The Problem with New Detailers Jumping Into Cars With Mold and Disaster Detailing
by Rodney Tatum
It starts with the ‘job mentality’, meaning you fail to acknowledge that you call the shots. I see many questions from business owners on social media platforms on how to clean mold or an extremely neglected car. They would post pictures of vehicles they booked for a detail, mentioning a price that would be low even for an actual employee. It implies you did not put much thought you’re your business model and are singularly focused on just doing what you are told. You can say ‘no’ to and refuse service to people who tell you what to do and what they are going to charge you. The people who are looking for a poor value exchange do not care about you and are NOT going to be a lifetime client. But you extend blind loyalty to them like you are employed by them hoping to prove to people you are a real detailer. I will mention the following with all due respect for those starting out. Someone genuinely interested in restoring their neglected interior would look for a more established (pricey) business and or not allow their alleged “not that bad” car to get THAT BAD.
But I also see shaming posts on social media about what is a real detailer. I know what a real professional detailing business is. It involves having a business license. Having established that, it is your business. Meaning your rules and your life.
When you ask what is detailing and what is your value to people that can and will not support you, a few things may come to mind. You may think, and on the surface correctly, this is the essence of detailing. I get it, you think restoration and not just cleaning a clean car. The problem is when you dig a little deeper, often the type of person that has these problems or more importantly decides letting their car get to rock bottom as the best way to extract the most bang for their buck, fall into this category. What does that say about how they value their car and indirectly more importantly your services. In that sense it is not the essence of detailing.
Not only are these details significantly more challenging and labor intensive, many of the people who own these cars have the highest expectations for the lowest price. The irony that many of these cars need someone experienced who knows what they are doing. Critical thinking would suggest as much. Which leads me to the youngest most impressionable people in the industry accepting the service. Many of these services can be a liability if they decide to remove seats on modern cars. With mold, your health can be severely compromised! Not hyperbole. The people who perform the service for honestly 1/10 of how much I might charge while recommending the owner goes to his or her insurance, are often not skilled enough to perform the service adequately.
I remember a lady who asked about a service. She was flirtatious with me and secretive about issues that could have compromised my health. She was friendly until I noticed mold not mentioned and of-course gave her a quote, that was still quite generous. She told me she believed it would be a price that was actually lower than my starting price. She immediately in a uncomfortable tone asked me to move out of the way as she slammed her door in front of me with a formal goodbye. A lot of people likely have comparable stories that communicate work of exploitation while young detailers think this will inspire respect amongst customers.
I was on the phone with someone looking for a detail. “Hey, do you steam clean?” After a little excessive probing to get to the root of the problem, I discovered why steam was so important to him. “I have bedbugs.” Whether I was okay with this or not, it is reasonable for even people who are not knowledgeable about detailing to share that critical information immediately without probing.
But I also see shaming posts on social media about what is a real detailer. Pulling seat out? When you think about the problems of removing car seats with modern electronics versus the process of moving the seats back and forth.You know what a real professional detailer is? A business license. With that established, it is your business. Meaning your rules and your life.
That real detailer question. Who cares. I do not put on my website title that I am a real detailer. But the clients who appreciate what I do believe I am very real.
Last fallI had a client who called about getting an interior detail on her Nissan Pathfinder. I was on the road and told her I would need to see the vehicle before giving her a price. I told that I would be home around 5:00 PM. At 5:01 my phone rang. It was her, and she said “you’re late”. My “spiderman spider sense” kicked into overdrive”. I told her I was a minute out and would be there shortly.
When I pulled into my driveway, she had the rear hatch open. As I got out of my truck, the smell hit me like a punch in the face. She said a bag of trash leaked the rear hatch area over a week ago ,and that they were leaving on Friday morning going to wedding in Canada over the weekend (keeping in mind this was on a Wednesday). I looked at the interior.It looked llike a rolling dumpster… the seating surfaces were stained, the rear footwells were covered in fast food wrappers, empty soda cans, sand, grime and of course,the stench. The worst part was… her son was sitting in the front passenger seat, the floor was covered in trash as if that was perfectly normal! I quoted her price of $600+ based on my evaluation. She looked at me like I had two heads, and said “Well, I didn’t want to spend more than $75… Why can’t you do it for $75? I told her it would probably take 4 to 5 hours, and that my price was firm. “she said “you’re no help”, got in her car and left. I dodged a bullet with that one!