Why isn’t my self serve working out?

[ArthursCarwash]

In April 2020, I took over a leased self serve car wash in the city of Edmonton.

6300sqft, 8 Bays, Detailing, Store front.

BILLS MONTHLY

Lease: $5985.00

Utilities/ Insurance/ Supplies: $3000.00

Single morning shift employee: $1100

-$10,585 to keep the lights on.

AVERAGE REVENU

One detail service $185

Thirty vehicles through self serve bays, spending an average of $6-10 each.

Maybe $25 in store items sold per day.

I could say this place makes X amount a month, but I’d like to give you guys an idea of what’s going on in here Monday through Sunday 6am-10pm.

This neighbourhood is mature, a bit rough, but overall a great location to be in.
Main road, stop lights right in front of me, neighbouring businesses.

Car wash itself has a checkered past, but has existed since 1987.

Wash bays here are coin operated ($1 & $2)
I have a cash change machine within the
Bay Area, and INSIDE the store I can take Credit Cards, Debit, and Cash.
(will sometimes trade washes for art/ cigarettes/ a kick in the head)

Unique place or not, it is foremost a great self serve car wash.
Solid pressure, good soaps, fair time on the machines, strong vacuums, always clean and well operated.

WHATS WRONG?

The loonies going in a circle and never the bank account? (Switch to tokens)

No Credit Cards at the bays?

Signage & Advertising?

It being a lease?

They don’t wash enough cars in the ghetto?
(Pop. 150k +)

All of the above?

I love this place dearly, and would sweep floors, tinker on vacs, and pass out change happily til the day I die- but fuck guys if only it would make me a living.

 

[MEP001]

Modernize your coin boxes. What's scratched out on the selector? That looks tacky af. Add credit card acceptance, digital readout timers. Do your current timers even accumulate more than 15 pulses?

Cut down on the trendy shit. The stickers all over the change machine looks juvenile.

What purpose did it serve to post this image here? Think about the answer anytime you consider making changes.

 

[ArthursCarwash]

Ahh, those are some pretty pricey suggestions you’ve got, Mep.
Surely I’d have upgraded these things by now if money were no object.

Photos are just to give everyone an idea of who and what Arthurs Car Wash is, since it’s not a technical issue I’m having.
Must be a few guys in here who have gone through serious growing pains and managed to come out on top. I’m here to learn from their experience.

I can’t tell if you just like to nerd out on car wash gear, or actually operate one based on your posts/ replies.

Even the douche bags are bigger in Texas, can you believe it.

 

[MEP001]

Ahh, those are some pretty pricey suggestions you’ve got, Mep.
Surely I’d have upgraded these things by now if money were no object.

Not going to answer my questions. Got it. Be trendy, it's not professional. You'll continue to make nothing.

Must be a few guys in here who have gone through serious growing pains and managed to come out on top. I’m here to learn from their experience.

I've never gone through "growing pains." I know what I'm doing. Zoidberg painted on the wall won't bring in customers. Giving the best experience does. Drop the 'tude when you're ready to fix your problems.

Even the douche bags are bigger in Texas, can you believe it.

So the photo was exactly what I figured.

 

[Waxman]

A big part of the problem is that your pricing hasn't kept up with inflation. I was charging 185 for a detail before Covid. I never charged a dollar for the self-serve bays.

The car wash is a retail business and retail businesses accept credit cards. Mep has offered you some sensible solutions. Instead of being sensitive, why not continue the dialogue so you can get some help with your problem. Isn't that why you posted here?

 

[Earl Weiss]

Credit Cards with count up and Bill acceptors in Bays (Seems like they are inside bays so vandalism exposure would be nominal. ) . If too pricey to do all at once perhaps do half. Within a few months you will likely find not pricey at al and will do remaining bays. Perhaps Some Vacuums as well. Same idea for timers that allow Bonus tie. How about a Superbay.? Try Hand held bowers in a bay or 2. Get hour meters so you can see the payback.

 

[soapy]

Credit cards in the bay would be the first thing I would do. I added credit cards 15 years ago and have seen my CC slowly become 80 percent of my ss income. I had tried a token vendor with a CC prior and no one ever used it. Once I put CC in the overall time and money spent increased. People will spend much more time with a CC.
I know the indoor barn style wash is needed up there in the winter to be open. Some washes have gone to a time stamp charge system where they pay for all time spent in the wash. I would think you have a lot of people who might wash for a few minutes then spend time inside the building for long periods of time. You have to heat it so I think you should charge for all the time spent inside to set myself apart a nice warm building. Offer Vacs and everything on the time stamp method.
Are you doing anything different from other washes that make you special? When I started from scratch 30 ago I started supplying free drying towels to set myself apart from my competition. That worked out well for me as I became the place known for that. I had a guy from Alaska attend a seminar I gave at a WCA event once who told me a year after offering towels he had doubled his business and credited that one simple thing for saving his wash.

 

[OurTown]

Although you have bigger issues I wanted to point out that the meter selections are way out of order.

 

[MEP001]

Although you have bigger issues I wanted to point out that the meter selections are way out of order.

Someone did that to keep the high pressure functions together so the pump motor wouldn't kick on and off as customers go around the dial. It annoys me to hear it, but IMO it's a non-issue. Also there's a delay timer in the electrical box that is most likely there to prevent it.

 

[Greg Pack]

In US dollars that lease is pretty steep. It probably needs to be no more than 20% of gross revenue.

I like the artwork. While the trendy stuff is fun and might work well in other industries, in our industry I've always tried to provide neat and clean. As mentioned, SS car washes often have a sketchy reputation so the graffiti, even well done, kinda reinforces that. Although it lacks character a plain white wall might brighten the place up. or maybe come up with a logo for the wall. New coinbox decals are less than $100 per bay. And I do understand why most people might be reluctant to put money in the change machine. These are all little things of course but they may add up to a perception the place is a dump, when its obviously isn't to the careful observer.

If cryptopay is available in Canada that's a relatively economical way to provide credit/debit service. Nayax and Monex are two other inexpensive systems in the US.

If the $750 in store items are requiring an employee to be present I'd nix that quickly and provide a vending machine,

Good Luck!

 

[ArthursCarwash]

All responses are fantastic, thank you all.

I’m frustrated, and it shows.
I apologize, Mep.

I should revisit a few different suppliers for credit cards at the bays. This is a no brainer must have.
Seems no matter where I look- it’s a couple thousand per bay? Between the two major companies here, I can’t seem to find an easy and affordable way to ccomplish this.

Small courtesies have got me far. Like free towels, wash advice, a bottle of water for those sweating in here.
My crowd is 45-65 and they enjoy the personable experience, and I’m thankful to them for that.

Thanks guys, been reading threads on here for some time now and I’m glad I started a conversation.

 

[MEP001]

You could probably squeeze a display timer into that box and add another box next to it for a card reader. You've probably already read that count-up is a good way to go, since a customer can just swipe their card and wash until they're done, and they tend to spend about 30% more. It would be maybe $1500 Canadian per bay.

Someone mentioned charging for entry and they pay for the time in your facilities upon exit. That might be much less expensive to implement and might be more profitable.

One thing I see that is IMO pretty glaring: you don't look like a car wash from the road. Do you have control of the parking lot where you could maybe put up a vacuum island close to the road?

 

[ArthursCarwash]

You could probably squeeze a display timer into that box and add another box next to it for a card reader. You've probably already read that count-up is a good way to go, since a customer can just swipe their card and wash until they're done, and they tend to spend about 30% more. It would be maybe $1500 Canadian per bay.

Someone mentioned charging for entry and they pay for the time in your facilities upon exit. That might be much less expensive to implement and might be more profitable.

I wish so badly that this wash was kept as a timed wash.
The ticket box, and coordinating gear was existing when I took over- but rusted out and broken long ago.
Minus the obvious complaints people have with this type of wash, there are a few brand new builds who operate this way in my city.

Picture for reference. The ticket box just fell right over into rusty pieces when I leaned on it haha.

 

[ArthursCarwash]

You could probably squeeze a display timer into that box and add another box next to it for a card reader. You've probably already read that count-up is a good way to go, since a customer can just swipe their card and wash until they're done, and they tend to spend about 30% more. It would be maybe $1500 Canadian per bay.

Someone mentioned charging for entry and they pay for the time in your facilities upon exit. That might be much less expensive to implement and might be more profitable.

I wish so badly that this wash was kept as a timed wash.
The ticket box, and coordinating gear was existing when I took over- but rusted out and broken long ago.
Minus the obvious complaints people have with this type of wash, there are a few brand new builds who operate this way in my city.

Picture for reference. The ticket box just fell right over into pieces when I leaned on it haha.

You could probably squeeze a display timer into that box and add another box next to it for a card reader. You've probably already read that count-up is a good way to go, since a customer can just swipe their card and wash until they're done, and they tend to spend about 30% more. It would be maybe $1500 Canadian per bay.

Someone mentioned charging for entry and they pay for the time in your facilities upon exit. That might be much less expensive to implement and might be more profitable.

One thing I see that is IMO pretty glaring: you don't look like a car wash from the road. Do you have control of the parking lot where you could maybe put up a vacuum island close to the road?

The frontage is a major issue. Quite a distance from the street. Trees and adjacent buildings make new signage options feel pretty moot. I day dream of a dry down area, with vacs, garbages, and some shade.
the neighborhood I’m in would honestly just attract less desirable characters to hang out and vandalize whatever I have out there.

 

[ArthursCarwash]

I wish so badly that this wash was kept as a timed wash.
The ticket box, and coordinating gear was existing when I took over- but rusted out and broken long ago.
Minus the obvious complaints people have with this type of wash, there are a few brand new builds who operate this way in my city.

Picture for reference. The ticket box just fell right over into pieces when I leaned on it haha.


The frontage is a major issue. Quite a distance from the street. Trees and adjacent buildings make new signage options feel pretty moot. I day dream of a dry down area, with vacs, garbages, and some shade.
the neighborhood I’m in would honestly just attract less desirable characters to hang out and vandalize whatever I have out there.

 

[Randy]

The first thing you should do is raise your prices, put new decals on your coin boxes showing the price and time. Clean up the bill changer, it's a little to busy. Will your equipment take tokens, if they will then you can sell tokens at a discount in your convenience shop. Do you have any room inside your building to add a vacuum? The art work is lovely but it's not going to hold up in the car wash environment. The Canadian dollar is only worth .76 US so your price to start is only .76 US which is pretty darn cheap. How much time do you get when the equipment starts?

 

[ArthursCarwash]

The first thing you should do is raise your prices, put new decals on your coin boxes showing the price and time. Clean up the bill changer, it's a little to busy. Will your equipment take tokens, if they will then you can sell tokens at a discount in your convenience shop. Do you have any room inside your building to add a vacuum? The art work is lovely but it's not going to hold up in the car wash environment. The Canadian dollar is only worth .76 US so your price to start is only .76 US which is pretty darn cheap. How much time do you get when the equipment starts?

All equipment runs 64 seconds per dollar, double that for a $2 coin.

Tokens are attractive, and I’m willing to take the pushback for a while if it means the dollars are actually hitting my bank account- and not just cycling through the change machine.

Wish I’d have started dispensing tokens only from the start, and had the bays accept coins and tokens.
Atleast I could deposit the coins.
(Only the $2 coins ever hit my bank account, along with cash/ credit/ debit charges from the shop)

There are vacs in each bay, which are well maintained and have great suction compared to competitors

 

[Randy]

with the high cost of everything in Canada I think I'd raise my prices. Does the equipment start on one loonie? I'm at $2.75 for 3.5 minutes, that would be $3.64 Canadian. How much do you charge on your vacuums?
A lot of the operators in my area have installed a credit card reader on the front o there bill changer and give out extra tokens, $10 will get you 11 tokens and $20 will get you 23 tokens

 

[ArthursCarwash]

with the high cost of everything in Canada I think I'd raise my prices. Does the equipment start on one loonie? I'm at $2.75 for 3.5 minutes, that would be $3.64 Canadian. How much do you charge on your vacuums?
A lot of the operators in my area have installed a credit card reader on the front o there bill changer and give out extra tokens, $10 will get you 11 tokens and $20 will get you 23 tokens

Thanks Randy. I do fear my regulars dumping me over a few seconds off the clock.
The equipment does start with just $1, but I do have the option for $2 start. Vacuums in each bay run the same time per dollar as all other equipment, they cannot be timed separately.

Good “deals” on tokens, and credit card readers feels most simple and effective.
Will do some homework on my options.

 

[sjb]

Does your landlord also own/operate the liquor store…?

Is the property owner at all receptive to structuring a sale/purchase of the property…?

I would not encourage you or anyone to make significant capital improvements in someone else’s property….. (unless of course the cash flow was so significant to justify the $6k a month in rent….)