Operator Forum

The participants are:

• Dean Tackmier — Six-year owner of Checkered Flag Detailing in Green Bay, WI. The property has two self-serve bays and a detailing center.
• John Burnside — Owner of A+ Lube and Wash in Helena, MT for 14 years. The location has four self-serve bays, one in-bay automatic, and a fast lube center.
• Dan Grothus — Owner of State Street Car Wash in Bettendorf, IA for over six years. The facility features three self-serve bays and an in-bay automatic.

Tackmier

One of the big trends in the car wash industry is converting a self-serve bay or an in-bay automatic bay to an express exterior. Would an express exterior work in your market?

I don’t think it would fit into this market. I don’t really see a need for it here in Green Bay. We get a lot of four-wheelers, plow trucks, four-wheel drives, lawn mowers, utility trailers, and construction trucks. Those kind of vehicles couldn’t be serviced by an express.

Has the economic downturn and high gas prices affected your self-serve business?

I would say it has a little bit this summer, but it is hard to tell how much because summers are usually slow for me. People tend to wash their cars at home during the summer months. My booming time is from the time it starts freezing until the springtime. Luckily, my detail shop booms in the summer, so one hand washes the other.

Do you do any Internet marketing?

I never pushed the Internet. I have an ad in the Yellow Pages. The Yellow Page ad gets them here. The out-of-towners, truckers, fishing boats, they use the Yellow Pages book at hotels, restaurants, and gas stations and see our ad.

Are you planning on making any improvements at your location in the near future?

I just upgraded the wash. I put in new pumps, lines, soap tank, water tank, wax tank, and motors. The equipment was on its last legs and it was time to upgrade to keep up with the speed that customers want to get things done. The old stuff just wasn’t doing it anymore. It was nickel and dimeing me to death.

Are there any new products or equipment out there that you think your customers would be interested in?

I think the big thing over here in Wisconsin is the dog wash. A huge percentage of the population are hunters. I would say 65 to 75 percent of people here have a dog, either for hunting or just a pet. I think a pet wash would just go over extremely well, there is not one in the Green Bay area that I know of. It could provide additional profits year round. It is definitely something I am thinking about adding in the future.

What do you do at your wash to stay ahead of the competition?

I have lower prices than the competition. I charge $2 for 5 minutes of wash time. I have hot water and high pressure.

Burnside

What is your opinion on the express-exterior craze?

Since I have a roll over already I don’t think I have a market for it. I wouldn’t invest in them right now.

In our community we have one reasonable-priced full serve, their top price is only like $12. Almost all the gas stations in this area have put in in-bay automatics, which greatly limits the need for express washes in my opinion. The gas stations have a tremendous way of advertising through the gas pumps.

Do you use the Internet in your marketing campaigns?

We don’t do any Internet marketing. We try to promote the car wash though the oil change business. I market directly to my oil change customers by offering a free car wash with an oil change.

Have you recently upgraded your wash? What upgrades do you have planned for the future?

We have an unlimited supply of used oil from the oil change center. I am currently completing the installation of a used oil heater, which will drastically reduce heating costs. The new system will heat the building, the floor, and the water we use to wash cars.

In the future I am probably going to add credit cards to my self-serve bays. Also, I am thinking about adding a triple foam option.

What do you do to stay ahead of the competition?

That is one area that I have fallen behind in. I used to keep ahead of the competition, but the last several years I have put more emphasis on the oil change business.

The oil change business offers higher profits and runs pretty steady year round. Here in the northern climate there are some months that it is hard to make money — when the temperature is 25 below nobody wants to be outside washing their cars.

Another factor that made me concentrate on the oil change portion of the business is the fact that the self-serve business has taken a hit from all of the in-bay automatics in this market.

That being said, I am trying to update the wash. I think adding the credit card acceptors will be a good first step.

Grothus

Have you ever thought about converting one of your bays into an express exterior?

I think express exteriors are just a fad. People are either going to spend big money to go to a full-serve facility or they will go to a self-serve and try to save some money.

I don’t think the express model is going to stay. It is too labor intensive compared to the money you get out of it

Has your business been affected by the slowing economy?

No. I think a lot of people that were buying $12 and $14 full-serve washes on a regular basis are supplementing something like I have in between visits to the full-serve.

How do you market you wash?

I rely on personal visits from myself to businesses in the area. I offer them tokens at a reduced price.

Are there upgrades you would like to make at your facility?

I contemplated putting in a dryer in one of the self-serve bays. Not so much for cars but for motorcycles. We get a decent amount of motorcycle traffic and I think they would be interested in a hand-held drying system.

What do you do to stay ahead of the competition?

I just keep the place clean and operational, there is no attendant there but I visit the place twice a day 365 days a year.

When everything works when a customer comes they will keep coming back.

Do you have any advice to someone contemplating getting into the self-serve business?

Don’t skimp on maintenance or repairs. If something isn’t working like it should, fix it the right way or replace it — it pays off down the road.

If you don’t like cleaning up after other people this is not the business for you. A lot of your time will be spent cleaning up. Keeping the place clean is the most important thing you can do. If it is not clean people won’t come back.