I have been tossing around the idea of a pay station and was wondering if any of you could give me some feedback on what system you chose. Also the good bad and ugly of any systems that are there. Been doing this for 25 years and thinking this and a few other upgrades will enable me to take some time off without completely retiring. Thanks for your input.
Car Wash Forum
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Pay station recommendations
- Thread starter Rapomay
- Start date
Car_Wash_Guy
Well-known member
I just bought 2 Dencars and will buy another 2 for my tunnel site. I loved the almost 22" touchscreen and the technology they've designed especially for the IBA market and running monthly plans. The other teller I was considering was the Washify but I had read some people complain about issues with the bill recycler.
First thing you need to do is to figure out what your objective is. Do you want an entry system that just takes cash/credit cards or do you would a entry system that has all the bells and whistles on it, cash/credit cards, loyalty cards etc. How have you been running your IBA for the last 25 years? What’s your end goal?
How long have you had them?
I would like a system that takes cash, credit card and has either a license plate reader or rfid scanner. The car wash is a 130 foot tunnel and for the last 25 years either I or an employee have walked the like collecting money. The goal is to eliminate a worker and the theft/mistakes that go along with an employee. Implementing a monthly program is also on the list
We could have two lanes but since we are not a high volume I was going to install one system and if the need arises install another one. I saw Sonnys has a full pay station but also sells a vip station that read the license plate for those customers. The cost of the vip station was about 1/3 of the cost of the full pay station.
I ask because we've had an employee perform the transaction in person via the car window since we opened 13 years ago.
Last year, I added a pay station as I wanted to update the wash, hopefully reduce labor, increase throughput, and add memberships.
Well, it didn't do any of those things. Adding the kiosk has greatly slowed throughput as customers struggle to learn to use it, and some are actually mad that we put it in. Labor is still the same as I need to have an employee help customers use it. We aren't able to do more than 20 cars per hour from the single pay station. It's been an expensive mistake. Not to mention all the problems/issues we've had with the system. My manager has had to become an IT expert practically to keep the system going.
Beware if you only have a single pay lane.
Last year, I added a pay station as I wanted to update the wash, hopefully reduce labor, increase throughput, and add memberships.
Well, it didn't do any of those things. Adding the kiosk has greatly slowed throughput as customers struggle to learn to use it, and some are actually mad that we put it in. Labor is still the same as I need to have an employee help customers use it. We aren't able to do more than 20 cars per hour from the single pay station. It's been an expensive mistake. Not to mention all the problems/issues we've had with the system. My manager has had to become an IT expert practically to keep the system going.
Beware if you only have a single pay lane.
Axxlrod, Which system did you install?
Car_Wash_Guy
Well-known member
What paystation did you install? PM me if you don't wish to post publicly.
jfmoran
Active member
This is true, but it is designed specifically for monthly plan members, It has the LPR and the ability for customers to renew their plans using a credit card, but this unit does not accept cash.
Sorry to hear that you are having all of these problems. I was thinking that one station may cause the problems you described. Many of our customers are elderly and I'm sure the learning curve will be long and drawn out. Going to be tough to justify two $35,000 outlays with our moderate volume. If you don' mind what brand did you install. If you don't want to publicly say would you be willing to email me
at carwasherguy@gmail.com. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.
Would you mind if I emailed you some questions about your dencar pay stations. Specifically any issues you had etc.
My email is carwasherguy@gmail.com
Thx
Car_Wash_Guy
Well-known member
I don't have them installed yet.
lakemobilewash7
New member
Has anyone here tried the pay terminal that DRB Systems makes? Any pro/cons with that product?
Car_Wash_Guy
Well-known member
I didn’t try to negotiate. I was looking at the Washify and Sonnys and thought the price was in line with them.
I liked the features and layout of the Dencar.
They’re both up an running but I’ve been out of town. I’ll see them for the first time tomorrow and post pics
SuperShine
Active member
Which one? The XPT?
lakemobilewash7
New member
Yeah, the XPT
XPTs are fairly reliable and easy to work on. Everything is components based so the most expensive repair is around $2k.
Unfortunately most of the parts are proprietary to DRB though.
While they are reliable and easy to work on they do have issues but I cannot imagine it is more then other brands. Most issues are either software related or can be fixed with a reboot or by reseating a cable.
Unfortunately most of the parts are proprietary to DRB though.
While they are reliable and easy to work on they do have issues but I cannot imagine it is more then other brands. Most issues are either software related or can be fixed with a reboot or by reseating a cable.
