Too Cold and Closed

[DiamondWash]

When is this cold spell going to end???? I try to open in the early afternoon just to make some money for the winter but this is ridiculous open for 5-6 hours a day then shut down for the night I was just getting ready to leave the wash last night and I had just put cones out in front of the coinboxes when I see a customer pulling in and delibertly going around the cone blocking off the wash he backs up when he sees the "CAR WASH CLOSED" on the coinbox and gets out to ask me why the carwash is closed? I point at the temp indicator on the screen "-9 degrees" that's why!

 

[Waxman]

many carwashes run that cold and you can too but it costs $ to do so. doors cycling up and down on the auto bay, floor heat, blowdown and weep and you can wash cars.

That said there are still freeze up risks; one malfunctioning door operator or weep solenoid or boiler flow switch and you are, as they say, toast.

Ask Whale O Wash what he does. They made a movie about where he is located!

 

[CWMan]

Same here...

It's easy math to figure out the benefits of closing when it's this cold - 5 degrees here today.

However, it's a difficult psychological hurdle for me to close down. I imagine my customers not thinking about the weather and the cost to stay open, but thinking I've closed permanently... probably not an issue, but it's what worries me.

Looks like I will stay closed until Sunday and hope it's gangbusters thereafter for a while.

 

[captain cw]

Same here in Arkansas. We are actually having single degree temps. Just great after setting the record for the wettest year in recorded history. I'm thinking of selling pencils on the corner....

 

[Red Baron]

I've been closing every night that it gets into the 20s, which has been about 10 days straight now. I'm running an ad in the paper explaining that we'll be closing on extremely cold and wet days, in lieu of a price increase in this tough economy.

I have dealt with more mud in the last week than I can ever remember! It's been a disaster! Virtually impossible to stay ahead...I've cleaned up heavily mudded bays about 10 times each day. My helper is AWOL. If he showed up to clean a bay I don't know if I'd celebrate or hit him with a shovel.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

RB, how's that "No mud" policy working out for ya

 

[washtubman]

Be careful what you complain about! I'd be happy to be cleaning up mud. We haven't washed hardly any cars since the first week of December. Rain, drizzle, cold, snow, wind, cold and now snow and colder.

 

[captain cw]

I'm missing mud myself. It's been the worst fall/winter that I can remember.

 

[Whale of a Wash]

you guys should get an airline ticket, to my city and we'll show you how to survive and show you customers washing cars at -15. Our coldest temp Jan 2, was -33 and we did close for part of the day. I don't even have to turn the floor heat on until it gets about 20 outside as the people washing keep the wash warm enough. we probably won't see an above freezing temp in January, and only a couple days in December, were above freezing. We survive some of the most grueling winters in the US, as this is our normal. Watching expenses in this tight economy is really important to us, and customer service is also very important as i can only charge $1.75 , due to competition. If it got to 20 outside we would have lines waiting to wash. What a different baseline for weather we all have. Anyone want to trade washes?? I really like the warmer climates.

 

[Red Baron]

RB, how's that "No mud" policy working out for ya

It's a work in progress, that's for sure. But, we're getting where we want to be.

This time it's a little different because your average joe has a very muddy vehicle after the blizzard. I'm more lenient in these sistuation. I have confirmed that the vast majority of my customers want me to run off those unwilling to clean up their mess.

Two things will be different now:
1. I've put up a single foamy brush holder in the SS bays and an 18" tile scraper in each bay, which work very well for pushing mud to the drain. Signs are being made that explain that each customer is expected to move his own mud to the drain for the next valued customer (and a reminder that our cameras can see any scraper theives).
2. I will one-by-one, aggressively, tell those who leave heavy mud that if they come on my property again I'll charge them with criminal tresspass.

Now that I've given them a free method to clean up their mud, I will accept no excuses for not doing so. One-by-one I will run them off until I have no customers left to mess up my car wash...err, I mean run the mudders off

I worried for a long time that I'd alienate good customers, but that's not the case - the vast majority understand that they're a beneficiary of my mud policy.

As for making money on mud, those who always say that tend not to understand the volume of mud we can get in this rural area. It is an incredible amount! I had my 48" x 7' deep pits pumped 2 weeks ago, and they're probably about full already. I lose money after this kind of weather.

 

[ted mcmeekin]

For the first time in 8 years we closed both autos the last several days. We have 3 of 4 ss bays open. My wife and I have been traveling up and down our mountain on the tractor. I have chains on back of tractor and put them on front wheels yesterday. I was ready to plow again and bucket would not tilt. Hydraulic line came out of quick disconnect fitting. Damn near impossible to get to it without disconnecting everything. We try again today. We have been in the 5-15 range for over a week.

Ted

Ted

 

[jfmoran]

Global Warming

Hey Al Gore, how's that Global Warming Theory working out for ya?

 

[cleaning up mud]

Im always cleaning up mud! I do get sick of it,it cost more to clean up after mudders then they spend!!! Its even cold in central Texas!!! 50 today and teens by Saturday!!!

 

[Red Baron]

Im always cleaning up mud! I do get sick of it,it cost more to clean up after mudders then they spend!!! Its even cold in central Texas!!! 50 today and teens by Saturday!!!

I've begun making that point when a customers says "Boy I bet you like all this moistre, you're gonna be busy." I tell them extended drought is my friend in the car wash business. Course, I don't say that to any farmers.

Everyone gets to run their business the way they want, but I do wish more car wash owners would adopt the approach that we're in the business of renting out our equipment, not as a maid service. Drive-in theaters used to accept trash thrown out the window a normal part of their business, but these days they provide a lot of trashcans and customers are expected to use them.

Many years ago I decided I wasn't going to put up with it, and if that killed my business, so be it. I'd rather have to sell the car wash and do something else than to dread going there every time because of the incrdible messes. Lo and behold I established a reputation among some as a pr###, but it didn't hurt my business one iota. It's true, I still deal with mud, but I deal with it a heckuva lot less than if I had an anything-goes-attitude at my car wash.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Two things will be different now:
. Signs are being made that explain that each customer is expected to move his own mud to the drain for the next valued customer (and a reminder that our cameras can see any scraper theives).



As for making money on mud, those who always say that tend not to understand the volume of mud we can get in this rural area. It is an incredible amount! I had my 48" x 7' deep pits pumped 2 weeks ago, and they're probably about full already. I lose money after this kind of weather.

Therein lies my question. Being in an urban area we see less mud. Still, one time my attendant saw mw pushing mud toward the drain. He said that I shouldn't do that since it just makes the pit fill faster. Instead we pile it by the entrance inside corner which gets less moisture, let it drain overnight and throw it in the trash. Have you considered something like this? If not, why not? Maybe you could sell it for topsoil

 

[Red Baron]

Therein lies my question. Being in an urban area we see less mud. Still, one time my attendant saw mw pushing mud toward the drain. He said that I shouldn't do that since it just makes the pit fill faster. Instead we pile it by the entrance inside corner which gets less moisture, let it drain overnight and throw it in the trash. Have you considered something like this? If not, why not? Maybe you could sell it for topsoil

Some days we move at least 4 wheelbarrows full of mud per day. We don't have any room to put that big of a pile of sloppy runny mud.

 

[MEP001]

I had a problem with the busiest bay's pit filling up before any others got 1/4 full. At the time, the only available pit-pumping company would only come out to pump all the pits at once, at a cost of $3,000. That was too much to spend four times a year. I covered the grate in that bay with steel and pick up whatever I can before it gets into the pit and put it straight into the dumpster. That pit still fills up the fastest, but it takes a year and not three months, and the others by that time are pretty much full too.

 

[Red Baron]

I had a problem with the busiest bay's pit filling up before any others got 1/4 full. At the time, the only available pit-pumping company would only come out to pump all the pits at once, at a cost of $3,000. That was too much to spend four times a year. I covered the grate in that bay with steel and pick up whatever I can before it gets into the pit and put it straight into the dumpster. That pit still fills up the fastest, but it takes a year and not three months, and the others by that time are pretty much full too.

Must be nice. Last year I had my pits pumped at my Idalou location 6 times. That's around 19,000 gallons of mud at a 3/1.

I really and truly think that when some wash owners think we make too big a deal about mud, they really don't understand how much mud we deal with.

 

[MikeV]

MEP, you're paying way too much for pit cleaning. Here in Houston I get my pits cleaned (6 bays) for $600. to $900. Just had it done this week for $600.

 

[Red Baron]

High of 24 today, gonna be closed all day.

I dunno, I'm beginning to enjoy a day off once in awhile.