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Standards - Accreditation?

6K views 41 replies 22 participants last post by  stangalang 
#1 ·
This morning I witnessed a guy, in a fully sign-written transit, arrive to clean a neighbour's car - across the road from me.


His procedure was as follows:-
1. hand spray bottle of something over the wheels - alloy bits only;
2. 7 litre pump spray of something all over the car - missed the roof;
3. pressure washed the car - chased the draining pre-wash mainly and did not thoroughly complete;
4. Single bucket plus what looked to be a window cleaners mop - possibly a brush with handle - like a yard broom - was brought from the van and left on the ground while the bucket was prepared with shampoo;
5. Said brush was dipped in bucket and vigorously rubbed over the car - going from top to bottom and bottom to top in a series of u and n shaped movements. I think there were 4 rinses of the brush/mop in the shampoo bucket;
6. pressure wash - again chasing shampoo rather than being methodical;
7. Squeegee used to remove surface water
8. small waffle towel used to wipe off remaining water - side skirts, rear valance and other bodywork parts were done with the same towel in a pick and mix method;
9. waffle towel at 8 used to wipe wheels dry and clean- they so far had only been sprayed and pressure washed.
10. The doors and hatch were opened and what could have been the cloth at 8 was used to rub down the door edges and shuts.


I stopped watching here.


Now this man is well regarded locally; his reputation is 4.9/5 on Google.


I'm only an amateur, so what do I know, but surely this can't be right?



Do the professionals who claim to be Valets or Detailers need some form of professional body to lay down standards and offer accreditation?
 
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#2 ·
He is offering a simple cleaning service to the average customer by the sounds of it. They don't care the method in cleaning the car so long as the car is clean at the end of it. Not a lot of people out their with tbe same expectations as these forum members.

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#3 ·
He is offering a simple cleaning service to the average customer by the sounds of it. They don't care the method in cleaning the car so long as the car is clean at the end of it.

Not a lot of people out there with the same expectations as us DW forum members.

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#4 ·
It just goes to show what the general public know about car care. If he turned up to wash forum members' cars his rating would probably be 0.1!

That's not the right way to do things and shows no understanding of how fragile automotive paint is, or possibly just that he doesn't care.

Customers looking for a quick valet tend just to care about price, speed and convenience though, so if he drives to you, gets your car vaguely clean in 10 minutes and doesn't charge the earth then he's bound to be popular.

Your average Joe doesn't know what a swirl mark is, nor care. Most people think paint is supposed to be swirly. Either that or they have a lease that they don't care about, or an older car, which again they don't care about.

He could do the same job in just as little time and wash top to bottom though, but as you say, he probably hasn't had to do any qualifications or take any training, he's just developed a way that he finds quick and efficient to get a car clean enough to please his customers.

The above couldn't claim to be a detail though. It's a quick wash/valet.

Also, people who don't wash their own cars don't tend to notice RDS either, as that's the sort of thing you notice when washing the car yourself. So they probably never notice any deeper scratches he might be creating.

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#7 ·
I like your dedication to sit and watch him and post about it..

Most owners are happy with a reasonable standard of job. As long as the guy is charging a reasonable price for a reasonable job he's doing a good job.

4.9 out of 5 rating says he's doing exactly what his customers want.
 
#9 ·
TBH, this is an entertaining story, I see this almost every day somewhere, we probably all do.
The local gas station and car wash keep those numbers numbers up for me.
At first I spoke to one of the guys who I know and explained why what he was doing was not good. Along came the owner and she was P'd off backing the geezer up as he is a good guy.
Ignorance is bliss and if its cheap or free, we should all accept either of those is bliss and anything else is not wanted to be heard.:wall:

Crack on I say. Their car, their money. :wave:
 
#10 ·
As others have said, some people just want a guy to come round and clean their car, which is what he's done.

The general public don't notice swirl marks, or even know what they are.

The guys doing a job he's paid to do, unless he's claimong to be something he's not then I can't see a problem. He's clearly giving customers what they want.
 
#15 ·
Moreover, should we really care as long as the client is happy?
Your sentiment is echoed by others in this thread so let me deal with it.

If you are a professional you should care what is being done in your name i.e. Valeter/Detailer.

Shoddy work reflects on everyone and devalues you and others like you and enhances the public expectation of low quality - low cost jobs. If Jolene Public doesn't recognise poor quality valeting in a Tesco car park after a dirty wipe then she needs educating. Who can do that?

When people trade-in their lease-purchase cars and get a lower final value because of paint quality issues then questions might get asked.

I'm just throwing into the ring the idea that a professional body is needed to set standards. So customers know when they go for a valet with an accredited detailer they will get back a cared for car rather than just a clean one. And when the car trades-in, at a later date, they will get a better deal.

As trades go, Detailing is a young endeavour and signing up and publicising industry codes of practice can only be of benefit to the good Detailers of which you lot are. So I think you need an industry body that advertises your competences and adds value to, and increases public expectation of, what you do.

But I'm just an ageing hippy who has followed a few Youtube videos on cleaning cars, so what do I know? Think about it - talk about it - meet about it - maybe Waxstock 2019 to get the ball rolling? Over to you....
 
#20 ·
A good car clean is a job well done to 98% of the population, the client is happy they have a nice shiny clean tidy car. I would happily sit back and let them get on with things. I have worked with trade in cars now for over 6 years and not once has paint swirls or any sort of paint haze, wash marring, swirls, holograms has ever caused a devaluation of a vehicle in returns or trades, only thing they are bothered with are scratches (key, scuffs, contact damage from another vehicle) dents, cracks and missing parts. Nowadays cars are a means to get from A to B and a disposable object. Now I think each to there own and it is all down to personal preference and presentation.
 
#22 ·
as lots have said 99.99% of "the public" , dont know, dont care, and dont care they dont know
and that covers ,sadly, far far to many things these days
"cars clean" = job done, was cheap "happy with that"
next time you are at a large supermarket with the car wash types about you will see,, or perhaps it would be better you didnt look even from a distance never mind close !

friend of my mom, she buys a new car every 3 years spends a Goodly amount on buying it, she Does have it serviced at the dealers to keep the warranty , but Clean it? she's over the moon if £5 @ tesco/sainsburys/etc gets it clean while she shops,, she doesnt half give out if they Miss a bit,,,

then theres the silly cow next door (she really IS a stupid snobbish ,,,, insert lots of words here :D ) cheapest of the cheap aldi washing up liquid (same as she uses for the pots/plates etc), in the Washing up bowel, and rubbing the car with a washing up brush or a cut up old towel, does the car bowel by bowel, and theres No rinse the car after ! ,,
they have a pressure washer With the car bits (as he boasted) , they have a hose pipe point in the Front of there garage,(again with the boasting) but dopey cow uses the washing up brush/liquid and bowel,,, but they also dont service the car, "all you need do is dip the oil + top up" he claims,, total "dont know/dont care/dont care they dont know" x2 With added "wouldnt listen anyway"

as for the bloke,, he's got the car "clean" for the £ the customer is happy with, in the time frame the customer wants AND has the bragging rights of "oh yes we get a man in to do it on the drive",,

ignorance is bliss,, n by eck are They are ignorant :p
 
#28 ·
Not being defensive at all, just saying there is already a very good association in place already.

To be fair, as a keen amateur, you would have no reason to know about them. But as a professional seeking accreditation or a member of the public seeking a professional who is part of a trade body, they would soon become apparent.

That aside, i'm on a couple of amateur FB detailing pages and PVD often get a mention, they've also produced the Waxstock show guide for the last couple of years or so and have had a big presence at the show. Their bi-annual magazine has been mentioned numerous times here and has been reviewed on the Forensic youtube channel. Obviously not in your case, but i'm sure there are many amateurs who have an awareness despite not being an audience for them.
 
#30 ·
I suppose as this is a website for Detailers who wish to follow set practices and keep their cars looking immaculate, there's not much credence given to others who don't wish to follow.

This does not apply only to car detailing and there must be hundreds of other examples.

People do use metal spoons in non-stick pans, and others howl at the prospect.

There is no law, rule, or obligation as to how you look after or maintain what is your possession and to be blunt it's nobody else's business.

I say just be happy, life's way too short.:thumb:

Harry
 
#34 ·
There's going to be a difference in cost with the level of skill you're paying for, time taken to carry out the work. So whilst the man in van isn't going to be up to most people's standards on this site, I'd doubt your neighbour's will be getting charged excessively for the time/quality of work carried out. People will pay for convenience of a man in van coming to the door to tidy up their car. I know I am time poor, have got a new car 3 months ago and replacing the fiance's car next month and haven't had the chance to clay it yet never mind polish and protect it yet. So there will always be a market for people who want the cheap and cheerful quick valentine method.
 
#36 · (Edited)
People get what they pay for, I assume your neighbour got their moneys worth.

Not everyone wants to pay for a long drawn out, super safe wash method, and they should have the right to get what they want as much as someone who brings a car to a detailer. The problem is when detailers or valeters, sell a service incorrectly thus effecting future perception of what can be achieved
 
#37 · (Edited)
People get what they pay for, I assume your neighbour got their moneys worth.

Not everyone wants to pay for a long drawn out, super safe wash method, and they should have the right to get what they want as much as someone who brings a car to a detailer. The problem is when detailers or valeters, sell a service incorrectly thus effecting future perception of what can be achieved
I agree.

The problem devolves down to this:-

!. Without a professional body setting standard levels for valeting, (i'm not including detailing here), the average punter has no obvious way of knowing what they are paying for.

2. Jolene Public is ignorant because there is no professional body, AFAIAA, prepared to educate her.

3. The quality of valeting is potentially lower to remain competitive with cowboy prices and quick jobs in Tesco's car parks. In other words there is a limiting mechanism for the worth of a job.

4. Valeter remuneration is relatively low and a professional body is unaffordable. (Thus unwanted.)

Points 3 and 4 form a negative feedback loop to keep prices/rewards low.

I'm bored of this now; you likely are too.:wave:
 
#41 ·
There's nothing wrong with professional accreditation per se. The issue is how do you trust the accrediting body and who appoints them. There is always a cost to being a member and are the general public that interested in what the vast majority see as a car clean ?

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