Strategies for increasing business at night

[Sequoia]

My car wash is busy during the day. But at night very few customers come in. What strategies can I use to promote night time washing? The benefits are: a) bays are open, b) utility rates cost less at night, c) more customers at night helps overall security.

I have thought of this:
- promote discount car washes at night (~50%?)
- sell / charge customers at an online web page
- customers visit the web page, enter a CC number, and get a 6 digit code to activate the wash.
- when they arrive, they punch the code into a 10-key pad next to the timer box. If the code is valid, the bay turns on.

Has anyone done anything similar to this? Or anything completely different that would incent customers to use the wash at night?

 

[MEP001]

I've tried a number of things, even being at the wash from 9 PM to midnight. Being in central Texas where it doesn't get below 85° at night through August and with highs of 100+ all month, you'd think people would want to wash when it's cooler. The only thing that seems to work is keeping the bays well lit.

 

[Damoni88]

One key thing at night is to make sure your wash is lit up so bright like a baseball field. Customers wanna feel safe at night.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

It’s hard to get sleeping people to wash cars

 

[Waxman]

With something like Touch4wash you may be able to do a night time promotion. Not sure. Ask Jim @ Touch4Wash.

Keep it well lit there so people feel safe at night.

 

[JLanman]

With something like Touch4wash you may be able to do a night time promotion. Not sure. Ask Jim @ Touch4Wash.

Keep it well lit there so people feel safe at night.

Great point! You could run what we call Day and Time discounts. This allows you to set it and forget it. Say you offer moonlight special from say 7 pm to midnight. The system will automatically change the prices during that time, them revert back to normal prices once out of the time window.

You could even limit this promo to a single day or every other day, etc... Then promote the heck out of the fact that you can wash at a discounted price and take advantage of non peak hours of the day/s.

Jim

 

[Randy]

I highly doubt that you’re going to be able to increase your night business much in a small tourist town of 4000 up in the mountains of California. Most tourists don’t wash their cars while they are on vacation. Probably the best and least expensive thing you could do would be to increase the street exposure, if you have any trees, bush, etc. blocking the view of the car wash from the street trim or cut them down so you can see the car wash.

 

[Sequoia]

Good points Randy. I do have contractors / blue collar pickup drivers who was between 4 and 7am. Maybe an early bird focus would encourage more to do the same.

The bays can be so busy during the day that cars turn away unwilling to wait in line, while at night it is a ghost town for hours on end. I'd sure like to figure out something to move a little day business to night.

 

[MudMoney]

Early on in my car wash career I left wash open all nite during summer,waste of money.In a town of 9500 people go into their holes like gophers @ sundown.The tourist headed to Glacier Park would wash @ sunup, 6 am. I'm next to a McDonalds and see no increase @ nite or early morning. I gate the place @ 10 pm and open @ 6 am. I sleep better too.