Interesting video of a new Autowash location

[OurTown]

 

[Roz]

Interesting, cool wash ideas. Probably works only in specific demographic locations as we have a lot of customers who do not have a clue how to use a phone beyond making calls.

 

[Greg Pack]

Nicely produced video! It's good to see some innovation and enthusiasm return to the business.

 

[AnalyticWash]

Best touchless in the industry....

Does that rebranded Karcher still take 20 minutes to wash my car?

Probably works only in specific demographic locations as we have a lot of customers who do not have a clue how to use a phone beyond making calls.

This. You can integrate tech into the car wash experience but you don't want to isolate customers who are not tech savvy. They will find another wash if they have any frustration using it. I have seen it first hand on plenty of occasions.

 

[TMoliver]

I guess I am not a customer for AutoWash no longer. Just getting too old for a lot of this new stuff.

One good thing is they will reduce most vandalism. However, someone who is HI does not see there is no cash in the bays, only bills at the Kiosk. I have seen the meters distorted when the person was HI and it was credit card only bay.

 

[HeyVern]

I wonder how those touch screens are going to hold up in self serve bays. Younger customers would love it, the minute I told the older ones, they had to use an app, they would drive off and never return.

 

[Axxlrod]

Slick video, good presentation and very cool tech... but, I think it's too much tech most customers. It's a self-serve car wash; not a fancy gym. Most customers just want to feed in a few bucks, and go. Most of my customers would have no clue how to download an app and join a club.

I like that pay station very much.

Great site, but I think they over-did it.

 

[washnvac]

Mmmmm.....I would like for him to report back in a year to see how many touchscreens they have gone through. As with all new equipment; it all looks great at install . I like to see years down the road to see what it looks like then.

I personally prefer the "KISS" method to everything at my washes. (that is: "keep it simple, stupid" for those that are not old like me) I agree with other posts- a lot of my customers could not handle this.

 

[OurTown]

I agree with most of you that we would lose a lot of cash self serve customers with this setup.

 

[Greg Pack]

My friend owns four washes in various middle class communities. He's gone to cashless in three, and his fourth is gated with a $10 entry fee. When he converted to cashless there was grumbling from customers but revenue actually increased. I'm not saying it's for everyone but if you have multiple locations in middle class or better communities it can make sense.

 

[kentadel]

We have decided to offer newer cashless options while keeping the cash options until and if the cash payments dry up.

 

[washnshine]

My friend owns four washes in various middle class communities. He's gone to cashless in three, and his fourth is gated with a $10 entry fee. When he converted to cashless there was grumbling from customers but revenue actually increased. I'm not saying it's for everyone but if you have multiple locations in middle class or better communities it can make sense.

Anytime there is a “sweeping” change to someone’s business model, some customers will grumble. At the end of the day, most people usually still want to use your service.

 

[Roz]

ICS makes a cashless solution that we looked at and briefly considered. Utilizes a central payment system to manage the screens in the bays. Looks slick, a bit more than a basic meter box in a bay (prob 2x), and may be the future. Just do not know when exactly.

 

[CheetahExpress]

Due to our demographic in a rural, lakeside town in South Texas, our ICS machines are set up for cash, credit cards, Tap n'Pay, Google and Apple Pay. We've got every type of customer from those who use only cash to those using their phones for all the high-tech stuff. When first installed, the touch screen process threw alot of people, but they eventually got used to it. Our ratio is about 35% cash/65% credit cards. If for some reason, the Bill Acceptor or Validator goes down, I get alot of angry calls from the cash users. It just depends on the demographic.

 

[OurTown]

Best touchless in the industry....

Does that rebranded Karcher still take 20 minutes to wash my car?

I have never seen one of these in the wild but it looks like it is 5 minutes plus dryer for top package in this video.

 

[washnshine]

I have never seen one of these in the wild but it looks like it is 5 minutes plus dryer for top package in this video.

That top follower stays pretty tight to the horizontal surfaces.

 

[traveler17]

If someone does this for the SS please keep us posted. I wouldn’t want to be the guinea pig for touch screens in ss bays. Even w/out the vandalism could you imagine what those things would look like in a year!

 

[washnshine]

If someone does this for the SS please keep us posted. I wouldn’t want to be the guinea pig for touch screens in ss bays. Even w/out the vandalism could you imagine what those things would look like in a year!

Right- we already see how metal coin boxes can look after having people’s initials carved in them. Imagine that across the front of a touch screen.

 

[Mr. Dude with a face]

A potential flaw I see is that it appears that when using card or account balance, to start say a self serve wash, you have to pick how much time you want at the beginning, and it does not count up. I am personally not a fan, as it may leave a customer with not enough time, or way too much.
I have seen this on other washes in my area too, and I am not sure what the point of doing it that way is.