Mobile detailers will find themselves with lots of competition even if they do not see them around town. There are also many fixed site detailers who specialize in wholesale detailing or the retail detail or both. Many fixed site detailers have accounts with new and used car dealerships. This provides them with lots of work. If they are good, they usually do prep work for all new cars at all the local dealerships or share the work with a couple of other detail shops, additionally there are always lots of used trade ins at new dealers and used car lots. If the shop is totally busy, obviously they: Have a great location, or Do extremely great quality, or Have very competitive rates, or all of these.

Many detail shops hire grunts to do the work and have a salesperson/manager to book the jobs. Sophisticated shops call this person a service writer. Service writers use catchy slogans, phrases and scare tactics to sell services. They have to; who wants to spend $160 plus on their car? If they dont back it up with beyond expectations quality, the people wont come back or worse will tell friends that they were under whelmed. Subsequently, they will either go out of business or be very slow.

The detailing industry is full of promise and opportunity (like the car washing industry), but someone has to size it up and take advantage of it. - Bud Abraham, 1997, President of Detail Plus Car Appearance Systems.

Many fixed site detailers look down to the mobile detailing crowd because they feel they cannot do as good of a job outdoors in an uncontrolled environment, which has some truth to it. Additionally many mobile detailers cut price and therefore hurt the volumes of the established fixed site detail shops.