How many pros deal with this?

[Anthony Orosco]

This is something difficult to explain and it seems even more difficult to correct. I thought I would start a thread to see if others deal with the same thing.

I am my own worse critic and none of the work I do satisfies me. In other words I can never look at a detail I have done and say with complete honesty, "I am done".

The client loves the work, other people may love the work but I am always seeing the areas that did not come out as I expected or had hoped. My assistant will say, "Man it looks alot better than when we started" I though don't see it that way. The client sees that car and loves it, pays me and drives off happy but as he or she drives off I am always thinking that I could of done better job on the hood if I had more time, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Does anyone else deal with this?

A related problem to this is growing my business. The demand for my work is there but I can't do all the work. As it is I may, on certain days, wash 5 to 8 cars plus have 2 or 3 details going at the same time! I polish a few areas on one car, then move to another, then detail the interior on another. My helper is busy doing the washes and I have to then help her out at times also.

The solution is obvious, right? Hire more help! Well that is easier said than done because I am horrible at delegating authority. For example, I will show a person how I want the wheels cleaned and before I know it I have cleaned all four wheels!! The same with the interior, hand washing, windows....It took me sometime before I let my helper now, of 5 years, use an orbital buffer.

Any out there deal with this or am I the only wacked out nut?

Thanks,
Anthony

[mlebarron]

Anthony,

You're definitely not alone in your thinking. Although I am not a professional detailer, I hope to be, and think along the same lines as you. My biggest fear in really doing it professionally is having an assistant, always wanting it perfect makes it hard to let someone else do it.

I've always been notorious among people I know for being able to find things that are missed, things that could be better... on pretty much anything that they've done or things I've done.

Personally... this is how I deal with it... any car I do I treat with the respect as though it were my car (a must of course), I will detail it to the best of my ability and to the standards set by my business. When the car leaves, there's always the thought that there could have been something done better, something that wasn't quite perfect, but the customer probably doesn't know the difference. But, it's the customer's car (duh ) and if it is done to the business standards or beyond, then that's enough...

It can always be better (seems like you're like me... it's NEVER done), and I'll take that attitude on my own personal car, where I can spend as much time as I want on it.

This is getting a little long and I'm not sure I'm getting across what I'm trying to say.

I guess the point is you're not the only whacked out nut

-Michael

[zenhog]

I've had businesses that depended on my skills and only my skills (consulting in a specialized area) and I've had businesses that were successful only because there were a lot of people necessary to do the job (wholesale, retail and mail order), and I had the competent staff to pull it off.

It's hard to let go of the duties and let someone else handle them but the bottom line needs to be considered: do you want to limit your earning power to only the time you can personally do the work, or do you need to leverage on other's time because you have earnings targets that require that?

If the answer is the second one and you want to continue to operate in the first mode, then there's a train wreck about to happen. either unhappy employees or burn out or quality compromises.

So in a nut shell, I had to learn to delegate, train well, re-train well, and most importantly recognize good help and pay them very well so they stayed, were willing to take on the increases in delegation I had to make, and were good enough that I could worry about other things. Like getting more business.

I bet you're missing a thorough business plan - because that would force you to think through those questions I asked above and even plan staffing levels for certain levels of business volume... if you don't have one to that level of detail sometimes doing one is the eye-opener that helps get someone off the dime and making the changes that are needed to survive.. I mean succeed.

Just my two cents from my experiences..

[Magellan498]

Anthony, I have noticed the same exact thing!!

I have just started my business this past summer and now clients are starting to roll in. But it seems the more work I get, the more rushed I am. Just a while ago, I had a few full details to be done in one day at the customer's house.

Sure I got out most (if not all) of the swirls out and the paint looks ten times better, but I would not be satisfied if it were my car. If I had my way with it, I'd have the customer leave the automobile at my place for 3 days and make it perfect! I know that is not plausible though and have to do the best I can with the limited time...

I do leave most job sites dissatisfied though...

Guess that's what makes us so good. Everyone telling us its great and us seeing that "one more spot".

[andriver]

I agree with Zenhog. I am not a detailer but I am self employed. You already have a successful business. The question is where do you want to go with it? If you want to expand your business, you may consider writing a business plan. There are several software programs availabe for this purpose. Good luck Anthony....Andrew

[Anthony Orosco]

Well thank you for the responses.

Some nice information shared and also great to get some other views from pros.

As for a "detailed" business plan, that I do not have. Great advice and I'll look into that aspect of the biz as I do wish to grow BUT growth, at least for me, scares me to death

The reason is that it has taken me a great deal of time to get where I am and it just takes one screw up to knock me back down that ladder. But I, or another in the same boat, cannot have growth without some risk, this I understand but to place it in action is the hard part.

I can say with complete honesty that I would be miserable working in a car wash place that chunks out car after car with no regard for the final result. I would get fired the first day because I only did 2 cars all day and the other guys did 12

This is an area that I must get past, as other must also, if I, and them, seek to grow. Perhaps this might be a form of therapy for us all.

Anthony

[Scottwax]

I know how you feel. I get real busy this time of year and I would love to find some reliable help. My kids help in the summer and they are pretty damn good now, but they are here for 6-8 weeks, plus every other Christmas (hard to get used to when they lived with me for so long), so I can't really plan my business around them.

I've had a couple of helpers and either they don't catch on, or they do a good job but are just so sloooooooooooooooooooooow. One of my son's friends in interested in helping me on Saturdays, which would be nice if it works out. I wash (and sometimes wax) 6-7 cars in one neighborhood. With some help, I could take care of those cars by about 1PM and have enough time for a couple of details.

[ShineShop]

Originally posted by Anthony Orosco
This is something difficult to explain and it seems even more difficult to correct. I thought I would start a thread to see if others deal with the same thing.

I am my own worse critic and none of the work I do satisfies me. In other words I can never look at a detail I have done and say with complete honesty, "I am done".

The client loves the work, other people may love the work but I am always seeing the areas that did not come out as I expected or had hoped. My assistant will say, "Man it looks alot better than when we started" I though don't see it that way. The client sees that car and loves it, pays me and drives off happy but as he or she drives off I am always thinking that I could of done better job on the hood if I had more time, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Does anyone else deal with this?

A related problem to this is growing my business. The demand for my work is there but I can't do all the work. As it is I may, on certain days, wash 5 to 8 cars plus have 2 or 3 details going at the same time! I polish a few areas on one car, then move to another, then detail the interior on another. My helper is busy doing the washes and I have to then help her out at times also.

The solution is obvious, right? Hire more help! Well that is easier said than done because I am horrible at delegating authority. For example, I will show a person how I want the wheels cleaned and before I know it I have cleaned all four wheels!! The same with the interior, hand washing, windows....It took me sometime before I let my helper now, of 5 years, use an orbital buffer.

Any out there deal with this or am I the only wacked out nut?

Thanks,
Anthony

I feel your pain Anthony. I remember when I got into the business 10 years ago I used to obsess about my work so badly that I would more often than not lose money on a job because I was endlessly touching up work I thought I could make "better".
The analogy I like to use with my employees is that I expect perfection but will accept excellence. Words to live by in our business. I hate to acknowledge the fact that time is an issue in our business but it ALWAYS is isn't it? A few questions that may help you a little bit:
1) Do you do a pre-inspection of the vehicle with the customer and "interview" them to determine their, and the vehicles needs? Also their expectations?
2) Do you charge people by the hour or by a set price for a particular job?

I was very disorganized and a complete control freak for the first 8 years we were open and finally realized that in order for the business to grow I had to grow with it. That meant empowering my employees by spending more energy training them and trusting them to do the job I pay them to do. I still have to check all the work and constantly have little things re-done or fixed but it has allowed me to run the business as oppposed to the business running me. I hope I don't sound like some motivational speaker or something!


Anyway, take a step back and think about what takes up most of your time in a day and what you can do to optimize your time and become more efficient. Also delegate tasks that can be done by someone else to them so you can spend your time selling and making contacts that make you more money. It doesn't make sense to run the buffer for $20 p/hr when you can generate $40 selling your services does it? Just my 2 cents - hope it helps!

[Auto Care USA]

Shine Shop great advice. Anthony for 3 decades I have been saying the same things that you have stated. I am actually pretty lucky. I have a gentleman who has been with me for 21 years. The most realiable person in the world. As far as detailing, well thats another story. I am constantly on his butt. He can do an excellent job. The problem is consistancy. So what do ya do well unfortunantly do alot of the hard work yourself. If you want staying power in this business you better be good, and I am not talking average. I am proud to say that I can still work harder than any 20 year old. Anthony unfortunantly I didn't say smarter. Any true detailer is a perfectionist, and that you must be to be called a professional. We are in a business that is very labor intense. Most young people don't know what it is to work hard. Unfortunantly hard work is all I know. I am not complaining Anthony I have made a very good living by doing hard work. I will end with a couple notes.....Bigger is not better...if you want it done right do it yourself....and never ever trust your business to someone else. Lets sum it up Stay small, charge what you are worth, give the customer more than they ask for and never take even one of your customers for granted. Remember you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with.

[Scottwax]

Auto Care is right. Bigger is not necessarily better, especially when you are mobile since if you have several crews going out, you can't directly supervise them.

I have yet to meet a mobile detailer who wants to let go of control to that degree.

[Anthony Orosco]

Hey thanks to all of you who have commented so far, really great advice. I am also hopeful that others can benefit from this.

Auto care,

I do agree with you about having to work hard and also that most young folks want big bucks for doing nothing, it's as if they "deserve" it or something.

I really enjoy doing the detail work and what I think I will work towards is hiring one more helper to help the assistant I have now to do washing and maintenance work.

ShineShop,

Yeah I hear you about the whole being "disorganized" and all. I at times get so busy and then so tired that I forget to keep up on my ordering of product and then a big detail comes up and I find out I am out of tire dressing, leather conditioner or low on car soap, that really bites! My wife has been great in helping me out, especially in the area of bookeeping and taxes. She is a wonderful blessing.

I was getting very distracted from my detail work because I was caught up writting up invoices, dropping them off and then going around collecting checks. So that's no longer my job

Thanks again guys,
Anthony

[Anthony Orosco]

Scott,

Yeah that is a real big worry of mine. I can imagine it now....how can I give a detail I am doing my 100% when my mind is thinking about the other guys I have out there doing other cars??
Are the windows streak free? Did they wreck the car? Were they rude in any way?

That stuff would race all over in my head. If I wish to be honest with you all and myself, my biggest fear with growing my business is being so busy running my business and managing others that I would no longer be able to detail cars. That my friends is my fear.

Anthony