BY TOM GRESHAM

As the coronavirus spread in the United States in early March, Celebrity Car Wash in Detroit updated its exterior display sign to read, “This Too Shall Pass.” Julian Hill, the car wash’s owner, said his business has used the sign to post uplifting messages for a decade, but he believed it was especially pressing to share optimism as the dark cloud of the pandemic spread. The message resonated, drawing enthusiastic customer feedback and media coverage.

“We want to reassure our customers and make sure they understand we know what they’re going through,” Hill said. “And we’re going through it with them.”

COVID-19’s foothold in the U.S. has caused an array of complications for car washes and their communities, and the challenges promise to endure as the pandemic continues. Connecting with customers may never be more critical.

STAYING IN TOUCH

No matter the climate, communicating with customers is crucial, but the uncertainty and confusion sparked by COVID-19 makes it particularly essential.

“It’s important that you stick really close to your customers, talk to them, figure out what’s changing for them and figure out how you can change what you’re doing to meet their new demands and expectations,” said David Begin, Founder of Begin Insights, a consultancy for car wash operators.

Begin said the advent of unlimited club programs in recent years is providing a boost to car wash operations during the current challenge.

“We’ve got a large portion of people who are very loyal to us now — people that we can connect with and learn from and who are probably interested in helping us be successful through this,” Begin said. “We’ve got technologies now, whether we’ve got a mailing list or we’ve got texting capabilities, that allow us to communicate with our customers very quickly, which we’ve never had before. And that’s a big help at a time like this.”

SAFETY AND CLEANLINESS

Begin said a key part of communication during the pandemic is ensuring that customers feel safe and confident in the actions a car wash is taking, such as practicing social distancing and ensuring that protections are in place for employee health and safety. Hill said customers show evidence of their anxiety, such as by barely cracking their windows to interact with employees. He said operators need to respect that concern and ensure employees make customers feel comfortable — or they might not return.

John Roush, CEO of Express Wash Concepts, which operates 17 Moo Moo Express locations in Ohio, said he envisions some of the new efforts widely implemented for the pandemic, such as having hand sanitizer for customers and holding employee health checks, will endure beyond COVID-19.

“We’ll never be the same — this is going to change health and personal hygiene forever,” Roush said. “We’ll have to adapt to that. And honestly, it’s a good thing. We’ll be doing whatever we can to help our customers feel safe being in our stores.”

PAYMENTS AND SERVICES

With safety in mind, Begin said the pandemic could accelerate changes to payment processes to help put customers at ease. He believes the industry will see fewer pay stations that accept cash — “a cumbersome,” high-touch process. He sees payments increasingly being moved to apps, so customers don’t need to pay onsite. Roush said Moo Moo Express has promoted its contactless paying options.

Roush said his operation has been adjusting constantly as regulations and guidance change. In that environment, it has proven difficult to be strategic about growth or promoting certain services — “it was more about survival,” he said. For instance, Moo Moo Express temporarily stopped selling its unlimited wash pass maintenance offering to avoid interactions in kiosks.

In light of possible long-term economic consequences of the pandemic, Moo Moo Express is back to promoting the value of its unlimited plan and the importance of caring for a vehicle to ensure it can last, since people may be holding onto their cars longer.
“We’re making sure people know that there’s no better time than now to stretch a couple of years of value out of your car and keeping it clean is an important way to do that,” Roush said.

In terms of highlighting the value of a car wash during a pandemic, many operators have been promoting various sanitization services, though both Roush and Hill said they hadn’t seen particular spikes in demand for those services yet.

COMMUNITY AND NORMALCY

Moo Moo Express has used a banner at its locations — also prominently featured on its website — reading, “Clean, Safe & Open. #InThisTogetherOhio.” In that community-focused vein, Roush said one successful tactic for his operation during the pandemic was giving away washes to different groups affected by the outbreak, such as medical first responders, retail and restaurant workers, and teachers.

“That was very well received,” Roush said. “We had a lot of happy people coming in and getting the free car wash and other people that didn’t get them were happy that we were doing it for others. So that was a very positive thing.”

Roush said providing free car washes and other giveaways has been a core strategy for Moo Moo Express but now could take on increased emphasis.

“We’ll stay with that philanthropy side of the business,” Roush said. “That’s as important as ever right now.”

Roush said his locations closed for a stretch during widespread business closures in Ohio due to the pandemic. When Moo Moo Express reopened, they received massively positive feedback. “I think a lot of people were glad to see some normalcy and get their car cleaned and smile about something.”

Roush believes people will continue to support businesses like his in the near future out of a desire to return to normal living. In fact, car washes being themselves — being visible, conscientious and caring — could be what most attracts customers as the impact of the pandemic continues.

“Just having a little bit of normal is important to people,” Begin said. “For me to be able to go wash my car makes me feel better, like this is something I used to be able to do and now is something I can still do. That’s reassuring.”

For more tips and a bit of a chuckle, check out this ICA CAR WASH Magazine Live episode. It includes some ideas for operating in the new normal in an informative, visual and (sometimes) funny way: https://bit.ly/ICAnewnormal