A good car wash on any day – summer or winter – can drive one’s frame of mind in a good direction. It can even help one navigate one’s career path, as it has for Sylvester Chisom and Arthur Shivers’.
While working at a wash while still in high school, the two found a service flaw and would use that insight to build their own Showroom Shine Detailing.
They acknowledged customers who liked the gleaming car wash, but drove away with an interior lacking the detailed cleaning of the car’s exterior.
“The car wash was just a quick job, it wasn’t as detailed as what the people would have liked their cars to be,” Chisom said.
“They wanted extra time spent on their cup holder and carpeting, but the detail wasn’t there and we were recognizing people who weren’t satisfied and wanted to see what we could do a little better.”
That became the driving force of what would become Showroom Detailing.
The two started washing cars on their own behind Chisom’s mother’s business, Professional Touch Salon.
They cleaned cars inside and out with equal, great detail befitting a showroom.
Their customer base grew, but college called and the Chisom and Shivers answered, studying biology (pre-dental) and criminal justice, respectively.
Chisom and Shivers washed cars during visits home on breaks.
Chisom took business as a minor, and by graduation they decided to wash their hands of their majors and take the entrepreneurial route.
“It turned out to be a favorable decision,” Chisom said.
Within two years they went from rags and buckets in the trunk of a car to riches of two vans and 10 staff members.
Their clients include the United States Postal Service, Pontiac/GMC, Radio One, Clear Channel, Grossman Iron & Steel, Bimmers R Us and Professional Touch Salon, their first client.
Arlena S. Mason, another longtime customer, called their service excellent.
“They’re wonderful, and I recommend their service highly,” Mason said.
Shivers said they strive for perfection when cleaning customers’ cars.
“We like every car coming out looking how we would our own cars to look,” Shivers said.
That involves a lot of double and triple checking and the best products and equipment the market has to offer.
But first and foremost are quality work and running a professional organization.
“Just the other day, I got two calls from two clients I recommended to them and talked about how well the service was and how peaceful the atmosphere was,” said Chisom’s mother Darlene Gibson, who said she supports their decision to open the business from day one.
“I support whatever his decision is in life and instilled him to keep God first and reach for the stars,” she said, adding that she’s glad to see the fruit of their labor come into fullness.
“I had no doubt they would succeed because when you’re anchored with a good foundation it will fall into position,” she said.
Chisom and Shivers said they’ve had a lot of good help and support over the years.
That along with networking now has their business outlook sparkling like the cars they clean – summer and winter.
Their busiest month, in fact, is December.
“People want to get the salt and other stuff off their vehicles, but most people just don’t want to do it themselves because it’s cold out,” Chisom said.
For more information on Showroom Shine Detailing, visit www.showroomshinedetailing.com.
