At One Car Detailer, the Next Generation Is Awash With Promise

Father-son team Charles Mack Sr. and Charles Mack Jr. pull in around $500,000 a year at VIP Auto Appearance Center. (By Michael Temchine For The Washington Post)

Mack Sr. kept the names and phone numbers of hundreds of customers in his head, contacting them periodically to remind them they were due for a visit. Mack Jr. changed all that. He installed Infusionsoft software to build a database of 4,000 names, e-mails and phone numbers that automatically tickle customers every few weeks to tell them to come in.

"You can't call 100 people a week and have your hands on quality control," he said. "I send an e-mail and say the same thing."

The automatic follow-ups helped increase sales in 2007 by 17 percent. Online sales have grown into a significant chunk of business revenue.

Mack Jr., who said he has a head for numbers, is also building a core membership of 100-plus customers who prepay online to have their vehicles detailed twice a month. Mack will even go and get the cars, wash them and return them at the end of the day. Cost: pickup and delivery is $65.99 a month.

He calls his monthly subscribers "the backbone" of the business.

Longtime customer Stephanie Woodland Kelly locked in a monthly detailing program for $75.99, which includes two cleanings each for her Cadillac Escalade and her BMW 745. That's a total of four cleanings.

"Because we are long-term car owners, we do everything we can to preserve the longevity of the vehicle," said Woodland Kelly, an accountant. Her husband is a technology engineer. "It's all bottom-line for us."

Well, not all bottom line. "We love the whole family atmosphere," Woodland Kelly said. "They know me. Charles knows exactly how I like my automobile to appear."

Detailing has high margins and brings in 65 percent of the revenue. Mack Jr. has diversified the business into electronics work. The company installs electronic security systems, iPod connector cables and even automatic breathalyzers, which brings in another 25 percent. (Mack Jr. started the breathalyzer business after he was struck by a drunk driver a couple of years ago.) The rest of the revenue comes from glass tinting and the sale of accessories.

To cover his bases, Mack Jr. bought a bunch of online domain names such as bestdetailshop.com, freehandcarwash.com, and noautotheft.com.

VIP charges anywhere from $55 for a standard, one-hour interior and exterior detail to $450 for paint sealant and leather conditioning treatments, which can take all day. Rent costs $3,000 a month for 7,000 square feet of space. The payroll includes three full-time and five part-time employees, or $4,000 every two weeks. Full-time employees earn $10 per hour and do not receive health-care coverage. The other employees are independent contractors.

Mack Jr. pays himself a $50,000 annual salary. Mack Sr. takes periodic draws from the business.

The company grossed around $440,000 in 2007. Revenue was 20 percent below that last year, and VIP struggled to break even. "We have some catching up to do this year, but $450,000 is achievable."

The company won a national award for best detailer, and it has been featured in USA Today and Black Enterprise magazine. Trying to capitalize on that, Mack Jr. is working on a plan to franchise VIP, "but the economy isn't cooperating at the moment."

If the franchise idea doesn't take off, he wants to become a business coach and pass on some of the basics he learned from his father.

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