Completed Pet Wash Thankgiving thoughts

[mjwalsh]

Here it is Thanksgiving 2009 coming up tomorrow & one of your fellow car wash operators is very thankful to the Lord that this worthwhile addition is now completed. I am also thankful for the support from the various distributors & manufacturers around the country & those of you through the various forums --- it is a lot like the Lord acting through many of you. It was a very good thing when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed & gave the basis for this particular holiday!

If you are interested here are the local media presentations at this point in time:
I do not know how long they will keep these on their websites. Cutting & pasting the link portions below should work & have been tested.

http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_video.asp?news=35564 --- 60 seconds into the video --- 30 seconds of actual video

http://www.kxnet.com/video.asp?ArticleId=469619&VideoId=32231 ---- 45 seconds into the video --- 28 seconds of actual video

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/columnists/christopher-bjorke/article_b182a6ae-d714-11de-bd20-001cc4c03286.html

 

[ONEcard]

Congratulations Mike

I know you've put a lot of time and effort designing that.

Hope you do well with it

Zack

 

[rph9168]

Couldn't see the video. Do you have pictures you could post?

 

[mjwalsh]

rph9168,

You probably want to fix that problem on your computer anyway----I guess it could be a bandwidth issue though.

I might have to pass on additional pics for awhile.

Mike

 

[rph9168]

I got to the web site for the TV station but there was no video available. I think they may have updated and changed the content.

 

[dclark3344]

Try this link it worked for me. Make sure this is all that is in the address. http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_video.asp?news=35564

Congratulations to you and please keep us informed.

 

[rph9168]

Thanks for the link. That was a nice piece and good PR. Good luck. Keep us informed on how well it goes.

 

[bigleo48]

MJ,

Some good PR...happy you finally got this thing up and going! Would be very interest to see what your petwash looks like so do post some good pictures when you get a chance.

As it is a completely new service in your area, it will take time to catch on as people need to change their habits and word of mouth to get around...but it will.

Also, if you haven't already...put in a vending machine for the petwash. Towels, treats, etc...every bit helps!

Good Luck to you...Big

Big

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Looks good! Very good work! I'm interested as to why you didn't go with a standard style meterbox? Obviously your setup is state of the art, but why? I'm just curious...

 

[mjwalsh]

Bubbles,

Each operator & builder has a different set of logistics & will have to do some soul searching on what approach is a good fit for them.

For us, we had to have controls that would also deal with the logic of the "green" harvesting of the heat off the laundry dryer exhaust surface. Customer interaction of the doggie elevator that was needed because there was not room for a ramp or steps. Some animation & context interaction on the touchscreen. I used Mars validators & IDX MA800 coin drops so it is a lot like a standard meter. The slots & openings were created by water jets (dxf computer file) while the the stainless was still flat. PLC & Porportional Integral Derivative (PID Loop) seemed to be the best fit for our makeup air issues & an alternative to tempering valve.

So far so good... but we will need more time to see if long term wise we went with the right approach. It kind of hinges on us making a service manual & the proper "as built documentation" so future work on it is as user friendly & as joyful to us as the customer. Getting the logging tweaked will also be challenge..... I hope this helps explain our needs. Again we are very thankful to those particular distributors & manufacturers that were willing to work with us on the specifications.

Big Leo,

The 4 vend items are vended off a second screen & we utilized our converted Laurel mechanical drops. The vend motor "turn on time" is set at 8000ms maximum but it always stops much quicker because of the cam position to the PLC input. The "empty selection" for the customers comes on in a context sensitive way on the vend screen if there is a run on the items. Count of what has vended is easily seen on the touchscreen & there is the ability to reset the count.

We have been open only a little over 2 weeks so we are trying to catch our breath.

Mike

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I'm impressed. I am looking at the details of closing off a bay and putting 2 stations in and I won't be nearly as cramped for space as you will. Good for you for innovating and looking for a way to make it work in your situation.

What is your price point? Do you feel that you will have a decent ROI and how quick do you see it occuring. Loved the tv spots!

 

[mjwalsh]

I'm impressed. I am looking at the details of closing off a bay and putting 2 stations in and I won't be nearly as cramped for space as you will. Good for you for innovating and looking for a way to make it work in your situation.

What is your price point? Do you feel that you will have a decent ROI and how quick do you see it occuring. Loved the tv spots!

Bubbles,

Price point is $5 minimum for 7 minutes with 10% bonus for Tues thru Thurs. There is a 60 second grace period so they can add even just a quarter or dollars within the 60 second grace period after their initial time stops. Free 15 second disinfectant text on a button comes up & stays on when grace period runs out. Free tub height positioning. Free charcoal filter fan to make run. Free clean up bags. No minimum amounts for vending. Setup screens allow the flexibility of typing in changes. Time will tell on the ROI. So far we have not reached the average 10 dogs per day like the more experienced Big Leo has described. The daily temperature highs now are settling in below freezing so we are concerned about that even though it has very comfy floor heat & the 18.5 amp blow dry works great ---- people tend to be less likely to come out to try something new during really cold weather. The clean dogs for the holidays mindset might kick in though hopefully.

There are several self service pet washes in town that are also groomers & have half hour increments of time etc. so when a possibly small minded person within the car wash industry thinks I am doing things unnecessarily ----- we are not just competing with our format. Fargo's Shaggy Dog has a 5 stall of the groomer format that looks like it could give a lot of us a run for our money. In other words, those small minded people need to realize that if the developing image of our coin op pet washes is too low it affects all of us.