Saturday, June 30, 2012

What to look for when hiring a car detailer or valeter.

What to look for when your vehicle is in need of detailing / valeting and your ready to hire a service provider:
Whilst your home is your most expensive outlay in life. Your vehicle comes as an extremely close second. With costs of vehicles now being anywhere between £4000 all the way up to £250,000 +. The question becomes apparent with the vast array of car valeting and detailing service providers, “Who should you use?”

You should take the question into account like you would that of a plumber, heating engineer or builder.

Now there is always the odd poor tradesmen that slip through the net along with those that are long time served, but, over time have become complacent. You cannot put a value on word of mouth. A tradesmen that has exceptional track record for producing consistent quality will always be talked about. On that note. Do take into account word of mouth from others. Word carried through forums do not always carry the greatest of weight behind them due to the fan base that said service provider has gained over a duration. Word of mouth from car club members that have had work’s carried out previously or friends/ family members that have used that said service provider always carry greater value.

Question there insurances. So many promote they are insured, when in fact..... they clearly are not!

Public liability covers the service provider for accidents caused by there wrongful placement of tools and products along with spillages etc. This does not cover them for damage to your vehicle. This insurance is imperative for peace of mind to the customer along with ensuring the service provider being covered should an unfortunate accident occur. A true quality tradesmen will always be conscientious of every aspect of there business and the services they provide and will always ensure they have these said insurances in place. If they do not, it is a risk element only you can decide to live with but the cost of restoring damage will be far greater than paying a slightly higher price for a true, fully insured service provider boasting a good double figure in year’s experience.

If they are 50% cheaper than most. Ask the question why?

Chances are they are working at weekends only for play money or “Beer tokens” for want of a better way of putting things into perspective. They will not have adequate insurance cover if they have any what so ever. Costs are at a minimum due to them having a full time job besides detailing / valeting and insurances most certainly will not be in place as to keep costs down to a minimum. Would you accept someone building an extension on your house 50% cheaper thinking they can do the job correctly when in fact they haven’t dug the footings correctly and it could fall back down after 3 years? Im sure you know the correct answer.

Do not go straight to the guy that has all the most expensive products / brands and latest kit and equipment.

Many have had or still have very well paid jobs and have easily spent a small fortune with no idea of how any of it works or is used. Time served tradesmen will have there chosen products that work. Machinery and equipment that they are confident and comfortable with. A sizeable portfolio along with documented work’s carried out. Proof of insurances and importantly, a number of past and present clients that will be only too happy to give recommendation via phone or email.

With the internet being the main source of buying, selling hiring etc. It is such an easy way for many to design a free website. Get on free social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook and blatantly lie through there teeth with statements of being ever so busy or they have X and Y super cars booked in to get to the top. What you read is not always what you will get! Equally, many can go on training courses with time served tradesmen. Some more proficient than others. Once they have carried out said training ( which typically lasts anywhere between 1 day to 3 days ) they set there business up straight away without any time served experience. It is very easy for many to be sucked into the void and hire inferior service providers so, with that in mind, it is imperative to shop around and gain as much information as physically possible prior to making any bookings for services. Shop hard and well. Chances of choosing incorrectly will be down to the very bare minimum.

We at Beau Technique are confident in saying that time service in the car care sector's is just over 17 year's.

We are fully insured for public liability and vehicle indemnity ( damage to items worked upon )

We have a long list of more than happy client's that would whole heartedly guarantee our quality of services both in standards of work and level of customer care.

If we cannot help. We do have a small network of quality tradesman round the UK and would happily refer to them and vise versa.