cleaning up at ss wash

[randall]

great forum...I have two ss car washes in tx. i usually go twice a day to dump the trash and check to see if things are running good. I was wondering if anyone goes just once per day. and if i hired someone to just dump the trash once per day what would be a fair price to pay them

 

[diycarwash]

once a day is enough

I would say once a day during the week is enough. I go twice a day on Saturday and Sunday. I think you could pay someone 20 dollars a day to clean up the 2 washes.

 

[Jim L.]

My cleanup guy hits the place 3 times a day 7 days a week. His pay is $300/week and he is worth every penny of it! He also does light repairs and can be left to "mind the store" if I want to leave town for a couple of days.

 

[SCS]

I can't imagine what you need that level of attention for. If you have to have someone come by 2 or 3 times a day to clean up you should consider investing in more and larger trash cans. I have 3 washes which each get a visit once per day during weekends. During the week they get 1 visit every other day Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun. I've paid as low as $8 hr. for a crack head who couldn't do anything and didn't show up to as high as $13 for a very responsible guy.

 

[MEP001]

I do all the work now - got sick of trying to find someone responsible, reliable and honest, even had one guy figure out a way to get $50 an hour based on pay-by-job rather than time spent at the wash.

I clean up once a day, but I spend 3-4 hours a day at the wash every day, and I try to be there at the business peak to be available for customers. I sometimes have to empty the garbage a second time before I leave, and I'll sweep up 3 or 4 times while I'm there if it's busy.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I stop by the wash about 5 am every morning to make sure everything is working well and set for the day. On my way home from work I will swing by and be up there usually around 2-3 hours each evening. Saturday and Sunday I tend to be up there more, just cleaning up and doing 'stuff' as my wife likes to call it. =)

I haven't hired anyone yet to clean the place up at all, but I know that no one will ever take care of the place like I will. They don't have their livelihood on the line. They are just looking for a paycheck.

 

[MEP001]

I haven't hired anyone yet to clean the place up at all, but I know that no one will ever take care of the place like I will. They don't have their livelihood on the line. They are just looking for a paycheck.

That's been my whole problem too - everyone we've had has been more interested in their paycheck than the wash itself.

The guys I've talked to that have the best help are using retirees, usually people who grew up doing an honest day's work and taught how to be respectful at a young age. The only "kid" we've tried actually came in, punched his time card and left again, only to come back and punch out. That was if he didn't spend all day playing his Game Boy.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

We are thinking about putting in a dog wash in the spring and want to have it attended while it is open. We have begun our search now to try and find someone qualified and reliable. I don't like to be a pessimist, but I feel like we will get burned more than once before it is over.

 

[Jim L.]

SCS

Some owners don’t seem to mind having their trash cans running over, vac hoses on the ground and a couple of inches of mud in their bays. I’m not one of those guys.

I like it when a customer tells me that the reason they come to my wash is that “the place is always clean and everything works”.

 

[raisetheprice]

You'll never find perfect help in any industry. If you can get someone to show up not drunk and do the job about 85% of the way that you would do it, you've done well. My guy takes care of both of mine. I pay him $100 per location per week. He also cuts the grass at one, the other has no yard. I pay him $50 a week to cut the grass. He has his own lawn mowing business, so I pay $250 a week to his lawn business...which technically means no employees or quarterlys to keep up with. Works well, he has his own cell phone in the same network as mine so we can talk all we want, a good truck and truly makes my life easier.

 

[CRHAMEL]

With all the issues disscussed above that is what i think this industry is VERY DIFFRENT from any other idustry.The car wash world is riddled with FAMILYS from the distributors/manufactures/end users. FAMILY seems to be the only Reliable people that can come aboard on a company and put long HONEST hours in and not expect all that much. It can also be VERY detromental if a disgrundled family member quits and starts therie own comapany it seems like that has happened offten in the car wash world.
Is their any other industry that has so many familys involved????

WASH THE PLANET!!!

Chris

 

[Waxman]

My wash is attended most of the time; weekdays 8-5, Sat. 8-3, Sunday varies.

Plus, on Sat nite we go by as well as Sun. am and pm.

To me this is very important! I can't believe how many customers need help with the equipment, making change, asking questions, etc.

The bays need sweeping 6-12 x per day! The trash gets full very fast! People dump litter out by accident mostly, when vacuuming. I pick it up. Keeping the place tidy is a priority for me, plus I get alot of loose change for my piggy bank!

When you're in the business of clean, your image is important. I'd make alot less money at my wash if I came by twice a day. But I'm lucky to be also operating a detail biz at the same location, so we are very present on-site.

 

[randall]

Thanks for all the input

 

[Fatboy769]

SCS

Some owners don?t seem to mind having their trash cans running over, vac hoses on the ground and a couple of inches of mud in their bays. I?m not one of those guys.

I like it when a customer tells me that the reason they come to my wash is that ?the place is always clean and everything works?.

Jim, I totally agree. I own a 5 & 1 and between my father-in-law and myself, the wash is attended 3 to 4 times a day 7 days a week. Most would think this is overkill, but I'm the one paying the bills and that's how I'm going to do it. When I do have problems, they're not problems very long and customers are always complimenting about how well the place is kept.

 

[MEP001]

When I do have problems, they're not problems very long and customers are always complimenting about how well the place is kept.

I get the same thing - I spend 3-5 hours a day around the wash cleaning, maintaining, preventive-maintaining, whatever it takes to keep everything working perfectly and looking good. As I've mentioned before, I even change bay hoses when there's the slightest cracking, rusting or damage to them, and haven't had one break on a customer in about 3 years.

 

[SCS]

Jim, you're right. I know my facilities could make more money if I gave them more than an hour a day of my attendents time and an hour a week of mine. But how much more is debatable. I have competition all around my 3 washes that have full time attendants every day. I'm sure they do much better than mine but for some reason alot of people still choose to come to my washes in spite of that fact. In fact for over 10 years now they keep comeing and I keep makeing lots of profit. If a vac hose is on the ground it gets run over until the next person who uses it puts it up, I'm ok with that. If a bay has some mud in it until the morning when my attendant gets there I'm ok with that. If a trash can gets full on occasion and people have to walk an extra 5 or 10 steps to put their trash in a different one I'm OK with that. Hell I'm even ok with the fact that some of the people will just throw the trash on the ground until my attendant gets there.

If you've got a big loan that can only be serviced by running at absolute maximum volume or if you've got nothing better to do with your time and actually like picking up after other people because it's your baby then that philosophy works for you. But that's not me. If I had to do that to make it work I'd be out of this business real quick. Life is too short to spend 3 hours a day picking up trash unless you don't have a choice.

 

[MEP001]

SCS, keeping your wash as clean as you possibly can will make a difference in your income, and you'd likely be very surprised to see how much. It's not a short term payoff, in fact it can take years, but you'll never know unless you try.

Since you have three washes, why not pick one and give it the same kind of attention as I do, and leave the other two the same? What kind of numbers would it take for you to "see the light," as it were? Double, triple your current gross? I've taken a run-down wash to an 800% improvement ($1,500/month to $12,000/month) with little more than a couple hours of attention a day.

 

[SCS]

I agree that it would improve but I doubt it could be doubled and to be frank I wouldn't be willing to spend the time and effort even if I thought it could be doubled. I suspect 20% easy. 50% perhaps. But beyond that I don't think so as there are only so many cars you can get through during viable hours.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

uuuuummmmmm.......I don't get it. I know that I am in the business of making money. Washing cars is how I make my money. I didn't buy a wash because I am bored, I wanted to have a viable investment that cash flows. If I could double my income with a few extra hours a day, I would. That is your perogative, I have no problem with that. I just don't understand. I don't ever want to settle for mediocrity just so that I can be comfortable.

Just my opinion....

 

[Greg Pack]

IMO, the most reliable way to increase your income is to buy another wash. I have seen operators work their tail off selling tokens, fleet accounts, making balloon animals for the kiddies, etc. That extra ten-fifteen hours per week they spend to get revenue up 25% can be used to buy another location and run it, old school. In the end your net worth (after servicing the debt) will likely be much higher. Not practical for some, but a viable alternative for many.