Ha, it begins! Our first snow of the season.

[Big Chris]

And yes, PennDOT salted & plowed all the roads!

 

[Jaltavela]

This is our first winter season as operators, November has been very slow in Western NY. Once the salt hits the roads does business pick up pretty quickly?

 

[Waxman]

Yes pretty much everywhere that they salt the roads the car washes get very busy on the dry days following the snow event.

 

[Jaltavela]

We closed in April and so far the revenue has been on par with what they were saying but they didn't do a cash out every month so its hard to gauge exactly by month. November has seemed to be the worst month so far. Hoping for better in December.

 

[MudMoney]

That's it ! I got that and used a leaf blower. Turned on floor heat mid october,different strokes for different folks. Have a nice day !

 

[edredtop]

And yes, PennDOT salted & plowed all the roads!
View attachment 12212

New paint scheme looks great with the snow.

 

[Dick Nitro]

Jaltavela, did you have a nice rush after the snow?

im in the same boat as you. We just had our first big snow 48 hrs ago and our fingers are crossed waiting for the “salt lines” we’ve been told about. Temp is in the mid teens to 20s until Wednesday

 

[Jaltavela]

We haven't really had the snow yet, and not much salt. So, we have not had a rush yet. Where are you located?

 

[Dick Nitro]

Just east of St Louis

 

[Jaltavela]

I'm told by some other local owners that mid December is when it starts in our area. We still seem to be in the doldrums of November, September and October were not to bad and then November was terrible. I am just far enough east of Buffalo that we have not had any real snow yet and they just started salting a few days ago.

 

[Dick Nitro]

I'm told by some other local owners that mid December is when it starts in our area. We still seem to be in the doldrums of November, September and October were not to bad and then November was terrible. I am just far enough east of Buffalo that we have not had any real snow yet and they just started salting a few days ago.

if you’re talking about revenue, same… we took over in July and our books were going up and up and then November was very demoralizing thanks to near constant rain. It almost feels like I’m being boycotted or something but my mentors just laugh and tell me to quit worrying

 

[washnshine]

I'm told by some other local owners that mid December is when it starts in our area. We still seem to be in the doldrums of November, September and October were not to bad and then November was terrible. I am just far enough east of Buffalo that we have not had any real snow yet and they just started salting a few days ago.

I know you are in Rochester - I’m in Buffalo. The southern part of our county just got anywhere from 1-3 feet. The fun begins. You’re also on a different lake. Lake Ontario causes Rochester more nuisance snow - a few inches here and there - that frequent reoccurrence is good for washes. You just generally don’t get the huge dumps that Lake Erie gives us.

 

[Jaltavela]

You nailed it washnshine. I guess i just have to trust in the process. But worrying is what I do best. Id feel a whole lot better if we got a nice heavy snow to bring on the slush. I feel like Rochester used to get big storms, but I could just be remembering it as a kid.

 

[Big Chris]

I'm told by some other local owners that mid December is when it starts in our area. We still seem to be in the doldrums of November, September and October were not to bad and then November was terrible. I am just far enough east of Buffalo that we have not had any real snow yet and they just started salting a few days ago.

I'm relatively new to this also, this is my second winter as an owner/operator.
Here's my experience. It's about the change. For us here in the high coal country of Pa, we just got sustained cold after record breaking warmth this fall. Right now, highs in the upper 20s during the day, teens at night. Forecast looks like it'll be like this through next Monday (7 days from now). So after this warm fall, this is a shock to most people. And self serve business is super slow, and the IBA business is ok but not strong. Because this is a big change for most folks.

As soon as we get a break with temps in 40s, that's when the rush happens. If that aligns with a Thursday through Sun then all the better. Because 40s will be the change for the warmer.

We've got a clipper coming in Thursday with some snow same as you great lakes folks, along with the coldest air of the season coming this Friday and Saturday with wind. This isn't going to be great for business this weekend.

Become an armature meteorologist.

That's my $.02

 

[washnshine]

You nailed it washnshine. I guess i just have to trust in the process. But worrying is what I do best. Id feel a whole lot better if we got a nice heavy snow to bring on the slush. I feel like Rochester used to get big storms, but I could just be remembering it as a kid.

You are in a great place to wash cars and it will pay off. You had the Buckmans chain for so many years, Delta Sonic, Classy Chassy and now how many Go locations - 12+ or so? Not mention a lot of smaller operators. There is a lot of car cleaning to do in Rochester. You will do well!