so the neighbour complained about me.....

The ways to retaliate that have been posted are jokes........I hope.
Get a mobile detailer license.
You can try and sneak in work at your house, but is it worth a $500 or so fine?
 
Lexuslover said:
And the number one worst thing to do, Call the department of child protective services and make an annonimous complaint about him if he has kids.
Click to expand...

You can't be serious? I mean, practical jokes are one thing, but getting officials involved over false reports of anything to do with a child are plain wrong. And do anything to someone else's property -supergluing locks or keying cars - just shows you are a coward.

The best advice for Ryan and his auto detail service is to learn the laws of his city and abide by those - most likely it's going to be to register, get a license and report his income. That;s not asking a whole lot considering every legit business has to do the same thing.
 
I have a business license, insurance and I pay taxes. I pride myself on following strict environmental practices, even though they are not mandated here yet. I think that these are extraordinary measures for a one or two job a weekend (maybe) detailer.

I certainly do not condone vandalism, harassment or assault as a means of frightening off neighbors who complain to the authorities regarding the enforcement of any law. However, in these financially desperate times, we must recognize when our friends and neighbors are on the edge, we need to lighten up. The owner of a small construction company can either liquidate or he can cut costs... one of which is the storage fee for a space for his commercial van. I'd rather see the van, technically prohibited, parked in my neighborhood than to watch him close up shop. This is just one example. It's time to live and let live.

Back to the subject of retaliation, I personally will not quietly accept enforcement action against my part-time business simply because I "wash cars," while others engage in white-collar businesses from their home offices.
 
JaredPointer said:
You can't be serious? I mean, practical jokes are one thing, but getting officials involved over false reports of anything to do with a child are plain wrong. And do anything to someone else's property -supergluing locks or keying cars - just shows you are a coward.
Click to expand...

Holy ****, JP. I missed that post! I really regret mentioning "retaliation." This thread is out of control.
 
Long story short, My neighbors called the police on me at 12:00pm, because a dog, resembling mine, got into their pool, and ripped the liner. Now, I am a business owner, I try and take the high road 99% of the time, but these neighbors are lottery winners, who bought a nice home, but don't have the manners to live in the neighborhood. I have chickens running on my lawn which I don't own, and I can't get the law to enforce them to keep them on their own property. Thus, I have had to stoop to their level.

I have not called in child protective services myself, can begin to justify that yet, but yes, I have sling shotted numerous dead mice into their pool, a few squirrels, I have run over a couple of chickens who would not get out of the road, I have done the cricket and the balloon thing, and they now have their house up for sale.

It's probably because they blew so much money, they can't afford the house and taxes anymore, but I am doing a happy dance right now.

As a business owner, You can't act like a child and get caught, but sometimes it helps blow off a little steam.
 
yeah but is getting a business license really worth it when i am not doing this 5 days a week let alone a few times a month i MAY get a phone call ????

answer is no but if i was doing 3-4 full cars a week on average making 500+ a week yes i would be getting a license for sure !
 
I would assume that the retaliatory remarks are for the most part, in jest. I've never retaliated against anyone for doing me wrong, even though I have wanted to very badly. Is it because I'm a good person, or because I'm afraid to get caught? No matter, I've never done it. Even the piece of sh#t SOB, who shot and killed my dog, on my property, never faced any retaliation from me. All he got was a fine from the town for hunting out of season. WTF?

Anyway Ryan, take the high road as was said...but push the envelope. Why not load all your stuff into some totes, and go to the person's residence? Just tell them you need a spigot and that's all. This works great, cuz when they see how much time you spend on the car, and the effort that goes into it, they'll value your work more and that could mean more biz.
 
Zoning regulations and Planning Departments exist for a reason; as do tax registration, home occupation licenses and trade name certificates. In most cases I've seen they are quite literally a single page for each form and less than $150 in filing fees. If that's all it takes to be compliant in your city it sounds like a quick and easy f* off to anyone complaining. If you can't be bothered to do the little bit of legwork to become legitimate, you deserve to get hassled- anyone who wants to operate a detailing business should really focus on the business element in equal proportion to producing a swirl free finish.

Residential zoning is that way for a reason, to put a limitation on noise production, hazardous practices, traffic increases and other byproducts of commercial activity. This protects my neighborhood's ability to enjoy and expect a reasonable amount of uninhibited privacy. You've got to decide if detailing is a hobby or if it's a business and take the necessary steps to assure people of either decision. And anyone suggesting retaliation should stick to pickle washing rather than detailing.
 
RyansAutoDetail said:
complained that i was illegally running an auto detail business at my house and could face legal action from the city and all this BS when i havent touched a car in two months and apparently some low lifes have problems with ppl trying to make a buck ..

so the city person told my dad i could promote a mobile service just as long as it wasnt at my own address...

what a crock of xxxx ... they cant pin anything on me and im certainly not doing it 5 days a week let alone maybe 1 or two times a month that i MAY get a call for a job ...

so i just deleted my internet classified ad and have to go the word of mouth route i guess and try not getting caught doing it again .
Click to expand...

:yikes: Check with the city and see if you can get "a home business license through them" Most towns just want to know whats going on. I had to do the same thing here just tell them you only do 1-2 jobs a month. I also had to pay $ 10 bucks for the added nonsense. Times are changing and they all want money. :inspector:

I am sure you can work out some sort of home business just doing a few cars. :notme:
 
JaredPointer said:
You can't be serious? I mean, practical jokes are one thing, but getting officials involved over false reports of anything to do with a child are plain wrong. And do anything to someone else's property -supergluing locks or keying cars - just shows you are a coward.

The best advice for Ryan and his auto detail service is to learn the laws of his city and abide by those - most likely it's going to be to register, get a license and report his income. That;s not asking a whole lot considering every legit business has to do the same thing.
Click to expand...

I agree here with Jared. CPS was called on my wife and I when we tried home schooling our kids years ago and we had to go through all kinds of crap because of that.

They took our kids aside and asked them all kinds of questions about the way we talk to them, what we feed them and if we touch them in their "private places". We had to go through with this for weeks and each time the slightest slip up would mean our kids were gone.

So to even mention that as a way to get back is ignorant and totally uncalled for and should be deleted.

In regards to the original post......umm, why not just do it the legit way? Get a license and get insured. Why do I have to pay insurance and abide by rules and regulations when some guy can just do it in his driveway?

The one thing that irks professional detailers, who pay the taxes, insurance, etc. is the guys who buy a bucket, towels, PC and wax and place ads around that they will detail your car for $65 while they have to charge $200 because of the overhead a business costs to run.
 
Anthony O. said:
The one thing that irks professional detailers, who pay the taxes, insurance, etc. is the guys who buy a bucket, towels, PC and wax and place ads around that they will detail your car for $65 while they have to charge $200 because of the overhead a business costs to run.
Click to expand...

That describes probably 70% of the posters here. Most of us have the patience, attention to detail, knowledge, and experience to do this well enough to make a few bucks on the side. Most of us probably charge a rate commensurate with our abilities. I charge more than many places around here because my work is better. Takes a lot longer, but it's better nonetheless. I doubt anyone here is implying that this is their sole/main means of income and that they are skirting the regs in that case. Like the OP, most are weekend warriors who might do a few cars a month. IMO, there's little harm in that.
 
Were you doing the cars outside? I guess I could see a neighbor complaining if your were running a rotary at 1500+ rpms.

I was a little worried about the city/neighbors coming down on me for doing 2-4 cars a month but then I started to notice all the other people in my neighborhood working out of their homes. :)

I have a guy in my backyard doing body work (no painting) out in his driveway. :D

I can see the reasoning for the law, but if it's just something a person does now and then on the side, and they are not bothering anyone with excess noise or anything, than leave them alone.
 
Anthony O. said:
The one thing that irks professional detailers, who pay the taxes, insurance, etc. is the guys who buy a bucket, towels, PC and wax and place ads around that they will detail your car for $65 while they have to charge $200 because of the overhead a business costs to run.
Click to expand...

I wasn't going to comment on this thread until I read Anthony's post, which I agree with. There are many examples I could site here, but in order to hopefully not offend anybody I'll just site the most recent one I witnessed where a guy was offering a complete wash and wax (interior included) for $35!! He was doing this work on the other side of a secure fence where I do the same work inside the fence, with expensive commercial insurance's, etc etc etc. After a few days of noticing this guy, I decided to waste part of my life one day and watch and time him from start to finish on a Chevy S10. Long story short, he was on that vehicle for 4 hours, and he had a helper!!! I quickly decided to leave the guy alone after seeing that, and he disappeared in a matter of days.

In California they've finally started enforcing the regulations that have been in place for many years here, and the fines are severe if you get caught not reclaiming waste water, or operating without a license. It's rare now to see a guy pulling a detailing trailer around town with his mini truck, and it used to be the norm.

Commercial Insurance on a vehicle, Business Liability, Workmans Comp, and proper licenses cost a lot of money, and I doubt that guy would of been doing the $35 special if he was legal.
 
I completely understand the professionals' point of view on this. It's a tough way to make a living and we don't want to see anyone get an advantage by cheating.

But I can't help seeing the other side too. 1) Would that $35 customer ever have used a legitimate detailer's service? and 2) How desperate must those two guys have been to work for four hours only to split $35?

Man, I've been there. I think we need to lighten up a little.
 
JohnHenry said:
But I can't help seeing the other side too. 1) Would that $35 customer ever have used a legitimate detailer's service? and 2) How desperate must those two guys have been to work for four hours only to split $35?
Click to expand...

The same argument could be applied to using undocumented aliens (aka illegal immigrants). You can get work done cheaper if you use undocumented aliens and pay cash. Or pay more an get a legal worker who more likely pays incomes taxes, social security, etc.

People seem to opt for whatever is cheaper for them since they do not want to rules to apply when they want something but want the rules to apply when they are doing the service. People want it both ways.
 
Wonder what McDonald's would say if you lived near them and put out a grill in your front yard and sold hamburgers :hmmm:
 
Wonder what the PGA Tour would say if you were John Daly and set up right outside Augusta and sold John Daly merchandise? :D
 
If your only doing a few cars like you said I wouldn't worry about it. Nobody knows if you are charging or exchanging favorites.Just be careful if you advertise.
 
Poorboy said:
Wonder what McDonald's would say if you lived near them and put out a grill in your front yard and sold hamburgers :hmmm:
Click to expand...

Hey, not a bad idea! How about this slogan: "Dozens and dozens sold." :D

Seriously, I see your point, Steve. Just hard for me to criticize two guys who are working their butts off to get by. (Oh! Please tell me I'm not turning into a Liberal!) :yikes:
 
JohnHenry said:
Hey, not a bad idea! How about this slogan: "Dozens and dozens sold." :D

Seriously, I see your point, Steve. Just hard for me to criticize two guys who are working their butts off to get by. (Oh! Please tell me I'm not turning into a Liberal!) :yikes:
Click to expand...

I'm too fat to turn anything :lol2:
Independent I be , Independent I stay ;)

quick story to put things in perspective...

When I moved back to NY from CA I brought my small car collection ...uhmmm 13 Classic and Muscle Cars ... I had most of them in my driveway and a few on the street. Everyday I would start them up and polish at least one or two of them. One of my neighbors complained to the town and guess who came for a visit. Town compliance officer. He said someone said I was running a detailing biz from my house. Told him they were all mine and I just like cleaning them. Nice guy and loved the cars, stayed an hour or two talking about the cars he had growing up.
Came to the bottom line ... town ordinance says you can't have that many cars on your property.
Told me I had to get a lot to store them on or sell some off ... So I got a lot near my house and put a few up for sale to pay for the lot. State guy comes by after someone complained. My guess was a threatened used car lot. :mad: State guy asked me for a dealer's license :hmmm: I said why ... state law is that if you sell more than 3 cars in a year you are a dealer. So I got a dealers license, and the insurance that went with it ... cost was outrageous:eek: , so I had to sell a couple more to pay for that.
Quick end of the story is that I had to sell them all to comply and pay all the bills ... made me understand what a real business has to go through to survive and comply and i wasn't even getting a salary :wall ...
Bottom line is if someone complains you have to have all your ducks in a row;) if no one complains then you have nice neighbors ... but you should be ready and able to comply if the need arises :cool:

No JH I don't object to someone having a hobby that makes them some spare cash, but you need not be angry if someone complains about you breaking laws that we all must live by to prevent anarchy :notme:

jumping off soap box :passout:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top