The goings on WAY down South!!!

[Aaryn NZ]

Hello my Autogeek family.

Mike Phillips replied to a comment I made on one of his posts a few days ago, sending well wishes & hoping all is well for us here in New Zealand. So I decided to post a brief catch-up on whats been happening for us here at the Top of the South Island of New Zealand, in a little town called Blenheim.

To be fair, things have been pretty hectic of late, we have been undergoing some big changes at the shop & whilst alot of things have been going great - a few things have been difficult to say the least. We had planned to have been moved into our shops NEW location as of the 1st of June but alot of unexpected red tape from those whom have the red tape, has seen a delay of almost two months to date. This added with our decision to hire an employee, has seen stress levels reach limits at times. Now, I'll try & break this up a bit with the inclusion of a few pictures here & there, so as not to be too boring but I'll start with the hiring situation.

The shop consists of myself & my awesome older Sister Jacquie. She has been working with me now for just over a year, & is great at all aspects of interior detailing but is fairly limited as to the hours she can work, be it she is Mum to a couple of teenagers who are strong sportsmen. My gorgeous Wife Ange runs an electrical company, & has done for the last eighteen years but she also looks after our shops paperwork etc from home aswell. As our reputation has grown from strength to strength we have become super busy. Altough not the super sized RVs you guys in the States see, we have earnt ourselves a fantastic professional relationship with a local caravan & RV sales team, & from detailing used RVs & caravans, to coating installs on new RVs like this one.



This is great work, & being busy is fantastic but the size of these units limits us as to other work whilst they are here. Hence the need for staff!!! Now in order to have staff the need for more space is apparent - hence the new shop!!! So, although our shop is realitively new (almost five & a half years now) I've been detailing for quite some time & have had people work under me before but being the actual employer is completely new to me. This scares me alot. I have read so many articles about hiring, from what Mike Phillips & Renny Doyle wrote in Rennys book, to articles & webinars via the IDA. I know I cannot hire me but I also want someone passionate about the craft too. Our shop doesn't see too many high end exotics, simply because there just isn't that scene here but we do have a strong hot rod & classic car following. Whilst these aren't six figure super cars, they are special to their owners & its a difficult market to get into, & my reputation is growing amongst this scene. We are interviewing a couple of candidates for the position next week.

A three owner New Zealand new, right hand drive 57 Chevrolet in its original Colonial Cream & Onyx Black paint.




A one owner 1970 Volkswagen. A realitively newish resto but a very regular client, & in the shop for the paintwork to be refined.




Recently we have been sought out to detail a range of new vehicles like this Volvo XC-90 for a long established car dealership from Christchurch, which is now, roughly 500kms away since the earthquake we had wreaked our main highway, & also be the delivery point too for the clientele. Our reputation far exeeds our local boundaries, & although this gives me a sense of pride, it also means long hours away from family.





Although new vehicles & classics are fantastic, I do still enjoy getting stuck in & doing the BIG turn around jobs too. Not everyones cup-of-tea I know but because of my willingness to give it a shot kind of attitude, I see my fair share of jobs like these, & if I'm honest - I do enjoy them, & heck - they sure do pay the bills. Check this early 70's caravan & this dirty contractors truck out -















Hahahaha, nice huh? And then we have the increasing epidemic of HOLOGRAMS!!! I know - this is job security for me, & I enjoy fixing this type of careless work but it frustrates the heck out of me that this type of work is so widely accepted.







Holograms like this are becoming an all to common sight here.
Of course, I still do the not so normal stuff too. We haven't got a huge electric/hybrid following in NZ just yet but this little BMW found its way to the shop for some detailing, an interesting machine indeed. And because living in the heart of New Zealands wine region - grape harvesters are a common sight at the shop, these two big beasts were in getting a pre delivery detail before being put to work for their new owners in the vineyards.







So - I go back to my staffing issue. I hope to find someone who has that drive to get stuck in & have a go at all the weird & wonderful things that come to the shop. I am willing to put as much time into teaching them as much as I can, & although I wouldn't come close to being able to do as awesome as one of Mikes "brain dumps", I will give my all to someone willing to learn.

This brings me to another exciting thing happening in little ol' New Zealand at the moment. A group of us detailers are in the early stages of forming a NZ Chapter of the IDA, & being that I'm a strong believer in the IDA, I'm proud to be on the board here in NZ & look forward to growing a presence in our little country. Early days but we have an enthusiastic group, & we are all excited for the future.





Pretty sure this doesn't mean I wont have to come back to Florida to do my SV testing with Mike Phillips . . . I would like my employees to become IDA members also, & help them earn themselves their Certified Detailer & Skill Validated certification too. Here is a picture of my step Son Jonty (13) buffing away with me at work during the school hoildays . . . potential.





Another exciting thing happening in our shop is the inclusion of Dr ColorChip. With great help from Gary at Dr ColorChip Australia we are proud to be the first commerical Dr ColorChip outlet in New Zealand, & albeit very new still, its a fantastic system & I have been very impressed with the results to date. The colour spectrum is exclusive to the Australian/New Zealand domestic market colours, & has the ability to be custom mixed if need be. I'm certain it will be an asset to the shop.





With being busy at the shop, time spent dropping clients home, or to work etc takes away valuble time that should be spent detailing. We purchased this little Suzuki Swift for clients to use while their vehicle is at the shop being worked on. You all have to say how much you like the design of the artwork because I designed it, & well - I said you had to like it. There is an address to go on the back by the phone number but as we are moving soon, it isn't on yet. Great little billboard too, polished in house, & sporting a couple of coats of CQuartz Finest.











Maybe the southern most Autogeek decal in the world???

Right! The shop. So word got around as word does in a small town, that we were on the lookout for a building that was suitable for detailing & that offered us that extra space we really needed to be able to keep up with demand, & also bring someone in as a part of our small team. We were approached by a local property developer who was looking for someone "tidy" to have as a tenant in a new building, & in his words he had been told about us & said he had been told I was "immactulate". Long story short - he asked us what we would like in a building, & as much as I would love Curtis Sullivans shop in Houston (Clarity Auto Detailing) it would be super overkill for our needs. We are getting a shop built that is nigh on 200 square metres & will have a nice under cover wash area too. Enough space inside for a reception area & room for some quality car care merchandise also. It is going to suit our needs perfectly. You are welcome to come down for the opening gig too. I will keep you posted on the progress for all of you who can't make it. Here are a few pictures from start until the last picture taken this afternoon.













Moving along nicely, I am looking forward to moving in & getting settled. There is a unit beside us but as yet nobody confirmed as a neighbour . . . Autogeek NZ headquarters perhaps!?
Thank you all for checking in & seeing what has been going on for us, as always - comments/feedback is more than welcome. I'll leave this with a picture of my wee Man Benjamin helping to build a cart to be used in the shop. Serious huh.





Aaryn NZ.

[Mike Phillips]

.



In-FREAKING-credible!


You are simply amazing my friend.

Thank you so much for sharing your success with our other forum members. You inspire me and I know you inspire others.

And wow... a right-hand drive 1957 Chevy! Incredible. The owners are SO LUCKY they have you to work on it instead of some hack detailer that could easily destroy it and leave a bad taste in the mouth of the owner and their opinion about "detailers".






I rarely use the bowdown emoticon...

[Mike Phillips]

Saw in the news you also had some earth shaking earthquakes down you way?

Everything okay in this area?

[Misterpaul]

As the saying goes "you can't keep a good man down." Continued success in your business endeavors.

[lawrenceSA]

Awesome update Aaryn - thanks so much for sharing and giving us a little peek into your life!!!

Best of luck for the new shop - I am sure it will be a huge success!!!!!

[BillE]

GREAT article Aaryn! REALLY good to see that all is well and things are progressing.

Now about the "wee one"...ya got him turning wrenches already(?)...you're in trouble Dad! (LOL). Today-play, tomorrow your Bug.

Jonty is getting BIG.

Bill (K & M 2)

[Angus]

Wow! What an awesome update - I'm very happy to see how well things are going for you Aaryn! Keep us updated on the progress of your brand-new new shop - exciting times!!! Really like your loaner car too - sharp.

[Paul A.]

Inspirational is an understatement! I am personally thrilled to read all of this, Aaryn and I wish you the very best of everything as you progress forward. The best 3 words in your entire post, to me anyway, were "it's been busy". Take the good with the bad and the best learn from the bad.

Keep pluggin', mate!

[DetailKitty]

SO glad to hear you are succeeding and getting through the red tape. So wonderful to hear these success stories!!!!!

[Sizzle Chest]

Great news Aayrn! Glad all is well!!!