In this occupation, commonly known cleaning equipment such as vacuums, steam cleaners, machine buffers, shampoo machines and treatments such as waxes, solvents and leather care oils are often used. Given this equipment, a detailer's work environment may be noisy. The length of time it takes to detail a vehicle depends on the customer's specifications, the condition of a vehicle and the rate at which detailers work (detailers usually charge a set fee, not by the hour, for their services).
Car detailers work outdoors or indoors in showrooms or workshops. Mobile detailers also travel to various locations - either people's homes or their workplaces. Paying attention to detail is high on the list of personal attributes that detailers must be able to demonstrate, as are good customer service skills and communication skills. The ability to talk and communicate is important because you have to determine exactly what your client wants. We maintain many of our client's vehicles on a regular basis, and many of them are from a high-end market. They expect quality work, so detailers need to do a thorough job. This can be quite a physically demanding occupation. Detailers are required to spend most of their work day on their feet and they need to carry buckets filled with liquid as well as moderately heavy cleaning equipment, such as vacuum cleaners. They also do quite a lot of bending to reach the more tucked away sections of a vehicle. A reasonable level of physical fitness, which would also be conducive to quick and efficient cleaning, would also be beneficial.