Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

[Garry Dean]

I just don't understand why car dealerships don't have a higher level of quality control... Covering up problems and thinking that your customers won't notice is not any way to do business. In my opinion it lacks professionalism and proves that you have zero pride in your work. I get so upset when I see businesses that just don't care about their customers feelings. It is not all of them that work this way, but it is important to me to provide the absolute best quality service regardless of profit that I am capable of. There are definitely limitations to this, but I do my absolute best to keep my clients budget and the value factor in mind when I sell a job.

Bottom line... I take pride in fixing problems, not covering them up.

Stay tuned for the video of the car Im working on that will explain a little better what my client and myself are going through today.

Thanks for reading my rant... Have a wonderful day.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

Except for a small percentage, dealerships are just not in a detailer mindset. Most people wouldn't know a swirl mark if it jumped up and bit them on the nose - just look at all the cars at major collector car auctions and talk to the guys selling them. Unless you're talking about really high end "blue chip" investment quality cars that sell in the seven figure range, it's very rare to see a car crossing the block at a collector car auction that isn't full of swirls. At the dealer level, and for the "average new car buyer" it's even worse. People just aren't educated about this for the most part. A dealership isn't going to educate people because that means they'd have to spend big chunks of time, without getting paid, to prep vehicles to a very high level. That also means they'd have to properly train a staff to handle finish care on all the vehicles, and time is money.

This isn't a slam against dealerships, nor against the car buying public in general. It's simply a matter of education and awareness. But it means steady business for guys like you, Garry, and other highly skilled detailers who understand the process, understand paint, and can communicate all of this to their customers. Education definitely works, but there's a time and place for it, and for most dealerships it's just not going to happen. Even the dealers who do outstanding work prepping vehicles prior to delivery don't spend much time, if any time, actually educating their customers. They just deliver a car that looks really, really good to a very happy customer.

Hey, if even my wife comments about how she's finding herself looking for swirls in the paint of the high end show cars at the event we went to a week ago (and actually finding those swirls, much to her chagrin), then anyone can be taught to look for paint defects. My wife isn't a "car guy" at all, but at least she appreciates what a properly detailed vehicle should look like.

[Andy M.]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

Agreed. Actually going through this myself at present. Now I am a "car guy" and a detailer. I just puchased a car a couple weeks ago that really looked great at first, only to find out after the first rain, it is full of swirls and buffer trails. Now I can take care of this myself but the average consumer would not be able to. I have no idea what they used to cover up their work and quite frankly I don't want to know. I will be putting up a thread also to show you all what I am talking about.

Garry looking forward to the thread of what you and your current customer are dealing with today.

Andy

[davey g-force]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

Unfortunately, this is an all-to-familiar story.

Garry, I'm keen to see pics / vid of what you're working on..

[Tuck91]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

Blows my mind to this day.

My personal favorite is the motor oil tire shine that does nothing but attract more dirt/grime.

[greg0303]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

Many dealerships specialize in "temporary detailing" which lasts only until next car wash. They just love products with fillers.

Looking forward to see and hear your story, Garry.

[STRIFE]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

Many dealerships do not "detail"
They pay someone minimum wage to use a ratty old wash brush, with some wash solution the same color as mud.
This is the "free" DISO offered by many dealerships.....i'm pretty sure the dealership didn't charge me for this option....maybe they did?

[Garry Dean]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

Im editing the video now. I will start a new thread.

[chevy]

Oh man. Tell me about it. I live in a small town here in Kentucky so it's safe to say everyone pretty much knows me and what I do. The local Chevy dealer in town has some of the most horrible looking cars. I've tried for years to help them out but they would rather have their in house hack work on them than pay a professional detailer. The funny thing is I do all of the cars for their closest competitor and his cars are much better looking and the whole town knows it too. I'll never understand it. Lol.

[Andy M.]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

It all comes down to a price point and speed in my opinion anyway. A car dealer may have how many cars on the lot, 200,300,400? They don't have a large enough detailing force to detail all of those vehicles and keep them looking the way WE would like our vehicles to look. Does a car dealership want to pay their in house detailer flat rate to work on one car for 4 to 5 hours to do the job correctly? Then they have to build the cost into the final price of the vehicle. I recently had a guy who owned a small used car dealership close to where I live ask if I would do a few cars for him and how much I would charge. I cut what I would normally charge down figuring I was going to get more work therfore make more money, but my price was still to high for him. I told him I could not possibly go lower and that is where it ended. That was his reason. He would have to somehow get his money back that he paid for me to do the vehicle.

[mswerb]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

I have worked for a few dealerships and have seen this all first hand, which is why I left. They don't have the best products and don't give you the right tools to get the job done. They want things done as fast as possible, it's all about getting the cars and the customers out the door.

[davey g-force]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

Link to Garry's thread about the OP vehicle / detail:

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?56370-2013-Scion-FRS-with-Five-Axis-body-kit-Dealership-hack-job!-Garry-Dean-Tampa-FL

[Pure Luxury]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

Good Morning Gentlemen. With my experience in working with dealerships, it's not fun cutting your price. Yes they only let their hourly guys take care of the vehicles cause they are quick and yes they use a big tub of sponges and rags along with brushes that make us cringe. So, don't cut yourself off at the knees. Think, Opportunity. If this is how the car is delivered then lower your price and negotiate what needs to be done. Don't do everything like we normally do and try to cut your price. Lower your price accordingly to what they want done like a cafeteria pricing where you pick and choose and pay for what your getting, just so that you get the work you are looking for yet deliver a nice product. Start high and then negotiate to the amount you will least expect from them. Build a relationship with the Service Manager and the Sales Manager. There are many ways to skin a cat here. Let the car washer do his wash, we can remove most or all of the swirls anyway, right. Don't leave money on the table. This can turn into a regular paycheck for you as it has for me. Some of us are magicians. Deliver a beautiful product every time at the minimal costs. At some point their standards will go up and you will get more business from them. That's when the fun starts cause you add your additional pricing here. All good things take time. I now have 3 dealerships and I get called out regularly to do their high end cars. Just a thought. Have a great rest of the week.

[Garry Dean]

Re: Dealership aggravation rant by Garry Dean - Tampa, FL

The dealership I was talking about in this thread had refunded my client all of the $3200 he was charged for the body kit and the install, as well as every penny he paid me to fix it. It is fantastic of them to step up and do the right thing. My video handled business! I need to go by and give them one of my cards, lol.