Problem customer says he's "dissatisfied"

magictouch24 said:
Sorry this was so long, but has anyone had someone like this who is repeatedly problematic?
Click to expand...



Yes, I have had customers like this. Hey, sooner or later everyone runs into this type of customer.



I only give a customer 'one chance' to make a good impression. After that, I turn them away and simply avoid doing business with them.
 
It's been one week today and I haven't heard from him. My guess is that he was embarrassed after reading the note I left in his mailbox that day, and didn't want to deal with it anymore. Thanks for the responses!
 
I’m not a detailer, but I am a car nit and have dealt with a few detailers over the years (I have moved a few times)

To be honest in the 3 locations I have lived in, I found one detailer I liked.



I just recently tried 2 different detailers up here in southern NH. I was unhappy with both.



1) One the car was bad. I understand having minor problems, but this was bad. The car was a black grand prix, and whatever he used to polish the car left MAJOR swirl marks.

Not the typical look hard and you can find them.. Bad enough that my wife (not picky at all) asked.. What did he do to my car! I had picked up the car after hours so I called him back the next day and he said "no problem bring it back in and I will take a look"



So I met him the next day, and he said he didn't know what happened and said he would take care of it right away (I’m sure it was wasn't him that did the work since he was very apologetic about how it came out).



I pick it up again the next night after hours, and he fixed the paint.. Actually came out very nice...BUT the polish was splattered all over the windows and door jams, under the trunk etc. (I paid $179 for the complete job 2 days before!).



I didn’t call him back, I decided at this point to finish it myself.



I am not usually a complainer, and I gave him a second chance to make it right.



After talking to a couple people about his shop, they said he used to be the best in the area, but his business has taken off so well, he has hired others to do most of the work and the quality has fallen.







2) Most recently I had the detail shop at the dealer do my wife's 05 odyssey EXL with Nav & RES that has 6K miles in it. It was not bad at all, had a couple dried milk spots on the leather seats from my kids (4 months, and 19 months old) and lots of bugs on the grill, brake dust on wheels etc. So I bring it in for the $199 5 star reconditioning. (I just sold her other car, so I figured I would splurge when it went in for a oil change and surprise her with a "new" car again.)



Well I picked it up, and they did a great job on the body and wheels, the interior came out good to.. But the problems were



1) The windows were all heavily streaked, and missed spots, so bad on the windshield I stopped at AutoZone on the way home to pickup some Stoners to clean the windshield.



2) They never cleaned the dead bugs off the grill, just washed over them.



3) They stuck another dealer sticker on the back tailgate!! (I removed the first one with a heat gun the day I brought the van home) and they stuck another one on!! ARG!



4) They never cleaned the rear DVD screen (finger prints all over it) This one is minor and easy to forget to do, just mentioned it for completeness.





Anyway, I am long winded here. Personally I would pay more for a better job, but sometimes you do not get what you paid for. I feel the 5 star $199 cleaning on the van should have been easy for a detailer, not much elbow grease needed, it just needed the "detail" and they still blew it.



Its amazing, the one detailer I really liked was also one of the cheaper ones in the area where his shop was!!



I have also bought and sold many cars over the years, and I am a true believer the MOST important part of a detail to get right is the windows!! Make sure not to leave any streaks inside or out on the windows!! :)



Thanks for listening to me, if anyone can recommend a good detailer in southern NH, or northern mass I would appreciate it.. I do not have time (between work and my 2 young children) to break out my PC and hit my Silverado...



-Bill

Dover, NH
 
I've only had one customer that was problematic. He had a newer-style Olds Bravada. He had taken it to the local car wash place to have it waxed a few months before, and wasn't satisfied with their job. So I'm outside working on my boss's truck, and he stops by my driveway and honks. He asks if I can give his car "a real good wax" :rolleyes: and asks how much I'd charge. I told him I'll do it for $50. He gives me this look like I'm crazy and he said he thought I'd give him a really good deal. (I talked to a co-worker of this guy the next day, and learned that he paid $78 at the car wash place).

The guy made an appointment, and didn't show up. He didn't call or anything. :angry

So a couple weeks later, I'm working on another car, and I see this guy drive past again. He sees me, turns around, and stops by the driveway again. I walked over to him, he says he lost my card and couldn't call me. Keep in mind this guy lives in an apartment building across the street, and could have easily walked his a** over to tell me that he couldn't make it. He wants to set up another appointment. I told him $50 again. Then he tries to confirm that $50 includes an interior cleaning! Obviously I said no.



He set up another appointment for that weekend, and once again, I set up all my stuff outside and waited for him. After 5 minutes, I started getting pissed off and decided to just polish my engine while I waited. After 30 minutes, I washed my car (I already had everything ready to wash his Bravada) and forgot about doing the guy's truck. If he would have stopped over after 30 mins, I would have told him to get lost.



I guess the lesson I learned is that people that try to bargain with your prices aren't worth dealing with. In addition, if someone doesn't show up or call, DON'T make another appointment. Once a jack*ss always a jack*ss. :down



BTW this is the only person that has EVER been a problem for me. I've never had a dissatisfied customer, and with the exception of 2 people, I've always gotten a tip in addition to my price.
 
White95Max said:
In addition, if someone doesn't show up or call, DON'T make another appointment.
Click to expand...



99% of the time, that is true. I had a customer do that twice to me so I didn't even bother to return his call when he called a few months after the 2nd no show. A few weeks later, I was cleaning one of his neighbor's cars (I have 5 customers in that area) and he drives by. He said he left me a message and I never called him back. I told him he had made two appointments and didn't keep either. No call, no note on the door, nothing. He apologized and pulled out his wallet and handed me $50 and said I would accept that as a deposit on an appointment and if he wasn't home, I could keep it.



I set an appointment for a week later and he was there. Tipped me $40 too. Since then, I wash his cars weekly and detail them as needed. He always pays in advance too. Usually gives me a check for $150 and to let him know once it is used up. Apparently, he had some deaths in the family during that time when he first set appointments, along with having to bring down a handicapped relative after his father died. Glad I accepted the $50 and set an appointment for him, he has turned out to be one of my better customers over the last few years. :)
 
I would set up another appointment too if he gave me a $50 deposit. That guy with the Bravada was hesitant to even accept $50 as a total price for the wash/wax.



I might start charging deposits on all my appointments from now on.
 
White95Max said:
I guess the lesson I learned is that people that try to bargain with your prices aren't worth dealing with.
Click to expand...



You have learned a valuable lesson when you realize 'that people that try to bargain with your prices aren't worth dealing with'.
 
mirrorfinishman said:
You have learned a valuable lesson when you realize 'that people that try to bargain with your prices aren't worth dealing with'.
Click to expand...



For the last 3 days I've been setting up another appointment for detailing (2 Regals, AIO/#16) for $60 each. The guy emailed me back and said that he thought it would be $50. Apparently my mailman (whose cars I did for $50, since he has to bring me a package every week or more :) ) told him the price that I charged him for each of his cars, and this guy expects the same price.

I was going to say I'd just do them for $50, but then I remembered this thread. $60 is still a steal for everything that I do on exterior details.

The process would be:

wash

AIO via PC

#16 by hand with Wolfgang Polishin Pal

PlastX on headlights

VM on glass

303 WT on wiper blades

Mothers mag/alum polish on exhaust

PB's Trim Restorer or Natural Look on trim

Scrub tires and apply WG gel

WG sealant on wheels (if alloys)



So I guess this isn't worth $60...
 
I'd say that price is far too low. Charge by the hour/ how long it takes. If it's possible, I would cater those those who put quality of work before price. Take the time to educate the customer about why what you do is necessary for a quality job. The more they understand it's a lot more than slapping on some wax, buffing it off, and sending it out the door, the more they may be open to what it takes to produce the results. (At least I hope, I know, seems like wishful thinking. :( )
 
I told him that it would include lots of miscellaneous tasks like polishing the headlights, polishing the glass, protecting trim, tires, etc...



And Setec, the mailman's cars were a Dodge Spirit and a Buick Riviera. So one was smaller, one was about the same.



And Bill, I allow myself 4 hours to do a midsize car with that process. $60 isn't much (which is the reason I get insulted when people try to knock it down. I even had someone try to bargain when I said $50) but there isn't a high demand for detailing around here. The prices that people are willing to pay here have to reflect my pricing. If I charge too much, I won't get many jobs. But I'm not going to do cars for $20 or something. That's a waste of time. I do friends'/relatives' cars for cheap sometimes, but this is not the case.
 
White95Max said:
And Bill, I allow myself 4 hours to do a midsize car with that process. $60 isn't much (which is the reason I get insulted when people try to knock it down. I even had someone try to bargain when I said $50) but there isn't a high demand for detailing around here. The prices that people are willing to pay here have to reflect my pricing. If I charge too much, I won't get many jobs. But I'm not going to do cars for $20 or something. That's a waste of time. I do friends'/relatives' cars for cheap sometimes, but this is not the case.
Click to expand...



$60 seems really low for the amount of work and time you're putting into these cars. You could get double or even triple what you're charging. Remember, detailing may not be for everyone, therefore, you're pricing may not and should not be something everyone can afford. Target those with the disposable income but may not have the time of desire to do the work themselves. Besides, detailing one car for $180 is so much easier than detailing 3 cars at $60. Point being, you probably won't get as much business at first, but then again you won't need as much business to make the same amount or more than what you make currently. In addition to educating the client, let the quality of your work speak for the price you charge. If people want quality work and service, they will almost always gladly pay a higher price. Plus, you'll have a lot less people trying to bargain with you by setting a higher price in the beginning because you'll be catering to a different audience. These people want high quality and they realize it's going to cost them. Higher prices create a higher perceived value from your clients, and perception is reality. Hope this helps. Good luck to you.



Regards,



Matt Williams

Silver Lining Detail
 
Thanks for your reassurance. I realize that my pricing is low, but I like to at least do a couple cars a month. Honestly, I need to visit some car club events or move into a wealthier neighborhood before I think I can start charging $100+ for the same jobs.
 
We've all seen your work. Stick to your $60 price, you're worth it and that will be evidenced by the job you do if he decides to stop being so cheap.
 
Paul said:
Apparently my mailman (whose cars I did for $50, since he has to bring me a package every week or more ) told him the price that I charged him for each of his cars, and this guy expects the same price.
Click to expand...



One of my customers just did that to me...sorta. He wants me to go detail the interior of his Mother's Honda and wash the outside at the body shop he has it at (just needs some minor cosmetic repairs) and he asked me for a 'good' price. I asked why and he said I can probably get a lot of business from that body shop since the guy they have now is charging $85 and he (my customer) told them they could probably get me to do them for $65. :eek: I about blew my top! I told my customer "you know my prices, I don't do details on even small cars for under $125" and he said something like "you'd get a lot of cars" to which I replied "why would I turn down cars for full price to do cars for $65? I'm booked solid all the time, why would I cut my own throat like that?"



You'd think a fellow business man would be smarter than that. :rolleyes:
 
Yeah I've had a few other people do the same thing to me in the past. I'll detail a friend's car for cheap, and then he'll tell his mom's friend's nephew's wife (or some other distant relative/acquaintance) that I do detailing, and I'd probably do it for $XX (as if I'll give the same discount to anyone he knows :mad: ). It p*sses me off when this happens, because when they ask me for a price, they get an estimate much higher than what they were told before. This results in two possible outcomes:

1. They still have it done, but don't act as satisfied because they feel like they're being ripped off.

2. They don't have it done at all, and it's a waste of my time to look at the car and give the estimate. And of course it's very frustrating to have this happen on multiple occasions, thanks to the same person.
 
Paul-what really ticked me off is I have never done this guy's or his wife's cars anywhere near that cheap. He knows my prices.
 
I agree with what all of you are saying about pricing, I called a guy the other day in the yellow pages (the 1st listing I might add) to do price comparison and this guy was charging $100 for a full detail. I thought man he is cutting everyone's throat by doing that. On the otherside business here is now cutthroat, the gas prices are killing everyone's business bad!! I have had to coupon and take on cars at prices I wouldn't normally do.



For all of you swallowed by business congratulations, deem yourself one of the very few right now. I've gone from 10=12 cars a week to struggling to get 6-8 from regulars. I don't know how long I will survive this??
 
AutoNova said:
For all of you swallowed by business congratulations, deem yourself one of the very few right now. I've gone from 10=12 cars a week to struggling to get 6-8 from regulars. I don't know how long I will survive this??
Click to expand...



It could be your area. I'm in Dallas and around here, your car is an extension of your personality. Makes for a lot of eager customers ready to spend money.
 
magictouch24 said:
He said he was surprised I get referrals and repeat customers based on my work, and he could have had a full detail for $70 somewhere else.
Click to expand...



You know what my response to that statement would've been? "If you think this $70 deal is so great, be my guest and go for it."



Once he realizes what kind of work he's getting for the money, he's going to come running back to you, begging to pay full price.



Though frankly, I doubt he'll care. I get customers like that all the time who say "yeah it's in really good shape...." and I arrive to find a vehicle that looks like it was underwater in Nawlins for a couple weeks.



The biggest suggestion I can make to you is, DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT quote this guy a price over the phone. I never quote over the phone now, I wait and do a walk-around inspection with the customer when I pick the vehicle up, and after pointing out any damage that I know I can't fix, or anything that I know is definitely fixable, I quote a price. This saves me from undercutting myself on a nasty job, or quoting myself out of a really easy job.



:hairpull
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top