Prices

What are some tips to sound cheerful when handling requests for pricing on the phone (even after you have explained why pricing is done on site) when the customer is
demanding.
refuses to listen
has a specific problem that requres you physically look at the problem and smell the vehicle.
see the scratch to see how deep
see the vehicle when it is oxidized - or could be having clear coat failure
stuff like that and be able to serve the customer well



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2012 04:39PM by concoursgarage.

I've been out of the customer loop for a couple years now but i always tried to sound happy and upbeat and invite em down for a commitment f
ree estimate and a cup of coffee.

Gina

Depending on how the customer sounds on the phone when asking for a price. I will sometimes, in a friendly, courtesy way, ask:

"Are you looking for price or quality?"

This kind of stops them for a moment as they are not expecting that kind of reply. So then I say that "I don't mean to be rude, but there are a lot of back alley detailers out there or detailers who do wholesale quality work and I really want to know what you are looking in terms of the quality of work."

Some will reply:

a. "Both!"
b. Some will ask what I mean by "back-alley" or what do you mean wholesale work.

Those two answers are easy as you can explain the fact that "back-alley" detailers generally have no formal training and very little equipment
other than a shop vacuum and a buffer. You can then do into your qualifications and equipment.

An explanation of wholesale work refers to the fact that they dealer pays the detailer very little money, so the quality of their work they do is,
at best, short-cutting. Using a one step product on the paint instead of a buff, polish/swirl remove and wax. They wipe the interior down rather
than scrubbing and protecting; they vacuum instead of vacuuming and shampooing, etc.

The key is to dismiss the price shopping customer. Most of the time I have found that a "potentially good customer" ask for price because they do not know anything and, like so many of us as consumers, we ask price first thing. They want quality and will pay for it if you explain why what you are charging is worth it.

The price conscious customer is not worth dealing with. They are not loyal, long-term customers and will go to the cheaper detailer the next time they need a detail.

Just a few well intentioned thoughts on the subject.

Regards
Bud A

Money is money, Bud. If I am getting nowhere with the client because of my higher prices, I will ask them what their budget is and let them know what they can get for that amount.

Most of the time, as you say, I point out the difference in quality and what they can expect from me. Its usually fine but you can't win them all!

Quotes from Bud:

The price conscious customer is not worth dealing with. They are not loyal, long-term customers and will go to the cheaper detailer the next time they need a detail

"Are you looking for price or quality?"


Bud

This is a real dumb question to ask a customer. There is no real answer to this question, and it makes no point either.


The price conscious customer is worth dealing with IMO. Loyal long term customers come from a detailer providing a service that is worth the money spent. Assuming that they will go to a cheaper detailer next time maybe true, but not for the reasons you suggest.

Quote:

Those two answers are easy as you can explain the fact that "back-alley" detailers generally have no formal training and very little equipment
other than a shop vacuum and a buffer.

You and Gina have this idea that having formal training and fancy equipment makes you a professional in the customers eye. It may get you their business the first time, but if you do not meet their standards of what quality work is in their opinion
then they will look other places.

Maybe what you should try is stop dismissing customers , and listen what they say and want. Instead of trying to convince
them what you think they want, and need to spend.

A good sales approach might be :
1) " I gotta see the car to give you a price estimate ". Can you get over here within the next hour ?

2) " I have to see the car for the same reason you have to see a used car before offering to buy it ".

3) " I can tell you that the most it could run is ___________but that would be if it needed a lot of work. Most of the time it is a lot less, but now you know the most it can run. Let's reserve a time for you to bring it in for an exact price quote . "

4) " I don't estimate prices on cars I can't see, and any detailer who does that will get some nasty surprises ".

5) " Once we examine the car and determine its needs, we'll tell you exactly what the work will cost. If you wish, you can then compare our price and quality to the competition ". The important thing is that you'll know how much money you'll need before we do any work. "

Another thought on the issue of quoting prices on the telephone:

"What difference does it make if you post prices on a menu board or on a menu? You do not need to see the car if your prices are posted."


That is why I advocate "estimate" prices. Knowing your hourly shop rate and looking over the car and bidding based on an estimate of time to do the work.

But, if you simply have posted prices for your packages, you should simply quote those prices, no?

Bud Abraham

I think missed in the discussion is no matter how you phrase a response consumers have become demanding and refuse to come in for consultations, claiming they do not have time, their vehicle is in excellent condition, they purposely withhold information even if you ask them directly if they have a problem. More and more consumers are instructing how they want something to be cleaned ...quite often I hear I do not want a good job... I want my carpet shampooed even though it has standing water... You try to educate in every manner you know possible and many do not want to listen..

A lot of the problems comes from the fact they call around and everyone is willing to give them a price without seeing their vehicle. You cannot imagine how many people demand to have a prices on the phone quoted to remove an odor?

Gina that is why I say if you know you are not the lowest price for your services, cut this customer loose.

A price buyer is not a loyal customer and won't be back next time finding a lower price.

Bud A

A big part of the problem is how the service industry is viewed and the value people place on services

Absolutely that is why the people who go into detailing for $200 ultimately hurt the the image of the detail business.
They have no equipment, little knowledge and little or no overhead and thusly are not able to command legitimate prices

The problem is bigger than the little guy with 200.00 ...the problem is our culture...we treat people in service like the bottom of the barrell, no respect for the janitor, garbage man, cleaner, maid, detailer, mechanic because we as a culture value only college educated people even if they are useless and dumb as rocks... Other cultures in Europe have guilds and people in service are perceived differently and respected for the work they do.

If we change perception on a national level it would eliminate the 200.00 persons or make it difficult to compete as people would be able to differentiate. We are in some difficult times and people are without jobs and have to provide for themselves and families I will not begrudge them for starting a business with 200.00 they will just have to hit the ground running and make an effort to improve themselves and quality of work asap and abide by regulations.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2012 07:18PM by concoursgarage.

Not sure I agree with you completely on the perception issue of how service people are viewed.

All has to do with how the service provider carries and presents themselves.

You can overcome any negative perception by carrying yourself as an honest person of integrity and good character who has a knowledge of what they do and passion and confidence which transfers to customer

concoursgarage Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
Other cultures
> in Europe have guilds and people in service are
> perceived differently and respected for the work
> they do.


Not entirely true, Gina. Some countries are worse than others, but on the whole, USA and Europe would be on the same plateau for how services industry personnel are treated. People are uncomfortable treating "cleaners" etc, as equals. Its just the way it is....

By way of pricing, you "should" only charge high money if you have the best equipment and can do the job particularly efficiently because of knowledge & experience & expertise.

For example, if you have a very good vacuum and extractor system, then you will be able to do the interior work faster. You can charge the $50 per hour (or more....whatever) comfortably.

But if you just have a domestic wet n' dry vac, then you will be doing a less efficient job so realistically you shouldn't make the customer pay for your inefficiency. You can't or shouldn't charge $50 per hour. The job takes you longer to do and you make less money but that's penalty for not having the right equipment. But some guys obviously will want to charge the $50 but do a lesser quality job in the same time.

However, if you price your work too low, then people will not place value on your service. Too high, and you rule yourself out of people's budgets. So how do you price your work? Well, how much rent do you pay per day? How much will product cost per vehicle? How much does your insurance cost per day? Tot up all your costs and then decide how much you need to make at least per day.

But how much "do" you need to make per day? What would you like your annual salary to be? Like all careers, salary will be reflected in experience, knowledge, ability and, dare I say it, charm and charisma. At the end of the day, the customer isn't paying for a clean car. They are paying for your time on the car. You can only start to work out pricing once you know what ALL of your best attributes are worth to them as a consumer. After all, you can only charge what the market will bear (unless you create your own market - but that's a different discussion).

Coming back to Gina's original questions, it is tough with customers who don't like to hear what a truely professional detailer will advise them when everyone else is giving low-price ballpark figures to get the customers in. If the caller sounds like they are just price shopping, then just take the focus of the call off prices. Ask them if they ever had a service that they weren't particularly satisfied with, whether detailing or house-painting or whatever.

If they are a true price-shopper, more than likely they will say yes (that happens when you buy cheap labour). At this point, tell them they are wise to shop around for prices in the current climate, but precisely BECAUSE of the current climate, there are a lot of inexperienced detailers offering "low-price low-quality" services. BECAUSE of this there are a lot of car-owners who are not particularly satisfied. Then reinforce that the wise price-shopper should be weighing up the benefits of a detailer who has a lot of experience, knowledge and equipment invested in their business and can provide the very best service to their customers. (They will love to think of themselves as wise)

BECAUSE of the great service you provide, you have been in business for twenty years. BECAUSE of the amount of referrals from satisfied customers, the company has gone from strength to strength and has a great reputation. BECAUSE they are a wise price-shopping customer, they will understand the link between quality and value in the long term.

Have you figured out what I am saying here? Maybe not completely. When you have a sassy, assertive, even unreasonable client on the phone, one of the most powerful words you can use with them is "BECAUSE". It just triggers something in people's minds that makes them think the decision has already been made for them. Its sort of like when a cranky kid asks why he can't go out to the game and the father just says "BECAUSE" or "Because I said so!" Its got something to do with the authoritarian streak in everyone.

Sorry for the long post.... but try it. It works.

Quote from Bud:

Absolutely that is why the people who go into detailing for $200 ultimately hurt the the image of the detail business.
They have no equipment, little knowledge and little or no overhead and thusly are not able to command legitimate prices

This logic makes about as much sense as putting a screen door on a submarine. Let's take car dealerships for example.
They have all the equipment, overhead, and command legitmate prices. I would say without question that they are hurting
the image far more than the back-alley detailers that Bud mentions.

There are many detailers making a living from fixing the crap work that car dealerships put out, but no one here seems to have a problem with that . Spending 30 hours for example to correct swirl marks on a brand new vehicle, and then blaming it on the hack detailer at the dealership is clear proof of that fact. Then the owner is expected to pay for the repair, and
we all wonder why the public views us the way they do.

People are not stupid. They have an expectation of what they should get for the money they spend. It is not a far stretch
to assume these same people have had their vehicles detailed more than once. They judge what a detail is worth by what
the service provides them.For example: if they had stains on the seats or carpet . Did these come back ? Another one: did the swirl marks come back.

Quote from Profile Detailer:

At the end of the day, the customer isn't paying for a clean car. They are paying for your time on the car.


This logic is nuts IMO. What you get paid, and if the customer comes back is determined by exactly how clean the car is.
Your time is meanless to them if they see no value. You guys really need to change your mindset here. Try thinking about
adding value, and not just what you should charge. For example, that is why I use AT-5. I tell my customers it will last one year, and if I am wrong. Well, then I will never see them again, and they will look for other detailers.

Gina I see the point you are trying to make that you want to see the car before you give a price, but you should have enough experience by now to give them a ball park figure over the phone. I am sure you have a good idea what a worst case would take as far as hours needed. Throw out a high number on the phone, but mention it could be less . That
way you have commited to the high price, but leave the impression it could be a lower number if warranted.

If they ask you why that is. Just say I cannot see their vehicle, so here is the worst case price. When they come in , and if it is not that bad then you can offer them a lower price. They will see that as value, and will have respect for you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2012 03:26PM by billd55.

billd55 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Quote from Profile Detailer:
>
> At the end of the day, the customer isn't paying
> for a clean car. They are paying for your time on
> the car.
>
>
> This logic is nuts IMO. What you get paid, and if
> the customer comes back is determined by exactly
> how clean the car is.
> Your time is meanless to them if they see no
> value. You guys really need to change your mindset
> here. Try thinking about
> adding value, and not just what you should charge.
> For example, that is why I use AT-5. I tell my
> customers it will last one year, and if I am
> wrong. Well, then I will never see them again, and
> they will look for other detailers.

This thread is about the detailers point of view on business and price practice. You singled out one part of my thread and ignored the rest where I discussed how you need to be well equipped and experienced in order to give the best price to your customer while getting the best pay for your time. But yet again, you take a random topic and turn it into a conversation on your sealant of choice. You must wear glasses with at5 coating the lens because its all that you see.

Quote:

But yet again, you take a random topic and turn it into a conversation on your sealant of choice. You must wear glasses with at5 coating the lens because its all that you see

Profile, I mentioned AT-5 to make the point of how I add value.

Gina :
People these days have less respect for everyone ; blue collar workers, cops, neighbors--you name it . I remember Rush Limbaugh talking about a statement in Hillary Clinton's book in which she described suddenly realizing that her cleaning woman was a human being . Limbaugh went to town on that, saying most of us know that custodial workers are human . The best you can do is to practice your phone manner and technique and...
1) Speak loudly enough.
2) Ask questions to control the conversation.
3) Put the customer on hold briefly to take control of the conversation.
4) Don't seem in need of the work ; Maybe start by saying, " Thanks for your interest in our shop. Before we get started, I'll need some information. What is your full name and phone number ? What is the year of the car ? The make and model ? How soon would you need the work done ?
5) Be the "doctor" . Maintain the position that the customer's needs are important but your expertise will decide how those needs are met.
6) Perhaps ask, " Have you had a bad experience getting your car repaired or something ? I ask that because you sound doubtful that we'll take good care of you. " ( This may put them on the defensive or at least bring hidden issues into the open . )

If you have nothing to do, you might want to bid on cleaning up after the "Occupy" movement . Odors, trash, biohazards, paint 'overspray', feces, vomit, scratched surfaces .LOL Sounds like a job made for Gina !
Doug



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2012 11:40PM by Doug Delmont.