I think it is more going through the motions, and no one really knowing what they are doing (what a surprise!). The supervisor tells them to buff it, they buff it. If it comes out like crap "hey, I buffed the car, like you told me". The supervisor has never buffed a car, so he says "ok". The manager asks the supervisor if all the cars on the lot are getting buffed like he specified, and the supervisor says "yup". And so it goes. Like the story of the Autopian complaining about swirls/holograms on a black car they were looking at and being told that's just the way black cars are.