To increase production in a dealership detail depart­ment most auto dealers might think of two ways:

A. Push the employees to work faster (which normally doesn’t work).

B. Increase labor (which simply increases costs).

However, there are three other alternatives you could consider:

A. Hiring better person­nel

B. Better utilizing your present facility by organizing and becoming more efficient — the “work smarter not harder school of thought.”

C. Purchase equipment that will allow you to produce more work with the same labor, and/or in the same amount of time.

These are the first steps to increasing production. If you look at most detail shops, they are typically very disor­ganized and inefficient. Equipment, chemicals, sup­plies and employees are very helter-skelter — an unsightly mess.

All these elements need to be organized to ensure a workflow that gets the maxi­mum amount of work done relative to the number of employees. In fact, if a fran­chised dealer does not buy into the concept of workshop orga­nization before purchasing equipment, the results will be less than satisfactory. New equipment will not help a disorga­nized manager and disorganized people

Rather than purchasing new equipment and dropping it into an existing disorga­nized detail department, it will be much more efficient to make an effort to look at and deter­mine the causes of disorgani­zation and then eliminate the problems before doing any­thing else.

The Forest and the Trees Story

A major obstacle for most dealers to this approach is their familiarity and comfort with what has always been done. In other words, it is hard to see the forest with all those big trees in the way.

To say it another familiar way, “It is hard to remember the plan was to drain the swamp when you are up to your pos­terior in alligators.”

 In most cases, the dealer principal does not even go in the forest or swamp.

While many franchised dealers have good intentions, they generally are distant from the operation of the detail shop. The pressure of “getting the cars out” is put on someone else, like the service man­ager, used-car manager or detail shop supervisor, with little or no involvement on their part.

As Steven Covey states so well in his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, business people, typically, spend most of their time in “Quad­rant I Activities”, what he calls the important and urgent. While these are activ­ities that must be accom­plished, it should never be at the expense of “Quadrant II Activities”, which he calls important but not urgent.

These activities deal with goal setting, planning, shop reno­vation, equipment pur­chases, etc.

The Application

For me it would be easy to simply say, read Covey’s book to understand its appli­cation to you (I would highly recommend the book for every business person). In lieu of your reading the book, a sim­ple summation of his recom­mendation is for you to take some time to set down your goals and expected results for your detail department and how you might achieve them.

Rethink, Reorganize, Regroup

There is no question that rethinking the present man­agement and operational methods in your detail department will cost you money. But keep in mind that these costs should more than pay for themselves.

To get started, you should work on solving the biggest problems first, and then work on all the others. The key is to get started. Take a sheet of paper and write down at least two or three things that are problems in the operation of your detailing department, or have the person in charge of the department do this, as well.

Even if there are more, pick out those two or three that seem to crop up each and every day.

Remember every­thing cannot be changed at once; you will be lucky to change two.

Once these have been identified, you can then begin the process to change them.

Doing What You’ve Always Done, Getting What You Have Always Got

How do you identify the two biggest problems? Ask the people who work for you. No one knows the prob­lems better than those doing the work.

One of the ways I have learned about how to make a detail shop more efficient is to work in the shop. Without having my own shops, I could not be in a position to offer you any advice.

You Need Procedures

Do not limit your think­ing only in terms of purchas­ing equipment. You must also think in terms of developing procedures, or changing some of those you now have. Often you can increase productivity by making simple procedural changes. For example, do you have a job service order with each car?

If not, how do the detailers know what to do to the car? It does not cost much, but it could save a great deal of time.

Do you have a procedure for final inspection of the vehicle before it leaves the wash bay? Before it leaves the work bays?

To take a few minutes to check the vehicle before it moves is to save even more time.

Changes like these are very important to implement before purchasing any equip­ment.

Remember: production improvements from equip­ment purchases are only as effective as the personnel operating the equipment.

But you have to be realistic; not every change made is going to be helpful. Moreover, there will be many of your employees who will point to that one failure as a good reason not to change anything else.

Everyone resists change in all walks of life. You know the old saying: “lf it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
But your answer to this is: “We need to get more and better quality work done with the same amount of labor in the same amount of time.”

Employees have to know that greater production means more money for them and their future.

The best way to get employees to buy into planned changes is to include them in the plans. That is, if you really value their input.

If you do not, maybe they should not be work­ing for you. If you ask the employees what they need to do their jobs better or faster, you can insure their participation in your plans for change.

Of course, you have to have the right people, and most dealerships do not have the right people working in their detail departments. I can say with complete confidence that most “experienced” detailers are not those you would want anywhere else in the dealership. 

With these people, their experience is only good if you let them do what they want. And then who is in charge? They are. That is why most changes never work because experienced detailers do not want to change and will do everything they can to fight any new procedures, equipment, etc.

Must-Have Equipment

Before identifying what equipment a detail depart­ment should have, first look at how your shop is equipped now. Then you can understand the reason for disorganization and mess:

  • Portable shop vacuum with long extension cord
  • Electric buffer with long extension cords
  • Buckets
  • Hoses
  • Miscellaneous brushes
  • Plastic squeeze and spray bottles
  • Miscellaneous buffing pads
  • Towels and rags

Part of the problem in “organizing for better efficien­cy” is that your detail depart­ment has little to work with in the first place. Organizing the equipment mentioned above takes so much time that you are probably already paying for any high-tech equipment in wasted time and lower production.

It has always been my con­tention that a detail depart­ment should be set up like a surgical operating room or a dentist’s office. A good example of this is the automotive service department in your auto dealer­ships or the setups in quick lubrication and oil change facili­ties. Why shouldn’t your detail operation have this same type of organization?

A quick lube facility, for example, uses many types of oils, grease, transmission flu­ids, differential fluid, brake fluid, etc. These are not dis­pensed in small containers, but stored in bulk and delivered to the work bays in hoses. This is obvi­ously a very efficient system.

Doesn’t it make sense that a detail operation should have some type of chemical dispensing system? Especially considering the number of chemicals used and the fact that many have to be diluted?

Substantial production increases are possible in most dealership detail operations by re-examining the way the work is presently being done and utilizing everything and everyone to your best advan­tage. You can purchase the best equipment, but if you are not getting the most out of what you already have, you will not get the most out of what you just bought.

Make Your Supplier Your Partner

A key factor in reducing and maintaining supply and chemical costs is to partner with them.

Ask many dealers about the companies that supply their recon/detail department, and you get comments about lack of honesty and commit­ment and overselling; or sim­ply, “I don’t deal with them.”

The interesting thing is that if you ask a supplier about their dealer customers, they might say the same things.

So who is right?

Suppliers state that deal­ers say they want quality, ser­vice and delivery. However, most buy based on price.

Dealers indicate that sup­pliers only want to sell as much chemical as possible, and give you a real “snake-oil” pitch on most of them.

Long-Term Process

Like marriage, learning to “partner” with your suppli­er is a long-term process. They take the time to develop and require positive input from both sides. Just because the dealer is the buyer does not mean it is a one-sided relationship.

Detail suppliers who have not yet learned to partner with their customers are beginning to find it tough going, and it will get worse.

Smart dealers are learn­ing to limit their suppliers, and work closely with those who can supply most of their needs. You must look for sup­pliers who want to partner with you. When you find one, put more energy into these relationships, and you will get what you want, when you want it, with the service and attention that goes with a purchase. In the long run, if you commit to one or a few suppliers, it will turn out to save you money.

Suppliers who cannot meet these demands should not be given your business.

Earning Trust

All relationships begin with trust — earned, not pur­chased, taken or given freely.

Dealers must cooperate with their suppliers. A suppli­er can only assist you if you share information with them. For example, if you or your recon manager is unhappy with a product or the sales­person who calls on your shop, tell them or their super­visor the problem.

You must give in order to get. In exchange for good pric­ing and extraordinary service you need to make a commit­ment to purchase most of your chemicals and supplies from them.

If you want a supplier to provide you the most advanced technology and information you must help them. They have needs as you do, and you must be sensitive to their needs as you expect them to be to yours.

As a small dealership you might be saying, “Hey, I’m too small for all this fancy ‘part­nering.’ I have to keep my costs down, and if I can buy for a cheaper price, I have a right to do it!”

But are you really too small? Maybe you are small because you think small about your detail department, and then get small results.

Consider those suppliers who could put you on the cutting edge of all the latest tech­nology in the detail business that cannot only save you money, but make you money.

You will never know how these suppliers can help if you do not give them a chance.

Better yet, ask those sup­pliers that sell price what else they can offer besides price. If you think saving a buck or two on a gallon of chemical is going to help your detail oper­ation you are destined for dis­appointment.

Suppliers, You Have a Role, Too.

This is not just for dealers! The supplier must partner too. Not only with their cus­tomers, but with the company who supplies chemicals, pads, brushes, etc.

To be the greatest value to the dealer, the manufactur­er you represent, and to your­self, you must be a source of knowledge for both. Share as much as you can with your customers and your manufac­turer. Do not be discouraged if your ideas are often met with a lack of response. In partnering, you must always look at situations from the other point of view.

As one of Steven Covey’s Habit’s state: “Seek first to understand, then be under­stood.”