People charging $55 for an Interior Detail

[MCWD]

A gentleman e-mailed me and wanted a quote on an Complete Interior Detail on his Jeep Grand Cherokee, so I told him it would be $125, but I wouldn't be able to give a hard quote until I looked at the vehicle. He e-mails me back today and says thank you for the quote, but your substantially higher than the other guy and he was quoted $55. This doesn't bother me from a business stand point because since then I've already booked another appointment with someone who takes pride in there vehicle. It just bothers me that there are hacks out there that are actually hurting the detailing industry by charging these very low prices, and it's hurting the detailing business's that are on the up and up. If there were just one of these so called company's out there it probably wouldn't make a difference, but there are plenty here in Houston. Just wanted to put in my two cents and i:think:f there are any of these undercutting guys roaming these sites maybe they'll see this, not that it would help probably. These guys are either using very inferior products, seriously diluting to nothing but water, or they'll be out of business in a month, because if you break down the cost to get to the site, products, and time; there's not a whole lot of $ left. Didn't mean to ramble, but it's the principal of this situation along with giving true Detailers a bad name.

My guess is that this gentleman is dealing with someone who is doing sidework... Maybe a highschool kid, or college kid. I know that when I was younger I thought $65 for a full detail was great money considering it took me 3-5 hours making $20-13 an hour. Obviously, I was using OTC products and did not detail cars anywhere near I do today, but everyone was happy. Haha, those were the days... Now I have overhead out the butt, and now that I know what it takes to do it right, I would never detail cars like that. The other case might be that it was a car wash. Typically, I have seen car washes advertising a "super clean" service for interiors around $40. This is not a autopian style detail by any means, but a heavy vac, spin around with a extractor, spray shine, scent, and 20mins later everyone is happy at $40. Service fees like that make it hard for guys like us to survive, but I would find out what the competitor was offering at his or her $55 fee, and try to create a win win for the two of you. I wouldn't "detail" an interior for that, but if he agrees to have me do work on the exterior that way I am able to make enough to cover my time, I would provide some scenarios on what I could provide for $55 in cleaning the interior.



Best of Luck,

Jason