ADN

The Importance of Efficiency
in Your Detailing Business
By Yvan Lacroix, IDA CD-SV
You’re doing what you love, detailing cars every
day. So, you may wonder why you should care about
increasing your efficiency. It comes down to the simple
equation: Time = Money.
As a professional detailer, you sell your knowledge,
skill and expertise to customers. You’ve learned
the best techniques, invested in the proper tools and
equipment and built your reputation. That dedication
to a professional approach means your customers
are happy to pay you for your time.
While you can buy more supplies, nobody’s yet figured
out how to squeeze more than 24 hours in a day.
That’s why efficiency is so important. Paying attention
to how you spend your time and a better workflow
means you’ll earn more profit.
Increased profits, while great for your wallet, also
allow you to expand your services, add new staff, equipment
and machinery. In addition, you’ll be able to invest
in marketing and participate in more training.
Step one: Setting Up
the Ideal Detailing
Workspace
Based on many years of experience
and visiting hundreds of different shops,
here’s a list of things to consider when
setting up your shop:
Designate Your
Shop as a Working Area
Start by removing non-work materials
and clutter. If you have to work
around boxes of holiday decorations or
search for supplies among yard tools,
you’ll waste a lot of time. Dedicate a
space to your business.
De-clutter Your Detailing Products
Gather every detailing product you
own, including chemicals, tools, pads,
accessories, etc. Sort them into four piles
and take appropriate actions:
9 Keep: products you regularly use
9 Donate: pass them on to someone
who can use them
9 Sell: list these on Craigslist, etc.
9 Trash: remove unusable or
defective items
You may need to make some tough
decisions - don’t keep something that’s
just not working for you, even if you spent
money on it. Keep your problem solvers,
and those products you use and love.
Shelving | Limit the number of shelves
you have in your shop. Too many shelves
can lead to clutter. One or two should
be enough to keep your frequently used
products easy to access. Fewer shelves
also means more room for cars.
Limit the Number of Horizontal
Surfaces | Horizontal surfaces such as
tables, shelves and benches are natural
clutter-collectors. Whenever possible, use
your wall space to hang supplies such as
hoses and cords. Install towel racks that
can also hold spray bottles at the ready.
Buckets | Buckets are a detailing mainstay
- everybody needs them. Yes, you can
have too many - they can easily become
collectors of stuff. So, settle on one size,
making them easy to stack. Add casters
or use a wheeled base so your buckets can
easily follow you around the shop.
Tools | Most detailers have a number
of different tools, and switch between
them for various stages of the detailing
process. That’s expensive, and inefficient.
Instead, consider the UDOS 51E by LC
Power Tools. This 5-in-1 tool is a gamechanger
that’s designed with detailers
and efficiency in mind. With five functions
in one tool: rotary, sanding, 12,
15 and 21 mm random orbit polishing,
detailers can adjust the tool to the job at
hand, rather than reach for another tool.
Pads | Use trusted pads that will work
hard for you, even if they cost a bit more.
Take good care of your pads using products
like Lake Country’s System 3000
pad washers.
Dedicated Carts for Specific Parts
of the Detailing Process | Using
dedicated carts for specific parts of the
detailing process keeps supplies organized
and ready to use when you need
them. Consider these options:
1. Interior cart with brushes, foamer,
chemicals and towels
2. Exterior/Wash Cart with separate
buckets for tires and paint, chemicals
and pressure washer supplies. If possible,
wrap hoses on the end of the cart.
3. Polishing Cart with pads, chemicals,
water bottle, tools, pad washer and light.
Step two: Analyze
Your Workflow
In order to increase your efficiency,
you’ll want to take a critical look at the
services you’re offering and decide what
makes the jobs faster and safer while
maintaining high quality results.
An easy way to evaluate your process
is to film yourself as you work through
a detail job. Then, just like members of
sports teams, review the footage to identify
areas where you can improve. Ask a
non-detailer to watch as well and see if
they notice anything that could be altered.
Focus on taking fewer steps around the
car, which you can track on your phone.
By saving steps, you’re saving energy and
time, and increasing productivity.
Take care of your body, and use protective
gear like masks and anti-vibration
gloves. Adding a lift is a great investment,
as it allows you to raise and lower the
vehicle to the correct height for you to
be more efficient while achieving better
results with less muscle and body strain.
If you manage a staff of detailers,
working shifts can maximize the use of
your space. Or, strive for a production
line approach, with a clear throughput
system. In addition, making your staff
into specialists that focus on one phase
of detailing can save a lot of time.
Keep Learning
It’s critical to keep training, learning
and looking for new ideas and products to
refine your process. Trade shows, in-person
training events and online sources like
YouTube provide many opportunities to
hone your skills. Also consider joining
professional organizations like the International
Detailing Association (IDA) and
completing their highly-regarded certification
and training programs.
Ongoing education is absolutely essential
to improving all aspects of your
detailing business, and will have a positive
impact on your bottom line.
Yvan Lacroix has been involved in the
car care industry for over 3 decades. His
passion for efficiency and innovation has
driven him to create new products, tools
and techniques. He serves as a Global
Brand Ambassador for both Lake Country
Manufacturing and LC Power Tools. Learn
more: www.LakeCountryManufacturing.com
or www.LCPowerTools.com.
4 | AUTO DETAILING NEWS | VOL. 5, NO. 2 • SUMMER 2020