Drying Station?

[Joswhaha]

Howdy y’all
Everything has been going well and I am having ideas to help keep my new customers around. I’ve get some old threads about operators offering a towel drying station and I am considering the same.

My wash is located in a good area and I have someone there 4 days a week to keep an eye on things.

I could offer a cart or stand with microfiber or terry towels and don’t think I would have too many walk off.

 

[Waxman]

eventually they will all walk off. It's part of having the towel dry station you're always going to have to replenish your stock of towels. I have even had customers tell me they take them home wash them and then bring them back. Yeah right!

What do you plan to do about the other three days a week where there is no attendant? The towel dry station is good for business but it's a lot of work. I'm on site with a full service detail shop and used car lot and we wash and dry our towels during the day. How do you plan to accomplish this?

 

[washnshine]

Howdy y’all
Everything has been going well and I am having ideas to help keep my new customers around. I’ve get some old threads about operators offering a towel drying station and I am considering the same.

My wash is located in a good area and I have someone there 4 days a week to keep an eye on things.

I could offer a cart or stand with microfiber or terry towels and don’t think I would have too many walk off.

You have to make sure you have thorough cleaning/washing capabilities, as people will wipe dirty wheels and tires, apply tire dressing with the cloths, and even wipe the oil off the dipstick after checking the oil with them - and wipe parts of the engine bay too. The customers who do things like this are not the ones that take the towels with them - they will leave them in your mix.

 

[Joswhaha]

I’m not sure about the details yet. I was just thinking it sounds like a fairly inexpensive bonus to offer and there seem to be a few people that bring their own towels and a few more I think would use them if I offered them. I am thinking any little thing I do to make customers feel appreciated will encourage them to keep coming back and offer a good value.

I did figure the towels will walk off a little at a time, some on purpose and some on accident.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

I offered free use of microfiber towels at my express wash. I go through $1500+ per year.
I had a guy try to put over 30 towels in his car.

Put hand blowers in each bay. Your customers will spend a lot more time in your bays but at least their paying for it.
Not all the customers will use them but at least you make money with those that do use them.

 

[Joswhaha]

Is there a preferred model of in-bay handheld dryer? I haven’t really considered it but it may be worthwhile.

 

[Waxman]

this

Super Air Shammee II Car Wash Blower Dryer Self Serve

Handheld car wash dryer blower for self-serve bays. Increase profits at your wash by installing Air Shammee 2 now!

www.kleen-ritecorp.com

 

[Joswhaha]

Thank you! I like that idea but I don’t think it will do what I want for customer loyalty. I think it will keep folks in the bays longer and get them to spend more money!

Do you guys know any other good ideas for customer loyalty or customer engagement?

I am going to push pretty hard with google and Facebook advertisement in the upcoming months and want to keep as many of those customers as possible.

 

[Greg Pack]

We took out the towel station when covid started but am about to put it back in due to competition coming in the market. You need a washer/dryer on site or your wife will kill you. I'm in a good area and lost very few towels. I maybe had to buy 1-2 packs per Month. We probably did between 5-10 washer loads of towels per week. I wouldn't promote it to SS, but would promote the air dryer instead.

 

[MEP001]

Do you guys know any other good ideas for customer loyalty or customer engagement?

Here's a cheap one, I walk through and check bays when it's busy to make sure there aren't any obvious issues, and I put a few coins of time on the meter for the customers. I try to make sure they see me.

 

[MEP001]

You need a washer/dryer on site or your wife will kill you.

I'm the one telling my fiancée what not to put in the washer and dryer. Not that it makes any difference...

 

[Joswhaha]

Here's a cheap one, I walk through and check bays when it's busy to make sure there aren't any obvious issues, and I put a few coins of time on the meter for the customers. I try to make sure they see me.

This is something I will be doing.

So I am a fairly motivated/ driven dude and have already had two young guys try work with me on the weekends engaging customers or helping folks wherever needed, I think my exuberance and pace did them in. Both only worked a day before giving up what I would consider a super easy and laid back job. I never actually paid them but they each got about $60 in tips and I guess that was enough.

On another note, when I am at the wash I turn down tips all day. I think I could get $100 in tips a day on decent days because people are so used to getting horrible service everywhere, it just takes a small effort to impress customers.

 

[soonermajic]

If you turn down $100/day in tips, you do realize that's $35,000 / year in untraceable cash! No towel station or Air Shammee will beat that!