Amateur poachers a disgrace to the auto detailing industry
Back in autumn I received a phone call from a female at an express detail shop situated in Guelph. She claimed she had a customer who needed their car high speed polished and wanted to send him down to me but said she needed a price. I gave it to her and had what I thought was a nice conversation about the business. Shortly after, I learned that I had been duped into giving her my prices so she could offer services at prices that undercut me.
Then two weeks ago, my landlord told me he had just received the oddest call. A women commercial car wash that runs an express detailing center at a gas station called asking to rent your unit. I asked who it was and immediately I started to laugh. We figured she was just trying to cause some kind of chaos with me and my landlord. Within the hour her partner strolled into my shop. I was delivering cars back to the dealerships but my wife, who is very intuitive, went to the front and immediately knew who he was even before he announced himself. He said his name and told her he worked for this woman at the gas station as an express detailer. He went on to say he doesn't get into the big detailing end of it . I just do express detailing, wash, windows, vacuum - nothing like the professional stuff you do he said. My wife kinda nodded and laughed. Then he proceeded to tell her the little angel he works with highly recommended us for window tinting and he wanted a price on how much it was to tint his PT Cruiser. Well my wife knew what game he was playing and told him that I would have to see the car to be able to give him the quote. She took his phone number and I called him when I returned. This time he told me it was one of the dealerships we have done some tinting services for that recommended me. I told him I needed to see the vehicle to give a price. He said he would bring it by and never came around again.
Last week one of my contracted window tint installers called me to ask if I knew this woman. I said yes I know of her. He told me she had called him 2 days in a row to get quotes on what he would charge her to do tint jobs at her shop. Then she asked him if he tinted at one of the dealerships. He told her no. She said do you tint for Diamond Detailing he replied yes why. Her answer was I don't like him I think he is an asshole.
Well I guess the only thing worse than people talking bad about you is when no one talks at all. I still can't figure out why she would say that because I have talked to her once in my life and I wasn't the one slithering around misrepresenting myself to get prices and undercut anyone but hey each to their own.
If she had of come to me on the up and up to ask me what my prices were I would have happily given them to her. If she can sell her services for less money good for her - as long as she is informing her clients that her skills aren't at a professional level and what risks they are taking by paying an amateur to do a professionals job. I am sure that isn't the case though. Like so many others, the 2 of them became part of that detailing phenomenon - where the amateur detailer magically becomes a professional overnight.
The thing that the two of them fail to understand is that I do not cater to price shoppers . We cater to clients who understand the value and the financial rewards associated with Master detailing services. Our clients are educated about proper auto care and want to protect their investment. Our clients know a pro detail job when they see it. They aren't seeking low price - low quality workmanship. They know that damage can occur from having amateurs work on their cars and totally reject the idea of a detail shop running their vehicle through a commercial car wash for a quick soap , spray and wax before they do a second rate detail.
Are they that desperate for clients? If so they should have just told me me. I could have referred at least 30 people a day who are looking for cheap work and don't care about quality.
It's unfortunate that there are posers like this in the industry. I feel sickened by it. It is disrespectful to others that are real professionals and masters because they have earned their reputation through training, experience, time and skilled workmanship. But the greater evil is the disservice to the consumers who don't know any better. The misrepresentation of themselves and their services borders on being fraudulent.
I included this example today as an education about the type of car care available and the type of people who perform it. It's not that I think there shouldn't be express detailing services - I just believe that if this is what you offer, it is your responsibility to educate your clients on the long-term and negative effects of this type of service. In addition to this, the people who operate these services should not be trying to pass themselves or their services off for something they aren't. The idea that you can't lose contact with the leaders has cut more throats than it has saved.
When I encounter a true professional who has earned the right to the title I have no problem acknowledging it and do recommend them if I am unable to take on a project. Consumers have the right to be educated and with this lesson comes one final piece of information - shops offering substantially lower prices is an indication as to the level of skill they have achieved and will execute. A true professional charges premium prices because he the services he offers are like an extended warranty that helps to protect the value of a vehicle.
Word of wisdom for the day - "Don't just envy another's good name; to become a master; you must learn from a master all that he has learned, work as hard as the master has worked, put in your time just as the master did, and then you can emulate the work that helped earn him his title."
