Whose fault is it, really?

Most dealers are selfish a$$es. They dont care. All they care about is making lots of money. Where I work they wont buy good detailing products, hell they dont buy products at all if they can help it . They dont even have a all purpose cleaner. They use a orange degreaser. When I first got the job I wanted to clean up the interior on my service van which was very filty. All I had to use was the orange degreaser. The inside of the van came out clean but the other drivers complained that the van smelled like the inside of a orange for a week. To bad at least it was clean.
 
It is really the fact that the dealership is there to make a profit, plain and simple. Dealer detailing is a service that really doesn't add anything to the bottom line in their opinion (cleaning/prepping a car is a necessary evil). Therefore, those tasked with cleaning/prepping the cars are given minimal training/supplies and told to prepare a car in the quickest fashion possible. The customers really only see/want a "shiny" car and do not know the difference between this and a proper detail. (The detailer community is a rare breed who see every flaw in any car, the majority of people do not see the difference until their car is a swirly/hazy mess)
 
I just started working at dealership and there so many things we do wrong. Lucky we haven't been getting much spots, so I had more time cleaning used cars. I spent the whole day yesterday detailing a black CRV, I didn't get bothered.

We get an 1.5 hour for a new car. And 4 hours for a used car.

I buffed out the scratches out with 3M compound. Then went over the whole car with Car Brite Sleek (cleaner+glaze). Then waxed the car with Car Brite Crystal Shine. Then I worked on the interior and that took about 2-3 hours? I also bombed the car because it was a smoker's car and it smelled horrible. The car sure looked a lot better then when we got it.

I only plan to work maybe a year till I start my own business. Slowly building a client list.

Don't get me wrong, but it def a good start working at a dealership because if you mess up. It not coming out of your pocket. I had sanded a used car and it went through the clear. :P

My pay sucks and I'm hoping I can get a raise, if not I might quit sooner.
 
1MZsLastForever said:
I think a neat little idea would be to slip your business card or phone number in the owner's manual or in the cupholder or something. You never know, you might get a few clients here and there who want a properly detailed car.
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure that with out consent of the dealer, the first time someone call them and says do you endorse this detail guy? You could get fired for this very fast.
 
Fault? It's both the industry itself and the customer. 99% of new car buyers want clean & shiny. They would not recognize if you spent a half hour or eight hours prepping the car for sale. If you own the dealership you simply cannot afford to appeal to the 1% customer 100% of the time.

You have held this job for some time and do the best you can with the cards you are dealt. Hold your head high.....you are gainfully employed yet still know the difference between "do only what's necessary to sell it" and what's required to make it close to perfect. You have a good head on your shoulders, continue to use it.

If you owned the dealership would you spend another $50,000-$100,000 a year to put out "near perfect" cars when the consumer would never even recognize it? I think not.
 
I only trust my car in my own hands or my preferred body shop.
 
Hmm let me throw my .02 into this. I worked for a dealership for almost 2 years where I "started out" detailing.

I've been detailing almost 10 years now, 2 years professional running a full time business.

I also service 3 small local dealerships when time allows.

When it comes to overall dealership car care standards or lack thereof, it is the CUSTOMERS fault. Dealerships could not get away with the shoddy work that they do if the customers would not allow them.

That being said, most people do NOT CARE about how a vehicle is washes, waxed, dressed, or otherwise cleaned as long as it passes the "glance test" which consists of looking to see if there is any obvious dirt on the outside or any dirt on the front drivers side portion of the car inside.

The dealers are in it to make money, you can't fault them for that. They are going to do, and pay to do the absolute minimum needed to please 95% of their customers.

Just because professional level detailers and care care enthusiasts would not be happy with the work does not mean that 95% of regular car owning consumers would not be.
 
I detail in a dealership full time. You have to separate work from hobby.
As much as it bothers me seeing some of the techniques used, that's how the boss wants it done. They want it done cheap, and yesterday.
Once I punch the clock at 5 I can go 2 bucket mitt wash all I want.
However I am very fortunate to work for a dealership that will let me detail semi legitimately
 
I mainly put it on the dealership. I would think if its a "service" they offer they should take the time to do it correctly and ensure their "cleanup" dept have the skills, tools and product to do said job correctly. JMHO
 
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