Turning Down Jobs

upon3

upon3

New member
Do you guys do it? How do you do it? A flat out, "no" or do you search for a different path of tact?


I do this as a side business on weekends, because I not only like the extra income, but I enjoy making cars look better than the owner could imagine. I have been getting a really filled calendar lately, and this season has been pretty good for me so far. I have been doing a lot of ONLY interiors lately, which I am starting to not really enjoy. I cleaned a week-old spilled choclolate shake out of an Accord on Friday evening, and yesterday did the worst interior in a Camry that I have seen with my own eyes. It was repulsive. The whole time I was working on it, I kept mumbling, "this is NOT why I`m doing this..."

Petty, but I`m not interested in cleaning puke out of the back seat of a minivan. I`d rather spend my weekend with my family if that`s the case.

So this morning someone called me, and barked out (in a perfect south side of Chicago accent), "yeah, I need my seats cleaned and shampooed! How much to do `dat?"

I told him I was booked out for the next three weeks. I`m not—my next available slot is two weeks from yesterday, but I had no interest in taking that job—especially after yesterday`s Camry-pigpen. I could have quoted him a really high price, but it seemed to work to politely turn that job away.



Do you guys turn work away that you aren`t interested in, and how do you do it?





doug
 
I take just about anything and charge accordingly. I’ve had some really nasty ones. I differ from you though because I enjoy the challenges and get a ton of satisfaction from the end result.

i used to dislike the nasty ones mostly because I wasn’t equipped to handle them. Now having an extractor and steamer I’m prepared for just about anything. Having the right tools for the job helps tremendously.

no shame on turning jobs down though, especially if you’re just a weekend warrior making a few extra bucks. Do what makes you happy and politely direct the nasty ones to someone else
 
I turn down the ones I can’t make money on. The ones that don’t have enough paint, or are so bad no matter what you charge it’s not going to be as good as you want. I tell them up front how much and that maybe another shop in the area that does production work may be better and more economical for them. Most of the time they understand and are grateful you just aren’t out to take the money.
 
OP-My situation is pretty similar to yours. I detail on the side and primarily do it because I enjoy it and getting some extra cash in my pocket isn’t bad either. I have been doing this for over 20 years and I only do the vehicles I want to do. If I took every job that came my way, it would become too much like my job and I wouldn’t enjoy it anymore. I’m also not a fan of doing interiors. I say if you’re in it for the money, do em all. If you’re doing it because you mostly enjoy it, pick and choose.
 
Such great advice, guys. I certainly have no trouble turning stuff down. That`s the ideal situation for me, really. I do get great satisfaction from fixing a complete disaster, but I also have no interest in taking jobs that are going to be a miserable conclusion no matter what I do. This last Camry needed probably 8-9 hours of work. He wasn`t interested in paying for anything more than 4 hours of my time, so I knew going in that this job was going to frustrate me immensely. It was a good working lesson for me, though, as it really clarified WHY I`m doing this and why it is important to hold true to my original goals and ideals from the start of this business.

B)
 
That was right to turn down that kind of job. I think when you back down for the kind of work you are not going to be satisfied with is good. If you estimate the time the work is going to do. And the customer is not willing to pay for it. Then the customer is not after the kind of work you are doing. Sure some times you can cut some corners if the customer is understanding what is not going to be done. If heavy just want to pay for 4 hours you can explain what he gets. But I think you are not comfortable with doing a job half done. And the mouth to mouth word can take a hit when doing work that you normaly would not do. Then it`s time to stand up to the reputation you will have and send out.

If you feel like you get to many jobs with interior work you maybe can high you price a little. And still have work coming in. It`s a balance to get the right price settings to the amount of work you have coming in. Then it can be a great starting point to go with a new customer that will give you more work on the exterior if they are satisfied with your interior work.
I would be to kind to the customer and do alot of work I would`nt do if I know myself right lol. So it`s easy to write what others are going to do. Than be doing it self in the real world face to face with the customer.
 
SWETM said:
If you feel like you get too many jobs with interior work you maybe can high you price a little. And still have work coming in. It`s a balance to get the right price settings to the amount of work you have coming in. Then it can be a great starting point to go with a new customer that will give you more work on the exterior if they are satisfied with your interior work.
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Excellent point, and I have been contemplating raising my interior hourly rate. Might be necessary.
 
I don`t necessarily turn down jobs but will give them my honest price for what services they are looking for and for most people price shopping I am way out of their budget range anyway so they usually go elsewhere. I do this on the side as well so I am not interested in only getting paid $100 to do a full exterior and interior detail. I actually recently had someone call me asking me to do a full exterior and interior for around $100 they were being quoted somewhere else and I politely explained my process and my price and told them that at that price it significantly eats into my profit margins for the level of work I provide. They were understanding of it and said thank you and went on there way.

If I do not feel like doing interior work or the job sounds too messy i.e. puke or kids crap all over the place I will just politely say I am sorry but I am not currently booking any interior jobs right now as I am booked solid for the next X weeks but this is the estimate price until I can see the car. That again usually gets them to say thank you and look elsewhere.
 
Very simple. I always ask to see the vehicle in person. Most often if there price shopping or have nasty daily drivers they won`t waste the time coming by. Doesn`t bother me one bit as this time of year I`m booked almost 3mo out solid with good paying correction and coating jobs. That leaves no time for nasty daily drivers!
 
When I get a sense the client is just price shopping with a nasty interior while telling me "it`s not that bad" I simply give them a higher price that would make me willing to show up to whatever non extreme condition and deal with the mess even if it takes a full day. It still beats the hell out of working for someone else doing lighter duty work but being trapped still. As already stated also, if you`re just doing on the side then you have the luxury of picking what you want to work on more freely than those of us doing this full time for a living. Only job I remember turning down was a guy bragging about "money is no issue when it comes to my car" and when I quoted him on a detail he flaked out ,then months later texted me asking me if I could fix the botched wet sanding job some local hack did on his car and didn`t even finish... no thanks .

I`ve taken on foster Mom mini vans with rotten milk in them and even vehicles so full of mold the owners wouldn`t even dare to drive them but at the end of the day I charged what I felt was going to make me happy to take on the challenge and I also learned from it. Taking on nasty jobs and providing great results can do wonders for your reputation and will allow you to raise your prices easier once people know that you`re not scared of getting your hands dirty with something that seems impossible to the vehicle owner.
 
Migue said:
Taking on nasty jobs and providing great results can do wonders for your reputation and will allow you to raise your prices easier once people know that you`re not scared of getting your hands dirty with something that seems impossible to the vehicle owner.
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Good stuff
 
I feel your pain on interior work. I pretty much price myself out of it. And to be honest if they are looking for stain removal on cloth seats (that would require extraction) I refer them to another detailer I know who does this full time and has an extractor.

On interior work I pretty much charge flat hourly rate so that places a lot of people out of the range of what I`d need to make to justify doing it (I guess I`m not that into money).

I remember when I first started my business I saw that someone had on their site that they do not do basic washes. I never thought I`d be the same way but I don`t do basic washes unless its a client and they`re on some type of maintenance program which I don`t have any clients on that type of program. I just simply cant do a basic wash (or I should say don`t want to) on a vehicle I haven`t done anything to in the past...it always ends up too much work on my end and not enough compensation.
 
Haven`t had to turn away anything. I`m just getting started, so I plan on doing most that comes my way (bodily fluids not included you can keep the puke/vomit/blood/etc.). Plan is to do a lot of basic washes/basic interiors to get my name out there via word of mouth. I`ve got a couple of guys lined up who do a decent job with their cars, but they will start talking to their friends and referring them my way.
 
There are detailing vehicle jobs you SHOULD turn down:
1) Flood "restorations" or clean-ups
2) Oil-spill stain removal (it will not come out)
3) Random-Isolated Deep Scratches (RIDS) that you KNOW will not buff out (The proverbial "I thought it would just buff out" scratch or etching)
4) Mold or mildew removal
5) Human body discharge clean-up (Unless you have a HAZMAT suit and equipment AND very good health insurance and life insurance).
6) A customer who quotes you a price from other detailers. This is always a tip-off that they are looking for a low-ball price.
7) Someone you are not sure of, like a friend of a friend of a friend. How they came to know YOU did detailing on the side can be quite convoluted, and most detailers feel "honored" to get business this way, BUT you do not know that person.
8) Anyone who brings you this/these product(s) to use on their vehicle, UNLESS you have experience using it.
9) Someone you do not know who insists on paying you an "nominal fee" up front to cover material costs. Chances are that is ALL you are going to get for the entire job. If you ask for a down payment, make sure it is for the at least HALF the price you THINK it may cost. If someone you do not know baulks at paying it, then the distrust is on them, not you.
10) If the vehicle seems" just out of your comfort zone" in detailing. Detailing daily drivers like SUVS or Soccer-mom vans is much different that someone`s Porsche 911 GT3 or a newer Ford GT-40. You can kind of gauge a perspective customer`s expectation by the person and their vehicle. Let`s face it: for most hobbyists who do detail daily drivers, their owners are MORE than happy with a clean, shiny vehicle, even if it is not concourse-quality.

As mentioned above, having the right equipment and experience can determine if you should take on a detailing job of any type. As a hobbyists, you have to know your limitations with the equipment you have and the experience using them, along with the proper car-care chemicals and products. Unfortunately, experience can only be gained by doing it yourself hands-on. That is one of the nice things about this forum: you can learn from others` experiences and hopefully, reduce the "error" part the trial-and-error method.
 
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