I performed a detail on this Acura TL today as scheduled for the owner after agreeing on the service and price. The car had been sitting outside for a few months and was looking a bit sorry for itself so the owner decided that it was time for a cleaning. I had discussed with the owner the services I would perform and she wanted the $130 detail with a one step AIO polish so I got to work. I cleaned the car top to bottom and performed a few extra steps complimentary such as getting rid of oxidation in the headlights and lessening some severe scratches. This took 5 hours and upon returning the car, was berated about how she did not want to pay that much and would only pay $75 for the work I completed. I was shocked at such a nasty turnaround but had no choice other than taking what she offered and left it at that. Anyways, I feel a bit deflated but on with the detail! Products and Process: Exterior: -ONR wash -Clayed with Clay Magic -XMT 360 AIO via my PC and a grey CCS pad -Collinite 845 applied once -Duragloss Aquawax on the glass -Meguair's Ultimate Compound on the headlights, sealed with 845 -Optimum Opti-bond on tires -CG Barebones in the wheel wells Interior: -Vacuumed thoroughly -Carpets extracted -Leather, rubber, and vinyl cleaned with OPC 6:1 -Protected with 303 Aerospace -Autoglym Fast Glass on windows The Befores: the car was much dirtier than the photos lead on with baked on bird droppings and a thick layer of dust and salt spray. One big help for the bird presents: I sprayed them liberally with some ONR at QD dilution which allowed them all to be wiped clean off the paint before the wash stage began. Headlight before: Headlight after: Headlight before: Headlight after: Onto the final afters: I was really happy with the way the paint came back from just a simple one step AIO session. The only problem I had was with dressing the tires: for some reason, they would go splotchy no matter how many times I reapplied dressing but eventually I just buffed the tires down to a matte finish and they looked even again. I was very happy with the way the car turned out but am a bit upset about being hosed on my time and hard work and even going the extra mile on a couple areas. All in all, it was a learning experience for sure! Thanks for reading as always, hope it was enjoyable.
I am sorry to hear that someone took advantage of you in that way, she should be so ashamed of herself, I hope it haunts her at night. That car looks great btw!!
sorry to hear about your bad situation. If you both discussed things in the beginning and she agreed you guys had a verbal agreement which is just as good as a contract but then it's a he said she said thing. People always always always try to jive the prices around. I have encountered a few people like that and i stay calm and just explain things to them and they are usually happy to pay but if someone ever got crazy and refused to pay the price that we agreed upon initially they simply wouldn't get their car keys back until i was paid. I don't play the kid games . . . . . . but the car looks incredible. After seeing the work i don't know how anyone could complain over such a thorough detail and superb detail.
You did a great job ... I would be really upset if someone would pull a fast one like that on me. It hasn't happened yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happens in the near future. BTW guys ... what things can we do to prevent this from happening? Everyone signs a contract before giving the car keys?
I was just about to suggest the contract idea, it could work. Great job on the detail, the car looks fantastic!
great work! that's a smoking deal at $130 too. maybe she should shop around and figure out what detailing actually costs. the problem is you can get your car "detailed" for $70 at places like canadian tire. They spray aerosol tire shine all over you trim with no pre-cleaning, vacuuming up the big dirt. and wash it takes them 2 hours. if one guy is on it. nobody knows what a quality job is anymore, nore what it takes to do it...because everybody is pedaling crap!
that's so true ... I had some people tell me this exact explanation , but I think it's important to tell the clients what you are actually doing to the car.
Thank you Ankeet! The flakes were popping well for sure, if only I could have snapped a picture of what it looked like without any partial cloud covering the sun! I really like the way this generation looks as well since it has just enough edgy styling to make it look up to date but is still conservative. Thanks for the comment! Haha, well she was boasting about how she calls the cops all the time if she sees anyone "suspicious" around my neighborhood and even boasted about getting a guy arrested for working past 6 pm on a house. I hope she is dancing about the deal she got but haha, I am not sure she will have any second thoughts over this! I know, I would love to charge the going rate for a detail of this standard but people simply would look at me as a typical college student looking to make a quick buck with his bucket and sponge at the ready. I do believe that I do not get respect in this regard from most people until they have me detail their cars, but sometimes I have to try to avoid getting hung up on the fact that I essentially have to do more work for less money to entice people which is always a challenge. This car had it all though; french fries under the seat, dog hair (I am allergic), stains, dog saliva on the windows (does anyone else find this a pain?) and some monster bird bombs. Oh well, maybe I will get some recommendations from her! It is one of those things where you think you will never have to deal with these issues until it does, then you are out of luck without a contract. I personally would not have dared to hold onto the keys with this lady, she calls the cops so often that she was literally complaining that they would listen to her anymore... Thanks for the kind words! Thank you for the reply! I am going to start doing a work order type sheet to have in writing the agreed upon service and price. Otherwise, I can see a worst case scenario of someone saying "I didn't ask you to do this, you have no proof I agreed to this service." The hard part about detailing around Orange County is that there are many fly-by-night Mexican mobile detailing crews going around washing cars for $15 a piece. This cuts down a lot of people's expectations on what "detailing" costs and their service expectations. Then you have the large dealerships that offer free lifetime car washes for car brand owners which does not help a boutique detailer's case. You win some and you lose some, I just never thought I would be cut down like this by people who are obviously very affluent and seemingly nice . I have a hard time talking to clients about this and staying away from our technical lingo. Some of the people I have pitched my business to just say that they don't see the need for anything more than a $10 wash, especially with all the lease vehicles driving around. I need to find some true enthusiasts, the good thing to come out of this detail is that I am going to be detailing all the cars of the retired head of Toyota Racing Development so that will be awesome to say the least!
First of all, great work on the Acura. Looks very nice. I am sorry to hear you got ripped off by this lady. Absolutely unwarranted, but perhaps she was blinded by the shine and could not fully appreciate the hard work you put into it? I would suggest putting a bird watering station and putting lots of birdfood around her car, and just letting the pigeons shit all over it. It'll teach her!
Exactly! People just don't understand why: Detailer A charges $75 and Detailer B charges $250 people just see a clean car and think a detail is a wash and interior job. I notice myself sizing up cars when ever i am out . . . . . . i see a car on the road at a stop light and i'm looking at the wheel wells and behind the wheels etc . . . . . and think what a thorough detail it received as the tires are dressed and the car is clean but the "details" were missed.
It is a shame you got ripped off like that. Some people are just cheap for the sake of being cheap. They don't care if you went above and beyond or that the original price was even $55 more. Honestly, as financially unreasonable as it may seem, I suggest you don't detail for anyone she sends to you (if that happens) unless you explicitly state that she got a huge "discount" and that you cannot afford to do that again. She likely will tell them "he did it for $75" and they will expect the same. You could just tell her that was a one time thing which resulted from your naivety regarding general social decency. Also, you did a great job. That would have warranted $200 AT LEAST + tip in my books. :applause2: PS: get her car towed :
ugggg that sucks man. really puts a bad taste in your mouth. one thing i always do these days is go over all of the steps with the owner beforehard - even if it's a friend or friend referral. for some i even demonstrate on a test area to set expectations before they even leave. they usually walk away with the sense of "geez, he's doing all that on the whole car??" gives them the cencept of value and quality so they feel good about handing over their cash when they pick the car up.
Nice work man! :thumb: That's really irritating to me when people don't stick to their word. I'm +1 with Ynnekdude on what he said; "I suggest you don't detail for anyone she sends to you (if that happens) unless you explicitly state that she got a huge "discount" and that you cannot afford to do that again. She likely will tell them "he did it for $75" and they will expect the same."
Nice turnaround Christian900se. Unfortunately, that's how things are with some people. So many people are willing to pay for anything from a corporation without question, but try to short change the small business man. I'm hearing about this happening more often since the recession hit. It's just apart of doing business, i have adopted the use of contracts as well, eases a lot of stress.:afro:
I always hand my customer a receipt and ask for payment at the time that i take the job and let them know that tips are welcome after the job is finished. Nice work on the car looked great.
Thanks guys, I would respond to everyone individually but I don't want to hit you guys with another massive multi-quote! I have found that selling a premium detailing service to people who are not car enthusiasts and therefore do not see the value in having their car cleaned and protected properly is turning out to be the hardest part of restarting my business out here. I am definately taking everyone's advice of producing contracts so that the customer and I have a concrete reference to what they decided to have me do and at what price. I just hope I don't run into anyone else like this lady! I don't expect her to bother recommending me to anyone since she doesn't seem like the type of person who would care enough to tell people about my services which is a shame, but you are all right about potential references from her and what price point they all expect in return. Thanks again everyone, I truely value your input and kind words and really shows the kind of community DB consists of.
