The Struggle of Being a Detailer and a Businessman or Businesswoman
By: Chris Parker, Detail Boss
Many detailers I’ve met over the years through the Detail Mafia, some of whom we even helped train can relate to the struggles of overcoming our inner-perfectionist. This isn’t to say being a perfectionist is bad, because the Lord above knows our industry is littered with detailers who offer subpar quality and their service prices reflect it. But how many of us have fought or still fight the battle of how much is too much? Are you spending too much time removing stains or scratches that you want to see gone? If you are, this is great for the customer, but is it great for you?
The key factor that I’ve found over the years of trial and error is to first master your craft to ensure the quality is there; but even more important than being the go-to detailer in your market is to be a successful businessman or businesswoman. Knowing when to stop and setting boundaries within your services will save you or your employees time, keep the customer satisfied by providing them with exactly what they want, all while streamlining your business and making it more profitable.
If the customer isn’t paying for every scratch to be gone, why are you going over each section of the vehicle 3 and 4 times? Does the customer know they have stains? Were they educated beforehand, either in-person, over the phone or via text message prior to the job explaining that package A doesn’t include stain removal, package B removes light stains, package C removes moderate to heavy stains? That dog hair removal is additional? That price is subject to change upon an in-person consultation? All of these things set your customer’s expectations and set you up for success when you dial-in what the customer wants and is paying for.
Three words… Know your worth. Structure your business and menu to benefit you and to ensure you aren’t constantly doing more work than you’re being paid to do. Transparency, education and integrity is vital to earning your customer’s trust and establishing a 5-star reputation. If the customer is happy and paid to have done exactly what you arranged with no additional labor added; you’re in the green! Businessperson first, detailer second. Detailing is the easy part once you’ve honed in the art; being a successful business owner is what will take your business and life to new levels.