practical. If I am going to a repeat client, then I won't be so inclined to shine up the car.
 
I keep it clean as much as I can. I still drive 84 miles everyday round trip to my "salary position" so I do make a point to ONR it at least once a week. Now in the winter time, it sucks because of the salt. I also keep my wifes Trailblazer clean, as the name is on her truck as well. It does make a better first impression. I always have clean and ready before I work, no questions, even if it means washing after dark.
 
I try, but.... :bawling:



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I do try to make sure my truck and trailer is clean and neat as possible at all times. It shows a good image to the customer, and to people driving around, people at stores, gas stations, etc.
 
Unfortunately, a bad impression hits much harder than a good impression. I know many people have repeat clients, which is a great short term focus. It's not the whole picture. There are so many more potential customers out there that see you, and you may be excluding them. Just becasue you feel that your clients like you and your efforts, which is the reason they chose you, may not always be enough to retain them. Make sure you look at the big picture. I've heard so many times from guys that say they are booked for weeks, say they are doing fine. Which they are, in the short term. A successful business will address the short term and long term as well. Just because you are busy now, is not a guarantee for the future. Detailing is a business, and it needs to develop and grow as a business.

One of the way to keep your business growing is to keep your appearance professional all the time. It's just the way the world works. People are more likely to gravitate to the nicer things. It's only human nature to like things that look better.

Your vehicle is an advertisement. If it looks dirty, then it's an advertisement to not use your services.
 
I try to keep my truck looking good as much as I can, but living in Indiana makes it hard sometimes, specifically in the winter. Because of this, I went with magnets for my advertising instead of having vinyl put on. This way, if I know I'm going to be out and about and I cannot get my truck looking good, the magnets stay at home. My trailer on the other hand has vinyl and I keep it clean since it is advertising. If I know I'll be pulling my trailer I obviously get the truck cleaned up as well.
 
I keep the swirls off it, but I live on campus so it often goes a week or two without being washed. If it's dirty, I'll usually make a point to park 50 or so feet away from the customer's house, so it still looks good at a distance.
 
SpoiledMan said:
A spotless/perfect "rig" can also trigger that you have plenty of free time to keep it that way.:) It goes both ways.
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I don't think a potential customer is going to judge how much free time they think you may have. Even if they did, it shouldn't matter. If you were detailing my car, and gave excellent results, I could care less if I was your only customer. I would almost prefer it, but it's not likely to happen.



After you get all that business from making such great impressions, and giving great results, you can hire some help. Make them keep the rigs clean!
 
My truck is old and busted. Oxidized, some dents, and purple tint. I started with what I had, and it happened to be a 1985 S10. It works. I don't keep my Explorer as clean as I should.



As far as the reference to mechanics, often you'll find that they drive old beaters that they bought for $500 and put another $500 and 8 hours in to get the thing running. Same with painters and car audio installers. After doing someone else's car all day, they don't really fool with their own cars. I don't think it really conveys the message that you don't do good work if your own vehicle isn't spotless. But that's my opinion.
 
07 Tundra Crew Max in Radiant Red.



Right now she is totally swirl free and covered in 3 layers of Souveran.



If you ever have to show up to a job site, first impressions are important. I think if I showed up in a dirty vehicle it would have a really bad impression, so I make sure it is always as clean as my customers want their cars to be.
 
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