Autopia Pro Services

Shiny Lil Detlr said:
so sorta like AutoInt's "Certified Detailer" program? Sounds cool :up
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I hope it does not become like that!!

I want to see results from people. Just because you buy products from someone or make a phone call to have you listed does not make you a certified detailer. IMO (and lets not start this all up again)



Autopia will be on a much higher level then auto int.



But i do get where your coming from sld.
 
yeah I know there's bad feelings about the way autoint runs its stuff, and autopia in general is a higher level than that, its just about the only "up and running" program of that type that I can compare to. ;)
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
yeah I know there's bad feelings about the way autoint runs its stuff, and autopia in general is a higher level than that, its just about the only "up and running" program of that type that I can compare to. ;)
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I hear ya! did not want to sound like a d!ck towards you. It was not meant to be like that. I just read what i wrote and it did not sound right. None of that was towards you.

NYD
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
so sorta like AutoInt's "Certified Detailer" program? Sounds cool :up
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I can assure everyone that an Autopia Certified Detailer program will not be a rubber stamp. If you have taken any of my quizzes, you know how challenging my qustions can be. I would assemble an education program to go with the certification process. It would include:



1. Customer Service

2. Business Operations

3. Detailing



If you're wondering why 1 & 2, it's because anyone can be taught to detail a car. The difficult skills, and the ones that will keep you in business are Customer Service and Business Operations. This will be a hard process and you WILL work for it.



db
 
car products......correct me if i'm wrong but doesn't dale and tim have online stores....so are you looking for people who just detail or people who detail and have a online store



money is like manure it works better when it's spread around
 
NY detailer said:
Pro detailer would be someone who does this for a living. We see all types of cars from luxuary to daily drivers to sport.



there are people who are very good at detailing and came become a pro but just keep it local to family & friends.



It is all about how you see yourself. Do detail for a living or for fun.

which ever way you detail it's all good! :)
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I disagree. There are lots of people out there doing this for a living and hacking up peoples cars. Are they professional detailers? I think not. I define a professional detailer as someone who strives to diagnose, then correct problems with a vehicles appearence. There is a profound difference between that and what most so called "professioanls" do.
 
ShineShop said:
I disagree. There are lots of people out there doing this for a living and hacking up peoples cars. Are they professional detailers? I think not. I define a professional detailer as someone who strives to diagnose, then correct problems with a vehicles appearence. There is a profound difference between that and what most so called "professioanls" do.
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As you hit the nail on the head, you are sooooo correct it is not even funny, there are probably more half Azz “pro detailersâ€� out there than home made car fanatics that just love the automobile. I love cars, that’s why I love to detail them, I have a passion, an obsession, a lust for them. This is more than just trying to make money to put food on the table. I wouldn’t call anyone a pro or not a pro till I see them work or there work. Remember its quality not quaintly that makes a pro…..
 
NY detailer said:
I hope it does not become like that!!

I want to see results from people. Just because you buy products from someone or make a phone call to have you listed does not make you a certified detailer. IMO (and lets not start this all up again)



Autopia will be on a much higher level then auto int.



But i do get where your coming from sld.
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I think certification is a great idea but it won't hold much weight unless strong industry ties are behind it to give some credibility. I have in fact attended AutoInt's Prepexcellence school in Cincinnati and you do not get a gold rating unless you have attended and completed their course. I can attest that the course is very comprehensive and that Auto International consults with many of the OEM's. I do however see your point regarding a certification given by a manufacturer of products (conflict of interest).
 
DavidB said:
I can assure everyone that an Autopia Certified Detailer program will not be a rubber stamp. If you have taken any of my quizzes, you know how challenging my qustions can be. I would assemble an education program to go with the certification process. It would include:



1. Customer Service

2. Business Operations

3. Detailing



If you're wondering why 1 & 2, it's because anyone can be taught to detail a car. The difficult skills, and the ones that will keep you in business are Customer Service and Business Operations. This will be a hard process and you WILL work for it.



db
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I disagree. I have been in business for nine years and anyone who has owned a shop will tell you that very few people can be taught to actually detail a car with precision and quality. Some just can't do it and most just don't care enough. I do do agree with you on the business side of detailing. I have several excellent detailers working for me that had their own shops but just couldn't make a go of it because they had no business sense. On the other side, I also know of several excellent businessmen who opened detail shops and couldn't hack it because they couldn't detail a car to save their life. The key to this business is having a balance of BOTH.
 
Redcar GUY said:
As you hit the nail on the head, you are sooooo correct it is not even funny, there are probably more half Azz “pro detailersâ€� out there than home made car fanatics that just love the automobile. I love cars, that’s why I love to detail them, I have a passion, an obsession, a lust for them. This is more than just trying to make money to put food on the table. I wouldn’t call anyone a pro or not a pro till I see them work or there work. Remember its quality not quaintly that makes a pro…..
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I'm the same as you. I detail cars because I love doing it. I am lucky enough that I also make a good living from it as well but all the hackers sure do make it hard sometimes.
 
DavidB said:
an education program to go with the certification process. It would include:



1. Customer Service

2. Business Operations

3. Detailing
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Now my ears are perked! This is a great idea!
 
ShineShop said:
I disagree. There are lots of people out there doing this for a living and hacking up peoples cars. Are they professional detailers? I think not. I define a professional detailer as someone who strives to diagnose, then correct problems with a vehicles appearence. There is a profound difference between that and what most so called "professioanls" do.
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exactly.... also I don't detail "full time" for a living- only on the side of my normal college work and steady paying job, this is more like a hobby. Honestly I don't often do more than break even with a very small ammount of profit for the work I do (hardly enough to live by). However with the quality of my detail jobs I feel that I am more professional than some "pros" out there. Besides which, I feel that anyone should be equally able to get in on a certification with benifits like this as long as they/we are willing to pay for it. :up
 
ShineShop said:
I disagree. I have been in business for nine years and anyone who has owned a shop will tell you that very few people can be taught to actually detail a car with precision and quality. Some just can't do it and most just don't care enough. I do do agree with you on the business side of detailing. I have several excellent detailers working for me that had their own shops but just couldn't make a go of it because they had no business sense. On the other side, I also know of several excellent businessmen who opened detail shops and couldn't hack it because they couldn't detail a car to save their life. The key to this business is having a balance of BOTH.
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I don't agree with the statement that very few people can be taught to detail a car with quality. It is a process that requires knowledge of automotive surfaces, chemicals and tools. Customer service is a more difficult skill to learn. And, frankly, half of running a quality shop is having good customer service skills. Let's face it, a masterful detailer with no customer service skills will do as much damage as a person with great customer service skills who is an okay detailer. Half of the battle is caring enough about the customer's car to do a good job and do no harm.
 
DavidB said:
I don't agree with the statement that very few people can be taught to detail a car with quality. It is a process that requires knowledge of automotive surfaces, chemicals and tools. Customer service is a more difficult skill to learn. And, frankly, half of running a quality shop is having good customer service skills. Let's face it, a masterful detailer with no customer service skills will do as much damage as a person with great customer service skills who is an okay detailer. Half of the battle is caring enough about the customer's car to do a good job and do no harm.
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We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I've had my shop for almost 10 years now and I will say on the record that maybe 20% of the people who have worked for me can even come close to detailing a car to the standard I want. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. I have had people with masters degrees not be able to wash a car properly and people with learning disabilities do great work. Almost every shop owner I have ever talked to has said the same thing - labor is always the hardest part. I do agree with you about the customer service/relations, business skills and knowledge being equally important but the core of any detailing business is the quality of the work.
 
ShineShop... IMHO, you nailed the issue. It does not matter how "educated" a worker is; if they don't care about the job they're doing, they won't do a good job. Passion for a job = good customer service. If someone is working as a detailer because it was "the job available," they are not likely to do a a good job. Good training will not overcome attitude.
 
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