Anyone heard of this ??

[traveler17]

Had a chain “tunnel” move in town last February. Sweating it at first but ALL is well at this location. I really felt nothing like I thought I would. I understand these chains don’t have to be profitable at every one of there sites. Private owner would’ve gone under already because this town/city won’t have the volume to support it. So they did what they did and pushed memberships like we all do. Just last month I had a handful of my faithfuls tell me they now offer a membership and you can bring in any car you want even if it’s not signed up. You can bring in one different car a day, friends , family , co-workers. It’s insane. I’ve been doing this for 25 years and never heard of such a thing. Talked to another IBA /SS operator in town , guys who’ve done this twice as long as I have etc and nobody has heard of such a thing. All we can think of is they are trying to run us out which Thank The Lord they are failing miserably. Anyone ever heard of such nonsense??? All I can think of is some paper pushing weasel sitting behind a desk coming up with this idea to try and drive the owner operators out. So you guys worried about tunnels just be pro active before they come. Talk to your customers and let them know you’re a phone call away and they are not just a number. Everybody is gonna try new but 90 percent of my business has returned. I offer no free vacs, a combo wash and a soft touch wash. They are getting a really bad reputation for cars not coming clean and stuff being broken and ripped off cars.
Annoyed even though nothing has changed but a corporate entity trying to take over. Thankful for everyone's input over the years on this forum!! I’m done now, just had to vent!!

 

[OurTown]

Never heard of such an idea. Who is this idiotic chain?

 

[washnshine]

Never heard of this either. If you can bring in any car, why do you even have to buy a membership? Only the original car will have the rfid sticker or proper license plate. How do they know there is a membership?

 

[traveler17]

Never heard of such an idea. Who is this idiotic chain?

Hurricane Express Wash

 

[traveler17]

Never heard of this either. If you can bring in any car, why do you even have to buy a membership? Only the original car will have the rfid sticker or proper license plate. How do they know there is a membership?

That I couldn’t tell you. I have one girl in particular the other day that only used the touchless wash of the combo and she said guy she works with told her he’d be happy to take her car for her. It’s really unreal. So basically they are not there to make money. I've had to many people tell me the same. It’s really insane and one reason they would even attempt this. I wish them the worst

 

[traveler17]

And their website says different but I have a handful of law enforcement vehicles that have told me the same but have stayed loyal

 

[OurTown]

It looks like it is app based so it it would be easy to add cars vs RFID tags. One thing I found a little different is that they show prices at cost per week. Also, they charge every four weeks instead of once a month so they get an extra payment every year.

https://www.hurricanewash.com/unlimited-storm-club/

 

[traveler17]

I actually liked their idea of showing a weekly price. Makes the customer think they aren’t spending as much. It’s crazy though. I didn’t believe it until I heard at least 5 different customers tell me. Makes no sense!!

 

[washnshine]

Heck, that basic wash works out to 65 cents a day!

 

[ShinePro]

I fear that we will see more stupidity in the near future.
I have a theory on this- that I m pretty confident of. I ll explain tonight when I have time to type it all.
Back to washing cars for now.

 

[OurTown]

Heck, that basic wash works out to 65 cents a day!

71 cents according to my math. $5/7 days.

 

[washnshine]

That works- I did $20/31 days. But they did say every 4 weeks

 

[ShinePro]

So its been a great weekend here in Ohio
Finally some good washing weather.
I have been working on this theory for a year and get more confident about it all the time, and am really confident after this weekend.
On Friday, feeling like we were going to be busy I told myself that I wanted to listen to Customers, not educate them or sell them stuff, just listen!
Say hi how ya doing and let them lead the conversation. And boy did they want to talk!!!!

My theory on the “death of membership programs” has two parts.

Part 1). I am 60 yrs old , been self employed since I was 18, done a lot of things, seen a lot. Most all business’s over the years based on memberships- gyms- ymca’s-video-to name a few have either gone away or struggled mightily.
Right now with all the excitement over expansion of tunnels its the “cool” thing to do. Get a membership and clean anytime etc

The economy in general, record credit card debt, and just the mood of the country; that excitable fad feeling will soon fade!
In some areas evidence exists that its fading already. Hence the need for stupid deals.


Part 2) The membership fad got going years ago when our chemical products available were simple- pre soaks, tri foam, drying agents, hot wax, clear coats.
Now with the evolution of Improved pre soaks, ceramics and graphene. The game has changed.
Here is what I heard all weekend:

“I love this new Zenith wash of yours. My car stays shiny longer”
(Zenith is the name of my top wash- named after the graphene product called Zenith from Chemquest)

“When you raised prices I went and checked out some other places - and now I m back cause this wash lasts longer than any of the others”

“ I canceled our $40 membership from that new place cause we dont need to wash that often if we wash here”
(Bingo)
and there were tons more but you get the idea.
————-
As we improve our product with ceramics, graphene and lord knows what is next;
(I m talking hi quality ceramic-$3000. + a drum stuff, non of that cheap stuff)
Customers are going to quickly realize they dont need to wash once a week like they did when we soaked their car with sticky hot wax or slow to cure rain products that let dirt stick to it.

now the downside to that is that they dont need me as often either. But I ll weather that storm for a while until this fad passes.
If I can keep them off a membership at least they will need me at some point!

I was amazed at how many Customers talked about the shine and its long lasting effects.
“My car can be dusty/dirty but still shines like a penney”
(My farm truck is the same way- dusty but shiny)

“After 3 or 4 top washes in a row sometimes I get a cheap wash and it looks just as good”
(That is true with a lot of cars)

Bottom line is that the chemical companies continuing efforts to improve products are going to put a serious crimp on the membership model by improving the quality of car we can put out!

I talked to several other wash owners over the weekend in northern ohio and Maryland and we all ended our chats with how much better of car we are sending out the drive

I could keep going for a while more - but you all get the idea I hope. Pardon my farm boy typing- I type like I talk
So fasten your seatbelt because crazy deals and gimmicks are coming to desperate tunnel owners when membership numbers start to fall!
I m already making plans for the one that opened this spring 6 miles from me when it sells.
Take out all the equipment
I think it will make a great drive thru ice cream place.!
And they wont need a membership to get a milkshake!

 

[washnshine]

Glad you are seeing good success and loyalty despite the memberships. You’re probably also able to leverage the fact that you have a touchfree process, which is preferred by some customers. There will always be a segment of the market that demands the touchfree wash and no matter now many times a month they can wash at a tunnel, they still want a touchfeee wash. I guess we have to be on the lookout for touchfree tunnels with memberships now!

 

[ShinePro]

Glad you are seeing good success and loyalty despite the memberships. You’re probably also able to leverage the fact that you have a touchfree process, which is preferred by some customers. There will always be a segment of the market that demands the touchfree wash and no matter now many times a month they can wash at a tunnel, they still want a touchfeee wash. I guess we have to be on the lookout for touchfree tunnels with memberships now!

I follow your comments on here all the time and respect your opinions.
I m curious why you brought up the “touchless” topic. Yes, I m a fan of touchless, but I never mentioned wash types in my theory. Because I know there are IBA folks that are considering it.
I dont advertise, and I dont promote the touchless aspect as much as I probably should. I let the products and the process speak for themselves.

i used to offer ss folks a touchless wash all the time when I first started. Some will never use an automatic anything. Even for free!!! So I quit that and now that I have ceramic in the ss bays - I dont care where they wash. The automatic is busy enough.

I still think that as we continue to improve the products we use and tweak the process - we are going to create a car that is so hydrophobic with a harder surface that stuff just doesnt stick too as much.
Therefore folks wont need to wash as often making the unlimited memberships a much less attractive purchase!

 

[washnshine]

Hi ShinePro - I only mentioned touchless because I think it is a way to differentiate IBA operators from the membership tunnels. I am thinking that some people simply do not like friction washes and that can help keep them clear from the tunnel membership plans. I recall reading other posts of yours and thought I remembered you being touchless.

I run a friction tunnel - without memberships- and I have to set my wash apart from the big chains in other ways. Often on this forum when someone is opening a new IBA, a lot of us recommend touchless to offer a wash type different from what the membership tunnels are doing.

Your theory of the best quality winning out is a good one - that’s what I try to do- even if I have the same type of wash as the big membership players.