Quick everyone I need some prayer!!!

[enoch7fa]

Good Lord it is hard to give people only what they pay for!!  please pray for me that i stop over selling too much.  someone wants a 20 dollar wash, vacuum, interior wipe down and tire dressing, should take me half hour to 45 minutes.  they  tell me to take my time.   you know the story car hasn't been washed in months i just cant let a car leave my driveway with out a certain level a clean sheesh!!  am i a addict? a shine junkie? a gloss freak? i think i am going to start a support group before i stop making a profit.  dont laugh!!!  how come no one told me!!!!! detailing is a disease no unlike drugs or alcohol!!!  and dirty tires?? i can let a customer leave with half clean tires every tire i see that is not spotless i feel the urge to give it a wheel detail!!!  my customers try to help me they say " cedric we appreciate the effort buy i only want a wash and here if 50 bucks more for a little extra spruce up and cleaning "  i say no problem but if they leave with less than 130 dollar detail i will be surprised.  i had to call one customer and beg him to come get his car so i could quit rubbing on it. no lie!!  if i rubbed on my wife as much as i rub on cars my marriage would be a lot better sheesh!!  only good thing is i picked up 4 customers this weekend of people who were walking or driving by at being of washes and came back by to see results.  my plan is working, i didn't want to really get into driving a rig around i wanted to be a neighborhood car washer and detailer and it is working out great.  

 

Any one else having this too much over selling problem?  

anyone else having success like me and my plan of having customer bringing their car to my place? what is your plan? sometimes i wish i never got it in my head to start washing my own car.

 

one more thing i am going to post some picks here again of outside details again tell me how you think the rookie is doing. and post some picks if you can.  also tell me what you did to car example:  exterior detail -  topped with  paint sealant, glaze, patriot wax, buttery wax or   exterior detail -  wash and wax  etc etc.  thanks

 

 

[enoch7fa]

the mini cooper is a 1996, when i got the car i thought it was steel gray with black brake calipers ,when i was done i was shocked by how dirty it was.

Edited April 19, 2018 by enoch7fa

[mc2hill]

That is very easy to do when you first start 'detailing for dollars'.  You know the level you now expect on your own cars, and want every car you touch to look like them.  I still always do one thing 'extra' (clean engine bay, remove a 'rub' mark, etc.) when I am being paid, but I stick to my 'script' on the rest of the job.  Not a horrible thing, as sometimes you learn was does not make sense to do, and the customer is not any extra $.  

[shane@detailedreflections]

You need to understand that if you’re taking money for services, you can’t give away services you’d otherwise charge for unless that’s part of the deal upfront. If you start to do that, you’re training your client that you charge a flat fee and will fix whatever you need. 

 

That client will tell someone else that “so and so did xyz and only charged me $X.” Then that customer (not a client yet) is going to expect the same treatment for the same price. 

 

At this point you’ve effectively trained your client and all of his referrals to dictate your level of service and price. You can’t charge one a certain price and deliver certain service and not do it for everyone. That will raise flags about you as a business operator. 

 

These are not your vehicles. Be up front about what their budget allows and stick to that. If there’s an isolated spot you want to fix up to be a good guy, go ahead. But you can’t charge someone for a wash and wax and paint correct their car. Sometimes it just is what it is. It may be they ran out of budget, desire or their goals have been met. As long as you deliver the product you said you would for the agreed to price they can’t complain. 

 

That’s the exact reason that paint polishing is described in steps and a price. And paint correction is done by the hour. 

 

Another suggestion is to decide if you want to be more car wash or more detailer. The two are uniquely different businesses and the customer crossover isn’t what you would think. We are detailer oriented. We want to do thorough work. “Wash and wax” work doesn’t excite us, and there isn’t big money in it. And some of those “wash and wax” customers expect detailing level of service at that significantly lower price point. We will wash and wax, but usually it’s a maintenance for a regular client. Otherwise we are a “see you in six months” relationship.

 

That being said, we always make ourselves available to answer questions and are upfront. We strive to reply timely and thoroughly. This is something that’s gained us business or product sales. We are very transparent about how we operate and it breeds trust. I’m confident there are people on this forum that can vouch for how available we are to answer questions and the level of comfort that brings. 

 

Right now it sounds like you’re drifting along with no direction while gaining clients. My advice is to pick a direction and pursue it. Define some goals. Make a business plan. Track expenses. Make money for you and the business. Once you start breaking down the numbers you may find your pricing to be correct, high or low. Our prices are what they are based on our expenses. Tools and product aren’t cheap. It’s a constant reinvestment process. But that can’t be done without those goals. 

 

Sorry for the tangent. I’m happy to see you growing, but now it’s time to make decisions in tiers of service and sticking to what’s purchased, and the direction you wish to go. 

 

All the best!

[LSX Maestro]

1 hour ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

You need to understand that if you’re taking money for services, you can’t give away services you’d otherwise charge for unless that’s part of the deal upfront. If you start to do that, you’re training your client that you charge a flat fee and will fix whatever you need. 

 

That client will tell someone else that “so and so did xyz and only charged me $X.” Then that customer (not a client yet) is going to expect the same treatment for the same price. 

 

At this point you’ve effectively trained your client and all of his referrals to dictate your level of service and price. You can’t charge one a certain price and deliver certain service and not do it for everyone. That will raise flags about you as a business operator. 

 

These are not your vehicles. Be up front about what their budget allows and stick to that. If there’s an isolated spot you want to fix up to be a good guy, go ahead. But you can’t charge someone for a wash and wax and paint correct their car. Sometimes it just is what it is. It may be they ran out of budget, desire or their goals have been met. As long as you deliver the product you said you would for the agreed to price they can’t complain. 

 

That’s the exact reason that paint polishing is described in steps and a price. And paint correction is done by the hour. 

 

Another suggestion is to decide if you want to be more car wash or more detailer. The two are uniquely different businesses and the customer crossover isn’t what you would think. We are detailer oriented. We want to do thorough work. “Wash and wax” work doesn’t excite us, and there isn’t big money in it. And some of those “wash and wax” customers expect detailing level of service at that significantly lower price point. We will wash and wax, but usually it’s a maintenance for a regular client. Otherwise we are a “see you in six months” relationship.

 

That being said, we always make ourselves available to answer questions and are upfront. We strive to reply timely and thoroughly. This is something that’s gained us business or product sales. We are very transparent about how we operate and it breeds trust. I’m confident there are people on this forum that can vouch for how available we are to answer questions and the level of comfort that brings. 

 

Right now it sounds like you’re drifting along with no direction while gaining clients. My advice is to pick a direction and pursue it. Define some goals. Make a business plan. Track expenses. Make money for you and the business. Once you start breaking down the numbers you may find your pricing to be correct, high or low. Our prices are what they are based on our expenses. Tools and product aren’t cheap. It’s a constant reinvestment process. But that can’t be done without those goals. 

 

Sorry for the tangent. I’m happy to see you growing, but now it’s time to make decisions in tiers of service and sticking to what’s purchased, and the direction you wish to go. 

 

All the best!

Nailed it.  

[enoch7fa]

Thanks Shane appreciated every thing you said.  I already knew most of it from mouths of watching videos, but sometimes i get carried away is all.  Just for info I am pushing toward the detailing more and my customers know it.  like some of my neighbors will pull up while i am doing a car and ask is that a detail, if i say yes they know i want be able to get them in most likely for a wash or quick wash ( that is someone who just wants a wash, no vacuum or wipe down, tire dressing etc).  Except for one customer after i wash there car they have all come back or want to schedule a detail. most of the people i oversell to are family and close friends but i have over done it a few times.  last 2 cars i did i got disciplined because i was timing myself, i did the interior and exterior straight with no extras regular wash. customers were happy.  from the cars i did over sell the customers who usually go to a wash in neighborhood knew immediately i over did it and told me same stuff you did lolol.   but i did make some good tips so i was ok, real good tips for regular washes.   i got a plan and is working out ok.  i got a live in quality control supervisor and that person makes sure i dont get out of hand, most people call that person a wife.  she gets mad when i do a little extra behind her back. one of my neighbors whos cars didn't get washed in months and i mean months was my product tester while i was learning in the past year.  after i told him testing was over unless i get some new stuff and need a dirty car he had no problem, he even encouraged me not to lower my prices because i have gotten twice as fast doing a good detail now that i have learned a lot of tricks from you guys on forums and utube.  but boy was he sad when i started charging him almost full price lolol { almost he is my next door neighbor and i did use his cars for testing} .  so i my have sounded hopeless but not to bad i now tell everyone prices and they take it or leave it.

since my prices are customizable you know,  " want a exterior detail but i dont want to pay that much can you leave the wheels alone? "  but boy do i have to restrain myself seeing  a car drive from my house with dirty wheels lolol.   curse you adams for getting me addicted!!!!!  

 

from reading forums and utube i had choices start low and add to price building up to want they want or state my prices for a detail and cut back.  starting high is working out good.  the amount of products i am using now is lowering ( sorry adams lol)  as i get to know what i am doing.  making money.  i bought all my products with one credit card and am now paying it off got in cut in half in one month so doing ok.  i want tell you how much i paid for my big order when i got serious lol.

 

thanks again everyone especially adams people on phone and today you shane for advice