BY SHANEEN CALVO

Ghoulishly haunted. Eerily scary. Frightfully exciting. Not exactly the words you might think of when describing a car wash. But, this year, more than ever, these were ideal descriptive words for quite a few car washes throughout the country. With almost every region in North America (and worldwide) feeling the effects of COVID-19, Halloween festivities were a bit subdued and the “scare-factor” was dialed into a pretty weak number — unless you happened to live near one of these car washes. They had the excellent idea of providing socially-distant frights and scares as customers drove through their tunnels of terror — many of whom crossed state lines to get there and waited hours for their turn in the tunnel.

And the consensus from almost every wash that organized a Halloween-themed event was that, yes, it was a little bit of an investment, but it was well worth it and they are absolutely planning on doing it again! Here are some freakishly fun stories about some of the most terrorizing car washes in town and the success and community impact they created.

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100% of the 16 car washes who were part of this article responded favorably when asked if they would do it again next year.

We are already planning next year’s event. We will be taking it to the next level — hiring more staff, more displays, better lighting, industrial smoke machines and props.
This is so much fun we can’t wait for next year!

— Soap My Ride Auto, Truck And Pet Wash

Yes! We had an absolute blast putting on our tunnel of terror this year!

— Speedy Sparkle Car Wash

Absolutely! We already have ideas and themes in mind, and want to further enhance the customer experience via not only sounds, smells and lighting this year, but also interactive displays as you wait in line to enter the wash tunnel.

— Blue Rocket Express

Benefits

With great news comes great media coverage, as some car washes found out. Free publicity was in no short supply for these car washes that offered special Halloween-related events.

We had two different news channels do live segments on their morning shows. Then a few local radio hosts heard about it, and they were talking about it as well. Our single online promo video ended up being seen over 225,000 times in two weeks and was shared over 1,500 times.

— American Speed Wash

We had ESPN come out after hearing about us and they did a special during a commercial at the BYU game. We also released a press release at the beginning of the month and had one group respond. They came out and did a special on us.

— Wiggy Wash

We had enormous coverage: front page of the Pioneer Press, four TV stations, radio and lots of internet coverage. We even made Fox National news.

— Soapy Joe’s Car Wash

Good Business

Scaring people, wearing costumes and having frightfully good times isn’t all this is about. There is also a business aspect, where owners and managers have to make the hard choice on whether it is a sound decision. These car washes all found it solidly justifiable when asked if their Halloween theme benefited their business.

This event turned a decent month into a record breaker! At one location we did a total of 2,125 cars in six nights for a total of $41,700 in revenue during the event.

— American Speed Wash

We easily doubled our investment in the event and increased total wash count for the month approximately 20%! Social media traffic up 1000+% on both Facebook and Google.

— Clean and Green Car Wash

On the days of the event we washed more cars than ever before. It brought in customers that have never been in for a car wash.

— Dirty Dog's Car Wash

We washed an estimated 1,200 vehicles during Halloween hours with many customers being new to Dutch Car Wash, so in that aspect it was a home run.

— Dutch Car Wash

By the end of the 12 days, we washed 3,000 cars for the event and only 6% were members of our unlimited pass. The haunted tunnel gave us the opportunity to become louder in our community and to stand out from our competitors.

— Wiggy Wash

Charitable Endeavor

During this unprecedented time, generosity of both the financial and mental variety has taken on a new importance. All of the car washes we interviewed exhibited extreme generosity with the steps they took and money they spent to put on their Halloween events, and some went above and beyond.

We donated a portion of our proceeds to our local food bank, Feeding South Dakota. We were able to provide over 10,000 meals this year.

— Silverstar Car Wash

We donated to the Steamboat Stampede Youth Hockey and Steamboat Youth Soccer Club.

— Mountain View Car Wash

We donated to Kids Need More, Kidsneedmore.org. It’s for children and young adults with cancer.

— Johnnie's Car Wash on Oak

We asked for donations to the local high school band who were our performers. We collected over $5,000 for them!

— Clean & Green Car Wash

We donated $5 of each wash to our local area food cupboards as well as collected donations at the cashier. We raised a total of $7,078.15.

— Fast Eddie’s Express Car Wash

FAST EDDIE’S EXPRESS CAR WASH

(Augusta, Maine)

Ed Goff, Owner

What type of Halloween set up did you have this year?

We held a haunted car wash on four evening from 6-9 p.m. The theme of the wash was clowns. We had staff in the tunnel in costume and more in the prep area. We also had actors (friends and family) helping work the line and at the exit.

What kind of investment was required to make this happen?

We invested $2,000 for advertising, mostly for radio with 2 live remotes, and $150 on Facebook. Plus, roughly $2,000 between decorations, props and costumes, and $360 for traffic control our
last night.

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

I would say our favorite part of the whole event was scaring people and seeing the smiles on their faces after.

What was the feedback from your employees?

The employees totally bought in and embraced it. They were excited each and every night and had as much, if not more fun, than our customers.

What was the community reaction?

The community loved the idea and supported it whole heartedly. We had lines over a mile long at times and the response afterward was all positive, except for a few who were upset with the traffic.

CLEAN & GREEN CAR WASH

(Hickory Creek, Texas)

Joshua Boschee, Owner

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

We had a full 20-30 minute entertainment experience once you entered the property with a DJ, 30 performers, animatronics, hot dog vendor, truck or treat, and a tunnel of terror!

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

Car washes are now entertainment venues and a Halloween experience is a way to differentiate yourself in a commodity industry.

What kind of investment was involved?

Significant — thousands.

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

The smiles and the exposure; patrons truly love the event.

What was the feedback from your employees?

Employees love it. There is an adrenaline rush when you truly scare someone. Everyone wants to do it again next year!

What was the community reaction?

Significantly positive. Locals love the event and community leaders appreciate drawing customers from across the metroplex to our small suburb!

JOHNNIE’S CAR WASH ON OAK

(Copiague, N.Y.)

Johnnie Miranti, Owner

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

We offered a COVID-friendly tunnel of terror. We had a ton of props and a bunch of actors dressed in various costumes entertaining the guests while they waited in line.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

I entertained the idea last year, but it conflicted with the scheduled tunnel equipment upgrade. This year’s pandemic seemed to offer the perfect opportunity to give people something to do from the safety of their vehicle. Even with the 2+ hour wait, customers enjoyed the experience and left with a smile.

What kind of investment was involved?

The overhead for the event was more significant than expected, but the popularity of the event was also larger than anticipated.

MOUNTAIN VIEW CAR WASH

(Steamboat Springs, Colo.)

Travis Gainsley, GM

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

Haunted car wash tunnel.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

Steamboat is a small community; we usually shut down main street and all the businesses hand out candy. It was canceled this year due to COVID. We wanted to do something fun for the community and this was a great fit. We used it as a fundraiser for the local youth hockey and soccer clubs.

What kind of investment was involved?

About $2,000.

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

How much fun the community had coming through and the student athletes that helped man it.

What was the feedback from your employees?

The employees had a blast.

What was the community reaction?

The community loved it.

SPEEDY SPARKLE CAR WASH

(Louisville & Loveland, Colo.)

Iona Kearney, Guest Engagement Manager

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

We had a haunted tunnel that included Halloween characters dressed up in the tunnel, scaring cars as they drove through. We also had team members in masks wandering around the property scaring people and handed out carefully sanitized, bagged candy.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

We decided to put on a themed wash experience this year because we had seen other car washes on social media do it and we figured this year was the perfect year to start because many people weren’t able to do what they would normally do for Halloween due to COVID restrictions. It offered a fun way for families to celebrate the holiday while staying safe.

What kind of investment was involved?

This year we made a significant investment because it was our first year doing it and we had to purchase all the lights and machines. We won’t need to purchase as much next year because we will already have most of the decorations. Labor was our highest cost, but it was a necessity to make it fun for the customers!

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

I enjoyed getting to bring the community together in a way that hasn’t really been possible recently due to COVID restrictions. The energy at our locations was high because our employees were really excited and people of all ages had a fantastic time!

What was the feedback from your employees?

The employees had a lot of fun and enjoyed scaring customers! They got really into it and invited all their friends and family. They got to interact with our normal customers in a different way and form new relationships with people in the community.

What was the community reaction?

The community absolutely loved it! We had lines of cars up and down the street. Community members found it unique and were grateful for something to do during the pandemic.

SILVERSTAR CAR WASH

(Sioux Falls, S.D.)

Andrea Vetos, Regional Manager

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

We had a synchronized music and light show along with some inflatables and cemetery decor throughout the property.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

We initially did this last year as something fun to try for our employees and customers, and it was way more popular than we ever expected! We had people asking all year if and when we were going to be offering it again this year.

What was the feedback from your employees?

Our employees have a blast each year doing this. It’s a great team-building experience because we have employees from across our 10 locations coming together to be a part of it.

What was the community reaction?

The community reaction has been hugely positive, especially this year. People were excited to have something fun to do with their families where they can stay in their vehicle and not come into contact with anyone.

SOAPY JOE’S CAR WASH

(Saint Paul, Minn.)

Ali Gloege, Marketing Director

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

We had a Spooktacular Suds drive-through car wash.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

With the COVID pandemic, Halloween was looking to be a bust. We decided it would be a great opportunity to provide some safe Halloween fun and incorporate a food drive to help support our local food shelf that is in great need due to the pandemic

What was the feedback from your employees?

Our team all got on board and had a blast!

What was the community reaction?

Mind blowing. For three nights we had people waiting in lines over an hour long to come through. We donated 2,200 pounds of food to the local food shelf! The support of the community has left us speechless.

GREAT WHITE EXPRESS CAR WASH

(Spring Hill, Tenn.)

Debbi (and James) Whitlock

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

We staffed and ran a haunted tunnel, which was less like a car wash and more like a ride-through haunted house. The only wash components we used were soap/water. We used the soap as a curtain so that they couldn’t see us.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

With the COVID situation this year, we just wanted the community to have a fun/safe experience.

What kind of investment was involved?

Our overall investment was just under $5,000, which included candy, gift cards, extra staff, paying off-duty police officers to help control traffic, and decorations

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

We just went with an overall scary theme. It was so fun to see grown men jump across the car and squeal.

What was the feedback from your employees?

Our employees LOVED it!! Can’t wait for next year; already talking about what we can do better.

What was the community reaction?

We had lots of positive feedback and people wanting to make sure that we do it again.

DUTCH CARWASH

(Aurora, Colo.)

Willy Beumer, President

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

We had a tunnel of terror with scary animatronic props, fog machines, holograms, ghostly decorations and actors.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

Our team and customers were excited about it and it gave us yet another opportunity to be #morethanwashingcars.

What kind of investment was involved?

$3,500 and quite a bit of time.

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

The scary part. We scared many grown adults and what isn’t fun about that?

What was the feedback from your employees?

This is the most fun they’ve had at any car wash they worked at.

What was the community reaction?

Here are a few of the reviews we received:

Visited for the first time to take the kids through the haunted car wash. I haven’t screamed or laughed so hard in a long time. Kids had fun watching mom get scared!!! Well done!!

— Brianna

Great Halloween car wash. My kid is obsessed with Halloween and this was the perfect level of scary for him.

— Jonathan

Shout out to you guys for creating a COVID-safe, fun experience. We will be coming back to support the business!

— Kealey

SOAP MY RIDE AUTO, TRUCK AND PET WASH

(Bowling Green, Ky.)

Robin Shea, Co-Owner

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

This year we celebrated our second annual tunnel of terror haunted car wash. From 7:30-10 p.m. for three days, our entire car wash became possessed by ghoulish spirits. The hair-raising tour began the second our customers pulled onto the Soap My Ride lot. Our haunted experience featured 15-20 ghoulish spirits, multiple haunted vignettes, a weaving, winding drive up to the tunnel and haunted spirits throughout the tunnel for an added thrill.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

We are a community car wash, located in a medium-sized town where hayrides, apple picking and pumpkin carving are still wonderful family activities. I came across a short video on a haunted tunnel and knew instantly that it was something I wanted to invest time and energy into creating.

What kind of investment was involved?

We invested approximately $3,000 the first year and roughly the same the second year.

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

The buzz is absolutely crazy! People from all over southern and central Kentucky and Tennessee drove tocheck out our tunnel of terror.

What was the feedback from your employees?

The majority of our employees are between 18-24 years old. They had as much, if not more, fun than the participants.

What was the community reaction?

The community came out in droves! The response to the tunnel far exceeded our expectations. We had very inclement weather the first two nights of the event but that did not stop a constant stream of customers. The first two nights, our tunnel averaged 30 cars per hour for the 2.5-hour event. The weather cleared up for our final night and that brought more customers out than we could have ever imagined: over 900 folks on Friday night, alone. What was supposed to be a 2.5-hour event wrapping up at 10 p.m. ended up running until 2 a.m. We scared over 175 cars in that time. People waited in line up to 3.5 hours. It was absolutely fantastic! Next year we are making a few changes to our ticket process to help manage the lines and potential wait.

BLUE ROCKET EXPRESS

(Ridgecrest, Calif.)

Brian Guiniling, Owner

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

Halloween has been my favorite holiday, and most years my family hosts a Halloween party. But this year I wanted to kick it up a notch! With the current pandemic and the guidelines to keep group sizes small or to just the same household, we felt that we could provide a holiday experience to our community by offering something that had never been done in our town before. I kicked the idea around with my partner Braulio Alvarez and he suggested that we turn it into a fundraising event for our local women’s shelter.

What kind of investment was involved?

I actually own more than my fair share of Halloween decorations and our assistant manager wanted to paint a wooden overlay for the entrance to our car wash tunnel, so we had the groundwork to get started. After the success of the first weekend we added more lights, features and creatures. Out of pocket this year was about $3,000 worth of props, lights, fog, and candy for the kids.

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

We used an old video projector I had laying around to project images of ghosts floating around on a transparent piece of fabric hanging inside of our equipment room. I liked that since it harkens back to old-time Hollywood effects!

What was the feedback from your employees?

Our employees were amazing at giving us ideas and they were blown away by the support we received from the community.

What was the community reaction?

On our first day we were hoping to have 10 customers come through our Halloween experience, but we did 10 times that. And it grew every weekend. The outpouring of support and gratitude that we were giving the community something fun and exciting was extremely rewarding.

DIRTY DOG’S CAR WASH

(Calhoun, Marietta & Griffin, Ga.; Oxford, Ala.)

Geo Perez, Owner/Operations Manager

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

We had Employees in customs, decorations, etc.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

COVID. We wanted to give our customers a fun, safe and contact-free Halloween experience.

What kind of investment was involved?

We have a budget of $1,000 for each store.

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

The costumes and the characters acted out by our teams.

What was the feedback from your employees?

They loved it and they had lots of fun.

What was the community reaction?

Community reaction was great. We had customers come back multiple times.

EXTREME EXPRESS CARWASH

(San Jose, Calif.)

Rob Gallaher, Owner

What type of Halloween set up did you have

We did a haunted tunnel of terror for four nights and offered only our top wash (normally $25) for $20.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween

We started it three years ago. We just wanted a fun way to raise money for our favorite charity.

What kind of investment was involved?

We buy stuff every year in the hopes that we can continue to use the decorations and costumes every year.

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

We had some professional characters come and that really impressed the people waiting in line. Some customers waited over 90 minutes to get a wash, but I had many say it went fast because our characters were walking the line around the block scaring them.

What was the feedback from your employees?

My team loves it and looks forward to it every year. They have a blast getting the chance to scare people for a good cause.

What was the community reaction

Really good. We had three news stations come out and customers make a 2-hour trip just to see us.

WIGGY WASH

(Orem, Utah)

Brent Wignall, Owner and Operator

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

A haunted tunnel with people both in and out of the tunnel.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

It is something that we have wanted to do for a while. We finally were able to make it happen last year. We had so much fun last year and then this year we wanted to give our community a break and a COVID-friendly Halloween option. We had to do it again.

What kind of investment was involved?

It was an investment of time, people, energy and creativity. It took a lot of work to put it all together, but it was worth it.

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

We loved providing this option for our community. It has been a rough few months and everyone needed a break from thinking about a pandemic. We had people drive from the other side of the state and wait in line for three hours, so I think we succeeded.

What was the feedback from your employees?

The feedback was very positive. Everyone enjoyed being able to pound on windows and scare people. We are always learning and looking to grow so we also benefited from some constructive criticism our employees were able to give us for next year.

What was the community reaction?

The community really rallied around us. By the last week, we had lines a mile long down the road and people waiting for up to three hours to enter the wash. Everyone was so supportive and excited to be able to leave their houses and participate in something fun but safe.

AMERICAN SPEED WASH

(Mesa, Ariz.),

SO CAL EXPRESS CAR WASH

(Ontario, Calif.)

Ryan Pfutzenreuter, Owner
and Halloween/Christmas Imagineer

What type of Halloween set up did you have this year?

We had 12-18 different employees plus actors in costume at each site, tons of lights and strobes, six fog machines, Halloween themed decorations, banners and signs.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

We have kids at home and saw the success from other car washes online and decided with COVID this was the year to try it. Originally it was going to be a small budget type event (so if it was a flop we wouldn’t lose too much money) but when our promo video went viral locally we frantically started expanding it as big as we could with the limited time we had.

What kind of investment was involved?

Each site: $2,000 in decorations, $6,000 in labor = $8,000 total per site.

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

The joy in our customers reactions and how customers would hand over a $20 bill and then thank us for putting on such a cool event!

What was the feedback from your employees?

All the employees loved it! Most got overtime, and since the event did so well, we gave out up to $2,000 in bonuses to employees!

What was the community reaction?

Our promo video went viral and the lines followed. Originally we were only going to do it for five nights, but we had to open another night to alleviate some of the traffic! The event drew people from up to 100 miles away. We had many comments online that the local community (our normal customers) were really happy that “their car wash” was doing something so cool! They took ownership of the event and really helped spread the word! We are now planning our Christmas show. Our goal is to have a “projection mapped” winter wonderland scene as you enter the tunnel, a ride-through Santa’s workshop (the tunnel), a full car picture with a real Santa, and tons of lights that dance to music.

GFY CAR WASH

(Spring, Texas)

Bobbie Anne Munsey, Owner

What type of Halloween set up did you have?

We had a decorated tunnel with fog inside and outdoor decorations with employees dressed up in popular Halloween costumes.

What made you decide to do a themed wash experience for Halloween?

This was our fourth year doing this. I am a former school teacher and thought it would be fun to bring Halloween to the wash.

What did you like most about your Halloween theme?

It draws in people from all different areas, bringing in additional sales for local restaurants, gas stations, etc.

What was the feedback from your employees?

Everyone has fun.

What was the community reaction?

It is a mixed reaction, because it brings in long lines which affects traffic flow.