Why the Extra Charge

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DT08

New member
When I'm making appointments for customers I like to mention to remove their personal belongings so I can do a thorough job. If it's something I have to do, I charge $5.00 (that's a little generous). Well, I had this car over the weekend and I mentioned to this guy to remove his belongings. It was like the guy lived in car or something. Pizza boxes, beer cans, sneakers, clothes, school books, etc. Did not realize soooo much could fit in an Acura Integra. I told him that there would be an extra charge for me to remove the belongings in his car.



On my flyers it's clear as day that the $5.00 charge will be applied if I have to remove personal belongings. Of course the guy was upset, but I explained why I ask my customers to do this.



I still got his business, but do any of you guys charge for something like that?
 
I don't charge but I always ask my customers to do this before giving me their vehicle. This takes extra time and I feel more rushed if the customer needs their car back at a specific time. I also tend to forget to put things back into the car after I'm done like a ice scraper yesterday:doh
 
I came up with a new policy this year and it has worked well. I didn't want to charge extra because I don't want to seem rude or confrontational to demand $5 or $10, so I tell everyone now to please remove everything that did not come with the car prior to my arrival, and if anything should be left in a pocket or console the area will be skipped. Most people now remove everything and in some cases I have skipped consoles and pockets, which has saved me time and not fined the customer.
 
mini1 said:
I came up with a new policy this year and it has worked well. I didn't want to charge extra because I don't want to seem rude or confrontational to demand $5 or $10, so I tell everyone now to please remove everything that did not come with the car prior to my arrival, and if anything should be left in a pocket or console the area will be skipped. Most people now remove everything and in some cases I have skipped consoles and pockets, which has saved me time and not fined the customer.
Click to expand...



I like that idea. :xyxthumbs
 
i just add it into the final bill...when it takes 20 min to unload the car just to get to it, thats an issue. However, when it takes all of 1 min to unload a center console in to the passenger seat, detail the console as normal, then put it all back in, or in a bag, why charge? Heck, I even remove old receipts from 2008 and parking ticket stubs and throw them away, and then leave the stuff out for the client to go through and toss what they dont want and organize the console as they see fit...or Ill do it for them!
 
I charge $25 for "neglected" cars. If a car has heavily soiled areas with mud, dog hair, vomit or blood, or just as you guys mentioned if I have to remove a ton of stuff, or if the car is just in such a form of decay that i have to work harder to clean out the interior, then ya-you're getting bit with the neglected fee. There is dirty, then there is neglected. It's not something I try to charge. Just very special cases
 
I tell my customers that if their car is worse than a 7/10 with ten being the dirtiest, that I will throw on an additional labor charge. I explain that my prices are set for cars in reasonable condition and that I design my prices based on the amount of time it will take me to complete a job. I have never had a customer complain, they know when their car is too dirty and when it is acceptable.
 
I don't have a service charge for removing personal belongings but I will work around them; ie NOT clean cupholders, armrest cubby, or trunk if it's full of stuff (read: junk, as far as I can tell- but it's not my junk and I'm not going to sort through it and organize it for someone).



A detailer is not your accountant- one of us could easily vacuum up an important receipt or dry cleaning claim ticket or bank account and routing number, etc.



A detailer is in most cases not a family friend- don't make one of us responsible for your keepsakes and photographs.



There's also a bit of liability in rummaging through a person's belongings. If that Ace of Base CD they've hidden suddenly goes missing, or there was exactly $13.27 in change but now there is only $12.52, or their cell phone charger doesn't work correctly anymore. Who is going to get blamed?



I just tell them "Please remove everything you can, the less for me to workaround the better the results will be"
 
I will usually remove a reasonable amount of trash and/or personal belongings. If it is excessive, like you have mentioned, I would definitely charge extra. All my final pricing is based on an hourly rate anyways. Honestly, people who have cars that are trashed such as this, are not the type of customers you want anyways. It is unlikely this person will call you again soon. You want to target people who truly care for their automobile and who value your service.
 
LOL. This thread reminds me of the Denali I did a while back....







Before

IMG_0455.jpg




After :D

IMG_0497.jpg










The money was placed back after the pic ;)
 
^^ HAHA! now you see it...NOW YA DON'T!!!



I actually found a wad of cash on my very first pro detail. At the end of the job, i said "i put all your personal items from the center console in a plastic bag" and joking she said "oh really? any cash?" and I was like "ya, a lot actually!" she was surprised to see how much she had left in the car. LOL
 
I've been pretty lucky and all my clients understand exactly what I do and what condition the car should be in when I receive it. I do however try to always remind a client that all belongings should be taken out of the car so I can clean it properly. Worst for me so far was a few cars with trunks full of stuff that I simply skipped. I do tell them about it when they pick up the car... "Oh and I didn't vacuum/clean/dress the trunk because I didn't want to go through all the stuff you had in there." Polite but to the point.



To answer your question OP, I wouldn't charge for something like that as it just seems like you're squeezing money out of the client (not saying you are). Make it clear that the car should come with no extras or the area(s) will be skipped.
 
Generally most cars don't have too much personal stuff in them. That said, if I ever started charging to remove personal items, I'd be out of business. When folks are paying (on average) $200+ for a detail, they don't expect to see an extra charge for moving their personal items.



That said, my sign in agreement / waiver very clearly states that I am not responsible for personal items left in the vehicle (if something should go missing or get sucked up by the vacuum or what-not).
 
Just wanted to get the opinion of some other detailers out there. I will eliminate the charge. This has only been the second time I've come across something like this. The majority of the cars I detail don't have nothing in there except for some papers and loose change in the ash tray.



I will update my new flyers w/o the fee, but just stating that all items should be removed prior to the detailing.



Thanks everyone.
 
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