That special touch

What makes Soapy’s locations better than your average self-serve is the little extras Gray offers his clientele. Before pulling into the in-bay automatics, customers are invited to use a prep bucket and brush to clean their wheels or windshields. After going through the carwash and the dryer, customers can use one of the cotton towels Soapy’s provides to dry their vehicles.

While Gray says he loses about $100 worth of towels each month per location because customers walk off with them, he says that’s insignificant when you consider the customer goodwill and positive word-of-mouth that providing the towels creates. About 75 percent of customers use the prep buckets and towels, he says.

“The towels kind of make my customers more loyal to me, and it niches me between the regular self-serves and a tunnel wash or express exterior,” Gray says.

Idaho Falls has several other carwashes, including a full-serve double tunnel, one mini-tunnel and four other self-serves. Soapy’s charges 50 cents for four minutes of self-serve carwashing with a $2 start-up cost. In-bay automatic washes are priced at $5, $6, $7 and $8, with the $8 wash being the best seller, Gray says. Vacuums cost 75 cents for four minutes, and fragrance/shampoo vacuums are $1 for four minutes. The vacuums are a mix of Ryko and J.E. Adams brands.

All four sites are in excellent locations, situated just off main roads in town. This is one of the key factors to Soapy’s success, Gray says. The carwashes are not “overly fancy” but are very functional. All four are made of split-face concrete block and have bright yellow awnings. Despite their simplicity, customers know a Soapy’s location when they see one.

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