Do you ever get into your work and have a client kinda wonder why you are charging them by the hour to perform services that they can't see or maybe don't effect the paint finish?? I'm on the second day of a car and when wrapping up and sharing the days work with the client, he seemed a bit confused that I spent time cleaning the headlights and detailing/sealing the engine bay.
i once had a guy contact me about washing and waxing his car. I explained to him over the phone that the car needed to be clayed first in order to wax (at least by my standards) he agreed on my price ($75-$100)and brought me the car. Although the price looks high, what was included was a thorough wash, full clay, wheel clean and wax. So all is dandy until i see the condition of the car. First it was a little civic that looked as if it had been attacked by a bear. The amount of sap and fallout on this car was bad. so i was happy i went high on the estimate because it looked like a lot of work. I had my brother to help so i told the guy come back in 2 hours. So we get to working and we rip it up. car looks as good as it can get without polishing and the guy comes back 3.5 hours later after i called him before the 2 hour mark. When i told him it would be 100 because it was heavily contaminated and grimy(and secretly because he made me wait an extra hour and a half when i was supposed to go to dinner with my gf), he was a bit stunned. I tried to explain why it cost how much it did and all the work that went into getting it as clean as it was. Well that day i learned that non enthusiasts will not understand why they are paying for most of the time, and you should not expect them to return. this is just my personal experience
I hear ya, anbuzero :drinking2: That's why I don't even bother with normal folks, they just don't understand and IMO it's a waste of time trying to explain it to them. It's like talking to wall :fs:
LMAO!! I usually explain what I am going to do to a clients car before I start so they understand the time involved. I'm lucky that I'm so old most of my clients are repeat clients or referrals so I don't have to explain myself much anymore. My advice would be to explain in detail ( I even tell people to go to my website and look through the packages so they understand better what they are paying for.) what they are getting and how long it'll take for each step so they do understand.
are most of your clients so old that they forget what you told then the time before? LOL i keed i keed
We must be the same age...old!?!?!?! I also always go over what the plan of action is and provide an ESTIMATED time I will be on the car and the hourly rate. Thus far, I'm 18 hours into this car with about 20 to go - right on track. This guy was just kinda scratching his head when I told him that today I polished the headlights, cleaned, polished and dressed the engine bay and wheel wells. Even showing him B4 and afters, he doesn't understand why I would do these things.:thud:
Some people say they want a detail when all they really want is a wash and wax, some people say they want a wash and wax when they are expecting paint correction. Comes down to what the customer wanted and how long he thinks it should take. We all know what the avg. Joe thinks everything we do is overkill and not needed and spending even a full day detailing a car is a wast of time. I tend to do my full blown details when I have long breaks from school so over the summer I was doing my normal full blown detail, normally takes me a week as I dont work all day on it because of the heat and just have other things to do. But my neighbor would say why are you cleaning all that when you dont even see it, and I just said because I know its dirty and I will see it and rather just go thought everything and clean it right. It is also a good time for me to go over everything on the car mechanically in the engine compartment and everything under the car as I have the car on jacks when I take the wheels off. Anyways, I am blabbering on but to some people it does not matter and to some it does...
I wish i had pics to show you the damage. I just looked though the pics I took but no bear claws :sorry: but the customer knew what was going to be done, way before he dropped off the car. then the guy shows up and asks me if i could paint a trim piece for him. I looked at it and it was obviously clear coat flaking off and i looked at him and repeated I am a detailer i dont paint. I correct scratches and similar things. The guy probably thought i was one of those mechanics who does "everything" right now im on the mission of getting my name out to higher end customers and car enthusiasts who will value the work I do and understand these things more.:gidiup:
