You Can't Please Them All!

Brian Angelucci — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:33:53 +0000

As business owners, we like to think of our workmanship as flawless, unmatched, and the best around town. We like to think ourselves as the master detailing technician. So may be true! But what happens when you get that one customer who is just impossible to please? What do you do then? How do you keep yourself from being discouraged or from even losing your cool? It's very hard but it happens to all of us. It doesn't matter who you are: a professional, a novice just starting out, or the detail god whom all look up to. It's going to happen. That one client will say unacceptable even after you put all your efforts into your artwork. It happened to me just this past summer.

Back in early August I was working on a 1987 28' Chris Craft boat that hasn't been detailed since 2002. The boat was severely oxidized to the point of declining the job and walking away. My first mistake was assuming he understood what detailing was. It's a word that gets thrown around so often that it can be confusing to the average consumer. Some think of detailing as a wash and a wax; and some interpret detailing as complete restoration -- such as this gentleman. On my website I have an explanation of what my detailing procedures are. I again assumed he read it thoroughly since he got my number off the Internet. I did a brief demonstration to show the customer what the hull of the boat will look like when done. The top half of the hull was colored and neglected pigmented gel coat doesn't hold up as well as the regular substrate (I'm still not sure why, different binders maybe). He wasn't too thrilled with the results but said "it's an old boat" and still expected pristine results. You know, the kind of customer that points out missed spots and asks "did you get this area yet?" After 3 days of hard labor on a 28' boat, I lost money, time, and patience. When I was about to leave he said he wanted the aluminum to shine like chrome and that he is paying good money for my services. Those pieces were so severely oxidized I told him to leave them since they have a dull sheen to them and if I did touch them they will ook horrible and mismatched. Well, he opted for a "polishing" and my judgement was right that the aluminum would shine up in some spots and remain dull on the others. It looked like complete hell. He wasn't happy with those results either. Let's just say I was so glad to get out of there and never look back. Luckily the check cashed.

So learn from my lesson fellow detailers:

1. Never assume customers know what detailing is on their own judgement. Explain to them what it is.

2. Don't let a customer talk you into doing something you aren't being paid for, like being nice and taking 3 hours to scrape off lettering. Being nice doesn't pay the bills.

3. Know when you're out of your league and know your limits.

4. The customer is paying you and they are paying for your judgement. They don't know better than you.

5. Know when to say no.

The main lesson here should be that you can please them all.

Happy Detailing!

Brian Angelucci

Precision Auto & Marine

Welcome to my world of boat detailing! My Intro...

Brian Angelucci — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:40:17 +0000

Today is my birthday. I just turned 32, which is "child" compared to many of the faces and names we see on these forums. To be held at such a high stature within the detailing industry and looked upon as a boat detailing expert/professional amongst my colleagues is very appreciated and warming to me. I'm honored Dan would invite me to be the boat detailing columnist for Mobileworks. Thank you Dan. And thank you to the many detailers out there who came to me for help and advice when in need of my expertise. I'd like to use this first entry as an introduction, where you can learn who I am, where I'm from, and where I've been.

Those who know me know I am the owner of Precision Auto & Marine, a very small yet very popular detailing service, focusing primarily on boats and higher-end cars.My detail business is kind of unconventional and would make some of the veterans ask questions about it legitimacy and dedication to the detailing industry. Joking, to give Bud Abraham(a man who I highly admire and respect) a friendly nudge, I am a glorified "shoe shine boy." All joking aside, my detail business is 100% legitimate and very successful. Precision Auto & Marine is a part time operation. Actually half my time is dedicate to running Precision. The remainder of the time I am an insurance broker, which i'll get to in a few. (I'm also an MBA student and will be finally graduated in May 2010) My business is operated out of my trailer, where I go to a great many yacht clubs, marinas, boat yards, and exotic car brokerages. I carry liability insurance, I pay my taxes, I follow the rules/laws, and I have a professional image. I do not advertise (except for a website and sponsorship of a little league baseball team.) I do not have a full service shop. I do not have hours of operation. I do, however, have a list of customers as long as the eye can see.I have awaiting list of customers too! How can that be if I don't advertise, have bargain prices, or chase customers? Besides working with integrity and knowing my craft, I offer a service that hardly anyone around here offers. I detail boats!

Like most detailers, I started out in this business from a hobby -- my passion of cars and making them look pretty. August 1995 is when I began my career as a business onwer. Actually, I was more of a naive 18 year old who loved cars and knew nothing about business except working hard to earn it. Back then I would detail a car $35.00(I know, I was young and dumb!) Fourteen years later, I won't touch a car for less than $200 or a boat for less than $14 per foot, and the business still rolls in! Thanks to online forums, the Internet, many detailing articles, books, and business courses, I now know what it takes to run a business successfully. Hopefully, I can guide those in need and help them avoid the mistakes I made when I first began this business. Now, I'm proud to say I have a successful boat detailing operation which is sought out from boat owners throughout the state of New Jersey. On the auto side, I am the "recommended detailer" for Ray Catena Motors. That is a funny story in itself how I received that honor. A long story short, I detailed many Mercedes from Ray Catena (cars bought from them, not detailed for them) and noticed they were all swirled up, and horribly detailed. This really irked me so I wrote them a letter saying in a nutshell, "your detail department desperately needs help" and that I was willing to come in and train them.

I'm in the process of getting licensed to sell property & casualty insurance. What that means is I will soon be offering my customers auto & boat insurance. I'm glad I was thinking ahead when I named my business because I knew I didn't want to do just detailing. I wanted to offer more service. Hence Precision Auto & Marine, and not Precision Auto & Marine Detailing! I also do training and consulting. Back in 2004 I wrote a manual of boat detailing for detailers and boat owners. This manual teaches one to detail a boat and how to get started in boat detailing. I'm proud to say this manual is being used in over 10 countries -- as far as our friends down under in Australia!

Well, I will end my rant with a "thank you" and a "look forward to helping!"

Happy Detailing,

Brian Angelucci, Precision Auto & Marine

Brian Angelucci Boat Detailing Column

You Can't Please Them All!

Welcome to my world of boat detailing! My Intro...