Business?

[cleaning up mud]

How is your carwash business around the US? We have had a drought in Texas with water rationing and I think it made folks stop using even commercial carwashes.

 

[rph9168]

When we had our drought in Atlanta it really hurt business. People thought that were being civic minded by not washing their vehicles and the governor also asked people not to have their cars washes.

 

[washnvac]

For Delaware/Maryland one work could cover it-----SUCKS!

If it is not the economy, it is the unrelenting rain. If I can ever get out from these things, I am going to work at Wal*Mart. At least it will be a steady paycheck.

There are plenty of dirty cars on the road; they simply are not washing.

 

[cleaning up mud]

I would guess, this area of Texas is still in a drought, but we have had rain or clouds every two days, and this morning it was 20 degrees... nobody hardly gets out below 60!

So good luck, I assume its not just this part of the Country....

What equipment do you have, doors? heated?

 

[cleaning up mud]

Have a friend in Houston that has a brother that lives in Atlanta and heard it was really bad, has it inproved?

 

[Red Baron]

Here in West Texas our car washes depend as much on the cotton crop as they do the weather or the national economy. If we have good crops, the gins stay operating later into the year and there's a lot more money moving around in the regional economy for the next 9 months. It's been a pretty good year for cotton so things should be ok around here.

Well, that reminds me - a few years ago the crops were so good that an area farmer was going to build a car wash near mine because he needed to get rid of some money. I sold him on the fact that a car wash can be a good place to "get rid of some money," and it may be a long time before you see that money again. lol That's the mark of a lazy mind when people want to horn in on what's working for someone else, rather than go out and build a market of their own. I know a LOT of people like that.

 

[briteauto]

Upstate New York has had virtually no snow yet, which is uncommon for one week into December. This means no salt on the cars. The salt makes people who may wash only once per week or once every few weeks in warmer weather, wash up to two times per week - especially when you get the snow/thaw/snow/thaw patterns we get.

You gotta love precipitation - you can't live with it, and you can't live without it.

 

[Whale of a Wash]

I thought the people of texas were tougher. We haven't seen 60 degrees in two months, and it will be 5 months now before our snow leaves.. Yesterday we topped at 14 degrees and was a pretty good wash day. Today I will be controlled by Football. An hour before the vikings play the washes will become a ghost town- I'm thankful it;s a night game. All the fair weather fans came out and watch them again --(Brett Favre is costing me money)

 

[rph9168]

The drought is over in Atlanta but now rainy weather has become our enemy. We are 16+ inches of rain for the year over the normal already. We can't seem to get a decent stretch of weather under our belt. November was a horrible month and December hasn't been any better so far. It's like the weather gods have something against us.

 

[jprb]

We had a horrible month in October here in Missouri due to the weather. The rest of the year has been about average.

JRPB

 

[DbltheBbls]

I thought the people of texas were tougher. We haven't seen 60 degrees in two months, and it will be 5 months now before our snow leaves.. Yesterday we topped at 14 degrees and was a pretty good wash day. Today I will be controlled by Football. An hour before the vikings play the washes will become a ghost town- I'm thankful it;s a night game. All the fair weather fans came out and watch them again --(Brett Favre is costing me money)

People in Texas are here because we like the heat. It was 50 yesterday and some businesses were planning on shutting down due to the threat of A (singular)snow flurry....Lol

We had a pretty strong summer but the last 6-8 weeks have been slow. Rain for two days, cloudy the next two, then one sunny day. Then repeat the cycle.

 

[Waxman]

In tracking my Holiday Gift Certificate sales with prev. year, this year is up slightly.

 

[Whale of a Wash]

Seriously- You guys are really lucky to enjoy nice wx all the time, but that doesn't always translate into good carwash days. The only reason people wash up here in the winter is the fact that our city sprays salt on the street, and even with regular washing, it still dulls the finish some.

 

[wisheewashee]

Wow

Here in the Southeast the car wash faucet has been turned off. This has been the worst past 3 months in the last 5 years. Relentless rain has just about shut me down.

 

[Red Baron]

Seriously- You guys are really lucky to enjoy nice wx all the time, but that doesn't always translate into good carwash days. The only reason people wash up here in the winter is the fact that our city sprays salt on the street, and even with regular washing, it still dulls the finish some.

I can't count the times my customers have told me I must really like the rain because of all the business it should bring to me. My standard answer is: Actually, I'd prefer 6 months of drought if not for the harm to area farmers - rain brings me a lot of mud and extra labor and stress. The vast majority of my customers wash their car every week rain or shine...in fact, rain is more likely to cause them to skip a week.

 

[mac]

Funny you should bring this up. I was driving around this weekend and noticed how many of the washes are for sale, which is a good barometer of business. Just guessing that at least half are listed on the market, and many of the other owners said they would sell. This is on the west coast of Florida.

 

[Whale of a Wash]

What I meant was nicer temps than me, In the colder climates it is difficult to stay afloat with high heating costs, and slower business.. Our Oct was wet also with 26 days of rain and 14".. Our car washes lost a lot of revenue this spring, as we had one of the worst floods in history-- another month of revenue lost. One car wash had a 4 lane road closed from Apr20-dec1. In the winter we deal with joe mechanic they(change oil,tires, headlights,Stereos,) what ever they think they can get away with, our cold climate makes a difficult business even tougher. I know it isn't any easier to run a wash down south just warmer.