I intend to raise my self serve prices this year....

[Debra Gorgos]

Poll: Whether to offset the economy, or to appease struggling customers are you going to not raise your prices at your self serve or are you intending to raise them?
Please note: Your answer is completely anonymous.

 

[MEP001]

Not planning to increase SS bay prices because I feel I'm at the right price/time for my clientele. I do need to increase vac prices though.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

Raising prices in the middle of a worldwide crisis raises my eyebrow not in a good way.

 

[slash007]

I don't think I can justify more than a $3 starting price with all of the new competition, but I may decrease the time per quarter for cc users since they don't really notice and tend to spend more anyway.

 

[soapy]

I raised prices over a year ago and plan on staying. I get both sides of the spectrum. How dare you charge so much for a SS wash. 2. You are the cheapest price in town how do you do it.

 

[MEP001]

I get both sides of the spectrum. How dare you charge so much for a SS wash. 2. You are the cheapest price in town how do you do it.

Same here, I get reviews online that say they like the price, but I see people drive in, look at the startup price and leave. I don't know where they're going, I'm the lowest price within 10 miles, and the one nearby who is the same price gives less time per coin.

 

[Car_Wash_Guy]

I've been at $2.50/3:30 for over 10 years. Might go to $3.00

 

[MudMoney]

I was going to go to $3.75 for 4 minutes from $3.25 the 1st week n April. Going to delay till October when hunting season opens.During covid -19 my numbers have increased and my expenses have gone up the last several years.

 

[Keith Baker]

I went to $3.00 and started dispensing $1.00 coins about a year ago. I'll stay at the $3.00 price point for a long time, but can shorten the 5 minute time.

Vacs are at a buck, and with distributing $1.00 coins, I'll probably stay there for a while longer.

 

[Randy]

We've been raising our prices or cutting the time back every January 1st for the last couple of years. I think most car washes are under priced, the operators are afraid to raise there prices. The car wash on the other end of town is .75 cheaper and gives more time than we do and we do way more business than he does.

 

[WBNTEXAS]

So, what factors do you use to calculate $$/time. I’m at $1.50/3.5mins. Nearest competitor is about 5 miles away.

 

[WBNTEXAS]

I’d really like to go the tokens and debit card route. I’m tired of making change for the laundromat, donut shop and poker games.

 

[MEP001]

I’d really like to go the tokens and debit card route. I’m tired of making change for the laundromat, donut shop and poker games.

I've gone the simplest route I could think of, I mix a few hundred of the cheapest tokens into the changer with the quarters. Actually I started by putting a note on the changer that it dispenses a mix of tokens and quarters, and that worked for years, but they finally caught on so I really did start putting tokens in it. Until this month it worked, but I'm getting a lot of abuse now so I've ordered 10,000 tokens. Cryptopay is on my list, but I may also go to dollar tokens in the changer. Another operator in town replaced his changer with a bill breaker unit with a bill-to-token dispenser in it. He says his income is up, not counting the $6,600 a year he makes off lost tokens.

 

[Waxman]

So, what factors do you use to calculate $$/time. I’m at $1.50/3.5mins. Nearest competitor is about 5 miles away.

Pricing can be cost based or market based. I say charge whatever the market will bear.

For example, my IBA competitors raised the top package price of an auto car wash to $20 recently. I'm at $15, but the market will bear $20 price point ( brand new machinery, ceramic coat, etc).

 

[Nuphoenix]

Come the 1st of August, I'm raising my price to 2.50 for 3:30. Was 2:00. I've added cryptopay and fixed all the functions (just bought the wash). I've already upped the price in my IBA to 5, 6, and 7 and sales have went down, but I'll see what happens. I've spent a lot of money getting everything working right and improving the chemicals. I've got to make that money back. $.50 isn't that much and being the only wash in 10 miles, I don't think my customers are going to waste gas to go to another wash.

 

[mjwalsh]

I am thinking that an operator's location within a city has a lot to do with being able to sustain higher pricing.

 

[FastLaneCarWash]

Down in my area we must be cheap. I’m a 1$ to start and :30 for every .25

 

[slash007]

Come the 1st of August, I'm raising my price to 2.50 for 3:30. Was 2:00. I've added cryptopay and fixed all the functions (just bought the wash). I've already upped the price in my IBA to 5, 6, and 7 and sales have went down, but I'll see what happens. I've spent a lot of money getting everything working right and improving the chemicals. I've got to make that money back. $.50 isn't that much and being the only wash in 10 miles, I don't think my customers are going to waste gas to go to another wash.

Surprised your IBA prices are so low compared to your SS pricing.

 

[STXCW]

Down in my area we must be cheap. I’m a 1$ to start and :30 for every .25

We are at $1.50 to start, 32 seconds per coin.

 

[Nuphoenix]

Surprised your IBA prices are so low compared to your SS pricing.

You think my SS prices are to high?