Heidi Kerska’s role as the car wash operations manager at Kwik Trip keeps her busy.

“I work in all aspects of the business, from helping evaluate new sites, equipment purchasing, some construction, training of new retail car wash coworkers prior to opening, and ongoing training when sites get new store leaders and maintenance personnel,” Kerska said.

She also partners closely with the marketing team, reviewing signage and other promotional materials, along with coordinating the hiring, training schedules and parts and equipment outfitting for new car wash service managers and wash technicians and reviewing profit and loss reports, wash counts and revenue.

To say there’s never a dull moment for Kerska would be an understatement.

She has been with Kwik Trip for 21 years. She started in marketing, promoting the company’s proprietary gas card to commercial businesses, and eight years later moved to store engineering where she learned the car wash business.

In her current role, Kerska’s priority each day is to make sure as many washes are up and running as possible.

“I receive a report each morning of all the car wash calls from the day prior and their current status,” Kerska said. “I review that report in detail. We have 187 car wash locations — or 278 bays — so there is always something going on and opportunity. I take inquiries from stores, our help desk, internal and external service providers and parts departments. I attend service, supervisor and department meetings and respond to customer concerns.”

Kerska said the variety in her job is one of the industry’s great perks.

“It’s such a variable industry with human interaction, computer issues, mechanical issues and weather, among other things,” she said. “No two days are ever the same, which is another reason I love the job.”

While the business of the job keeps Kerska busy, she said it’s really the people who keep her coming back.

“The people in the industry — my coworkers who clean and repair our car washes, who sell washes and deal with our guests daily — basically the entire team who helps me steer this ship,” she said. “I love that we all have such passion for what we do. I have met and worked with many wonderful and genuine people. This is an amazing industry full of nice folks who enjoy what they’re doing, as do I.”

Kerska also mentioned the generosity of those in the industry.

“The sharing of knowledge, experiences and observations can and has led to many friendships made throughout the industry,” she said. “Where one might normally think they’d be competitors, the car wash industry is more about conversation and helping one another. For example, at a car wash convention round table, someone might say they’re having a problem with a pit overflowing too often between pumps. Various people will pipe in and offer suggestions from their own experiences, throwing caution to competition out the door, as we just want to help one another. It’s not uncommon to hear compliments of each other’s business practices, either.”

When she first started in the car wash industry, Kerska said it took some time for her peers to take her seriously.

“Those first few years, no one paid much attention to me or asked my opinion,” she said. “I think they assumed my husband was around there somewhere and I was just along for the ride. Being that I am not a shy person, on tours I made comments on equipment, ‘kicked the tires’ and engaged with people as much as I could. I think and hope I’ve proven my skills and have generated enough knowledge and opinions over the past 13 years that I’ve gained some respect among my car wash peers.”