What has been your worst experience with competition?

No problems with any detailers here. I could care less about low ballers either. I continue to raise prices to weed out people who want everything for nothing. After I explain to them why my prices are the way they are, I'd say I book 65% of the calls that price shop.



What rubs me the wrong way though, is hacks giving real detailers a bad name. The people that spend the time to do research, to learn the profession, not cut corners, get all the necessary paperwork to be LEGAL, and are very professional in every way, always get it bad due to the freaks that cannot wash their own ***.



I quit calling myself a detailer..... the word detailer, to me, has taken a on a bad rep.
 
TexasTB said:
What rubs me the wrong way though, is hacks giving real detailers a bad name. The people that spend the time to do research, to learn the profession, not cut corners, get all the necessary paperwork to be LEGAL, and are very professional in every way, always get it bad due to the freaks that cannot wash their own ***.



I quit calling myself a detailer..... the word detailer, to me, has taken a on a bad rep.
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I agree totally. The word detailer does not speak well for itself anymore. When people here it, the first thing that comes to there mind is,"cool $99 speacial and my black SUV interier has spilled milk all over it and has bad scratches all over it and how fast can you have it done. Funny I never mention price, but when I say "detailer" there eyes light up and they assume I only charge $99 like all the other places.
 
LangMan37 said:
Good point. I feel the same way. Been trying to come up with another title.
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I am a automotive conditioner or automotive reconditioner depending on what type of vehicle I am working on, new or used.



Derrick
 
Fortunately in this state, I only have one real competitor and he only uses meguiars.

His - abrasive

me - better abrasives & non abrasive new technology.

Protection - NXT & M21

Me - Fireglaze, Glare, Polaris Aeropoxy, Nyalic, Matrix, Toughseal
 
SVR said:
Fortunately in this state, I only have one real competitor and he only uses meguiars.

His - abrasive

me - better abrasives & non abrasive new technology.

Protection - NXT & M21

Me - Fireglaze, Glare, Polaris Aeropoxy, Nyalic, Matrix, Toughseal
Click to expand...



Absolutely nothing wrong with Meguiars. I used their products exclusively my first several years in business and still keep #83 and #80 on hand. Trust me, I can detail a car using only Meguiars, post pics and claim I used expensive boutique items and everyone will be :bow :bow :bow
 
Sure you can, your a true master. The only problem I can see is meg's abrasives are outdated and don't break down as clear.

With the new stuff I have, it is possible to use their polish and two pads and fix 1000 grit sanding scratches and get an autopian finished result without taking any or only a fraction of clearcoat off.



Similar to those non abrasive abrasive sanding sheets. Works like abrasive but won't require polishing afterwards
 
I believe SuperiorShine's thread still exists here somewhere that addresses the abrasive issue. Using a paint thickness gauge, after wetsanding, he used Meguiars #83 and a wool pad to remove the sanding marks and the gauge showed no further reduction in clear coat thickness.



Not sure why Meguiars gets such a bad rap here. True, some of the new polishes are amazing but wait until you get an oxidized single stage finish, for some reason, Meguiars seems to work better than anything else on them.
 
Scottwax said:
Not sure why Meguiars gets such a bad rap here. True, some of the new polishes are amazing but wait until you get an oxidized single stage finish, for some reason, Meguiars seems to work better than anything else on them.
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IMO, the same thing that makes Meg's polishes work well for oxidized SS finishes is the same thing that (for me anyway) makes them a pain for most BC/CC cars: "trade secret oils". Great for bringing back SS, but in my experience, a smeary mess on BC/CC. If it's one thing I can't stand, it's products that smear, and I haven't had a Meg's polish wipe cleanly on BC/CC yet.



I know others have had better experiences with Meg's polishes (to the point that Meg's is their "go-to"), but they've just never worked well for me.



FWIW, $0.02, etc.,

Tort
 
Hi, The only problem I find around here is that most of the mobile guys dont want to talk to you like they are guarding some national secret. I have had guys close thier trailers or vans when I pull up in my van and say as little as possible to me hoping Ill leave right away. It amazes me that they are so foolish. Then I know a couple that would talk detailing all day, well to each his own I guess>
 
SVR said:
...With the new stuff I have, it is possible to use their polish and two pads and fix 1000 grit sanding scratches and get an autopian finished result without taking any or only a fraction of clearcoat off...
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No matter whose stuff you use you always have to take off enough top coat to get down level with the bottom of the deepest scratch.





PC.
 
chemical abrasives or not aluminium oxide perhaps.

I dunno what's in it but that's what the MFG claims
 
todd@bsaw said:
I have always been friendly with my competitors. Who better to get a referral from than another detailer? If I get in a bind and need some help I always have a few numbers I can call into the shop to help me out and they are just as friendly to do the same.



When I first opened up shop I had a few detailers coming in to see if I knew what I was doing and some of them stop by now just to chat.



I've never bad-mouthed the competition to clients, rather I've backed them up. One new client had their car detailed by a mobile detailer, later came to me for just a wash and asked my opinion on the quality and price. He thought $150 seemed high for an exterior and I defended the price (mostly because it's about the same as my price) and the quality. He's since sent two friends to me.



You'd never expect where some referrals come from.
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+1 spoken like a true professional. I get referals from competitors all the time because I never bash them.
 
We have had a couple of bad experiences but they all ended up going out of business. The one guy tried to open a car wash/detail shop in the underground parking of the mall that is closeby. From what I know he got very little work and was always skulking around my shop trying to ask me questions etc... One day after coming back from a delivery my guys told me that "a friend" had dropped by and taken some tire dressing because they ran out. It turned out it was that guy so I called him and told him to bring it back immediately or I was calling the cops. Turns out no suppliers would deal with him because he owed them all money and couldn't get any product. Aside from that, another shop opened in the downtown and came and put their flyers all over the parking lot right next door to my shop including all the cars IN MY PARKING SPOTS! My buddy runs all the downtown parking lots so I called him up and he went to the shop and told them to remove all the flyers from all the lots asap or he would be billing them for the cleanup. They ended up having to walk back to all the lots and remove them all. Idiots.
 
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