helper not cutting it, i feel worn out. Suggestions?

Q

quamen

New member
A friend of mine recently approached me looking for some work, and i said i could help you out. While i have a few weeks of mobile detailing work booked, i felt that i could finish the jobs quicker. I usually only do one detail a day and maybe a wash or something else that is nothing major and call it quits. The helper is a good worker, but trying to do 2 details a day and sometimes extra stuff, i feel like im getting burnt out. I know this way i make more money sooner, but in reality the customers i have don't mind waiting because of my reputation. Anyone of you have this problem with feeling just drained trying to cover the expense of having a helper, so more work needs to be done. In all reality it isn't more work because you have an extra person, but it just feels like so much more.



ps I am in great shape, 27yrs of age, workout and everything, but trying to do those couple full details a day kills me.
 
two full correction details in a day is quite the feat!



two one steps and light interiors in one day is not too hard to do alone!



I ask for help from a buddy of mine when I truly need it! He does the interior and i do the exterior. Problem is, I can do the interior stuff in about 1/2 the time, but have to pay him for the whole time I am working on the exterior while he is on the site with me...sucks, but its also nice to crack jokes now and then and break up the monotony of the day alone!
 
Well, the question would be, how much are you paying your helper vs how much revenue you're getting per detail ?



If the ratio is too far apart, then you need to look into the following:



a) are you paying your helper too much ?

b) are your detailing services too cheap ?



Also look at:



c) is there a way you can speed up the work both you and your helper are doing ?



Points "a" and "b" will be completely market-dependant. Only you will know whether you're on the ball there. My suggestion on point "c" might sound conceded, but in reality, there are always ways to quicken and improve your methods. Case-in-point, I was visiting a detail shop in a city to the south of me last month. They had a VERY nice shop, I was quite envious. I found it interesting how they used 4 employees per vehicle, and the speed at which they were able to complete a full interior detail. Also something that caught my eye was that all their equipment was built right into their bay walls. Vacuums, extractors, air guns, all the equipment was built behind the wall paneling. So the only thing hanging up were the vacuum hoses, extractor hoses, etc.



Anyways, to make a long story short, there are always ways to improve efficiency.



Also, and this is a completely personal opinion, if you begin to REALLY feel burned out, take a few days off. When booking more details, tell them your next opening is on blah blah blah. Take a Friday, Saturday, Sunday and a Monday off. Go sit in a hot tub / jacuzzi tub on those days. Honestly, it works wonders.
 
You should be able to do 2 basic details (one polishing step) a day by yourself. If you are doing multiple polishing steps, even with two people you might only get 1 done a day.



How are you splitting the workload right now?
 
Hi,



I would agree with the comments below. Nice to see some economics thrown in here.....this is pretty much right-on.



The key thing to understand (aside from dealing w/the physical fatigue/stress issue) is whether your marginal revenues are adequately exceeding your marginal costs...............aka, does having your "assistant" allow you to make more than you pay him/"or the total increase in your costs"......and, by how much more?? That you need to decide.....like the gentleman below says......what do your margins look like?



Automation is another thing to think about, as stated. Although, it depends on your work location......w/garage or out @ a customer location. It amazes me as I continuously look through all these sites, just how many tools there are. The question is, what will make things go faster w/comparable or better results? And, of course, you need to look at the "cost of automation" vs. the labor savings. Hopefully, "automating processes" or adding tools will yield efficiencies that justify the expenses.



(In the business & mfg. world, what you are trying to do it "lean-out" your processes. Eliminate unwarranted steps, reduce complexities, etc.. It can be applied to any process really.............including detailing. Sounds like an interesting study, actually.)



But, that's too much economics and Lean Six Sigma for this...........you're just tired. Probably would help to take WAS's 's advice & just chill out. If you're exhausted (even just mentally beat).......you're undoubtedly less efficient & too tired to figure out how to analyze/solve the problem. Or, maybe, just cut the work load back a bit....do some simpler work for a week....save the big corrections for when the battery is fully charged. Feel good about one thing for sure.......it's your business, you can manage it the way you need to! :)



Hey, one more thing to "WAS": You said you visited a shop "South" of you..........given where you live, can you find anybody if you go any direction BUT South??? :chuckle: Looking at the map, is Juneau the closest "city" of any size? And, can you drive West to get to the rest of AK?? :nixweiss Had to look twice when I saw "YT" as your location...............that's a ways out there isn't it! Let me know.......sounds like an interesting place to live and work!



Thx.



See ya. :wavey:





WAS said:
Well, the question would be, how much are you paying your helper vs how much revenue you're getting per detail ?



If the ratio is too far apart, then you need to look into the following:



a) are you paying your helper too much ?

b) are your detailing services too cheap ?



Also look at:



c) is there a way you can speed up the work both you and your helper are doing ?



Points "a" and "b" will be completely market-dependant. Only you will know whether you're on the ball there. My suggestion on point "c" might sound conceded, but in reality, there are always ways to quicken and improve your methods. Case-in-point, I was visiting a detail shop in a city to the south of me last month. They had a VERY nice shop, I was quite envious. I found it interesting how they used 4 employees per vehicle, and the speed at which they were able to complete a full interior detail. Also something that caught my eye was that all their equipment was built right into their bay walls. Vacuums, extractors, air guns, all the equipment was built behind the wall paneling. So the only thing hanging up were the vacuum hoses, extractor hoses, etc.



Anyways, to make a long story short, there are always ways to improve efficiency.



Also, and this is a completely personal opinion, if you begin to REALLY feel burned out, take a few days off. When booking more details, tell them your next opening is on blah blah blah. Take a Friday, Saturday, Sunday and a Monday off. Go sit in a hot tub / jacuzzi tub on those days. Honestly, it works wonders.
Click to expand...
 
right now I am doing the polishing and mostly wiping down the exterior, while the helper does the vacuuming, wheel duties and dressing issues. I know it also depends alot on the helper, because i had one amazing helper already, but he owned his own business on the side. His business was slow, so he needed work and asked for some. We went out and did 7-8 details a day, a few few and others were wash and waxes, but his energy, attention for detail and speed blew me out of the water. I'm fast, but this kid was like a rocket, and still doing the quality work.



I have thought alot about the income being brought in, and what i have to put out one day. I don't mind having a helper as long as im clearing over 200 a day cash after everything is said and done, other than that i cant afford him. My area i cant get 250 dor a detail, typically 150-200 is what i can pull into at most locations. I tend to stay very busy, that is why i need the helper so i don't get backlogged for 2 months again.
 
Definitely some good suggestions. I would suggest changing your routine a bit. IME two people doing the same job at the same time will be faster then one doing interior while the other does the exterior. You'll get a push as the two of you come together to get the job done and if they are new it is a great way to train and eliminate bad habits early on.
 
Just do one a day, and do it right. People would rather pay money for quality and wait, then have it done sooner and hacked up.
 
Interesting thread.



Of course, everyone's definition of a 'complete' detail is different, but here we tend to have "Autopian" standards. To me that means real paint correction, stain free and odor neutral interiors, etc.



We have a fixed location and utilize fixed stations and carts to keep most items within reach. We have at least two of every major equipment item, and we seriously employ the concepts and practices of Six Sigma. We genuinely take pride in our work, and view ourselves as Master Craftsmen.



But, we like to earn money. We typically do 4 Completes per day, 6 days a week. I schedule one car per employee. Compensation is hourly only and we have real team effort, with no competition amongst employees.



In our Shop most sedans are $250 and SUVs $295. At $12 per hour per employee, trust me, we make money.



Having said all that, I'm in my 60s, and no, I don't do as much work as I did five years ago... 6 day weeks get old real fast. The previous advice about get ting away is valuable.



Good Luck.



Jim
 
I think all of you have very sound advice. And I am going to bookmark this for future reference if I every need to get a paid assistant. For now my girlfriend comes out with me to my jobs and helps with interiors and windows, plus spotting trouble areas during details. She is my second set of eyes, for free......well kinda haha.
 
tenorplayer23 said:
I would agree with the comments below. Nice to see some economics thrown in here.....this is pretty much right-on.



Hey, one more thing to "WAS": You said you visited a shop "South" of you..........given where you live, can you find anybody if you go any direction BUT South??? :chuckle: Looking at the map, is Juneau the closest "city" of any size? And, can you drive West to get to the rest of AK?? :nixweiss Had to look twice when I saw "YT" as your location...............that's a ways out there isn't it! Let me know.......sounds like an interesting place to live and work!
Click to expand...

Thanks !



Haha, come on now, Anchorage is to the north still ! :chuckle: Generally when I have to go hit up a bigger city (hell I can't even buy an extractor here), I hit Vancouver or Calgary. Even Juneau is pretty small. Anchorage is about 11 hours away, that's the first city of any significant size. Edmonton is roughly 1500 miles from me, that's the next biggest Canadian city.



Yep, the Yukon definitely is quite far away from everything else, but it can sure be nice to live in. The Northern Lights are pretty damn cool (PM me your e-mail addy, I can add you to Facebook if you're curious, I have quite a few pics of them).



Oh, and I've done something that probably not a lot of (if any) folks have done on this board. I've detailed a car at -52 degrees celcius (which is -61.6 F). Of course it was indoors in a heated shop... but still :nana: Perks of living in the north during winter !
 
Thanks for the information about where you live/work. That is very interesting......and sounds like a great place to see & experience. Not sure I would want to live there, but the sights & differences between there and the lower 48 states must be something to see. Now and again, we get a glimpse of the northern lights, but it must be magnificent "up close", so to speak! Very cool...



Now, if you really want a spectacular background shot...........shoot your Mustang at night with the northern lights behind it, maybe something time lapse, with the Mustang lit up in the foreground. Use it on a business card & web site. And, it's real & free (although between digital imaging, Photoshop, etc., it can probably be computer generated......ugh....!)



I'm sure most of us just take for granted being able to go anywhere/get anything, 24/7. Sounds like it's a bit more difficult for you to do that?? A lot of delivery by plane??



Sorry to get away from the original topic, but, say some more about the living & work experiences in the YT. Thx.



Also, cudo's to "Jimmy Buffit" for confirming that there is attention to "process improvement out there :)



See ya. :wavey:





WAS said:
Thanks !



Haha, come on now, Anchorage is to the north still ! :chuckle: Generally when I have to go hit up a bigger city (hell I can't even buy an extractor here), I hit Vancouver or Calgary. Even Juneau is pretty small. Anchorage is about 11 hours away, that's the first city of any significant size. Edmonton is roughly 1500 miles from me, that's the next biggest Canadian city.



Yep, the Yukon definitely is quite far away from everything else, but it can sure be nice to live in. The Northern Lights are pretty damn cool (PM me your e-mail addy, I can add you to Facebook if you're curious, I have quite a few pics of them).
Click to expand...
 
tenorplayer23 said:
Thanks for the information about where you live/work. That is very interesting......and sounds like a great place to see & experience. Not sure I would want to live there, but the sights & differences between there and the lower 48 states must be something to see. Now and again, we get a glimpse of the northern lights, but it must be magnificent "up close", so to speak! Very cool...



Now, if you really want a spectacular background shot...........shoot your Mustang at night with the northern lights behind it, maybe something time lapse, with the Mustang lit up in the foreground. Use it on a business card & web site. And, it's real & free (although between digital imaging, Photoshop, etc., it can probably be computer generated......ugh....!)



I'm sure most of us just take for granted being able to go anywhere/get anything, 24/7. Sounds like it's a bit more difficult for you to do that?? A lot of delivery by plane??



Sorry to get away from the original topic, but, say some more about the living & work experiences in the YT. Thx.



Also, cudo's to "Jimmy Buffit" for confirming that there is attention to "process improvement out there :)



See ya. :wavey:
Click to expand...

It's not a bad place to live and work, different for sure, but I don't mind it (except for the extremely cold days, but those are pretty far and few inbetween). The scenery is awesome, certainly can't complain about that. Drive 10 minutes behind one of the city's neighbourhoods and you're on a 4x4 trail going up a mountain. Drive 15 minutes out of town and you start hitting campgrounds. Sometime to be said about smaller cities too, it doesn't take me an hour to commute to work (longest it would take, even I hit the morning "rush hour" would be about 8 minutes).



I've always wanted to get some shots of the Northern Lights with the convert in front of them, but the past 2 winters since I've owned it have started too early in the year, and I couldn't (in good conscience) put the top down for the pics ! This year seems to generally be warmer than average, so I might get a chance to do it in September / early October.



We have a Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, NAPA, etc. So we have a lot of the typical big city amenities, but some things are hard to find. For example, I had a tough time finding a Porter Cable, and when I did, I can't find ANY other pad other than a white foam. Granted I'll get LC pads online without any issue, it was a piss off when I was trying to finish an Integra before the owner got back from holidays. And a carpet extractor.... don't even get me started... You CANNOT buy one locally unless you go for a large commerical one for building floors, $5000+. I've had super bad luck with my Durrmaid, I'm waiting on my third pump now (the first 2 were defective). The unit is awesome and I love it, but not being able to source any parts (even transplantable parts) is becoming a problem.



Other than that and few other small things, northern living is pretty cool :xyxthumbs



BTW, sorry quamen for hijacking the thread !
 
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