Employee Shift Schedule

[TNWash]

I am new to the car wash industry. We are currently in the construction phase of an 85ft conveyor wash that is hopefully set to be competed in April. Traffic count for the location is about 40,000 cars per day. Would anybody please care to share how many employees you typically keep or would recommend having on the payroll? Also, if anyone would care to share their shift schedules for the employees it would be much appreciated. We plan on being open from 8am to dusk every day except Sunday for which we will open at 11am.

 

[washnshine]

I am new to the car wash industry. We are currently in the construction phase of an 85ft conveyor wash that is hopefully set to be competed in April. Traffic count for the location is about 40,000 cars per day. Would anybody please care to share how many employees you typically keep or would recommend having on the payroll? Also, if anyone would care to share their shift schedules for the employees it would be much appreciated. We plan on being open from 8am to dusk every day except Sunday for which we will open at 11am.

Hi and welcome. First off, if you are truly planning to close at dusk, that is a bit vague. For instance, where I am located, dusk is around 4:45 in December and 8:45 in June. Don't know if you have that big a span where you are , but you will certainly want set specific hours that your customers will know you will be open. Also, IMHO, 11 is a bit late to open on any day. Don't know your demographics or location, but it is hard to imagine that you will not be losing customers on Sunday mornings. Weekends are still prime days for catching up on things like washing the car.

Hard to have an idea of employees and schedules unless we know you are open say 96 hours per week or whatever.

Also don't know if you have pay stations, prep or no prep, towel dry etc. - more info needed.

 

[TNWash]

Thanks for the reply. The reason I left it vague, saying we would be open until dusk is due to the seasonal time changes. We do not have enough outdoor lighting to operate after dark. In the winter months it gets dark around 5:30 while in the summer months it gets dark closer to 9:00. Do most washes have seasonal hours? I would like to say we would be open from 8am - 8pm daily but that would not be achievable in the winter months. Also, I agree about Sunday. The 11am opening time is not set in stone yet.
We will have 2 pay stations, prep before entry, and will offer complimentary towels the customers will have to return after use.

 

[washnshine]

The washes around me do not have seasonal hours and some are 7am - 9 pm, with some 8 -8 on weekdays. Some open and close at 8 on Sunday, but that is about the only difference from the longer weekdays.

Easy for me to say you need outdoor lighting, but for the safety of employees and customers, you should have a well-lit facility. For the last hour of your day as it gets dark, you may have people not comfortable using a wash that is not well lit. In the northeast there a lot of dirty and salty cars in the winter months and there is money to be made between 5 and 8 pm in the winter months. That might be different for you though.

Do you plan to have a full time manager, or will you be an owner/operator? Do you plan to keep most of your employees as part time?

Two pay stations and prepping but no toweling can probably be handled by 1-3 employees at a time depending on volume and how extensive your prep is. It will not be static, you will need to flex with the volume. Also have to consider customers enrolling in monthly loyalty plans and any gate issues where you need an employee to keep watch. You may be able to open with one employee and add the labor as the day goes on and volume increases. Just a ballpark shot at it given what I have to go on.

 

[robert roman]

Employee shift schedule is function of staffing model which is function of business model.

“We will have 2 pay stations, prep before entry, and will offer complimentary towels the customers will have to return after use.”

This implies express exterior. Staffing model for express has two positions conveyor attendant and site manager.

Normal staffing is two persons, two seven-hour shifts plus the manager who works a day shift.

Scheduling usually has manager off on Sunday and Monday and attendants off weekdays. Also need part-time employees to cover days off, sick days, vacation, personal days, etc.

“….how many employees you typically keep or would recommend having on the payroll?”

So the number of employees on payroll may vary from between four and eight whereas the number of persons working per shift may vary from one to four.

With a new express, I shocked that your equipment supplier hasn’t already provided you with this type of crucial information for your site location.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Do whatever you can to lose the prep. Put labor savings toward lights.

 

[TNWash]

Thanks again for the replies. Yes we are an express exterior and we will have a full time manager and also a part time manager. I plan on having a few employees as full time and a couple as part time. I am afraid of too much employee turnover if I only have part time employees.
I will definitely look into getting proper lighting as I now see the importance of it.
I have asked our equipment supplier a few times for this information already but he has not provided it so I figured I would ask you all.