There are no metrics to prove that Gleam Car Wash in Denver is Colorado’s greenest car wash, and Rob Madridreadily concedes that, but that doesn’t stop him from marketing his business to customers that way.

Like most car wash operators, Madrid tries to differentiate his business from the competition by providing ahigh-quality wash at a fair price with excellent customer service. But let’s face it: The other guy hasthe same game plan and isn’t too shabby either.

To help his business stand out, Madrid highlights the environmentally conscious upgrades he has made to hisfacility. His car wash reclaims 90 percent of the water it uses, meaning that of the approximately 120 gallonsused to wash each car, only 12 gallons are potable water. Solar panels on the roof power the car wash and itscharging station for electric cars. Highly efficient LED lights are used inside and outside the building, andthe facility’s 32 equipment motors each have a variable frequency drive that prevents spikes inelectricity usage.

Being environmentally conscious required a substantial investment, but it consistently yields dividends from amarketing standpoint, Madrid said.

“Being green is an excellent opportunity because No. 1, it’s the right thing to do, and No. 2, themarketing aspect of it,” said Madrid, who in addition to owning a car wash offers consulting servicesthrough his Wash Guru company. “We get a ton of traction with it. Denver is a progressive city, so beinggreen really matters to our customers, but I think it’s a good way to differentiate your business justabout anywhere.”

Madrid said another thing that distinguishes his car wash from others in the area is its commitment to hiringworkers with intellectual disabilities. He said one-quarter to one-third of Gleam Car Wash’s employeesfall somewhere on the autism spectrum, and over time, customers recognize that his business is providing jobs tomembers of the community who often have few opportunities.

“Our customers do notice that about us,” he said. “Car washes generally aren’tbrand-recognized. You go to the car wash on Main Street; no one knows the name of the car wash. But people knowthe name of our car wash just because of the social presence that we have.”

Selling more services

Over the years, many innovative car wash operators have differentiated their businesses by offering products andservices that consumers don’t typically associate with car washes. To cite just a few examples:

• Cruisers Car Wash in Northridge, Calif., houses Lilian’s Bread & Sweets, a Filipino restaurant where customers can either grab and go or sit down at a booth. The car wash also sells greeting cards and air fresheners and has massage chairs.
• At Fresh Out Car Wash and Barber Shop in El Paso, Texas, a popular promotion allows customers to get a car wash and a haircut for $22.
• In Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Soapy Joe Car Wash and Coffee Shop offers breakfast and lunch items in addition to a cup of joe.

For self-service car washes, dog-washing stations offer one way to stand out in a crowded industry and cultivatea loyal customer base. Dog-washing stations built by companies such as Evolution Dog Wash accept coins or billsand provide customers with everything they need to wash their closest companions. There’s a hose with warmwater, a variety of shampoos, including tick-and-flea treatments and oatmeal shampoos for sensitive skin, and ablow dryer.

According to the Statista online statistics portal, there were about 89.7 million dogs living in U.S. householdsin 2017, up from 68 million in 2000, and the typical consumer spends big on Fido. In May 2018, Business Insiderreported that the average dog owner spends $139.80 per month on his pet, according to a survey of pet owners. Inaddition, wealthier people are significantly more likely to own pets than are poorer people, according to a July2017 report in Psychology Today, making pet owners a highly coveted demographic for retailers of all types.

Dog-washing stations can be ideal additions for self-service car washes near dog parks or in affluent areas wherepet ownership is high, said Bob Roman, president of the car wash consultancy RJR Enterprises.

“Most self-service owners are absentee or semi-absentee, so you won’t see self-service operatorsadding on food service or detailing or anything that requires additional labor,” he said. “Adog-washing station can make sense because a lot of people have dogs. There are only a few manufacturers. It’sa niche market.”

Keith Caldwell, owner Eu Clair, Wis.-based All Paws Pet Wash, said carwashes are among the most popular placesfor this company’s dog washes, along with convenience stores, veterinarians, dog parks, RV parks,campgrounds and apartment communities. The car-wash industry is “a large part of our business, but it’snot the majority of our business,” he said.

The cost of installation can range from $10,000 to $70,000 depending on a number of factors at the site,including whether the dog wash will be an internal installation inside an existing bay or a new exteriorstructure. He said customers typically pay $10 to $15 per dog wash, and the machines can take coins, cash,credit cards, debit cards and loyalty cards.

Adding auto-detailing services

Some car washes in the United States and Europe are offering auto-finishing and detailing services in aconveyor-belt or assembly-line format to drive revenue and improve efficiency. At Expressway Car wash inMorgantown, W. Va., customers go through the car wash and then drive to an adjacent 5,000-square-foot buildingthat has two lanes for detailing.

Similarly, PECO has installed more than a dozen of its Polish Tunnel products at car washes in Holland andBelgium. Cars exit the wash tunnel and enter the separate polishing tunnel, where spray wax is applied. The carsthen move down the conveyor belt as a specially designed polish cloth buffs in the wax.

Jim Rooney, owner of Knoxville, Tenn.-based 3MM Holdings, which owns five car washes and has two underconstruction, said one appealing facet of the auto-detailing conveyor is that the car wash operator can set thepace at which cars move down the line from station to station. That allows operators to increase or decrease thedetailing team’s staffing level according to demand.

Rooney’s company operates the PureMagic Carwash chain and its PureMagic Conveyors manufacturing division.The conveyors allow each operator to determine the number and order of the stations according to what servicesare being offered. The first station might be window cleaning, for example, followed by a second station for thedashboard, consoles and door panels and a third for vacuuming.

“The operator gets the opportunity to set up their own stages and the way they want to approach a vehicle,”said Rooney. “It’s a really flexible business model.”

Roman said that while these polishing tunnels do provide a new stream of revenue, many car wash operators lackthe property space to accommodate a new tunnel, and installing one can cost $250,000 or more. He said adding atunnel might not be worth it if it requires a car wash operator to cannibalize space on the property that wasdevoted to vacuuming stations.

When car wash operators crunch the numbers, they often will find that their resources are better spent promotingtheir monthly unlimited-wash club instead of adding services, Roman said.

“Primarily, the issue is space, so for the independent car wash operator, the trend of adding additionalprofit centers has declined over the years,” Roman said. “They don’t want to differentiatetheir business with profit centers that have anything to do with additional labor or providing assistedservices.

“Today, independent car wash operators are concentrating on washing a high volume of cars, and the bigdriver of that in the subscription economy is the monthly unlimited-wash programs. When you increase your volumeby 50 percent with the unlimited-wash program, and then you look at what express detailing could add to theprofit picture, it becomes rather dim.”