It wasn't me......
Discussion
Any detailers worried about these threads ruining their business.
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/xforums/topic.asp?h=0...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Just an idea, but how about posting here and saying it wasn't you. I'm sure any bogus posters will soon be outed.
looking at what i have read, maybe it would be a good idea to take a picture of the odometer when the customer drops off the car, this should be done in front of the customer to give them some confidence it isn't going to be used as a hack weapon for a few days. Although you lot probably already do that anyway.
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/xforums/topic.asp?h=0...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Just an idea, but how about posting here and saying it wasn't you. I'm sure any bogus posters will soon be outed.
looking at what i have read, maybe it would be a good idea to take a picture of the odometer when the customer drops off the car, this should be done in front of the customer to give them some confidence it isn't going to be used as a hack weapon for a few days. Although you lot probably already do that anyway.
Edited by Westy Pre-Lit on Friday 27th March 23:22
In the spirit of the thread:
The "Paint Company guy ruined my Porsche" etc threads...
Wasn't us.
We *do* drive customers' performance and prestige cars, sometimes fairly long distances, to and from our premises.
I always assume the customer is sat in front of a computer, watching my progress, and speed with great interest via a tracker and a web interface. Having no interest in a TWOC conviction, and probably losing my business as a result, I drive extremely sedately.
Hell, I don't even speed in my own sports car on the road - that's what track days are for IMHO.
I hope you (innocent) detailing guys aren't losing too much business over this story. I understand why the complainant is so unhappy, and feels the need to tell everyone about it - but the power of the Internet means a lot of genuine people will lose work as a result, and we've all got mortgages to pay.
Tol
The "Paint Company guy ruined my Porsche" etc threads...
Wasn't us.
We *do* drive customers' performance and prestige cars, sometimes fairly long distances, to and from our premises.
I always assume the customer is sat in front of a computer, watching my progress, and speed with great interest via a tracker and a web interface. Having no interest in a TWOC conviction, and probably losing my business as a result, I drive extremely sedately.
Hell, I don't even speed in my own sports car on the road - that's what track days are for IMHO.
I hope you (innocent) detailing guys aren't losing too much business over this story. I understand why the complainant is so unhappy, and feels the need to tell everyone about it - but the power of the Internet means a lot of genuine people will lose work as a result, and we've all got mortgages to pay.
Tol
Tol well put ,
Its a Shame for the customer and i deeply understand how upset he must be ,
I have had customers drop their car off at the workshop before with them telling me to take their car for a drive to see what i think of their new toy etc .
Even then i dont its just not worth the risk ,
As you put i will collect and deliver a customers car from their house if asked to do so , and even then its me that does and not my staff .
OH and as shaggy said it wasn't me !
Just to clear that up !
Its a Shame for the customer and i deeply understand how upset he must be ,
I have had customers drop their car off at the workshop before with them telling me to take their car for a drive to see what i think of their new toy etc .
Even then i dont its just not worth the risk ,
As you put i will collect and deliver a customers car from their house if asked to do so , and even then its me that does and not my staff .
OH and as shaggy said it wasn't me !
Just to clear that up !
To anyone worried about the original thread, we are talking about one detailer out of the hundreds and thousands of valeters/detailers operating in the UK, and the allegations are as yet unproven from a legal point of view.
Forums give a powerful soapbox to dissatisfied consumers, but there is always another side to the story, and this is what courts are for. Forums must stick to a no naming and shaming policy in case they get dragged into someone elses expensive legal battle. If it can't be proven in the public domain, potential libels are removed. Credit to the original poster, no naming and shaming rules were breached - but this did increase speculation and inadvertently (and irrelevantly) affect other businesses. It is like assuming all doctors are going to knock off your Gran because of what Harold Shipman did. And in this case, the allegations haven't been proved one way or the other (unlike with Dr S).
All detailers will have a duty of care over vehicles in their custody and either implicit or express permission to be in command of the vehicle during that time, including driving that vehicle, if in the course of the work being carried out. It will boil down to whether permission was implicitly/explicitly granted to move or use the vehicle, and whether the use was reasonable (or whether the permission only went 'so far'). Until all facts are out in the open, it is ludicrous to speculate, but rest assured the standard of professionalism exhibited by detailers is no worse (and frequently better) than that shown by other people in the automotive industry who have access to client's cars, so an isolated incident is of no cause for immediate concern - even if it does raise interesting questions.
I can still remember a Lotus Carlton owning friend of mine telling me of a phone call he received saying that his car was 'doing donuts' at a nearby industrial park, after he had dropped it off at a unit there for some work to be done. If that ICE/alarm installer was guilty of a misdemeanour, it shouldn't affect the opinion people have of the other ICE/alarm people out there. (In theory).
Forums give a powerful soapbox to dissatisfied consumers, but there is always another side to the story, and this is what courts are for. Forums must stick to a no naming and shaming policy in case they get dragged into someone elses expensive legal battle. If it can't be proven in the public domain, potential libels are removed. Credit to the original poster, no naming and shaming rules were breached - but this did increase speculation and inadvertently (and irrelevantly) affect other businesses. It is like assuming all doctors are going to knock off your Gran because of what Harold Shipman did. And in this case, the allegations haven't been proved one way or the other (unlike with Dr S).
All detailers will have a duty of care over vehicles in their custody and either implicit or express permission to be in command of the vehicle during that time, including driving that vehicle, if in the course of the work being carried out. It will boil down to whether permission was implicitly/explicitly granted to move or use the vehicle, and whether the use was reasonable (or whether the permission only went 'so far'). Until all facts are out in the open, it is ludicrous to speculate, but rest assured the standard of professionalism exhibited by detailers is no worse (and frequently better) than that shown by other people in the automotive industry who have access to client's cars, so an isolated incident is of no cause for immediate concern - even if it does raise interesting questions.
I can still remember a Lotus Carlton owning friend of mine telling me of a phone call he received saying that his car was 'doing donuts' at a nearby industrial park, after he had dropped it off at a unit there for some work to be done. If that ICE/alarm installer was guilty of a misdemeanour, it shouldn't affect the opinion people have of the other ICE/alarm people out there. (In theory).
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