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Is this normal?

C

Cool Wash

Active member
Hello IBA owner,

I installed about a month ago AquaJet touch free in my 7 bay SS wash. My wash has been there for over 20 years with SS only.. This is the first time it has an IBA. I have 2 tunnel within a mile radius but no touch free with 3 miles. I have 28000 CPD on the street.
After opening, I had big street sign and banner, 50% of grand opening discounts, I am running Google add, I did 4000 mails.

I am still averaging about 5 cars a day? Is this normal for new IBA in SS?

Thank you
 
I would say that does seem very unordinary with that amount of traffic. Have any pictures of your site? Get some feather flags and anything you can do to draw attention to the IBA. I'm guessing most people driving past do not know you have an IBA since you have been strictly self serve for so long.
 
In my experience that is not normal. Does the bay still look like a self serve bay? Can you see it from the 28K road? Is it easy to get in and out from that road? Has it been rainy there?
 
Get out and promote your wash, that's a tough spot with no street visibility. If people aren't aware you are their then you will continue to have a low CPD. Id get some permanent signage up by the street that says you have an automatic that really draws attention. If you are the only iba within three miles, that is a big plus.
 
I had the same problem many years ago when I converted a self-service bay that was not visibly obvious from the road. I gave away free washes for two weekends in a row. That got the ball rolling. That was in 1994 before social media and the internet as we know it now.
 
How often are you on site? Maybe pass out some free wash tokens/codes to your self serve customers. It’s a good way to target people who are already loyal to your business. It’s also nice just to talk it up when you are there and ask people who have not washed yet if they would be interested in trying your new wash today. Maybe offer a free vacuum and towel or air freshener for anyone who uses your new auto.
 
It could be that people just dont know yet and better marketing is needed. Im not sure what that would be tho. I dont want to be a debbie downer, but it is possible that you put it in the wrong bay. IMO it needs to be as much or more of an impulse purchase than a destination purchase. Visibility is key in my market. I dont know about yours tho. keep trying. I want to see it turn around for you. Your automatic should be so good that you want to tear down the bays and install another automatic. Let us know what works and what doesnt.
 
Here's an idea. It might sound extreme to some folks but realize Im just looking at pictures on the internet. I really want to try to help. I doubt the DOT will let you have 2 driveways, BUT , they might let you move the driveway. If you close off the driveway you have and put the new driveway in front of the auto you might be golden. It would likely cause confusion for everybody thats been coming there for 20 years so theres that. Its hard to say what to do. The SS customers found their way around the parking lot. Maybe the automatic customers will too. In a perfect world you can get it worked out without spending any money. Id probly watch it for a bit before i went crazy tryin to fix it
 
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