In most instances, one of the first questions I ask when a potential client contacts me is as follows.
- Do you typically wash your own vehicle or use an automatic car wash?
How they answer this question will lead into the next series of questions that will be asked.
- (If they wash their own vehicle) Are you familiar with or do you use the two-bucket wash method?
- (If they use a car wash) Is the car wash you use a touch-less car wash?
These two or three questions are nearly as important as doing a thorough evaluation of the vehicle to access the current condition of the finish. In most instances, I will know what to expect when I actually do see the car in terms of steps that are going to be needed to improve the condition of the paint. However, from the answer to these above questions, it may change how I tacke things, or what exactly I offer the customer.
Here is a good example, the client (of the below photo) contacted me after using a drive-through wash for the summer. After several washes, he started to realize that the car’s finish was being damaged and wanted it fixed. He was not someone who was going to use a touch wash again, instead, he was looking for correction and guidance on how to properly care for the vehicle moving forward.
Knowing your client’s wash habits is very important if through asking these few simple questions, it is determined that they use an automatic car wash regularly. If this is the case, you don’t want to sell this person on a full paint correction service. This client is better served with a light enhancement polishing service or even an all-in-one (AIO) polish with something like HD Speed, as they are most likely happy with having a clean car and not necessarily a flawless finish. Plus, once they wash the car with this type of car wash in the future, the paint will again be riddled with imperfections. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you have a client that properly maintains their vehicle, this is the type of client that is a good fit for a paint correction service. Personally I do not like to sell a client a service if it is not a good fit for them, especially if it is an expensive service that would likely be totally erased in their next trip through the car wash.