“How long did it take you to get good (or) comfortable installing paint protection film?”
Most common answer amongst distinguished and decorated detailing professionals who own businesses is one year minimum. I want you to let that sit in. Not hired help. People who are already recognized as incredibly OCD! People who have an enormous investment in customer satisfaction. We are referring to the people who already spent $1,000s on training and have invested significantly more to provide this service.
Do you still want to price shop this service?
Paint Protection Film, is the worst kind of race to the bottom in the detailing industry. This problem will continue and affect the consumer in the long run more than business owners.
In general, this is an issue with the latest and greatest. People who are not really into car care and do not have real luxury discretionary income are being sold by various parties (or more importantly selling themselves) with the illusion of the next best thing. What do I mean by the next thing? A unicorn for non car people to neglect their car, while experiencing the same benefits of OCD detailing enthusiasts. In other words, consumers are in the process of spending more money to be significantly disappointed and blame small business owners for their unrealistic expectations.
It is not uncommon for an established Paint Protection Film employee to make $80,000 or $90,000 as just an installer. There are cases of it being more. The cost of film, relative to ceramic, is exponentially higher. What are you really getting from the other guy/girl or from that too good to be true discount? Immediate to earlier on dissatisfaction! I do not doubt there are businesses offering these services with the blessing of brand recognizable film suppliers, with a fast-food restaurant mentality.
It is not just the short term, people do not realize the long term is where you will get the most disappointment. And as people get more educated by what I am communicating, there are going to be these questions; “who did your PPF?” Perhaps even “how long was it on their?”
Several cars I booked for a detail has had Paint Protection Film issues from the other business, in the ‘red flag’ category. That means, there were issues that non OCD people noticed easily. That also has me concerned about the amount of damage done that was concealed by the film temporarily. What ceramic coatings were (wild wild west) 10 years ago, PPF is now.