The "Competition"

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: The "Competition"

Even with proper training. I am sure that meguiar's will provide. They will still be production based. Stick to your guns. Take the time to do it correctly and your customer base will continue to grow.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: The "Competition"

First off (and this goes for EVERYONE reading or responding to this thread) let's step completely away from any potential race issue here right now. Lack of skill or training is not a race related thing, period. End of discussion.


If the car wash in question is now displaying Meguiar's banners where they did not previously, it sounds as though they may well have just become a full on Meguiar's shop. And that also means they may very well be receiving, or soon to receive, professional instruction from a Meguiar's sales rep. And trust us when we say our pro sales guys who call on these end user accounts know their stuff inside and out. The guys working at the car wash might be novices now, but that may not last long.

[Krzemienr]

Re: The "Competition"

I'm not "pissed off" with your comment, but I do find it disappointing coming from someone so young. Please don't make the mistake of judging someone's abilities to do a job based upon their appearance, or where you assume they are from.

This is kind of what I mean when I said not bash on other detailing shops to your customer, some might get offended. Even through you don't mean any harm by it...

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: The "Competition"

The guys that work there are not professionals by any means, and being in the Houston/general south Texas region they appeared to be cheap foreign labor who don't speak English.(I think that's the most polite way I can say they were of Hispanic dissent, sorry if I pissed anyone off.)

I am of Hispanic descent and live in San Diego, next to the international border. I wonder if people automatically assume that that I'm not professional or "cheap foreign labor who don't speak English" because of where I live or how I look?

I work as a network administrator on a Navy base for a military LAN supporting the Navy and Marines. Many of the Marines with whom I speak and support on a daily basis are also Hispanic, so much so I wonder if we could have a Marines Corps without them? The same goes for our Navy, which has a great number of serviceman who claim Filipino (Pinoy) ancestry. On MOL we have many members who are Hispanic, and several of them are the most respected detailers on MOL. Should we discount them based upon their appearance?

I'm not "pissed off" with your comment, but I do find it disappointing coming from someone so young. Please don't make the mistake of judging someone's abilities to do a job based upon their appearance, or where you assume they are from.

[Krzemienr]

Re: The "Competition"

I love those detailing places! lol, they keep me in business. Bottom line is going to be how personal your service is... like I stated in another thread, you have the opportunity to speak directly with your customers and get to know them a bit. You know their needs/expectations, where a place like that doesn't. You need to explain to your customers why your service is better. For example, explain to the them that the car wash might not know how to properly use the right products with the right machine, they do not cater to specific needs, explain the damaging effects this type of detail might have on their car. Maybe start including things like tire shine or metal polish for wheels/exhaust tips into your existing price, where that shop might charge extra for the little things. Again, I would stress the personal/intimate service, and the time you take to finish a job vs. trying to hurry to get the next one done. The only thing I wouldn't do, is put the other business down by being rude or saying they don't know ****, etc. A customer might look at your bashing the wrong way and figure you are scared of the competition for a reason (like not doing a good job, or taking the extra time). I personally never state that a local car wash doesn't have a clue about detailing, I just simply say that most of the time you get what you pay for, and I discuss my customer service vs. theirs.

[Cole Ziegler]

The other day I was driving to subway in the strip center closest to my house. I noticed something different about the self-service car wash that's across from the strip. Apparently they've decided to endorse Meg's products and have HUGE Meguiar's banners boasting their products.

I don't know how worried I really am because they're prices were a bit.... well something I'd expect a pro to charge, I don't even charge as much as they do. They were something like (in addition to a wash): wax $40-$70, polish: $70 an hour (appeared to have foam pads but I'm not sure if they were DA's or Rotaries, I hope DA's), clay and wax: $120, etc.

The guys that work there are not professionals by any means, and being in the Houston/general south Texas region they appeared to be cheap foreign labor who don't speak English.(I think that's the most polite way I can say they were of Hispanic dissent, sorry if I upset anyone.)

Now I know any SLIGHTLY car-minded person would think twice before dropping off their car for a "full detail", but that didn't seem to stop many, not even a new 7 series. The problem with being in a "master-planned community" is everyone has too much money and doesn't know what are and are not good, safe, and worthwhile purchases.

From my point of view, I'm glad that the local swirlcenter has upgraded themselves to good, quality products. But at the same time, if they don't know what they're doing, they'll end up hurting more than helping. Worst part is, they appear to drive the cars through the swirl-o-matic before the detail. Guess they want more work for themselves .

My business operates on a word of mouth basis. We advertise inside friends and will advertise in this year's school's yearbook. Right now, this shouldn't affect my business. But this summer, I could feel a crunch when we try to expand to a bigger customer base.

Any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns?