Licenses and Insurance a Mobile Auto Detailing Business Should Have

The Licenses and Insurance a Mobile Auto Detailing Business Should Have

Could you start by introducing yourself and explaining how you got into the mobile fleet detailing business?

Well, my name is Stephan Gautron. I’m the owner of Starfleet Detailing, and I bought a shop that also did mobile detailing back in 2020. It was just at the start—um, to be frank, it was two weeks before the pandemic hit. At that point, we were doing probably 50/50 between commercial detailing and residential, and the pandemic changed everything.

It was quite the challenge, because now a lot of people weren’t driving, and there was the whole mask issue. Commercial clients had their issues of trying to keep their vehicles safe and free from germs. It was quite a learning curve for everyone, especially for us, since it was a new business.

What happened is that we had to develop a new way of doing business. As we did that, the residential part of our business went down, but our commercial side went up. So we did more and more commercial detailing, both in our shop and going mobile.

Now our work is about 95% mobile, and I would probably say about the same ratio—95%—is commercial. That’s what we specialize in right now: commercial detailing, which encompasses fleet vehicles, machinery like heavy equipment, tractor-trailers (which we call sleepers), or semi-trucks. That’s our bread and butter.

What does high-quality fleet detailing mean to you, and what standards do you set to ensure excellence in your services?

When it comes to fleet detailing, we deal with companies, and companies have fleet managers or shop managers. They’re the ones that call us up for service. What matters most for them, I would say, is mutuality, scheduling, safety, and of course doing good work.

They want to hire somebody that can show up on the property site without them having to worry about whether they’re going to hurt themselves or endanger others. Safety is a priority for them, so having our full PPE—our personal protection equipment—is important. Doing a good job and doing it on schedule is also very important.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face in mobile fleet detailing, and how do you overcome them?

Our biggest challenge would be having workers, obviously. That’s important—having employees. The cost of doing business is also an issue; everything seems to be going up. All the expenses are going up, and companies are trying to cut costs. We’re having to cater to that part of the business, not being too expensive, but also being profitable.

Another challenge is to keep up with their expectations. Companies want good service and reliability, and that comes at a cost. We’re trying to keep costs down but still be desirable as a company to work with.

What types of equipment and products are essential for effective fleet detailing, and do you have any specific brands or tools you recommend?

When it comes to fleet detailing, a lot of the trucks and equipment we detail are not the same as residential vehicles. Residential is mostly sugary stuff, stains, and spills. When it comes to commercial, it’s mostly mud, grease, and grime that we have to remove. You need special chemicals and special equipment for that.

We use commercial extractors to pull the dirt out of the fabrics. We also use vapor or steam machines that heat up to, I think, about 180 degrees Fahrenheit. It evaporates fairly quickly, so it doesn’t saturate certain fabrics like the headliner, which is the ceiling of the vehicle. We also use special chemicals that won’t further stain the fabrics or spread the grease around, making it worse. So, definitely specialized products for the job at hand.

How do you incorporate eco-friendly practices into your fleet detailing services?

That is a big concern—using eco-friendly products. Using vapor or hot steam helps us cut back on using aggressive chemicals. We try to use chemicals that are orange-based and more eco-friendly and biodegradable.

Some jobs, though, you can’t cut corners because the milder products just don’t work. We do have to use stronger chemicals, but we try to restrict it to the area that’s needed. We don’t just use it overall; we use it on targeted spots. That helps cut back on using harsh chemicals.

Can you describe the training process for staff? What skills and knowledge do you emphasize?

When we hire, we hire somebody that has at least two years of experience. Training someone from scratch who has no experience costs money, and they might not like it and quit. So, when we hire someone with experience, they know what to expect from their work, and nothing is a surprise. They also have some training, so physically they know they’re capable of doing the job.

Our level of detailing is basically, I kind of compare it to the Marines. Above us is not much higher, because when companies call us, it’s not just basic dusting—they can do that themselves. They hire us to solve issues: grime buildup, mud, sometimes even mice getting into the equipment, or smoke (cigarette smoke buildup). Most companies don’t allow it, but it still happens. When a new driver comes in, they don’t want to deal with the smoke smell, so we do smoke remediation. We do biohazard as well. All these things are another step up in detailing, and so we train for that.

It’s nice to start with a base where you don’t have to teach the basic principles of detailing from scratch.

How do you manage relationships with clients to ensure ongoing business and customer satisfaction?

I think the biggest thing is that we guarantee our work. That means if there are any issues that happen—sometimes something could break—it’s happened before. We back our work up. Even if we have to pay for some kind of repair, even if it’s not our fault, we’ll still fix it. That shows we’re trustworthy.

Companies will be loyal to you because they know they can trust you 100%. I think that’s what’s helped us grow so much in the last few years, that we stand behind our work. There is no hesitancy on the part of the companies once we’ve built that relationship, and they keep calling us.

What safety protocols are critical in mobile fleet detailing, and how do you ensure they are followed?

Like I mentioned before, PPE—personal protection equipment—is critical. Steel-toe boots, high-visibility shirts, and in some companies hard hats and eye protection are required. Obviously, we follow the protocol of the companies, and we have some basic standards we follow ourselves.

When we go to these companies, usually their standards are even stricter, so we try to follow what’s required. Each detailer knows—they’ve all been safety-trained. When they’re on-site, the shop managers are also pretty strict with safety. Between the two, we’ve had zero accidents in seven years.

The detailing industry is constantly evolving. How do you stay updated with the latest technologies and methods?

We work with companies that supply us with products and equipment. They’re the ones that really do most of the product research, and they tell us about the newest products on the market. They’ll say it’s better, tell us why it’s better, and then we’ll try it out to make sure we like the way it works. The end results are very important.

We’re constantly doing testing with products and equipment to try to keep ahead of the curve. We need to cut costs—cost is a factor—so if we can be more efficient in our cleaning and cut back on time, that helps us be competitive.

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in the mobile fleet detailing business?

Well, I would just say in general, for mobile detailing, what’s happening now with the market is that people go on YouTube and watch some videos. They’re told they can make $100,000 detailing and all they need to do is invest $1,000 or $2,000 in equipment and learn on the go.

What’s happening is that’s really detrimental to the industry. First, you have a bunch of people with no or very little experience trying to get into the business. They don’t know how to market themselves. They don’t know how to run a business. It really damages the industry because you have a bunch of unprofessionals, underinsured people who don’t know what they’re doing, and their only method is undercutting their competition. It’s just a race to the bottom.

They have nothing substantial to offer to the customers. When you go through the right channels—when you work for a detail shop and actually learn how to detail professionally—that at least gives you the trade. Running a business is another job on its own, so it’s important if you’re trying to do it on your own to get the experience doing the work, and then have somebody help you learn the ropes of running a business. That way it protects you as well as the customer.

Starfleet Detailing as a brand has really grown in the last, I would say, three years. A lot of companies we work with are national, and they ask us, “Are you in Calgary? Are you in Toronto?” because they want to use our services. They’ve grown so attached to what we’re offering that we decided to expand. The best way to expand is franchising.

Now we’re offering franchises across Canada. If somebody’s interested in getting the support to be successful in detailing, we’re there for them. We have a whole system set up so that they’re not working 12-hour days; they’re working more like six-hour days, making the same amount of money, if not more. We have the infrastructure and programs to make everything flow, help them be more consistent in the service they’re producing, and also help them keep their sanity.