Improvements

[A & J Carwash]

This car wash has been here since 1972. Few upgrades and the business now ready for to perform much needed upgrades. It currently has wash, rinse, wax, foam brush. There is a changer with two hoppers. No debit credit card processing at this point. Their are many new services and enhancements to choose from. From your experience, which would you do first? If we did all the improvements on a wish list it could include a host of things: tire cleaner, triple foam, bill valadator and/or debit credit card processing in each bay, blow dryers, combo vacs with shampoo, air fresh etc. As it is now the advantage as an operator is that all of it is mechanical and an easy fix when something goes down. Currently at .37 per minute in the bays and .21 per minute at the vacuums. I don't feel I can go up until i show something positive for my customers in the form of major improvement. So what would be the first phase in your experience. It would be great to use the increased revenue for a second phase. Looking forward to your opinions.

 

[copperglobe]

credit/debit cards in the bays. No question.

 

[A & J Carwash]

I think about maintenance with the moisture and chemicals? I have noticed several companies which provide this service. Pros and Cons of some you are familiar with?

 

[mac]

I would start with the things that your customers will see right off the bat. Forget about things in the equipment room for now. Start with the appearance, your curb appeal. Is the place neat and clean with no weeds growing in the cracks. Pavement nice. No rusty fading paint. Nice bright lights for after dark. Next I would do new meter boxes. That's the part your customers interact with. Rip out the old ones and put in new with bill and credit card acceptance. You can add the other low pressure products pretty easily. Look on ebay for for some good deals on used stuff. There's a lot of them there. You may want to change your thinking about improvements verses revenue. I've seen many operators who said that once the business improved, they would make the changes. The real world just doesn't work that way. Build it and they will come. Second phase would be hard to recommend without knowing your exact situation. The good news is that you have already made the right first step by asking here. That's usually a lot cheaper than asking a salesman on what to do. Good luck.

 

[robert roman]

“This car wash has been here since 1972…few upgrades…ready for…needed upgrades.”

“…tire cleaner, triple foam, bill…and/or debit credit card processing in each bay, blow dryers, combo vacs with shampoo, air fresh etc. Looking forward to your opinions.”

If there is enough justification to renovate a 42-year old obsolete wand facility, there is probably justification for express in-bay or mini-tunnel.

You may be doing your client a big favor by considering this instead of low-yield wands.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Instead of ripping out and replacing meter boxes to add CC and Bill aceptance you might save a lot of $ and get plenty of impact by adding a seperate box for Bill acceptance and new decals for old boxes. Something like cryptopay CC acceptance can easily be put on the faceplate of the Bill acceptor box.

 

[Waxman]

Dixmor has a new bracket to mount the cryptopay swiper. Saw it at Kleen Rite Expo. Pretty nice.