The "Competition"

[ic3dt3]

I don't even know who my local distributor is. The locator on your site couldn't find one anywhere nearby. I live in Gulfport, MS

[Michael Stoops]

Re: The "Competition"

Any level of certification is handled through a distributor in conjunction with one of our field reps. The best advice we can offer is to contact your local distributor and ask when the Meguiar's rep is next in town and what it would take to arrange for a training program. Unfortunately we simply do not have the manpower or resources to offer personalized training to all facilities that might want it. Coordinating through a distributor is the way to go.

[Sean Conrad]

Re: How does one become a "full-on" Meguiar's shop

What is the process for a shop to become a Meguiar's shop?

I wonder the same thing! I would love to have the extra skill and training! Would make selling my services easier!

[ic3dt3]

How does one become a "full-on" Meguiar's shop

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.

What is the process for a shop to become a Meguiar's shop?

[Cole Ziegler]

Re: The "Competition"

Well it finally happened.

This last weekend, I lost a sale to the shop I mentioned in the original post. The client claimed he never received my emails until he checked his junk email box (darn web host, I've had this issue forever and they claim there is no problem). Regardless he went ahead and took his car to the "Car Time" in the HEB parking lot.

It seems like they didn't do too swell of a job, this was his response:

I have a feeling you guys do a better job than Car Time did. They totally missed the inside perimeter of the trunk, and I didn't notice until I got home so I finished it myself. They didn't wax either. Their price was $109 total.

Needless to say, he's decided to let me take a spin at his other car and agreed to let me look over the car he took the the Car Time wash to see what kind of a job they do.

Just thought I'd post an update... we'll see how this pans out

[William_F]

Re: The "Competition"

some great points on here..... I just wanted to add from personal experience. In my area there are at least 10 different detailing places (some owners are actually on here as members) but the reason why customer keep coming back to me vs. them is my prices (or should I say how I explain my pricing and that's it's all custom quotes), my skill, and my ability to cater to each customer individually and cater my detail to THEIR needs (the fact that I'm mobile helps a bit as well).

Another point might be to actually bring your vehicle in to those places and see for yourself, first hand, how they handle the detailing aspect. That way you will know what you are up against personally and are not going off of assumptions.

Rafal

Excellent points!

I think it's important not to misinterpret this to mean that you have to try and compete on price. Overall all value is going to be more important to the majority of customers than just price.

[Krzemienr]

Re: The "Competition"

It wouldn't let me edit my message anymore, but I was going to add, if you do take your car there, you will see their customer service, how friendly everyone is, how they handle special requests (tell them you really want your rims shined or something of that sort). You will also know if they actually do what you are paying for...

I did that a few times, and had an experience, lol. I paid $75 for an exterior wash/clay/wax and interior vaccum/wipe down. After they pulled by car out, I noticed it was not claybarred. Talked to the owner about it, he brought my car back in, did a claybar application, and brought it back out. I asked if they will rewax my car now, and the owner and one of the detailers explained there was no need to as the clay bar does not strip the wax... I drove off.

[Krzemienr]

Re: The "Competition"

some great points on here..... I just wanted to add from personal experience. In my area there are at least 10 different detailing places (some owners are actually on here as members) but the reason why customer keep coming back to me vs. them is my prices (or should I say how I explain my pricing and that's it's all custom quotes), my skill, and my ability to cater to each customer individually and cater my detail to THEIR needs (the fact that I'm mobile helps a bit as well).

Another point might be to actually bring your vehicle in to those places and see for yourself, first hand, how they handle the detailing aspect. That way you will know what you are up against personally and are not going off of assumptions.

Rafal

[William_F]

Re: The "Competition"

Thanks for the advice William

Glad I could help. You're always welcome to make a payment on my student loan if you found that advice helpful :P

[Cole Ziegler]

Re: The "Competition"

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.

I hope they get there soon, they had an S550 and and RX something there tonight and they were wiping them down with dirty white trashed towels The lack of microfiber made me cry.

Thanks for the advice William and others!

[William_F]

Re: The "Competition"

Cameraman, many businesses fall into the rule of 80/20. That is to say that 80% of their revenue comes form 20% of their customers. In the case of detailing, that would mean that that the core of your business would come from repeat customers who are happy with your service.

In business, competition isn't always a bad thing.It forces us to stay sharp and continue to improve our processes and run our businesses more efficiently to maximize our opportunities. As long as you are doing things the right way, you shouldn't fear competition.

One of the best things you can do for your self is under promise and over deliver. In other words, strive to exceed your customers expectations with every job, but don't set the customers expectations so high when selling that you fall short even when the job is well done.

Be professional at all times and be mindful of the competition but don't obsess over them and you'll be fine in the long run. Every minute you spend worrying about them is one less minute you have to grow your business.

[Cole Ziegler]

Re: The "Competition"

Wow didn't mean to stir up any racial tension... Sorry that I offended you. What I meant is how are they to understand what you want and properly detail your car if they can't understand what your saying? Bottom line: didn't mean to offend you, Ill end that discussion here.

Thanks for all the responses, sorry to ruffle some feathers. I'll check them out this week and post some pics of the biz.

[CieraSL]

Re: The "Competition"

If you have a hard time selling a customer on your services vs. the local car wash, a thought would be to have the customer take their car through the car wash, let them do their thing, and then bring the car back to you to see if there is any areas for improvement. You would have the ability to point out these areas (in other words give them a free inspection), then let the customer know what you would do to fix those problem areas and provide them with a better service. If there are no problem areas, then the customer is happy with the car wash. If there are problem areas, you might get a new customer. Just my two cents.

[Daniel Kinder]

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.

A fantastic reply

Just to add tell them that there into production work where as your there to fix the problems, improve the appearance of their paint and help educate them on maintaining their finish as good as can be, not to hurry to get thier car done so they can start on another like in a assembly line!

[Underdawg736]

Re: The "Competition"

Don't shrug off the compitition off as unprofessional and don't go bashing them to your customers or to the general public. That's a sure way to doom you biz. You have your whole career ahead of you, choose your words and actions WISELY!!