It was drummed into my head years ago that the customer is king/queen and that if I take good care of the customer, good things will happen. But having worked with consumers in many different businesses and observed the interaction between customers and employees, I have come to believe that the employee is king/queen, and the customer is the customer.
Look at it from a chicken-and-egg standpoint. What comes first, the employee or the customer?
When you build a business from the ground up, you first acquire the land, then build the building, purchase the equipment and inventory, and select the signs, supplies, etc. Finally, you hire employees. Without employees there are no customers; no one to sell detail services, nobody to detail the vehicles — just a building with fancy equipment, chemicals and supplies.
Employees come in all forms. Once in a while you find a superstar, and you certainly get your share of slugs. But good employees are your most valuable asset. They determine the success of your detail business and should be treated with kindness and respect.
Keep that in mind as you read the following scenarios I actually witnessed through the years. You can learn valuable lessons from the poor actions of others.
Mr. Personality (Detail Business Owner)
Mr. Personality’s detail business was losing money. Nevertheless, right before Christmas, he had one of his detailers go out and pick up two new iPods and a BlackBerry for his wife and daughter.
The news of the purchases spread throughout the shop. On Christmas Eve, Mr. Personality called a detail staff meeting to announce there wouldn’t be any Christmas bonuses. He also told them they were lucky they still had jobs.
When he was called out for buying the expensive gifts, he told his employees that what he did with his money was none of their business. With that, Mr. Personality wished his staff a Merry Christmas and told them to leave.
Ms. Benevolence (Detailer’s Wife)
Ms. Benevolence was constantly playing boss even though she didn’t know much about detailing. One day she was having a conversation with an employee and, as usual, was very dominating. Her conversations were never two-way; you just had to stand back and nod your head as she babbled on and on. One day, she turned her attention to “her” employees and complained that they were never working hard enough and that her husband had to constantly correct their mistakes.
Out of the blue, she stated that “she” was the one who put food on the employees’ tables and if it wasn’t for her, they’d have nothing to eat!
Mr. Smooth (Detail Business Owner)
Mr. Smooth would pull into the detail shop lot every morning between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., get out of his car, walk into the shop, throw his keys to the shop manager and demand him to “wash and vacuum it.” Once completed, Mr. Smooth’s car was parked in front of the shop for all to see. The shop had only three parking spots for customers, so many times there weren’t any spots for walk-in customers to park.
You shouldn’t be surprised to know that Mr. Smooth had a lousy detail business. Customer service was non-existent; employee morale was low, employee turnover was rampant and the shop manager felt like a lackey. Mr. Smooth set this business up to fail each morning he pulled into the lot.
Ms. Touchy Feely (Detailer’s Girlfriend)
Ms. Touchy Feely was given shop status by the owner even though she had no real responsibilities. She hung around the shop all day shopping on the Internet, making personal calls and piddling away the day. But she did dabble in customer relations from time to time and was the ultimate giveaway artist.
When unhappy customers came in, they went to Ms. Touchy Feely. She was an emotional person who would listen to the customers’ concerns and acquiesce to their demands. Not once did she ever talk to the shop owner or the detailer involved. To her, “the customer was always right.”
Mr. Beat’em Up (Detail Shop Manager)
Every morning Mr. Beat’em Up would hold an employee meeting. He would make announcements, review the previous day’s business and asks questions of the staff. During one meeting, Mr. Beat’em Up didn’t like what he was hearing. Frustrated, he launched into a verbal assault on his staff, complete with nostrils flaring and neck veins bulging.
The meeting became a “his way or the highway” directive, and when he was done, he looked at his employees with a straight face and said, “Alright, let’s go detail some cars.”
Gee, go team go!
Human relations gurus would have a field day dissecting the actions of these owners. Draw your own conclusions, but remember that your employees are not chattel; they are your lifeline to your customers. No employees, no customers.
Keith Duplessie is technical services manager for Portland, Ore.-based Detail Plus Car Appearance Systems, in charge of all installations, training and technical services. He also serves on the board of directors for the International Detailing Association. Keith can be reached at keith@detailplus.com.
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