Update on "Did I Shoot Myself in the Foot?"

Brenton

Brenton

aka PEI Detail
I started a thread about a local dealership that ask me to train their head detail guy. http://www.detailcity.org/forums/professional-auto-detailing/17599-did-i-shoot-myself-the-foot.html

They never showed up for their first appt, and have been too busy to get in. Fair enough. They are kind of hacking their way through it.
But ... the used car Manager called on Monday and asked for a full detail + full paint reconditioning. I gave a really low price of $249, doing the interior at about half price. I fussed like crazy over that thing, but it looked good. I got home at 11:00pm on my anniversary.

They needed it Wednesday at noon, so I got a friend in to help, moved an appt, and the like. Had it almost done, and they asked me to keep it till Friday for customer pickup--they sold it over the phone.
I dropped it off, and they were thrilled. It wasn't perfect, but it was so far beyond what their guys could do.

Then he said, "how much work could you do for me?"
I said, "I could do one a day next week."
He said, "Done. I'm going to give you a tonne of work."

Good news. A friend will help and I'm hiring someone Tues or Wed, but this could be the boost our business needs.

I've got two hearses and a customer full detail next week, so it's going to be a tough one. I'm also dropping 20,000 flyers next week, so it could be insane.

I'm not sure a one-man operation is going to cut it next week.
 
Congrats pei,This may be exactly what you need. A beautiful detailed car could be the best advertisement you can hope for. I'm glad to hear this your wife must be thrilled. Good Luck
 
PEI Detail said:
I got home at 11:00pm on my anniversary.
Click to expand...

Ouch!!!! Congrats on the Biz...I would love to help you out as well, but the wife probably wouldn't appreciate me going on vacation to detail a few cars....it would be a bad scene.
 
Congratulations!!!

I am a firm believer that it never hurts to give. You made an offer to help them. Just because they did take you up on it has nothing to do with it. It sounds like it was destiny. Now take advantage of the situation.

I wish that I could stop by to observe or even help but know this.....there are a lot of people on this forum pulling for you!! I am one of them.

Hang in there! GOOD LUCk!!!!
 
That's awesome! Looks like they're going to put their (well, soon to be your) money where your mouth is! So pull your foot out of your mouth and prepare for arrival :D
 
Sounds good PEI, hope that it all works out for you.





If you want,...I will move to PEI and become your apprentice/co-worker LOL.
 
That is fantastic PEI!!!
Sounds like you have "that foot" in the door now. IMO... I wouldn't spend your next anniversary at the shop:)

Dave
 
Thanx folks.
And if any of you Canadians need a job .... I'm sure your wives/others won't mind. :)
My wife also worked that day. We pretended yesterday was our anniversary. Worked better.
 
Congrats!! It feels good to get a nice lineup of work.

Now, I highly highly highly recommend you write up some kind of contract for the work you will be doing. In the contract write up something about your pricing, and how and exactly when you will get paid. Include that until you get paid you have lien on the vehicles. Also include such terms as late fees for getting paid, and terms in the situation that a check may bounce.

The reason I say this is I got screwed over at the limo place I did work for. It was a very long drawn out stressful problem. In the end my work was pretty much given out for hundreds less than I usually get. If I would have had a nice contract and terms, it would have saved me a whole lot of time and stress. I was ready to take them to court to get paid in the end.

So again, congrats on the great deal, and I hope you take the necessary steps to write up a contract. Even if you really know the guy, I highly recommend doing it.

Greg
 
GregCavi said:
Congrats!! It feels good to get a nice lineup of work.

Now, I highly highly highly recommend you write up some kind of contract for the work you will be doing. In the contract write up something about your pricing, and how and exactly when you will get paid. Include that until you get paid you have lien on the vehicles. Also include such terms as late fees for getting paid, and terms in the situation that a check may bounce.

The reason I say this is I got screwed over at the limo place I did work for. It was a very long drawn out stressful problem. In the end my work was pretty much given out for hundreds less than I usually get. If I would have had a nice contract and terms, it would have saved me a whole lot of time and stress. I was ready to take them to court to get paid in the end.

Greg
Click to expand...
I remember how exited you were when this came through for you.Sorry you had to deal with the aggrevation.You did alot of nice work for them. You gave some good advice,one good thing about all of this your learning at a young age to cover your arse.
 
GregCavi said:
Congrats!! It feels good to get a nice lineup of work.

Now, I highly highly highly recommend you write up some kind of contract for the work you will be doing. In the contract write up something about your pricing, and how and exactly when you will get paid. Include that until you get paid you have lien on the vehicles. Also include such terms as late fees for getting paid, and terms in the situation that a check may bounce.

The reason I say this is I got screwed over at the limo place I did work for. It was a very long drawn out stressful problem. In the end my work was pretty much given out for hundreds less than I usually get. If I would have had a nice contract and terms, it would have saved me a whole lot of time and stress. I was ready to take them to court to get paid in the end.

So again, congrats on the great deal, and I hope you take the necessary steps to write up a contract. Even if you really know the guy, I highly recommend doing it.

Greg
Click to expand...

Same as Joe. I remember the photos. That's too bad.
These guys always pay me after 60 days.
I'd like a contract for my work-prediction reasons, but that's considered a betrayal of trust here.
Weird.
 
thats awsome im so excited for you. This dealership could be your big break. Have fun with all the work, and good luck hiring someone (maybe i should move to pei looking for a detailing job :lmfao ) but have fun and congrats
 
So I'm running around trying to hold it all together. Just about to hire someone to help out.

Then ... the Manager at the dealership says,
"You do excellent work. But I'm worried about the price."
I nearly choked. He continued:
"The other guys offered a price significantly cheaper."
"How much," I said.
"$99 for inside and out."

What do you do then? Rough. So I said, "You should go with them then. Take a demo and compare our work."

I'm glad I said something like that. He said, "Probably then the other guys are going to only do what my guys can do for that price."

"Probably," I said. "I can do less on your vehicles. I'm basically charging an hourly rate. It's all about what you want. But I can deliver better and push things to the edge of excellence. And I'll go the extra step. For the car I just did for you, I bought touch up paint at my cost, did stone chip repair, painted the seat base, did an extra polish step on the hood, polished the lights and made sure every window was streak free. I even put dressing on the plastic engine components. No extra charge. Will the other guys do that for $99?"

"Well," he said, "If it takes $200 to get cars looking like that" (he points to the car I just dropped off) "I'll build $200 cost into every car that comes in."

I'm still nervous, but I'm glad I didn't back down. I just hope the other guys do their normal average quickie work. I just can't see how you can do a full interior detail, shampoo, trunk, door jambs, engine detail, wheel wells, clay and 2 step polish system for $99. They must have labour rates of $3/hour!
 
How did the 20,000 flyer mailing go?

The used car manager said he would build $200 into the price of a used car for your detail? Is it a highline dealership? I think he may beat you up down the road, thats a large nut for a used car.
I remember paying $75 back in the day for a used car clean-up. I know guys today in NY paying $125 per car, but keep in mind it is CRAP work. It is just to put a little shine on the car and seats. No clay, a 1 step on the paint, windows cleaned, tires greased , wheels quick cleaned, and a quick extract to the seats and carpet. 2 hours labor MAX. I dont know ant detailer that put more than 30% of his ability into a used car I have had. At the time we were selling about 50 used cars per month.
 
I thought I knew the business but in this economy, I'm not sure. I did training for a shop that had 6-7 dealers on account and charging $300-$500 for full details. Here, it is very tight. These are all $10,000-$30,000 used cars.

It may turn out I only get the work that they can build $150-$300 in. That's okay. At $25/hour he is getting a good deal.

Edit: Oh, the flyers just dropped yesterday, today & tomorrow. Got a half dozen calls but mostly little stuff.
 
PEI Detail said:
I thought I knew the business but in this economy, I'm not sure. I did training for a shop that had 6-7 dealers on account and charging $300-$500 for full details. Here, it is very tight. These are all $10,000-$30,000 used cars.

It may turn out I only get the work that they can build $150-$300 in. That's okay. At $25/hour he is getting a good deal.

Edit: Oh, the flyers just dropped yesterday, today & tomorrow. Got a half dozen calls but mostly little stuff.
Click to expand...

Getting paid correctly is the way to go. Imagine doing 6 cars for $99 that are pigs or 3 higher end cars for $200 each. RIght move. If you dont get them all, they guy will most likely remember you as the "high end" guy. Always better to be known as that than the roach.

6 calls in the first day is great, you have a few days to go before they lose their potency.
 
I'm hoping for 0.5% rate of interest. I'm busy now, and I expected to be, so it is mostly about information, getting people to the website, getting me in their mind. I've actually got a 1.5% rate of return on crappy b/w coupons I drop in people's boxes while walking with my family! But that may be a fluke, I've only put out about 300.
 
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