Businessman taps into Yk's passion for vehicles
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
For a city paved with bumpy, dusty roads, a surprising number of people who live in Yellowknife take tremendous care of their vehicles.
Brett Properzi, left, stands beside his new boss Chris Stapleton at CS Auto Spa and Glass in Kam Lake. At right is office manager and Chris's mother Kate Stapleton. Chris opened the business after realizing there is a demand for high-end auto detailing in Yellowknife. - John McFadden/NNSL photo
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This mentality is exactly what Chris Stapleton was trying to tap into when he decided to he open CS Auto Spa and Glass last month on Enterprise Drive in Kam Lake.
The young businessman, born and raised in Yellowknife, has hired his mother and a good buddy in his quest to establish himself as the go-to guy for auto detailing in the city.
"We get in the vents, the glove boxes, we take everything out of the car and shampoo the carpets and seats and go over and clean everything with a toothbrush literally," Stapleton said.
The business also offers full auto windshield replacements and repairs as well, as he said he knows firsthand chipped and cracked windshields can be a problem for those who travel on the Ingraham Trail regularly.
There are other glass specialists in Yellowknife, Stapleton said, but they also concentrate on home and office windows as well. As far as he knows, his is the only business focused on auto glass including head and tail lights. He also performs what he calls a three-step polishing which he said has the ability to remove light scratches, the kind Yellowknife motorists and their vehicles are vulnerable to. Stapleton said he learned how to do what he is doing during several years in the auto body industry in Yellowknife.
And of course, CS Auto Spa and Glass offers car washes.
"As opposed to going to . doing it yourself, you can bring it here and we'll do it. You can have a coffee and sit and relax and we'll wash your car for you," Stapleton said. "I want to expand and someday offer a touchless car wash with a wand wash."
Stapleton is also quick to point out that his detailing does not stop with cars and trucks - he will also service boats and motorhomes.
He said he is nervous about opening a business in what are not exactly boom times in the city. He used to work at a mine and was laid off so he knows what it is like when money is tight. But he added that some people still make having a clean car a priority even when they might not have a lot of disposable income. Those are the people that will make his business fly, he said.
"There is a lot of nice vehicles here and a lot of people take care of their vehicles here. It's their baby," Stapleton said.
Kate Stapleton, Chris's mother, said she was enlisted to do the books, freeing her son up for the day-to-day operation of the business.
"I am helping with accounting, advertising and promotion until he gets off the ground and is able to hire his own employees to do this," she said. "He's been talking about opening a business like this since he was a kid watching reality TV shows on auto detailing and custom modifying. This is where he is meant to be."
Brett Properzi is Stapleton's life-long friend and now his newest employee.
"Yellowknife really lacks that high-end detail shop. Even after I got back here after doing auto body in Edmonton I noticed that Yellowknife had that missing spot," Properzi said. "I talked to Chris and he said he wanted to open a detail shop and I thought that was the best thing and I've been on board ever since."
