Detail Doctor the Right Prescription for Local Car Owners (The Doctor is In)

At that time, Gatta began the extensive planning process to expand The Detail Doctor. In March 2006, he wrote his first check to an architect for drawings. “I had never built anything,” he confesses with a chuckle. His planning team consisted of a local architect to design the building, a planning engineer to decide the location of the building and parking lot, a traffic engineer, an environmental engineer, surveyors and attorneys.

Among Gatta’s goals were to increase the building’s space by 4,000 square feet, add parking in the rear and on the sides, install air conditioning, build a customer-friendly waiting room, improve signs and intensify parking lot lighting.

From the beginning, the designers tried to keep a “green” consciousness, Gatta explains. Thin, energy-efficient fluorescent lights were installed, a selection Gatta says was important because the new 6,000-square-foot property requires significant lighting.

Because of the water requirements to hand wash cars, Gatta says he spent $20,000 on a 60,000-gallon water separator that parses harmful chemicals from liquid that can safely re-enter the ground.

Perhaps the crown jewel of the expansion is the plush waiting area, which is loaded with cushy leather seats, hardwood floors and antique car decor. Upon first glance, it looks like the set of the popular public television show Masterpiece Theatre.

“It looks like the waiting room at a grand hotel in New York City,” Gatta says. “We have people stop by all the time who just want to see the inside.”

A long list of amenities show the customers that they are appreciated, including free Internet access, a plasma TV, coffee, cookies, bagels and tea. Gatta partnered with the Arizona Beverage Co. to supply free beverages to customers. “There’s everything you can imagine in the waiting room, except for someone giving you a massage,” jokes the owner.

Catering to an affluent community and wealthy clientele also requires security and discretion. Gatta says he is very careful to conceal his customers’ high-valued property, so he has installed nine DVR cameras and intends to increase the number to 18. A central station alarm system with cellular backup guards the premises. Cellular backup notifies police in the event that thieves disable the landline.

For added security and privacy, Gatta’s architects designed the building so no one from the street can see the cars being detailed inside. Occasionally, finished cars will sit in The Detail Doctor’s secure lot, but vehicles often are driven to Gatta’s 4,000-square-foot warehouse until owners can pick them up or want them delivered.

Although curb appeal certainly went into the design of the building and landscaping of this high-traffic location, using customers’ flashy cars to lure passersby is not part of Gatta’s marketing mix. In fact, he doesn’t even advertise. Instead, he says reputation and quality of work build customer loyalty, which leads to word-of-mouth marketing.

With the landscaping sod laid down at the end of March, the finishing touches are being put on The Detail Doctor’s aggressive expansion. Overall, Gatta is thrilled with the outcome but admits he faced cost overruns. “[Looking back] I would have hired more consultants,” he says. Nonetheless, he describes the project and the business as “very successful.”

“What people forget is [detailing] is a big business,” Gatta asserts. “I think the detailing business is going to explode over the next five to 10 years. Cars are so expensive anymore. If you buy an Acura fully loaded these days, it’s $40,000. What’s $230 twice a year to take care of it?” That said, Gatta also offers modestly priced detail packages, too.

“It’s a business that should exist around the country,” he says. “There’s a necessity for it. Anybody can do it that has the will.”