Trent Clark
A Plus Design Group
Dallas, Texas
Q: Tell us about your business.
A: We are an Architecture firm that specializes in the design of car washes. We have designed over 60 car washes in several states and always seem to have four or five on the boards. Our washes fill the gamut of self-serve, in-bays, express, flex and full serve models.
Q: How did you get into the business?
A: We didn’t find this industry, it found us. About eight years ago a local car wash equipment installer asked us to help him design a car wash project. The project was an express tunnel with flex and three self-serve bays. He sat in our office and explained every component about a car wash as we developed the plans. By the end of the project we knew a lot about the why’s and how’s of the car wash process and equipment. We liked the end product so well we decided to do more car washes.
Q: What do you love most about the business?
A: The Car Wash Owners. In my 22 years of designing buildings for many types of projects and with many types of owners, car wash owners stand out as some of the best people to deal with. They are honest, typically well-funded, and have a strong drive for the best customer service available.
Q: What’s the next big thing for the industry?
A: Renovations are a growing trend especially with self-serve washes. There are lots of brown brick self serves that sprung up in the 70s and 80s, and they need to be reworked to stay relevant in today’s market. While the express model is going gang busters in most parts of the country we are now seeing more flex, full service, and in-bay automatics come full circle to fill in the gaps. The buffing and polishing equipment is now going into the tunnels to further enhance the wash quality and provide more revenue.
Q: What has been your experience using social media for your company?
A: We use social media for our design firm to act as a source of information to the industry. About 50 percent of our clients are new to the industry and they act like a sponge to soak up as much as they can to learn about the business. Both our website, blog, Facebook and Twitter are there to spread the word on design, operations, trends, and to serve our clients.
Q: What new technologies or innovations are you most interested in bringing to your car wash?
A: LED lighting is making a huge improvement to interior and exterior environments. LED is a big game changer for car washes. Most of our new designs are mostly LED due to energy codes regulations that cap the amount of watts we can use. LED fits the bill on dropping the power usage as well as reducing maintenance.
Q: What’s the best advice you’ve received about running a business in the car wash industry?
A: Focus your car wash business on “ticket” or “volume.” You really can’t do both well.
Joe and Becky Reding
Car’l B. Klean Car Wash
Salem, Oregon
Q: Tell us about your business.
A: Car’l B. Klean is a full service car wash with exterior express wash. We operate on the full service platform, educating our customers about car washing and detailing services. The location has a four-bay detail shop, a gift shop, and a café.
Q: How did you get into the business?
A: I have been around cars my entire life. As a franchise dealer for Chevron for 18 years, we had the opportunity to sell that business in 1996. We took a couple of years off, got bored, and looked for another business. The car wash business we found was the perfect opportunity for both of us so we purchased it in 1998. We’ve since added two self-service car washes in 2011 and 2012.
Q: What do you love most about the business?
A: Our customers! We strive to provide exceptional service in an industry that is difficult to manage due to labor-burdened production.
Q: What’s the next big thing for the industry?
A: Improvements in equipment and chemistry that allow an automated process to produce a clean, dry car wash product with minimal labor.
Q: What has been your experience using social media for your company?
A: We are just beginning to use Facebook to interact with customers and others wanting information. We are not into Twitter and other social media at this time.
Q: What new technologies or innovations are you most interested in bringing to your car wash?
A: Since the burden of government regulation presses down on all business owners, any automation that decreases the use of labor and improves the finished product will benefit me.
Q: What’s the best advice you’ve received about running a business in the car wash industry?
A: My father gave me the best advice when I was young and just starting to work for him in the service station industry: Take great care of your customers and work smart.
