OurTown
Well-known member
Greetings Fellow Wash Denizens.
ˈdenəzən:n: an inhabitant or occupant of a particular place.
I say this jokingly, as many of us can probably say we inhabit or occupy our washes enough to get the eyebrow raise from our family members and/or friends over the amount of time we spend there. After all, “you just go there to collect quarters”, right?
You can probably tell by my tone and inflection that you’re hearing from Mrs. OurTown tonight.
Today I watched a TED talk that really inspired me. For those of you unfamiliar with TED talks, it’s an acronym that stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. I watch these often when I need inspiration at work, or to find something to motivate my teenage students (an almost impossible goal sometimes!)
I’m getting to the point. The TED talk I watched was about the dangers of believing a single story; in becoming entrapped in a narrative that only shows a macro lens view of a culture or an idea.
Here’s the link if you want to see it for yourself:https://bit.ly/2MuWKh9
It reminds me of another story. Mr. OurTown and I have made friends with many of you. To be sure, every time one of you suffers a dumper, a mudder, a break-in, violence, or a trasher, we all feel it. It’s like the tree in James Cameron’s movie Avatar; we’re all connected.
One of our new friends was in a bad way. The Big Bad Express Exterior was coming to the lunch counter. Thankfully that story ended well, but it made me think closely about the dangers of believing a single view.
One of you has a signature line that says: “All car washes are the same; they’re different.” That couldn’t be more true. Even though express exterior is popular, there is still a place at the lunch counter for self-serve, IBA and hybrids. You just have to keep up on things, provide customer service, be helpful, smile, and put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Polish up your website. Post on social media. Own your Google and Yelp pages & respond to every review. Differentiate yourself from the other offerings and be positive. Listen to your audience and give them what they need in a car wash. Make sure everything works.
At the end of the day, our customers are there to wash their cars but if we squint and turn our mindset a little, we can see that there as many needs in car washing as there are in life.
Tonight I learned not to embrace the single story. Car washing isn’t just about washing cars; it’s about people.
In closing, allow me to share one Facebook review:
"I gave 5 stars but if I could give more, I would!! I went to this car wash to vacuum my car this past Friday. I inserted $3, as to give myself more than the allotted time for just $1 (which is 4 minutes), however, after 4 minutes, the vacuum turned off. Unfortunately, that didn't give me enough time to get all of the pet fur out, so I decided to call the number on the side of the vacuum. I was leery about whether I would even get an answer, so I left a message, and was pleasantly surprised to get an immediate call back!! I can't remember the lady's name, however, she is part owner with her husband! She was very apologetic and accommodating! One thing that stuck out to me was when she said "if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have a business!" That let me know she values her customers and wants to provide the best service possible! She met me within 10 minutes and gave me a full refund, along with a free car wash! She was very warm and friendly, with a smile on her face the whole time! They went above and beyond to provide excellent customer service! I didn't even feel like a customer; I felt like a friend! As far as the car wash, itself, it is very clean...one of the cleanest washes I've been to! The vacuums are very powerful and did a great job of getting the fur up! I am so thankful for the owners' genuineness and going above and beyond for me! This really helped restore my faith in humanity! I will definitely be returning again!"
ˈdenəzən:n: an inhabitant or occupant of a particular place.
I say this jokingly, as many of us can probably say we inhabit or occupy our washes enough to get the eyebrow raise from our family members and/or friends over the amount of time we spend there. After all, “you just go there to collect quarters”, right?
You can probably tell by my tone and inflection that you’re hearing from Mrs. OurTown tonight.
Today I watched a TED talk that really inspired me. For those of you unfamiliar with TED talks, it’s an acronym that stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. I watch these often when I need inspiration at work, or to find something to motivate my teenage students (an almost impossible goal sometimes!)
I’m getting to the point. The TED talk I watched was about the dangers of believing a single story; in becoming entrapped in a narrative that only shows a macro lens view of a culture or an idea.
Here’s the link if you want to see it for yourself:https://bit.ly/2MuWKh9
It reminds me of another story. Mr. OurTown and I have made friends with many of you. To be sure, every time one of you suffers a dumper, a mudder, a break-in, violence, or a trasher, we all feel it. It’s like the tree in James Cameron’s movie Avatar; we’re all connected.
One of our new friends was in a bad way. The Big Bad Express Exterior was coming to the lunch counter. Thankfully that story ended well, but it made me think closely about the dangers of believing a single view.
One of you has a signature line that says: “All car washes are the same; they’re different.” That couldn’t be more true. Even though express exterior is popular, there is still a place at the lunch counter for self-serve, IBA and hybrids. You just have to keep up on things, provide customer service, be helpful, smile, and put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Polish up your website. Post on social media. Own your Google and Yelp pages & respond to every review. Differentiate yourself from the other offerings and be positive. Listen to your audience and give them what they need in a car wash. Make sure everything works.
At the end of the day, our customers are there to wash their cars but if we squint and turn our mindset a little, we can see that there as many needs in car washing as there are in life.
Tonight I learned not to embrace the single story. Car washing isn’t just about washing cars; it’s about people.
In closing, allow me to share one Facebook review:
"I gave 5 stars but if I could give more, I would!! I went to this car wash to vacuum my car this past Friday. I inserted $3, as to give myself more than the allotted time for just $1 (which is 4 minutes), however, after 4 minutes, the vacuum turned off. Unfortunately, that didn't give me enough time to get all of the pet fur out, so I decided to call the number on the side of the vacuum. I was leery about whether I would even get an answer, so I left a message, and was pleasantly surprised to get an immediate call back!! I can't remember the lady's name, however, she is part owner with her husband! She was very apologetic and accommodating! One thing that stuck out to me was when she said "if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have a business!" That let me know she values her customers and wants to provide the best service possible! She met me within 10 minutes and gave me a full refund, along with a free car wash! She was very warm and friendly, with a smile on her face the whole time! They went above and beyond to provide excellent customer service! I didn't even feel like a customer; I felt like a friend! As far as the car wash, itself, it is very clean...one of the cleanest washes I've been to! The vacuums are very powerful and did a great job of getting the fur up! I am so thankful for the owners' genuineness and going above and beyond for me! This really helped restore my faith in humanity! I will definitely be returning again!"
