{"id":27541,"date":"2020-02-04T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-02-04T13:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/?p=27541"},"modified":"2020-02-06T10:00:18","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T15:00:18","slug":"the-problem-with-the-term-full-detail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/the-problem-with-the-term-full-detail\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problem With The Term Full Detail"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"fulldetail\"<\/p>\n

Detail?\u00a0Full Detail?\u00a0I want a Full Detail!<\/p>\n

I would like to share some<\/strong> of the requests I have had when a potential customer asked for a full detail:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. “I am looking for a full detail?\u00a0 You use a clay bar right?”<\/li>\n
  2. “Full detail.\u00a0 I just want the outside washed?”<\/li>\n
  3. “Just a good vacuum of the interior.”<\/li>\n
  4. “The last detailer didn’t do the cupboard and crevices.”<\/li>\n
  5. “Polish and maybe a sealant.”<\/li>\n
  6. “Just the carpet and seats shampooed.”<\/li>\n
  7. “The seats will need to be taken out.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    All of these requests started with a phone inquiry asking for a price for a Full Detail (terms I do not use).\u00a0\u00a0I have had a full detail inquiry turn into a multiple polishing step paint correction, headlight restoration, interior clean, and 1-year ceramic coating application.\u00a0 Although I hope you see the issue here, many of these potential customers are genuine and can only describe what a detail is by their own<\/strong> experience.<\/p>\n

    You are not alone customers!\u00a0 When professional detailers ask each other how long it takes to perform a Full Detail, answers range from 1 hour to multiple days.\u00a0 These answers often spark a furious debate amongst professionals as to what a Full Detail really is.<\/p>\n

    Customers are looking for a service in an industry with very little regulation or standardization on service offerings (including quality expectations), safe product use (for the car long-term), and pricing.\u00a0 If the word detail can be the cause of misunderstanding and confusion, imagine the disappointment the use of a generic term like Full Detail has.<\/p>\n

    Communication is king!\u00a0 I said it before and I will say it again.\u00a0 Not all detailing is the same, and that is okay!<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0I have never begrudged anyone for not being interested in my services.\u00a0 Oftentimes mutual frustration can easily be prevented with better overall communication from all parties, and more thoughtful advertisement of services.\u00a0 I do believe the still widely accepted terms ‘full’ and ‘complete’ are a major source of the problem with customer disappointment and business owner frustration.<\/p>\n

    Professionals reading this article with exuberance, I have a message for you as well.\u00a0 It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to COMMUNICATE what kind of business offering you have.\u00a0 If you are not in an ideal situation to discuss options with every potential client what your service offering includes, or excludes, I highly suggest reevaluating your language use.\u00a0 Words like PERFECT and FULL can create future unsatisfying experiences for you and the customer because they are the subject of misinterpretation.\u00a0 As detailers (myself included) we have to remind ourselves that prospective customers do not know the process or terminology of what is happening to their car when it is in our possession.<\/p>\n

    Good communication includes asking questions about problem areas of their car and what they did not like about previous detailing services.\u00a0 Communication also means saying you may not be the right fit for someone, instead of setting you and the customer up for disappointment.<\/p>\n

    Many people ask why I require in-person consultations.\u00a0 From my perspective, it is to protect myself and also to set good mutually agreed-upon expectations.\u00a0 Also, it is meant to protect the consumer from his or herself.\u00a0 I often talk people down from services that they initially want but realize later they do not need.\u00a0 I find potential solutions to problem areas they may not realize existed or could be fixed.\u00a0 There is nothing better for both sides,\u00a0 shaking someone’s hand and looking over a car together.<\/p>\n

    Although it may be unrealistic to have 30 minute, in-person consultations with your customers, there are additional ways to be on the same page with customers.\u00a0 Do your best to limit or refrain from using generic terms.\u00a0 If a potential customer asks for a full detail repeatedly, ask them\u00a0what they think a full detail is<\/strong>.\u00a0 If you are someone looking for a detail, treat being asked exploratory questions as a positive sign a business owner cares<\/strong> and is not just trying to take your money.<\/p>\n

    Jonathan Michael Monson, (owner of Dirty 2 Dreamy Detail) stated, “I teach every detailer I ever train with or hang out with to throw the terms ‘full’ and ‘complete’ right in the garbage can and never use them again.\u00a0 Those terms are subject to interpretation and will lead to complaints and miscommunication.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Problem With The Term FULL DETAIL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":29592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1412],"tags":[759,1815,386],"class_list":{"0":"post-27541","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-running-a-detailing-business","8":"tag-auto-detailing","9":"tag-customer-service","10":"tag-start-a-detailing-business"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/fulldetailfeat.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1kPO7-7ad","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27541"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29853,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27541\/revisions\/29853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}