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Large vehicle charges

A

anyusufaly

Yusufaly
Hello. I wanted to get some feedback on what people charge for larger vehicles in the full service operations. We are in Southern California and have been in operation for over 20 years. Throughout this time, we have been charging $1 extra for minivans and $2 extra for full size trucks and full size SUVs. But over the years, vehicles have gotten larger and larger, so a small SUV is really not that small anymore. Therefore, we are thinking about changing how we charge our customers for larger vehicles.

We were thinking of either going to a 3 tiered system, $1 for small to mid size SUVs, $2 for minivans (always the dirtiest cars we get), and $3 for large trucks and large SUVs. Or we go with a flat $2 charge for anything larger than a sedan.

With increases in minimum wage and other costs, I feel like we have to recover the increased costs somehow. We have already gone up on our prices across the board for our washes so we cannot do another price increase on that end.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Here's a thought, raise your price by xx dollars and charge the same for all. Then when you wash a smaller car, you'll just be getting more $
 
“….over the years, vehicles have gotten larger…. Therefore, we are thinking about changing how we charge our customers for larger vehicles....with increases in….wage and other costs...have to recover the increased costs....already gone up on….prices across….board….so we cannot do another….increase….”

What is preventing wash from achieving goal and objective?

Constraint one is labor - hourly wage increased, cars larger, takes more time to clean interior.

Constraint two is price – you said you cannot increase price.

Since price is hands-off, direct resources to elevate labor until it is no longer a constraint.

For example, productivity equals throughput (price minus cost of goods) divided by operating expense (includes labor).

So, one way to increase productivity of is to not vacuum every vehicle as in creating an express lane for customers who only want an exterior wash.

Another way to increase productivity is mat cleaner, powerful lift, claw and crevice tool, air line with Kingston valve or similar.

Always work in teams of two (i.e. two or four persons to one car).

Following standard procedure like four-pass at finishing line (i.e. dash, seats, carpet, mat, windows).

All of these decisions can lower operating expense which increases productivity.

Also, price may be hands-off but this does not prevent you from selling more stuff like online products (no labor required) to increase throughput.
 
“….over the years, vehicles have gotten larger…. Therefore, we are thinking about changing how we charge our customers for larger vehicles....with increases in….wage and other costs...have to recover the increased costs....already gone up on….prices across….board….so we cannot do another….increase….”

What is preventing wash from achieving goal and objective?

Constraint one is labor - hourly wage increased, cars larger, takes more time to clean interior.

Constraint two is price – you said you cannot increase price.

Since price is hands-off, direct resources to elevate labor until it is no longer a constraint.

For example, productivity equals throughput (price minus cost of goods) divided by operating expense (includes labor).

So, one way to increase productivity of is to not vacuum every vehicle as in creating an express lane for customers who only want an exterior wash.

Another way to increase productivity is mat cleaner, powerful lift, claw and crevice tool, air line with Kingston valve or similar.

Always work in teams of two (i.e. two or four persons to one car).

Following standard procedure like four-pass at finishing line (i.e. dash, seats, carpet, mats).

All of these decisions can lower operating expense which increases productivity.

Also, price may be hands-off but this does not prevent you from selling more stuff like online products (no labor required) to increase throughput.
 
We charge a flat fee of $4 for oversized vehicles using an oversize vehicle sensor outside at our auto terminals. The sensors automatically detect the height difference for larger vehicles and change the menu so the consumer will only see the prices with the oversize charge. Its been one of the best and cheapest investments we've made here at our wash.
 
"We charge a flat fee of $4 for oversized vehicles"

Nice work if you can get it.

In most parts of Florida, you wouldn't have any customers. $4.00 is half the price most washes charge here (with coupon).

What about customers who drive compact or undersized cars like Kia, VW, Smart, etc. Do you charge them less?
 
Compact cars bring up the "normal" menu which does not reflect an additional charge. So to answer your question, no we do not charge less for smaller cars, just more for larger vehicles. Our market allows for us to charge this fee as most car washes in our state seem to charge a fee anywhere from $2 - $4 for oversized vehicles.
 
Retailers often charge different prices for different sizes.

For example, c-store may sell 8 oz soda for $1.00, 16 oz for $1.75 and 32 oz for $2.25.

I drive a Sonata (normal car) and pay $17.00 for full-serve.

My wife drives an Escalade and you charge her $4.00 more for full-serve ($21).

My daughter pulls up in her Mazda 2 but you charge her $17.00 for full-serve.

My family is not happy.

Why?

We bring you three vehicles to wash instead of just one and we have to pay $8.00 more than “normal” to do so.

Retailers don’t normally reward loyal customers by charging them more.
 
I can definitely see the comparison for the retail business where customers are charged different prices for the different sizes of products. We wanted to try and keep our menu as simple as possible with the least amount of price variations as possible. So far I guess we have been lucky in the fact that we have not received a single complaint for customers who drive "compact" cars expecting the price to be different from a "normal" car.
 
That's funny Robert.
Back in the 80's I had a customer that had a Ram Charger that we charged $1 extra.
He washed it and didn't complain about the extra $1.
He came back with his wifes car which was a VW bug and wanted to pay $1 less since it was smaller.
He wasn't a problem but he wanted to make "his" point.
I told him it wasn't so much of a large vehicle vs. small vehicle exterior cleaning issue.
More of a time motion issue in cleaning the extra length of his vehicle since it basically had a third interior compartment that needed cleaning.
He actually agreed. Which as we all know that doesn't always happen.
 
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