How to use a self serve Car Wash

[washregal]

Has anyone put out a pamphlet or literature geared to their customer base on how to best use a self serve carwash?

May sould odd.. but asking.. Have a ton of customers that use triple foam on their engins.. and brish off their engines with my hogs hair brush's.


Just thought it a good idea to cuve the customer direction as to what they are buying.. and how to best use the facility.

 

[MEP001]

Some things you aren't going to stop unless you're there to do it yourself. The people who use the foam brush on the engine don't care that they're ruining your brush or that the next person will get grease on their car, and no pamphlets or amount of signage will help. Today for the second time ever I took the foam brush right out of the hands of someone using it while someone else was spraying the truck with soap. I don't usually do that, but they had already washed a bunch of trash out of their bed and were only trying to knock the mud off with as little money as possible.

I did have a pamphlet titled "How to get your money's worth from a self serve car wash," which I posted on the changer in a "Take One" bin. They were all gone in under 24 hours, but I don't know if people took them and read them or if someone just took them for scratch paper. If I can find it, I'll post it; if not I'll retype it as well as I can remember.

 

[washregal]

If you have a copy if that I woul dlove to get it.

I understand what you are saying.. people are people.. they just don't change..
Had to boot a guy out the other day dumping his leaves and old tires in my Dumpster.

People do suck at times....

Than again.. what would we do without them....

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I try and stay calm and explain how it affects me and my other customers. If they are unresponsive then I basically tell them to get lost and head over to one of the other washes where they don't care if you make a mess and only half of their products work.

I don't care how clear your signage is, they won't read it. Good Luck!

 

[diamond joe]

I observe a lot of customers who simply dont care but I still believe that customer education would be helpful for the rest of them...a good hand out on customer appreciation day?

 

[MEP001]

I finally found it:

HOW TO GET YOUR MONEY?S WORTH FROM A SELF-SERVE CAR WASH

USING TIRE CLEANER/ENGINE DEGREASER (low pressure):
For best results, use the tire/engine cleaner first while the tires or engine is dry. This will allow the chemical to work without being diluted by water. After applying, let the chemical stand as long as possible while washing the rest of the car. The longer it soaks, the better it works.

USING PRESOAK (low pressure):
Presoak will help clean your car if you do not want to brush it, or if it?s very dirty. Just spray it on from bottom to top. This lets the dirtier areas soak longer.

USING SOAP (high pressure):
Select SOAP, then wash the car back and forth in sections to avoid missing areas. Hold spray a few inches from tires to clean whitewalls and lettering.

USING FOAM BRUSH:
Always wash dirt off car and brush before use. The foam brush will not scratch your car, but dirt will. Scrub lightly on paint from top to bottom. Brush the very bottom last to avoid picking up dirt or mud from the fender wells and scratching the paint.

USING RINSE (high pressure):
Select RINSE, then rinse off the soap from top to bottom.

USING WAX (high pressure):
Select WAX, then apply from top to bottom. The excess wax can be left on if you towel-dry the car, but should be rinsed off to avoid heavy spotting.

USING SPOT-FREE RINSE (low pressure):
Select SPOT-FREE RINSE, allow 10 seconds for line to clear, then rinse from top to bottom, pushing the water across the hood and roof. You can switch directly from WAX to SPOT-FREE, but always rinse off soap before using spot-free rinse. Spot-free is not a treatment or coating, but is very clean water that does not leave spots behind, so it should be the last step in the wash process

 

[MEP001]

This was for a fairly old wash which at the time didn't even have presoak. If I were to use it now I'd add "Clear Coat Conditioner" to the list.

 

[Shane]

MEP,

That is an excellent instruction sheet. Do you mind if we tweak is for our own use?

Also, (this question will confirm that I am still a newbie) our wash has Clear Coat Protectant and TriFoam Conditioner on our 10 position dial. I have been working my way through each of the bays trying our the equipment, etc. I am not sure if you apply both the TriFoam and the CCP or just one? The TriFoam is despended through a gun and it does not appear that anyone has used it since we bought the wash 5 months ago. What's the best way to use both of those products OR do you just choose one to use?

Thanks!

 

[MEP001]

I don't mind at all if anyone uses it.

Proper use depends on the product. I would suggest finding literature from the maker that would describe a method for your customers to use them both, or look for a product that will, and add that information to your bays somehow.

I believe that some of the tri-foam usage when it's in a separate gun depends on where the gun is placed. I've seen that if the gun is in the farthest corner from the meterbox, customers won't even see it -- even if they switch to it on accident they don't know where to look for it or why nothing is coming out of the high-pressure gun, so they switch to something else. I made sure to mount our gun holders at the front of the bay, with the foam brush in the middle. The foam gun makes a lot of color and sprays a lot of foam as soon as it's switched on, and it's easy to hear and see with it closer by. I'd estimate that at about 1 in 4 of our customers will use it, and it costs almost nothing to operate.