The world of detailing is incredibly diverse, and with each unique situation comes unique challenges and obstacles that differ depending on whether you are a professional or a hobbyist.
The best way to overcome some of the most common obstacles in detailing work is to get in front of them. Knowing ahead of time what these hurdles are allows you to audit your professional shop or at-home workspace and correct the issues before they become issues.
With that being said, here are the four most common obstacles you may face in your detailing ventures.
1. Messy Work Environments
As a professional, scheduling pressures can cause difficulty in tidiness, but it is a crucial element of your workmanship and what impression you give your customers.
Without regular upkeep, detailing studios and workstations battle dust and dirt which can and will contaminate your pads or microfiber cloths. Once that contamination occurs, it is rubbed against the finish of an automobile, counterproductive to what you set out to accomplish as a detailer by reapplying discrepancies as quickly as you remove them.
2. Inefficient Workflow
Polishing is labor intensive, so having inefficient methods or inadequate equipment only causes setbacks.
An investment in training and quality tools, polishing pads and liquids help you achieve your polishing goals. Kelly Harris, Lake Country Manufacturing’s new Director of Global Training, provides educational videos for all detailers to help improve methods and efficiency.
3. Evolving Client Expectations
In all industries, change is the only constant. Customer requests constantly evolve, and in detailing, you will undoubtedly be faced with unique requests daily.
While you are the professional, the customer has their ideal scenario in their minds. Having them give you direction allows you to work on their vehicle from their perspective. Consider keeping the customer involved where you see necessary to facilitate a collaborative working relationship, giving them a solid trust in your skills while further allowing you to take the lead as the professional and deliver the best service possible.
4. Detailing Limitations
Removing every single defect from every single car is an impossibility, and desperately trying to do so will wreak havoc.
Learn to use a wide range of pads and interpret paint thickness by way of obtaining some scrap panels to experiment and see what you can fix. This is a tactile industry, so tactile learning is imperative. Additionally, working smarter and not harder is a component of staying in front of this obstacle as well. Consider purchasing the UDOS ® 51E, 5-1 Dual Action Orbital Machine plus Rotary Tool, to increase efficiency and the diversity of detailing to better manage client expectations.
Keeping in mind these four obstacles and learning how to stay in front of them from the start of a job through the moment the customer rolls off in their beautifully detailed vehicle will not only keep your consistent customers happy, but foster a powerful, omnipresent word-of-mouth marketing about the quality of your work; a legacy that places you in the upper echelon of successful detailers.
