Dealerships See Detail Bays As an Expense. We See Profits

Dealerships see the detail bay and the auto recon trade as an expense. It should be a profit center. What went wrong?

First, you have two extremes. You have a national, corporate model where someone in a suit buys the detailing products with no concept of what works well in the real world.

In the second model, you have parts or service managers taking the path of least resistance. It may start as a price thing, but it ultimately turns into a good ol’ boys network where they buy what the salesman tells the detailer they should buy, and costs keep going up.

There is a way to buy detail supplies that actually works, but it involves being willing to change.

So let’s be honest. You are in this business to make money. So are your suppliers. That’s OK, but it has to be a profitable relationship for all involved.

1. Detail supply companies need to go further than selling a chemical. At minimum, they need to make sure your team has the right bottles, labels, and SDS sheets.
2. Most detail supply companies are about the product. The truth is, the process matters more. The problem is, they are salespeople, not trainers. They make more money when they get in, get out, and move on.

That’s one area I’m different. I built and sold a high-end detail shop. I know the process. I teach the process. I love the process.

I walked into a detail bay in Denver where the detailer was struggling with glass. It took less than 2 minutes to fix it, and $0 in product.

In Delta, my customer was ready to purchase $600 in tools and compounds and take 3 days to paint correct a vehicle. I asked to borrow his 3” polisher, as well as the pads and compounds he already had. I spent 20 minutes showing him how to take out Colorado pinstripes.

The following week, a vehicle was sold and sent back to detail by the retail customer. The hood looked terrible. Management was involved. It was fixed before I left.

3. This one is nuanced. The tail can’t wag the dog.

Supply trucks are set up to sell supplies. They are like rolling candy stores. But that’s not good if the salesperson is pushing your detailer to buy products you don’t need.

Our goal is always to minimize the cost per car at the best possible outcome, not maximize our sales.

You also can’t have different detailers using different products. The manager or the lead detailer needs to set the tone, and a consistent process needs to be used.

4. Dilution. I see so much product wasted because it is not diluted properly or because “more must be stronger.” We always make sure our customers and new employees understand dilution.
5. Aerosols. They definitely help my bottom line, but they destroy yours. While they can be a necessary evil, they are typically overused, and we help minimize that.
6. Theft. We see it a lot. The amount of interior cleaner or degreaser simply doesn’t make sense. We find positive ways to help reduce this.

In short, the person bringing your detail supplies should be more than a soap salesman. They should be the person your crew and your managers lean on to make sure your detail bay is profitable—for the dealership