I watched this thread over the weekend, wanted to see what others had to say. I always find what others have to say interesting.
Couple of comments....
First, the people that take my class are all
high caliber people. Period.
What this means is while there's a lot of discussion of how even having a "certificate" doesn't mean the person that has it does good work and this is true I don't believe it's true for my students because they are all very high caliber people to start with. My class doesn't attract low caliber people. What this means is the people that attend my class get trained on the correct way to detail a car and then go out into the world and then practice what they learned. They don't revert back to caveman techniques and/or do hack work.
So the certificate of completion my students are able to frame and place on their wall really does mean something at least in my opinion and my experience with students years after they have taken the class.
Most of what I've read in this thread is about the piece of paper. What I'm talking about is the training that is provided and the learning that takes place and endures over time. It's the practical application of the learning that is what's really important, not the piece of paper. The piece of paper is the proof of attending and outside of making one up on a computer and then printing it out the only way to really get one is to attend one of my classes.
Besides all of the above, I think I'm the only one besides Mike Stoops that
documents all my detailing classes and Mike Stoops basically continues the practices I implemented at Meguiar's after I started their Detailing 101 and 102 classes and shared and documented those classes on the MOL forum.
This includes documenting,
The cars my students work on.
Both the before, during and after pictures and I've been doing this since 2002 (when discussion forum software was invented, before this there was no real good way to document and share with the world anything, at least easily).
The tools we teach
By my recollection more than anyone in the industry.
The products we teach
Always a wide variety, never a single brand.
The processes we teach
This includes pretty much everything detailing related Here's a partial list,
Show car detailing - This includes Flex 3401, RUPES, PC, Griot's DA & BOSS, Cyclo, Megs MT300
Production detailing - The largest part of the detail business so I show how to make money doing it while putting how high quality work.
Engine detailing - Traditional
Engine detailing - Cosmetic
Glass Polishing - Topical
Glass Polishing - Sub surface defects
Headlight restoration
Interior detailing - Hot Water Extractors
Interior Detailing - Steam cleaners
Interior detailing- By hand and machine
Wet sanding by hand
Wet sanding by machine
How to use a rotary buffer and polish out hologram free
Convertible top cleaning and protection
Vehicle inspection
Upselling services but also the key importance of matching services to the customer
Certificates awarded to the students
Here's an example.
And at least once we've shared our class on TV
And tons for info that introduces itself on the fly so to speak as we work through all of the major above topics.
By the time someone goes through my 3-day class at a minimum they now have the confidence to tackle any project or the wisdom to turn the work down.
My classes attract people from around the country and around the world. My last class in September included a guy from Brazil, a guy from Saint Lucia and a guy from Puerto Rico. Typically the people that fly in from other countries are planning on dominating the market in their country with the highest quality services available targeted directly at the most affluent customers and car owners in their country. My class doesn't cost them money it makes them money for a lifetime.
This is a great discussion on the
piece of paper but there's a lot that goes into that piece of paper that has
real enduring meaning that I think is important enough that it needed to be injected into this thread for everyone to read into the future.
On that note, my next class is a little earlier this year than normal due to the fact that Mobile Tech is a little later than it normally is held in January.
Next 3-Day Boot Camp Class - January 22nd, 23rd & 24th
Click the link above and there's an outline of what you'll be doing each day. My classes are about 90 percent on your feet working and 10 percent sitting and the 10 percent includes coffee and donuts in the morning and lunch in the afternoon, point being these classes are intense hands-on training classes because I strongly believe and know from experience that people learn best by doing, not looking at a power point screen.
I think I'm the ONLY guy outside of possibly Todd Cooperider that shows pictures of the cars the upcoming class will be working on and it's always a STRONG mix of cool cars and real world daily drivers.
Just so no one has to search for it, here's the link to the thread for the cars for the January class AND sometime today I'll be adding some new cars to this thread.
Training Cars for Autogeek’s Competition Ready with Mike Phillips 3-Day Detailing Class
Included in the above class are,
- Two 1940 Ford Coupe Streetrods. (two of them)
- Tw0 GTO's - A 1964 and a 1965
- One 1963 Chevy Impala
- One 1956 Buick Special
- One 1998 Cadillac - Black with horrible swirls
- One 2002 Chevy Avalanche - The plastic cladding is totally destroyed but class will learn how to restore it.
That's 8 cars for my 3- day class and I'm working on one more Chevy Avalanche with destroyed plastic cladding for the production detailing portion of the class.
Besides all of the above one other aspect that is vitally important and that should be included in any discussion about "certification" is that the text you're reading right now is on the AGO detailing discussion forum.
I encourage, not simply ask but strongly encourage ALL my students to join this forum and then post their honest comments about their experience after taking the class and to day there is not a single negative post.
While I have a lot of favorite posts from past students this one from the July class really does a great job of summing up an honest description of one of my classes.
It was posted by my friend Sean who goes by the forum name
TheCamel and both he and his daughter attended my July class. He flew in from Iraq to attend this class and bring his daughter to this class. (Remember I said previously that my classes ONLY attract high caliber people).
Here's Sean, and "yes" that is a 1970 Chevelle factory BBC car that he, his daughter and the rest of the class learned the
art of polishing paint for "show car detailing" at the class he attended.
Here's what he posted....
TheCamel said:
This is my review of the July detailing boot camp.
Settle in for this journey, because I have a lot to talk about. But I can sum it all down into one word... Amazing!
I did a lot of research before I settled in on doing one of these classes. I wanted to make sure I was not going to be spending this kind of money and going to a place and watching a bunch of video presentations, and sitting through advertising gimmicks of a company. I wanted to be able to learn new things and be able to use them in a real world atmosphere.
You can sit and watch videos, you can read all the detailing forums in the world. But what you cannot do is have the level of expertise, or the products on hand that you get from this class! This class will put EVERY tool you want to try out in your hands, with an instructor giving you the proper procedures, and abilities to use the tool or product correctly. This is not standing around watching them do it, this is not about that at all. Each tool is explained, each product is explained, then put directly into you hands, and you are set free to do what you came to do.
When I looked at how the course was going to be set up, and was on the fence on what I would actually be getting out of this class, I did not believe we would be given every aspect that we were. We all look on the posts from Mike, we have read the past reviews, and we have looked at the pictures. But the pictures only show so much. This is 3 days of intense training, 3 days of hands on, with very little sitting time. As Mike said at the end, we were not even sure if there would be time to get to everything, because they pack so much into so little time.
If you plan to attend, be prepared to work! Wear comfortable clothing, wear shoes you can be comfortable standing in, or kneeling in all day. Mike sends an email out prior to the class stating to get a good nights rest before the first day... you will need it. You get out of this class what YOU put into it. They will give you everything you ask for, and more. I do not know of any other class that will put a basically pristine GTO Judge to a bunch of strangers, hand them tools that they may never have used before, and tell them to put a machine to it...and fix it!
Let me be honest, the pictures only tell part of the story of these vehicles. Some were absolute nightmares when they came in, and we made them better. This is not all about working show level cars either, the Avalanche and the work truck were real everyday cars, and they brought it all the way down to the real world of detailing.
Not only did Mike brain dump his knowledge to us, but Nick was right behind him as the Autogeek Wikipedia of the products we were using. If we were not using a product, Nick was still there to answer any questions for anything they carried, and even was able to give comparisons to stuff they may not have.
Every tool or product was explained as they were the company representative of that product line. There are no favorites, there are no "Best" it is just real world experience with everything offered.
The running joke of the class was "Mike has an article on that..." But its not a joke, he truly does his best to give you everything he knows from a lifetime of detailing and instructing. Try teaching a lifetime of your knowledge to 20 strangers... Not an easy task, and then try to do it all in 3 days... again, an almost impossible task. But somehow he does it, and does it very well.
If you leave the class with questions, it is because you did not ask them. There is plenty of opportunity to ask anything you want. Mike and Nick did their best to give the knowledge to everyone when the question has been asked 100's of times before, or even if they had never heard it asked. No question was ever treated as if it was the wrong question. It was always truthful, and always answered in a manor that was understood by all.
This class is designed for EVERYONE! If you have never picked up a machine, or washed a car in your life, to the professional detailer that puts food on the table for their family. If you are looking to improve your beater, or work on the elite, each aspect is covered.
This is a first class operation, and it shows. Confidence is gained through the class.
Some of you may be saying to yourself... why doesn't Autogeek do this all over... I can answer that question for you very easily...Cost! The facility is huge, the tool selection is outstanding, and the products used are all right there. I was amazed at how much was right there at your fingertips... But think about trying to do this at another location, and the sheer magnitude of the class becomes very apparent. We used an average of 300 Microfiber towels per day. We had 10-20 machines of each type sitting on the tables, we had chemicals, extension cords, vacuums, extractors, steam machines etc. Not to mention the static hoods and items used in the wet sanding portion. To put all of this equipment in a truck, move it to another location, and then find 20 outlets that will handle the power consumption, parking spaces, and a climate controlled facility on top of all of that is a logistics nightmare. Then find someone that is willing to drop their car off to 20 strangers with power tools on top of all that, and be of the quality that Mike works with. It is just not feasible.
Just to summarize all of this, if you are thinking about doing this... just sign up, you will not be disappointed.
And if you need more time to make your travel arrangements to Stuart, Florida to attend one of my classes to get tons of hands-on training and experience plus my "Certificate of Completion" certificate, then my next two three day classes are,
May 6th, 7th & 8th
September 23rd, 24th and 25th
You can sign-up anytime for any class by calling Nick at 1-800-869-3011 x215
My next one-day boat detailing class, which is also the MOST hands-on boat detailing class in the industry is,
Marine 31 Boat Detailing Class - Saturday February 6th, 2016
My 3-day ACR detailing classes are $1,500.00
Everything in my three books below is covered in the 3-day class and much more,
The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine
How to use the Flex 3401 for both Show Car Detailing and Production Detailing
How to use the RUPES Paint Polishing System for both Show Car Detailing and Production Detailing
My 1-day boat detailing class is $300.00
My new book,
How to Detail Boats with Marine 31
Is also the
course outline for the boat detailing class.
If you can't attend my boat detailing class the next best thing is to get a copy of this book and read it from cover to cover. It covers EVERYTHING you would ever need to know to detail a boat including machine sanding with the Flex 3401 on both fiberglass gel-coat boats and aluminum pontoon boats and pretty much anything else related to a boat.
And a "Certificate of Completion" is awarded after completing my boat detailing class. And "yes" by class machine and hand sanded the boat you see in that picture then used a rotary buffer to remove their sanding marks, DA polishers to polish to a hologram-free finish and then coated the boat with a gel-coat coating.
Jeff Wagner
Looking forward to meeting everyone and anyone that attends one of my future classes.
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