Many professional auto care appearance specialists and auto detailing contractors weigh the benefits of a detail shop and the costs versus the inexpensive option of mobile detailing. One of the best things about setting up a fixed store instead of a mobile one is that we can have more types of products available for special uses to ensure the best possible results in our work.
Fixed retail stores also allow us to set up a store where we can move towards a more efficient platform and workspace. Much has been written on this subject. However, the industry leaders have stood the test of time and are continually updating and innovating and of course we are the main beneficiaries of their conquest to build the best and most efficient assembly style techniques possible. Bud Abrams invented an ingenious all-in-one unit that dispenses all the products he uses most, like tire dressings, cleaners, wax, etc. You can check this on his website: http://www.detailplus.com.
This is just an innovation from the commercial minded professional detailer. Bud has been the leader in Auto Detailing for over 30 years. We know that when we have a question, Bud has an answer. As he may have guessed, in our company we look at the workflow and make it efficient. A perfect example of this is our most recent innovation in our Auto Detail Shop Detail Center, where we keep things under control. Bud, owner of Detail Plus, has spent years honing the industry’s greatest efficiencies and breakthroughs in workflow models and store layouts, and sells his products and insights to the industry. Bud is the Henry Ford of the auto detailing industry. On his website at DetailPlus.com he can see the world’s most efficient design for auto detailing. Detailed store layouts are important, it would be wise to study all aspects for maximum efficiency.
Also important is the increased chance of perfection, after diminishing variables created by an outdoor environment, such as wind dust particles, inconsistent wax drying rates, and rain issues. By using checklists and creating a Six Sigma quality assurance program and focusing on TQM along with principles like ISO 9001-type standards in procedures, you can literally claim to do a perfect job. Our goal is not to eliminate the artist who is a “detailer”, but to add an element of perfection not easily seen in our industry.
Professional auto care specialists should not only be limited to wholesale detail work for car rental companies, auto auctions, bank repo jobs, new and used car dealerships, but also things like aftermarket add-on accessories. , chip repair, stripped pin, windshield repair, gold plating and maybe even spray bed liners.
By understanding flow processes in a systematic and quality-controlled environment, we can ensure we maximize our resources to effectively increase profits and productivity. Once this is done, add-on services can be added that won’t impede your core business. For information on what it means to work in such an environment, we suggest the books; “Finite Capacity Scheduling”
http://www.carwashguys.com/finite.pdf
Many people don’t understand how some car care specialists and auto detailing professionals can have all the best equipment, image, pay the best salaries and still charge less. If they had actually looked at our operation, they would say, why are they charging so much? Being efficient is the smartest thing to do in business. We believe that with the economies of scale that franchises can typically offer and the proper selection in our arsenal of competitive techniques, the game is truly won before it begins. When we enter or many times start a price war, we know that we can outperform the competition simply on efficiency. I’m not suggesting you go and start a price war; which in the end is of no use. But if another carrier in your market starts a price war and you’re forced to compete due to the competition’s mass mailing of coupons, it’s good to know that you can survive and even thrive in the process.
In the Business of Detailing, which is indeed a business, the trophy goes not only to the best artist in the field but also to the most efficient company that can take that level of art and refine it into a system for maximum productivity. Without sounding too much like the late Henry Ford, we’d like to make a comment. Regardless of what you thought of his views on other issues, his methodology, which was later honed in many different industries, is the reason we won World War II. It is also the reason that the Ford Motor Company is one of the oldest companies in the world today. And thank goodness it does, without all those cars there would be fewer cars to detail. Please think about what I have said here today. Study your options and improve your workflows, you’ll be glad you did.