What Dont You Clean?

B

BLACKWRX

New member
i had a customer complain because i didnt clean the sunroof ( like the rails and inside of the roof) do you guys clean the inside of your customers sunroofs?
and unless asked i dont clean the glove box and center console storage armrest thing which is basically used as a second glove box by most......
is this okay or am i not being detailed enough....if asked i will empty out all storage areas and clean, but customers junk normally stays in there for the life of the car so why bother:)
 
If there junk is still in there i don't clean. Your customers were prolly just looking for something to complain about, i wouldn't sweat it.
 
Well I don't clean the rails because it normally has grease that is needed on them. I do clean the window itself though.

Normally if there is just a bunch of trash in the glove box and center arm rest, I'll talk it all out and put it in a bag with other things I get from the car. They can go through it later and decide what is trash and what isn't. That isn't my decision or something I want to do. I do put the books for the car in the glove box though and any insurance information.

EDIT: Did you mean the top of the shade that closes? That is rarely dirty and most of the time impossible to access. If they complained about this, there was going to be no winning with that customer.
 
On our standard detailing package we do not clean the rails of sunroofs, grease. We do open the sunroof and wipe the seems/seels. We always clean the center console, glove box, door pockets and trunk. Amazing how dirty they can get. As part of our courtesy call the night before, we instruct the owner to remove all personal items from the vehicle so as not to misplace anything. This works well, limiting to one bag of personal items- if any.

Now to add to the confusion. We just added an 'Xpress Cleaning' package, in which case we do not open any compartments in the interior. I was taking your question as though you were referring to detailing.
 
I go along with others, avoiding the rails because of the grease put there for operational purposes, normal trash is thrown out, but remember one man's thrash is another man's gold, and although most customers are great your always going to get a few creeps looking for arguements and complaining, just do your best and I am sure 99.5% will be satisfied. HAVE A GREAT DAY
 
I stay away from consoles and gloveboxes - rarely do anything but the window on a sunroof - most people don't notice. I would probably do it if I remembered to.
 
so it sounds like we are all on the same page.......the customer that complained about the sunroof wants me to detail two more of their cars....so i guess my job was good enough:)
 
BLACKWRX said:
so it sounds like we are all on the same page.......the customer that complained about the sunroof wants me to detail two more of their cars....so i guess my job was good enough:)
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I've gotten to the point where if a customer complains or gives me a hard time, I always happen to be "too busy" when they want more work done.... it isn't worth dealing with people who pick things apart, even if it is just for the purpose of being an ass.
 
In regards to customer compartments and rails,


1) I don't clean the rails...The main reason being for the grease in the tracks. BTW, man, that's pretty picky.

2) With compartments, if they are reasonably or completely empty, I will clean them. If they are packed to the gills with junk, more importantly, stuff that looks important (receipts, insurance cards, work orders), I will not touch. From my standpoint, I wouldn't want anyone touching my stuff there, even if they requested to remove it. I will, however, clean the jams of these compartments.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
I've gotten to the point where if a customer complains or gives me a hard time, I always happen to be "too busy" when they want more work done.... it isn't worth dealing with people who pick things apart, even if it is just for the purpose of being an ass.
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thats what I do too:)
 
I have the same thoughts as Sean, I won't clean the console/glove box unless they're more or less empty, otherwise I open them up and do a quick wipedown at best. The shop where I started out used to take anything and everything out, nothing was ever reported stolen but things were "forgotten" at the time of vehicle pick-up.
The other things I won't normally do are motors (CA law makes it hard, it's hard enough washing cars in some areas...) I did however do the engine on a Silverado this last week because it was already washed, and I dolled up the engine on my neighbors Camaro because it was already spotless. Other than that, no motors for me.
I had BAD nit-picker a couple weeks ago. I have the dude a quote without seeing the car, when I got to the job it was the worst interior I've ever done. Not even straight Simple Green and a brush could get some of the crap outta the center console, I swear my air gun brought up 5 years of old food from between the seats. He complained about the RF doorjam being dirty and the "transmission fluid" still being in the carpet. :bubba
He got well more than $130 worth of work, I wouldn't complain about little things like that
 
LikeaRock said:
I have the same thoughts as Sean, I won't clean the console/glove box unless they're more or less empty, otherwise I open them up and do a quick wipedown at best. The shop where I started out used to take anything and everything out, nothing was ever reported stolen but things were "forgotten" at the time of vehicle pick-up.
The other things I won't normally do are motors (CA law makes it hard, it's hard enough washing cars in some areas...) I did however do the engine on a Silverado this last week because it was already washed, and I dolled up the engine on my neighbors Camaro because it was already spotless. Other than that, no motors for me.
I had BAD nit-picker a couple weeks ago. I have the dude a quote without seeing the car, when I got to the job it was the worst interior I've ever done. Not even straight Simple Green and a brush could get some of the crap outta the center console, I swear my air gun brought up 5 years of old food from between the seats. He complained about the RF doorjam being dirty and the "transmission fluid" still being in the carpet. :bubba
He got well more than $130 worth of work, I wouldn't complain about little things like that
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You CANNOT please everyone, no matter who you are.

Some day you will run into those select "customers" that will fight and fight about nit picky items until they get their job for free. IMO, you start to develop a "radar" for these things...Either you insue an extra charge because you know they will be a PITA or you overshoot them so far you know they won't bite.
 
G35stilez said:
You CANNOT please everyone, no matter who you are.

Some day you will run into those select "customers" that will fight and fight about nit picky items until they get their job for free. IMO, you start to develop a "radar" for these things...Either you insue an extra charge because you know they will be a PITA or you overshoot them so far you know they won't bite.
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I agree totally. Usually these folks are the ones who will try to tell you/suggest what you should do to clean certain things, or ask ridiculous questions about "do you do..." while you're going over the vehicle with them.

I usually quote these people so high that they say, "But I can get _____ for $_____ at _____!!" and I reply, "Well, if they can do the same quality of work for that price that I do at my price, more power to you!"

Usually, they leave and go bug another shop. :bubba
 
G35stilez said:
You CANNOT please everyone, no matter who you are.

Some day you will run into those select "customers" that will fight and fight about nit picky items until they get their job for free. IMO, you start to develop a "radar" for these things...Either you insue an extra charge because you know they will be a PITA or you overshoot them so far you know they won't bite.
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There seems to be two types of nit picky people: Those who bring you a car in less-than-OK shape and expect you to make their car look new and remove tranny fluid stains for $130, then there's nit picky people who, although pick EVERYWHERE they can, they appreciate your work and pay you what it's worth. I've noticed those who truely appreciate our work are willing to pay more, or they throw a nice tip your way after the job. I don't mind doing work for nit picky people who appreciate what I do, but the cheapies are the one I'd like to stray away from.

I will say that I've realized building up a reputation, and scoring work in general, is a LOT harder on your own than I thought it would be. For the 2.5 months I've been self-employed I've tried to be as thorough as possible so I can gain that reputation. One satisfied customer might bring you a few new customers, but one unsatisfied customer can lose you much, much more.

I've also found that people will bite for the higher prices if you say "I'm not a miracle worker, I just do the best I can". That way they don't expect the vehicle to be perfect, but if they don't know your work that well you can always exceed their expectations and become that "miracle worker" :D

Dolan
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
I agree totally. Usually these folks are the ones who will try to tell you/suggest what you should do to clean certain things, or ask ridiculous questions about "do you do..." while you're going over the vehicle with them.

I usually quote these people so high that they say, "But I can get _____ for $_____ at _____!!" and I reply, "Well, if they can do the same quality of work for that price that I do at my price, more power to you!"

Usually, they leave and go bug another shop. :bubba
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It's even worse when they tell you to use products that can leave permanant damage or talk about methods that seem SO unorthodox that you want to vomit.

A couple weeks ago I was out front cleaning my dads truck, some random guy stops and gets out and starts talking to me about detailing. He told me he bought a bunch of Adams products at Hot August Nights and how they're the best products he's ever used and that I should switch. He had me look at the flawless job he did on his black Jeep, it looked good out of direct su light but as soon as I looked at it in the sun it had an insane amount of swirling left behind, product streaks, smears, aeresol dressing overspray everywhere. Then he looks at my dads Silverado and shows me the minor swirling that you can see on the upper body line and tells me how I'M the one doing everything incorrectly. I about laughed my ass off when he told me I should use Adam's No-Rinse wash in direct sunlight and wouldn't get any swirling or streaks, spots etc.
 
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