Consumer Detailing Tips by Kevin Farrell of Kleen Car Auto

Hi my name is Kevin Farrell, owner of Kleen Car Auto Appearance. In this particular area of the website is a new section for a detailing customer, entitled “customer resources”. This is a little different than the majority of this website, as in this website, we generally speak to fellow detailers on a variety of topics to assist them and make them more aware of what’s going on in the detail industry. This website is a huge source of information to the detailing professional who wants to be at the top and make sure they are providing the absolute best services to you, the detailing customer.

However in navigating this section of the website, you as the consumer will be looking to choose a detailer in your area who will be able to make your car look new again and possibly gain some information on how to go about choosing a detailing company. We realize that when you open a phone book or look online to find a detailer, there are generally many to choose from. Some are mobile detailers that will come to your place and do the job on your location and there are some who have a fixed shop location. Some places are rather large and some are small. Some have high visibility and some are tucked away. Some companies have fancy slogans and advertising, while others are simple and bland in how they get their message across. You may think choosing a detailer is a very difficult decision and we would like to help you with that decision.

Is everybody a professional?

As in all business, there are true professionals, and people that “think” they are professionals but not very skilled and knowledgeable in what they are actually doing. Sometimes they are difficult to tell apart if you as a consumer don’t know much about that particular business. Detailing is one of the few business where even if the vehicle is not done all that well, it will generally look much better than before it was brought in. Some detailing consumers will never notice the differences in a perfect restoration detail, or simply, a wax job. There is a huge difference in these 2 examples and you certainly will pay for the difference. You as the consumer must know what you want. If you want a simple “wax job” and you are not a detailing connoisseur, then choosing a detailer will not be that hard of a job as most detailers will be able to handle the easier and simple “wax jobs”. However, if your car needs more than a simple “wax job”, and believe it or not, most cars need much more than that, you will need to find a true professional that can handle the challenges or a car in need of reconditioning and/or cosmetic restoration.

What to look for

Many detailers enter this business on a fairly low budget. They are not well capitalized coming in and that affects everything that they do. Therefore, they have either cheap equipment or lack the necessary equipment to do a great job. There have been many strides in detailing in the last few years. There are great tools and other equipment that only help make a detailer’s job much easier, but also help the vehicle to look much better when completed. Some detailers don’t have the newer equipment because they just don’t have the money, they think it’s a waste of money, or they don’t even know about it. Ultimately, this is a disservice to you, the consumer.

This brings us to education and training. Unfortunately at this time there is no certification or unitized body that governs the detailing industry. In some cases this is a free-for-all. There are high quality shops that have invested thousands upon thousands of dollars on top notch training and have purchased the best equipment and really know what they are doing. On the other hand there are shops or just guys running around working out of the trunks of their personal vehicles that have what amounts to a can of wax, a bucket and soap and a shop vacuum and they calls themselves professional detailers. However there is training and education in the detailing industry that can be obtained by individuals looking to be the best they can be. My company has been training individual shops for over 13 years and we have been in business almost 20 years. We created, implemented and do all the detail training for BMW and MINI of North America. We have trained hundreds of people and we have seen a wide level of skills and knowledge of detailing.

Many true professionals that want to operate a successful business from the start and perform top notch detailing will take a professional training course. There are some very good ones around the country and a detailer that attends a class will surely benefit from professional training. As well there are a few industry events with speakers and educational seminars that detailers can attend and learn from. Detailers can also buy educational book and DVD’s to help learn the business. Although this method of training is not the same as a hands on training course, it’s still a way to learn and improve a detailer’s skill. There are also professional level people on detailing forums such as the Mobileworks.com website where professionals gather and share information and help aid the beginners and guys that need some pointers. Ideas are also shared to help make jobs easier and if a great piece of equipment is found or a guy has tried a great new product, the forums help alert people on where to purchase these items and make life easier for the professional detailer.

So while these are a few ways that professionals stay up to date, even with this small community there are still varying skill and knowledge levels. But what’s worse is that there are a far greater percentage of detailers that do not use any of the information that is out there. They do not subscribe to magazines, attend industry events, or see what’s going on in detailing forums. And a bigger majority has not and will not attend professional classes or training seminars. This happens to be the large percentage of so called professionals out there. The vast majority of detail shops has no training and do not use all the information on the internet to their advantage. So when you are shopping for a detailer please remember some of this. All detailers are certainly not the same out there and we hope you can now understand why

The dos and don’ts of detail shopping

There are some dos and don’ts to choosing a true professional detailer. If you are serious about having your vehicle cleaned correctly with zero mistakes and the look of a show car, here are some tips on detail shopping

DO- visit the shop you are thinking of using. See how clean it is. See what kind of other vehicles they are working on. If they are working on very high end cars, chances are that those customers trust this shop with a very expensive car

DO- Once you are there, take the time to explain what you want done and how you want the vehicle to look. If the vehicle has imperfections, ask what can be done to either improve the look or make it perfect. Some things cannot be made perfect. If the car has a very deep scratch, it may not be able to be removed completely. If the carpeting has certain stains, they may be a huge challenge to remove. A true professional will be able to identify these problems and properly explain the solutions. This is why it’s extremely important to visit the shop. These things cannot be properly diagnosed over the phone.

DO- ask questions. A professional detailer that has years of skill and knowledge and has seen many things will be happy to explain what can and cannot be done. Hopefully the more questions that you ask will lead you to believe that this shop is truly professional and will do a great job on your car.

DO- inquire about what needs to be done on your vehicle to make it look its absolute best. Many consumers who also lack the knowledge on detailing will assume the car just needs to be waxed and the interior just needs to be vacuumed. This is generally very far from the truth. A true professional detailer will explain to you in terms that you can understand just what the interior needs and what the paint needs to look perfect. Many times this is a time consuming process which is much more than a “wax job”. The detailer will know that sometimes the vehicle needs more than what you want and you can be on the same page from the start. The un-professional detailers and un-skilled detailers will do exactly what you want, but then the vehicle will not look very good in the end and this leads to an unsatisfied customer

DO- ask about the products, tools and equipment that will be used on your vehicle and let the professional detailer show you. There are some great machines that will make your vehicle look showroom new. A true professional detailer will have these great tools and will generally be happy to explain how they work and why they are needed.

DO- understand that a professional detailer truly cares about how your car comes out. He takes pride in restoring your vehicle to a like new look or better. A top notch detail will take many hours to complete. Understand that a professional detailer is not trying to rob you or rip you off. If you look at the labor rate and what a detailer makes per hour compared to other professional trades, its about half of what a car dealer, electrician, house contractor or plumber charges per hour. So even if the price is more than what you thought it could be, it’s still not a rip off. When you realize the value added to the worth of your vehicle after a professional detail, you will actually realize you made money! Professional detailers can save hundreds on lease turn in repairs and make your car worth far more money in a trade in or if you are selling it. In addition, the sense of pride that you can take in your vehicle after a great detail is worth the money spent as well.

As well as the Dos there are some don’ts when detail shopping

Don’t- phone shop. If you are just shopping price, the more professional detailers will be the losers in this scenario. If you never enter the detail shop, you will never see the equipment, meet the owner, see the nice cars being worked on, etc. True, it’s easier and more convenient to call and get a price and compare that way, but if you are looking for a professional, you can easily be fooled by just phone shopping

Don’t- assume every detail is the same thing. You would never assume that a KIA is the same as a Bentley, or a Motel 6 is the same as the Four Seasons. The level of skill, knowledge, tools, products and equipment used will play a huge part in how the vehicle will come out. There are very low level details that can be just a bit more than a car wash, while there are details that can take days to complete and be of a restoration level. You will probably want something in between but you have to be on the same page as the detail shop so they can provide you with the best service

Don’t- be in such a rush! A professional shop generally has appointments only, and you may have to wait a few days….or even a few weeks to get the car in. This is a good thing! A busy shop usually means a good shop and the customers are coming back and are loyal. Also a professional detail takes many hours to complete, so be aware that you will have to drop off the vehicle and not wait for it to be completed.

Don’t- assume that every detailer is “experienced”. Many detailers have just entered this business and many claim that they have “experience” and may have been in the business for a while, but they may have been doing things wrong and lack the proper skills and knowledge to do the job correctly. I have personally seen and trained novice detailers that learned extremely quickly and had a passion for this business. I have also personally seen many so called detailers who have been in the business for a long time but have developed bad habits and do most things wrong.

Don’t- start the conversation of by asking price, or “how much do you charge”? A professional detailer will need to see the vehicle and know exactly what you want done to give you a fair price. The unprofessional detailers usually have a low set price to try and get every customer in the door. But then because of the low price they rush through every job and the vehicle never looks very good when completed.

Don’t- compare price to another detail shop. There may be a large difference in a price you received from another shop. But there also is probably a reason why you continued to shop the detailers in your area. Maybe there was just not something that you truly liked or trusted in previous shops, so you kept searching. But to compare a higher price and claim that the “shop down the street” was far cheaper is generally unfair to the true professional. There will be price variances just like any other business that you deal with. Its up to you, the consumer, to figure out which shop you want to deal with and trust with your vehicle

So if you have taken the time to find this website, do some research on detailing and read this article, you are probably looking for more than just a “cheap” detail or a “wax job”. Hopefully some of the information in this article will help you make a more informed decision when you choose a detailer to work on your vehicle. If we can be of more assistance to you, or if you would like to see and learn a little of what we do, please visit us at www.kleencarauto.com