Have a seat, order a beer and some nachos, and watch the game. Oh, and while you’re here, you might as well get your car washed.
Most car washes cater to the busy consumer by streamlining the process to get customers in and out and on to the next item on their to-do list. But Hugh & Jeff’s Car Wash & Grill in League City, Texas, turns that notion on its head by trying to create an environment where customers want to hang out whether they’re getting their car washed or not.
Staff members wash, wax, buff and polish every car by hand, prices range from $29 for a car to $41 for motorcycles, and guests can expect to wait an hour or longer. Full detailing packages can cost $200 or more. The restaurant and bar features 35 high-definition TVs and a large menu of drinks and bar food such as burgers, nachos, tacos, salads and pizzas. There are football parties on Saturday, Sunday and Monday night, UFC parties on big fight nights and a stage for live music and karaoke.
Owner Hugh Lazenberry envisioned the business after taking his vehicle in for a hand wash and walking over to a nearby restaurant for a drink while he waited. He left his
career in the medical field and opened Hugh & Jeff’s in 2008, with his friend Jeff being the original general manager of the grill.
Hugh & Jeff’s is just one example of a creative approach to finding success in the car-wash industry. Here is a wide-ranging look at what others are doing in the areas of
marketing and operations to put their own stamp on their businesses.
CAR WASH WITH A CAUSE
In October, the Rising Tide Car Wash, which employs adults with autism, opened up a second location in Margate, Fla. The new location is 1 1/2 times larger than the original location opened in Parkland, Fla., in 2013 and should add 50 new jobs to the community.
Cofounders John and Tom D’Eri created the business to help people with autism find their place in the world. “The whole reason why we’re here is to give people with autism
the opportunity to lead the full and independent life that they are fully capable of,” said Tom D’Eri.
HAUNTED CAR WASH
Give Greg Bever high marks for effort. In October, the owner of Big Finish Car Wash in Sarasota, Fla., spent about $2,000 for Halloween costumes, monster decorations and
special effects to create a haunted house at the car wash for the first time.
On Friday and Saturday nights all month, Bever and his staff dressed up to create two hours of family-friendly, Halloween-themed fun, with all proceeds from car washes
going to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. There were some wing-flapping bats on the side of the building and a smoke machine near the payment kiosk.
The tunnel was kept mostly dark for effect, with only a few flashing neon lights seen through the water and suds. The G-rated scene surely wouldn’t rival the movie “Scream”
in terms of scariness, but it was good-natured fun for a good cause and a positive public relations move.
CLEAN CAR, CLEAN DOG
In South Portland, Maine, former Navy SEAL Chris Tyll is renovating an old car wash and turning it into a business where customers can wash both their car and their dog.
The dog-washing area at Crystal Clean Car Wash will take up one bay and will have two self-service areas, with Wi-Fi and a vending machine that will include products to
remove skunk odors.
Tyll said there will be four self-service bays, two “super bays” that will feature an extreme-pressure wash that would work well for boats, and two automatic wash bays. There will be one full, 2 1/2-hour detail bay, with a courtesy ride service available to customers. A 30-minute express detail also will be offered.
Tyll said he attended three International Carwash Association shows in the last four years to prepare for the business venture. Its slogan is “Your car, our planet, spotless,”
reflecting the business’s commitment to environmentally conscious practices. All products at the car wash will be biodegradable, and the building will have energy-saving LED lights and a high-efficiency natural-gas boiler. The car wash will separate sediment, which will be hauled away instead of going into storm drains.
Now, on to more operations-focused ideas.
DUAL-BELT CONVEYORS
As cars become smarter and have more advanced safety technology built into them, that technology undoubtedly will save lives on roadways, but it also presents challenges
for car washes. A 2016 agreement between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and 20 major automakers will make automatic emergency braking a standard feature in all new vehicles by 2022. The braking systems use sensors to determine if an object is in the path of the car and then will apply the brakes or put the car in park to avoid a crash.
On a conventional chain-roller conveyor, if a car is put in park, it will stop moving, and the cars behind it will continue to advance on the conveyor, which could lead to a collision and costly damage claims. The dual-belt conveyor, which essentially functions like a pair of parallel moving sidewalks, eliminates this problem. Even if the brakes are applied or the car is put in park, the car will continue moving at the same pace as the cars in front of it and behind it, ensuring that there are no collisions. Wash-U Carwash opened two locations in 2017 in Villa Park, Ill., and Plainfield, Ill., featuring the dual-belt conveyor produced by AVW Equipment Co. Inc. Mike Timmer, supervisor of wash operations for Wash-U, said the dual-belt conveyors require little maintenance and are likely to prove popular with car wash operators in the future.
“Autobraking sensors do affect car washing more and more now, especially for the traditional chain-roller conveyor,” he said. “With the dual-belt conveyor, there really isn’t a lot of maintenance involved. Your biggest maintenance issue will be to monitor the glide-plate wear, wear to the belt itself and the sprockets on the top side – to make sure you are maintaining them right and rotating them correctly depending on your car counts. The only other maintenance thing you have is just greasing the bearings.”
FREE VACUUMING
While not necessarily a new idea, this one continues to be an idea that doesn’t suck. Everyone likes having a clean car interior, and everyone likes getting things for free. Phil DeGeratto, owner of the Buddy Bear Car Wash chain, which has six locations in the Chicago area, has brought these two ideas together by offering free self-service vacuuming to customers at his car washes.
DeGeratto said that since introducing free vacuuming, revenue and volume are up at his car washes, which typically have about 16 vacuum stalls each. His company plans
to expand, and the free vacuums have proven so popular that the new locations will have about 24 vacuum stalls each. The vacuum arches and hoses can easily be seen from
the street, and the car wash advertises the free vacuums with prominent signage. DeGeratto estimated that more than 80 percent of his customers take advantage of the free vacuums.
“The free vacuum is a big draw,” he said. “It generates a lot of traffic and a lot of loyalty. People come here, know they can vacuum free, and they make it their car wash.”
DeGeratto said that with the increased use of the vacuums, his staff has to devote more time to maintenance to ensure that the vacuum stalls are clean and neat, the nozzles
and hoses are clear and the filters aren’t clogged. To reduce the amount of time spent maintaining the vacuums, DeGeratto said his car washes use another AVW product, the
Dirtbag, which is a pre-filter attachment that captures much of the dirt and debris before it reaches the vacuum filter, which keeps the filter from clogging and extends the life of
the vacuum’s motor.
TRACKING AND TESTING APPLICANTS
Chris Presswood, co-owner for the Paducah, Ky.-based Finish Line Car Wash chain, said his company uses applicant-tracking software and online behavioral assessment
tests to help ensure that it’s hiring the right people and building the best team at each location. He said there is a wide selection of both tools available online, and they can be
customized to each company’s preference.
The applicant-tracking software allows the company to monitor how many applications it is getting for each position at each location. If one location is getting too few applications, that might signal that there is a talent deficit in that area, and it might make sense to transfer some employees there from a location where the company typically gets far more applicants. He said his company aims to have a high ratio of applicants to hires so it can be confident that it’s hiring from a pool of talented applicants.
The software tracks the number of applicants who advance to an initial phone interview, an in-person interview, a job offer and a job acceptance so the company can evaluate its hiring process and identify areas for improvement.
“You measure car counts and sales, so why would you not measure the number of applications you receive?” Presswood said.
Finish Line has applicants take an online behavioral assessment test that can help determine whether a candidate has the personality traits that are likely to lead to good customer service and reliable job performance. The tests, which typically consist of multiple choice questions, can be as long or as short as the employer desires
and can be customized to ask the best questions for each particular business. Presswood said the behavioral tests are no substitute for good face-to-face interviewing
skills but can complement that process.
Presswood said having current employees take the behavioral test can help car washes know what to look for in applicants.
“Have your best workers take it so you know who to hire, and have your worst employees take it so you know who not to hire,” he said.