“Whilst you’re there” – a slippery slope in business
We constantly see content from industry professionals showing how they have “gone the extra mile” for their customers. “I wasn’t happy with a single stage, so I did two stages for a better result and the same price”… but quoting detailing jobs sustainably means being ruthless about who pays for that extra work – you, or the customer who benefits from it.
It is very admirable to want to do more to uphold high standards, but who is paying for all the extra work? Especially if you’ve been undersold a job through “creative description”. Furthermore – does the customer even want or appreciate it?
Sometimes, under-quotation happens, or a cleaning process doesn’t work as it is expected to, and that’s unavoidable and understandable to make a short-term loss to benefit from a happy customer – if it will pay dividends in the long term.
There are so many circumstances that lead to you feeling the need to do more work; from viewing a vehicle after a “blind” quotation only to find it is far worse than it had been described, to succumbing to your own internal pressures to ensure that the work you are producing is consistently of the highest quality. Under-promising and over-delivering is absolutely a way to ensure your customers are always pleased with their results, but should under-charging and over-delivering be a result?
The one common factor should always be to ask yourself is; who should be paying for the additional time and materials you will need to complete the job – you, the detailer – who may not have been able to foresee an issue, or the customer – who is going to benefit from the result.
In this industry reliant on positive reviews and crowdsourced reputation, we seem to be so scared to approach the customer and have an open discussion about these situations, when, at the end of the day, they are who benefit from the outcome of your work.
Let’s break this down into the two examples given above:
Scenario 1: The car was worse than described
You’ve quoted for a mini interior valet, but it arrived having been to the beach and full of sand, or dog hair, or with years of built up grime. Now, telling your customer that they are disgusting and should be ashamed is rarely a solid business tactic, but with preparation and the correct phrasing, you can insulate yourself against the worst case scenarios before the vehicle arrives.
If you are quoting blind, then the client needs to understand that you can only give an “estimate” and it is down to you as the service provider to educate them about the restrictions this presents. Maybe with an example photo on the website of expectation prior, or a non-exhaustive list of things which will incur higher charges.
Price work clearly “from“
You will, no doubt, have seen that most companies provide a “price from” cost on their website in order that potential customers can see an idea of a typical cost – this is a great way to operate as it takes away some of the guesswork and gives a starting point to manage expectations, but this should not be the price that you always charge – it’s the basic price of an expected starting condition, size, or outcome, which will increase accordingly if required.
Put together a list of questions to ask customers.
These could include:
- “Have you had any pets in the car?
- “Are there any specific issues you need addressing?”
- “Does your toddler like to leave half-eaten apples down the sides of the seat?”– for example.
Or give them statements such as:
- “This is based on minimal rubbish to clear in the car”
- “A basic vacuum is included, but if it needs more than that the cost may increase.”
- “The quote is based on a set amount of time, so the less clearing I need to do, the longer I can spend on cleaning.” – This one is great because it helps the customers realise they get better value with a bit more forethought into the starting condition, and maybe it’s worth them spending two minutes clearing the rubbish first for a better result.
Providing you have explained yourself effectively to your customer, then should you arrive to a car described as “not too bad”, only to discover it is used predominantly as a farm truck with a boot full of straw and a knit-your-own Labrador kit on the passenger seat – you have provided yourself with justification to increase the price you charge commensurate with the additional time and materials needed to achieve a result that meets your standards.
Don’t feel as though you need to work for free to achieve these standards, as that is inherently unsustainable. A free air freshener is a perk, a free half hour is a loss.
Scenario 2: “I wasn’t happy with the result of the quoted service”.
– AKA “the ego giveaway”.
You quote a single stage polish, over the phone, based on your customer wanting to “give the paintwork a lift”, but after finishing the bonnet you notice it hasn’t removed all the scratches. So you go over it again…
Two factors are at play here. The first is you are improving the work past what the quoted service was capable of. the second is, you may be striving for an end goal without appreciating the improvement already made.
This type of situation can feel like a nightmare when you come across it, and I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess at the number of detailers who will go on to work late into the night and start again early in the morning to turn a vehicle like this around in time for the prearranged collection in order to achieve a result that they are satisfied with.
But is that good for your business, your family life or your mental health?
At the end of the day, you’ve quoted a service based on what your customer wanted at a price they were happy with. If you perform the single stage over the whole car and they’re disappointed when they arrive, that’s a lesson for you when quoting to better explain what the likely outcome will be – even if it’s a spectrum. If you really don’t think they’ll be happy with it after the first patch, you may need to change early and cut your losses.
In situations like this, your first port of call should always be the customer.
Call them, speak to them, and explain your findings and how you aren’t sure the result is what they were looking for at the earliest possible point. If feasible, get them to come down so you can show them! We are normally talking about a day or more of work and several hundred pounds, so get them involved.
It is down to you to educate the client about how you will improve the car, initially by completing the work you have quoted, but if, by adding an extra step, how it will be that much better, and let them assess the benefits.
Explain how it will take more time and will therefore mean you need to charge more money. Make it their decision! Perhaps they don’t think the value of what they may perceive to be a minor improvement is necessary.
Yes, we all make calculation errors or underestimate how bad concealed damage may be. Sometimes this means a little more work to take account for those instances, but you’re not obliged to do more than you quoted for, unless you quoted a guaranteed result – in which case it’s a lesson learnt once.
If you were a builder and had been commissioned to build a 4-bedroom house; would you build your clients a larger 5-bedroom house and pay for the extra materials to do so because “you thought it was better for them”…?
Sure, they might appreciate it, but they’re getting more than they requested, and you’ve paid for it.
Be up-front. Emphasise the “Estimate” on sight-unseen work quotations, and if they insist on a firm price, perhaps quote for a worst-case scenario and say it is an “UP TO” instead, for maximum flexibility.
If you find you’re having issues accurately estimating work, dealing with customers, or selling your services, why not check out our Business and Marketing course and let us know where you need some help so we can put something together for you. If you find the prices you quote aren’t covering you bills, we have an article for that too…
