central pay point for ss car washes

[FLMan]

Is there such thing as a single payment point for all the bays? I'm thinking of a central terminal to use a card, cash, coin or token. Select your bay, drop your payment, go to the bay.

I'm asking because it seems like it would be a lot less expensive for us to only pay for one credit card terminal, rather than for each bay. Yes, I know it would require another run of wiring, but it just may be worth it in the long run.

 

[OurTown]

Yes. ICS has a solution but it won't save you any money as it is really expensive.

https://www.icscarwashsystems.com/payment-terminal-auto-sentry-cpt

 

[Greg Pack]

Colemans swipe and clean did something like that in the 90's and it wasn't very intuitive.

Plenty of low cost options nowadays - cryptopay, monex, nayax

 

[MEP001]

I've seen a number of systems like that. I worked for a distributor who installed one of the very first ones, around 2000. These see very little use because people don't want to do it. Even the Swipe 'n' Clean, which was very well thought out, usually got pulled out of washes because no one would use it.

If I were to use any system like that, I'd probably use Coinless where you post a QR code on each piece of equipment.

 

[FLMan]

Thank you all for the replies. Those merchant accounts get us three ways with their fees, I'd love to figure out how to get a shot of our own in.

Here's a follow up for you technical gurus: Install a paystation and use the wash option buttons to turn on the bays. Instead of "basic wash" it reads "Bay 1," etc. Could that be a possible cheap option for a central payment?

Sorry to keep harping on this, but paying $100 a month in terminal fees for the nayax readers is insane.

 

[Greg Pack]

I think you really need to ask if that's the best use of your time. You're making the customer jump through hoops so you can hopefully save a little money on terminal fees.

I'm running about 3.9% card fees at both sites using cryptopay, (guess you could add the $99 internet fee from my ISP)- it more than pays for itself in higher tickets and is a breeze to install.

 

[Waxman]

The customer wants easy,good, and fast. They require convenience and quality.

Look at things from the customers' perspective. One thing I learned is you have to make it super easy or you will lose customers.

Raise your prices enough so you can achieve better profitability and you won't be bothered by cc fees.