A Conversation About Congruence For Business Owners

“Rodney, I prefer this kind of (detailing) service.”  I quickly realized from numerous conversations that my new client was consistent in the thought and effort he put in to find premium providers.  We shared many of the same beliefs.

I remember recently (one of many times) receiving negative feedback from friends about the cost of going to an auto mechanic shop that I have grown very comfortable with.  The question of how much I pay always gets brought up, leading to a uncomfortable dialogue about the ethics of the business based upon how expensive they are.  I have historically looked beyond the concept of comparing how much a business charges for categorized services.  I am not wealthy.  But as a small business owner of a luxury brand, I also have a unique and intimate understanding of the concept, ‘you pay for what you get.’

I remember how much time and overall energy I put into vetting this mechanic shop.  Albeit painfully pricey at times, I leave my car with them in confidence.  Only my peers seem bothered by the numbers.  It reminds me of how I am treated by some people.  My character and worth as a human being have been questioned by essentially answering the question the minimum I was willing to price a service to make it worth MY WHILE.  Many detailing business owners can obviously relate to this.

I show up to these places I purchase goods and services at in my professional attire.  This means my shirts with my company logo.  I often find like-minded people congregating at the business facilities I go to.  I often wonder how many detailing business owners project the heartache they receive from customers not understanding their value proposition on other businesses.

Detailing business owners blindly price shopping while complaining about their customers not seeing the value of their services, has been a theme I never wanted to adopt.  I can tell you I have trained myself to be mindful about the liberal use of phrases such as ‘ripped off’ or ‘over-priced’.  Though we hear these statements uttered quite frequently around us.  For consenting adults to any transaction, those statements have no meaning unless someone is explicitly charging a different price for the same offering previously mentioned or were LITERALLY robbed!  The reality is those phrases are an incendiary way of saying you think the price is higher than you would like and want to make it their problem in a personal way.

I am on your side when people looking for quality also complain about price not knowing what makes a successful auto detailing business.  But how often have you sacrificed quality for margins?  What do you think those (cheap) customers that you complain about are doing or thinking about?  I am confident many of those buyers you want or believe are not interested in quality, can subconsciously detect your own cheapness.   I question whether you are doing your part in terms of being congruent with what you sell!

This is not just limited to being congruent in monetary investments.  Rushing your customers along like they are in a Walmart has been normalized recently.  I get that we live in a society where automation and expediency have become are new reality.  I am still of the mindset that minimal conversation and a hurried process can lead to two beliefs in customers’ minds.  One, they do not take me seriously as a high-end buyer.  Also, this business sells commodity services not luxury services.