Reply To: Is the work you do as a Dr. Vinyl Tech valuable to your customers?

[mitchellreid]

To all Techs,

I seem to remember some discussion at the 2023 Convention by techs and owners about the inability to make than $100 per car at dealerships. It didn’t come to me then but due to some recent events the following has come to mind:

I remember my trainer, Raymond Scott, saying if the dealerships are using you, it is because they are making money on what you repair. If they didn’t make money from what you did, they would have very little reason to use you. Your services are of value to your customers. Still, occasionally, even I have doubts. Then every once in a while, your customers will let you know how valuable you are. It normally happens something like this, or at least it did to me.

Last week a Sales Manager came and asked me to do something new. He asked if the badly stained seats in a vehicle could be extracted. I could tell that had already been tried and due to continued wicking from the foam to the seats that it was a complete failure. I told him it would have to be taken apart, cleaned, and put back together after it had dried completely. I said it would take a great deal of time and I didn’t know how long. He said to keep it as long as I needed to because he would have to wholesale it if I could not get it done. I asked him why he didn’t have his regular detailer do the unit. He told me this was the best they could do. I knew then that I had some room to work on this unit and an opportunity to show what I could do even though I had never done this sort of thing before.

So, I took the seats out of the car; removed the covers, foam, and electrical connections from the frame; took the covers off the foam; sprayed out the all the excess soap and most of the stains from the foam and covers; soaked the covers; washed the covers; dried the foam and the covers completely; then put everything back together being mindful to disconnect the battery when reconnecting electrical connections involving the airbags. It took about an hour to hour and a half a day for the next six days. I didn’t count the soaking, washing, or drying times since I was doing something else while these things were happening.

After the seats were back in the car, the Sales Manager made a special effort to thank me for doing something no one else could do. While he has always been appreciative of what I do on his car lot, this thank you meant a lot.

I guess Raymond Scott was right. If the dealership can make money on what you are repairing, they will always have reason to use you.

I almost forgot, the invoice for that one car was $950. I guess it is possible to make more than $100 per car.

Sincerely,
Mitchell Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost