VOL. 41, NO.

4, FALL 2014

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NRCC Show Review

SECWA Panel Discussion
Bonus Coverage from the
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2 FALL 2014

CONTENTS Carrs
Carrs Corner ..............................3
Letters to the Editor ..................4
Winter is Coming:
Bonus Coverage of
Heartland Show ........................16
Innovations.................................24
Wash Disney World:
SECWA Expo Show ..................27
Industry Dirt..............................35
Extra! Extra! ...............................38
Tricks of the Trade ..................42
NRCC Show Report .................49
Innovations.................................24
Cant Buy Me Love:
Coverstory ..................................59
On The Road Again:
SCWA Road Show.....................75
Darwin at the Carwash..........88
Websites to Watch ....................90

VOL. 41, NO. 4, FALL 2014

Publisher Jackson Vahaly
Editor Kate Carr
Design Katy Barret-Alley
Editor Emeritus Jarret J. Jakubowski
Editor Emeritus Joseph J. Campbell
Editor Posthumous Julia E. Campbell
Self Serve Carwash News is published 4
times per year and is independently owned by
Jackson Vahaly. Web address is www.sscwn.com.
All inquiries should be directed to:

Self Serve Car Wash News

110 Childs Ln., Franklin, TN 37067
jacksonv@sscwn.com
Copyright 2014.
2 Dollar Enterprises/SSCWN. All Rights Reserved

Corner
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Whew. Four issues out to the mailboxes and I nally feel like
we can say SSCWN has been successfully revived.
And what uncanny timing! It would seem to me
that 2014 is going to be the jumping off point for
the self serve industry (and not just because this is
the year we welcomed back our dear, precious SSCWN). Finally, it seems we have the attention of
the manufacturers. The innovations spurred by the
express exterior explosion and quickly heralded in
the automatic segment are now reaching our bays.
We can offer tire shine and underbody cleaning. We
can sell loyalty and gift cards by self serve kiosk.
Credit card technology and surveillance systems
are slowly, but surely, cutting down risk at our sites.
Heck, weve been able to fit a TUNNEL in 35-feet
for the past ten years!
Friends, the time is now.
And yet The dominant conversation among
our segment of the industry still seems to be focused on the self serve car washs image problem.
Im sure youve noticed: Take a 50-mile drive and
youre bound to tick off as many run-down car
wash sites as youve got fingers (and in some areas, toes). These eyesore washes, a byproduct of the
build it and they will come years, are a source of
much frustration. Many operators wonder what effect this has on their own business, and what can be
done to repair the reputation and status of the self
serve industry as a whole.
Ive thought about this issue quite a bit, but a
conversation with Steve Sause, general manager
of Personal Touch Car Wash in Cromwell, CT, put
things in a new perspective for me. Speaking with
Steve after Dale Reynolds excellent presentation at
NRCC on reviving the self serve car wash, he put it
rather bluntly:
Listening to some of these guys talk, I mean
Who cares about bucket washers? Youve got to
think bigger. Cmon.
Steves right: Its not an image problem. Its an
attitude problem.
Within our own industry, self serve operators
have the reputation of sweating the small stuff.
We worry about mudders, about bucket washers,
about Obamcare, about how our attendant is going
to cheat us.
And when it comes time to invest in new equipment and technology, we quibble quite a bit. Does
my customer really want to use a credit card? Will
he even notice if Im on Facebook? Will a new roof
or paint job really make a difference?
The answer, for operators like Steve and Dale, is
pretty obvious: Yup.
The runner in me likes comparing this issue to a
marathon.
Picture it this way: Your finish line is the sale of
your wash. You have to stay inspired every step of
the way until you tear that ribbon. And you have to

run fast enough that

the pace car wont
catch you and kick
Thats me at the nish
you off the course.
line of the Shamrock
You cant be bothMarathon in Virginia
ered by a side stitch
Beach this past March.
or a blister at mile
Save enough energy so
16. Youve got to
you can jump and shout
have a plan that sees
at your nish line, too.
you to the end -- and
a solution for these
temporary aches and pains. You cant walk off the
course at mile 23. The race is 26.2 miles, and that
last .2 counts. Believe me.
The small stuff? It sucks. It does. Vandalism sucks.
Installing a credit card machine and finding out it
only accounts for 8 percent of your transactions
sucks. Replacing the roof sucks. Having to write a
press release sucks.
But it cant distract you from the finish line. Because as Dale explained in his seminar, every car
wash is going to reach that ribbon eventually. It
might happen for a profit. It might happen by the
family estate. Or it might happen on the courthouse steps.
The difference will be in how you set your pace
and where you find your motivation.
Speaking of finding motivation, youll find plenty in this issue and particularly in our cover story
about social media marketing.
The best part about SSCWN, is that we filter
through all the noise to bring you what matters to
self serve car washes. Youll notice marketing is a
hot topic this season, everyone from PC&D to the
ICAs Carwash Magazine is reporting about social
media trends. But were the only publication thats
focused on the self serve market. Whats good for
the goose aint always so good for the gander. (Twitter for self serves? Not so much) We can make
Facebook work for you, but it wont be the same
formula as a tunnel wash will use. And thats why
SSCWN remains so important to our industry.
Speaking of our commitment to our readers, a
small housekeeping note: In order to keep our
quarterly content relevant by following the regional trade show schedule, weve pushed back publication dates for 2015. The winter issue will arrive
in February this coming year instead of January, followed by a new issue every three months after that.
Also -- Im looking for your feedback on topics
for our 2015 editorial calendar. If you have an idea
for an article, please shoot me an email at katec@
sscwn.com. When Im not running -- Im reading!
Cheers,

Kate
FALL 2014

LETTERS
A water study for the ages:
From Jarret J. Jakubowski, Editor Emeritus, SSCWN

Hey, your Summer issue was mighty lively --- good

look and read!
I thought, however, that your "Spraywatch" cover article would benefit from an addendum. You traced the
chronology of the industry's efforts to conserve water
resources while making the case that pro carwashers are
commendable stewards of that precious resource. Well,
not to blow our own horns (okay, maybe just a token
toot), but that chronology really should have begun
more around 1988. You see, the late '80's was when the
little ol' SSCWN helped get that ball rolling:
Joe Wolfinger (a SS operator in Pennsylvania with "only
just one wash") did his own exhaustive, scientific study
quantifying just how much water was "lost to the sewer"
during the wash/rinse process at his self serve wand and
IBA wash. I adapted his work to a couple of SSCWN arti-

THE ICA:

Just My Opinion
from Paul Fazio, President and CEO,
Sonnys Enterprises
I got several emails on July 30 asking me if I had
seen the latest issue of the SSCWN that had just
arrived. The emails suggested that I find my copy
and read it at once. I opened the magazine and
frankly was very disappointed in the article submitted by Mark Curtis, a current board member
of the ICA who sits on the Executive Committee
as the Immediate Past President of the Association. Mark went out of his way to make sure he
used my name several times in the article, each
time trying to belittle me and my views on the
policies of the ICA since I disagree with him and
the Board. I have no issue with him stating the
facts, but to do so in such an obvious insulting and
demeaning manner, I believe, was unprofessional
and certainly not in the spirit of what I believe the
Association is supposed to be all about. It is attacks like this one by a sitting Board member that
discourage others from coming forward to openly
share their ideas for fear of retribution especially
a published attack that could in fact result in a loss
of business to their companies causing them financial harm. In this article I will try to present to
you my opinions and support them with the facts,
when possible. I will be answering Marks specific
claims about me that he wrote in his article and
commenting on them as I feel I have an obligation to do. However, beyond that I will make my
argument without stooping to insulting Mark, or
any of the other Board members who I believe are
acting in good faith and doing what they believe is
in the best interest of the Industry.
Before I respond, Id like to thank SSCWN. SS-

4 FALL 2014

Reader Input & Feedback

cles back in the day "Dollars Down The Drain. Hundreds (thousands?) of operators used our "DDD" to pursue
rate reductions from their local water/sewer authorities.
Many, many were very successful in getting downward adjustments to their rates. (Ironically, Joe was not.)
Anyhoo, a couple few years behind the curve, the ICA
also requested copies. And sonuvvagun, the Association's study (a few more years' later) not only emulated
"our" study, but had bottom line stats/results that validated the SSCWN's "white papers"! With breathtaking
predictability, the Association never acknowledged this
mag's ground breaking efforts in this arena. So it goes.
And soooo, for your edification and/or whatever, I attached a copy of "DDD", which, due to VERY popular
demand was reprinted in 2001. Thought you'd like to
know. (BTW, Self Serve wand washing was, is, and probably will forever be THE most water efficient way to
wash a vehicle!)

JJJ,
Many, many thanks for this addendum! We are now in receipt
of the DDD and can provide
a PDF copy to any reader who
requests it via e-mail to katec@
sscwn.com. I also hope to save
some room to reprint it in its
entirety for our Winter or Spring
issue. Unfortunately, we just
didnt have the space for this
issue as we went to press shortly
after your email.
And, as always, I remain so
grateful that the SS industry has
had such a faithful and knowledgeable champion in you!

Ya'll, keep on keeping on, JJJ

CWN, by publishing Marks letter, has done what

I have been trying to do for years. Theyve brought
the issues regarding our industrys largest association, The International Car Wash Association, into
the open for everyone to see. I firmly believe the
ICA has implemented several programs and policies that need to be reviewed. I believe that they
have forgotten that we, paying members; both
vendors and operators, are who they are supposed
to represent and answer to. Lets begin.
First let me make it clear, the opinions I am
going to share are mine and mine alone. I do not
represent any other members of the association.
I say that because I have been very vocal about
my disagreements with the ICA direction and
have reached out to many vendors and operators
to gather their opinions to see if I am alone in my
beliefs or, if indeed, my opinions are the same as
what I will refer to as the silent majority. I firmly
believe the ICA has implemented several programs and policies that need to be reviewed. I
believe they have forgotten that we, the paying
member firms, are who they are supposed to represent and answer to. This to me is the biggest
issue needing clarification. For if we cannot agree
on that, there may be no reason to continue the
discussion. With that in mind, please see below
an excerpt of an email I sent to the Board of Directors of the ICA on 5/19/2014:
I am writing you today to make sure it is clearly
understood why I and I believe so many others are
upset and frustrated with the direction of the ICA. I
have no doubt that frustration will be evident in the
language used in my letter that follows. Please understand, I believe my association has been hijacked
and is headed in completely the wrong direction. It is
my goal to work with the leadership of the association
to get it back in the direction that I believe the paying membership, both exhibitor and operator, believe
it should go. And speaking of paying membership, I
guess I should start with Global vs. Member driven.

Global vs. Member

This one to me is hard to even comprehend. We have
an association that by definition is an organization
that represents the interests of the member rms
of an industry. If you disagree with that concept
or definition, then there may be no reason for you to
read further. The board decides to ignore the member
firms and now focuses on the global industry without
ever asking the membership how they feel about that.
I believe the arrogance in that is shocking. However, I
believe it is a reflection of the arrogance we have come
to expect from the leadership. Many of us believe the
leadership has lost touch with the current and past
membership. This is the most glaring example of exactly
that. I did discuss and express this concern with Gary
{continued}

SSCWN
Crossword Answers

 FALL 2014

6 FALL 2014

LETTERS
Continuing with the issues, here is more from
that email I wrote to the Board:

Photos that appeared in our Spring review of

Car Wash Show depict a packed room for an
early bird panel discussion in 2003, and its
nearly empty counterpart at this years show.
(the President of the ICA) and, as you would expect, he believes we should be industry not member
focused. It has left many expressing that we have no
one representing and acting on behalf of the paying
exhibitor and operator community here in North
America. This point was driven home to the exhibitors
in the meeting after the show in Chicago when it was
stated that this new show is for the benefit of the European market and will go forward knowing full well that
the overwhelming majority of exhibitors are against it
as represented in that room and the survey I conducted.
It was then clearly re-stated in that meeting that the
Board is global industry driven and not membership
driven hence the divide between paying members vs.
global industry. It was again clearly re-stated to me in
my conference call with Eric (the CEO of the association) that this is a done deal and
will not be reopened for discussion
along with the European show
decision. Again, further arrogance
in my opinion. Simply stated if
the membership is against being
Global driven and the show in
Europe, who is he to say these issues will not be revisited? I thought
the Board represents the membership and the staff is
directed by the Board. Did I get that wrong, or did Eric?
He said in his speech at the ICA show that, we havent
forgotten who we are. That is not at all what I believe
we are seeing.
I use the term arrogance because this is the term
used over and over again in the emails I received
back from the vendor and operator members that
responded to my emails as they described how they
believe the leadership is behaving toward membership. I believe a clear example of that arrogance is
evident in the article I referenced from Mark earlier
as he says:
Paul Fazio stated he confronted me a year ago about
the European show and voiced his opposition to me.
What he didnt say is that I told him that no decision
has been made yet and wont be made until we have
fully researched it using outside expertise. He stated he
didnt care, he didnt think we should do it. I told him I
disagreed with him and his comment was we will just
have to agree to disagree. Admittedly, I didnt follow
up with him, but then why should I need to? I knew his
sentiments.
Marks recollection of the conversation is correct,
but let me fill in the blanks. Yes, I told him I didnt
care what the results from the consultant showed. I
explained to Mark it was my belief that the membership would be totally against this idea even if the
consultant says there is a need for a show in Europe
and, therefore, the results of the report were irrele-

vant in my mind. Why investigate a show in Europe

if the membership wants no part of it? I further told
him that I believed they should have hired the consultant to help fix our stagnant current show, not to
research a show in Europe. Although Mark disagreed
with my argument, he told me he would follow up
with me as to the progress of this initiative; and since
he was the President of the Association at the time,
I fully expected him to stay true to his commitment
to do so. So you can imagine my shock to see in writing he is proud to announce publicly that he broke
his word to me. As he says, after all he knew I dis-

European show
There may very well be a need for a show that is
carwash focused in Europe. I just dont see where we
became primarily now a trade show company and
have published that our strategy now is to produce
world class trade events. We believe the strategy
should be related to member-firm issues and development of value-based offerings for that paying membership in North America. Yes, we put on a show
that pays the bills one show our show. Not one
that has been described by the leadership as a European show for the benefit of the European market.
If the strategy is to produce world class trade events, I
would suggest you start here with our stagnant show.
Membership is up now for 4 years in a row, the industry has also grown each year since 2009, and yet
we cannot grow attendance at the main show in that
same time frame. Doesnt that make you question the
results? There seems to be issues every year with attention to detail at the show. This year was no exception.
And when they try new things there doesnt seem to be
any follow through. For example, the second night of
the show the ICA organized networking dinners. They
were a disaster. There was no one
at the restaurants that knew what
to do. There was no one there from
the ICA helping to make sure
things went well. My people were
assigned to each venue. Each told
horror stories, as was reported in
one of the magazines, that said
something to effect of; There were
4 of us there, me an attendee and two guys from Sonnys. I can give you many more examples of lack of
detail, some of which will be reported to you by ESAC.
And then you tell us you want to produce world class
trade show events. You only have a certain number of
assets. Our show will suffer even further from your decision to produce a show in Europe.
The leadership admitted to us, in the meeting
that took place in Chicago after the show, that indeed they did not survey the membership on this
initiative. It has further been shown by some of the
articles and interviews from the ICA leadership that
they believe they not only didnt need to do a survey, they further state that not doing a survey was
not an oversight. It was by design and certainly not
necessary. Again I quote Mark:
The ICA, like the United States, is not run by a
majority vote of the membership. Its run by an elected board of directors who volunteer their time and are
guided by a dedicated staff, who, by the way, are now
even more dedicated to the success of the ICA given
their livelihoods now depend on its success.
I agree with Mark that the association is run by
the Board on a day-to-day basis. But, I also believe
that the Board is supposed to represent the paying
member firms and do what is in that groups best
interest, not in the best interest as they say of the
global industry. When the Board is investigating
{continued}

If there was at least some communication and

transparency on these issues, they could easily
stop this from happening.

agreed with the direction they were now going to go

in, so why bother following up with me as he said he
would? Any of you that knew my dad would know
he taught me that the measure of a man is that he
will do what he said he would do. So simply stated Mark, using your words, why should I need to?
How about simply because you said you would?
And yet the leadership wonders why they keep getting labeled as arrogant by the membership.
Quick note while we are on arrogance: There was
a news release that was made on August 1 by the
ICA (over a month and a half ago as I write this)
announcing that the current President and Past President will be remaining in their Board positions for
an additional year. These are normally 1 year term
positions. There was no explanation given, just an
announcement. This is a very unusual practice. I
have to assume there is a logical explanation for the
Board and the nominations committee (of which
the Past President is the chairman and the President
sits on) to take such an unusual action. But apparently we, the membership, deserve no such explanation. The Board gets agitated with the membership
when we take what we hear through the grapevine
as fact and yet they provide us with little or no information to stop such behavior from happening. If
there was at least some communication and transparency on these issues, they could easily stop this
from happening.

FALL 2014

8 FALL 2014

Hiring staff
For those of you that have been in the industry for
more than 20 years, you will remember when we had
the association run by Gus Trantham. The association
was run into the ground and almost bankrupt. Once
the members finally got together and removed him, we

Tell me, why bother hiring

an expert if you refuse
to then implement his
recommendations? Why
Nashville for 2015 when
the expert recommends
Las Vegas?

an initiative that is way outside the normal bounds

of what we do, or as the ICA President stated at
the meeting in Chicago referring to the European
show when he called it a big change, shouldnt the
membership have some say before announcing it as
a done deal? There was not one public article I can
find discussing this was going on behind the scenes,
and by the Boards account, this was at least 3 years
in the making. I simply believe that the Boards focus should be on the show we now have. It is good,
but it has a lot of room for improvement.
This publication, I believe, did a good job in the
Spring issue pointing out the good and bad of the
Chicago show. One item mentioned in that article
described the education offering, something that
many of us have said needs improvement. In Marks
article he speaks to the point of the loss of value
now offered by the show as he states:
Historically, I used to bring more people to the show.
It was a perk for my employees. But I know I speak for
many operators who now view that as an expense that
needed to be cut back.
So obviously Mark agrees that that the price to
bring his team to the show is higher than the value
they will get by attending the show and the education that is part of that show. Here he and I agree.
The ICA did a study back in 2008. They hired a
guy that is thought to be one of the best experts
on trade shows. That experts report included the
recommendation to lower the total cost of the show
to both the vendors and the attendees. Then a committee was formed to do a study based on the research and recommendations of that expert. Here
are a few of the recommendations and findings sent
to the Board based on that exercise:
The cost to attend and exhibit at the show continues to increase faster than the increase in
perceived value. Focus attention on reducing
the cost to attend and exhibit at the show.
Timing and location of the show makes a difference. Re-commit to holding the show in Las
Vegas every year between April 1 and May 15
Make a renewed commitment to delivering
world class education at the show
Unfortunately, these and several of the other
recommendations in that report fell on deaf ears.
Tell me, why bother hiring an expert if you refuse
to then implement his recommendations? Why
Nashville for 2015 when the expert recommends
Las Vegas? There may be a newer report that I have
not seen. If there isnt, then again, I would suggest
forgetting about Europe and doing what is needed
to make our show a world class event.
The third major issue I have with the ICA is the
fact we now directly employ several members of the
ICA staff, including the CEO. Please see again an
excerpt from my letter to the Board:

LETTERS

swore we would never have employees or one group

control us. We sent an RFP out to several companies
that handle associations like ours. We also agreed that
it would be routine that we would send an RFP out
every few years as a matter of policy in order to make
sure no one company ever became too strong or too
comfortable and controlled our association again. Yet,
here we are again with in-house employees. No one will
deny that the show is the one thing that holds this association together. Yet, this management team has been
unable to make any headway in increasing the show
numbers for the last five years. In fact, they individually
have told me they do not believe we will see numbers
of attendees increase with any significance based on the
changes taking place in the industry. To have people in
charge that believe such a thing and have proven to
us they cannot grow the show, to me, should be dealt
with by the Board. Where is the accountability? If they
continually miss goals, what are the consequences? Do
you have a set review for Eric and staff that has been
outlined and defined to make it clear if his performance
is up to par or not? Simple KPIs and goals that are
specific and must be met as you would do with any
upper level employee. With a review each year that is
then passed on to each incoming president to continue
the process. If these people worked for you at your company and told you they could not grow your company
and /or produced no progress for 5 straight years, you
would replace them. Well, they do work for you as directors of the association. So, why do you do nothing
in this case to hold them accountable or replace them
with people that can get the job done? And, this is the
staff that you now say is ready to do world class trade
shows around the world?
The argument that I used about the staff telling
me that the show numbers cannot increase is again
echoed in the article Mark wrote:
You start by trying to frame the current years attendance as a negative without taking into consideration
any of the external forces that might and in fact do impact our attendance. Most notably: the consolidation
of our industry both on the vendor and operator sides.
Couple that with the economic fall out of the last few
years and it might explain why there are less people
on the floor.
So again here we see exactly the same argument

being used as to the lack of grow at the show. I have

to totally disagree. The consolidation is virtually
insignificant. On the vendor side, it has affected a
handful of exhibitors, yet we have fallen from, in
round numbers, 400 exhibitors to now 300. And
on the operator side, the numbers are insignificant
if you are looking at the industry as a whole. For
example, if we take the largest carwash company
in the US at the time I am writing this, they have
fewer than 150 locations. There are only a few
companies according to the Top 50 survey done
each year that have over 50 locations and several
of them are not consolidators but family owned
operations. Yes, the industry is changing and more
operators own multiple sites than in the past, and
yes, this has displaced some of the previous owners. But, if the ICAs numbers are correct and there
are in excess of 80,000 carwash locations in America, then tell me again why consolidation and or displacement of a few hundred is the reason for a lack
of growth at the show?
I believe the lack of growth goes back to the report I mentioned earlier. Cost vs. value. Guys, this
isnt rocket science. We have lost a significant following based on our inability to attract our base
the smaller owner operator that is the backbone of
our industry. This publication has made it clear that
the Self-Serve market feels left behind by the association. Trust me, you guys are not the only ones that
feel left out. So the industry is in growth mode, but
the show is stagnant. To me, it should cause great
concern at the Board level. And now they will get
competition with Automechanika starting to do
shows here in the US starting in the Spring of 2015.
I respectfully suggest to the Board they get this figured out before they kill the golden goose that keeps

LOCATION YEAR ATTENDEES

CHICAGO 2014 5600
VEGAS 2013 5900
VEGAS 2012 5700
VEGAS 2011 5500
VEGAS 2010 5000
VEGAS 2004 10600
VEGAS 2003 9900
CHICAGO 2002 9160

this association alive.

The show numbers that were published in this
magazines Spring issue speak for themselves:
In the last five years the activity in our industry has
been positive, yet the numbers do not reflect that. I
have not seen the projections for each year that the
ICA staff was looking for, but I have to believe they
missed their projections since I would hope they
were striving for growth. Based on the numbers and
{continued}
FALL 2014

their continued statements that growth is impossible, at what point do we change management?
Again to me a very simple business argument. If
you (the staff and Board) believe you cant grow
the numbers, then we need to find someone that
can. By hiring the staff, these decisions are now
much more complicated (and personally difficult) for the Board. We are now in the exact
position that we vowed we would never allow
ourselves to be in.
Revenue Driven Decisions
For those that were in attendance at the after
show meeting in Chicago, it became apparent that
the European show decision was strictly a revenue
driven decision. It was explained in that meeting
that the goal is to take the profit from that show
and use it to offer more benefits to the membership. So, as one of those in the audience of that
meeting pointed out, the decision for a European
show was not member, vendor or even industry driven, but apparently was profit driven based on the
explanation given to us at this meeting. Yes, we will
all agree that the Board has a fiduciary obligation
to make sure the association stays financially viable.
However, in looking at the reserves we now have,
why do we find ourselves seeing several decisions
that seem strictly profit driven and what appears to
be against the memberships wishes?
Show in Europe
Century Club
Car Wash Magazine
Partnership with the WCA
All have been described as revenue plays. All seem
to be against the memberships wishes and, when
looked at closely, against the spirit of what the association is supposed to be about. I have already spoken about the European show, so here I will give my
opinion about the Century Club, the magazine, and
the deal with the WCA.
The Century Club is, as described by the ICA web
site, an exclusive opportunity for vendors to build
their brand and reach new customers for a price of
$7,500.00 per year. I would have no issue with the
ICA creating yet another sponsorship opportunity,
except until they created this opportunity, we as
paying members of the vendor community, all received on a regular basis a copy of the new leads that
came into and were captured by the ICA. Now, the
only way to get those leads is to pay an additional
$7500 a year. I believe this is an unfair practice as it
puts a financial burden on the smaller vendor companies that cannot afford this additional price tag. It
clearly gives an unfair advantage to the larger exhibitor and, in my opinion, goes exactly against what
an association is supposed to be about all in the
name of additional revenue that it appears the association does not need at this time. I was surprised
that the association would do something knowingly
taking away a perk we were already paying for and
now putting the smaller vendors at a disadvantage
with this new charge. I presented my thoughts on
this to the Board at the meeting in Chicago. Here
are Marks comments on my argument:

10 FALL 2014

By hiring the staff, these

decisions are now much more
complicated (and personally
difficult) for the Board. We are
now in the exact position that
we vowed we would never
allow ourselves to be in.

LETTERS

And the rant about the Century Club oh my goodness! Well, I think the solution there is to give everyone
10x10 booths so that its fair for everyone. Wouldnt
you agree? I mean just because Paul and Bellanger can
afford to pay for a lot of booth space shouldnt mean
they should be able to, right?
Mark, first of all its B.E.L.A.N.G.E.R. That company is one of the ICAs largest clients. After 8+ years
on the Board, I would hope you would show them
enough respect to at least spell the name right. Second, you missed the entire point of my argument. I
would simply ask that in the future if you are going
to attack my position, please make sure you understand what that position is before you comment.
The Car Wash Magazine - It is my belief that the
association should not compete with its member
firms. There are several trade magazines for our industry, most if not all of which, are members of the
association. Yet the ICA decided to create a maga-

zine to compete with these other members. Why?

The ICA already had its electronic newsletter to
communicate with membership. When I asked, I
was told they did it for the revenue once again.
The partnership with the WCA - For those of
you that dont know, this partnership came with
a price tag. I would tell you the details if I knew
them, but for some reason it is impossible to get
the details of what exactly this partnership is all
about. All I could get to date was that the WCA
will not have a trade show starting in 2015 and
going for the nine years that follow and in return
the ICA will pay them some undisclosed amount
of money for that concession. And where is that
money coming from? The rates that the vendors
now have to pay to the ICA for floor space at the
show have gone up in my case by 12% - specifically because of this new partnership. Personally,
I will miss the WCA show. I dont believe we will
see an increase in attendance to the ICA show from
the Western states (especially in Nashville) to justify
the 12% increase in fees. I think the Regional Associations serve a purpose. I think this move by the ICA
shows that they are losing value at the show they are
producing and, therefore, felt threatened enough to
buy out the WCA show.
So why are they so revenue driven now when
their financial statements show a large amount of
cash in reserves? I understand the Boards argument that if the show in Europe is successful, they
will have more money to spend on member benefits.
But lets take a closer look and lets be honest with
ourselves. We are a small association and will never have enough funds to do a national advertising
campaign promoting washing. The only way we can
promote nationally is through a gorilla social media
{continued}

REVENUE

2003

2013

Member dues

644,231

584,436

-59,795

Convention/exhibit fees

3,123,221

3,063,694

-59,527

Member services

12,620

63,795

Portal income

60,900

TOTAL REVENUE

3,840,972

3,711,925

EXPENSES

Convention

1,684,119

1,650,034 -34,085

Member services

583,402

263,563

-319,839

General and Admin

954,613

1,539,059

+584,446

Portal Expense

110,100

Other

5,020

21,199

TOTAL EXPENSE

3,337,254

3,473,855

+136,601

INCOME FROM OPERATIONS

503,718

238,070

-265,648

-129,047

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LETTERS
campaign or possible charity drive that gets picked
with over $5 million in investments. Given these
drought conditions
up by the national media. We have also been told
facts and the fact we as an association are still prof Dealing with the Auto Manufacturers on wash
that some of the proceeds from the show in Europe
itable, I dont see the need for profit initiatives that
ability, engineering and consumer relations as
will remain there to pay for services for the Europego against memberships wishes. We are not in an
in the past
an carwash community.
emergency situation trying to stay afloat. Mark men Networking within the industry
So lets look at the actual numbers as given to us
tions I brought up the cash reserves at the meeting
Providing a Trade Show
by the association. They do publish for the memberin Chicago. He stated:
Having the best available industry based eduship a one page financial snapshot that at least gives
As to the reserves: while there are substantial recation
us an idea of the numbers. This year for 2013 it was
serves for the ICA, our by-laws (which were voted on
The overall consensus I hear from those I speak
published in one of the issues of the Car Wash Magby Paul Fazio when he was a director) require us to
with will tell you it is the show that holds this whole
azine. I will compare some of todays numbers to
maintain one years revenues in reserve and are rething together. The membership is hard pressed to
those they published in 2003 for a ten year comparstricted from being used.
tell you what else we are getting from the associaison keeping in mind the Board is telling us they
Mark is correct as to the requirement of one
tion that adds value for us, hence the small amount
need to do these initiatives to raise more money to
years revenue. And yes, I was on the board at that
of paying members. I think the association has done
provide more benefits.
time and did vote for this policy as Mark suggests. I,
a great job helping with the water issues. I am disSo to me the numbers show that the overall revthen and still today, feel that was the right vote to
appointed they stopped our relationship with the
enue is essentially the same: 3.8 vs. 3.7
insure the financial position of the ICA. My question
automakers. We had a great program that was bene The convention revenues and expenses are also
and concern is why it appears we have now in excess
ficial to both the vendor and operator communities.
essentially the same: 3.1 vs. 3.0 / 1.68 vs. 1.65
of that amount in the fund and are still chasing reveI dont know about you but some of the new things
The numbers that stand out are:
nue? And Mark, let me remind you, we take an oath
the automakers are coming out with have me con The Member services expense. We are now
not to discuss outside of the Board meetings any specerned like the new matte finishes.
getting $319K less in member benefits/services
cifics about how a Board member voted on any issue.
I think the biggest problem we have with getting
than in 2003.
Publishing something suggesting how I voted on an
things moving in the right direction, or in any direc And the Income is now down by $265K.
issue just to help you make a point to me is a clear
tion, is the lack of involvement from membership
So where did that swing of $584K (319 + 265)
violation of that oath. With that said, I am proud of
(and from the operators that gave up and left the
come from?
association). I have been
The General and Adminisvocal about my discontent,
tration expense went from
in fact too vocal according
$950K to over $1.5MM.
to some. But like many of
Simple suggestion: Forget Europe get your current
Simple suggestion: Forget Euyou, I love this industry. I
house in order. Let me say this loud and clear: Yes I
rope get your current house in
have been washing cars
agree
I
dont
have
all
the
details.
order. Let me say this loud and
professionally for over
clear: Yes I agree I dont have all
30 years and plan to stick
the details. The association by
around for many years to
design does not provide them to
come. I know I have stirred
us. So I am making this suggestion with the limited
my time on the Board and stand by my vote.
the pot in the past and probably will in the future.
numbers and information we as members have been
I could go on and write several more pages on
I just hope you guys understand I, like the Board
given. But it certainly appears by the numbers that
smaller issues that I believe should be revisited, but
members I am arguing with, have the best interest of
they do give us that if indeed they want to provide
I think it would be counter-productive. Bottom line:
the association in mind. I dont expect you to agree
us with more services, we dont need more revenue.
I believe an association by definition is supposed to
with my opinion, but I would love to see you express
We need for someone to take a close look at what
represent the interests of the member firms of an inyours. Thats how we move forward together.
changed in the last ten years that made it cost us
dustry. I cant help but find it troubling to see the
Last item: As shown above, Mark refers in his arover a half million dollars more to operate on essenPresident of the association state in a flyer he recentticle to my rant at the Chicago meeting when I
tially the same revenue and other expenses as we
ly sent out to the membership that the Board is in
spoke about my feelings on the Century Club. Perhad 10 years ago. Today we have better software and
agreement with a task force study done in 2002 that
haps with the writing of this article it is now clear
systems at our disposal. Why then would the G&A
states they will place greater emphasis on matters of
to him and others why I think it is a flawed sponsorincrease by more than 50%? I am not suggesting
importance to the car care industry and less on matship. Mark, you can call it a rant, I prefer to think of
that anything underhanded is happening. By design,
ters of importance to the members of the Internait as passion. Heck, I was just getting started but
the Board members only serve one year as Treasurtional Carwash Association. The Board keeps telling
had to leave to catch a flight home. I have to believe
er. It is hard enough to take on that position and
us they are global Industry focused now rather than
the first reaction the Board will have to this rebuttal
understand the actual budget and workings of the
member driven. I guess I just dont want to believe
to Marks article is that I dont have all the facts.
association in that time frame. It is nearly impossible
it. So of course we now question who represents us?
They are right, because for some reason they dont
to take control enough to then make further sugThey have made it clear that the ICA no longer does.
want to give membership the facts, or be transpargestions for improvement on a moving target while
They now represent the industry and believe whats
ent in any fashion. So I can only comment on the
still trying to run your own business. In looking at
good for the industry is, in fact, whats good for the
snippets they think we are worthy of seeing. We will
the ten years of reports provided to membership, it
members even if the paying members are overnot all agree, but I would hope we can at least keep
looks like a slow uptick of the G&A number that
whelmingly against their decision as I believe is the
the dialogue positive, on the issues and refrain from
took place over that time period now resulting in
case with the show in Europe.
the public personal attacks.
the $584K difference. But considering the size of
I believe programs and services that should be proThanks for listening,
that number, it may be worth an in depth review.
vided in the foundation of the association include:
Paul Fazio
The same report shows net assets at $4.7 million
Dealing with government agencies like with

Your thoughts and comments can be e-mailed to Kate Carr at katec@sscwn.com

14 FALL 2014

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6/10/13 9:42 AM

BRACE YOURSELVES...

Winter is Coming
By: Jackson Vahaly

Last issue, we brought you the Self Serve panel discussion from this years record-setting HCA Show. Well, they
also had a good General Q & A session with a couple of industry veterans that we thought we should share:

BONUS Coverage of Heartland Show

Pat: So most peoples business is up these days
over last year. Whats the new trend out there?
What have you guys done added to your washes
whats working?

of the people who are still using quarters, and the

people who are using credit cards?
Audience member: Oh, Id say probably 15% of
its credit card.

Audience member: Weve added credit

cards to the self serve bays.

Pat: Thats what Im seeing, too, at my locations.

We added the credit cards, the CryptoPay system,
and people like it because it operates just like your
self serve bay where youve go the button, you can
add a quarter if you want, but after 2 years were
just at 15% right now. The quarters have stayed
steady, and weve got 15% new business.

Pat: What system did you go with?

Audience member: Combination cant
remember right now Im drawing a blank.
Pat: But its making you some money?
Audience member: Yeah, well were getting
to be such a cashless society, young people especially dont have any cash in their pockets. Weve had
numerous people have to go across the street to the
ATM because we didnt take credit cards. Weve
taken credit cards in our IBAs for quite some time.
Probably 65% of our business in the IBAs is with
credit cards, so I think you need to do that just to
capture that extra revenue thats available.
Pat: Out of your self serve bays, whats your mix

16 FALL 2014

Audience member: And weve got another

type of system at another wash and we can track
it, and the people with the credit card are spending more money per bay. You will get more revenue because theyre not watching the meter. When
theyre done theyre hitting the button.
Pat: How many are using credit cards in their self
serve bays, and how many are using a count-up,
and how many are using a count-down?
{continued}

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BONUS Coverage of Heartland Show

Audience member: If you want the exact
same experience for the customers that theyre
used to with quarters, you do the count-down.
You swipe the credit card, you do a pre-auth, you
start with your 4 minutes, and you count it down.
Some of the systems allow for that. The ip side
to that is the count-up. Its sitting there going and
the longer they go then the more you make. So,
its a philosophical debate. You guys who are doing count-up, do you feel youre making more per
customer that way?
Audience member: Absolutely. In my
truck bays Ive got the pre-auth set at $30 and a
lot of them max it out.
Allen: I think the revenue potential for countup is greater. It depends on the
equipment you have. Most all
the manufacturers do both up
and down, but Im a proponent
of count-up myself. We are approaching a 45% credit/debit
card use. One thing we are seeing
after the Target fiasco, Ive seen
people that are not using their
debit cards anymore and have
gone back to using their credit cards. Thats because theyre
worried about their bank account being exposed with the
debit card. The onus is back on
the credit card company with regards to fraud. So the charges are
a little bit higher with the credit
card than with the debit.

Pat: From my perspective I looked at is as a costper-bay implement and what kind of customer experience you were going to provide. Those are the
2 hot buttons.
Audience member: I was just wondering
what everyones maximum numbersthe pre-auth?
Pat: Theres two different numbers. Youve got a
pre-auth where they swipe it and check to make
sure its a valid card and authorize it for a certain
charge. So lets just check that how many people
are using a $10 pre-auth? Everybody seems to be
right around $10. In the truck bay youre doing
$30? It pre-auths $10 each time and it rolls
that way if the customer runs out of money it just
shuts off. The customer can use ithe pre-auth ac-

Audience member: Did you experience

any kind of problem getting your customers used
to count-up with a credit card? Did they just gure it out when they read the signs? Nobody reads
signs, but
Allen: My joke is that my signs are there to cover
holes in the wall, but yeah theres an education
there. The younger crowd seems to get it a little
quicker than the older crowd theyre exposed
to technology. Were in the process of doing some
things with some QR codes and maybe doing a
youtube video that they could view on their smart
phone that they could use as an education tool.
No huge issues though. It came to them after they
used it once. I got a few phone calls its really
pretty easy. All the manufacturers products are
pretty user-friendly compared to 10 years ago. I
think if you can incorporate it into your existing
equipment as easily as possible thats best. If the
experience is easy enough then theyll tell their
friend. Thats probably been where weve seen our
biggest growth is in the credit card use and the fact
that the credit card customer is spending about
20% more than the cash customer.

cording to how you program your equipment. So,

you can program it to start at $2 or you can program it to start at zero and count up, but you can
set the pre-auth independent of what the charge is
going to be. Some of the systems have now gotten
to where manufacturers will allow you to consolidate charges. You can use them in a bay. You can
use them in the vacuum. Vending. And then it will
consolidate all those into one charge so you only
pay one transaction fee. Those are some of the features you want to look at because the transaction
fees can eat you up and cost you on profitability.
Allen: Were not experts on the matter and most
of what Ive learned is from making mistakes, so
I encourage you to ask the vendors exhibiting on

the floor whether theyre an equipment manufacturer, whether theyre a processor. What we have
now, as cars change the next 3-5 years, as we have
encrypted cars the technologys going to have to
change. So thats something you want to ask to,
what will have to happen in the future to take
an encrypted-type car because what we have now,
more than likely, wont work because I dont think
any standards have been fully adopted so ask those
guys on the floor because they know more than
we do.
Moderator: Allen, you did something unique
to your wash where you had an existing facility
and your retro-fitted the floor zone heating for
winter de-icing. Can you explain that process and
how it is possible to retro-fit an existing location?
Allen: About 4-5 years ago as
we all started experiencing the
downturn in the economy and
looking at ways to save money
and one of the things I looked
at was the lighting. I didnt think
LED lights were quite there yet
so I dropped that. I looked at
high efficiency boilers which I
thought was the first step. I was
able to run my washed in more
inclimate weather. So what we
looked was if you have an existing carwash, and youve got your
approaches on the north-side and
the south-side of the building
a lot of systems have one big
pump and all of that is one zone
and one thermostat on the outside air. I looked at
it where I would turn the system on when it was
cold outside, but it was actually sensing the temperature of each particular concrete slab with a
temperature probe within the slab. Some systems
have done that for several years by turning the
equipment off and on, but I wanted to take that
one step farther, so we started one site, zoning it,
so weve been doing that now for about 2 years
and it is basically cutting our gas to that site, even
in the coldest winter, probably by about 30 35%
on average. Its not super expensive. There may be
some vendors that are do it, but I basically kinda
created myself with doing some research. What
it boils down to is taking the existing zones and
separating them on the individual valves or pumps
and put a little controller with a temperature controller for each zones slab put power readers on
it. Its kinda funny to see maybe on different temperatures so the side that faces the south is set at
a certain temperature and the side that faces the
north is a different temperature. Automatic bays
are even a different temperature. Now our meters
pretty much reflect what I thought they would. In
the past, when I had it all on one system, youre ra{continued}
FALL 2014

19

BONUS Coverage of Heartland Show

diating that heat out no matter whether you need
it or not. Its equally spreading it out. So on the
south side, where I really didnt need any heat I
was just sending that energy out to everywhere.
Where now, it only runs when that side gets so
cold so that slab only runs about 25% as much as
the one on the north side of the building. I pretty
much new that based on the sun and shade and
everything else. Automatic bays are the same way.
The doors open and close my busiest bay does
about twice as many cars my next slowest bay.
There are some manufactures out there that offer some of this. One thing you have with existing
sites thats a challenge is you may not know what
goes where. So one of the things in the process of
doing the next month or so is Ive found one of
the places that actually rent infrared technology
? that gives you a visual analysis and you turn on
your floor key when the floors are actually cold
and show the pipes as being idle and trying to figure out what goes where an older site where I had
older pipes and nothings worked. And were going
to try to isolating some of those. So, thats kind
of the long explanation its fairly simple once
you figure it out and something that were going
to start doing as we remodel sites.
Moderator: Youre taking each individual bay
then?
Allen: No, Ill probably group bays, like if I have
3 bays the same exposure Im probably going to
do all 3 of those bays on one particular pump or
one temperature sensor. The nice thing about it is
some of the temperature controls will allow you
to insert more than one probe and it will take an
average between them. So you might have 3 bays
with a probe in 2 of them an inside and an outside facing the wall or something. I think the most
gain that you will have is if you have any outside
approaches - heated areas in front of ACWs, tellers, things like that. Its a way to get the heat where
it needs to be gotten to and not wasted because its
just going to radiate out into the atmosphere.
Moderator: Allen, do you use a slab set?
Allen: Yes, we went out and we did some boring?
- we did some different things to the edges of concrete and we kinda knew where some of the pipes
were in the concrete so we just so be basically just
drilled in 12 to 16 and inserted a probe into the
concrete slab and theres a low voltage? wire that
goes back to a temperature controller and we can
set each individual area at a different temperature.
The outer?hour meters were nice because I wanted to know if I was wasting money. There wasnt
any science behind some of the stuff I was looking
into. The outer?hour meters prove where the heat
goes to or doesnt go to.
Audience member: We have the same kinda issue, did you think about just maybe moni-

20 FALL 2014

toring the return temperature and that driving the

VFD? on the pump?
Allen: Yes. In fact, we used to start the system
on air temperature when it got to 34 and then we
had a return stat coming back from the floors and
you certainly do the same thing if youre running a
pump through these particular areas and see what
the return temperature was back from that particular loop and controlling VFD is something that
would be the next step to look at. My thinking is
if Im going to pursue this any farther right now,
its just a combination of several controllers that
I can buy at a wholesale house and some relays.
The next step would probably have an engineer
write a program and using a PLC. There are some
over-the-counter products out there. I think Watts
makes a product and some of these things get fairly sophisticated where you can access them over
the internet and on smart phones and change your
temperatures. I didnt want to get quite that fancy,
but I felt as though certain buildings I was wasting
gas because of the way the system was built.
Moderator: While were talking about floor
heat you mentioned renovating some properties,
does anybody have any experience adding on additional bays and connecting it to existing floor heat
and adding loops if youve got the capacity with
your boiler already?
Allen: If youre working with someone who sells
boilers or sell equipment they typically should be
able to do the math. Theres formulas out there
with how many BTUs I thought it was something like 150 BTUs per square foot here in the
Midwest. You size your tubing and merge that into
a bigger manifold. It gets fairly sophisticated. A lot
of the carwashes used to be a one inch polyethylene tube through one bay and thats all there was
and a copper manifold. I would encourage you to
find a vendor that works with carwashes that can
size something for you. Trying to tie into an existing loop is probably already 15% - 20% to being
maxed out, so I would always encourage you to install a new header and run some bigger lines back
to the boiler and run those floors off of the new
sets of loops. But if you know your existing boiler
and you know the floor square footage, they can
pretty much tell you if youre maxed out. Most
of those things are typically sized, Ive been told
that within 15% -20%, otherwise they get worried
about short-cycling if they get too large.
Moderator: Are you still activating that floor
heat by air temperature or floor?
Allen: Yeah, I think air temperature for me.
There have been moisture sensors and snow sensors. Theres a variety of things that are out there,
but some of those things arent as reliable in our
wet, corrosive bay environment I guess, so Im activating mine personally off of air temperature, but

then were actually controlling off the actual temperature of the concrete itself once the fluid starts
running through it. Its kind of ironic that on the
day where its 28 degrees outside the floor heat is
not running on any of our south-facing exposure
it doesnt run all day because the sun is out. On
the north side, its running at 75%. So in the past,
that would be all on one loop and all that heat on
the south-side was just being pushed out into the
atmosphere.
I like that idea because we replaced our boiler
with a high efficiency and now its capable of doing 3 zones but we didnt use it because we have
one giant loop so Ill have to check that out.
Moderator: What else is out there?
Pat: One of the things we did in our wash was we
went from single phase to 3 phase power which
was a savings all by itself. The other thing we did
was added what they call a power saver and its
like a giant capacitor that will store power. So
when the power and pumps and things start, you
dont have that big spike demand for the electricity going. The capacitor absorbs that because we
get billed on peak demand, so adding the power
saver cut out power bills by 20% and it was a fairly
inexpensive device to install.
Were gonna put cordova wax available in self
serve bay, were going to use a Hydroflex system to
propel that. Its going to be low pressure on a separate gun, and were struggling with how were going to freeze-control that in the winter. Anybody
know how to do this?
Allen: I tried air and I ended up thawing lines for
3 winters with air blowing out I just couldnt get
it to work consistently. I was spending so much on
electricity generating air to do it repeatedly. We
finally just hooked ours up to our same weep system that our high pressure guide is on the same
wall. Thats what Ive done for 5 years. I dont
have doors on both ends of my bays, so if you have
doors on both ends you dont have much of a cold
issue, but thats the only way I can get it to work.
Pat: I know theres a company in northern Minnesota that blows anti-freeze through the lines I dont think theyve come to the show yet. Has
anyone tried that with the blown anti-freeze
systems? Thats one Im curious about because I
know were all trying to save money on the utility
bills but our waters killing us weeping.
Allen: We recirculate our weep water. Its the
only advantage that I have is its piped into a pit
and its basically a sump pump that recirculates
it and refills with waste. Last year was one of the
coldest winters that Ive ever experienced, and I
only had to thaw one or two things because we
some ice got on the tip or whatever on the foamy
guns. Ive had foamy guns for 9 years, and weeping
{continued}

 FALL 2014

21

BONUS Coverage of Heartland Show

is the only thing Ive found to make work and unfortunately, it takes a fair amount of water because
most of those foamy guns have a big tip hole so
we just put a meter valve on it and hooked it up to
same pump that we circulate the water and it goes
back into the pit and it pumps it out.
Moderator: Do any of the manufacturers
make and anti-freeze product?
Allen: There are some things that have a heated wire that go down through the hoses. Theres
a company that makes brushes that go down
through the foamy guns. Theres a process where
you can buy a solution that after a timer it pumps
an anti-freeze solution back in the hose.
Moderator:You had mentioned the power saver device, is that installed on each individual device?
Pat: Yes, the device itself installs on your electric panel and all you have to do is hook into one
breaker and it covers the demand for the entire
location. The name of the company is Power Saver.
John and I put it on our personal homes as well
and weve had at least 30% savings.

billing works as far as how were billed?

Pat: Im from Nebraska and we have whats called
demand billing, so if you have all 6 motors come
on at the same time and youve got a big spike, the
public service commission is allowed to bill you at
that spike level for an hour. The power factor is
one of the factors in the billing calculation, and to
achieve the savings, you have to get that lowered.
Allen: The power savers ideal on your power , but
also look into BFD drives on some of the options
you have. I looked at my self serve pump stands and
it wasnt really worth changing - my motors were
10 years old and much utility for as much as they
turn off and on. It really only works for something
that runs continuously like an air handler or some
industrial device. Were really banking on replacing
all our lighting with LED now to save electricity,
but I think the average self serve carwash would be
hard-pressed on the motors to do much. On the
automatics and the dryers, I think theres definitely
some lee-way there with some others. Look at some
of the rebate programs that are possibly out there
on stuff that runs longer. Look at that instead of
things that run short cycles.

Moderator: Can you explain how that peak

Moderator: Pat, how much research did you

do on the Power Savers before you commissioned
a company to do this for you, and is there anybody
else using that option?
Pat: I did as much as I could. Im not an electrician. Its not an expensive option. The 3 phase unit
they sell for around $700 and an electrician puts it
in it just connects to one breaker.
Allen: Think of it as a bladder tank. What its
really doing is when those motors kick on, you
have noticed your lights will dim, it stores energy
and it takes the big boom out of it when all those
things happen at once and levels them out. Its
been around industrial processes for a long time,
and finally filtered down to our industry.
Pat: If anyones going to work on your electrical
system, you have to discharge it and let that power
go. It keeps the whole thing live even through your
main breaker off youre still live. Peak amperage
is measured off the highest peak of the 3 phases.
The best thing to do is to have 3 phase motors, but
again, lighting, vacuums are single phase, so one
thing thats cheap to do first-off is to check and
balance your loads. Thats free.

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FALL 2014

23

INNOVATIONS
From Vehicle Wash Systems, Inc.:
FASTRAC In-Bay Mini Tunnel
The FASTRAC mini-tunnel from Vehicle
Wash Systems, Inc. will fit in the same space as
most in-bay automatics, yet processes four times
more vehicles per hour. Plus, its simple mechanical design is easy to maintain and it is priced comporable to an in-bay automatic system.
FASTRAC features the heavy-duty Over and
Under Conveyor. This conveyor is engineered to
provide years of trouble-free service under the
toughest operating conditions.
Features:
A. Roller Wheel Correlator
B. Tunnel Controller
C. 45 Surface or Over n Under Conveyor With
Hydraulic Power Pack
D. Activation Switch
E. Soap Foamer Pod
F. 8 Basket Side to Side Mitter Curtain
G. Tri Color Foam Applicator with Chemical
Station
H. Side Washers(Cloth Washing Material)
I. Flex Wrap Rounds (Foam Washing Material)
J. Flashing Signs(Tri Foam/Sealer Wax)
K. Dual Rinse Arch with Chemical Station
L. Motor Control center
M. 45 Hp Blower Arch

24 FALL 2014

From All Paws Pet Wash:

Pet Wash Locator
All Paws Pet Wash,
a company which
manufactures
pet
wash systems for use
in the self serve car wash industry, has created a
website to help consumers find pet wash systems
around the country. Findapetwash.com has a zip
code search engine to help customers find the pet
wash closest to them, with specifications for type
of pet wash and zone radius. Listings are free for
All Paws Pet Wash system owners.

From Blendco: The

Chemical blending/
monitoring system
The SuperSmart System is an interactive, information-based chemical blending and monitoring
system.
SuperSmart utilizes super-concentrated
alkaline and acid bases combined with super-concentrated solvents and surfactants
to blend a final detergent at your location thus saving you
money. The system
electronically monitors measurements
through floats and
flow meters which
allows for up-to-theminute usage and cost information.
With SuperSmart, you can:
Remotely access real time information about
inventory.
Access how much chemical was used and the

INNOVATIONS
number and type of washes for the day, month
or since installation.
Adjust the quality of detergents higher or
lower via text.
Be notified via text about wash problems such
as low inventory or no inventory.
Receive monthly reports by location or for all
locations from anywhere.

From BumperSkinz:
Bumper Protector for
Car Wash Customers
Bumperskinz are pre-cut pieces of peel and stick
clear film that protect car bumpers from minor
impacts caused by parallel parking, runaway shopping carts, careless garage attendants, and other

BRIGHT NEW IDEAS, PRODUCTS &

SERVICES FOR SELF SERVE CARWASHES

everyday hazards like bicycles, lawn mowers and

sporting goods.
Applied in just minutes, BumperSkinz can
preserve a vehicles original beauty and help prevent costly bumper repainting or excessive wear
and tear charges at lease end.
BumperSkinz require no special tools, training, heat or chemicals and can be applied by anyone (the car wash attendant or by the customer)
in just about one minute. Theyre safe to use in
the car wash environment, too! When its time for
new Skinz, just pull up the corner of the old one
and peel away from the painted surface.

From Turtle Wax Pro:

Fire & Ice Wax and Shine
Turtle Wax Pro introduces its latest and most
innovative products to date. FIRE & ICE work
together to give carwash customers an unforgettable experience and an unprecedented wax and
shine. FIRE & ICE includes three products:
To start the show, FIRE WAX is applied as a
rich, red foam with carnauba base to maximize protection and shine. It also provides a

customer-wowing cinnamon inferno scent.

FIRE BATH is a dense red/yellow foam which
promotes a deeper clean with enhanced lubricity and a raspberry inferno scent.
Finally, ICE INSTANT SHINE ends the show.
It is a total surface protectant for all vehicle
surfaces which provides maximum water repellency on glass for improved visibility. ICE
also protects and shines glass, chrome, plastic
trim and paint and has a light foam signal with
pleasant cool mango fragrance.

Hamilton Manufacturing has been in business

since 1921 and in the Car Wash Industry for over
30 years. We are recognized as an industry leader in
the development, manufacturing, and support of
automated point-of-sale transaction systems; Data
Access Networks, and token/change machines.
Hamilton products are designed and built to
improve customer convenience and loyalty, while
offering contemporary technology, and durability.
PROUDLY MADE IN THE U.S.A.

For more information about our full line of

carwash products, visit us online or call:

888.723.4858
hamiltonmfg.com
HAMILTON TRANSACTION KIOSK

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.
RUGGED CONSTRUCTION.

FALL 2014

25

Whats New?

Check out our latest offerings at Coleman Hanna

Put your In Bay Automatic

on the FasTrak!
The Water Wizard FasTrak is a
revolutionary touch-free in bay automatic.
It provides reliable operation, consistent
results, and increased uptime. The Water
Wizard FasTrak has been engineered to
maximize durability, reliability, and a low
cost of ownership. The FasTrak directly
responds to consumer demand for
quality and speed in aesthetically
pleasant environment. Increase profits and
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Turn your bay into an

In Bay Tunnel!
The In Bay Tunnel fits in the same amount
of space as a typical in bay automatic but
washes cars at a much faster rate. This
system can fit in as small as a 28 bay and
produces tremendous cleaning results. The
In Bay Tunnel takes the powerful and
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to provide the best cleaning results possible
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26 FALL 2014

For the SECWA Trade Show & Expo this past July, I decided to drive down from SSCWN

kids and Ill y to Orlando and rent a car and drive over after the show. Oh well live and

headquarters in Franklin, TN, with the fam and drop them off in Destin (on the gulf),

learn. On to the show: There didnt seem to be as many self serve operators as at the HCA

spending one night before driving over to Orlando the next day. Big mistake. I dont mean

show, but the panel discussion was exceptional (and not just because they asked me a few

attending the show, but driving instead of ying. Next year, the wifell drive down with the

questions about SSCWN)!

SELF SERVE
& IBA PANEL
DISCUSSION

Brad Ray Owner/Operator of Coastal Car Wash, a chain of self serve and full serve carwashes located along the Gulf Coast, SECWA board member,
and Vice President of Quality Systems and Services, Inc., a Mississippi-based carwash equipment supplier and service organization.
Tom Brister Owner/Operator of Mr. Toms Car Wash, a chain of self serve carwashes and express carwash in Louisiana.
Dale Reynolds President of Carolina Pride Carwash Systems and Solutions, SECWA Vice President.
Marcus Kittrell Owner, Marc-1 Express Car Wash, an Alabama chain of express and self serve carwash locations.

I saw something on the

internet the other day
about self-cleaning cars
coming out.

that actual segment is growing. In the last year we operated it as a traditional self serve
carwash we did $52,000. So
its definitely trending up.
Weve got a power point after
lunch that will go over over
all the numbers.

Brad: Weve heard that for

years, and it probably will be
a reality some day, but me
and my dad talk about it and
I figure if they can apply it on
an old car, than I can apply
it as a detail on an old car, so
theres a window of opportunity.

What about negotiating

strategies?

Tom: That was Nissan Im

not too afraid of that.
Dale: I dont think that does
anything for bugs. I think
Rustoleum has a product you
can spray on that does the
same things, but were still
gonna have bugs and were
still gonna wash cars.
SSCWN: I know an executive at Nissan and asked
him about it and he said theyve had that technology for years and its too expensive - he doesnt think
anythings going to come of it.
Theres a self-serve that went out of business
several years ago thats not far from our location and weve been trying to buy the piece of
property. Its got basically the cement everything else is gutted/gone. [We really want
it] for the land because theyre almost right
across the street from us. I dont think putting
a [traditional] self serve there would be smart
because Id still like to see it for the boats and
I think self serve is going to go up because
people arent building them anymore. So eventually you still got motorcycles and boats, RVs,

that kind of vehicle. So Im more interested

in whether I can get that property at a decent
price. How is the gated/unlimited working Id
like to hear more about that.
Marcus: I converted a carwash to a gated self
serve about two years ago. Greg Pack and I were
talking about it over lunch one day, and a friend of
ours, Robert Greene, did it over in Savannah, GA.
What I can tell about the gated self serve is you
just have to have enough bays to make it work. I
dont know if 3 or 4 bays would work because of
the throughput.
I think theres 5 in this one.
And that might work we have seven and thats
worked well. The first year we did about $78,000,
and this year were on pace to do about $120,000. So

Dale: Well, I guess I heard

two things. Youre looking at
a piece of property - whether
or not thats a good investment and whether or not
thats a good investment for
a carwash operation. If the
property has the value of
appreciating in that market
then it might be worthwhile
buying it for that purpose.
Now do you need to actually
re-open that as a self serve carwash? What are the
market needs? Thats what we always look at. You
might already have a saturation point to a certain
degree with whats out there currently, so make a
business decision about whats going to give you the
best return on your investment. Sometimes, thats
taking the property and doing something else with
it. Negotiating? Youve got to find their weak point.
The best thing there is to go find out what the tax
value is and what the last purchase price was go to
the Register of Deeds for that. Then you negotiate
from there.
Brad: Back when we were negotiating to buy self
serves, we always looked at 3-5X gross. That was
kind of the standard back then, so if you could get
your hands on the numbers that might at least give
{continued}
FALL 2014

27

SECWA Expo Report

you a starting point. I dont know what the metric is

now. Greg, do you any idea?
Greg: Its definitely gone down.
Brad: 2.5 to 3X? Okay.
Tom: You said theres a wash still on the property
or just the concrete?
The concrete building is there in Florida
theyre all block the roof is on.
Tom: Well if the property is permitted for carwash, theres value in that.
Its got a perfect situation for gating in that
theres a huge gutter on two or three sides
and with two sides ones already got a fence
on it, so itd be pretty simple to put a fence in
the front for gated access. Its almost directly
across the street from our express.
Tom: You may buy it for preservation. You know if
you dont buy it somebody else might.
Brad: Thats where I was going. What if you wake
up tomorrow and see an express sign in front of it?
Id buy it to protect my market. We just did that. We
bought two little red brick self serves. Who needs a
self serve thats falling down? Well, I have an $800
4/1 down the street and I wouldnt let somebody
else go in that market.
Marcus: Ive got an express and a gated self serve
in the same market. Theyre about a mile apart. And
then I just bought a 4-bay self serve last year thats
right between them and I turned right around and
sold it to a guy that wanted it more than I did. He
fixed it up and seems to be doing pretty good with
it. His bays are pretty full now. I just sat on it and
wasnt going to do anything with it.
Did you sell it with a no compete where he
couldnt put an express on it?
Marcus: Its so tight you couldnt get an express
on it. So, that can happen, but Im the one that
sold it. Dale talked before about over-saturating an
area, and I felt this was over-saturated and I think
hell get some of the business that maybe we dont
want at the gated self serve. Theres some business
out there that you dont want. Hes in the 4-wheel
drive business, so thats what he does and thats

28 FALL 2014

the crowd hes catering to. So I encouraged him

to buy it I was all about it. I liked the Facebook
page and I was all over it.
Dale: If you can tie it in with your express business across the street thats a possibility.
Brad: There are way more benefits to being in the
same market, and you can certainly use that when
negotiating to get the price down.
Ive been working on it. They havent entertained our verbal offers.
Im sorry could you tell me briey what is a
gated self serve?
Marcus: Its basically where you gate around a
carwash and then its a pay-one-price. So, we charge
$6 and you go in there and you push a button, pay
your money. It takes credit cards or cash. And then
you go to the bay and you wash as long as you want
or vacuum as long as you want.
So they can stay in there all day?
Marcus: If you want to, hey wear yourself out.
And theres a few gated SS around. Ive got one, I
know Robert Greene has one, and theres a couple
of them down in Panama City. Nobody that has one
has gone back the other way. I love mine.
What if you have six bays and the
guys load them up in the morning
and stay there all day?
Marcus: Thats not happening. Hopefully theyve
got better things to do with their time then sit there all
day long. You pay and the gate comes up and theres
no piggybacking as far as that goes. Its not a club.
Im in the storage business and we have
people that tailgate it opens up and two cars
go in.
Marcus: We have an attendant there 35 hours a
week, so that might happen some after hours, but
the revenues still going up. And we have cameras
down there and if its problem we really havent
seen it. Price point is $6, getting ready to go to $7.
Dale: There are some slightly different versions
of that not necessarily gated, but what hes really
got is an unlimited wash price. Some other people
have done this in the past: An unlimited wash and

the difference is you pull into the bay and pay the
price and you have sensors that detect the vehicle
in the bay. A lot of properties are not conducive to
the traffic flow to have a single entrance as you go
through a gate.
Tom: I understand it takes a lot of room.
Marcus: It does. Its not for everybody. Mines
about .6 of an acre but its narrow and long like a lot
of your old sites are.
Where do you see the state of the automatic
business? Not the mini-tunnel. The friction or
touch-free automatic. Where do you see that
industry right now is that an industry that in
certain areas is thriving? Are people looking at
pulling those out and maybe doing a tunnel?
Dale: There are a lot of changes taking place with
the automatics. One, theres more of a move towards
friction where it used to be a huge touch-free arena.
And the biggest change weve seen with that since
the downturn in the economy in 08 and we saw gas
prices skyrocket. A lot of people just dont have the
extra cash for washing their cars. So when they come
into the automatics now their cars are dirtier and
theyre more challenging to clean and thats where
friction is becoming the better answer in many cases.
That being said, at the same time in these conditions
a lot of people havent reinvested in their automatics
like they should. Used to be, people would replace
them every 7 10 years, now theyre dragging it out
to 12, 14, 15 years and they havent really fixed them
up like they should have. If you dont reinvest, you
see the curve going down. You see after 7 years the
automatic starting to decline. And the next biggest
thing weve seen also is people have gotten more
impatient. You used to see with automatics lines 7,
8, 10 cars waiting to get in and now if some people
see three cars they turn around and leave. So I think
that has really helped the express model more; people can get through quicker. It has its challenges but
its still a very viable business but you have to keep it
fresh and bring value to the people.
Do you see the cloth segment growing more
than touch-free?
Dale: Well I think the technology on touch-free
has improved tremendously and the materials that
are being used are much safer for the vehicles. Peo-

SECWA Expo Report

ple are looking at different answers. Why does a person go in? They want a clean car. So the friction is
able to do that more safely than they have in the
past. And cars are more washable than they were in
the past and dont have a lot of the issues they had.
Brad: Another thing: Look at your utility costs
with a touch-free our waters killing us.
Greg, I know you have both at one of your
sites, a friction unit and a touch-free unit. How
have the customers responded to it?
Greg: They each have their own fan base. Thats
what Im finding. Touch-free, if you get the chemistry right, you can do a good job cleaning a car
thats a frequent customer. Thats what the bulk of
my customers are. They come in a couple or three
times a month and they keep their cars very clean
with touch-free. Ive got an attorney that comes in
once a week and he traded his car in at the Jaguar dealership and they wanted to know where he
had it detailed. You still have that fan base and at
my place I still have a large percentage that prefers
touch-free washing. About half will go either-or,
but I have a lot of people saying I dont want anything touching my car. One day Ill come in and
there will be three in line for the touch-free because they dont want to use a soft-cloth unit (its
a combo unit, but theyre under the impression its
soft cloth) and later that day Ill come in and there
will be 2 or 3 in line for the soft-cloth and no one at
the touch-free. So, its a balancing act.
Whats your income difference
between the two?
Greg: Considering that the soft-cloth is a unit that
will do touch-free also, 75 80% are still touchfree. But there are definitely people there who say
they come for the soft-cloth and it does a great job.
Touch-free wins at my site. A lot of operators will
say they have different results than that.
Do you have any expresses in
the area competing with you?
Greg: Yeah, Ive got one on each side of me about
four miles away. Traffics pretty rough, though. So
even though its four miles away, its a 20 minute
round trip.

Marcus: Greg is a phenomenal operator when

it comes to his carwashes and stays on top of the
chemistry and the water quality stuff like that. He
also offers towels and free vacuums at the other site.
With automatics, theres a couple of ways you can
give the free vacuums. You can add a token machine
where you pay and it dispenses a token when you
purchase a wash. There are some guys that just have
push-button vacuums after their automatic and vacuum that way. Anybody had any experience doing it
that was with free vacuums?
Brad: We had some expresses come in so we had
to do everything they were doing. We started offering tire shine, bonus token vendors. Ill tell you
something that Im seeing right now, everything that
theyre offering at an express, were gonna offer in
an in bay. Were adding LEDs, were adding the hot
wax. I guess the industrys gotten into theatrics now.
Marcus: Im with you there. A lot of the carwash
business is show-business. You got kids in the car.
Triple foam. When I was in the automatic business,
that triple foam would go on the car and the kids
would just eat it up. They do want a clean car, but
some of its show, so maybe separate yourself from
that guy down the street that has a tunnel. Dont be
afraid to jump in there and compete. I keep going
back to Greg, but I know he had an express tunnel
come in on both sides of him within a couple of
years and hes had to change some things.
Tom, anything as far as in-bays and extra
revenue?
Tom: I have three of them and they are the touchfree. Theres a certain percentage out there that
still prefers a touchless. One advantage you have is
youre open 24/7. Express is only open certain hours
and theres holidays and everything. Some of these
units being built like an express/self serve/in-bay
automatic all-in-one and that kind of legitimizes all
those washes. It does. And an IBA, in those situations, has proven to be pretty good.
Dale: I think I talked about it before that self serve
hasnt kept up with the times like the automatics
and the express washes and didnt reinvest in those
services there, so the self serve bays didnt have the
services you offered in your automatics. You offered
triple foam in your automatic. You offered dryers.

Simple things. People didnt put them in the self

serve bays, so if a customer wanted that you forced
them to go to the automatics. If you want to give
equal services and equal opportunity to your business youve got to reinvest in those services in the
self serve arena and/or provide them somewhere
else. For example, have vending machines on site
for things like Tire Shine. There are so many more
things people can do.
As far as the automatic side, you can upgrade
your automatic you dont necessarily have to buy
a new one, but re-image it. Light-shows, etc. Its all
image to a certain degree. Youve got to give them
a show. The downside is -- and I think this will really hurt the self serve -- it became more of a show
instead of a real value and so weve seen it so many
times you go into a self serve and just because its
tire cleaner doesnt mean its going to clean the tire.
Every service that you give them has to be of value and performance on that vehicle that they can
see. Otherwise, as some of the soap manufacturers
say, Make it stink and make it foam and you got it
made. Thats not true. Those are nice little add-ons,
but youve got to make it perform for the customer.
Go through your own wash did you get a clean
car? If not, youve got to back up and start over.
In the self serve, in our general area, when
the market kinda turned and express was coming in, there was a tendency and a lot of pressure to go down in price to try to recoup the
volume and were struggling with that now.
Marcus: Thats one thing Ive always noticed in
the self serve business weve always been behind
the curve on prices.
Have you tried making it cheaper, where its
really the same price? Say its $1.75 to start it
versus taking $1.50 for the 1st minute and a
quarter for another minute, so its the same
price but a cheaper (entry) price point?
Dale: We saw some customers do that, but we did
a study 20 years ago about what should be the price
of washing your car. When we started out I think
we were looking at $1 for 4 minutes. At that time,
the inflation rate was right around 5%, so we figured out what it was going to cost you to wash your
{continued}
FALL 2014

29

REG

F.
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RDE

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Boom Assembly
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30 FALL 2014

REG

F.
. U . S . PAT. O F

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Boom
Assembly

MODEL 204 FEATURES

Twin compression springs are tension-adjustable
for a variety of hose and gun weights
Swivel rotates 360 - 12 ft. diameter
Temperatures to 280 max., pressure to 2500 psi
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Remove boom body

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Rotate hinge plate

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FALL 2014

31

SECWA Expo Report

car in a self serve bay in 100 years,
and the price came out to $122 for
4 minutes of time. (Laughter) But
the point is, how are you going to
get there if you dont start raising
your prices? I just raised mine this
past week to $2.50 for 4 minutes.
So I was $2 for 3 minutes before.
Everythings going up, and if you
dont start going up, youre going
to dig yourself a hole.
You added value services,
too, right, like pre-soaks?
Dale: Yeah, we remodeled the
building last year and were adding
things like dryers to every bay.
Tom, price points for you?
Tom: My express was $3 and I was putting downward pressure on the self serve. Now a lot of the
expresses are $6, $7 and $8. So those expresses are
up and its giving some room for the self serve.
Brad: On the in-bays, weve seen the same. I cant
go any lower. My expenses have creeped up so high
that Ive got to figure a way to get more money and
the only way I can figure to do that is more services.
Weve still got a $5 entry on inbay, and $2 on self
serve. On our in-bays, we were $5, $7, $8 and $10.
Were going up to a $14 wash with the tire shine,
hot wax and all four dryers.
On the self serve, we put in a credit card machines, and people will spend a lot more money when the swipe that card. Their minutes go
up, up, up they just wash and wash and their
minutes go up at the end.
Marcus: How about cash in the bay? I know you
do cash and credit card.
Greg: Its okay. I think Id rather have credit, but
cash is worth having. Its growing.
Dale: Weve built meters for operators now that
are just cash and credit no coin.
Tom: I want to learn more, but the credit card is
changing. Theres going to be a chip in it, and theres
going to have to be a pin number. So if youre thinking about spending money on installing credit card,
you need to look into that.
Brad: We take both cash and credit card, but credit card Im impressed with. Cash, you cant tell what
your average ticket is, but with credit card I can tell
and mine is almost $7.
Question for Brad:What are your extra services
in the in-bays and how are you pricing them?
Brad: Ive got friends with expresses and Ive got
guys talking about trying to get an $18 wash. We
hadnt upped out automatic prices in so long. Weve
got to figure out a way to get more money. My expenses are creeping up from the bottom and my
sales are dropping down from the top and Im getting pinched in the middle. The only thing I know
to do, and Ive seen it done a couple of times, is first
off, Im going to take my center two washes and

32 FALL 2014

any problems with everybody having 4 choices instead of 3?

tweak those. I saw it done in California where they
dropped them closer to the bottom and brought
their average ticket up about a dollar. The wash was
in El Segundo, it was an old NS tunnel that they
built and they came out of the ground with one
price and there was too wide of a spread between
their bottom 2 washes (if they were $5, $7, $9 &
$12 or whatever) they lessened those and brought
them closer to the bottom wash.

Brad: I dont know about them, but the center

two washes are the ones that dont do anything on
the 4 package wash.
Dale: I disagree. With my packaging Im averaging
$9.70 per car at the site thats $6, 8, 10, 12. My top 2
packages are my top sellers, so that hits that middle
point youre talking about. The $10 wash does the
highest volume and the $12 wash is second. Then
the $8 wash and the $6 wash is the very bottom.

Marcus: So if your basement was $5, it would be

like $5, $6, $7.

What differentiates the $12 and the $10?

Is it a premium, clear-coat product?

Brad: Yes. And because those were closer I tell

ya were scared to do away with our bottom $5 wash
its been around so long I dont make money at
it. My top price, I got dryers, I got floor shine, I got
total body protectant, I havent added the hot wax,
and were $12. Im adding the hot wax. Im adding
the lights. I may even do it like Jamie Nester (from
Flagstop in Richmond, VA) does at his express and
use blue lights and whatever chemical he does that
uses fire and ice.

Dale: It has Rain-X and a paint protectant on it.

He uses Turtle Wax.

Brad: I figured we could do a take-off on that.
Well take our pre-soak that were already putting
on, and well run the light from a function of the
higher washes you dont get it on the cheapo, but
on the top wash. Im going to light up fire pre-soak
with red and Im going to light up ice pre-soak
with blue. Just some kind of bells and whistles because Im going to a $14 wash and Ive got to have
something to justify it and the hot wax, in my opinion, is really good.
Marcus: Tom, what are the price points in your
automatic?
Tom: $5, $6, $7. Ive experienced in the express
business that a $3 jump for a customer is resistance.
Jump $2 easily. They dont like that $3 jump. A
friend my mine just tried an experiment where he
went $5, $10 & $15 and that was disastrous. They
wouldnt make that big of a jump.
Whatre you, Dale?
Dale: In one community Im $5, $8, $9 & 10 and
in the other one Im $6, $8, $10 & $12 and Im getting ready to change the other one to $6, $8, $10 &
$12. Four packages.
Marcus: We have 4 packages. Is anybody having

Dale, what do you see happening to price

points for the self serve bays in 2014? Whats
the starting point? Greg, I believe youre $2 for
3.5 minutes.
Dale: We see a lot of variance across the country.
In more rural areas youre definitely lower, but nobody today is less than a $2 starting point. You go up
in the northeast, and theyre at $3 and up. We have
an operator in our market thats at $3 for 4 minutes.
But the models changing, especially as you look at
the express model with their free vacuuming and
all. I think youre going to see more free vacuuming at self serves also as competition in the markets
change. Youre gonna have to consider building that
free vacuum model into your self serve price as well.
We dont have to lay down and die because somebody builds an express tunnel. Many people are doing it different ways - putting a token dispenser with
a self serve meter so you can take a token and get a
free vacuum. So you can compete. You can do the
same thing: Buy a wash and get a free vacuum. Or if
you want to go simpler, you can just make the vacuums out there free with a push button on them, but
youve got to recoup that in your price point in your
self serve bays. Youve got to reinvest in your business and try some things, and sometimes it doesnt
work and youve got to try something else.
Marcus: Theres a guy named Tim Jones up in
Nashville and hes got self serve, automatic AND
tunnels, all on one site. At one or two of his sites he
actually put gates at the end of one self serve bay
that when you pay, I think its $4 or $5, it includes
the free vacuum. The gate comes up and they drive
off to the free vacuum lane. As far as the minutes go,
I was $2 for 4 minutes and that was 4-5 years ago.
Before we gated our carwash, we tried the loops in

SECWA Expo Report

uum gauge is a lot of people
put in the 3-motor vacuums
and the downside is one motor might not be working and
its running backwards so you
really dont know your performance unless you test it
once a month. Thats why we
recommend taking a vacuum
gauge and going around and
checking them all to make
sure everythings working
properly.
the ground like Dale was talking about, and you put
in one price point and then youve got so many minutes and then you could add up and you drove off
the loop and it would kill the time. We got a little bit
of a bump from that, but that was about 7-8 years
ago. So we tried some different things with the self
serve to try to jazz up the revenue. Now they have
the Rain-X in the bays, they have tire shine in the
bays, theres a lot of things that can be done.
Dale: We were talking about the free vacuuming.
Ive got an operator who just put in central vacuuming in front of their self serve bays. You pull up and
central vacuum drops and
Theyre all customers?!?
Dale: ...well, you put a sign up that says for carwash customers only. If its before the bay, how do
you know? Youve got to trust that youll lose some
and youll gain some.
At least theyre coming to that lot.
Dale: I know Gary Richardson, he has a place in
Georgia that has a mini-tunnel, self serve bays and a
central vac system.
Ive been In the self serve business 30 years,
Ive got 8 locations now. My wife washes at
different locations and she went to an express
wash about six months ago for the rst time
and pulled into their central vac station with
drops on each side and she said, Youve got
to do this. I would never go to your carwash to
vacuum if this was available. That makes you
feel real good, doesnt it? (laughs)
What is it about the central vac versus the
stand-alone vac that makes it more desirable?
Marcus: Theres more power, first of all. Now I
think some of it is a mental stigma on self serve vacs.
Now locations that work fine and the decals are nice
and stuff like that can be a different deal.
Brad: The hoses are smaller.
She had one on each side, so she didnt have
to drag one across the console. They didnt
touch the ground.
Brad: You see some operators putting booms on
self serves. Weve preached for years about the little hose. The ladies, thats like a shop-vac hose. Try
to use it yourself youve got to shove the hose
through first, then youve got to put your money in
and run around to do it.

Marcus: If you leave any money on your console and it vacuums that up then youre really mad.
(laughs). Ive done all that.
We have started going to tapered hoses, too.
They start at 2 and taper down to 1.5. I dont
know how much ow you use but it feels a
whole lot better using it.

In my opinion, the customer experience is more

important than the free. I
could be wrong.
Dale: Thats a very important value point that
youre looking at. Some people really gravitate towards the free. And that will bring a certain clientele
and youve got the value points in the services thats
youre offering. Somewhere in the middle youll
find happiness.

Whats that?

Does anybody else have a problem with their

vacuum, when youre vacuuming with them,
they always smell - they smell like dirt.

Marcus: What hes talking about with a vacuum

gauge, it actually sits at the end of a vacuum and it
shows you the pressure. Its a little round ball at the
end and you put it on there it has a little hole in it.

Dale: Some people have actually taken air fresheners and put them on top of their vacuums so that
airs blowing at all times and you dont have that
dusty odor.

Like a tire gauge.

Ray: Thats cause the last guy vacuumed the water

out of there and

Dale: Does anybody here use a vacuum gauge?

Marcus: Yeah, and it tells you exactly what the

suction is.
Tom: Basically, youve got a 25-horsepower industrial motor. Its kind of like a portable against a
big industrial and runs all day. Ive got one thats 11
years old and never been serviced. But if they use
those little vacuums more consistently all day long
theyll burn them up pretty quick.
Marcus: And thats a choice youve got to make
the central vacs have their headaches, too. Theyll
clog up, and some are noisy. Sometimes its a room
issue, and you can get more vacuum lanes with the
central vacs with just the drop of the hose instead
of pulling up to the concrete pads. The energy costs
have to be considered as well.
We have free vac with a token for the express
and we could easily do that for the self serve.
We dont right now, but we could.
Dale: If youre thinking about free vacuums, the
simple thing to do is just add a push-button or a
switch to your existing vacuum system. Just put a
decal on the side of your vacuum that says, Free
vac. You can do that before you invest in a central
vac system to see if youre going to get the lift that
you want, especially if youre getting an existing site
thats got some aging and youre looking at how to
make changes. Central vacuums have their plusses
if theyre installed properly and have the proper
horsepower for the number of drops you have they
can do really well. The reason I suggested the vac-

Marcus: It might be water, but thats a good idea.

You put an air freshener up in the dome. Thats because your motors pull the air from up there. Put
an air freshener up in the dome, and that will keep
a nice fresh scent. Thats a great idea Ive never
heard of that.
Dale: The only thing is, you need to pull your filter
bags out and wash them. If youre not cleaning, one
of your motors will go out quicker and cause problems with the airflow so clean those regularly.
On washing the bags, do they lose effectiveness after theyre washed, like, 7 times every 3
or 4 months, or as long as dont have holes in
them are they good to go?
Dale: The only thing is if you have a hole we
recommend that you keep a spare set of filter bags
for the location and you just change them out and
let the others dry. Thats what youve got to do.
Brad: Thats worth it, because the first time that
guy vacuums the water and the guy behind him vacuums the dirt, that bag becomes a mud pie and next
week it isnt working very well.
Dale: How often do you brush down your filter
bags? Once a week? You get a toilet brush and you go
up in there people dont do that like they should.

FALL 2014

33

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INDUSTRY DIRT

HAPPENINGS IN & AROUND SELF SERVE CARWASHING

Mark VII Equipment Inc., the
North American subsidiary of WashTec AG of Germany, the worlds largest manufacturer of vehicle
cleaning systems, has been recognized in Convenience
Store Petroleums 2014 Brand Perception Study as the
best carwash supplier in three categories.

after three years in the role, according to a press

release. The company intends to announce a
successor before January 2015.
Jeffs served four years as vice president of sales
for Mark VII before being named CEO in 2011.
Previous to those roles, he had been managing
director of the companys U.K. subsidiary from
2005-2007.

Ryko Solutions Inc.

The results of this years study, which surveys
CSPs readers on their brand perceptions across
a variety of c-store product categories, ranked
Mark VII Best in the categories of quality, customer service and marketing support.
Since carwash equipment is one of the largest capital investments a c-store operator makes,
quality and customer service are key concerns
in selecting a supplier, said Steve Jeffs, CEO of
Mark VII. We work hard to ensure quality and
provide superior customer service and marketing
support, and were honored that CSPs readers
agree that were best-in-class.

In additional news from

Mark VII Equipment Inc.,
CEO Steve Jeffs will retire at the end of 2014

had a busy summer. In separate press

releases, the company announced
it had completed its acquisition of
National Carwash Solutions, LP
(NCS), the largest independent
carwash service organization in North
America, and that CEO Steve LHeureux
had transitioned from CEO into the position of vice
chairman of the board of directors.
LHeureaux was named CEO in 2011 and Ryko
doubled in size under his leadership, including six
add-on acquisitions (including NCS and MacNeil).
In addition to these announcements, Ryko also
appointed a new Senior Director of Professional
Services. Sam Toubia, will be responsible for creating new recurring revenue opportunities for the organization and managing the 250+ service technicians for the company, according to a press release.

Most recently, Toubia worked for General Electric Healthcare, guiding GEs West Zone business
directing field leadership team, states the release.

MacNeil

Wash

Systems,

a Ryko Solutions Company and leading supplier

to the tunnel carwash industry, has named Tara
Favretto as its new customer service
manager. In this new role for the
company, Favretto will be responsible
for guiding inside sales and order
processing, working closely with
the 48 members of MacNeils
international distributor network and
five North American sales managers
to process and track customer orders.
Tara comes to MacNeil with a tremendous amount of organizational experience
and technical expertise to deliver best-in-class customer care, said Jeff Tulk, Plant Operations Manager for MacNeil Wash Systems. This is a key role
in the partnership
we have with our
distributors and
owner-operators and Im looking forward to having Tara lead significant growth on our key objectives in this area.
{continued }
FALL 2014

35

INDUSTRY DIRT
Washworld Inc. has appointed Carl
Godfryt as its new industrial engineer, focused
on quality and manufacturing efficiency. Godfryt
comes with work experience in lean manufacturing
and manufacturing efficiency.

Established in 1998 as a manufacturer of parts

for aftermarket use in its company-owned car
wash sites, Washworld has since grown to become
its own manufacturer of car wash systems and replacement parts, including a distributor network
that spans all of North America and includes a
global presence of 89 distributors internationally
selling Washworld equipment in places like the
Mid East, Russia, across Europe, Australia and as
far away as Mongolia and Tajikistan.

Istobal USA

has named Carlos Abarca,

formerly the supply chain manager of the businesss
Spanish parent company, as the new vice president
of technical services in the United States.

According to a company press release, Abarca

was a part of the establishment of Isotobal USA in
2011 while he was serving as general manager for
the Spanish division.
The addition of Carlos to our team provides us
with a unique set of technical skills and expands
our capabilities, making our technical team one of
the best in the industry, said Istobal USA CEO
Jimmy Sisk in the release. We look forward to Mr.
Abarcas knowledge and experience to complement our expanding business.
Istobal USA provides automatic car, truck and
bus wash equipment, as well as services like site
evaluation, business plans, financing, technical
support and more. Its parent company, Istobal
USA was founded in 1950 and has more than 750
employees throughout the globe.

Lustra Professional Car

Care Products has named Mike Janes
as Regional Sales Manager for the North Central U.S.
Janes comes to Lustra with eight years of experience in the car wash industry in equipment sales
and chemical applications. He will be working
closely with Lustras distributors to support their
partnerships along with
developing new distribution networks.

36 FALL 2014

HAPPENINGS IN & AROUND

SELF SERVE CARWASHING

Mike will bring another level of professionalism to the Lustra team and will service all areas of
the Midwest, cultivating new opportunities with
car wash operators where they can experience the
benefits of the highest quality Lustra products
along with its support team, said Jack Bonow, Assistant Vice President Central US and Canada.
According to the press release, Lustra Professional Car Care Products, a division of Cleaning
Systems, Inc., is the car wash industrys leading
provider of cleaning and protection solutions.

Diamond Chemical has two new

appointments to announce. Robert Devitt has been
named the companys new maintenance manager
and Mario Sandoval is now the account manager
for the companys
Midwest/Ohio
laundry division.
A press release
from the company said Devitt has more than 30 years of manufacturing experience, including project and production
management, process improvement, quality system
management and customer problem resolution.
Sandoval has previously worked in the sales and
maintenance of detergent products and large-scale
chemical injection systems and he will focus on
new account development and sales/service.
According to the company, Diamond Chemical is one of the largest privately owned national
cleaning and sanitizing product companies in the
United States and has over 80 years of manufacturing experience.

The New York State Car

Wash Association hosted their
annual baseball outing on June 24 and
were able to celebrate a win for the
state, with the New York Mets
beating the Oakland Athletics
by a score of 10-1, according to
a press release.
Good food, great company
and weather, and the Mets won!
said Event Coordinator Mike Benmosche in the release. It was a super
outing enjoyed by all who attended.
The annual tradition to take in Americas Pastime was initiated by Benmosche in 2006, and
includes a great view of the game from a luxury
suite, food and drink, and a chance to catch up
with others in the carwash business.
The next NYSCWA event is the Fall Membership Meeting & Carwash tour, which will take
place October 14 in Westchester County, N.Y.

The International
Carwash Association (ICA)
moved into new headquarters office in July.
The new mailing address is:
230 East Ohio Street, Suite 603
Chicago, IL 60611
The other ICA contact info will remain unchanged:
Phone: +1 888.422.8422
Fax: +1 312.245.1085
Email: info@carwash.org
Website: http://www.carwash.org
Shortly after the move, the ICA announced the
results of its integrated marketing strategies to
spread the word
about its WaterSavers program during the last two
years. The campaigns have produced an average of
120 million impressions a year, according to the Association, and included pre-packaged press releases, and photos that were ready to be run by news
media. The targeted efforts for online media also
included blogger outreach, and featured branded
giveaways that increased social media engagement.

Speaking of water issues,

California water regulators voted 4-0
this July to approve fines up to $500 a day for
residents who waste water on lawns, landscaping
and car washing, as a report showed that
consumption throughout the state has actually
risen amid the worst drought in nearly four
decades, the Associated Press reported. The
restrictions started in August.
According to the APs story, the State Water
Resources Control Board commissioned a survey
which showed conservation measures had failed to
reduce water use by the 20 percent that Gov.
Jerry Brown had asked for earlier this year,
and in fact, had actually increased by 1
percent for the month of May (yearover-year).
The AP reported the fines will be
used to punish wasteful outdoor watering, which includes washing a vehicle
without a nozzle on the hose, and cities
and water districts will have wide latitude
to decide how to implement the fines.

Sonnys
Factory

The

CarWash

announced two additions and

an expansion to its Select Service Organization
(SSO) network this summer. To begin with,
Washtech Inc. will now distribute, install, and
service Sonnys Tunnel Equipment and AutoPilot
CarWash Control Systems in the Maryland and
{continued }

 FALL 2014

37

INDUSTRY DIRT
Virginia markets.
Washtech is a
top notch organization with all the capabilities to service and
support customers in a way that will continue to
build the Sonnys brand, stated Robert Andre, VP
of Outside Sales. Craig Hanson and his team represent unparalleled experience helping car wash
operators succeed. They have the expertise and
integrity to support our clients before, during, and
after their decision to choose Sonnys.

Sonnys also announced the addition of Car

Wash Specialists, LLC to their SSO network.
Car Wash Specialists will distribute, install,
and service SONNYS Tunnel Equipment and
SONNYS AutoPilot CarWash Control Systems
in Michigan and surrounding area markets.
Car Wash Specialists and their people are a perfect fit for what SONNYS looks for in our SSO
group, stated Robert Andre, VP of Sales for SONNYS. Dave Hiemstra and his team represent unparalleled experience helping car wash operators
succeed. They have the expertise and integrity to
support our clients before, during, and after their
decision to choose SONNYS.

HAPPENINGS IN & AROUND

SELF SERVE CARWASHING

Finally, Sonnys announced the expanded territory of Carwash Services of the Southeast, Inc.
They will now serve as the SSO for Georgia,
North and South Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.
CWSSE and their people have been a perfect
fit for what Sonnys looks for in our SSO group,
stated Robert Andre, VP of Outside Sales for Sonnys. What truly sets the CWSSE team apart from
others is their commitment to remaining true to
the core principle that customer service and quality lead everything they do.
SONNYS The CarWash Factory is the largest
manufacturer of conveyorized car wash equipment, parts, and supplies in the world.

ONCAP II, the mid-market private equity

platform for Onex Corporation, has completed the
sale of Car Wash Partners, Inc. (Mister Car Wash),
the largest independent full-service car wash chain
in the U.S., to Leonard Green & Partners.
ONCAP II acquired Mister Car Wash in April
2007 and has worked alongside management to
build a larger and more diversified business, growing from 39 locations to more than 130 today.
Including prior distributions, ONCAP II has re-

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Read all about it ... Interesting operator news

and tidbits from around the industry water cooler.

AWESOME IDEA ALERT!

Con-Serv Manufacturing, a supplier of water reclaim and recovery solutions to the carwash industry, recently hosted a group of local middle school
students to show them products used to treat water
at car washes. Students were able to see the products and watch product demos to learn more about
how car washes help save water and improve the
environment as well as Florida's natural resources.
Con-Serv Owners Stan and Dwight Royal have
participated in the event
for three years now,
which is part of a 15-year
FLEET Program or Florida Environmental Education Team for middle
school students.

38 FALL 2014

Photographer Mark Lyon

has released a series
titled Bay Views
which focuses on finding beauty in empty car
wash stalls. Yes -- you read that correctly. Every
single photograph was shot at a car wash near the
photographers home base, in the Hudson Valley
of New York. Some of the carwashes have been
abandoned, but many are your normal, run-of-themill self serve site.
According to an article posted on the online
magazine Slate, Lyon sometimes waits for years
to get the shot he sets up in his mind and often
revisits the location in different seasons to see how
the light moves through the fog or snow.
You can view the collection of images at
www.slate.com.
{continued }

ceived net proceeds of $423 million compared to

its original investment of $52 million.

New York Citys Consumer

Affairs Dept. testified in favor of
licensing car washes at a City Council hearing this
past June, paving the way for the city to charge car
wash operators $550 for a car wash license and an
additional requirement of a $300,000 insurance
bond under the proposed bill.
Julie Menin, commissioner of the Department,
was quoted by The Epoch Times as saying, We
believe that this licensing scheme is a step in the
right direction to improving the industry for car
wash customers, owners, and workers.
The article noted there are approximately 200
car washes in New York City, employing over
5,000 persons. These figures come from a 2012
report from a car wash employee advocacy group
called Workers Aligned for a Sustainable and
Health New York (WASH).
An earlier report from the New York State Department of Labor in 2010 estimated that nearly
80 percent of car washes in the city are believed to
have serious wage violations.

 FALL 2014

39

Dyna Pac Super Concentrates

Dilution Ratio
270:1

Dilution Ratio
64:1

Dilution Ratio
630:1

Dilution Ratio
270:1

A little goes a long way!

Dilution Ratio
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Dilution Ratio
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Scotch Plaid, Inc.

800-527-5220
40 FALL 2014

www.scotchplaid.com

214-358-2575

EXTRA! EXTRA!
Some of those Ice Bucket
Challenge videos clogging up
my Facebook newsfeed could
have been much improved
by taking a nod from PDQ Manufacturing, Inc.
Employees there went above and beyond when
they fed 300 gallons of ice water through an inbay automatic to film their challenge video.
A press release from the company (and a video
posted on YouTube) shows 25 employees, including Vice President of Marketing and New Business Development Ken Dollohopf and Operations
Manager Scott Vanderheiden standing below the
LaserWash 360 before it dumps the icy H20. PDQ
also made a monetary donation to the ALS Association to aid in the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrigs disease,
according to the company.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKvmSm6mgq4&list=UUFjf_JORLZLShiWtS0ikXCw

Wheres the beef?

Apparently all over the
road in Queensbury, NY,
where local car washes reported an uptick in business after piles of rotting meat were found on
Aviation Road, near the citys mall.
According to The Post Star, police were not sure
where the meat came from or how it ended up on
the roads, and in fact, no investigation was forthcoming, since there was no criminal complaint or
major environmental cleanup needed. The meat -possibly chicken fat -- was removed by the states
Department of Transportation.
I immediately took my Toyota 4Runner to a car
wash but it was too late, James Teele told the newspaper. My vehicle still smells like rotting meat.
Flies are swarming on my vehicle at my office.
According to Matt Phillips, a manager at Hoffman Car Washs Queensbury location, the affected
vehicles that came to the business -- about 35 of
them, he estimated -- had to be pre-washed in the
self serve bays before allowing the cars through
the automated wash.

Las Vegas has joined

other cities in cracking
down on mobile carwashes
with a new ordinance.
Now mobile car wash and auto detailing businesses must obtain an annual $250 city license
per business vehicle and even then, are banned
from operating within 150 feet of all stationary
car washes. If businesses fail to keep their license,
they are barred from advertising their services.
Violate either of the conditions, and the operator
faces a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to
six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.
According to a local news article, city officials

Read all about it ... Interesting

operator news and tidbits from
around the industry water cooler.

didnt debate how this new ordinance might affect

community groups seeking to fundraise, but did
specify that it was not intended as a way to hamper driveway car washing, only that officials wanted to keep caustic car washing chemicals out of
Las Vegas sewer drains. The ordinance includes a
ban on washing vehicles on public rights of way.
Mobile carwashes will also need written permission to operate on private property and can only
operate for a three-hour stretch daily.

Perhaps your car wash gives

back to the community
-- but do you give back tomatoes, radishes and eggs?
Thats what Rob Burke, owner of Wayne Auto Spa
in Wayne, NJ, is putting in the donation boxes he
sends to Evas Village, a local soup kitchen.
And better than that, the donation is actually
grown on the car wash property, as are the chickens that lay the eggs.
Burke, who told a local newspaper that he
brands his business as ecologically and socially
conscious is also planning to build a greenhouse
on the car wash property which could double the
size of his food donation. A Kickstarter campaign
has raised the funds necessary for the building, but
is still active to fund additional parts of the plan.
You can visit it here: http://kck.st/1vVjB2W
According to the article, the Hope Residence at
Evas Village provides medical care, job readiness
training, substance abuse counseling and hot meals
to dozens of mothers who are homeless or recovering from addiction, as well as their children.

Heres a story that

plays out almost like a
Hollywood movie script:
Splash Car Wash hosted its Wash & Win It StartMe-Up Party this June.
The contest, held in partnership with Karl
Chevrolet, a local car dealership, gives 30 customers the opportunity to choose a key to try and start
a brand new Corvette Stingray. One by one, the
contestants tried their luck -- all the way to the
last man standing, Brett Wein.
Contestants were allowed to choose the number
of their key, which was why Wein was so relieved
that the number he wanted was still available.
I was going to pick number 28 whether I was

the first person to try to start the car or the tenth,

stated Wien. I just cant believe it was still available
at the end. My father passed away last October on
the 28th, so that was my number. Not only that,
he used to own a 59 Corvette that we had to sell
because he had suffered a stroke. Now Ive won this
Corvette using his number. I cant believe it.
Splash co-owner Mark Curtis said his son suggested they choose 28 as the lucky number because it is his soccer jersey number.
And all of this happened the day before Fathers Day.
Each key winner received $200 in Splash services and a $500 certificate from Karl against the
purchase of any car at the dealership.
If you want to see the event and the down to
the wire finish, visit http://youtu.be/siSiZ2apfj8.

Its not every day the New York

Times reports on innovations
happening in the self serve
carwash industry
-- but that was the case on July 10, when the renowned newspaper featured Brian Janezic, owner
of two Auto Wash Express self serve locations in
Tucson, AZ, in an article about big data and its
advantages for small businesses.
In the article, Janezic explained how he came to
start using sensors and a software product called
FileMaker Pro to monitor inventory and chemical
supplies at his car washes, as well as at the six conveyor sites his parents own.
Now were able to monitor those levels continuously, he said in the New York Times article. So
instead of having two data points in the span of a
week, well have 500 data points. And we can do
that across our entire company. We might want to
see how much pre-soak were using, because we
have a standard we want to keep within.
According to the article, the new system improves quality control and is able to send text messages and email alerts ahead of problems -- such as
valve stick open, which might prevent a costly
mistake.
His success in using FileMaker Pro led him to
create a similar enterprise called WashStat, which
he sells to other carwash owners.
The article went on to say that big data, as
such programs are sometimes called, is spreading
throughout small businesses.
To quote the piece: In 2010, just 1.7 percent of
small businesses were using business intelligence
software, according to a survey of companies with
fewer than 100 employees conducted by IDC,
whose analysts provide information technology
advice to businesses small and large. By last year,
9.2 percent had adopted such tools, reported Ray
Boggs, a small-business market analyst at IDC,
citing easier-to-use products and lower prices as
prime drivers of the increase.
FALL 2014

41

TRICKS TRADE
OF
THE

Presenting some of the best discussions

of the self serve industrys headaches
and solutions from ACF. You can
find more discussions like these on
AutoCareForum.com.
Kirb: I did everything myself for years and then got
someone to help out. It is the best thing I have done.
Here is a few things I have him do.
Daily
Clean Parking Lot
Clean Self Serve/ Automatic Bays of debris
Wash Down Self Serve Bays and Auto Bays
Dump Trash
Hang Vacuum and Self Serve Hoses
Check for Debris in Vacuum nozzles
As needed Wipe down faces of Self Serves
Close any bay with cone that has a problem and
make me aware of it.
Every other Week
Clean out Vacuums
Wipe down Vacuums and Stainless Trash lids
Eric H: Be sure to use check off sheets to make the
attendant accountable.
I would also add some PM stuff: oil pump wicks,
drain compressor, check soap levels, etc
robert roman: $25 X 312 days = $7,800 / 4-hrs X
312 days = $6.07 per hour
This gets you .gentlemen lives behind the car
wash in the apartments, is retired and looking for
some extra spending money.
What comes first, car wash or retired guy hooking
up with his old buddies for a baseball game, cigars
and beer or doctors appointment or illness or hurt
his back, etc?
How much customer relations and business
reputation do you entrust to a $6.00 an hour
employee? How much loyalty could you expect
from this person?
Moreover, you are adding a line item in the P&L
that doesnt produce any income.
Why not more hours, more pay and get someone
who actually wants to be involved in selling, managing and marketing so business earns more income
and generates more profit?
MEP001: A good attendant absolutely will produce more income.
cfcw: Good suggestions already. I would request
weekly vac cleanouts to keep him on schedule, and
also possibly wash down the vac area afterwards.
I would request he wash down every bay, every
day whether it needs it or not. Cleanliness will slip
after a few months if you leave it to his discretion.
Unless you are still planning on daily visits I think
having someone you trust enough to get access to

42 FALL 2014

Bubbles Galore: I am finally taking the plunge and getting an attendant

for my wash. I havent had the ability
to maintain the place aesthetically as
well as I would like to and this is going
to help with that tremendously. Heres
what weve agreed upon:
$25 per day
Spray down bays
Sweep Parking Lot
Maintain a Daily Checklist of checking bay functions and vacuums

your equipment room is important. If a hose or float

valve fails, how will you know? I would require attendants to at least look inside the pump room at
every visit for that reason.
MEP001: Its been my routine for over 20 years to
wash them down using coins, all of them every day
whether they need it or not. Only way to catch leaks,
coin jams or potential problems with bay equipment
as early as possible.
tdlconceptsllc: $25 is what I pay my guy lives
within site of wash very very good help knows all
the customers and helps my site pick up trash mow
grass wash bays ect..ect.. so I can be doing something
somewhere else making money as many of you know
the carwash bussiness is not your only Job.
JMMUSTANG: I spray painted (red) $50-100
worth of quarters for my attendant to use to wash
down the bays, for refunds and to make sure the coin
slots werent jammed.
This way I just recycled the quarters weekly
JustClean: This is what Ive set up for my guys:
When you come in: Open the change machine
and stir the coins that they can drop down to prevent
machine from running out of coins.
Clean the following with Jiff, bucket and moist
cloth thoroughly:
- Self serve selection panels, instruction signs,
hoses, guns and foam brushes
- Shampoo & fragrance machine hoses and
brush
- Vacuum nozzles
Clean both autocashiers & signs with soap and a
moist cloth
Check several times a day if the following is

Customer relations and/or refunds

Minimum of 2 visits a day - one a.m.
and one p.m.
Rain days at my discretion
Is there anything I am missing? Any
thoughts, suggestions, comments? This
gentlemen lives behind the car wash in
the apartments, is retired and looking for
some extra spending money. He wont
have access to our equipment room directly as I will have a deck box with his
tools set up in our dog wash. Any and
all input is appreciated.

clean and operational without any leaks:

- dog wash,
- self serve bay hoses, guns & foam brushes
- vacuum hoses & handles
- shampoo brush & fragrance gun incl. all hoses
Check & fill up the following machines:
- SS equipment
- Salt in water softener
- Softfoam Automatic
- Touchless Automatic
- Shampoo / Fragrance machine
- Dog wash
- Vending machine
Wash down automatics and Self serve bay walls
with high pressure water
Watch a car being washed in both automatics
and see if it works normally (water, dryer, foam, noises, leaks, etc.)
Enter plant room and watch/listen for any abnormal issues
Blow yard with blower, if need to be several
times a day. Yard has to look clean
Pick up all rubbish on site & empty bins
Empty office rubbish bin
Visually inspect automatic machine for mice and
rats existence within the machine and check on rat bait
Hose down both vacuum areas and if necessary yard
Clean glass on Vending machine & entrance door
In touchless: Wipe down entry light, height bar, office window and program light.
Clean vacuum waste bags & shake filter bags (in
case of dust use our gas mask)
Clean dogwash fence
Clean stainless steel with WD-40 on the following machines:
Vacuums
Shampoo & fragrance machine
{continued }

A Division of DuBois Chemicals

FALL 2014

43

44 FALL 2014

TRICKS TRADE
OF
THE

Dogwash
During low car volume (rainy days, etc.):
Clean bay after bay with Algae killer on concrete.
Do not let the chemical get on the steel walls as they
will rust. Let it soak in for at least 1/2 hour in each bay.
Please use at least 4 cones to ensure the closedown is highly visible and wear protective gear.
Clean all self serve bay walls thoroughly with
mixture 1x Klean-Wall : 5x Water. Do not let the
chemical sit on the wall longer than 2 minutes as it
will etch and start from the bottom up.
Please wear protective gear and see video http://
www.apchemical.com/kleanwall.html
Clean automatic, walls and windows inside auto
bay with mixture 1x Klean-Wall : 5x Water. Please
wear protective gear and see video http://www.apchemical.com/kleanwall.html
Clean vacuum waste container of vacuum NO
XXX only, remove vacuum filter bags of this vacuum
and replace them with spares from the plant room.
Then rinse the dirty bags in the bay and hang
them up inside plant-room to dry.
Vacuum office & waiting room.
Grease & wipe down touchless automatic
Titrate touchless automatic
Clean camera lenses
Use Round-up to spray all weeds in the garden
Spray spider & bug killer spray around the building, on the mezzanine floor and areas where insects
build (i.e. around cameras)
Hope that helps.
robert roman: Yes, benchmarks suggest attended sites do produce more sales revenue per SF of
store than unattended sites.
However, this is assumption is biased because
attended sites have a greater proportion of in-bays
than unattended sites.
To produce more income, attendant must contribute to value-added.
Ask the guys on shark tank who can produce
more income, the server at a restaurant or the night
time janitor?
Expecting a self-serve wash to sell itself doesnt
flush anymore.
Otherwise, 22 percent of all self-serve washes
wouldnt have closed up and its share of industry
wash revenues dropped by 70 percent.
Yes, places with cleaner toilets usually do better
than places with dirty toilets.
However, value-added comes from offering customers extra-features not housekeeping and maintenance activities. This is expected.
For example, most self-serve washes dont even
have a toilet for customers.
The more involved an attendant is in marketing
(selling, promotion) and providing services and customer service, the more likely the wash will generate
additional income and profit.
Reds: I am seriously considering an attendant. I

ADVICE AND AWARENESS FROM THE SELF

SERVE CAR WASH INDUSTRY

have always done everything myself but now I have

health issues that prevent me from doing it. I intend
to have him keep the place clean, chemicals full,
minor repairs, keep in touch with me. I will pull
all the money. I will have to find someone honest
enough to give him access to bay meters and IBA
entry machines to clear coin jams, etc. Or have him
put up a cone if the bay meter is jammed. Finding
the right person will be difficult. I was thinking of
$10 an hour, full or part time. I have 2 sons that
help me after work - in the evening but keeping
up with it, for them, is difficult. They work long
hours at their regular jobs and of course they have
personal lives to live.

carwashK1DD:

How much
are you paying for mud removal?
So, Im just trying to wrap my head
around the costs of mud removal from
troughs, open bay pits, and oil separator
tanks. How big are your pits (approx. sq
ft/W x H x D)? How many bays do you
have? How many oil separator tanks do
you have? How often must they be cleaned
out? And finally...what is your final cost after everything is said and done?

cebo: I pay $400 to pump six 3x6x4 pits. I dont have

an oil separator; just runs from the bays to the sewer.
We pump 4-6 times a year depending on the weather.
Jeff L: Cebo - I think youre getting a great deal.
Must be someone who does it on the side and has a
lot of time on hand. I have my own ring-o-matic vac
system to do my own. I do others for $159-$250 per
pit depending on size. Of course, a vac system completely cleans out the pit versus what a clam shell
bucket does. Theres pros and cons to both methods.
Reds: I have been getting it in the butt for a long
time. I have 2 IBAs and 2 SS bays. We (me and my
sons) used to dig it out with a handiclam. But the
boys are off working full time jobs and my health
now hinders me from hard work. So the local septic guy was whacking me $1,000 per 500 gal. tank
to pump the loose muck and then get out the hard
cake that was a foot deep in the bottom. Now there
is a lot of natural gas activity around here so I found
an oilfield services company with big powerful vac
trucks. I now costs me $90 an hour for 2 men and
a vac truck. They did all of my pits, right to the bottom, in 10 hours. Thats $900 total. My pits are 6
deep. The septic guy hauled the mud away. The gas
guys dump it in a clean fill wanted spot, which is
where I have dumped it for years. Looking at the
gook that comes out of the pits there is no oil. Just
thick stinky muck.

Dcalhoun: We use the local Roto-Rooter guy.

The charges work out to be $56.25 per pit. Our pits
are small, 2W x 4L x 3 Deep. And we clean them
3 times a year usually.
SSadmiral: I pay $800 mol for six pits 3x6x4
and three 1500 gal holding tanks vacd out and do it
annually. Here in Florida its considered hazardous
materials and only 2 or 3 companies are qualified by
the state to handle and dispose. Im required to keep
and show upon request (EPA) the chain of custody I
believe they call it. Major PIA
cebo: Yes Im getting a good deal. Thats the
main reason I havent bought a ring o matic. I
know some states consider it hazardous but its
nothing really more than sand and mud. We can
dump basically anywhere. Im about to buy another wash and live on 50 acres where I have plenty
of places to dump so a pit cleaner may be more
economically feasible soon.
cebo: Not done on the side. This is family that
lives not far from me that has a septic / site contracting business. One of the owners kids has his own
truck and its the only one in the county that has a
large opening that will dump the mud. They have
plenty of places to dump, its an old truck, and he
may need some drug money. haha. But they suck
them dry for the $400.
Rudy: My wash is in a major metropolitan city. I
have the pits pumped every other year, and vthe last
time they were done....it cost me $1250 for my 3/2.
Theres no way around it.
The biggest threat.....the chain of custody. You
can have your pits pumped....but if the contractor doesnt dispose of it correctly....its YOU (not
them) who is on the hook. If they dump it into a
stream....guess who gets sued for the environmental damage????
Im not sure that your insurance would even protect you in that case.
Ugh. I factor it all into the cost of doing business.
Thats why my prices go up in a month.
MEP001: We were paying about $3000 each time
they were pumped, which was about once a year they made a better deal and come by twice a year on
their schedule for $2500/year.
They supply us with copies of permits and receipts
that make us not liable once they leave the property
with the mud.
washnvac: $550 per pull for bay pits only (about
200 gallons each). Additional $250 per large tank
pump out. (I have a 1500/1000/1000) 6-bay wash;
done 4 times per year. I do one big tank per year.

FALL 2014

45

46 FALL 2014

 FALL 2014

47

ORDER
ARTICLE!
A REPRINT OF YOUR

Visit www.sscwn.com and click Reprints to order a

copy of any article printed on a custom-designed
plaque for your office wall!

48 FALL 2014

By Kate Carr

NRCC
Show
Report

The Northeast celebrates 25

years in style: Sold out floor,
near-record attendance, and
an excellent keynote.

Big brother
(and Keynote Speaker)
Robert Benmosche
was on hand
to help surprise
Mike Benmosche
with his 2014 Hall
of Fame honor.

Maybe it was mild weather that encouraged

drive-in traffic. Maybe it was all that extra profit that poured in as the salt washed off in the
Northeast this lengthy winter. Maybe it was the
diligence of a committed and energized planning
board. Maybe it was anniversary magic.
Whatever the reason, the 25th Northeast Regional Carwash Convention, held September
15-17 at the Trump Tan Mahal Hotel & Casino
in Atlantic City, was a total success. Even with
attendance slumping on the second day, the energy carried over from the previous days educational sessions and keynote presentation, coupled
with high traffic (nearing 1,400 attendees) on the
shows opening day, was enough to keep exhibitors and attendees smiling as they milled about
the shows sold-out floor.

Educational highlights
SSCWN was on hand to attend the educational
seminars and will provide a thorough transcript of
the Early Bird Panel featuring Dave Ellard, Mike
Conte, Frank Lash, Mark Landers, Fred ONeil
and hosted by Bob Katseff in our next issue.
In addition to that productive panel session,
NRCC also organized two concurrent seminars
on Monday, September 15, one of which was directed toward the self serve industry. Self Service
Reinvigoration, presented by Carolina Prides
Dale Reynolds attracted about 40 attendees and
addressed a number of issues related to reviving
todays humdrum self serve car wash business.
The main points of Reynolds presentation:
Maintain enthusiasm for your car
wash. Reynolds proposed that most car
{continued }

NRCC co-chairs Walt Hartl and Mike Benmosche present Mark and Teri Kubarek
of K&S Car Wash, Auburn, NY, with the 2014 Most Distinguished Person(s) award.
FALL 2014

49

NRCC Show Report

Attendees gathered in groups of 10-12 on the shows closing

day to discuss topics ranging from self serve operations to
social media and insurance/safety issues at the Early Bird Roundtable Session.
wash operators lose interest in their business
after 5-7 years. As opposed to convenience
store/petroleum businesses, which invest in
re-branding and remodeling every 7-10. As
Reynolds further pointed out, If youre not
excited about your business, your employees
definitely wont be. The operator who
remains committed to constantly reinventing
his business and continues to plan for its
future will find his staff and customers are
similarly excited about its operations.

Know the value of your car wash.

If you take Reynolds advice and continue to
update and modernize your car wash, than
you similarly should increase the price of
your services. Beyond that, Reynolds also
encouraged operators to track sales at their
business in order to determine which services
are valuable to your car wash and provide
further ideas on how to reinvest your money
into the wash. Dont let it be a shot in the
dark -- put your money to good use by following your customers habits and trends.

Motivate employees and hold

them accountable. Whether you
have 1 attendant or 10, you need to have an
employee handbook with plainly explained
standards, as well as written instructions and
procedures for maintaining the wash. Reynolds explained his two goals for his employees were to make the customer smile, and
then quoted his mentor, the late Donald
Walker of Souther Pride, who was fond of
saying, Make every bay work in every way,
{continued }

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February 22-24, 2015 | Arlington Convention Center | Arlington, Texas

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| Arlington
Center
Texas
Convention
| Arlington,
Center
Texas
| Arlington,Center
Texas | Arlington, Texas
22-24,
2015
| Arlington
Convention

www.swcarwash.org

50 FALL 2014

www.swcarwash.org
www.swcarwash.org
www.swcarwash.org
www.swcarwash.org
www.swcarwash.org
www.swcarwash.org

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1/10/14 4:53 PM

CyrptoPay System Security Overview

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Wireless transmissions are

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2014 Genesys Technologies.

Copyright 2012 Genesys Technologies

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1/10/14 4:53 PM

FALL 2014

51

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FALL 2014

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NRCC Show Report

every day! In that manner, Reynolds often

follows up on his employees who have conducted the daily checklist to make sure they
have, in fact, done their work. He also remains an approachable figure for employees
and establishes a relationship by asking them
about their families and seeking out their advice on improving the wash.
Make a good first impression.
Reynolds spoke a lot about the importance
of the appearance of the car wash to its overall success. This is part of the reason its so

important to constantly reinvest in your business -- new roof, new paint, and new signage
can go a long way in attracting new customers, as can employee uniforms. (One neat
idea from Reynolds: If your employees are
fond of wearing baseball hats in the hot summer months, replace them with straw hats for
a more professional look. Also, bright colored
polo shirts are an excellent ways to help employees stay safe while also giving the wash
that high class appeal.

An insightful and inspiring

keynote
This years keynote was especially invigorating.
Robert H. Benmosche is touted and praised for
the incredible work he did as President and CEO
of American International Groups (AIG) -- and
he also enjoys the distinct privilege of being Mike
Benmosches older brother. As a press release
from the NRCC explained: In 2009, Benmosche
was asked to help restructure the ailing insurance
company, and repay the government support that
AIG received at the height of the 2008 financial
{continued }

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NRCC Show Report

Another traffic jam!

The aisles were packed with
attendees on the shows opening day.

crisis. Benmosche successfully lead AIG through

one of the most extraordinary turnarounds in
the history of corporate America as the company
repaid the entire $182.3 billion plus a profit of
more than $22.7 billion.
Benmosches down-to-earth attitude and open
demeanor made for an extremely enlightening
keynote, which he directed as a Q&A after a brief
20-minute speech which outlined his personal
history and motivations in business.
One of the important themes from Benmosches address was the value and opportunity presented by your employees. Employees are
more loyal than you think and they care more
than you think, he explained to attendees, recalling how AGI had workers whose families
were threatened at home and at school simply
for working for the company. As a result, one of
the first things Benmosche did when he came
on board was to hold open town hall meetings
with workers -- a practice he continued regularly
until he stepped down as president.
In order to motivate those workers, he urged
car wash operators to be genuine, credible and
honest. How do you encourage people? he

56 FALL 2014

asked, You make them feel like a part of the

solution. By staying in constant contact and
asking employees for feedback he was able to
stay connected without having to make phony reassurances or promises. Instead, his engagement showed them his commitment.
In keeping with that theme, Benmosche
cautioned operators to pay attention to how
their managers are treating workers. Managers, he said, need to know that the leadership
is connected to staff of all levels.
The last important point Benmosche made
was to know your value and hold onto it. Though
he could have been tempted by offers to save AGI
at fire sale prices in order to keep the company
in tact, he took his time and held onto his belief
that the company should be worth much more.
This, in particular, seems to hit home with the
car wash industry, where so many operators have
been faced with the threat of market oversaturation or low-dollar pricing. Instead, Benmosche
told attendees to know your value and diversify
your risk.
A recording of the entire session is available
to attendees by contacting the NRCC office at
1-800-868-8590.

Recognized and awarded

Keynote speaker Robert Benmosche made one
final appearance at NRCC in a touching moment
during the award ceremony luncheon. When
Mike Benmosche stepped on stage to present this
years Hall of Fame award to Dave DuGoff -- he
was instead interrupted by co-chairman Walt
Hartl and his brother Robert, who informed him
that HE was in fact the recipient of the NRCCs

most prestigious honor.

To say he was surprised would probably be an
understatement -- weve never seen Mike so at
a loss for words. Even better, according to Hartl,
Mike had been repeatedly nettled by the fact that
Hartl and the other board members wanted him
to repeatedly re-write his speech to recognize
DuGoff. Thoroughly annoyed at the end, Hartl
said the surprise honor was all the more deserved
thanks to Mikes willingness to go along with all
the pushy edits. Mike has been involved in the car
wash industry for over 20 years, and in that time
has served on three association boards, co-chaired
two NRCCs with Hartl, contributed a quarterly
column to the Northeast Carwasher magazine,
and served on the International Carwash Associations Exhibitor Show Advisory Committee
(ESAC). His safety and e-learning program to
help operators reduce insurance claims at the
carwash is highly appreciated among operators
as are his regular blog posts and industry trade
magazine articles (one of which most recently
appeared in this publication!)
In addition to Mikes award, long time New
York State Car Wash Association members Mark
and Teri Kubarek of K & S Car Wash in Auburn,
NY, were honored for their unyielding service
to the association and industry over the last 30
years with the Most Distinguished People award
presented by NYSCWA President Walt Hartl.
According to the NRCC, Mark Kubarek is a
past NYSCWA president who served two terms
in this position and fought countless sales tax
battles. Terri has been a steadfast contributor to
their business and the association for as long as
the Kubareks have been in the industry and is involved in the daily operations at K & S. They are
valuable assets to New York State carwashing and
long-time supporters of the NRCC, said Hartl.
Co-Chairman Mike Benmosche thought he was
presenting the NRCCs most prestigious award.

Looking ahead
Driven by the success of the 2014 show, the
NRCC has continued ahead with plans to host
the 2015 NRCC at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City on October 5-7. Two hurdles to cross:
The ICA has announced their intention to host
Car Wash Show Europe in Amsterdam on those
same dates, and the Taj Mahal has been mired in
some controversy over its operational status for
2015. The shows planning committee remains
enthused by this years show, and despite these
headaches, I see no reason why they cant pull
it off. This years show is further evidence of the
onward and upward track for this Northeast
gem and SSCWN is definitely looking forward to
returning in 2015.
Attendees are encouraged to check back to
the NRCCs website for further updates, www.
nrccshow.com.

 FALL 2014

57

58 FALL 2014

#Marketmania

is here!
SSCWN helps
your self serve
car wash take
advantage of
these modern
marketing tactics
and trends.

CANT

BUYME LOVE
By Kate Carr

Lets start by addressing the obvious question:

Why the heck should a self serve car wash operator care about social media?
I get it. I do. Youre the only game in town in a
rural market. What is Twitter going to do for you?
Its a fair argument. A lot of the types of social
media being touted by small business groups and
even our industry trade magazines are, in fact,
pretty nonsensical for the average self serve car
wash owner. Theres just not much advantage to
you building an Instagram or Tumblr page -- and

to be honest, I think Twitter is kind of a joke, too.

But one might also argue that an inability to
embrace marketing trends like Facebook or Yelp
is further evidence of whats holding the self
serve segment of the industry back. Weve got this
stuck-in-the-mud, obsessed-with-bucket-washers reputation, and quite frankly, if were not willing to give 30 minutes of our day to improving our

businesses, whos to say the naysayers are wrong?

All grumpiness aside, theres no denying that social media is not only here to stay -- its influence
continues to spread at an impressive rate. For example, the fastest growing age group on Twitter isnt
your teenage daughter and her friends; its Americans aged 55-64, up 79 percent since 2012, according to Fast Company. For Facebook and Google+,
FALL 2014

59

#Marketmania!!!
its users aged 45-54.
So while it might be tempting to write off social
media as a young persons game, its just not accurate. Your customers -- the old, the young, the middle aged -- are on Facebook, whether youre willing
to look for them there or not.
The Millennials (most commonly defined as those
born between 1982 and 2004) are not only on these
sites, but by all accounts pretty much obsessed with
them. But did you know just how influential these
whipper snappers are? Millennials account for 25
percent of the population, according to the U.S.
Census, and 34 percent of the labor force today. By
2018, theyll have more collective buying power
than the Baby Boomers, and in 2025, theyre poised
to represent 75 percent of the labor force, according
to Forbes magazine. In just ten short years, youre
going to find the majority of your customer base is
the generation that grew up with smartphones in
hand -- and theyre going to take it for granted that
you have an online presence.
Beyond the obvious path this trend is taking, its
worth noting that social media allows self serve
operators to engage with their customers in a way
weve rarely seen before. While conveyor washes
have long taken advantage of being able to interact
with their customers and create a personality for
their businesses via employee policies, self serves
simply havent had those same opportunities. But
now? Now you have the ability to connect and engage your customers. You can survey them, thank
them, address customer service issues, etc. -- all
from the comfort of your computer desk.
Perhaps the most important argument in favor
of social media is the four letter one: FREE. All of
the options weve reviewed (excepting Groupon)
cost nothing more than your time (and a little of
your sanity as you learn how to negotiate these new
worlds) As the Beatles so famously pointed out,
money cant buy you love. But a little time and effort (and some free social media programs) might.
Lucky for you, SSCWN sorted through the
bunch of them, and even tried a few ourselves, to
give you an easy-to-digest overview. (And if computers still make you cranky, weve peppered in

some old school social media ideas along the way.)

Rated on a scale of 1-4 Beatles as according to how
useful they are to a self serve carwash (what can we
say, were a sucker for a good theme), here are your
winners and losers:

FACEBOOK
The most important thing to remember about
Facebook is that its about quality, not quantity.
Your goal isnt to sell your car wash on Facebook
or attract a thousand fans, but to find those dozens of raving fans and engage them in a meaningful
way. As Thomas Brown of Chartered Institute of
Marketing explained in an article for Entrepreneur
magazine, Social media is not a broadcast tool, its
a place where people come together to have conversations and share. As such, you need to create
quality content on your Facebook page that evokes
either emotion or reaction from your fans.
To that end, it is recommended that your Facebook posts follow the 20/80 rule; twenty percent
of your posts can be about your business, but the
other 80 percent should be of some value to your
customer.
(And I hope I dont have to actually spell it out
for you, but positive content = positive reaction
= warm, fuzzy feelings for your car wash. Avoid
negative content at all costs. It might feel good to
get a political rant off your chest or vent about an
awful customer, but its hardly ever going to play
out in a manageable way. Save it for your personal Facebook page.)
In addition to giving you a place to engage and
connect with your customers, Facebook has another purpose, and that is to engage yourself as
a business owner. On Facebook, you can connect
with other business owners in your community
and other car wash operators, as well as follow
small business and trade magazine/media. Staying in the know and drawing inspiration from

HELPFUL TIP
Fridays are the best day for
engagement on Facebook, according to
Fast Company, and photos are the most
commonly shared type of post (87%),
followed by links at a measly 4 percent.

SETTING UP YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE

Not sure how to set up your Facebook
page? Here are some resources to help
you get acquainted with the basics:
https://www.facebook.com/business
http://www.washtrends.com/blog/howto-create-and-optimize-a-facebook-pagefor-your-carwash/
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=O9SDy58HBYo

like-minded individuals will keep you inspired

and engaged on Facebook even while youre still
building your own Facebook presence. In addition to liking the pages of other community
businesses, you can check in on your competition (although you might not want to like their
page). You can also search for non-competing
mentor washes who have stellar Facebook pages
you might emulate. (Some of our favorites to follow: Hoffman Car Wash, Wash Depot Toowoomba, Green Clean Car Wash, and Zips Car Wash.
You can find examples of good content from their
sites throughout this story.)
Its important to remember that the value of
your content isnt only how customers perceive
it. Facebook has their own algorithm called EdgeRank which they use to prevent businesses and
brands from clogging up user news feeds. The
more you engage your users (by getting likes,
shares and comments), the better your ranking
will be and the more content your fans will see
from you. Using a visual and including an outside
link to content can also boost your rankings.

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THIS POST

Its fun! We love taking advantage of silly holidays
(see sidebar on page 68) and it includes a link and
visual. Perfect for customers to share with their
friends and family!

60 FALL 2014

WHAT
WE LOVE
ABOUT
THIS POST
An awesome
visual, useful
information
that has a -call
to action- -- and
it taps into the
customers love
for his pet and
family!

#Marketmania!!!
Wash Depot Toowoomba is on-point again in their
response to a customer complaint.

TIPS FOR POSTING CONTENT ON FACEBOOK:

One of the main reasons people stop following
a brand is because they post too much; experts
recommend no more than five posts per week.
Remember the title of your post is key. If you
dont have catchy and ENGAGING title, no one
will click on it. Use numbers, lists, or phrases like
how to. Ex: How to wash a car at our self serve
in 8 easy steps. You wont believe these three
car wash secrets from the pros!
Include a visual with your post.
Incorporate hashtags when possible -- but
dont abuse them. Hashtags serve a purpose
-- they help categorize and group common
ideas or topics. #Youcantjustwriteanythingi-

nahashtag but you could make your business

a hashtag #classiccarwash or capitalize on a
hashtag trend, like #lifehack for a post about
5 ways to organize your car
Contests which require the customer to
act -- by commenting on the post or sharing information -- can improve your EdgeRank score.
Always review your content before hitting post. Ask these three questions from
Entrepreneur.com
1. Does it fit your brand?
2. Does it speak to your audience?
3. Does it link back to your website?

YELP
Heres the deal: Online reviews matter. Over 60
percent of consumers read online reviews before
making a purchase, says Entrepreneur magazine,
and 70 percent of global consumers trust whats
written online, a 15 percent increase over the last
four years, according to Neilsens Global Trust in
Advertising survey.
{continued }
Users can submit photos to your Yelp page, as seen here

FALL 2014

61

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62 FALL 2014

ETOWAH VALLEY EQUIPMENT, INC.

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FALL 2014

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#Marketmania!!!
Not only that, but all signs indicate that online
review programs and websites will grow in accountability and reliability over the next few years.
Many experts predict that anonymous reviews will
give way to accounts which are connected to the
reviewers real-life persona on Facebook or Twitter. And review information will be aggregated, so
you can more easily find businesses your friends
and family have visited.
Shockingly, only 13 percent of small business
owners actively invest in online reviews, according to Entrepreneur magazine. While it is a pitiful
number, its not entirely surprising -- composing a
response to a negative review can be an incredibly
frustrating process. But this is an opportunity that
many self serve operators have envied full serve
car washes -- rather than a customer driving away
angry and simply running their mouth to everyone
at the Piggy Wiggly, owners now have the chance
to make things right and resolve customer service
issues in a public way.
Where do you start? To begin, do a Google search
of your car wash to fish out any already existing
reviews. These may be on Yelp, or they might be
found on similar sites (Google, Yahoo, Angies List,
etc.), from there youll want to focus on creating
a profile with accurate business information and
then attending to any negative reviews.
According to Heather Ashley, president of
Mid-Atlantic Car Wash Association and co-owner
of Virginia Car Wash Industries, the best response
to a customer complaint on an online review ser-

vice is an apologetic one. Dont

defend yourself, Ashley cautioned attendees at an NRCC
Early Bird Roundtable discussion.
The best thing is to actually handle it offline; send a private message or give them your
phone number. Online, you just
want to apologize and make it
clear that you will make sure it
never happens again. That way

WHY YOU NEED TO

REVIEW YOUR REVIEWS
Yelp encourages reviewers to be amusing (note
the useful, funny and cool buttons at the bottom
of the post), which sometimes results in posts
like this one by George C. of San Fran.

other consumers see an

involved owner intent
on a positive resolution;
you can save the longer
response for a more private medium.
While it might be aggravating to deal with negative reviews, taking charge
of your Yelp presence is an
important step for a small
business since many potential customers will turn to
the Internet in order to find
your business. Your website
and any online reviews will
be a part of their first impression of your business. By
creating an account on Yelp
(or similar review sites), posting photos of your
business and posting accurate information (like
hours of operation, address, etc.), you can at
least manage some aspects of that impression.
Another way to take control is to encourage
customers to write positive reviews. While we
caution against offering a financial incentive
(which might create unnatural swells in activity
on your Yelp page, thus giving the consumer the
feeling that the reviews are phony or canned),
it is a good idea to train employees on how to
ask customers for their feedback. Something as
simple as saying hello to the customer, thanking them for their business and asking them to
let us know how were doing by reviewing the
business online can do the trick.
Its also important to remember that Yelp is
not a public service -- its a massive, publicly
traded corporation, as San Francisco Weekly re{continued }

OLD SCHOOL SOCIAL MEDIA

DRAW INSPIRATION FROM

CHALK BOARDS

Sidewalk chalk board signs are all the rage for hipster bars and trendy coffee shops these
days, so we thought you might gather some inspiration from some of these funny signs we
found online. Hopefully you already have a reader board sign (or better yet -- a digital reader
sign). Remember to change your message weekly.

64 FALL 2014

 FALL 2014

65

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66 FALL 2014

Etowah Valley Equipment, Inc.

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FALL 2014

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#Marketmania!!!
minded readers following a September court ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the
Golden Gate city. According to the courts decision, Yelp has the legal right to manipulate ratings
for money. The company steadfastly denies actually doing this, though, despite many small business
owners who have claimed Yelp started posting
more negative reviews (and even suggested the
company removed positive reviews) after they
stopped paying for advertising on the site. Theres
no concrete evidence the company has put their
legal right into practice, but it helps to remember
the company isnt there as a service to the business
owner or even to the consumer. The only person

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THIS POST

It spins the classic rainy day narrative! Here
we find useful information shared in a link -and concern for the customers!

OLD SCHOOL SOCIAL MEDIA

CELEBRATE
OBSCURE
HOLIDAYS

MORE SILLY HOLIDAY FUN,

along with the awesome visual (who wouldnt

want to share that?) and funny copy to boot.

Sure its fun to give out free washes to green

cars on St. Patricks Day and decorate
a haunted bay for Halloween, but how
about using these obscure holidays to your
advantage?
Remember: Giving away a car wash might
seem like a painful way to part with your
money, but its really one of the least expensive
advertising gambits you can take.
Youre giving the customer a $12 value for
a $1.35 expense. Ill take that over a several
hundred dollar billboard any day of the week.
JANUARY 19, NATIONAL POPCORN DAY: This ones super easy -- just hand out free bags of
popcorn to customers. If youre a busier wash, you might just focus on the kiddies.
MARCH 14, PI DAY: Give a free car wash to anyone whose vehicle has those lucky
numbers in its license plate: 3, 1 and 4.
MAY 4, STAR WARS DAY: Give a free car wash to customers who dress up to celebrate
the holiday or ask a staff member to wear a costume and sandwich sign to draw in
business.
MAY 16, LOVE A TREE DAY: This is a good PR opportunity. Plant a tree (or trees) in
a community park and host a planting ceremony by inviting local school kids to
participate.
JULY 7, CHOCOLATE DAY: Giveaway chocolate bars with your highest wash package.

looking out for your business on Yelp is you.

TWITTER

JULY 20, NATIONAL ICE CREAM DAY: Similar to popcorn day, if youve got the staff
abilities, hand out ice cream to customers.
AUGUST 13, NATIONAL LEFT HANDERS DAY: Free car washes for lefties!
AUGUST 26, NATIONAL DOG DAY: Free car washes for anyone who brings their K-9 best
friend to the wash. Or perhaps just handing out dog treats.
SEPTEMBER 29, NATIONAL COFFEE DAY: Free coffee on site! Easy peasy!
OCTOBER 6, MAD HATTER DAY: Free car washes for anyone wearing a hat.

Twitter isnt entirely relevant to your self serve

car wash business, but if youre an Internet-savvy
operator, its worth creating an account in order
to follow trade media, small business topics and
trends, and as another way to develop your businesss personality.
The reason Im not overly fond of Twitter is that
so much of your content there would likely be
duplicated from your Facebook account. When it
comes down to it, Facebook is easier to manage
and has so many more options for engaging the
customer.
If you do intend to supplement your Facebook
page with a Twitter account, we suggest:
Try out Tweriod, a service which shows when
your followers are using Twitter and helps you
to figure out when to post content.
Be consistent with your Twitter. Experts recommend three posts per day. Market your
twitter on business cards, your Facebook page,
your website, etc.
Know that 53 percent of Twitter users expect
a response from a brand within an hour after
{continued }

68 FALL 2014

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THIS POST

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THIS POST
Again with the hashtags and an excellent visual
-- plus it gets the word out to non-fans by asking
customers to tag friends.

As per usual, Zips comes through with a useful hashtag

and interesting visual - plus this one is exciting and
encourages customers to stay connected to the page so
they dont miss these deals.

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FALL 2014

69

#Marketmania!!!
they tweet at them, according to Fast Company.
If youre going to be on Twitter, check it often.
Build excitement and engagement with giveaways; for instance, you can offer free car wash
codes or prizes for Twitter users who respond
to contests like best photo at the car wash,
dirtiest car picture, best car wash joke, etc.)

BUSINESS
WEBSITE

Your goal should be to be the first car wash that

pops up on Google when the user searches Your
City + Car Wash. From your homepage, it should
be obvious (and as easy to read on the computer
screen as it is on a mobile phone):
Where your car wash is located;
Contact information, including phone number
and e-mail, for the operator/manager;

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THIS POST

Encouraging fans to -check in- to your
business is an awesome way to get free
marketing, as youll get the exposure on the
news feeds of all of their friends.

Photo(s) which prove the cleanliness and security of your car wash.
In addition to these musts, its good to have several
other pages which offer web users information about:
Your charity wash program;
The environmental benefits of car washing;
How to use the self serve car wash;
Directions/map to your location;
Pricing and coupons/specials;
Loyalty and/or fleet account program;
About us;
FAQ; and
Blog

FOR INSPIRATION, A FEW GOOD

SELF SERVE WEBSITES ARE:

If you do only one thing after reading this article,

let it be this: Create a professional, useful -- and
most importantly -- mobile-phone-friendly website. (Or improve your existing website.)
Yes, your car wash can survive just fine without
Facebook or Twitter, but a good website is becoming more crucial every year the Millennials advance in our society. These kids are on the phones
as theyre cluelessly driving by your wash, shouting out to Siri, find me the closest car wash.
This is one instance when you really ought to
spring for the professional. Youll want a web designer who is experienced in SEO (search engine
optimization) and can build a page which is functional for the customer -- especially the mobile user
-- and a useful marketing tool for you.

www.happybays.ca
www.brownbear.com
www.bubblesautospa.net
www.happycowcarwash.com.
{continued }

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THIS POST

Facebook has a decent enough track record for
helping police departments, local TV stations
and business owners track down criminals. Not
only that, it can actually reassure customers
about the safety of your car wash.

OLD SCHOOL SOCIAL MEDIA

GET SOME FREE PR

Are you installing new energy efcient equipment or solar panels? Send a press release to your local newspaper. Has your carwash been the
victim of crime? After getting in touch with police, reach out to local TV outlets. Tell them youre offering a reward for information and share the
surveillance camera images, too. And if you have a charity program, its time to send a press release out to the local schools and community
bulletins as a call for applicants.

A FEW TIPS FOR WRITING AN ATTENTION-GRABBING PRESS RELEASE:

Punch up the headline. Local car wash
to be remodeled is pretty blah. Stateof-the-art car wash equipment comes to
Blank City is better.
Your first paragraph needs to sell the
story. Put all of the relevant details
there and present the story angle for
the reporter, you can expand on the
information later. When the $165,000
state-rebated remodel of Johns Car
Wash is complete, Blank City residents
will have access to the only hybrid

70 FALL 2014

automatic car wash machine for 60

miles and owner John B. Johnson
estimates the state-of-the-art car wash
will reduce its water usage by more than
55 percent and its electricity usage by
nearly 50 percent.
When possible, use data or statistics to
prove your point. (As seen above.)
Dont forget the quotes. If possible, quote
someone from outside the car wash, like
a community gurehead or customer.
(And it doesnt hurt to quote yourself,

silly as it may seem.) This is an excellent

example of small businesses taking
advantage of state rebate programs in
order to fund eco-friendly projects which
improve the quality of life for our town
residents, stated Mayor John Quimby.
Get it all on one page. Two maximum.
Dont forget contact information. At the top,
with a name, phone number and e-mail.
PROOFREAD. PROOFREAD.
PROOFREAD.

 FALL 2014

71

#Marketmania!!!

GOOGLE+
To be blunt, Google+ is confusing. Even the media gurus admit as much. But you cant deny its
growing influence on the marketplace. Google+
gets more average visits per month than Facebook,
and by a large amount, too. While Facebook averages 809 million visits per month, Google+ tops them
with 1.2 billion, according to Wix.
Not only that, but Google+ has tons of SEO
benefits built into it -- and small businesses especially need to capitalize on these capabilities in order to improve their chances of being found at the
top of the list after a customers Google search.
The problem with Google+ is that not many
consumers are actually using the service. But because it automatically improves your businesss
SEO, its worth creating a profile and monitoring
the site for reviews.
Google+ reviews, in particular, are the real value
of this service, and work in a similar manner to Yelp
-- with the added benefit of showing up alongside
Google searches. For example, if Suzie McCustomer was to type Blank+City+Car+Wash into Goo-

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THIS POST

It has a call to action and encourages customers to interact with the page by posting content
directly on the page - the most valuable kind of
interaction on Facebook.

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THIS POST

Photo contest are an awesome way to engage
your customers and encourage a wider appeal
since the users friends and families will also see
their post (and your page, by association)

gle, her results will appear after a few paid ads and
a few Google+ reviews of nearby car wash businesses. By encouraging customers to review your
business on Google+, youll increase the chances
of your business automatically showing up at the
top of the results, without having to pay for an ad.
To get started, all you have to do is visit www.
google.com/mybusiness. From there, youll probably find that your business already has a basic
listing, with your address and phone number, perhaps, and youll be able to add photos, hours of
operation and additional information, as well as
monitor customer reviews.

LINKEDIN
You wont be shaking hands with customers
on LinkedIn -- but you might become better acquainted with your local small business community and car wash trade organizations. Its an online networking opportunity, and as small as the
gains may be, its worth creating a profile to mine
for information a bit.

THE 24/7
OPERATOR
ROUNDTABLE
72 FALL 2014

THIS SERVICE
MIGHT COST YOU
MONEY, BUT SAVE
YOU A HEADACHE
While researching this article, two
car wash managers mentioned a
service they use which costs a bit of
money, but has saved them a great
deal of time. Yext is a geomarketing
service, according to the company,
which basically means that it will
manage online listings, store pages,
social pages and media campaigns
through one single integrated service.
Make a change on your Yext account,
and it will automatically update your
Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, etc.
Recommended only for those
car washes which have a serious
commitment to social media, it
would be most benecial if you nd
yourself distracted by all of the online
marketing tools -- but too afraid to
abandon any of them because of the
benet they have to your business.

METAL
HALIDE

#Marketmania!!!
Once youve created a profile on LinkedIn,
connect with your regional and/or national trade
associations, as well as vendors, trade media, and
sales reps that interest your business. Its also advisable to reach out to other small business owners in your city or town. You can stay connected,
in the know, and LinkedIn regularly posts content
on their homepage which is targeted towards your
interests as a small business owner.

GROUPON
Let the express exteriors and full serves with
monthly unlimited plans play this game, it just
doesnt seem like this online coupon/marketing
service can drive traffic to a self serve in a useful
way. If you are intent on using Groupon (which
offers an extreme discount to the consumer in the
hopes that the business will build up lots of name
recognition/exposure and new customer visits),
then plan to have a follow-up offer which will secure the customers business in the future.
As Ryan Carlson, formerly of WashCard Systems,

(1200 Watts)

VS.

once explained to me: Whatever your discount is

-- a coupon or direct mail offer -- it needs to have
a purpose. It needs to grow a mailing list, support
a charity event or build your loyalty program. You
have to use it to guide customer behaviors.
Its an advertising expense followed by a customer retention expense, Carlson said.
As a frequent Groupon user, I completely concur
with Carlsons suggestions. Thats because Ive been
using Groupon to get cheap haircuts for the last five
years. You know why I havent returned to any of
the high-end salons Ive visited? Its not because I
didnt like the stylist or the cut. Its because theyre
too expensive and no ones ever given me a reason
to return; no follow-up offer, no emails, no amazing
customer service, not even a persuasive phone call.
Meanwhile, I dropped into a newly-opened salon
on a whim a few weeks ago and paid full-price for a
haircut. The customer service was over the top and
I was given not only a coupon for my next visit (and
asked to schedule that visit before leaving), but also
coupons for friends. If only someone could combine
the basic elements of these two experiences (great
discount + excellent customer service/reason to return), youd think theyd have a winning concept.

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FALL 2014

73

74 FALL 2014

On the Road

Again...

SCWA had a fabulous tour of Denver, CO,

and weve got the photos to prove it!

The Southwest Car Wash Association (SCWA)

was recently On the Road Again in Denver, Colorado, and while SSCWN staff were unable to attend, we did make sure to get you the skinny on
the event!
More than 200 car wash owners and suppliers gathered in Denver to tour a variety of outstanding car wash locations. The day started with
a presentation and update by Rick Alvarado from
the Denver Water Authority. SCWA has initiated a new effort with the DWA to promote the
SCWA Water Conservation Alliance (learn more
about the program at http://swcarwash.org/conservation-alliance/water-conservation-alliance).
The DWA has agreed to accept the SCWA criteria

and recognize car wash operations following the

guidelines. Those car washes will be listed on the
Denver Water Authority website and the SCWA
website as Conservation Partners.
The self serve operators held a special round table discussion on the evolution of the self serve
industry. The Round Table focused on the issues
facing the self serve operator including impact of
the express model; car wash saturation; water issues; cost of doing business; what new services can
a self serve add; customer service.
Each SCWA Car Wash Tour will host a special Self Serve Round Table with the culmination
happening at the 2015 SCWA Convention & Car
Wash EXPO February 22-24, 2015. Any self serve

operator is invited to participate and share concern

and ideas about the self serve industry. SCWA created the Self Serve Round Table to make sure the
Association was staying in touch with the needs of
the self serve operator.
Following lunch, the afternoon car wash tour including Buckys Car Wash; Waterway Car Wash;
Eco Express; Colorado Car Wash; Car Wash Express; Ocean Express; and Octopus Car Wash.
Mark your calendars for the next edition of
SCWA On the Road Again, October 14, 2014 in
San Antonio, Texas. Registration for the San Antonio event is found on the SCWA website, www.
swcarwash.org.

FALL 2014

75

SCWA ROAD SHOW

SWCA members enjoyed excellent car washing weather as they made their way through a
tour of seven different washes after a morning of educational events and seminars.

Pictured, from left to right: Kevin Hodes, SWYPIT;

Andrew Zamora, SCWA Board member and
owner of Racer Car Washes; and Stephany.

76 FALL 2014

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FALL 2014

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www.manniwashsystems.com

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78 FALL 2014

High volume car washes that can deliver clean, shiny cars need
to be a WORK HORSE, and that is what the TURBO WASH is
often called. In fact, there are more units of the TURBO WASH
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Low Pressure Air Pumps

Trigger Gun and Hose Assembly

Hogs Hair Foaming Brush
Automatic High Pressure Weep
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FALL 2014

79

SCWA ROAD SHOW

The Denver Water

Authority has made it
a point to encourage
water conservation
among professional
car washes in the city
by partnering with
SWCA and embracing
the Associations Water
Conservation Alliance.

Gleaming cars take

advantage of the free vac
service at ECO Express Car Wash.

Car washes participating in the

alliance are now listed on the
Denver Water Authority website.

SWCA Road Show attendees enjoyed

wonderful homemade snacks along
the tour, including egg rolls, prepared
by Marcus Bell and his wife, owners
of Ocean Express Car Wash.

80 FALL 2014

Every carwash or convenience

store needs a good Tire Inflator
because no one seems to have one.

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9/13/14 9:08 AM

FALL 2014

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SCWA ROAD SHOW

Hows that for a menu!

Well take a Tsunami
Super Shine to go, please.

Attendees
walked the
conveyors
and the
equipment
rooms at
participating
washes.

Pictured, from left to right: Shane Wells, ECO Express Car Wash
and Hi-Performance Wash Systems; Mike Schlote, Waterway Car
Wash; and Jeff Wiser, Innovative Control Systems.

82 FALL 2014

The free vac service is alive and well in

Denver, including here at Ocean express.

 FALL 2014

83

SCWA ROAD SHOW

No one likes a dirty cab! Here a taxi takes advantage of the free vacuums while
tour attendees milled about the site at Ocean Express car wash.

Some terrific
examples of
signage and
menus were
on display
throughout
the tour.

84 FALL 2014

SCWA ROAD SHOW

More than 200 attendees gathered in Denver for
the Southwest Car Wash Association Road Show.

Pictured, from left to right: Marcus Bell, Ocean Express Car Wash; along
with his wife, Souda Bell, and Chuck Space, Executive Director of SCWA.

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FALL 2014

85

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FALL 2014

87

Darwin at the

Carwash

A collection of the most asinine

antics and unusual criminal
events to be reported at
carwashes around the country.
As a working mom who sometimes struggles to find reliable child care, I can *kind of*
understand where these idiots were coming from -- but cmon!
It must take a special kind of Darwin to bring a
toddler along on a car wash heist.
But, that is, in fact, what these two idiots did
in Lenoir County, North Carolina, where
surveillance cameras at Thomas Car Wash
caught two men prying open coin machines at around 10:45 p.m. on a Sunday
night with a small child in tow. (The mother in me is also pretty concerned about this
kids bedtime routine)
The real icing on the cake happens
about halfway through the video, while
the thieves are busy with their crowbars.
A woman in the vehicle (a mid-2000 Mercury Milan) emerges to change the tots
diaper on the hood of the getaway vehicle
while the men are in the process of causing
about $5,000 worth of damage to four electronic
coin boxes at the site. Hey -- no one wants to make
their getaway in a stinky diaper!
The report noted that the owner of the car wash
is offering a $1,000 reward for information that
leads to the arrest of the suspects. Police said there
have been other car washes with the same type of
damage in Beulaville and Kenansville, NC, within
the past week.
[The] biggest cost is to replace the parts, said
Caroline Whitfield, whose family owns the car
wash. We live in a frustrating time. People work
hard, others take advantage.
We couldnt have said it better ourselves, Caroline.

Youve probably heard that

worn out marital advice that a
couple should never go to bed
angry -- but what about arguing before leaving for work in the morning?
One carwash owner in northeast Columbia, MO,
is paying the price after a 56-year-old woman lost

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control of her SUV while chasing

down her 60-year-old partner following a morning-time argument. Apparently they had argued at their shared home,
but he decided to leave for work in her vehicle.
She took off in a second vehicle to switch cars, but
was driving too fast and lost control of her SUV,
which hit the back-end of the car her boyfriend

was driving before veering off and striking the east

side of the building at Lighthouse Car Wash, causing damage to the self serve bay there.
Carwash owner Jeff Pfannenstiel told The Columbia Tribune the damaged wall was propped up
out of concerns about the buildings integrity, but
the carwash remained open.
Definitely need to get it fixed as soon as possible, Pfannenstiel said in the report.

Talk about living the fast life!

A police pursuit following a car wash robbery
reached speeds of 100 mph before police were
able to set down a spike strip to end the anythingbut-clean getaway attempt.
KCRA, a local TV station, reported that Sandra Byrd, 35, refused to pull over for investigators who had identified her vehicle after a silent
burglary alarm sounded at 4 a.m. at a Colfax car
wash. The car washs owner was able to give the
Sheriffs department a real-time play-by-play as
he watched a remote surveillance feed of a man

Now, to follow that technology WIN with a big

technology FAIL.
Police in Tulsa, OK, are reporting that
some enterprising young moron has electronically manipulated a change machine
at a local car wash to empty the hopper
without any force.
Hes using some kind of electronic device thats making the money drop, and
then hes also able to retrieve the money he put in back, Sgt. Kurt Dodd told
FOX23.
It does damage to the machine, and
those machines are thousands of dollars,
Dodd said. Obviously its bad for the
business. They lose the money they put
out there.
The good news? The suspect has been
caught on camera and police have asked
the public to help identify the man.
It definitely looks like hes skilled in
this area, so my guess is he has done it in
different places, Dodd added.

Darwin at the Carwash

In another story that proves crime
doesnt pay, the owner of Cougar Car Wash in Pincher
Creek, Alberta, Canada, told local police that vandals caused an
estimated $3,000-$5,000 in damages to his three coin box machines, while making off with only a few hundred dollars in cash.
Owner Dan Crawford said it was the first time anyone has
broke into the business in six and a half years. (We hope Mr.
Crawford is knocking on wood as we write this)
The most distressing part has been the theft of time, Crawford
told a local newspaper, The Pincher Creek Voice.
This takes time away from my family and community, he said
in the report. It takes profit away, I get to fix the stuff that some
yahoo broke, noting the repairs took several hours to complete.
Wed say yahoo is putting it mildly.

drilling into coin boxes and described the suspects

vehicle -- all from the comfort of his home.
Unfortunately, by the time police arrived on the
scene, the suspect was gone, but a deputy spotted
him and his accomplice at a local gas station not
far away from the car wash. While the man fled
on foot, his female accomplice attempted the getaway that ended so dramatically shortly thereafter.
But all-in-all, this is a pretty big WIN for the car
wash owner who used the advanced surveillance and
alarm technology. Police have already charged and
arrested Byrd, and they have also identified the suspect -- Shane Schmidt. We anticipate its only a matter of time before justice is served for this Darwin.

Another disheartening report

for our crime blotter comes
right from my own backyard
in Norfolk/Virginia Beach -- proving youre not even safe in SSCWN territory.
It starts in shock and goes to frustration, and anger,
and just disappointment, Sean Everett, owner
of Green Clean Auto Washes, described in a
local news report about the robberies, which
have caused at least $50,000 in damage to
his locations. (You might remember Green
Clean from our debut issue -- we toured their
facilities, which are well-run sites that are attended 40 hours per week.)
We work hard to keep our business running. And theres enough challenges out
there without having someone come in and
violently beat a door up to get a few dollars,
Everett continued.
The suspect, who has hit at least two other car wash businesses in the area, including multiple Green Clean sites, appears to
be using an axe or sledgehammer to destroy
and pry off the meter box. Hes not getting
away with much money, but he is causing
significant damage to the car wash properties -- including about $13,000 in repair

work for Barry Little, owner of Solar Wash.

Little was contacted by Everett shortly after the
initial breakins, but the warning didnt spare his
business -- which was attacked only a few days later. A third business, Clean Wave Car Wash, was
also vandalized, and the owner told the local news
station it was the third time in a single month it
had happened.
It was literally the most disheartening feeling
that you can possibly imagine, Little said.
Three of his meter boxes were destroyed, along
with a vending machine.
The car wash owners have now banded together to try and catch the suspects, providing police
with surveillance video and images.
We know what vehicle he drives. We have a description and were providing all that to police, as
well, Everett said in the report.
Everett and Little said they are personally offering a $500 reward for information that leads
to an arrest.

Okay, okay. Lets mix-up some

of these depressing crime
reports with a big round of
applause for law enforcement
in Greensboro, NC, who successfully arrested a
man they say stole multiple coin machines from
local car washes over the past several months.
And when we say multiple, we mean multiple! James Anthony Kendricks, 41, has been
involved in more than FIFTEEN incidents of
change machines being broken into or cut out of
the walls since March. Thats averaging at least
two break-ins per month!
So, we consider justice well served for the
owners of Classic Car Wash, University Car
Wash, and the Rainbow Carwash in the area.
(And lets hope Virginia Beach police and other

Back to the upsetting news, police

in Corpus Christi are looking for two men who
stole a carwash pay station control box valued at
more than $15,000.
According to the report from local TV news
station KIII, surveillance footage of the robbery
shows two suspects driving a white Ford pickup.
It goes about how youd imagine: The driver lays
a strap beside the control box, then pulls through
the carwash and leaves the property. He comes
back after some time, and the passenger jumps
out, wraps the strap around the box and attaches
it to the rear bumper of the truck.
The driver then moves forward, pulling the control box from the base, and the passenger places it
in the truck.
The news station provided viewers with surveillance images of the truck, and some fuzzy pictures
of the suspects clothing.

areas arent far behind the work of these fine

detectives!)
For their part, theyve charged Kendricks
with felony breaking and entering, larceny after
breaking and entering, two counts of breaking
a coin/currency machine, two counts of possession of burglary tools, and possession of stolen
property. He remains in Greensboro Jail Central
on multiple secure bonds and police say additional charges may be pending.

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Websites You Should Bookmark

Got some time to kill? Check out these sites for entertaining (and useful) car wash operator info.
Kate Carr

WWW.CWGUY.COM
This blog has been a favorite of mine since my days at PC&D, and although you might have to sit around
for a few weeks (or possibly months) checking for an update, theyre well worth the wait. Ill forgive Eric
Wilson (the man behind the blog and active poster on Auto Care Forum) for ranking us behind Kleen
Rite in a battle of the trade magazines, mostly because he has mastered the art of presenting the totally
unglamorous, nitty gritty daily intricacies of car washing in such a self deprecating and humorous light.
My favorite section? Cleaning up fun! It catalogues all the various gross and its-so-stupid-it-cantpossibly-be-true trash Wilson finds at his washes. My suggestion: Turn his exhaustive list into a game of
bingo and see how many nasty items youve checked off at your wash, too.

WWW.CARWASHBUSINESSBLOG.COM
Self Serve Car Wash News doesnt run an online news feed or e-newsletter, but if we did, we hope
it would be as on-point as this news service. With only a few months of operation under its belt, Car
Wash Business Blog has made a name for itself by blending the absurd and amusing with the critically important news stories that push our industry forward. Operated by the son of carwash marketing
guru Paul Wolford, the website has everything from the latest industry news stories to marketing
strategies tailored to car wash businesses. Whats more -- the articles come at a measured pace,
unlike other news services which sometimes choke up your inbox with too much content and not
enough information. This is the first car wash news site I check in the morning; an instant favorite.

WWW.WASHIDEAS.COM
I was a big fan (and frequent guest) of the Wash Ideas podcast when Ryan Carlson first created and introduced
it to the industry in February 2009, and I continue to be a big fan of the podcast as it has been reimagined
under new ownership by veteran car wash consultant Perry Powell. In particular, car wash operators will be
interested in Powells Hall of Fame and Legends interview series on the site, which have featured notable
operators such as self serve great David Dugoff and environmental crusader Vic Odermat. It used to be these
stories were only passed down through the filtered and slivered spotlight of the monthly trade magazines (or if
you were lucky enough, in person at a trade show) -- but now we get to hear them from the icons themselves
whilst sitting in the comfort of our own computer chairs. From recalling the stumbles along the way to giving
uncanny access to their personal successes in car washing, these interviews never disappoint. Enjoy!

WWW.PINTEREST.COM/SSCWN/
Youve read that correctly: I started a Pinterest page for SSCWN. You can blame my age and
gender, but you might be surprised to see how many neat car wash related finds weve found on
Pinterest in the short month since weve set up our profile. From kiddie crafts and toys to baked
goods inspired by car washes and logos, signs and vintage photos. Check out our board and see
where inspiration may take you

WWW.AUTOCAREFORUM.COM
Cause duh! The industrys soapbox remains the best
place for you to connect with other car wash operators. The
24/7 industry roundtable!

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