asofine

Hi All,

On the recommendation of a fellow Rennlister, I reached out to Robert at Auto Concierge in Pleasanton, CA with regards to a paint correction/detail. I saw photos of the work that Robert did for our fellow Rennlister and was very impressed. The RLer stressed that he was very pleased that Robert tackled the paint correction on his vehicle for a very reasonable $475.

I called Robert, and he asked me to meet him for an in-person consultation. I went to Robert’s shop, and was very impressed with his professionalism and attention to detail. He was very excited to tell me all of the work he could do to my vehicle (paint correction, interior work, trim restoration, engine bay cleaning, clear bra reapplication, badge removal & cleaning, etc.).

I asked him to quote me for "the works" so that I could get an idea of the full scope of the services he could offer and then pick and choose the items I wished (I made it clear to him that this was my intention...that is, to decide which items I wanted to proceed with and which items I would choose to do later or pass on). Robert sent me a quote for paint correction, trim restoration, interior cleaning, badge removal and cleaning, and engine bay cleaning totaling 25 hours of labor for ~$1,500. The quote did not break out the jobs line item by line item (i.e. I was not given an estimate for the cost of each item, but rather just a lump sum of the hours involved for all of the work).

I replied with an email saying that I would like to skip the engine bay cleaning and perhaps only do the paint correction, trim restoration and basic work on the interior. I asked him if he could give me insight into the labor involved with those items and whether the cost for that work would be closer to $1,000. Robert send me a somewhat curt reply basically saying that the information I requested was in the quote he provided. I asked him once more for a more specific breakdown, to which Robert told me that he didn’t want to take me on as a customer.

I’m in need of a sanity check. Have I missed something? I don’t think what I asked for was unreasonable at all, but I know that Robert is an honest guy who does good work, so I feel like something’s either been lost in translation or I’m an *** and don’t know it.

I’ll post the full email thread in another post.

Thanks,

EDIT: My email exchange with Robert is posted in post #2 of this thread

asofine

Robert
May 20 (10 days ago)
to me

Adam,

As promised the link to the 96 C4S Correction and estimate.

______________________________________________________

Me
May 28 (2 days ago)
to Robert

Hey Robert,

Thanks for your email, and please excuse the delay in my reply. I've been out of town over the long weekend having too much fun!

The pictures of the white C4S have only bolstered my confidence in the quality of your work. I also appreciate our in-person consultation - it's very clear to me that you are passionate about your work and that you care about your customers. I'm very confident in moving forward with you.

I've spent some time thinking over what I'd like to do. I think that my primary concern is the exterior paint correction. I spoke with Mark about his job. He sent me the details of his job and noted that the paint correction portion of his job totaled ~$450. Out of curiosity, approximately what portion of the hours that you quoted for my car constituted the paint correction? In addition to the paint correction, I would like to do the trim restoration, as well. I believe I'd like to proceed with some basic interior cleaning too, but I'd like to get a sense of how many hours you anticipate spending on the interior. Ideally, I think I'd like just some basic conditioning of the leather and plastic components to prevent fading and cracking. I think I'd like to skip the engine bay cleaning and factory badge removal/reapplication at this time (I think I may like to do both in the next few months...need something to look forward to!)

Like I mentioned when we spoke in-person, I think I'm more "job-sensitive" than I am price-sensitive at this time. I want to ensure that - up front - I tackle the big ticket items and leave the "nice to haves" on the table so that I can tackle them at a later time if I'd like. With that in mind, I'm wondering if you can re-quote me for the items I've outlined and maybe provide some basic insight into the hours associated with each job. If the paint correction portion is similar in nature to Mark's and we add the additional items I've mentioned, is it reasonable for me to expect a job that lands under $1,000? Let me know.

That aside, I'm looking forward to moving ahead! I can't wait for this C4S to look like new

Hope you enjoyed the Holiday weekend!

Thanks,

Adam

______________________________________________________________________

Robert
May 28 (2 days ago)

to me

Adam,

Mark's vehicle is different than yours and does have anything to do with your quote, it is unfortunate that he told you the price as everycar is different.

You have the quote, let me know when you are ready to make a appointment.

_____________________________________________________________________

Me
11:36 AM (4 hours ago)
to Robert

Hey Robert,

I didn't mean to imply that my job was the same as Mark's. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.

I would still like some insight into the time split of the items that you've quoted me for. It is difficult for me to understand the quote without insight into how much time (even approximately) you are planning on devoting to each task. For example, of the 25 hours you've quoted, do you anticipate spending 20 hours on the paint paint, 1 on trim, and 4 on interior? Or is the split more like 15/7/3? This information will help me understand how I'd like to proceed. Please let me know.

Thanks,

____________________________________________________________________

Robert
4:07 PM (25 minutes ago)
to me

Adam,

We are probably not a good fit, good luck with your Porsche.

_______________________________________________________________
Me
4:13 PM (19 minutes ago)
to Robert

Hi Robert,

I have to say that I'm quite disappointed. I don't think that what I've asked for is unreasonable. You've quoted 25 hours of labor to detail the exterior/interior of my vehicle, and I am trying to determine how much time you plan spending on those two areas. Like I said, I wanted this information in order to determine whether I was happy to proceed with the full 25 hours on both items, or whether I would like to only proceed with certain work. I will look elsewhere.

Thanks,

EMBPilot

Take ur business elsewhere.
Another arrogant "professional" who's too good for a job. There are people who will do just as good a job and know how to work with people.

These guys and thier attitudes, It's paint correction, not splitting atoms.

asofine

Exactly my thoughts at this juncture. What's surprising is that Robert was very professional in-person and seemed to be a straight-forward guy. This whole exchange has me baffled.

AOW162435

Find someone with detailing skills as well as people skills. This is not your guy...


Andreas

asofine

Agreed. I've referred Robert to this thread on RL. Perhaps he will weigh in with his $0.02. It's also possible that he will come to see that my position in this exchange was not unreasonable and that perhaps he should alter his approach with future prospective customers.

Quadcammer

probably about 70% of the time, I side with the shop in these types of cases...in this case, not a chance.

Nobody was rude and its not like he abused you or anything, but what you asked for is reasonable and should take about 5 minutes to think of. If he's any kind of professional and he's seen your car, he should have a rough estimate of what the stuff will take.

Seems he doesn't want your business, so move on.

Even better, get yourself a porter cable/flex and some decent products, and learn yourself. You'll save a ton of money, its pretty satisfying, and with the machine, its not nearly as labor intensive as hand polishing/waxing.

Ed Hughes

I think I met him at Car Week in Monterey last year. My guess is he gets Carte Blanche on his projects, and probably took offense to you asking for the breakdown. He's also probably in "Concours season" now, and may be overly busy. As suggested, time to move on.

Knight

Yep don't waste your time there. Your only inquiring what any normal person would ask, just like if anyone went to a body shop to get numerous things done, they will always break things down for you in hours + parts.

I'm sure he deals with plenty of people who just walk in and pays whatever he states, thus the attitude.

TravisB

Yep, he probably got the feeling you were walking in with your checkbook open. Or perhaps he was a little miffed that the other RL'er shared what he was charged with you. Maybe a combination of both. Unfortunately, all too often talented people have little to no people skills, which can really get emphasized online. Upward and onward I say...

asofine

You're probably exactly right. If anybody else has a good recommendation for a great detail shop in the Bay Area, I'm all ears!!

goofballdeluxe

Yeah, he sounds like he's wound a little tight, but maybe he was put off by the fact that you did say you wanted him to quote you so he could do it all "the works", and then later on it was more "only some now", and more in "the next few months" so you'd have "something to look forward to".

It's very possible that requires him to do more labor to accommodate your special request, he didn't need/want your business bad enough and felt you were coming into this as a high maintenance customer.

Mother

For that much money I would skip the detail and pay the judge!

Paul M

The Devil is in the detail.

DALLWA

No soup for you