Combatting poor weather patterns

[Bubbles Galore]

I have had the worst December on record. I am getting beat to death by the weather here in Michigan. No one seems to want to wash when the temps are only in the teens and the sun never shines.

I am going to have my dog wash in the spring and I run some good promotions such as bonus days and my night owl specials that have helped.

What I want is to hear from some of the veteran operators that have had to deal with this kind of crap and how they made it through. I am not worried about losing the wash or anything, but I know that there is something that has been done that I am missing. Maybe the advice is just suck it up and deal, if that is the case let's hear it.

 

[Randy]

We just got over a bad cold snap, down into the teens. Most of the washes here shut down, as no one washes when it gets that cold here and then there are safety concerns with ice, we don?t have floor heat here. I couldn?t get to my wash, poor road conditions or I would have closed it down. I?m going to put in a ?T? just downstream of the solenoid valve for the weep system, turn off the weep water blow down the lines with air, pump windshield cleaner antifreeze into the weep system and turn off the power to the bays and call it good until it warms up. At least that?s the plan. I?m tired of freezing my butt off for a couple of bucks keeping the bays open so some customers can come in and blow off the snow from there car or hose out the bed of there truck. I don?t think it?s worth the effort for the small return. This last cold snap I averaged about $20 a day.

 

[Whale of a Wash]

I always felt like the wx would average itself out over the year. This year was well below avg. Maybe 09 will avg out better. I don't think we are down from the economy, but just wx. December gave us 30" of snow and lots of wind.
Only 2-3 good days all month. We close down when the weather is bad, but I have a different reference point than the rest of the country. I opened at 10am this morning because it was -24 with alot of wind, and closed by 6pm. I Don't have to heat the bays until we get below 20F, we have well built washes and alaskan doors, But our wx is so extreme it can still cost 2-3k a month to heat.
If you want to feel better, put my zipcode 58102 into the wx channel website,
and check out the part that gives a monthly detail. I am looking forward to tomorrow, most will be off work and if we get in the teens it will be busy. We have alot of snow, sand and salt on the cars, they get so filthy from that combination, and all the conveyors are closed on holidays.

 

[Randy]

I had some friends who lived in Moorhead Minn. The day he turned 18 he left and never went back. The next year his longtime girlfriend turned 18 and joined him. They said they couldn?t stand the long cold winters. Burrrrr to cold for me.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

"wx" huh???

 

[Randy]

I think ?WX? means Weather

 

[Whale of a Wash]

I have two washes in Moorhead,Mn, and yes wx is weather. Everyones area has positives and negatives. Yes we have the cold, no earthquakes, No hurricanes, not much for tornadoes, No lake affect snows. Our climate produces some of the dirtiest cars you have ever seen, which is good for business. I wonder if the number of days a year i loose due to cold is equal to say seattle's days lost due to rain, or phoenix's very hot days, when it's not much fun to wash a car. One of my big advantages is that I am the only SS washes in an area of 150K. There used to be three more, and they converted to other businesses. With the equity in the washes, I diversified and have been buying apartments. Two buildings just this year. Our banks have money to lend, we have almost 25k in college students, that fill the town in and work alot of part time jobs. With our diverse economy we are not in the least feeling the recession. Our state has over one billion in excess revenue, All we need is a break in the weather. My bad wx produces revenue, does yours?

 

[Reds]

My bad weather produces revenue too. I agree that there are tradeoffs no matter where you live. It just so happens that I just had a good December. My SS is off some, but IBA's are up. The Pa. DOT sprays salt brine on the roads whenever snow or ice is predicted. This leaves a white, salty looking film on all vehicles. As soon as the roads dry customers come out in droves. The film is a visual reminder to wash your car. It can be in the single digits and the SS is still lined up 3 deep all day. Ditto the IBA. What kills my biz is wet weather that continues and doesn't let the roads dry. Then nobody washes. Snow and Ice are my biggest business builders.

 

[Waxman]

The key for me here in New England in Winter is a precip. event followed by 4-5-6 days of DRY conditions and minimal/normal wind. The I stay nice and busy.

Last year we had far too many precip. events stacked right on top of each other, so folks washed less. My first Winter in biz (2006) was great, with just the right weather pattern for washing off salt.

I am still convinced that carwashes can thrive in even poor economic times if the wx cooperates.

I'd look to areas mentioned above to stimulate business; going after fleet accounts, promoting the carwash with charity events and giveaways to youth groups, etc. Get those church folks behind you and you've got God on your side, too! Can't hurt.

 

[Red Baron]

We just got over a bad cold snap, down into the teens. Most of the washes here shut down, as no one washes when it gets that cold here and then there are safety concerns with ice, we don?t have floor heat here. I couldn?t get to my wash, poor road conditions or I would have closed it down. I?m going to put in a ?T? just downstream of the solenoid valve for the weep system, turn off the weep water blow down the lines with air, pump windshield cleaner antifreeze into the weep system and turn off the power to the bays and call it good until it warms up. At least that?s the plan. I?m tired of freezing my butt off for a couple of bucks keeping the bays open so some customers can come in and blow off the snow from there car or hose out the bed of there truck. I don?t think it?s worth the effort for the small return. This last cold snap I averaged about $20 a day.

Theoretically my D&S 5000 can remain open in freezing temps, but it's hard on hoses and we do little business when it's that cold. Our new policy is to shut down when it's 30 degrees and falling, and open when it's 30 and rising.

 

[MEP001]

Theoretically my D&S 5000 can remain open in freezing temps, but it's hard on hoses and we do little business when it's that cold. Our new policy is to shut down when it's 30 degrees and falling, and open when it's 30 and rising.

Same with our Vector, and the rails are set up for circulating warm water through to prevent ice build-up, but we don't get enough continuous cold weather or business during freezing temps to bother hooking it up. The only problem has been the trifoam pods freezing, so whenever a forecast of sub-freezing temps are coming I post a sign on the auto cashier explaining not to use the top level wash and why.

 

[CleanStreak]

Oasis XP

I don't have many freezing issues in Southern California, but December volume was WAY down even with my new Oasis XP. It has been raining off and on for several weeks and temps approaching freezing at night - people just don't want to wash their car when there are waves of storms back to back.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

That has been my biggest issue is that we just can't catch a break with the weather. They are stacking up storms one on top of another here in the swamp

I also just found out that our local municipality is not putting any salt down this winter. They are trying to reduce their expenses. Sheesh!

 

[rph9168]

The weather in Georgia has been brutal for washes. Can't remember the last weekend it hasn't rained on one or both days. Was okay yesterday and the day before but it is raining again today and supposed to rain all weekend. The weird part is that we are still in drought conditions. It rains enough to screw up business but not enough to relieve the drought.

 

[Waxman]

If I shut down at 30 degrees I'd lose lots of revenue!

 

[Randy]

I wouldn?t shut down at 30, but I would shut down at 20 if that was the high of the day.

 

[Waxman]

My customers (IBA) will wash if 20 is high for the day. With my doors cycling up and down and floor heat on, it is not a problem. Those 20 degree days can be very good wash days if other factors are in place.

 

[Randy]

We don?t get much washing when it?s 20 deg. out. No one here has floor heat or doors for that matter. It doesn?t get cold enough long enough to justify the expense. It was 29 this morning, it?s 36 and partly cloudy out now, Not a thing going on at the carwashes

 

[MEP001]

I also just found out that our local municipality is not putting any salt down this winter. They are trying to reduce their expenses. Sheesh!

At least cars will still get dirty driving around in the slush.

Hopefully your pet wash will be a good added source of revenue.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I am keeping my fingers crossed. With the few upgrades I did this year and with the shortfalls I have had, I am into my wash about 20k this year alone. Hopefully winter turns around a little bit. *crosses fingers*