Kaydee

back from the dead holy...I remember reading this when I just signed on haha

UDel

Old thread brought to life but I agree you should have been paid more but I also see where the customer may have thought it was going to be closer to $100 since that was the only price mentioned and was put off by you saying $360.

Before I started polishing and getting into detailing I would have thought $360 was really high but I know now after polishing cars that it is backbreaking time consuming work and I have no problem charging 250-500 for full details when I detail on the side. I always warn customers that to get those swirls and scratches off and make the finish look brand new requires very time consuming polishing with a machine which is going to cost over $250. Some customers once they hear that don't want to pay that much and I understand that but it takes too long and you work too hard just for $100 or $150 which many think a full detail with polishing should cost.

You should tell the customer up front a very close ball park figure before you even go out there and start like saying it will be around $350 for a full detail on a car like a Boxster.

When a customer says price is not a big deal and charge what you think is fair, trust me they are not expecting you to say anywhere near $360 and are expecting a fairly low price like around $100. I have dealt with that before.

Greg@DI

That's terrible! I'm sorry to hear about that situation. Hopefully it's a good lesson learned and you'll never have the same thing happen again. It was nice of you to share the story here though so others can learn from this situation. Take care!

sj408

iTrader: (6)

yeah the problem is is people wanna act like "ballers" and say price is no issue blah blah blah then when it comes around to it they get all uppity.
but to be honest for 100 bux the guys up the street from me would lick my car clean for real

Tabaka

iTrader: (8)

Cheap bastard. There is a reason he has the porsche, penny pinching ****.

XhyDra

iTrader: (8)

Some people are very cheap when it comes to details. See the bad part here is that all those run of the mil detailing places are junk, they think that those places set the standard for pricing but the truth is they are terrible at doing a good job. Someone once asked me for a detail job on their car, I told them for that price it's not going to be swirl free, this takes time and precision. Also I don't know any dealership that actually knows how to properly detail a car. Sorry you had to go through the trouble and only get half of the compensation.

PaPaHoFF

iTrader: (19)

tell him sorry for the misunderstanding and that you will give him a free wash lol.

Wash the car with a deck brush and MF towels dropped in sand and rocks lol.

This should bring his finish back to where you started haha.

In all seriousness do not attempt what I just typed.

UDel

Those $60-$100 buff jobs at detail shops/dealerships often make the finish look much worse then when it came in. I was asked to correct one of those cheap jobs a couple years ago when a customer wanted to get the swirls out of their SL and thought paying $65 at a shop would solve it. All the shop did was quickly run a rotary with some kind of compound over the finish and induce a bunch of buffer trails. They may have got most of the swirls and scratches out but they ended up leaving a hazy finish covered in buffer trails that they said will "wash right off". Well buffer trails don't "wash off and look terrible in the sunlight."

I went over the whole car properly with my PC and got rid of the haze and buffer trails and the finish turned out beautiful. The customer said he will never go the "cheap Maaco buff/polish" route again. The same thing basically happened when my dad got his TL. There were some swirl marks and spots on the finish I pointed out and the dealership said they would polish them out. When they brought the car home the swirls were out but in the sun you could see the car was covered in buffer trails from quickly and incorrectly using a rotary. I told my dad not to take it back because they are not going to take the time to do it right and let me just polish it right. Polishing takes a long time and it is not something that can be done quickly on the cheap. Most shops/dealerships are not going to spend the hours needed to properly polish a car especially when they charge those low prices.

slvrboolet

I recently paid 220 to have my is300 professionally detailed, interior (although basic no shampooing just cleaning and shiny stuff), wheels (basic again imo) but the entire car was covered in buffer swirls and some spyder swirls. I had a cheap and very horrible wax job done on it when i first got it. He was there for about 4-5hrs got out all the buffer swirls and some of the spyder swirls.

Overall i was happy but there were a couple scratches i felt he could have gotten out but didnt want or have time to get them out.
You deff pay for what u get.

kamlung

iTrader: (8)

man come detail my car for $360... i would gladly give that to you for the amount of work you did...

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

I think that $360 is a little bit much. My opinion a full detail is around 200, but thats in my area. I believe its where the money is at. Its like real estate, its the location.. location.. location. I agree with you traveling over an hour away, you should have told him upfront the price, but you made some money on your off Satrurday.
I am also a proffessional detailer. I have worked at four dealerships in Birmingham and now do it out of my garage. I am not letting of the stealership get all of the overhead. They are making a killing and then some.
I made some magnetic detail signs for $25.00 and they are now on my daily driver.. SC 400. Good luck on your next detail. Thanks for sharing your personal experience. I am sure there are more like it.

1uzDreamSC

iTrader: (9)

the guy shouldn't have said price doesn't matter

StanFMJ

I think that was too low. Be upfront with all costs including travel time. I have managed a detail center and also detailed out of my house. I think $25 per hour is not enough. You should be at least $30 to $35 if you are out of house. You need to be cheaper than a business but don't want to work for free either. Most people who gets regular details will want someone they know and trust. So market those people. Regular details on the same car usually speeds up the time which means more per hour for you.

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

Location only comes into play if you are selling a product, IMO. In a service oriented business, the more service you want, the more you should be prepared to pay. This thread, being a couple years old, translates to about $400 today.

Since there was no claying of the entire car, I think that would be totally reasonable. Claying of the whole car and stripping previous coats of wax, etc. would only serve to raise the time and cost.

What do you consider a "full detail?" I'd be very leery of a $200 job, and would never dream of doing that work for that little. If I'm claying, doing a multiple stage polish and wax, scrubbing carpets, vacuuming, windows, etc., it's not going to be anywhere near that. If that's all you can get in your area, it may just be because no one offers a full detail. Teaching customers what you will do for the money is a far more effective sales technique than telling them what you won't do.

BTW - how does one get to be the 'national' SEC champ? I think you mean BCS. Doesn't look like it's going to happen this year, though.

Big Mack

StanFMJ

Did you get ripped off, Yes. Don't work for less than $30 per hour. But don't feel too bad. Check this video out and see how much this guy charges. Great for him, very expensive for his customers.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkmZv...eature=related