You Charge Too Much

brwill2005 said:
Quality detailing services are purchased by people who a). have disposable income, and b). care enough about their cars to pay a premium to have them cared for properly. Unfortunately these types of people are not all that common. This is what makes me want to re-do my business model sometimes.
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i may be setting up a separate business name to cover both markets here soon! I want one to be higher end, and one to be budget, but dont get me wrong, there will be no P21s wheel gel, no fuzion, no SIP used! It will be run of the mil type products that dont cost an arm and a leg to use!
 
Right now, despite the marketing I'm doing, print ads, postcards, SEO, e-mail marketing, flyers, b2b and face to face, my phone is still not ringing the way I need it to. I think people are prioritizing right now and not spending on things that aren't critical. Heck, I'm in that mode right now too!
 
Why would you do that Toyotaguy? You will just be doubling your book keeping, you will have to keep track of the cheap customers and the "good customers" and what number they call. The price of your products won't be that different to offset the cost of running two businesses for two different customer types. You need to pick one and stick with it. Or are you just a glutton for punishment?
 
I see it differently...



do you want your detailing business to be known as high end or low end?



I want mine as high end, charging premium rates, using top quality products. At 150/gal for SIP, I am not about to use that on a detail for 100 bucks to satisfy a one step need for a cheaper customer. i would rather use something like 83 which is like 25/gal. Or wheel gel which is 100/gal to get the inners and outers of a wheel completely clean in an hour vs. spending 10 min on them with megs safe D-greaser, which is only about 8/gal diluted, on a $60 wash and wax mini detail. Would you use a $250 wax on a $60 wash and wax job? I think not, you are going to use your express type product, megs liquid wax, optimum spray wax, etc.



You get what you pay for!



separate marketing, separate phone line, separate everything, including reputation!
 
I see what your getting at. Can you just offer another low cost package highlighting that? So, if you keep your one business identity and offer premium detailing with the better products and then offer the $100 detail specifying the less expensive products and techniques.
 
detailingnmore said:
I see what your getting at. Can you just offer another low cost package highlighting that? So, if you keep your one business identity and offer premium detailing with the better products and then offer the $100 detail specifying the less expensive products and techniques.
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thats like saying



"i charge this much for this quality job, and if your a cheap ***, I will use crappier products and charge you less and do a lower quality job...."



Do you really want that associated with your "quality business name?"
 
Everyone says "you charge too much". Oh well, let them go to another reputable shop, which will be similarly priced as you (assuming you've priced yourself correctly within your market area), or they'll go to a hack which will do crap work and they'll learn their lesson.



I just had a customer bring a Toyota in today that she didn't want to bring back to the previous shop she went to. The reason ? The previous shop had used too much PSI in their air guns when cleaning the dash / vinyl, and blown the vinyl cleaner up BEHIND the clear plastic guard in front of the main gauges (speedo, tach, etc), where it ran down and dried, and looks like ****. If that wasn't bad enough, they also did the same to the LCD of the stereo. Normally this shop does excellent work (I should know, I used to work there years ago), but I think their quality control has gone downhill significantly.



Anyways, the point is, there will ALWAYS be people who think you charge too much, irregardless of what industry you're in. I've seen it when I was a product manager in cellular, and I see it in detailing. You just have to brush it off and keep doing quality work that you're compensated fairly for.
 
Or your name could be Holden. Then you can tell the customer you are the best detailer in the world. They can fly you down and put you up in an hotel for four days. You can charge five thousand dollars, hack a Ferrari or a Lambo and then go back and hide in Canada where they customer can't find you.
 
If you are running a legit business, you just get them to sign a form and if they do not pay take them to court. I do not think people want to hire detailers prone to violence or threats about violence, etc. either. Anytime you are interacting with people you will face some unreasonable people so you will have to just be mature and deal with it.
 
I just started using a sign off sheet this weekend for my customers. We go over the exterior and interior and I note any damage on the car. On that same sheet I also let them know what is going to be done to their car. I've explained to people who call me and want to know what I charge. It's easy to qoute someone a price w/o seeing their vehicle. Then when you get on site you have all types of stuff in the car, in the trunk, I mean some cars look like they have been to East Hell and back. I've had a few people get pissed b/c I also have a $5.00 if I have to remove personal belongings from your car, that I asked to have removed in the first place.



Sorry for my rant! It's just you try to provide quality service at a reasonable price, but some people want the moon, the stars, and everything else under the sun. I don't let discourage me I just try to educate my current customers and new customers on what auto detailing is and what needs to be done to their vehicle to make it look good. Some will appreciate and others will not care. As long as I know that I tried.
 
I have used a customer sign in sheet for not only to identify damage, but also to identify the services to be completed and to upsell other services like Aquapel, fabric protection and windshield repair. When they see it on the menu, it legitimizes the services. I also have a signature box where they are approving the work and agreeing to pay for the services completed. I don't begin until they sign. Another item I include on the sheet is their e-mail address. You must tell them that you may send them an occasional newsletter and let them decide to provide it to you. 95% of my customers do and I have built a nice e-mail marketing list.
 
DT08 said:
Sorry for my rant! It's just you try to provide quality service at a reasonable price, but some people want the moon, the stars, and everything else under the sun.
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I completely agree.



I think we all also need to remember that not "everyone" is our customer. There are customers out there that should be shown your door and pointed to the nearest $45-complete-detail hack, or the closest $35 wash-n-wax.



Just the other day I had someone call me who wanted an interior vacuum and shampoo. I had another customer re-book their appointment, so I was actually free the following day. The person who called said they had just bought the car used, and it had dogs in it previously on a regular basis, and the car smelled like it. I explained our package offerings, but the person said they had just moved to the Territory from down south and only had a small budget to work with. I've been in that EXACT spot before, being new to this Territory and poor as hell, so feeling some pity for this person, I offered to do a complete vacuum and shampoo for $45. She humm'd and haaa'd for a bit, so I told her to bring it down and we'd see what we could do. I said I'd swing by and be available in about an hour at the shop. Anyways, long story short, something came up, so I told my employees to call me if she showed up. She showed up about 3 hours later, offered to my employees to pay $30 for the job, and then was even pissed off that I wasn't there (2 hours AFTER I said I would swing by and be there). My guys called me, I caught on to where this was going, but even before I could advise my guys on what to tell her, apparently she got pissed off and walked out, and began using the car wash vacuum instead, yapping the whole time about how "she'd get the smell out herself" and how we're "ripping off new Yukoners".



Point is, we cannot accomodate every customer, it's impossible, just like any other industry. We do the best we can, and in most cases, I think we're appreciated.
 
I have competition here with a local wash/detail shop that I use to work for. They offer $5 car washes and 5 minute wax jobs. It's a little tough to compete with a $5 wash, but the people that I have targeted and are loyal to me do not like going to this shop. I don't have to say anything about this shop. They come to me with the stories. These people want quality and that's what I try to offer. There is so much that we do as detailers to make a car look good. I know this local shop is not going to take of the wheels and really clean the wheelwells or take the time to remove the wax build-up. These things take time to accomplish. I could easily cut corners and do a half behind job, but then I'm messing up my reputation.



I'm thinking about going the route of Toyotaguy. It's just one of those things where you can't please everyone.



I should write a book called "A Day In The Life of an Auto Detailer."
 
There is an A/C company in town that runs a radio ad addressing this same issue - been in business 70+ years now. I can't remember the exact wording, but it's something like this:



The owner of the company states that when customers complain of his price, he simply asks "What is it you want me to change? The quality of the parts or the quality of the work?"



Simply put, he could use cheap Chinese parts just as any of us could use Turtlewax and the value of work can obviously be all over the board (as is shown by the many hack jobs out there). It all comes down to knowing what your time, skill & effort is worth and sticking to it.
 
This is why when people ask me what I charge, I say "a lot". Anyone who actually wants their car properly detailed will ask "how much is a lot"?, while anyone who wants a drive-thru wash n' wax will sheepishly say "oh...". I say that not to discourage business but to discourage tire-kickers from wasting my time. I refuse to undersell my services because I am young. Sometimes I will give a deal to a friend or someone who I know will reciprocate with word-of-mouth advertising, even still I need a monetary gain that is substantial enough that I feel that I've been sufficiently compensated for my time and product use.
 
gone postal said:
I can't remember the exact wording, but it's something like this:



The owner of the company states that when customers complain of his price, he simply asks "What is it you want me to change? The quality of the parts or the quality of the work?"
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This is a GREAT come back!



I am permanently going to borrow this saying. Thanks a bunch :thx



Takes the animosity right out of the answer I would like to express while putting the ball [pricing decision] back in their court.

Price shoppers will now eliminate themselves and can quit wasting our time.
 
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