I just finished packing up the car for a mobile job tomorrow, in doing so I realized how much I dislike mobile detailing but I also realized some of the things I found to really help me when going mobile and I'd like to share them with you.
I feel some of these points may seem obvious or not even affect you but in a mobile setting they can make a big difference... many of which I have learned from experience!
Attire:
Skip the running sneakers, go with waterproof boots or shoes. Although sneakers may be very comfortable they are not meant for washing cars, if they get wet... they stay wet! First mobile job I did I wore my old trusty newbalance, of course they got wet during the wash and I had to deal with the discomfort of wet feet for 8 more hours.
Pants, first off wear them :doh: Second, try to go with waterproof or a thick material pant. For the same reason as above I like to know if I do get some water on my pants I will not be wet for a while or have a soak through. Also something with a padded knee is great, like dickies work pants which I wear. Bob Willis turned me onto the padded knee dickies and I never wear anything else, even when I wash my own car.
Beware of the light colored shirt! If you wear a white or light colored shirt be very careful when cleaning wheels, some sprayback from a wheel brush will cause you to get black specs all over your shirt and thus look like a little sloppy for the rest of the day. At your own home wearing and old white t-shirt is fine, but on a mobile job you want to look presentable at all times... dirty shirt from wheel cleaning is a no no!
Food:
This is one of the most important things for me when I go mobile. I like to eat small meals every few hours, my body is used to that so I try to keep that same routine going when I go mobile. Keeps my energy up!
First off plan out your meals and drinks beforehand. Dont plan on leaving a clients house for lunch, it takes too much time and isnt worth it.
Skip the lasagna leftovers, dont bring food that can be messy or have a strong odor, you will most likely end up eating on a creeper stool in the customers garage so keep it neat!
Try to avoid heavy foods or greasy foods, anything that may slow you down or cause a serious bowel movement is a really bad idea.
Bring napkins, oddly enough I forgot napkins on a mobile job one day and needed a place to wipe my hands and face after a PB sandwhich... my nice microfiber towels werent gonna work, nor was my shirt. Bring a napkin with your food, just in case!
Foods I reccomend:
Peanut butter on bread (Skippy natural PB on whole wheat is the best) Its fast, not to messy, doesnt have an odor and shouldnt make you sick in anyway, even in a warm garage. PB is a good source of energy and the bread, even whole wheat will provide some much needed carbs when your sweating it up in a garage.
Apples, great source of energy, fast and oderless.
Bagels, I usually keep 1 or 2 plain bagels with me on a mobile job. If you need a quick bite to hold you over bagels are fast and fill you up quickly, plus theres no mess to clean up.
Avoid salty foods! Foods that make you thirsty will increase the amount of water you drink, the more water you drink the more you need to pee... try your best to avoid using a customers bathroom multiple times a day. You are there to perform a service, get in and get out and make it seem as if your the invisible man. Coming in and out of the house, knocking on doors etc should be kept to bare minimum.
I am a strong believer is adequate hydration but drinking lots of water will result in the need to pee more, drink only when you need to.
Bring extra food just in case. Sometimes you need to stay a few extra hours to get a car finished always have a little extra food, or some snacks with you. Being hungry while detailing is not a good idea, your body is working, sometimes your sweating .. keep your energy up and eat.
*Always inquire about a bathroom situation with a customer before beginning work, if they leave the house and lock the door... your screwed. Many times they will leave a door open for me and say use the bathroom whenever you need... that way I dont have to knock and bother.
Pack Efficently:
The best advice I have is to use your two 5 gallon wash buckets to hold bottles, sprayers and polishes... this will help save space opposed to carrying the bottles separately and the wash buckets by themselves, theres a lot of space between 2 buckets, use it.... plus it has handles which makes for easy transport from the car to the garage.
Consolidate polishes into small bottles, 8oz plastic bottles are great, 32oz bottles are not.
If you have 250 MF towels, you dont need them all! Think about the type of job you will be doing and approx. how many towels you will need... now add 5 or 6 more MF to be safe to that and pack it up neatly and in a place where they cannot get dirty or have debris fall on them. Plastic containers are my choice for MF ( I bring a plastic garbage bag with me to separate my dirty MF from the ones I didnt use)
Use the same system for packing up pads, think about the job and what you need. A silver 2 door car wont require you to bring like 20 pads, but always bring extra just in case!
Odds and Ends:
Dont expect a customer to have anything! Bring your own hose nozzel, plenty of extension cords etc.
Think about the simple things you use while at home and keep going over what you need to carry out a detail, if you didnt pack it you may need it.
Music
Many of you have seen me with headphones in while detailing. I do this for 2 reasons, 1 is to drown out the sound of a polisher and 2 is to keep me motivated. Music helps me get into a groove, when you get into a good grove you work faster.
If your spending 8hrs in someones garage, alone, without a sound you can get a little restless.
I prefer upbeat music... Beatles, Stones, Doobies Brother, Miley Cyrus whatever! (Phil you know what im talking about) whatever will get you in a postive zone it doesnt matter!
Keep the music at a neutral volume, always be able to hear if a customer walks in or starts talking to you.
Stay organized all the way through!
I re-organize or pack up my gear as I complete each step of the process. I put away my wash, clay, mitts etc. right after i complete my wash process, I wont be touching any of those items for the rest of the detail.
After correction I pack up all the polishes, buffers and pads... I wont need them again
Doing this helps keep the work area clean and makes packing up your car to go home easier at the end of the day... or if you are coming back for a second day and choose to leave items there, make sure everything is neat and orderly. Do not leave anything messy in someone elses garage.
So far these are some things I have learned from and found to work well for me, I hope I was able to give some tips.
As for my sis, well she's a... I don't blame you for not going to the DMV. That place stinks!!! At least here it does!!
