Well there goes all my dealer work. Retail too. May be closing up shop soon.

R

Richard Grasa

New member
The main reason I opened my shop where I did was because of the plethora of dealer work. But no longer...



Looks like I may be closing up shop here in the near future and going back to doing mobile work for now. I started getting less and less dealer work over the past couple months so I decided to do some digging and find out why. The main reason - a bunch of hacks that just popped up undercutting my already way too low prices by 50% or more. One dealer told me he was approached by someone offering $30 full details. Are you freaking serious? $30 for a full detail? I cannot and will not try to compete with that. I refuse to go below $100 for a full detail for a dealer and that's lower than I already want to go. How the EEFFF can I compete with guys charging $70 less than that??!! They either don't realize or don't care that they are killing it for the entire industry charging those kinds of prices.



And for the retail side of the business, that has suddenly died off as well. The reason? Groupon and LivingSocial and other sites like them. I ran 2 LivingSocial deals which helped get my name out there. But the problem now is it seems EVERYONE around here is running deals now, even shops that have been in business for a while and don't need to/shouldn't run a deal. One shop just did over 800, another did around 400, another did a couple hundred more, etc. So now there's more than 2000 people in the area with a 50% off voucher for detailing, so there's 2000 people that def won't be coming to me or anyone else and paying full price. And what about someone who is thinking about getting a detail? They are probably thinking oh I will just wait for another Groupon deal and grab that, there's been so many popping up it won't be long before another one comes up. There's NO WAY I will do another deal to try to compete with this.



My solution to this is to get the hell out of the Hartford area and into an area that the deal sites don't cater to, and there are a minimum of hack shops. Easiest way for me to do this is go mobile for now and look for another place to open a shop away from this mess. Lucky for me I live an hour away from the shop in the perfect area to do this. It just stinks that I worked so hard over the past year doing my LivingSocial deals, making everyone happy, busting my *** doing trying to do dealer work better than anyone else at a (used to be) competetive price and now I need to get out of the area I worked so hard to build a name in.



Moral of story - at this time, DO NOT open a shop in the Newington/Hartford CT area or another are like it if you don't want to be swallowed up by hacks and deal sites. This wasn't a problem when I did open, but now it is, so be very careful and do your research of your area before you decide to do anything with opening a detail business. I figured I could differentiate myself by competing on quality and not price, but in this type of area, it does not work that way.
 
Awww man that s u c k s big time! Unfortunately this is the byproduct of our economy in the tank. Everyone's looking to pinch as many pennies as they can, even those who are relatively unaffected by it.

It's sad to say but maybe you can hold on long enough for these hacks to burn a few cars and get ran outta town, then maybe the dealerships will realize they had a good thing going with you and come back. Wishful thinking I know, but hey stranger things have happened.



Anyway's I wish you the best of luck!



Sean
 
Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. It def sucks. I admire how you have your plan of attack already thought out...good job.



Hacks come and go, no doubt. The "$30 Pros" will get tired eventually. I'm soooooo thankful I don't rely on dealer work. I told a dealer one time if he couldn't afford a proper detail, then maybe he's not buying his cars right. He didn't like that too much.



A few of the groupons are/were folks who may have never gotten their vehicle detailed before or will ever again. Oh well. Control what you can control, the rest try not to let it get you down. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Yeah it def sucks but I'm also trying to look at the bright side of things. Such as going mobile will allow me to keep most of my returning customers in this area as well as begin to build a customer base in the area closer to where I live, which is much, much more high income than where my shop is now and the area is exploding with new businesses and grows by leaps and bounds every year with more and more wealthy people moving in. Also going mobile will decrease my overhead by almost $1k per month which will be nice. I love having the shop but it's time to move on and change things up to keep this business going. My goal is to get my name out there in the new area and be able to open a shop in the fall or over the winter and be ready to hit it hard next spring. Part of owning a business is adapting to what comes next so I'm taking this more as an opportunity to grow the business even more and get into a better area than I'm in now. Just wanted to share some of my challenges with the guys new to the business who may be thinking about opening up shop. This is a tough business that you need to have a passion for to be successful as a PROPER detailer. But I still love it!
 
I'm sorry to hear this. I think you should try to hold your ground. There's no money in the groupon deals, and those shops may start failing 1 by 1. If you enjoy the shop, just figure out a new marketing venue. Trust me, someone doing $30 details won't last either. That's not reality.
 
I can't imagine what a $30 detail looks like!!! ...please go to one of those lots and take picture for us! P P P Please!!!





Sorry to hear about this but I would agree with John.
 
JohnKleven said:
I'm sorry to hear this. I think you should try to hold your ground. There's no money in the groupon deals, and those shops may start failing 1 by 1. If you enjoy the shop, just figure out a new marketing venue. Trust me, someone doing $30 details won't last either. That's not reality.
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I've thought long and hard about this, it's not an overnight thing, what's been going on here. The area the shop is in is just not worth staying. There's also alot of factors I'm not mentioning here that has pushed me in the direction of closing the shop, and the sudden drop in business is that final thing that made up my mind. One being that I'm in the rear of a building with no drive by traffic and no sign out front. Trust me, I've been trying to get a sign for over a year with no luck, landlord must have better things to do, all I hear is I will get back to you with dimensions but he never does, extremely frustrating. This was not an issue when I had alot of dealer work, they knew I was there, but getting new people in the door being out of sight is very difficult. There's also many other things about the building I'm in that I do not like, such as loud barking dogs next door that bother me and my customers all day long, the parking lot is falling apart and they won't fix it, I'm right next to a place that sells dirt and mulch so the dust flying around is just stupid and I could go on. These things didn't bother me at first, but as time goes on, I want out of this shop and into something nicer in a higher income area. This shop was ideal in the beginning because I was able to get into it with no money until I got on my feet, which was quick, but now going in the other direction as things change around here. I also don't want to be stuck here this winter with NO business at all. It was a great place to get started, but must move on.
 
RZJZA80 said:
In for pics of the hacked up cars and what they're using and how they're washing. What are they considering a FULL DETAIL?
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I imagine wash it (maybe?), hit it with a rotary and glaze the crap out of it, hose the motor down, a quick vacuum and throw some slimy dressing all over the interior. That seems to be the norm with these guys. I was thinking about sending a spy to have one of them do a car, but them I'd feel bad when the car got hacked up.
 
I too would agree with John; I would try a different marketing strategy before folding. Sucks that this is happening to you!
 
C. Charles Hahn said:
I too would agree with John; I would try a different marketing strategy before folding. Sucks that this is happening to you!
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The problem with doing this is $. I am not willing to take another risk changing my strategy and then having the same thing still happen. By going mobile, I free up around $1k/month to work with. My bank account has seen better days and can't take too much more of a hit. I'm not considering folding, just closing the shop and going mobile again. If I stay here and things continue not to work out, then I will def be folding. If I go mobile I can still service my existing customers and also build a rep out in the area where I live, which is so much nicer of an area than where the shop is. And also not have an hour commute to the shop, which doesn't bother me when things are good, but it makes it that much more of a chore when things are not going so well.
 
The reality of it is, most dealerships want a quick shine. They don't (nor really shouldn't) care about a quality detail job. I'd bet 99% of the public probably cares more about a clean interior than paint that has any sort of correction on it. I know most non car guys that see a dull looking car on the lot think, oh, it just needs a coat of wax. Perhaps you could try the more upscale dealerships? There is nothing wrong with being passionate about detailing, but you really limit your income potential that way.
 
Dan said:
The reality of it is, most dealerships want a quick shine. They don't (nor really shouldn't) care about a quality detail job. I'd bet 99% of the public probably cares more about a clean interior than paint that has any sort of correction on it. I know most non car guys that see a dull looking car on the lot think, oh, it just needs a coat of wax. Perhaps you could try the more upscale dealerships? There is nothing wrong with being passionate about detailing, but you really limit your income potential that way.
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I agree with Dan. And you should consider giving the dealerships what they want. If they want a quick $30 spiff up, then offer that. That doesn't mean you still can't offer your traditional high quality, appropriately priced, detail. It's two different things.



I would go to those dealers and explain that you can do the fast jobs AND the high quality jobs. And make it clear that the fly-by-night lowballers don't have the expertise you can offer if and when it is required above the fast detail.



If I were you I would consider expanding your service offerings in a way similar to this. Offer a Detail and a Detail LIGHT!
 
Brad B. said:
I agree with Dan. And you should consider giving the dealerships what they want. If they want a quick $30 spiff up, then offer that. That doesn't mean you still can't offer your traditional high quality, appropriately priced, detail. It's two different things.



I would go to those dealers and explain that you can do the fast jobs AND the high quality jobs. And make it clear that the fly-by-night lowballers don't have the expertise you can offer if and when it is required above the fast detail.



If I were you I would consider expanding your service offerings in a way similar to this. Offer a Detail and a Detail LIGHT!
Click to expand...



There is still a factor that Rich can not and should not try to compete with; the minimal overhead these fly by night detailers operate with. Almost guaranteed they have no insurance, no shop, no training and no quality equipment. A legitimate, respectable business doesn't have a chance of competing with that. Better to recognize this early than try to compete and fail.



I did work for one small used car lot when I was starting out. He paid me my hourly of $30 without an issue. Ultimately I realized two things: 1) I was not enjoying the work as anyone could wash and vacuum a car. 2) This was not building my business as nobody was going to be impressed by the work done.



Rick, I admire and respect your decision to cut your losses and not sell your soul to compete with these guys. From the movie "Rounders": "Rule number one: throw in your cards the moment you know you can't win. Fold the hand." - Jo
 
I can say I relate to this post. Coming from Concours prep for 15yrs. then in the most recent opening to public. The hardest part for me was where to draw the line on general details. There is a way to tailor a package or just a service to suit the clients wants.



It may be the hardest to know when to say when for what is being paid for. I can say honestly when doing an exterior only it drives me nuts where I have to at least vacuum and do inside windows.



I started out giving way more and still go beyond but seriously some people don't notice things like.......

All console and dash pieces/trim cleaned/treated individually



Jambs clayed/polished/sealed



Etc...etc



The point is I had to adapt. I can still go as far as a full restoration but it has always been better asking the main questions



How do you use the vehicle



How do care for it



What bothers you the most (and in order down from there).



As far as your clients who know what they want they will find you and are willing to pay. Just make sure when someone wants less it's on the invoice what they get. You can't always be around to explain the service that was paid for represents less of what you really do.



Best of luck.
 
There are 'undocumenteds' in my area that charge ONE DOLLAR- $1.00. They drive a beat-up old truck w/a tanks of water in the bed and hit (mostly) the used car lots. They rinse the cars and dry them with maybe a chamois. I don't know. The new car dealers are either set-up to do there own make ready, or won't pay more then $90; and they want it done NOW.



My local paper tried to pitch me on something similar to the Groupon/LivingSocial thing. And I agree with a previous post that unless it's say, a repair shop or similar where they can upsell other services, fixed/or mobil, there's no way they can stay in business for very long. You probably know that Groupon wants you to cut your price in half, then THEY TAKE 50% of you sale price off the top and don't start remitting till after the second month!



I know there are highly successful mobil detailers, but a shop has sooo much to offer. If you have any cushion to find a fixed location in a better area, I'd say go for that. You probably have a large customer list and you could easily do a moving type flyer. There are customers who will pay a higher price for the level of work you perform.



Whatever you decide, best of luck.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. I just found out the $30 guy can do these full details for that price because he has no overhead whatsoever. Most of these other guys are charging around $50 - $75 for full detail and the dealers are fine with what they do for that price. I actually do also off a lesser "express detail" to the dealers for $50 and up. So no way I can compete with these guys charging lowball prices because they have little to no overhead.



I'm going to start introducing myself to the dealers in my new area early next week. These places are mostly way higher end than my current area and being much less of an industrial/auto industry type area, there's no lowball hack detailers around to undercut the good guys so much.
 
Sorry to hear from your predicament. Problems like this are why I am shying away from dealer work completely with my new mobile setup.



I just refuse to spend hours on end detailing for a dealer that is likely to complain no matter what the outcome is, or dump me for the guy down the road that is offering them $10 less per detail.



Just keep pushing on man, maybe mobile will be a better overall setup for you anyway. I weighed the costs/reward when opening my business full time and decided that mobile was MUCH more profitable, and I didn't have the huge overhead if I lost dealer accounts since so many storefronts rely on them for constant revenue.
 
I think Target is a good model for inspiration. Walmart undercuts them by a noticeable margin, yet they continue to grow. People like good packaging even if the stuff on the inside is the same.
 
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