Not only do they run a successful car detailing and cleaning business, but they also have a training academy and, incredibly, more than 17 percent of their staff members are hearing impaired or deaf. We found out a little more about the dynamic Salomon Brothers.
When brothers Dominic and Alex told their mother they were giving up their respective professional careers to wash cars, she cried. Of course, she could never have known the success her sons would see with their car detailing business over the next seven years.
The Salomon Brothers currently operate out of three branches: at BMW Durban, Mini Rocks Umhlanga and SMG at the newly constructed, remarkable Umhlanga Arch. They employ more than 85 staff members who wash, maintain and fix up literally thousands of vehicles every month.
Things didn’t start out like this though. In fact, when they became partners and opened their business (which was then called Geeky Clean Detailing) it was just the two of them, washing cars at people’s homes.
Although they both came from different career backgrounds – Dominic was in finance and Alex a chef – the one thing they always had in common was their obsession with cars and motorbikes. So, in 2013, the two self-proclaimed ‘petrol heads’ decided to quit their jobs and follow their bliss . . .
“We both love cars and bikes and we literally grew up in a garage. As a result, we got really good at cleaning cars,” says Dominic who is also the company CEO.
Apart from being good a cleaning cars, they also learnt how to disassemble and put things back together, which meant they could offer more than just a basic car wash. And they weren’t cleaning just any cars either.
“Our goal was to only work on extremely high-end vehicles. We were going for the ‘less is more’ approach, where we could do a few detailing jobs on exclusive vehicles that the owners weren’t comfortable with taking just anywhere.”
They worked as a fully-mobile, owner operated team for three years before deciding it was time to put down some roots. “A friend of ours who was a used car manager helped us get a foot in the door with the McCarthy brand and we put forward a proposal to take over the service cleaning side. Slowly we started growing our business step-by-step.”
Although their core business remains cleaning, they also offer a wide range of other specialised add-on services like window and headlight tints, vinyl wraps, paint protection film and loads more.
They are also passionate about their staff and decided to start a training academy to ensure each staff member is trained up properly and able to work their way up in the business.
“We are able to train people who come straight off the street and have no income and bring them up to a level where they are earning R250 a day. It’s very, physical work in the beginning as we wash and hand over a car every 15 minutes, for nine hours every day. But they can work their way up and learn new skills within the business.”
Something they are very proud of, Dominic says, is the fact that a significant portion of their staff are deaf or hearing impaired. “We drove past a place called eDeaf in Musgrave one day and decided to stop and check it out. It was an employment agency for deaf people and we knew we wanted to get involved. Initially we had just three deaf people in the academy, but now 17 percent of our staff are deaf,” says Dominic. “It’s been amazing to see how quickly and easily they integrate with the hearing staff and some of our staff members have even picked up sign language. It’s humbling and uplifting being around them, as they are such positive people despite their challenges.”
Although COVID-19 has had an effect, business has picked up somewhat as people want to have their vehicles sanitized. “Sanitizing is not new for us, its something we have been doing for years, so our cleaning practices haven’t changed all that much.”
Working so closely as brothers has it’s challenges at times, especially with their fiery Argentinian background, but the brothers agree that they know how to handle each other and work well together. And while they probably could sit back and let their staff do all the hard work, you are more likely to find them getting their hands dirty and physically working on their clients’ vehicles themselves, ensuring they have the best possible experience. “Our business is family run and our roots are deep. We hold our titles as owner-operators close to our hearts as we believe we are the heartbeat of the business.”
Details: 031 536 2030, [email protected]
Text: Leah Shone
