Lexington, KY - As the old saying goes, cleanliness is next to godliness, and many of those automobile owners out there who deeply revere their vehicles would certainly agree.
The deep feelings of exhilaration and pride that accompany a freshly washed and cleaned vehicle are hard to deny. And now that spring has emerged, area auto detailers such as GorillaShine, Clean Sweep and Dings, Dents N' Details are prepped to help Lexingtonians beautify their respective rides and restore them to vibrant, fresh and squeaky clean condition.
GorillaShine
One of the area's newest players in the detailing industry is Chris Olsen's GorillaShine, now located on 621 Winchester Road. Nearing its sixth year of business, GorillaShine is a stand-alone professional detailing entity capable of providing an array of services, including "anything and everything outside of mechanical repairs," Olsen said.
High-quality interior/exterior detail; wash and vacuum; total restoration; odor and logo removal; window tinting; and ding/dent repair are among its roughly 30 services (viewable with pricing and scheduling requests at gorillashine.com). Olsen's ultimate mission is to serve as sole provider for any auto-detailing need a client may have.
"My goal is to be the concierge for clients' aesthetic needs," he said. "This business is a craft, and if you love your car, you owe it to yourself to come to us."
Originally hailing from Michigan, Olsen grasped the value and unique community composition of the Lexington market and focused his business philosophy on immaculate service (including good, old-fashioned handwashing) and true dedication to relationship building. GorillaShine has detailed everything from breathtakingly rare Ferraris and sleek Dodge Vipers to luxurious boats and even airplanes.
In November, GorillaShine relocated from its Floyd Drive location to its current address on Winchester Road, where it is in full operation. Olsen asserts that the new building is a work in progress and is in a reconditioning process that will eventually give rise to a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled facility, lavish in its comfort and championing a posh waiting room.
Olsen and company have remained true to the quality-over-quantity approach and believe that their clients represent an uncharacteristically satisfied and faithful lot and a testament to their commitment to excellence and insistence on maintaining fervent business relationships. Not simply an in-and-out auto-detailer, Olsen said that "at GorillaShine, we want your car for the entire day to give it the treatment we know we can provide."
Aside from desires to gain a comfortable share of Lexington's auto-detailing market, Olsen wants to grow GorillaShine to become one of the first detailers providing employee benefits/vacation days. He also hopes one day to introduce a complete line of GorillaShine products, effectively progressing "from local to global," Olsen said.
Clean Sweep
Clean Sweep, a long-standing detailer, has been in operation for more than 10 years and is seated as an area favorite of those demanding express service. Available services include express interior and exterior cleaning, waxing, and carpet cleaning to accommodate customers, busy schedules (cleansweepcarwash.com).
Eddie Seale, operations manager for Clean Sweep's two Lexington locations (Richmond Road and South Broadway) and its Richmond, Ky., location, has witnessed everything from farm trucks to Bentleys and Lamborghinis at the company's facilities. Clients can choose a 20-minute express detail service that addresses basic needs or a complete detail/full package service that stretches from approximately 45 minutes to an hour. The latter option is for specialized requests or heavily soiled vehicles such as farm and company vehicles.
Clean Sweep operates on a first-come-first-served basis, with a versatile demographic representing high-end, professional patrons (many via the Broadway location), middle-class customers and many senior citizens, according to Seale.
"Our business was just not severely affected by changes in the economy," he said, "and we have continued to gain new customers."
As might be expected, Clean Sweep is currently in its busy season, generally extending through September.
"The interesting thing is the emotional response a customer gets from a car wash or detailing," Seale said. Not only do they feel better about the cosmetic appearance of their automobile, but Seale reports that it often gives customers a sense of operational improvement to boot.
"If they come away with that feeling after a detailing, then that is all that matters," Seale said.
Dings, Dents N' Details
Ken Houndshell, owner of Dings, Dents N' Details (dingsanddentsky.com), is clearly passionate in discussion about the industry.
"We always treat people the way we'd want to be treated ourselves," he said. "It is crazy the smiles we get from our customers."
Houndshell has been around the globe, mastering and teaching paintless dent removal in places as far as Japan and Russia. He acquired the detail side of the business from Jeff's Car Wash in 2010 and has set out to excel at his craft, aiming to please current customers steadily while enlisting new ones.
His dedication to "underpromising and overdelivering" and adherence to honest dealings is his main business tenet, he said. He considers himself his own toughest critic and said he believes in simple communication with patrons, which he puts into practice by asking clients if the completed job is satisfactory in their eyes.
Dings, Dents N' Details boasts accreditation from the International Detailing Association and offers full-service detail and the beautification process of paintless dent repair. Their demographic ranges from high-end to middle-class, including all ages, and the company has garnered business from customers as far away as North and South Carolina and Tennessee. Houndshell and crew have also serviced various vehicles, including boats and church buses.
"Plenty of people say that they never realized their car was ever 'that nice,'" Houndshell said.