Full service high labor costs

[carspacarwashes]

Any full serve guys ever toyed with idea of closing Sundays (our slowest day) to combat high labor costs? We've reduced every major expense there is in our company, but this one is eating us alive. We already converted 1 wash to express with mild results after spending 500k! Really don't want to go through that again. I understand the opportunity cost involved and am willing to forgo Sunday revenue to reduce expenses. Just wondering if anyone else had actually tried this and what affect it had. Thanks

 

[carwashkid55]

What region are you located? Find it a bit odd that Sunday would be your slowest day

 

[Jon]

Can you elaborate a bit on your conversion to express?
Were the customers not receptive of the change?

 

[Islandwash]

That certainly could be a good answer depending on circumstances and competition. Another idea would be to limit the full service hours, perhaps on a Sunday shut it after 1 pm or when football comes on. The traditional full service has been evolving upscale into more of a higher priced luxury product, because of the labor.

 

[jfmoran]

Any full serve guys ever toyed with idea of closing Sundays (our slowest day) to combat high labor costs? We've reduced every major expense there is in our company, but this one is eating us alive. We already converted 1 wash to express with mild results after spending 500k! Really don't want to go through that again. I understand the opportunity cost involved and am willing to forgo Sunday revenue to reduce expenses. Just wondering if anyone else had actually tried this and what affect it had. Thanks

You could go Exterior Only on Sundays or limit Full Serve hours even during the week. Most full serve car washes I encounter are not charging what they should be charging to be profitable. Cutting expenses is not the best way to combat the issues you are dealing with. Generating higher top line revenue and becoming more efficient, while controlling expenses is a solid strategy. I encounter many full serve operators who want to "cut labor" when they are already running razor thin. Full serve labor is notoriously inefficient. The strategy should be, how do I wash more cars with my current labor, while maintaining or improving my bottom line. Cutting expenses only, leads to a compromised end product/service to your customer, which only perpetuates the lack of profitability. Costs are not coming down and competition is not going away.

I live in and operated car washes in PA for 20 years (Full Serves and EE's), happy to provide a fresh set of eyes.

 

[Islandwash]

The last post is the truth. One of the reasons that Express wash with free vac has come so for is because of the difficulty in proving full service. Likely there will always be place for some full-service washes, but the customer has to pay the higher price. Reducing full-service hours is a start. I only offer full service 9 am til 4 pm. You have to maintain your quality. Especially in Football season cutting Sundays makes sense.