Survival; Just bought a car wash, Now tunnel opening a block away

[Car Wash Man]

The club carwash by us was up and running in about six months. That company does not mess around, If they announced they are opening, I would see a slim chance that they wouldn't move forward with the location. Dick Nitro, focus on what you are able to change, don't get caught up on the tunnel moving in, focus on what you are able to do to provide the best experience for your customer and everything will most likely work out. I haven't seen many IBA's close because a big tunnel moved in to their town, at least not any reputable IBA.

 

[Dick Nitro]

I appreciate that. My inexperience yields my ignorance, but is it possible to coexist with these giants and sometimes even benefit?

I’ll focus on our strengths and provide the best for our customers. Doing that is all one can do.

 

[Car Wash Man]

Coexist and make a profit yes, I don't see any positives of a tunnel opening right by you, so benefit I would say no.

 

[Dick Nitro]

Still much better than zero hope lol. Thank you

 

[Axxlrod]

First the good news... SS customers and tunnel customers are different, so your SS bays won't take much of a hit.

The bad news... your IBAs will take a big hit.

You can't really compete with a shiny big tunnel full of the latest and greatest equip, so focus on the one thing they can't do. Touchless washing.

The idea that express washes ruin clear coat is debatable (my cars look great) but that doesn't mean there isn't a % of customers that don't want anything to touch their car's paint. Focus on them. Run the best looking wash you can, use quality chemicals, be present onsite, and make darn sure everything works at your wash.

 

[Dick Nitro]

The more I read the more I think I’m already living in the express market and didn’t know.

my SS is the breadwinner and my touchless does at least 5x what my soft touch does. I’ve just assumed that nobody likes the soft touch and I’ve gotten used to it. Would be nice if that’s the case

 

[Keno]

... I haven't seen many IBA's close because a big tunnel moved in to their town, at least not any reputable IBA.

Any of these new owners with new investment $ and/or debt? I think that's a huge difference, how much financial pressure there is on the owner

 

[jack954]

-make your touchless impress the customer and charge a premium! no memberships on a wash that uses alot more water, chemicals, and time than a friction conveyor
-make your vacs impress the customer. check suction on each one every Monday and friday, clean them often, new nozzles often (only a couple bucks each) and charge 2$. don’t give away your 2nd profit center for free!
-your not an express tunnel so don’t act like one or try to compete with one. you are a self service car wash with a touchless IBA. be the cleanest, best operating one around with great chemicals that show well and smell good.
-find a way (signage or advertisement) to let everyone know that you are the best and that you are touchless

 

[Car_Wash_Guy]

The thing is....and I own both...you are not going to be able to get a car as clean as a properly set up tunnel with a touchless. Just aint happening. Many of these tunnels are running 3 set of miters and 2 top brushes with buffers. Prepping, etc. Unless they are completely negligent i their management you are not going to compete with them on wash quality and speed.

That leaves price and service to compete on.

Just my $.02

 

[Dick Nitro]

I had an express open a block away from one of my washes in February.

Greg, were there any other express washes relatively close to this location prior to last Feb?

Essentially I now know that I have an express wash a mile south of me and a mile NE of me. Trying to determine how much this has already impacted me and how much one right next door may add to the impact. Thanks

 

[JLanman]

It seems very likely you have been living this already with 2 tunnels less than a miles away in two directions. If they have been there for any length of time, it seems reasonable that those that prefer tunnels are already using the current tunnels.
If that is the case, then the new tunnel is likely going to be competing more with the other two tunnels.

A possible plus is that you will likely get more eyes on your site as they visit the new tunnel. Who knows, it may introduce more folks to your site.
As mentioned above, it would be a good strategy to get your place looking and performing top notch to capture any bleed over traffic.

 

[Greg Pack]

Greg, were there any other express washes relatively close to this location prior to last Feb?

Essentially I now know that I have an express wash a mile south of me and a mile NE of me. Trying to determine how much this has already impacted me and how much one right next door may add to the impact. Thanks

Other tunnels were far enough away, 5 miles or so, which can easily be a 20-30 minute round trip with traffic so I think this one is the first major impact I've had.

 

[Rapidoil]

Have you considered replacing your soft touch with one of the newer IBA that can wash well and efficiently like a petit?

 

[Greg Pack]

Have you considered replacing your soft touch with one of the newer IBA that can wash well and efficiently like a petit?

If I could find a chemical/ touch free combo that would clean as well I would consider it, but they don't exist. Nothing cleans as well as beating the dirt off the car.

The soft cloth still has it's fans, those that don't want memberships.

 

[Waxman]

If I had both touchfree and softcloth I'd keep both. More choices for the customer.

 

[Car_Wash_Guy]

If I had both touchfree and softcloth I'd keep both. More choices for the customer.

I thought the same - my first site had friction and touchless.

Then I went with dual Petits with Dencar/Monthly Memberships and my business exploded. The whole site grew including the self service.

 

[Dick Nitro]

I thought the same - my first site had friction and touchless.

Then I went with dual Petits with Dencar/Monthly Memberships and my business exploded. The whole site grew including the self service.

In other words 2 touchless IBAs wound up being a surprisingly good idea?

 

[Car_Wash_Guy]

In other words 2 touchless IBAs wound up being a surprisingly good idea?

I feel so.

a friction rollover you’re offering the same product as a EE tunnel. Impossible to compete imho. You might survive but it will not be like before the tunnel comes to town.

The touchless separates you from them. Mostly because people's concern for damage to their vehicles. I’ve seen many that are claustrophobic and don’t like going through an actual tunnel environment.

 

[washnshine]

I don’t think I see this mentioned a lot on this forum, but I really think sfr is extremely important for tunnels and IBA’s. I know a lot of ss operators use it because they may not have dryers and want the ability to leave a spotless finish. I also think it’s big advantage for tunnel and IBA operators (unless you water quality is very good). Not all of the ee’s have sfr and having it in your IBA might be one step in setting your wash apart from theirs. Cars really look noticeably better - at least in my region- with sfr.

 

[Greg Pack]

Many tunnels in my area are actually pulling out their SFR systems. They've managed to get the car so dry they don't need them anymore. You'll see a couple of spots in a couple hard to dry places but otherwise the cars are so dry they look fine.

Gotta say, the tunnel segment has continued to evolve and the good operators are putting out a great car and membership is a great value. One tunnel is opening near me with a grand opening special of their top graphene package for $20/Month for life and that's damn tempting to buy!