Posts: 259 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: LI | Funny Detailing Story -
07-01-2010, 03:33 PM
Just read a story on the forum about dirty wheel and tires that reminded me of a funny story I thought I'd share:
When I was about 17 years old (26 years ago)I washed and waxed cars as a summer job and after school for extra money. I had been trained by working at the local Dodge dealer along side the new car prep guy. I though I was getting pretty good so I went out on my own the following summer.
All I ever used was Turtle paste wax, bug and tar remover, Zip wax car wash, Armorall, windex, an old electrolux canister vac and polishing compound. I made great money, learned about customer service and had alot of fun.
I had a few regular customers who used to see me doing my parents cars. Never advetised and had plenty of work just form word of mouth. I had a great regular customer who had a mint 924 Porsche. Cranbury Red and he loved it. He hired me to wash and prep the car every Friday so it was ready for the country club for the weekend. I would ring the bell on Friday, his wife would pull it out of the garage and I would go to work. She would tell me things like, "My husband loves this car too much..it's clean and yet he wants you to wash it..unbeleavable?" I would wash it and prep it, ring the bell, get paid and she would circle the car and pull it back into the garage. I would wipe down any water that leaked out of the seams and leave.
Husband would always be very complimentary and refered friends and many people from his club to me.
One faithful Friday I showed up and to my surprise, his wife told me, you are going to earn it today..you are going to clean a car that needs to be cleaned..mine! I said just yours or both? She said mine today and his either later or tomorrow. Her car was a 3 series BWM that was garaged but was so dirty, I have not seem wheels that black unless why were painted black (remeber this, it's important later). I decide to tackle his car first as it was a peice of cake campared to hers and I did not have any wheel cleaner with me. She agrees and after I explain I will need more time for her car she is OK with my comming back Saturday AM to finish. I show up Saturday loaded for bear. The car is outside in the middle of the drive way and I begin with the interior. Next I move to the exterior. I still have nightmares 26 years later on those rims. I used the harshest weslie? wheel acid from Autobarn and I must have cleaned each wheel 4-7 times. Got them really good but not perfect, but a 95% improvement. I had black under my nails for days!I compounded the whole car and waxed it twice. Car cleaned up really well. I was happy. This took me from 9AM until 2PM or so in the afternoon.
Rang the bell and my nightmare begins. She acuses me of switching her wheels? She thinks her wheels were black! Not silver. She is freaking out and tells me I am not getting paid and I need to come back when her husband is home to see him. I said-are you kidding? I don't even have the keys to the car, the car never left your driveway. I live around the block do you really think I would steal your wheels? I told her that these are stock wheels from BMW and they had tons of brake dust but under the dirt they are silver. She goes on to tell me that this is a sport package (IS on the back and the wheels are BLACK). I am not winning this so I leave, knowing full well the husband knows the deal.
He comes back form playing golf and stops at my house. I am a little up tight even though I know I did nothing wrong. He is laughing his ass off. He tells me that he bought that car used for his wife and the wheels were so dirty he never attempted to clean them. His wife never took the car to a car wash so they stayed filthy. He knew they were not black wheels but it never occurred to him that his wife did not know! I charged $ 75.00 bucks back in the day for a wash and wax. Never occurred to me to charge more for those that were compunded because I thought I was making crazy money anyway. He gave me $ 100.00 for the car and appologized. He told me it came out great and that his wife is very happy. He said, your still comming back Friday right? I told him absolutly.
I kept him as a customer until I went to college and my brother took over and continued. We both worked it summers and had a ball, made great money and had alot of fun. Of all the things that happened this was the story that sticks in my mind 26 year later!
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