You Charge Too Much

Jean-Claude said:
I've heard people say that(to me only a few times).



I tell them...

1) They get what they pay for

2) If they want an uninsured hack spending 1 hour on their car for $75 as opposed to me spending 3 or 4 quality hours on their car for $175 they are welcome to go somewhere else.

3) YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. My professional time is not cheap.
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I agree with you. I have invested time ,money,training,and years perfecting the skill of detailing. I'm not saying I am by no means the best. But the knowledge you aquire from the years spent in the business will help you become a better detailer. Allowing you to provide better service to your clients. The word will get out about you. Rather you are good or bad!
 
exactly. This is a issue out here where i am at. people want everything for free. However there are those that appreciate your work, skill and the finished product a lot of people think that my prices are to high and i do explain to them why i charge what i do but in the end you do get what you pay for.



People like to go for the $75 quick jobs where someone probable uses a quick spray on type wax to say it was waxed in return that provides little to no protection.



I just keep at it though hope to find those that appreciate a good true detail.
 
I'm starting to get thick skin from when people say I charge too much. I even went as far as explaining to the customer what I need to do. I've tried educating the customer and I still charge too much. The customer kept saying the local car wash and detail shop I use to work for would do the work for much less. I explained to him that they are focused on numbers and not quality. It's just me detailing your car so I can take my time with it and give it the attention it needs. He flat out told me, "I'd rather payless." I wanted to respond, but it's not worth the energy. I really try to educate the customer on what detailing is, because everyone is running around saying I get my car detailed here, but it really is not detailing.



You can put a cat in the oven and that don't make it a biscuit.
 
ask him what he wants to pay and come up with a package that fits his wallet! Not everyone has 600 bucks to spend on a quality detail! You can get a one step AIO (better than the car wash quality) and it will look just as good/better, last the same or longer, and still put money in your pocket! I am NOT saying to do the same work you planned, but adjust for the client needs...some people dont care about the wheel barrel cleaning, the wheel well cleaning, they just want the car looking shiny and clean...by not doing the wells and inners, you save yourself about an hours time, and save the client $60 = you get the job and he/she is happy = PROFIT
 
You have a good point Toyotaguy. I might have to consider doing that. I know some people don't care about the wheel wells being thoroughly clean, just as long as the car is clean and shiny. I wonder how many people actually pay attention to it?
 
is demanding payment upfront an option? I understand that typically the service industry is service first, then payment, but in a case as such-you could protect yourself with maybe a half down up front, half at job finish.
 
tssdetailing said:
is demanding payment upfront an option? I understand that typically the service industry is service first, then payment, but in a case as such-you could protect yourself with maybe a half down up front, half at job finish.
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I personally wouldn't see why you couldn't do something like that. That would be something that would need to be discussed prior to the actual detail and more so when you went out to do the initial estimate on the vehicle.



You could possibly even draw up a contract that states you require a 50% deposit etc . . . . so that the customers also feels protected and knows that you will for sure show up.
 
I would honestly demand it over the phone when they contact you. "Sure, we can come out 2 days from now, and I can take your $50 advance over the phone to secure the date"
 
I know that at Best Buy, we hold people's cars until they pay us for work we do on their car. If it takes them more than 30 days, we can keep their vehicle. Not the nicest way to do things, but sometimes you have to.
 
This is a great thread even for a non-detailer like me. If I may give my thoughts as a customer:



1. I would certainly ask for some sort of upfront money. Generally, a third is about right. Attorneys won't begin work without a retainer.



2. I think it's also about how you position yourself and who you market to. Target the male professionals who love their cars. I would prepare a flyer and go canvas law firms nearby. State you're new to the market and are giving a promotion/discount to professionals who try the product. Tell them it's a combo detail lesson and actual detail.



The professionals that love their cars will eat it up. By teaching them how to care for the car, you are actually justifying your fee and winning them over. They will talk about their car in the office and soon you'll get their professional friends calling you too because they don't want their car looking like ****.



The beauty is that even though these professionals will now be taught by you, they don't have the time/desire/endurance to actually do the detail. The end result is that you got a recurring client.



And don't be shy about asking for referrals for a discount on the next detail!



Good luck to all of you from someone who appreciates the work and passion of detailing a fine automobile.
 
PaintPolisher said:
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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Yeah, his other saying is a great one too (he's a well educated man which explains why his business is so successful). Anyway, he ends his commercial with:



"We're not the best because we've been in business 75yrs, we've been in business 75yrs because we're the best."



And then follows it up w/ a nice motivational kick in the pants of



"It's up to you.....go out and make a good day".



Needless to say, I love his business philosophy. My wife and I are ****ting a biz up March of next year and although it's completely unrelated to his biz, I'm considering trying to contact him and take him out to lunch so that I can interview him, understand his philosophies, etc. There are a TON of "experts" out there, but most don't know jack$h!t - I want to learn from truly successful ones that have actually been there and worked their butt off to make it - not just "ideas", "in theory" and "well, it should work" people.
 
I'm only doing detailing as a small, cash only thing right now, so thankfully that allows me to be a bit more selective with my customers. If someone gets really rude about me "charging too much", especially after explaining my detailing process and the quality of products I am using, I just tell them Autozone and the crappy car wash stall place is just on the other side of town, please get off my property.
 
The sign on my wall says:



I can work 3 ways pick 2.



Good

Fast

Cheap



People usally laugh, but its a good icebreaker when they want to work the price!
 
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