Who wants a NICE Referral in Pittsburg Area???

T

Twista616

New member
Hey Hey,



I ran into a guy that wants his Audi detailed. I told him I would be happy to do it, but its a 1.5 hour drive to get to me from where hes at.



Instead, I told him I would find him someone reputablable and put you two in touch.



Normally, as a real estate agent, which I am...I would get a referral fee...but I wont press my luck! Haha



Anyone up for it thats in the Pittsburg Area, PM or let me know...we can chat...



Thanks
 
Twista616 said:
Hey Hey,



I ran into a guy that wants his Audi detailed. I told him I would be happy to do it, but its a 1.5 hour drive to get to me from where hes at.



Instead, I told him I would find him someone reputablable and put you two in touch.



Normally, as a real estate agent, which I am...I would get a referral fee...but I wont press my luck! Haha



Anyone up for it thats in the Pittsburg Area, PM or let me know...we can chat...



Thanks
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Why not just drive the hour and a half and charge him an extra fee for gas expense?
 
JoshVette said:
Why not just drive the hour and a half and charge him an extra fee for gas expense?
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Good question, I have driven much further than that for a detail, just charge them for it that's all. We travel many many miles for our clients.
 
JoshVette said:
I've gone as far as 5 hours.:wow: :xyxthumbs
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It would seem to me that the time lost would cost a detailer more than the gas. In the ten hours of travel time (five hours to and five hours back) the detailer could be working on other clients cars thereby earning detailing fees. I could only think of a few ways this could be beneficial for a detailer 1) the detailer is charging this client triple what they would norally charge locally or 2) the detailer is new to the business and they may not have clients lined up like a vetran so the 10 hours on the road may not be taking them away from local clients if things are slow 3) this far away client is great at generating referrals and keeping him/her happy is very important or 4) this client is a friend of family member of the detailer and the detailer would go visit this person regardless so the travel time is not a problem in this instance.



JoshVette, please don't take this as me trying to tell you how to run your business. I am just curious how someone like you who seems to be established in the detailing business could afford to be on the road for 10 hours.
 
I say just let the OP do what he wants, I for one do not like to travel for details as many clients are not willing to pay an amount which makes it worth my time. Kudos for those who don't mind traveling but perhaps the OP has other priorities and commitments...Also not all detailers are mobile so my guess is the OP has a fixed location operation.
 
I would only travel for someone I know very well and I know exactly what to expect with the car. I have no idea about the car in PA, other than what he has told me. 250+ for a correction detail, then gas ontop of that?? I figure have him come to me...that way, if its not what I expected or much worse...I won't lose 3 hours of drive time!



We'll see what he says about paying for milage like Joshvette charges, but I know there are people in PA that detail...right??
 
Twista616 said:
We'll see what he says about paying for milage like Joshvette charges, but I know there are people in PA that detail...right??
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You might be surprised. I do dabble in detailing for profit as a second source of income but am by no means a pro (and make no claims as such). I grew up in the Pittsburgh area and would say that the presence of professional detailers is rather low. From my experience, there certainly doesn't seem to be a significant number pros in the area who also participate in the autopia community.
 
Sorry guys, I was away for a while and couldn't get to your questions.



When I do an out of town trip to Houston or what have you, I don't go unless there's at least 4-5 cars lined up.



I have quite a few clients in Houston so I'll make a trip down there for example like the one coming up next weekend with 3 cars lined up on Thur (2 basic and 1 full polish) and on Fri. I'll do another 2 cars (1 full polish and 1 basic) then on Sat. I'll do another 2 cars (1 full polish and 1 basic)



I would never travel that distance for only one car, sorry if I gave that impression, didn't mean too. My basic packages are around $175 for cars and full polishing can cost up to $500 and I charge an extra $50 for SUV's and the added expense is about $40 per car by 7 cars is an extra $140 to not quite cover my costs. Hopefully I'll get some good tips.:woot2:



Sure there's about 8-10 hours driving time that I'm not getting paid for, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.



Josh
 
great way to look at it josh! Ive detailed a few cars in mclean, VA which is right outside of washington. It was really fun! I ONLY worked on my family's cars and a few of there neighbors. Maybe next year ile get to detail cheif justice skullea's (sp) car. :)
 
Pittsburgh is a somewhat economically distressed area. The big money resides in the North Hills, Sewickley and Upper Saint Clair. For instance, the one fixed location shop I'm aware of that is located near the North Hills area charges $150 for a detail. Depending on where the customer is located, he may be willing to pay top dollar for extra special customer service. If you don't get any offers to take the work throw a figure at him and see if he really wants you to do the work.
 
JoshVette said:
Sorry guys, I was away for a while and couldn't get to your questions.



When I do an out of town trip to Houston or what have you, I don't go unless there's at least 4-5 cars lined up.



I have quite a few clients in Houston so I'll make a trip down there for example like the one coming up next weekend with 3 cars lined up on Thur (2 basic and 1 full polish) and on Fri. I'll do another 2 cars (1 full polish and 1 basic) then on Sat. I'll do another 2 cars (1 full polish and 1 basic)



I would never travel that distance for only one car, sorry if I gave that impression, didn't mean too. My basic packages are around $175 for cars and full polishing can cost up to $500 and I charge an extra $50 for SUV's and the added expense is about $40 per car by 7 cars is an extra $140 to not quite cover my costs. Hopefully I'll get some good tips.:woot2:



Sure there's about 8-10 hours driving time that I'm not getting paid for, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.



Josh
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That's makes sense, I can understand doing it for a fleet of cars.
 
I do the same as Josh. I travel if there are enough vehicles there. When I go down to Austin, I usually do 5-6 cars and they have them all at one location so I don't have to drive around.
 
NSXTASY said:
Antonin Scalia? I will need to see the C & B with him for proof. How do you know him?
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O TRUST ME! Ide do a FULL review! Hes my cousins neighbor. I dont know him personally but my cousins do, i may just ask my cousins to tell him ile give him a free full detail if i can get pictures of us in front of the car and such.



My cousin is a supreme court attorney and the other has something to do with Mckaine (sp) campaign. They were both white house fellows. Its a long shot tho!
 
I enjoy the traveling, seeing the Country ( UK) and watching the seasons change out the van window. Watching the sun come up/go down over a strange horizon. Memories are made of those long drives IMO.
 
baseballlover1 said:
O TRUST ME! Ide do a FULL review! Hes my cousins neighbor. I dont know him personally but my cousins do, i may just ask my cousins to tell him ile give him a free full detail if i can get pictures of us in front of the car and such.



My cousin is a supreme court attorney and the other has something to do with Mckaine (sp) campaign. They were both white house fellows. Its a long shot tho!
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Daniel, don't do it for free, have your cousin talk you up to be the best detailer for your age in the country......basically true right? .:xyxthumbs



With clientele like you're dealing with, never do it for free.



Don't give into that kind of thinking.
 
Scottwax said:
I do the same as Josh. I travel if there are enough vehicles there. When I go down to Austin, I usually do 5-6 cars and they have them all at one location so I don't have to drive around.
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I do a little driving around and sometimes there's a few at one location too.



Scott, do you have a shop or something that lets you do the cars at? how do you set it up to where they are all at one location?
 
wannafbody said:
Pittsburgh is a somewhat economically distressed area. The big money resides in the North Hills, Sewickley and Upper Saint Clair. For instance, the one fixed location shop I'm aware of that is located near the North Hills area charges $150 for a detail. Depending on where the customer is located, he may be willing to pay top dollar for extra special customer service. If you don't get any offers to take the work throw a figure at him and see if he really wants you to do the work.
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I agree on the lack of detailers in Pittsburgh and that the market is in Sewickley:xyxthumbs Hah, but I dont have the ability for a mobile setup and I have to turn lots of people down who live too far away.



Where is this shop that you know of? They are inexpensive, but are they any good? I'd like to be able to at least give those I turn down another option.
 
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