Archived Blog Posts for May, 2012

Car Care Spotlight: The Benefits of Using an Ozone Generator in Your Auto Detailing Business

May 31, 2012|Category: Car Care Spotlight, Interior Detailing|3 Comments

One of the saddest sights a professional auto detailer can witness is the results of hapless car owners in their failed attempt to clean food spills, pet stains or vomit from the interior of their treasured mode of transportation. They spray, they rub, they scrub, and all they accomplish is to force the fluids — and accompanying odors — deeper into the upholstery and carpet.

Like a visiting distant relative, you just can’t get rid of it!

That’s because merely mopping up the odor source does little to make the odor go away. By the time the customer has done his or her best to clean up, the bacteria causing the odor has reproduced and has worked its way into all of the porous interior components. These include the headliner, seating surfaces, dashboard and even the ductwork.

And you can’t really blame these folks for trying. It’s just that they don’t know any better. They aren’t the professionals. Just like you don’t know how to sell insurance, run a restaurant, or whatever else it is that your customers do for a living. The point is, as a professionally trained auto detailer, you should always be the go-to guy (or gal) when it comes to odors in an automobile.

But if your mobile or fixed-location detailing business has an ozone machine or two, you’re in like Flynn when it comes to providing a solution to this odorous malady. Ozone has been found to be the second most effective way to permanently eliminate odors caused by mold, mildew, smoke, body odor and pet odors. (Chlorine is the No. 1 solution, but we’ll get to that later on in this post.)

Ozone absolutely resolves nasal nuisances brought about by spills, including milk, vomit, urine, feces, body odor and other foul substances containing bacteria molecules that causes odor in the first place. We here at Detail King have been touting the benefits of ozone machines to our auto detailing professionals for well over a decade. And while these machines work wonders, the source of foul odors must be dealt with first. This involves  Continue reading…

How Heated Carpet Extractors Save Auto Detailers Time and Money

May 31, 2012|Category: Auto Detailing Tips, Auto Detailing Tools|2 Comments

Hot water carpet extractors are among the most important tools in your auto-detailing arsenal, not only because a clean carpet gives customers an immediate sense of gratification, but because it gives you a bigger profit margin in your up-sell.

The carpet extractors available to auto detailers today work so much better than the old wet/dry shop vacuum of yesteryear. To tell you the truth, those beasts were never intended to provide a deep cleaning to automobile carpet, let alone remove all the dirty, soapy water afterward. In fact, when it comes to shop vacs, you’d be better off just sucking up the carpet through a straw.

What today’s heated extractors do is next to miraculous, immediately breaking down dirt, grease, grime, stale odors and most stains. And a good extractor will clean carpet with water that’s heated to up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. That feature alone reduces your labor time by 50 percent — which subsequently increases your profits by almost that much.

One of the things we recommend here at Detail King — in fact, it’s kind of a trade secret — is that you don’t mix any extractor soap in the solution tank of the extractor at all. Instead, we find it’s much better to spray a light mist of extractor soap directly onto the areas that will be cleaned a few minutes before extracting.

After the soap has been applied, follow up with the heated extractor, which will spray a uniform, heavy mist of hot water from the four-inch stainless steel hand tool deep into the carpet and upholstery fibers — simultaneously mixing with the extractor soap that you applied minutes earlier. The combination of the hot water and the extractor soap breaks apart the Continue reading…

Meet The Detail King’s Team: International Sales Manager Jason Fung

May 29, 2012|Category: Meet The Team|Comment

Jason Fung - International Sales Manager, Detail King

Welcome to the first of what we expect will be many Meet The Team blog posts, a feature we’ll be running from time to time to introduce you to the talented staff here at Detail King. It’s often said that a business or brand is only as good as the employees who stand behind it. And while it’s absolutely true that we’d be nowhere with you — our amazing customers — the same must be said about the talented and passionate people who work here at Detail King.

For our first Meet The Team profile, we’ve selected our international sales manager, Jason Fung. Meet Jason:

Detail King: What is it exactly that you do here at Detail King?

Jason Fung: I mainly do sales and training. I also handle customer service, purchasing, receiving, inventory management, and more. Basically, on any given day, I take orders over the phone, handle customers’ questions and offer technical support via phone and email, I make purchase orders, I receive inventory, I build packages and make inventory adjustments and I enter Internet orders. I also make customer follow-up calls.

Detail King: What did you do prior to coming to work for Detail King?

Jason: Prior to coming here, I did an internship with ESPN Radio. I also worked as a valet to make money since the internship was unpaid.

Detail King: What attracted you to work for Detail King?

Jason: I’ve always been interested in cars and keeping them clean, and since  Continue reading…

It’s Not Too Late to Sign Up for the June 23-24 Auto Detailing Training Seminar Technician Program

May 25, 2012|Category: Auto Detailer Training, Auto Detailing Business Management, Auto Detailing Training Institute|Comment

The June 2012 Auto Detailing Training Seminar – Technician Program in Pittsburgh, Pa., begins at 8:15 a.m. sharp on Saturday, June 23, and if you’re interested in attending, you can still get a seat.

In fact, Nick Vacco, director and founder of the Auto Detailing Training Institute, says he’ll hold a place for applicants up until the last minute — especially for those of you who are seriously considering a career change and starting an auto detailing business.

This car detailing training seminar is a two-day experience that has resulted in many students going on to become successful auto detailing business owners, working as mobile detailing operators, detail shop owners, professional detailers and detail shop honchos.

The cost is just $299, which includes two full days of training, all the coffee and refreshments you can consume, training materials — including the seminar binder — and a framed diploma that shows you have been professionally trained. No silly “certificates of completion” here (Detail King Auto Detailing Institute is a Private Licensed Training School approved by the State Of Pennsylvania’s Board of Education).

The first day of the Auto Detail Training Seminar is dedicated to learning the ropes for starting, operating and growing a detailing business whether it be mobile, fixed or both. Day one is held at the Holiday Inn in Monroeville, Pa, not far from Detail King’s world headquarters just outside of Pittsburgh.

Below is a brief synopsis of what will take place in the classroom on Day One: Continue reading…

Why Your Auto Detailing Business Must Accept Credit Cards

May 23, 2012|Category: Auto Detailing Business Management, Mobile Auto Detailing|1 Comment

Chances are, you’re always updating your auto detailing business, bringing in new buffers, maybe a fancy portable washer system and some top-notch cleaning tools. While you’re on a roll here, maybe it’s time to upgrade the way you accept payment for your services.

We’re talking of course about credit cards, and if you’re currently unwilling or unable to accept these pieces of plastic as payment, you’re cutting drastically into your company’s bottom line. Some examples: Maybe your customer drives a company car and his business only pays by credit card.

More important, maybe your customer wants to partake in one of your up-sell services, but he’s only got enough cash in his wallet for what he originally called you to do. Whipping out the ol’ credit card might be an option for this customer but — noooooo! — you don’t accept credit cards.

That means the fabric protection service you offer for $60 isn’t going to happen. Neither is that polymer paint protection up-sell that brings you an additional $50 to $75 per. And that ozone treatment to get rid of foul odors….there’s another $50 to $100 out the window.

If your auto detailing business doesn’t accept credit cards, you can also kiss off plenty of opportunities to  Continue reading…