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Built for auto detailers

Meet the AI hire for your detail business

You detail the cars. Prentice handles the rest.

Answers customers at any hour. Books by package and vehicle size. Drafts quotes and invoices for your OK.

Talk to Prenticestart free
Prentice
Prentice Your AI hire
call
hours24/7
languagesEnglish, Spanish, French, Portuguese
notesAnswers your calls. Books your jobs. Free until you decide to hire.

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Demo: A new customer texts late about her SUV. See how I book the detail.

Working with Prentice is like working with a person.

Prentice can be reached by phone, text or email.

Prentice talks with everyone your business works with: customers, your team, even suppliers.

You’re Andre, and you run Northside Auto Detail.

It’s late, and the shop is closed for the night.

Simone finds you online. She wants a full detail for her SUV.

  1. Simone: Hi! My SUV is a mess after a road trip with the kids. Can you clean it up?
  2. Prentice: Hi, I’m Prentice, the AI assistant at Northside Auto Detail. Yes! A full detail takes about four hours, inside and out. Andre can take it Tuesday at 9 AM. Does that work?
  3. Simone: Perfect. The back seat is the worst part.
  4. Prentice: You’re booked for Tuesday at 9 AM. Take out the car seats if you can.
  5. Prentice: I booked Simone for a full detail on her SUV, Tuesday at 9 AM. She’s a new customer, and it’s a mess after a road trip with her kids.

Prentice booked a new detail after hours.

Demo: Rain is coming, and your van is booked. See how I move every job without losing one.

You’re Andre, and you run Northside Auto Detail.

Rain is due all day tomorrow, and your van has four jobs.

Hugo and Bea are two of those customers.

You told Prentice that on a rain day, every van job moves to the next open day.

  1. You: Rain all day tomorrow. Move the van jobs.
  2. Prentice: Hi Hugo, rain is due all day tomorrow, and unfortunately, we will need to reschedule your truck detail. Can Andre come Wednesday at 10 AM instead?
  3. Hugo: Sure, no problem.
  4. Prentice: Thank you! You’re set for Wednesday at 10 AM.
  5. Prentice: Hi Bea, the rain is pushing back your detail at the house. Andre can be there Thursday at 1 PM. Does that work?
  6. Bea: Yes, that’s better for me anyway.
  7. Prentice: Great, see you Thursday at 1 PM.
  8. Prentice: All 4 van jobs are moved to Wednesday and Thursday, and every customer said yes.

Prentice moved all 4 van jobs. You sent one text.

Demo: A ceramic coating ties up your bay for two days. See how I hold the date with a deposit.

You’re Andre, and you run Northside Auto Detail.

Hector has your $1,250 quote to coat his new truck.

The job blocks your bay for two days, and you can’t fill it if he backs out.

You told Prentice to hold coatings with a 20% deposit, paid by 5 PM the next day. Your Zelle emails go to Prentice too.

  1. Hector: Let’s do it. I want it done before the truck gets scratched. When?
  2. Prentice: Great. Andre’s next open bay is Saturday at 8 AM. A $250 deposit holds it. I’ll send the invoice as soon as it’s approved.
  3. Prentice: Hector said yes to the $1,250 coating. Here’s his $250 deposit for your OK.
  4. Prentice: Deposit for Hector · $250
  5. (Approved)
  6. Prentice: Here’s the deposit that holds Saturday for you. You can pay by Zelle. Please pay by 5 PM tomorrow, or Saturday opens up for someone else.
  7. Prentice: Invoice · Northside Auto Detail · $250
  8. Hector: Just sent it by Zelle.
  9. Prentice: Got it, thank you! Your truck is set for Saturday at 8 AM. I’ll send a reminder the day before.
  10. Prentice: Hector’s $250 deposit is in. The $1,250 coating is set for Saturday at 8 AM, so you can block the bay.

Prentice held the date for a $1,250 coating with a $250 deposit.

Booking the car is the easy part

Prentice keeps working after the booking.

See how I look after a new customer

  • I answer a car owner’s call or textThursday, 10:12pm
  • Most answering services stop hereI keep going
  • I book the right package for their carRight then
  • I send a reminder with your prep notesThe night before
  • I tell them when you say you’re lateThe morning of
  • I send the invoice you approvedWhen the car’s done
  • I draft the coating quote for your OKAfter you see the paint
  • I set up their maintenance washesWhen they say yes
  • I follow up on a late bill, by your ruleA week later
  • I offer a winter wax on your say-soNext fall

I will price from your list, and you approve every quote and invoice.

Prentice Your AI hire

Work you didn’t have to chase

A coating sold, a 10 PM text booked, an invoice paid. Prentice keeps your shop and your van busy.

Example texts from Prentice on an owner’s phone
  • PrenticenowHector said yes to the ceramic coating. $1,250
  • Prentice1h agoMarta paid $450 for her three work vans after my reminder.
  • Prentice2h agoBoyd signed up for a wash every two weeks, starting Tuesday. $75 each.
  • PrenticeLast nightSimone booked a full detail for her 3-row SUV. $310

Prentice will earn your trust

My word to you

  1. I’ll tell every customer I’m an AI.
  2. I’ll double-check my work.
  3. I’ll ask you when I’m not sure.
  4. I’ll work within the boundaries you set.
Prentice Your AI hire

We know trusting an AI with your customers is a big ask.

So Prentice never works alone. Prentice asks you when unsure, and calls on us for backup.

The Prentice team

Dan, co-founder of Prentice Jonathan, co-founder of Prentice

Meet the people behind Prentice

We’re small business owners ourselves. We know what it’s like to lose evenings to admin work, and to wish for someone dependable to hand it to. So we built Prentice on three principles.

Honesty.
A straight “I’m not sure” beats a confident guess.
Integrity.
Treat every customer the way you would.
Reliability.
Show up, every time. For 15 years our team has built software thousands of people count on every day.

And when Prentice needs backup, we answer.

Dan & Jonathan

Prentice goes in your contacts

Just save the number, and your whole crew can start talking to Prentice.

Call Text Email

  • You
  • Your detailers
  • Your customers

Dealers and fleet managers can text or email Prentice too.

Prentice speaks

  • English
  • Español
  • Français
  • Português

Prentice

Your AI hire

hours
Any hour

Getting started

Your part is small. Prentice does the rest.

  1. Can you answer a few questions about your business?

    Then Prentice can learn it. Prentice writes the job description and shows you a demo for no cost.

  2. Can you share your calendar, your packages and your prices?

    Then Prentice can run your bookings. Packages, sizes and reminders by your rules. Quotes and invoices go out only with your OK.

  3. When Prentice has earned your trust

    Then Prentice can talk to your customers. Forward your calls, or ask Prentice to text or email your customers.

Then you get your evenings back.

Made for auto detailers

Prentice learns your packages, your prices and your service area, then works in your words.

  • Packages by size

    A car, an SUV or a truck, each booked at your price for its size.

  • Mobile jobs

    Booked inside your area, with your prep notes the night before: hose, outlet, room to work.

  • Rain days

    You call it. Prentice offers each van customer the shop at their same time or a new day, and tells you who moved.

  • Ceramic coating quotes

    Drafted from your prices and what you saw on the paint, for your OK.

  • Maintenance plans

    A wash every two weeks or every month, kept on the calendar with reminders.

  • After-hours texts

    The 10 PM “how much for my SUV?” gets your price and a booking.

Get closer to your customers

With Prentice, your customers will be able to:

  • Ask the small questions they’d hesitate to call you about

    “Do I need to clean out the car first?”

  • Get an answer at any hour, by call, text or email

    “Sorry it’s late, the kids spilled a milkshake…”

  • Talk with you in their own language

    “¿Pueden venir a mi casa el sábado?”

  • Book a detail on the spot

    “Saturday at 10 works.”

  • Move a detail without phone tag

    “Can you come Friday instead?”

  • Hear your prices up front

    “How much for a full detail on a minivan?”

When you’re easy to reach, you’re easy to book.

Costs less than a person

Prentice does the booking and the billing, so compare the cost with hiring help, not with an app.

Hiring a Person Prentice Solo Prentice Team Prentice Crew
Works with Anyone Just you 2-3 people 4-6 people
Counts you and everyone on your team who works with Prentice. Customers never count.
Monthly cost $500 5 hours a week at $25 an hour $99 $199 $399

50% off the first month while Prentice learns your business

Messages included As many as they can handle in 5 hours a week 200 500 1,200
A message is any text or email, sent or received. Each minute of a call counts as one.
Communication methods Phone, text, email, in person Phone, text, email
Customers As many as they can keep up with No limit
Availability 5 hours a week Any hour, every day
Overtime $25 an hour $25 for every extra 50 messages
Offseason You negotiate fewer hours with them $39 a month when in Standby modePrentice stays active and will respond to customers. Max 50 messages per month.
Payroll and taxes Your responsibility None
Commitment You hire them, and give notice to let them go NoneCancel anytime.
Talk to Prenticestart free

More than 6 people? Register, and Prentice will help you set up a plan.

Works with

Anyone

SoloJust you

Team2-3 people

Crew4-6 people

Counts you and everyone on your team who works with Prentice. Customers never count.

Monthly cost

$500 5 hours a week at $25 an hour

Solo$99

Team$199

Crew$399

50% off the first month while Prentice learns your business

Messages included

As many as they can handle in 5 hours a week

Solo200

Team500

Crew1,200

A message is any text or email, sent or received. Each minute of a call counts as one.

Communication methods

Phone, text, email, in person

Phone, text, email

Customers

As many as they can keep up with

No limit

Availability

5 hours a week

Any hour, every day

Overtime

$25 an hour

$25 for every extra 50 messages

Offseason

You negotiate fewer hours with them

$39 a month when in Standby modePrentice stays active and will respond to customers. Max 50 messages per month.

Payroll and taxes

Your responsibility

None

Commitment

You hire them, and give notice to let them go

NoneCancel anytime.

Talk to Prenticestart free

More than 6 people? Register, and Prentice will help you set up a plan.

Questions detailers ask

Will customers know they’re talking to an AI?

Yes. On the first call or text, every customer hears that Prentice is your AI assistant. Prentice never pretends to be you.

Can Prentice price by vehicle size?

Yes. Give Prentice your packages and what each costs for a car, an SUV or a truck. Prentice tells customers what the job usually runs for their size and books the right package. Anything that needs your eyes, like a coating, comes to you first.

What happens on a rain day?

You make the call. Text Prentice which day to clear. Prentice offers each mobile customer your open times, moves their booking and tells you who went where.

Does Prentice quote ceramic coatings?

Prentice drafts the quote from your prices and what you saw on the paint. You approve each one before it goes out, and the customer says yes by text.

Do I need a new phone number?

No. Your business gets a Prentice number of its own. Give that number to customers, or forward your business line to Prentice when you’re working on a car.

Can my detailers use Prentice?

Yes. Add your detailers, and Prentice texts with them the same way as with you. When one texts that they’re running late, Prentice tells the customer who’s waiting.

More answers on the FAQ.

Let Prentice show you

Chat or call. Prentice will ask about your packages, your prices and your service area.

Talk to Prenticestart free