At the Car Wash:
Detailing Challenges, Part 1
By Prentice St. Clair

This month, my writing is prompted by recent experiences working with detail operations within car washes. I have noticed some commonalities among the problems faced by these operations. I though it would be helpful to discuss some of these challenges. There are many issues to discuss, making it necessary to split this discussion up over the next few months. This month’s column will be the first in a series.

Some of those reading this series will be able to immediately identify with some of the challenges being discussed. Others may have already overcome these challenges, but it might help to read through the series for any tidbits that could lead to further improvement. This series will be helpful to those of you who are considering expanding your car wash by offering detailing services, and are deciding which services to offer and what is involved with each. It is my hope to help all operators avoid problems and fix the ones they might already have.

UP-FRONT DEFINITIONS

Detailing operations at a car wash typically fall into one of two categories: “express” detailing and “full-service” detailing. To have a discussion about detailing at a car wash, we must first clearly delineate the difference between these two services.

“Express” Detailing
Defining “express” detailing has been a challenge, and to this day, the definition varies depending upon whom is asked. However, there are some common threads in how the service is typically described.

One, more formal definition of express service, is offered by the International Carwash Association’s Express Detail Certification program:

Express detailing is a quick-serve appearance-care process that can be satisfactorily and conveniently delivered within 15 minutes or less after vehicle washing.

There are three important points that are included with this definition. First, express service is something more than just a car wash. It is something that is performed immediately after the vehicle is washed, and does something to the vehicle that was not done during the wash.

Second, express service is performed quickly. The ICA definition recommends 15 minutes or less. Some car wash operators stretch this to as much as 30 minutes, while others place multiple technicians on the vehicle in order to bring the wait time down to five to ten minutes. Regardless, it is important to note that the wait-time promise made to the customer only accounts for the time after the vehicle wash process is complete.

The third point of this definition is that it is performed while the customer waits. Obviously, the customer must agree or perceive the promised wait period as being convenient. Hence, there is always a battle to reduce wait times. Think about the last time you waited 15 minutes for delivery of a “fast” food order — did it feel convenient? Or were you completely annoyed? More on the topic of time later.

What is not explicitly stated in this definition is that the vehicle must be in relatively good condition in order for the service to be appropriate. Use of the term “satisfactorily” suggests that the service must deliver a result that leaves the customer satisfied. Any of us who has ever performed true full-service detail knows that not much can be accomplished in 15 minutes if the car is anything but new or regularly detailed.

So with express detailing, we have an inherent challenge of selling the service only to those vehicles for which it is appropriate and only to those customers who understand that express service is little more than a quick coat of wax for the exterior and a quick clean-up of the interior. If the car or customer requires anything more than this, the vehicle should be refused for express service and, instead, referred to the full-service detail manager for evaluation, pricing, and scheduling.

If vehicles are inappropriately “forced” into an express service, one of two problems typically occurs:

1. The customer is forced to wait for more than the promised time for the vehicle to be completed because the technicians have to spend extra time to bring the car’s appearance to the acceptable standard indicated for the service chosen, or
2. The customer ends up being dissatisfied with the result of the service because the technician, in an attempt to deliver the vehicle in the promised time, is forced to return the car in a noticeably incomplete state.

To address this problem, Bud Abraham of Detail Plus Car Appearance Systems has, for years, asked us to substitute the word “maintenance” for “express.” By using the term “maintenance,” we can more correctly describe the intention of the express services as keeping the vehicle’s appearance in a specified state or condition.

This is in contrast to the intent of full-service detailing, which is to return a vehicle in relatively bad condition back to “like-new,” or at least as new as possible.

Now, analyzing these comments, one could argue that express detailing is also about returning the vehicle to like-new condition. The difference is that with express, the technician must be able to do so within a short, specified time period, usually within 15 minutes. Thus, the vehicle must be in relatively good condition before it can be considered for express services. The full-service technician typically is allotted much more time and does not have to be concerned about the waiting customer; the vehicle is typically dropped off for service.

Full-Service Detailing
Full-service detailing, on the other hand, is a more extensive reconditioning of the vehicle. Full-service detailing also suffers from a lack of a standardized definition. Again, each detailing professional that you ask will describe full-service detailing slightly differently than the next. Nonetheless, most professional detailers are delivering the same type of service, which can be summed up by the formal definition offered by Prentice St. Clair in the Detailing for Profit video training package: “Detailing is the systematic rejuvenation and protection of the various surfaces of the vehicle.”

Notice that this definition clearly differentiates full-service detailing from express detailing in several ways.

First, full-service detailing entails rejuvenation, which literally means “make young again.” It is a fancy term for thorough cleaning or reconditioning. Full-service detailing typically requires a host of specialized equipment, tools, and chemicals to accomplish the service. Technicians work meticulously and systematically, not just rapidly, as in express.

Second, there is no time limit offered, as the rejuvenation and protection efforts of a full-service detail can take several labor hours to complete. Although there may be a promised delivery time for the vehicle, the wise detail manager will allow plenty of time for technicians to complete the work. It is not unusual for a full-service detailing appointment to be a half-day or all-day affair. Customers typically drop off the vehicle and pick it up at the promised completion time, instead of waiting for the service to be performed.

Third, full-service detailing is not described as a “convenient” service for the customer. It is not something that is typically performed “on-the-spot” in a last-minute decision at the drive-up area. Instead, appointments and arrangements are made to bring the vehicle back at another time. The “convenience” of full-service detailing is instead from the standpoint of performing services that the customer does not have time, equipment, or knowledge to perform himself or herself.

Full-service detailing is appropriate for those vehicles that have been neglected for several years. In these cases, express detailing, as defined above, will have little or no impact on the appearance. The best example here is the customer who asks the service writer for an express exterior wax on a ten-year-old car that has a heavily oxidized single stage paint system. In this case, it would be unfair to ask the detailing technicians to recondition the paint in 15 minutes. And even if they tried, it is likely that the customer will be less than satisfied with the result.

Full-service detailing is also appropriate for the customer who demands that the vehicle look as new as possible. Sometimes, this second definition applies even if the vehicle is only a year old and not abused; there are some customers (thank God!) that simply want their vehicles to look perfect, no matter what the cost. In this case, the meticulous methods and techniques of full-service detailing are the best choice.

SUMMARY

It is critical that the car wash operator who offers or is planning to offer detailing services understand the difference between full-service and express detailing. Express service is designed to be delivered while the customer waits and only to those vehicles that are in relatively good condition. In contrast, full-service detailing is for those vehicles that need extra attention or for those customers who expect their vehicles to look as new as possible, regardless of current condition.

In upcoming installments of this series on detailing at a car wash, I hope to provide answers to questions like these:

• Is the detailing center reaching its fullest profit potential?
• What equipment, chemicals, and training are necessary for each type of detailing?
• What staffing is necessary?
• What about space requirements?
• How do you market full-service and express detailing?
• How do you sell detailing to wash customers?
• Are the customers really happy with the results?
• Are we doing too much or too little service?
• Can the service be performed quicker?
  Stay tuned!

Prentice St. Clair is president of Detail in Progress, a San Diego-based automotive reconditioning consulting firm. To contact him, e-mail Prentice@DetailinProgress.com or call (619) 701-1100.