They’ll DM you at 9pm, “how much to detail?” No vehicle listed, no pictures and no clue if it’s just a wash or full interior detail because they took their kids and 2 dogs on a road trip.
If you respond with one number you’re opening yourself up to either situation.
- Low - You’re there all day.
- High - They’ll ignore your message.
Neither gives you a good indication of what type of customer you’re dealing with.
Below we’ll explain what information you want to collect from your customers, when you can quote a range or price and how to reply to these types of messages.
Why you shouldn’t give one price
Vehicle size, vehicle condition and what work they want done. All these factors will affect your pricing and if they don’t provide you with that information you’re going to end up doing more work than you’re paid for or you won’t quote them and lose business.
Vehicle condition
Many times the vehicle condition is what leads to underpricing. Everyone thinks their car is not that dirty. There’s a very long thread on Autogeek about quoting prices. Some detailers in it won’t quote until they’ve seen the car, because “not that bad” often turns out to be wrong.
Obviously you don’t want to go that far but you can get some of this information from your customer before giving them a price.
How to quote your customers
Ask these questions when someone messages you for the first time. Don’t ask too many questions, or they may stop responding.
What vehicle are they driving?
Size of vehicle is what will play a big factor into your quote. Get the year, make and model if possible. Or at least what type of vehicle they are driving. Sedan, SUV, truck etc.
What work are they looking for?
Interior, Exterior or Both. If they state one of your packages that’s all you need to know.
Vehicle condition
Asking the customer “How dirty is your car” will not help you. You want to ask specific questions that may affect your price. Do they have pets, stains, odor, sand, excessive dirt, mold, food or grease?
Location
Get their location so you can see how far you’ll be driving. Also if you’re using their water and power, make sure they have a hose bib and outlet near their vehicle.
Time
What day they want their vehicle detailed and what time.
Photos
Some customers will provide pictures right away, others may ghost you when you ask for them. Always ask for photos if the vehicle condition doesn’t sound right. But don’t require it to answer their question.
Price, range or quote
Depends on what work you’re quoting and the vehicle’s condition.
Price
You can provide a price if you’re doing a normal package on the vehicle and they told you what condition it’s in. Maybe an exterior wash or detail for a customer that already knows your work and pricing.
Starting price
You can provide a starting price if you’re doing a normal package on the vehicle and you don’t know what condition it’s in. Full Detail Starts at $. This will give the customer a baseline price and you can always increase the price if there’s pet hair or stains in the vehicle.
Range
If you know what you’re doing and you know what condition the vehicle is in. You can provide a price range. “With your Tahoe and dogs in the back you’re going to be looking at $ - $”. Make sure your range is fair and you know you can complete the work in that range. Once you’re on site you can confirm your price with the customer.
After you see it
Paint Correction, Ceramic Coating and odor or mold. Tell them you’ll have to see the vehicle or ask for more pictures in the daylight.
Always tell the customer what may increase their price before you do the work. It’s just business practice if you let them know beforehand.
Copy/paste responses
Edit these to fit your personality and insert your prices.
You can always follow up on the customer once and move on if they don’t respond.
Vehicle is not what customer described
It’s bound to happen at some point. Just let the customer know when you get to the vehicle. Walk around the vehicle with the customer if they are home. Let them know what you will charge to complete the vehicle and allow them to decide if they want to continue with the work.
Most customers will say yes if you let them know. What they don’t like is when you’re at their house finishing up the work and telling them you will be charging more.
How to speed up your responses
You’ll be sending these messages over and over so it’s best to have them saved.
Instagram lets you save replies and plug them into your DMs with a shortcut when you’re a professional account. Go to your account settings and look for Saved replies.
On iPhone you can go to Settings, General, Keyboard and use the text replacement feature. Create a key word that you type and it will insert a pre written response.
Android users can do something similar with their keyboards as well.
But by having these questions answered before the customer messages you will speed things up. You can add a link in your Instagram that allows the customer to select what work they want to be done and the vehicle they have. Then you’ll have fewer “How Much” DMs coming in.
Bookr does this for you
When a customer goes to your Bookr page they will select what services they want done. What vehicle they have (make model and year or just vehicle type) and what condition their vehicle is in. They can select what day and time works for them and hit send. You’ll receive that information via email and your dashboard.
You can set your prices to whatever you want. Fixed price, starting price, price range or no price at all. When you’re ready, you can send customers a quote as a link from your phone.
You can always respond to DMs like the above methods. Just know that you’ll be getting fewer if you add your Bookr link in your bio. See pricing for what’s included.
Questions
Do you recommend listing prices on Instagram?
It’s usually worth listing your starting prices. It’ll weed out customers that wouldn’t have booked with your prices anyway. If you have a lot of variables with your pricing (vehicle condition) list starting prices or price ranges.
Can I quote a customer without seeing the vehicle?
Yes you can quote a price if you’re doing a standard package on the vehicle. Paint Correction/Ceramic Coating or heavy odor/mold you should see the vehicle first or ask for more pictures.
What if the customer doesn’t respond to my questions?
Follow up with them once. If they don’t tell you what vehicle they have they probably aren’t looking to book.