A mobile detailer works on the most scrutinised thing a customer owns, usually on their driveway, often with them watching. Then a week later they notice a chip on the bonnet and start to wonder whether it was there before.
The dispute always comes after the job
Swirl marks, stone chips, kerbed wheels and small dents are easy to miss on a dirty car and impossible to miss on a clean one. Detailing reveals damage that was already there, and the customer sees it for the first time straight after you have worked on the car.
Walk round before you touch it
Photograph every panel on arrival, wheels included, and mark existing damage on a simple diagram of the car. It takes five minutes and it settles most arguments before they start.
Record what you actually did
Which products, which stages of correction, which areas were left alone. When a customer asks why a mark is still there, the answer is often that it was too deep to correct safely, and a note written on the day carries more weight than a recollection.
Get it signed
A customer signature against the before condition and the finished job is the difference between a complaint and a conversation.
DetailProof is a phone app that records the car as you found it, the damage you marked, the work you did and the customer’s signature, and it works offline with no account.