A few of questions for express operators or anyone with two cents to give.
#1 If you have a competitive market and everyone is at $5, what on God's green earth is going to make a customer loyal to your establishment?
#2 Do you ever think that given the fact that nearly every operator out there is using the same old, tired 3-4 tiered wash format - you know good, better, best; A,B,C; Gold Silver Bronze, etc., etc., that the motoring public is so oblivious/used to this that it has become archaic and ineffective as a marketing tool? Not to mention the fact that with very few exceptions (and only if the attendant is paid a commission) seldom are customers even asked which wash they want.
With the usual 3-option wash format, say $6, $9, and $12 most operators probably average maybe $7.50 or $8 perhaps a bit more but not much. Given the the fact that the cost differnece between the $6 and $12 is probably about 50 cents, why not take a more honest approach with customers, stop the games, commissions and pressuring of customers to upgrade on every visit?
The reason I ask, is that as most fo you know, we basically offer only the top wash for $10 with Rain-X as our only add on. I have been surveying my customers of late on whether they would like the option of a basic wash for $7 and thus far the vote is 50% for and 50% against. I am going to do a more in depth survey next to tery and find out if those that want it are less frequent customer and those that don't are regulars. That is what I suspect. My thinking on it is that between the economy and falling wash volumes over the lst 2+ years, that we need to get the cheap seats back. However, this strategy will only work if the volume picks up as a result.
Your thoughts ...
#1 If you have a competitive market and everyone is at $5, what on God's green earth is going to make a customer loyal to your establishment?
#2 Do you ever think that given the fact that nearly every operator out there is using the same old, tired 3-4 tiered wash format - you know good, better, best; A,B,C; Gold Silver Bronze, etc., etc., that the motoring public is so oblivious/used to this that it has become archaic and ineffective as a marketing tool? Not to mention the fact that with very few exceptions (and only if the attendant is paid a commission) seldom are customers even asked which wash they want.
With the usual 3-option wash format, say $6, $9, and $12 most operators probably average maybe $7.50 or $8 perhaps a bit more but not much. Given the the fact that the cost differnece between the $6 and $12 is probably about 50 cents, why not take a more honest approach with customers, stop the games, commissions and pressuring of customers to upgrade on every visit?
The reason I ask, is that as most fo you know, we basically offer only the top wash for $10 with Rain-X as our only add on. I have been surveying my customers of late on whether they would like the option of a basic wash for $7 and thus far the vote is 50% for and 50% against. I am going to do a more in depth survey next to tery and find out if those that want it are less frequent customer and those that don't are regulars. That is what I suspect. My thinking on it is that between the economy and falling wash volumes over the lst 2+ years, that we need to get the cheap seats back. However, this strategy will only work if the volume picks up as a result.
Your thoughts ...
