I have to agree with Earl, our enemy has been the weather, not the economy. The last 6-7 weeks the weather has absolutley sucked. When it does break, we wash cars. We just cannot seem to string 3-4 days together. November alone was down 2,500 33% off) year to year but it must have snowed or rained 4-5 days every week. December hasn't started off much better despite the wintry weather, As my father used to say,"Live in hope and die in despair." Shorty is definitely in town. All you can do is pray and look to save wherever you can. If this winter continues the pattern of the last 6+ weeks, we are all going to be in serious trouble. The only silver lining is gas prices. I expect those will remain low or lower over the next 12-18 months given the global economy.This will help, but only if the weather strightens out. But when things turn around economy-wise, look for oil to rise significantly again. Those car washes who can survive this conflagration will come out even stronger with greater market share than before. But it is going to be a bumpy ride - regardless of how many promos you run, or if you lower prices. If cars are not dirty AND/OR the weather is bad, people will not wash their cars even for $3.00.
