Ger Loogman got his start in the car wash business at an early age. His dad opened a fueling station in 1959 while his mom cared for the couple’s four children and the administrative pieces of the business. The couple’s hard work laid the foundation for a business that is still thriving and growing today.
In 1983, the company added a car wash to the station and has since expanded to seven additional car washes in the Netherlands. Loogman Carwash has continued to innovate – this time with the first-of-its-kind conveyor-ized fueling station.
In July, Loogman Carwash unveiled the Comfort Lane, a belt-driven fueling system. Just like in a car wash, customers are able to stay seated, in the comfort of their own vehicles, while the car is on a slow moving belt with an attendant who fuels their vehicle. “Old-fashioned service with a modern twist!” Loogman said.
The Comfort Lane has been a long time coming – Loogman had the idea 20 years ago. “It happened when I was helping at my car wash in Aalsmeer, loading cars on the conveyor,” he said. “I thought that it would be fantastic to fill up your car while it’s on a conveyor. The idea was born.”
Loogman said it made perfect business sense. “When we began offering interior cleaning at our car wash, approximately 3 to 4 percent of our customers opted for the service,” he said. “When our car wash in Amsterdam upgraded the interior cleaning to interior cleaning on a belt, our percentage of customers using this service went up quickly to 25 or 30 percent.” Loogman said the company also saw a lot of activity from customers on social media. “At that time, we were making new plans for our station in Aalsmeer,” Loogman said. “That’s when we decided to work out the 20-year-old idea for a conveyor-ized fuel system.”
Loogman sees Comfort Lane as a huge benefit for customers. They don’t have to exit their vehicle, they don’t have to get their hands dirty and they’re back on the road quickly. “Who wouldn’t want that?” Loogman said. “People are willing to pay for the service and drive farther to visit us. The Comfort Lane is a differentiator.”
The Comfort Lane launched to the public in early July. In only four weeks after launching, they’d already serviced 1,000 cars on the belt. While it took a year and a half to develop a fully operational system, Loogman said they’re always looking for ways to improve it.
While Loogman thinks this new service is a great benefit to customers, he also thinks customers like how it makes them feel: nostalgic.
“When I was 17 years old, I started working at our fuel station,” Loogman said. “At that time, we had attendants who helped the customer fill up their car. This service has almost totally disappeared. In our country, it’s hard to find a fuel station with this old service. With the Comfort Lane, we are bringing back the full-service at our gas station. We believe in old service with a modern surrounding – that surrounding is the Comfort Lane.”
So far, customers are loving it. “Customers love that they can stay in their car while an attendant is filling it up,” Loogman said. “No dirty hands, and they’re back on the road again. In the first four weeks, we’ve seen that women and the elderly are the most willing to try the Comfort Lane. They love being served the old-fashioned way.”
Loogman sees this initial launch of the Comfort Lane as just the beginning. “We have lots of ideas to expand the Comfort Lane,” Loogman said. “Services like window cleaning, coffee and food. It could possibly fit in as a drive-thru burger concept, or put Comfort Lane in front of a car wash. We have plenty of ideas with new business in combination with the Comfort Lane.”
Loogman believes this new concept will give the fuel business a much-needed boost. “In Europe, in the past 25 years, the fuel business became a boring business,” he said. “The last major invention was the multi-product pump. We provide less service, and many of us have been busy with exploring opportunities for the shop. We’re hoping Comfort Lane will bring back the service experience for customers. We also think people are willing to pay for that extra service – the Comfort Lane is the tool for that service.
”To learn more about the specifications of Comfort Lane, visit the Loogman Carwash English site at www.loogman.nl/comfort-lane-english.
