It seems dealers are looking for a magic wand they can wave to have a perfect reconditioning department. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works.  

There are a number of things necessary for a proper reconditioning department; things that are easy to identify, but difficult it seems for the auto dealer to grasp.

What is needed for a proper reconditioning department is the implementation of what we call the “Principles of Production” for an automotive service department.            

These principles are easily recognized, but seemingly difficult for the dealer to implement. They are as follows:

  • Management
  • Personnel
  • Facilities
  • Equipment
  • Materials

 

Since it is impossible to write extensively on each one of the Principles, what we will do is briefly discuss four of the Principles and focus the article on personnel and their training.

Management

Probably the biggest downfall for dealers with the reconditioning department is in the area of management, which in any business or department is the key factor in success. The problem in dealerships is attitude. Everyone in the dealership from the top down has the attitude that the detail department is that of the “red-headed” stepchild that no one wants to acknowledge. Some call it the “Cinderella of the Dealership”, and it looks and operates that way because of poor management. Let me explain. 

The dealer principal or general manager usually gives responsibility for the department either to the fixed operations manager, service manager, body shop manager, or in some cases, the used-car manager.  This tends to be a mistake.  Why?  Because, in most cases, those managers have their hands already full running their respective departments, and detailing becomes a burden to them. 

Further, very few of these managers even know what to manage in a reconditioning department in order to insure that it operates efficiently and profitably. Most have no idea of what equipment, chemicals and supplies are needed to properly operate the department. They also do not know what procedures the detailers should be following to properly detail a vehicle.  Need I say more?

The next mistake that is made in dealerships is to appoint the “best detailer” or the “detailer with the longest tenure” as the manager.  The problem with this is that the person is a “detailer”, not a manager. 
His or her skill is in detailing cars not managing.  This person does not know how to manage or what to manage, and as a result, little management is done.  The shop manager is detailing cars rather than managing.

Personnel

This portion of the article will deal with hiring the right people and the necessity for training them.  That is, if you expect them to perform as most dealers would want them to perform.

You must know how to hire, and once hired, you must have a training program that will result in the performance you are looking for and this takes a commitment on the part of management.  That is the fixed operations manager, or service manager, or whomever the dealership has in charge of the department.  In addition, having a shop manager who knows how to manage is key, which involves training and monitoring the personnel.

To insure employee training for a dealership reconditioning department is effective you need to selectively hire employees. You cannot hire the untrainable and expect them to be receptive to training that requires them to change. Most experienced detailers are not trainable. You also need a good manager, not a detailer, a manager who is committed to an efficiently operated department (as mentioned before).

Auto detailing is a labor-intensive business, and with the primitive technology used in most dealership reconditioning departments, you have to focus on efficiency. Even with the equipment and organizational advances that are available, few dealerships have them, and even those that do still have to insure they are used.

Facilities

In many dealerships, the reconditioning department is put where there is extra space in the building.  Little attention is paid to what is needed for lighting and proper flow.  If you have this kind of facility, it will be hard to gain the efficiency that is desired.  That said, we do find that today many new dealerships and those being built are dedicating good space to the detail department. 

 

The number of bays in the reconditioning department should relate the number of vehicles to process, on average, per day.

 

For example, if the reconditioning department is to process 10 or more cars per day, then there should be at least four detail bays and one wash bay for engines, wheels and body wash.  This is true even if there is an automatic car wash, because the engine and wheels have to be hand cleaned, and this should not be done at the entrance to the car wash, which will hold up flow to the wash, and put grease and grime into the car wash reclaim system.

If there is no automatic car wash and the dealer is washing every service customer’s car, then you will need at least two or more wash bays to handle both the reconditioning preps, new car “make ready’s”, new-car deliveries and the service customer’s washes.

As you can see, a great deal of thought needs to go into the amount of space being dedicated to the reconditioning department.

A final word, do not, I emphasize, do not wash cars in the same area as you are cleaning the interiors and buffing and polishing the paint.

Equipment

In the past, and unfortunately, still today in many dealerships’ reconditioning departments, the equipment used is, to say the least, primitive.  In fact, it’s not much better than what was used in the 1950s.  A shop vacuum; 10-pound electric buffer; a few brushes, rags, and chemicals diluted by hand and placed in plastic spray bottles and plastic ketchup bottles.  Some more advanced reconditioning departments might have a heated soil extractor for shampooing carpets and fabric upholstery.  Unfortunately, most detailers use these extractors incorrectly, or not at all.

Today, there is greatly improved technology available to increase the speed of the reconditioning, in the quality and in making it easier for the employee to do the job, with less fatigue.   Unfortunately, the person in charge of the department, knowing little about the industry, is not aware of this new technology, depending in some cases on the detailer to tell them what is needed.  However, most of the experienced detailers have no knowledge either. 

Most have been doing the same thing they have done for years, and that is using 1950s technology.  Ask them if they are aware of vapor steamers, dual action polishers, clay towels or gloves, automatic chemical dilution and dispensing systems and detail work stations, to name a few.  Most will answer in the negative.  In fact, ask them how they use an extractor to clean carpets/fabric upholstery and most will tell you a very incorrect procedure.

Finally, reconditioning department’s management, not having knowledge of what is needed and why, have far too little equipment available.  If you have four or five detailers in the department you are going to need more than one vacuum, more than one heated soil extractor and more than one or two buffers, etc. 

When you are short on equipment, what you end up with are employees standing around waiting to use the one extractor or the one vacuum or one buffer. To keep people busy and get cars out quickly you need to have sufficient equipment to keep everyone working at the same time. Logical?

But if a manager does not know what is needed and why, how can they know how much equipment is needed?

Supplies & Chemicals (Materials)

This may seem incidental to the overall operation of the reconditioning department, but like equipment, you must know what is needed in terms of supplies and chemicals to get the job done quickly and correctly.

Again, if there is no real knowledge on the part of the manager in charge of the department or the detailers themselves, then any given shop will suffer.

That is the purpose of this article, to let you know the problems you face and how you might resolve them.  Anyone reading this article is welcome to contact me for any guidance at buda@detailplus.com.