It's the Details That Matter for Bethel Park Man
by Zach Filtz
In the car business, there are sales people who sell cars; there are technicians who fix the cars, but not everyone knows that there are people who clean the cars. Tom Phillips oversees and manages the cleaning process.
“When a sales customer comes to a dealership to buy a vehicle, he does not always know that it gets cleaned before delivery,” Phillips, 27, said. “I and my [detailing] staff members are the ones doing the work behind the scenes.”
Phillips, a Bethel Park resident, also said that he keeps track of new inventory that arrives off car-carrying trucks. In addition, he and the detailing staff members take photos of new-to-the-lot used cars, and upload photos to the dealership’s Web site.
Phillips has been employed at South Hills Honda for six years.
“I am a man of many hats here,” Phillips said. “I help the service department install mud flaps on new deliveries.”
Phillips also said that as manager, he has the responsibility of hiring and firing people at his discretion.
“Sometimes I hire staff that get lazy after a while, and I do what I need to do for this business,” Phillips said. “Then I find someone else and move on.”
Unlike other detailers, Phillips said that he has been detailing cars continuously since he was in high school.
“I started in this because the money was better than other jobs I could get, and because of my work ethic, now I am the boss,” he said.
Phillips said the slower months are in the coldest part of winter, when fewer people than normal buy cars. This period starts around October and begins to taper around February, right before spring, he said.
While some dealers are detailing used cars in-house, Phillips said the business usually outsources used-car detailing to surrounding firms.
Phillips said that there has not been much change in technology with the tools and cleaners he uses for work. However, legislation has required that cleaners that emit airborne chemicals be free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Detailers have seen things such as less tire shine as a result, according to Phillips.
“On some days, you can see the tire shine run right off the tire since it became VOC-free,” Phillips said. “It stinks, but there isn’t much you can do about it.”
Phillips said that he is not sure about his plans for the future.
“I’m considering started my own detailing business, doing work for local dealers, but it’s not guaranteed regular income [after costs are figured],” he said.
At one point, the owner of the dealership asked him to be a service adviser, but he declined.
“I enjoy the flexibility of having the occasional Saturday off for competition,” he said.
Phillips said he enjoys competing in card-game competitions and sometimes travels out of state to compete in Pokémon, a card game that deals with fictional monsters battling other card gamers.
“I enjoy it, and it lets my wife and me think about something other than work,” he said, while lighting his cigarette.
Zach Filtz is a California University of Pennsylvania English major. See his website here.
In the car business, there are sales people who sell cars; there are technicians who fix the cars, but not everyone knows that there are people who clean the cars. Tom Phillips oversees and manages the cleaning process.
“When a sales customer comes to a dealership to buy a vehicle, he does not always know that it gets cleaned before delivery,” Phillips, 27, said. “I and my [detailing] staff members are the ones doing the work behind the scenes.”
Phillips, a Bethel Park resident, also said that he keeps track of new inventory that arrives off car-carrying trucks. In addition, he and the detailing staff members take photos of new-to-the-lot used cars, and upload photos to the dealership’s Web site.
Phillips has been employed at South Hills Honda for six years.
“I am a man of many hats here,” Phillips said. “I help the service department install mud flaps on new deliveries.”
Phillips also said that as manager, he has the responsibility of hiring and firing people at his discretion.
“Sometimes I hire staff that get lazy after a while, and I do what I need to do for this business,” Phillips said. “Then I find someone else and move on.”
Unlike other detailers, Phillips said that he has been detailing cars continuously since he was in high school.
“I started in this because the money was better than other jobs I could get, and because of my work ethic, now I am the boss,” he said.
Phillips said the slower months are in the coldest part of winter, when fewer people than normal buy cars. This period starts around October and begins to taper around February, right before spring, he said.
While some dealers are detailing used cars in-house, Phillips said the business usually outsources used-car detailing to surrounding firms.
Phillips said that there has not been much change in technology with the tools and cleaners he uses for work. However, legislation has required that cleaners that emit airborne chemicals be free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Detailers have seen things such as less tire shine as a result, according to Phillips.
“On some days, you can see the tire shine run right off the tire since it became VOC-free,” Phillips said. “It stinks, but there isn’t much you can do about it.”
Phillips said that he is not sure about his plans for the future.
“I’m considering started my own detailing business, doing work for local dealers, but it’s not guaranteed regular income [after costs are figured],” he said.
At one point, the owner of the dealership asked him to be a service adviser, but he declined.
“I enjoy the flexibility of having the occasional Saturday off for competition,” he said.
Phillips said he enjoys competing in card-game competitions and sometimes travels out of state to compete in Pokémon, a card game that deals with fictional monsters battling other card gamers.
“I enjoy it, and it lets my wife and me think about something other than work,” he said, while lighting his cigarette.
Zach Filtz is a California University of Pennsylvania English major. See his website here.