Details, details

I got my van detailed yesterday. I was very tired of driving a filthy vehicle. When we bought it, used, from the Dealer, there were orange stains all over the carpet. I would have thought they would have cleaned it, but no.

Anyway, there's a place I pass from time to time that always seems to stay busy. I drove over on Tuesday and talked with the guy who manages it. I explained that I needed it detailed and asked for a price and how long it would take.

"We usually charge between $120 and $150 for vans," he told me. "That includes cleaning the carpets, polishing the leather interior, washing and waxing, blah, blah, blah . . ." I didn't quite hear the rest, after the price part. I thought quickly and realized that he couldn't possibly mean $1.20 or $1.50, so he MUST mean OVER A HUNDRED DOLLARS!

Now, truth be told, I'm not the most cultured person in the world. Obviously, I've never had my van detailed. The children asked me that morning, when I mentioned I was wanting to get it done and would ask for an estimate, what it would cost - ballpark. I really had no idea. Dane asked if it would cost $10.

"Oh, no, honey. Much more than that," I responded. However, secretly, I was thinking, "Maybe $50." But $100 more than that? Three times that? It was staggering.

I was pretty sure I didn't blink uncontrollably or drop my mouth open in stunned shock. I responded idiotically to the young man with, "It's pretty dirty."

"How many seats do you have?" he asked.

"Go ahead and open the door," I told him, pointing over my shoulder at the driver's side sliding door. "There are Captain's Seats in the middle (which Dane always calls Pilot's Chairs and Deanna agrees with him that the word Pilot means the same things as Captain), then a bench seat in the back," I showed him as he slid the door open.

"Well, I'm sure we could do it for between $85 and $120," he said, confidently. I wasn't sure why the price was dropping. Maybe I really looked pitiful. I was very careful not to shriek when he gave me the original price.

"We bought it, used, from the Dealership," I continued, apparently absolutely convinced that he needed to charge me more or, at least, babbling uncontrollably when I should have just smiled and thanked him. "It had orange stains on the carpet when we bought it and I've never been able to get the carpets cleaned."

"My Daddy owns this business," he responded. "I manage it for him. He owns the Daycare around the corner, too. He's not here right now, but I could ask him when he comes back if he'd do it for $85. That's the lowest he EVER goes on a van, but I'll ask him, if you'd like." There goes that price, dropping again. Maybe, completely without intention, the babbling was working. Either that or he decided I was a charity case.

"That would be GREAT!" I nearly shouted. "Could I give you my name and phone number and have you call me back?" $85 was infinitely closer to my hoped-for $50 than was $150. He walked off to get a piece of paper and pen and reappeared shortly, handing it to me.

"I'll have to talk with my husband," I explained. "But it would help if I could give him a good price."

"I understand," he responded. "I'll call you."

The deal, ultimately, was struck for $85 and I showed up yesterday to drop it off.

"How long will you need it?" I asked.

"At least 4 hours. Sometimes, once we clean the carpets and they begin to dry, dirt begins to come back up in them, so we have to re-do them. It's best we have plenty of time."

That was 10 a.m., so it seemed safe to pick it up before getting the children from school at 3:00. He gave me his business card and suggested I call first, which I did. An older gentleman answered the phone, who I assumed to be his father. I was correct.

"Ma'am," he said, "I believe they want to hit your carpets one more time. Can you give them another half hour?" he asked. I responded that I could gladly leave it longer for another shot at getting those carpets clean. I loaded my mother and the children up at 3:30 and headed for the Detail Shop. The van had all the doors and trunk open and the Captain's chairs and fitted mats were sitting outside. As I drove in next to the van and looked, a young man jumped in front of the van, waving his arms and yelling. I rolled down the window.

"Don't look yet! I'm not done," he called to me. A Detail Prima donna. Who woulda thunk?

Rather than go through the whole conversation, suffice it to say he showed me the pile of rags, over 100, that he had used to clean the carpets. He washed them by hand 8 times and explained that he needed to "hit" them about 8 times more. He said he'd scrub and scrub and think they were clean, but as they started to dry, the orange would come up again. He demonstrated on a small orange stain in the trunk.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked. I explained that we bought the van used and the carpets looked that way when we purchased it.

"Well, there are only two things that act this way - orange Kool-aid and orange freezie pops. Both of those products have the same orange coloring and they do this. Somebody spilled LOTS or kool-aid in here." I was totally impressed that he knew his dirt so well. He needed yet more time. I was thinking how many hours of hard labor I was getting for my $85.

I finally picked it up at about 5:15. He got a clean towel and told me that the test of the wax job is to see if a towel, thrown on the front hood, can slide right off smoothly without getting hung up on any spots. I watched as the towel slid from side to side, then fell completely off the hood. I made the children get out of the van and we demonstrated again. Then each of the boys had to try it. It was amazing. The man who did the work was very pleased with our response.

My mother, who had taken us to pick it up, decided to come and take a look. She glanced inside the van, then commented, "I'm not sure you'll know how to drive this van, honey. It's a little too clean for you."

I can't even begin to tell you how good it feels to be driving a clean vehicle. Somehow, I just feel better about myself, which is ridiculous. But the children even seem to sit up a little taller in their seats. It smells good, the leather is smooth and soft, the dashboard is clean and Armor-alled, all the junk is gone, and the carpets are clean. I told Don last night that we should have this done every couple of years. They might eventually be able to get out all the orange.

I'm just afraid the price will go back to $150 next time. Either that or they'll see me coming down the road and, very quickly, go out of business.