So, who in the Kentucky/Indiana area wants to take this one on?


I got a call today from a guy about detailing his wife's van. Word was that the exterior was in 'pretty good shape' but, the interior needed some help. Obviously, I was interested in talking to him just a bit to see what he needed and to assess whether or not I wanted to take on the job (honestly, I don't really enjoy interior jobs nor do I have all the 'right' equipment to do them - (ie: extractor, etc)).

So, as we're talking, he mentions that there's an odor in the van and was curious to know how I would go about working on the odor. I explained that I didn't have a great way to do it and that going with a 'larger' detailer than me may yield someone with an ozone machine that could 'fog' the van...

We continue in a chit-chat session -- he's a pretty nice guy. I had all but decided that I'd give it a go when he mentioned the 'squirrel'.

Naturally, the word squirrel grasped a hold of my attention and wouldn't let go. I had to pursue the 'squirrel' inference.

Well, it turns out, the odor in the vehicle was from squirrel pee and poo...

His wife had gone to the grocery on Friday morning. She took her kids into the house and then came back out to get the groceries out of the back hatch. She left the hatch open while making a couple of trips. Sometime during that grocery transfer, Mr. Squirrel decided to find his/her way into the interior of the van unbeknownst to Mrs. Van Driver. She shuts the hatch and goes on her way...

They went out of town this weekend but took HIS vehicle.

She went out this morning a little bit before lunch to take the kids to the park only to find Mr. Squirrel, dead, on her drivers seat. LMAO... I was crying listening to the guy talk...

The thing apparently poo'd, pee'd, and vomited EVERYWHERE and then died on her front seat.

Long story short - assess your potential client as much as they're assessing you. Lucky for me, I asked enough questions to get to the bottom of the problem - and, in turn, declined the job (and pushed him to a guy that I know that details that I really don't care much for because of a reason or three).

 

Lol, good thing you actually talked to him. This summer my mom left the door open in her brand new '07 Avalon, somehow a opossum got in and got stuck under the seat. Needless to say it died and took us about 3 days to figure out what the smell was. Luckily we got it out before it started decomposing. Sucked because I had to get it out...one of the sickest things I've had to do (when i pulled the little leg broke).

 

I honestly thought that one of my buddies was putting this guy up to it. If it weren't for caller ID and me knowing that the guy was from a 'local' phone number, I would've thought it was RollingRock or someone...

I could tell that the guy even thought it was a tad humorous -- he still wanted the vehicle sanitized though. I may give him a call back tomorrow to see if he found someone to do it (since I have his # on my ID). I want to know who passed my name on to him as well...

 

That's hilarious. Dead creatures leave an AWFUL odor. My brother's first house was a real fixer and we found numerous dead rats in the walls.

OH

MY

GOD.

It was literally on the verge of completely unbearable.

 

That sounds like a hilarious practical joke. I'll have to keep that one in mind.

I can remember a mouse dying inside the A pillar of my uncles 86 camaro. no way to get it out without cutting the pillar apart. Had to just let it rot there. Horrible smell.