“Why can’t you just give me a price over the phone?!”

Some people are often confused or puzzled by the importance of requiring a consultation or mandating a deposit prior to booking a detail.  Some also find offense or assume they are dealing with a dishonest business.  I am here to explain why this may be a flawed and backwards way of prejudging the detailing experience.  For those who are choosing at this moment to be closed I have a question for you.  Regardless of who is to blame, have you ever had a just okay, mediocre, or bad detailing service experience?

Consultation also means an opportunity for expectation management, education, and an opportunity for both parties to gauge whether or not we are a good fit.  Yes, by taking the time to get into further depth, we actually are protecting EACH OTHER from wasting time in the long run.

What have you heard about ceramic coatings on the internet that are very possibly half-truths?  Taking some time to talk to talk to a professional can save you from purchasing a service you might not really want.  The paint condition regarding what you desire, what it looks like, and how you (or will) take care of the car, there is NO SUBSTITUTE for having that conversation by the car in question.  I have seen interiors described as ‘not that bad’, that would take me over 8 hours to meet both of our expectations.  I have seen interiors my clients are embarrassed to show me, that I could finish in less than 2 hours.  The type of person that quickly quotes or has one price for an interior, is the detailer that likely uses a 1 size approach to fix multiple unique problems in your interior.  Just like the stain in a white shirt that will set permanently with the wrong cleaning process, it is a numbers game for those same businesses that are focused on doing everything (including quoting) as quickly as possible.  There is another reality with businesses like ours that may make business owners and consumers alike uncomfortable.  We have to protect ourselves.

Deposits are about the focused time and quality of resources.  I want an actually reputable detailing business.  That kind of business tends to operate with SERIOUS clients who are invested in the service booked.

Want to know the quality of a professional coating used?  Find out how serious a business is about serving but also you committing to the service you requested.  Many of those upper tier ceramic coating bottles cost $200 to $400 dollars.  Even lower tier consumer bottles are in the range of 70 to 150 dollars.  That may not include other coating bottles that go on unique services like automotive glass.  Those bottles realistically are for two cars and in some cases, you are getting only car out of a bottle.  Also, that bottle once opened becomes unusable very quickly.  I often tell people the coating I use is technically your bottle.

When I mention to future clients my time, or when another business mentions the staff availability that is aligned around prior bookings.  We take those commitments seriously.

Then there is the amount of time involved.  I have spent multiple days (a norm for me) working on someone’s car.  He told me on day two of three, he had someone else before detailing his car before who he was not satisfied with.  I will mention the service he was frustrated with was different and would have only taken me a few hours.  But he told me they worked on his car for an hour and were gone, with no signs of thoughtfulness and care for his car.  A professional service is going to require a professional process.

Do you care about quality?  A detailing business owner investing as much in the process beyond automotive detailing, is a very good sign.