BY NICK FORTUNA

Given the profit potential of car washes, Debbi and James Whitlock had time on their side in 2019 when they broke ground on the future site of Great White Express Car Wash in Spring Hill, Tenn. But, timing? Well, that’s another matter entirely.

The Whitlocks couldn’t have envisioned that when they opened for business last April, the economy would be in recession and the biggest public health crisis in a century would be getting worse by the day. To jumpstart their business and make a splash in their community, they needed more than a solid business plan and their years of industry experience. They needed a superhero.

First, they hired a local young man with a Spider-Man costume to stand near the tunnel entrance and wave at cars before they entered. The response from customers with children was overwhelming, so the Whitlocks decided to have a different character appear each week for the whole summer.

“You’d be surprised how many people in your community like to dress up,” she said about her initial local query on Facebook to find people with interesting costumes. “These weren’t just like the costumes you buy for Halloween at Walmart. They were the type you would go to a [comic-book] convention in.” Characters included Elsa from “Frozen,” Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” Captain America and a trio from the “Star Wars” franchise: Darth Vader, Kylo Ren and a storm trooper.

As guidelines for social distancing were established, children would get out of their cars and stand near the characters for a quick picture. One customer’s comment on the car wash’s Facebook page was representative of the general feedback. “My son is a huge fan!” the customer said of the “Star Wars” characters. “Thanks for a great experience every time we come!”

Other events orchestrated by Great White Express last year included random drawings for new television sets, T-shirts and other prizes ahead of “Shark Week,” the Discovery Channel’s popular summer fixture. Around the holidays, Santa visited multiple times to take pictures with kids.

Whitlock said her workers understand that for a new car wash to succeed, it must connect with its community, so it hasn’t been difficult to get workers to play along with the promotions. Buoyed by frequent praise from management and occasional bonuses or perks, staffers generally are up for a little fun, she said.

“We encourage their ideas and suggestions,” Whitlock said. “We have worked very hard to promote a sense of team and community service. After all, life is more than just washing cars.”

Car washes are providing a safe social gathering space and a chance for families to get out of the house. They are even serving as great places to belt out your favorite song, celebrate holidays, enjoy a good scare or win a little money — in addition to providing a squeaky clean wash!

Embrace high-tech lights to truly sparkle

At Launch Car Wash in Tulsa, Okla., every wash comes with a kind of immersive experience, according to managing partner Blake Newman. The all-black tunnel is equipped with 66 LED light bars, and the control system allows the car wash to produce light shows synced with music. Customers can hear the music on their car’s FM radio and see the lights flicker and dance to the beat.

Newman said his light shows can be paired with a holiday or special theme to create an even more memorable experience for customers. During its Tunnel of Fun Halloween promotion, Launch Car Wash introduced laser lights and fog machines to the show, and almost two dozen workers and adults dressed up as comic-book characters, Transformers, astronauts and more.

Newman said his employees have bought into the concept of creating a high-end customer experience, largely due to solid recruiting and onboarding.

“When we hire, we look for four things: ability to uphold core values, aptitude, willingness to learn, and no previous experience,” he said. “We make all training customized to their personal needs and goals. They look at Launch as a platform to personally develop themselves.”

Newman said the car wash will create themed experiences for other holidays and special events, always keeping in mind the brand’s mission to be kid-friendly.

“It’s our goal to take what was once mundane and looked at as a commodity and turn it into an experience,” he said. “It’s part of our competitive advantage as a brand. We’ve been open for 18 months, and our light show, our experience and our technology have only been evolving and improving.”

Ryan Pfutzenreuter, owner of So Cal Express Car Wash in Ontario, Calif., decided to go all out for Christmas, investing thousands of dollars in projection-mapping technology and RGB (red, blue and green) LED lights. The technology allows users to project elaborate, vibrant scenes and images onto a building or other structure, creating an immersive, three-dimensional experience.

The technology is used at Universal Studios and Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Florida, where images are projected onto Cinderella’s castle during light shows. The moving lights and images can be choreographed to music to produce an especially engaging show.

The car wash had machines making fake snow, and Pfutzenreuter projected a 50-foot-tall dancing Christmas tree onto a flagpole, just one part of a large-scale winter wonderland. He produced a light show that lasted six songs, or about 25 minutes, so that customers who had paid $20 per car wouldn’t see the same show repeatedly as they waited in line.

Pfutzenreuter said it took him several weeks to learn how to use the technology, but he now wants to produce a different show about once a quarter as a way to drive revenue. He said that, in time, he would like to produce an all-in-one holiday-themed light-show kit for the car wash industry that would give operators all the equipment, decorations, props and promotional materials they need to hold these high-tech events.

“We know how difficult it is to put events on like this, and having everything packaged takes the learning curve down and will help make any owner able to pull it off,” he said.

Car wash karaoke

The idea of holding a karaoke competition — at the car wash? — seemed a bit unusual when it was first presented. But when Great White Express launched its karaoke competition last June, they planned big and weren’t disappointed. The contest featured a $1,000 grand prize, three months of free washes for second prize and a month of free washes for third. Videos of each car’s contestants singing along to a popular song while going through the tunnel were posted on the car wash’s Facebook page, and the public was encouraged to vote for their favorite.

The winner was a group from a local horse rescue performing “Old Town Road,” by Lil Nas X. The group would later make an appearance at the car wash with a horse and donkey, providing another irresistible photo opportunity for kids.

“The contest was a safe thing for people to do because they stayed in their cars,” Whitlock said. “We only had five contestants, but we grew our Facebook followers by 500 to 600 people, so we were happy with that. It was about the exposure — letting people know that we’re here, we’re open, and we’re washing cars.”

Great White Express repeated the contest in December, with contestants singing Christmas songs for a chance to win a $1,000 top prize, a PlayStation 5 or a $250 Amazon gift card. Participation more than tripled to 18 contestants, with the winner, a group from a local gymnastics school, receiving an impressive 351 votes from the public.

Whitlock said a number of customers thanked the car wash for introducing a little fun into one of the grimmest holiday seasons in memory.

“And who couldn’t use an extra $1,000 around Christmas time?” she said.

Haunted tunnels

As showcased in the “Tunnels of Terror” article in the last issue of CAR WASH Magazine, haunted tunnels are becoming quite the trend for car wash operators — being both profitable and a great way to bond with the community.

Pfutzenreuter said he held a Halloween promotion called the Tunnel of Terror and washed about 2,000 cars over six nights. The promotion was a hit. “We were so busy, we had to turn the chain speed up as fast as we could,” Pfutzenreuter said. One customer summed up the sentiment on the car wash’s Facebook page. “Thank you for putting this on,” she said. “We loved it!”

The haunted tunnel at Great White Express was a resounding success, as well. The spooky music and frightening sound effects playing in the tunnel were the backdrop. But it was the workers wearing scary masks, shouting and running their hands through the soap on the car windows that left memorable imprints. Whitlock said Great White Express washed about 700 cars during the promotion. In the future, the car wash might consider running the promotion as a charitable fundraiser, she said.

“As a revenue generator, it was a pretty good deal for us,” Whitlock said. “We hope it grows.”

Similarly, Dutch Car Wash in Aurora, Colo., held its second annual haunted tunnel promotion last year, featuring scary actors, fog machines, animatronic props, spooky decorations and holograms. President Willy Beumer said the event took on added significance this year as a way to break the monotony of pandemic-induced isolation.

“We knew people had been cooped up, and this was a safe way to get them outside and having fun,” he said. “Our team enjoys it a great deal, so it was as much for our team as for our customers, to have some fun and do something different. The customers loved it. We brought in a lot of new customers, so it definitely worked out well.”

Tunnel of love

On the other end of the spectrum — a far cry from the ghoulish monsters haunting the tunnels during Halloween — are the tunnels of love. Is there any setting more romantic than a car wash? Apparently not, according to the 10 couples who got married on Valentine’s Day last year at Soapy Joe’s Car Wash in San Diego. The first annual Tunnel of Love car wash wedding featured white, pink and red balloons decorating the tunnel’s entrance and live music from a guitarist and singer.

“It was a smash hit with members, the community, the press, and we even won a Marcom Gold Award for the effort,” said Anne Mauler, Vice President of Marketing at Soapy Joe’s.

Due to the pandemic, group weddings are out this year, so the promotion was rebranded as “Tunnel of Love 2021: Propose at Soapy Joe’s.” Participants were asked to submit a video of their wedding proposal at Soapy Joe’s, the public was asked to vote on social media for their favorite, and the winner was to receive a pair of wedding rings valued at $3,500 from Honey Jewelry Co. and $10,000 to start their lives together.

“We love our members so much, we marry them!” Mauler said.

Characters included Elsa from “Frozen,” Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” Captain America and a trio from the “Star Wars” franchise: Darth Vader, Kylo Ren and a storm trooper.