Meet Michael To | Automotive Detailer | USAF Veteran | Dog Dad

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael To and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
As a child, I always had a vision of having my own business. More so on the realm of food like owning a restaurant of becoming a chef. The vision never changed as I got older and after serving in the USAF for 8 years, I decided it was time to actually make it happen. The constant moving between countries and states, change from work centers and equipment, people and coworkers, the dynamics of the ever evolving military finally caught up to lil ol’ me and I decided it was time to call it quits. I wanted to work on my own and be my own boss. So here we are today with, The People’s Detailer. Taking a skill I learned prior to joining the service and revisiting and revamping it to provide quality car details without breaking the bank. Plus, I’m a sucker for aesthetics, so working on nice cars without owning them is always cool.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Well this is still a rather new business, but to go back to the beginning.. When I first started in the detailing job, I was the youngest guy there that the company ever had. That was a good thing for them because it meant that the older guys didn’t have to stoop so low as often to clean certain parts of the vehicles. On top of that, being the fresh set of eyes that just arrived to the scene, I was able to spot areas that were missed and overlooked, resulting in a more complete and correctly cleaned car. This trend continued until one day where we had a Mistubishi Outlander come in for a detail. The older gentlemen didn’t want to put in the necessary work to make it shine, so I took it upon myself to do all the work. As I am there working on the vehicle myself, one of the guys tells me “stop cleaning that car Mike, it ain’t gonna look good no matter what you do”. I didn’t listen and continues to clean. He got angry that I didn’t listen to him and went to tell the manager. He messed up. The manager comes out to see me working and wanted to know why he was complaining. Next thing I see is the two of them go into the office. About 20 mins later, I get called into the office and was congratulated for doing the right thing and was told that all heavy details would be my specialty, that I am to leave the basic washes to the older gentlemen as they are unfit for full details. That was my first experience where doing the right thing pays off. This set the tempo to really push me to make every car look as good as I can make it look. Not only that, but that also stuck with me in the Air Force, to always do the best regardless of what others say. The ethic has stayed with me since and has not changed. From working on cars, to Radars and Airfield Landing equipment in the Air Force, the goal is to always get it done to the best of my ability, no matter how long it takes.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My buddy would be a guinea pig. We would try new places and see if it is worth the venture to go back again. The best part is that we’re getting older too so 2 or 3 locations a day is enough to tire us out haha Since we are both big sushi fanatics, we would have a sushi restaurant on our list for each day. He more than likely will bring his girlfriend, so I’ll be the third wheel, but the museum district would be on the list everyday as well.
We aren’t big night time people, clubs and bars are too rowdy for us, so for dinner we would probably go to Chinatown and indulge in all the variety of Asian cuisines. Ideally, for us, we would both rather rent a condo or apartment near the beach and fish all day and night. Nothing is better than hearing the ocean and reeling in a couple of feeshy weeshys. We release them, don’t worryyyy.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Have to start off with the family of course. Without them, I’d be somewhere else doing something else right now. My sister deserves recognition because she helped get me the detailing job way back then and that is how I was able to pickup the skills that I know today. My few friends that I met since returning home to Houston who have helped me in some design aspects and overall pushing out my name to aid in business. I told them once I make a decent amount of money, I would buy them all 1 Big Mac or 10 piece nuggets from McDonald’s.
Lastly would be to some of my old military buddies. We don’t always keep in constant communication but when we do it’s like we never left off. Some of these folks have shown great support and I am grateful I was able to meet and work with them.

Website: tpdetailer.com

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