Dr. Detail offers automotive detailing services out of locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey styled after a medical office. They refer to their managers as "doctors" and detailers as "interns" who wear medical garb. Services range from a $20 checkup to more involved "surgeries" costing up to $225. They also offer membership plans for multiple services. The company was started by Jerry Ehrlich who came up with the medical theme concept. It has since expanded to multiple locations and licenses the concept to other detailers.

1. By Jim and Elaine Norland
Dr-Detail Offers
Vehicle Healthcare
Above left: Founder
Jerry Ehrllch outsrcle Dr.
Detail's Conshohocken.
PA locairon,
Above right:
Conshohocken rnanager
Greg Horsham rlith one
cf his upscale "patients."
n a medical doctor's
ofhce.,vou're examined
b1,' lab-coated phvsicians
and assistants. and either _given
a clean biil of health or possiblv
recommended fbr minor or even
major surgery. Much the same thirg
happens to cars at Dr. Detail in Bala
C1'nwyd and Conshohocken. PA.
and in its mostlv seasonal mobile
operation rn Atlantic Cir,v*. NJ. The
managers at each site are cal1ed
''doctors." and the detailers are
"interns."
The detailing specialists all
u,ear lab coats or ofter medical saft
(scrubs in Atlantic City). The
packages oiTered include a S20
cha:k-up. S80 "minol surgeq,." and
''major surgerl," that ma1'r'an-se up
to "ultimate cosmetic surgerv''
at 522:1.95. That latter package
includes complete exterior and
interior as u,el1 as engine cleanin,s
and Lexol treatment for leather.
Ntlotorists can even sign up for
one of Dr. Detail's ''Popul;r Healttr
Care Plans." Check-up Coupon #1
oft-ers i0 hand u,ashes tbr a totai
cost of 5160 (saving S40 from u'hat
thel' rvould cost if bou_ulrt individu-
a111). Another package bundles 1 7
hand u'ashes ibr a total tab of 52,10.
sar.ing the motorist S98.
The basic check-up. most popuial
choice amons. Dr. Detail en ices.
inciudes tar and bug lernor.al. com-
plete exterior hand ri'ash. cleaning
of u.'heels and rl,heel u'ells. tire
dressin-s. and ll'iping dorm door:iils
rnd jamb.. Interjol racuuming.
ashtla.v cleaning. dash and glass
cieaning are all included in that
check-up.
"Nlinor sur-qery" includes the
check-up. exterior hand u ar. color-
matching and dressing of nim. tunk
r,acuuminq ald fi'ont mat shampo<>
ir.re. Indir,idual "sur_eical options"
include full interior detail ai 565.
engile cleanin-s fol S10. and plastic
rvindorv polishing at S25. D'. Detail
makes house ca1ls
-
its term for
r.alet sen,ice takin-u customers to
and ftom home or office.
Bv con<ulmtron and appoint-
ment. inotorists can also get painr
ing and touch-up. pinstripine.
initials and
-uaphics.
parntless dent
removal. hterior r-epairs and
"vin-
dorv tintin_s. scratch and bumper
repair. rvet sandin_u. and nerv-car
sealant. Speclalists who come to
the Dr'. Detaii location as need-
ed perlbrnr nranl of these
'en ices.
Dr. Detail is the brainchrld of
Jern Ehrlich, now co-owner and
marteting/promotions specialist ol
the or_eanization. Efulich. then intent
on goin_s to medical school. u'as
working his way throu_uh college 15
or more i,ears ago by washing and
detailin-s cars.
Shile Lus tlroughts u,andered dur-
ing a histow class. Ehl[ch came
up u,ith the Dr. Detail concepl com-
plete with rubber -sloves.
masks.
Q-tips and a "medical statt." He
bought an old Gho s t b./sIer',r-tvpe
ambulance and used it to make car
care house cal1s alon-e the Jersel,
shore.
He mn into trouble en route to a
customer in one communin'near
AUTO LAUNDRY NEWS OCTOBER 2OO456

2. i
Atlantrc City rvhen a locai police-
man stopped him fbr'"Lmpersonat
ing an emer-eency vehicle.'' and
gave hrm a S1,500 ticket. The
customer called the nervs media.
Ehrlich and "Dr'. Detail" _sot floni-
pa-ue and TV publicity and an SRO
courtroom audience. Ehrlich paid a
much-reduced penalt"y' of S50 coun
costs and reaped tons of arca-u,ide
theil enr,il onmental initiatir,e in
pr oviding interceptor dmina_ee/set-
tling pits at each store. Oils and
solids are separated fiom the water'.
and the water enterin-q the sewer
system is cleanet than ryprcal
household wa-stewater. "The EPA
(Envilonmental Protection Agencv)
and the state DEP (Department
of Enr ironmental Prorection I
store. A11 are paid on the basis of
the rvorli the)'produce
- and they'
appalentl-y do v,,e11.
Ehllich believes thev're more
likel,v to produce a speedy but
topqualiq, job than if thel'were paid
an hourly rate . ''Our intems. on the
average rveek. take home about
5500 atier tares." Ehlich repons. In
adtlition to theu "ploductiun" pr.
the detailers -set
tips fi'om happ.v*
customers.
Dr. Detarl's oiners pror,ide the
medLcal garb tbr their detailers as
u'ell as laundn tacilities at each
store so the-v can always har,e a
clean outirt to wear"
Finding persons u,ho reallv care
about detailing and demonstrate
aptitude for it is sometimes ven.
dilficu1r so {acAlphe and Ehrlich
take pairs to show hor.v much thev
value and appreciate their n'olk.
They reu,iud thei' u orkers rvith ibs-
Iive er enls such as a big Chrisrmas
parn la:t ear'. an e ent that eVen in
late summer this 1,sa, prompted
"intem" inquiries about the next.
Such legard fol employees
seems to pav off in longevir.v. Phil
Nlatthervs has been a detailer
u,irh Dr. Detail "since Da1,One."
and Gre-e Horsharv. now a mana-ger.
began as a detailer at Bala Cynwld.
Mike Cantor. now manager at
Bala C1.'nwvd. be_san with Dr'.
Detail in 1993.
Dr. Detail draws "a lot of high-
prof-de customers, spofis and other
celebrities Ivrng rn the area." sa,vs
Ehrlich. Theil cars bear Mercedes.
BNIW-. Jagwu. Ponche. Lamborgh-
ini. Lotus, and Bentlev name-
publicitv and leco-enition for Dr,
Detail
With its identity nor.v rve11 rec-
ognized in the entire Philadelphia
area. Dr'. Detail operates as a
parrnership betr.veen EhrLch and
Peter MacAJpine from n,'o fired
locations in Pennsl,h,ania. Its
Atlantic City seasonal mobile
selr,ice. available 2417
- and often
summoned at "tregular" hours
-operates out of a small office and
stor"ge are& with Harrison Singer in
charge ofthree tw.o-person crews.
Peter MacAlpine. a "car f'anatic
u'ho u ashed and u ared his or.i n
cars all tlie tin-re." in Ehrlich's rvor-ds.
joined *re operation eight veais aoo.
He owns the i0.000-square-tbot
Bala Cynr.vyd location. which
opened in 1990. He and Elulich are
pafiners in the 5.000-square-foot
Conshohocken opelation. opened
Iittle more than a
-year a-eo and pr-of-
ltable in its hrst vear. 4acAlpine.
u,ho u,as previousll, in the video
business. devotes fuI1 time to Dr.
Detail. but Ehrlich shares hi: time
u ith other bu:ines inleresl:.
Both trred locations have received
federal and state recognition for
gave us a S 10.[X)0 gmxt because we
became envilonmentali,v sat-e in
the detailing business." Ehrlich
notes. addin,r that the EPA had used
Dr. Detail as an example of rvhat
all detail shops shouid be doing.
The Bala Cynwvd shop rvas a
former car dealership in the Main
Line area of Philadelphra. Siruated
in a hr-uh-income-per'-household
comrnunitl'. the store' s neishbors
include a BfiV dealer-. a Cadillac
and Subaru deaier. and a Mazda
dealer.
The Bala Crnurtl hrcution i:
staft-ed b.v six people. and tbur
individuals man the Conshohocken
Above left: Dr. Detail's
1 968 Caddy anrb! ance
makes house cai s.
Below:AMn Moble
unii on ocation in
Atlaniic City
AUTO LAUNDRY NEWS OCTOBER 2OO4 57

3. Top: Dr. Detali's f yer
listsalavai able
procedures.
Center: A refurbished
ira ier insrde the
Ccr.shohocken
iocation serves as
office anci cLtstomer
wait ng area.
plates. The companv's valet senice
is an added fearure with manv
such customers. and cllstomer
con.enience is a ket,ingredient in
D'. Detail's success.
The Bala Cynu,_vd store does
so much business in one office
complex that lab-coated D'. Detail
ddverVdetailen get malked palkrnu
1ot diagrams fiom customers shor,, -
in-s where their cars are palked.
then delir.er the same maps showin-g
new'parking spots when they drop
kevs olTto the oren.
At Conshohocken. Ell'lich and
lvlacAlpine inr.ested 550.000 to
lehab an abandoned buildin-s.
irstalling neu, eiectncaUli-shrin-e
sen'ice. plumbing and sewer. Nou,
painted a bright "Sunshine Disne-v
Yeliori .^' it's a cun't-mi:. location
r.r,ith si_rna-ee ploclaimin-e. "Dr.
Detail. Automobile Cleanine.''
plus the phone number.
Dr'. Dctail promotes its offerin-es
via mail setlices such as N{oney
Mailer. and also disnibutes its flyen
house to house and places those
flyers in glocer),and other stores.
often giving the mana-9er or owner
a free check-up or other sen.ices t-or
his personal car in exchan_se for the
placement.
Thanks in large pafi ro these
flycrs. "people call on us because
lher knou' uhat rhe_r're seflinS.
the-v knorv the serlice the.v lvant.
and rhele's n6 cquabble overpric-
ing." Ehrlich savs.
With its ploximitl.to
man. ca1 dealerships.
the Baia Cynwvd store
does about 60 percent
dealer wort and 40 per-
centrchil. Conshohock-
en is heavier on the retail
side. 80 percent. and
Atlantic Ciry business is
almost 1 00 percent retail.
EhlLich takes pains to
shoq, a deaier u,hat's
inr.oh.ed in a quaLitl,
trcatment. That helps
l-rim e.xplain wht' he
won't cut pdces and
usua111, charges moi'e than other
detai ler: do u ho ml.r cul. lheir tete(
to _eet the dealer's business. "In real-
rt1 . that dealer uould lathel rou
spend an extra half-hour to hour
doing ttre exua steps. such as di,,eing
a stained carpet or r.r,et-sanding a
panel to get out scratches. ''That
car's got to stand tall on his 1ot.
and lookflarvless."
Ehl1ich has licensed the Dr:.
Detail concept to ilve operators,
"a11 or,el the counfi1'." Rather than
become invoh'ed $,ith fi'anchisir.r-e
-
u,hich means the fi'anchisor'
has to monitor ti'anchisees closelv
to get the proper share of rer'-
enue
- Etri'hch chose the licensm_e
apprcach.
Fol a one-rinre r'ee ol 5:.500.
licensees get the right to use the
Dl. Detaii name and marketin-e
approach. training on detailing
chemicals (Elirlich prefers Aldex)
and horv to detaii, and 2417 help
rvith anv questrons. "Someone u,ith
no knou{edge of the business. if
ther,put an-v effort into it. can lean.r
all of that at our site in one week."
Ehrlich sa1,s.
It the1,u'ish. Licensees can offer
other rciated sen.ices such as sterco
equipment sales and installation.
windor.v tinting. and paintless dent
Lemoval.''An1, 6latuif n-u-related
accessodes or senices rvil1 heip
them be :ucceSsfi.rl." he helier e'.
One r aluable added :en ice
offered at the Conshohocken and
Baia C-vnrld storcs is al1o1,rvheel
rcflnishing, That serr,ice can sare a
customer huncL'eds of doil;rs on a
sin-e1e rvheel ihat has been acciden-
ta111, damaged. For a S75 char_ue to
the customer. the u,heel can be
refinished bv a specialist rvho
comes to Dr. Detail's location. and
D'. Detail u,i11 tlrou,il a cal wash.
"We're a one-stop shop fbr car
cosmetics." Ehrlich points out.
MacAlpine and Ehrlich are
rrillin-e supponers of communit-r
causes. Ofun, they"il let high school
)oun-qsters wash cars at their Dr'.
Detail locations.
Ehrlich is equallv r.i,rlLing to help
other detailers u,ith car'-cleaning
ploblens, and he savs many,' shops
call on hilx. ith iu oun lepuntion
in Southeastem Pennsylr,ania and
Atlantic City, uell polished it looks
as if D'. Detail u,ants to improve the
health of even one in professional
car cleaning. S
Jim and Elalne Norland are regular
coniributors Io Auto Laundry Ne,us
When You Fsel Sick, Who Do you Gll???
When your Car Looks sick, Call Dr Detaill
-ii€ry-, _*_.+ i&
A€tur: Y/bhirg, R.i rdjz.'l_lB
ldebr:!:<uur., Cic$ Diln &Gkr
i: iiir:r..:ri liui:iri;'
f ULLh*TatuOR CLCAMNC
EtG@.h.nFo J qG & hac, dan d *!b 1nd
door DM& &kr ti.I"rh
AO
AUTO LAUNDRY NEWS OCTOBEB 2OO4