Customer Service, Do you still actually give it?

[pitzerwm]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]The Research Institute of America conducted a study for the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, which found:[/FONT]

• Only 4 percent of unhappy customers bother to complain. For every complaint we hear, 24 others go uncommunicated to the company?but not to other potential customers.
• 90 percent who are dissatisfied with the service they receive will not come back or buy again.
• To make matters worse, each of those unhappy customers will tell his or her story to at least nine other people.
• Of the customers who register a complaint, between 54 percent and 70 percent will do business again with the organization if their complaint is resolved. That figure goes up to 95 percent if the customer feels that the complaint was resolved quickly.
• 68 percent of customers who quit doing business with an organization do so because of company indifference. It takes 12 positive incidents to make up for one negative incident in the eyes of customers.

 

[Red Baron]

My own anecdotal stats:

* 2% of your customers account for 90% of the messes, stresses, and cleanup labor.
* Of that 2%, 50% are not your regular customer.
* The sooner you can **** off that 2% and have them go away, the better off you'll be. Do the math.
* If they tell their likeminded redneck hillbilly friends not to use your wash because you're a ####, that's a bonus.
* The remaining 98% are morer loyal to you because you attempt to run off the 2%.
* If your competitor thinks you're a fool for running off mess-makers because he's confused the car wash business with providing a maid service, take advantage of that confusion by sending the 2% to his wash. Win-win.

 

[jloebker]

Bill I'll take the Research Institute of America stats and laugh all the way to the bank. As I'm sure know after location, location, location, it's cust. serve. cust. serv. cust. serv. I want the redneck, mexican, hillbilly, african american, even some of the jacka$$ money. It's all green.

 

[Red Baron]

Bill I'll take the Research Institute of America stats and laugh all the way to the bank. As I'm sure know after location, location, location, it's cust. serve. cust. serv. cust. serv. I want the redneck, mexican, hillbilly, african american, even some of the jacka$$ money. It's all green.

Knew I'd step on some toes.

I'm glad you want them, I don't. For me, making money is more than just the number of dollars I take to the bank. If I have to put in an extra 5 hours a week to accomodate the mudders/hillbillies who bring in an extra $50 for me, it's not a good return imo. If I wanted to work for 10 bucks an hour I'd go drive a forklift where there's no stress or liability.

But I think your premise is flawed when you assume that a guy makes less money by not allowing his wash to be trashed by mudders. I think it's just the opposite! How any customers in Corvettes and classic cars are you losing because you allow customers to mud the place up? I have 1 customer who drives his Prowler to my Idalou wash all the way from Lubbock where there are 50 car wash choices. Why? He's told me it's because my place is always clean and everythign works. He doesn't know I have a Lubbock wash yet, I better tell him I guess.

Long before I ever thought about getting in the car wash business I ran across the owner of the wash I now own in Lubbock. It was a brand new 6/1 then and the owner caught me at the ACW and told me I was too muddy. When I told him I'd rinse off in a ss bay first, he said: "No, I don't want that kind of mud here, in any bay. Go rinse it off at XYZ Car Wash." I thought that was a silly policy then, but the guy was known to have the hands-downs nicest car wash around and customers drove from miles around to use it. That was my first car wash lesson: You can't be all things to everyone, you better find a niche.

You keep the guys with the 44" Gumbo Mudders and I'll keep the guys with the Prowler and the '68 Mach I.

 

[jloebker]

Red, you didn't step on my toes. I see at least 3 to 5 vettes during my 2hr. shift daily, plus 1 bently and 2 lamborghinis occasionally. And all the other high end autos. I don't pay myself $10 per hr. to clean up. I pay 3 attendents to do that. Yes I get all the accolades for having a clean wash. I'm not a garbage collector or a mechanic,I don't want to learn how to re-build a pump. I'm a businessman, I pay people to do that.

As I've said before "cash flow will cure all my i'lls"

 

[Red Baron]

Red, you didn't step on my toes. I see at least 3 to 5 vettes during my 2hr. shift daily, plus 1 bently and 2 lamborghinis occasionally. And all the other high end autos. I don't pay myself $10 per hr. to clean up. I pay 3 attendents to do that. Yes I get all the accolades for having a clean wash. I'm not a garbage collector or a mechanic,I don't want to learn how to re-build a pump. I'm a businessman, I pay people to do that.

As I've said before "cash flow will cure all my i'lls"

Okay you win, you have more Corvette customers than I have.

I don't have 3 attendants, just a half of one, and at times that's too many. I don't like having employees - I've had all of that headache I want in 30 years in roofing business. I got into car wash to escape employees, to a large degree. This is why I have my policies on heavy mud. The beauty of it is that I think my policy brings me more customers, not less. But even if it didn't, I'd gladly give up 10% of my business to eliminate 90% of my messes/stresses. Which leads me full circle back to my point, and it's the same point I make to the guy wanting to wash the manure out of his stock trailer: The car wash business is not a monolith - you can't expect me to run mine just like others run theirs. Every business has rules - you can't go into the Seven-11 without a shirt, you can't go into Denny's with a cigarette, you can't go into the bank with a gun. I don't know why people think a car wash is any different!! Each owner gets to make his own policies to fit his needs, and if the customer doesn't like it he can go elsewhere.

 

[Baywash]

My own anecdotal stats:

* 2% of your customers account for 90% of the messes, stresses, and cleanup labor.
* Of that 2%, 50% are not your regular customer.
* The sooner you can **** off that 2% and have them go away, the better off you'll be. Do the math.
* If they tell their likeminded redneck hillbilly friends not to use your wash because you're a ####, that's a bonus.
* The remaining 98% are morer loyal to you because you attempt to run off the 2%.
* If your competitor thinks you're a fool for running off mess-makers because he's confused the car wash business with providing a maid service, take advantage of that confusion by sending the 2% to his wash. Win-win.

Ok...I have been sitting here at the wash reading posts betweeen customers. This post hits the nail on the head for me. I have always said that 90% of my trash comes from less than 5% of the customers. When I purchased my first wash, the messes and trash where incredable. Since I have been in business and keeping the place clean and handing out brooms to the 2% crowd, my washes for the most part stay somewhat clean. The paying customer recognizes this and will come back more often...way offsetting the few I run off. I'll let someone else have the 2% customer anyday.

 

[Red Baron]

Ok...I have been sitting here at the wash reading posts betweeen customers. This post hits the nail on the head for me. I have always said that 90% of my trash comes from less than 5% of the customers. When I purchased my first wash, the messes and trash where incredable. Since I have been in business and keeping the place clean and handing out brooms to the 2% crowd, my washes for the most part stay somewhat clean. The paying customer recognizes this and will come back more often...way offsetting the few I run off. I'll let someone else have the 2% customer anyday.

Egggzactly! I have customers hand me tag numbers when I show up, tag numbers of guys doing things they shouldn't at the wash. They tell me they see and appreciate how hard we work to keep the place clean and they want to help. A regular customer in a black 'Vette caught me a few weeks ago and said: "Would you go chew out that guy in the bay beside me? Every bay was full when I got here and that numbskull just stays in the bay for 30 minutes buffing his car."

Those who think our policies don't apply to them or are optional, are at the wrong car wash!