Detail Johnny LLC

I don't want to rule out giving this business a chance, but I also feel I should share my experience in case it should help someone make a decision. John seems to have more work than he can handle as one person. He may have experience, although I can not attest to that based on my results. Honesty, communication, and timing were major issues that precluded this. A mouse had gotten into our cargo van and left behind a horrible smell that was primarily coming from underneath the floor mat in the front cabin, where it had gnawed through the foam on the underside. Cleaning under it required removing the front seats. Detail Johnny seemed willing to do this while other shops weren't. Saturday, I dropped it off with these requirements: 1.) Use unscented cleaning products. 2.) Find and clean the source of the odor before charging me for O2 treatments done in vain. 3.) Call me when the floor mat is out so I can see if I need to replace it. All were agreed to without issue, but only the first fulfilled. He said it would be done next weekend at latest. No calls, so I left voicemail that weekend. Monday, the secretary texts me and tells me there is still an odor after two O2 treatments. She repeatedly avoided my question if he cleaned under the mat, but finally answered vaguely, yes. I asked if I could come in to see progress. She agreed to Friday/Saturday, but then never responded. Next Monday suddenly she said I can come pick it up. When I arrived, the van was outside with all doors opened. Because of that, the odor was undetectable. I peeled up the mat and asked about the amount dirt still underneath it. He claimed this was residual dirt come loose from the underside of the mat, which could not be fully cleaned using only the unscented products I had requested - which he determined to be limited to just soap and water, while I had meant to not use products with fragrances added. But even with just soap and water, I wasn't convinced by his answer and accepted only because the odor seemed gone. Paid $300 and took it home to find the odor returned once closed up. I looked under the floor mat more thoroughly and wiped off loads of dirt just from what I could reach with a dry paper towel. There were leaves and rocks from before the cleaning, still there. Now I was sure he lied. I took it back to him the next day. When I got there, he said, "we're going to do it my way this time." I said, "What do you mean, your way? You still haven't cleaned under the mat." He continued to insist that he had, which made me doubt myself and feel like the asshole. I told him to go ahead and try with his products. He told me he could get to it early next week. Over a week passed in radio silence, all texts and calls ignored. Next Monday, I stop by and there is clearly someone in the garage, but no answer on the phone or at the door. My boyfriend calls instead and gets his secretary, confirming that she was ignoring my number. She acts completely out of line and starts yelling at my boyfriend. I knock on the door again and John answers pissed off, tells me "You're not my only customer you know. Just take the van and go." She had lied to him and said my boyfriend "cussed her out" despite her being the one yelling, and exaggerated that I had been calling "nonstop" rather than a couple times throughout the week. I clarified what had actually happened and he did apologize, resolving to work out her troubling attitude. Still, now $300 and a month later, I had lost faith and my van smelled too badly to use with no solution. I finally decided to remove the mat myself. I've posted the pictures so you can judge, but in my mind there is no doubt he lied. Tons of dirt, debris, rocks, pieces of foam that a simple vacuum would have taken care of. He at least did not charge me for work he didn't do, but I still paid for two O2 treatments that I didn't want until the work I asked for was done. Perhaps he was confident that he could resolve it his way without doing the work I requested, but I still don't understand why not be upfront and avoid the mess.

11/15/2024