On the topic of professional detailing...

[JCruiza120]

I detailed for a luxury car dealer, making minimum wage, getting paid by the hour, and more if the job was done quickly. There was no expectation for the detailer to be proud of the work, only for the detailer to have it done, in the designated time, and have it be adequate.

That said, we never buffed a new car finish, only cleaned it and applied wax. But still, this is a luxury dealer, selling 100k cars, to be driven, washed, detailed, etc, by any bloke who just got his license. Pretty sad, really. Makes me feel better that I stepped up to managing my own detailing business where I can provide a more proper service at a better price.

Today I've read a couple different threads on the topic of the "professional-ness" of detailing as well as what makes a good detailer. This got me to thinking.

When I worked for that dealership, I could have cared less about cleaning cars. Yeah, I went in in the morning, worked all day, left at night, got paid on Friday, but I had no passion for it. I wasn't expected to. And nobody else had passion, either. My first boss there had more skills than I've seen in another detailer, but he was asked to leave his position due to disagreements between himself and the management. Better off for him, as he was a lot better than the management there deserved.

Anyways, I just didn't care. If a car came out not quite as expected, it was because of the time restraints. The car had to be out of my bay and that was that. I wasn't encouraged to get better, I was encouraged to get faster. I didn't enjoy any bit of it, but I did learn the line of work and get a lot of experience with it in a short amount of time.

Working for that company I could easily do 3 details in a day. With my business I've run out of light trying to finish a second. Instead of getting paid 30 bucks for a detail, I'm making 100 to 150. I have the ability to use my time and skills to really do the right job. And I'm actually enjoying and taking pride in my work. Everything changed when I left the shop. I take pleasure in giving my car a QD, polishing out the swirls and seeing the difference, and especially in taking care of the cars of others, and seeing their expressions when they see my finished work. I absolutely love detailing!

In any case the point I'm trying to make is that in order to become good at detailing I had to really want to do it. I had to make my own passion and market it myself to put food on my table. There's a huge step between detailing because it makes me money and making money because I love to detail. I may have a lot harder of a time getting work and affording to keep things going on my own, but I'm so much happier that it's all worth it. I buy my own products, sell my own services, and receive my own rewards.

AutoGeek is a fantastic marketplace for ideas because of how widespread the thinking is. It's not just a "Get product A" response to every forum, rather there are a lot of users inputting information about a lot of products. I appreciate that moderators allow conversation about products that aren't sold here, as it really gives members a lot more freedom to give the best of advice.

Sorry for the novel, just thought I'd share my 2 cents about a couple things. =p

Thanks.

James Kreuzer
Cruiser Mobile Detailing

[craigr]

I wish you and your business the best. I know what you're saying about the look on peoples faces when they see what you've accomplished on their car. I usually only detail my own rides (which I enjoy a lot), but it's a great feeling when I can help a friend or family member improve their ride. I see how doing it for a living would be very satisfying.

Craig

[JCruiza120]

Thank you, Craig.

Something interesting I've noticed recently is how, whenever I'm riding in someone else's car and the sun is out, I always judge everyone's finishes, the swirls, holograms, scratches on the cars we drive past... I wish that I could be more widely known so that I could do even more professional work and clean up this city's cars! haha