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Lack of Business in New England

Good Moody

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Are any of you experiencing a huge drop in activity the last few months? Of course so much rain killed it but now that the weather is breaking some customers just aren't washing as often
 

DAWGWASH

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Are any of you experiencing a huge drop in activity the last few months? Of course so much rain killed it but now that the weather is breaking some customers just aren't washing as often
It has been slower here both in SS & IBA. The constant rain has definitely played a part but still seems slower when we have breaks in the weather. Southwest section of Va
 

Wash4Life

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I'm in the Baltimore Area, and we have experienced a drop in activity as well. The rain has been a killer in my area. I cannot remember the last time we went without there being rain on Friday and Saturday. Generally, there is always what I call the September Swoon, and the rain has really exacerbated that.

What we really need is road salt.
 

Islandwash

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Slow in the Midatlantic coast region. The prior Seven weekends were washouts, rain. But as you said, the sunny days are not as strong as they used to be. economy or lack of money ?
 

Eric H

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Everything seems extremely slow with at least a day of rain on all but 3 of the last 20 weekends.
I have 4 Razors (2 at each wash). The revenue at 1 is up almost 4% and the other is down about 7%. I was expecting much worse when I was running reports and calculating what I thought would be a 15-20% downturn. I’m glad my intuition was WAY off.
I do think that people are using their limited time on the nicer days to catch up on yard work and other outdoor activities. I know that I have been prioritizing other tasks over keeping my own cars clean!
 

Black Diamond Bob

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Everything seems extremely slow with at least a day of rain on all but 3 of the last 20 weekends.
I have 4 Razors (2 at each wash). The revenue at 1 is up almost 4% and the other is down about 7%. I was expecting much worse when I was running reports and calculating what I thought would be a 15-20% downturn. I’m glad my intuition was WAY off.
I do think that people are using their limited time on the nicer days to catch up on yard work and other outdoor activities. I know that I have been prioritizing other tasks over keeping my own cars clean!
Agreed completely, my rookie ass was thinking it would be raining money today, got to my wash bright and early and spent the whole day. Definitely not a bad day considering I've only been open 5 weeks but definitely not lines down the street. Half way through the day my brain kicks in and says Well, if I had one nice day out of like 200 my first thought wouldn't be, "hurry up lets go wash the truck."
 

Wash4Life

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Slow in the Midatlantic coast region. The prior Seven weekends were washouts, rain. But as you said, the sunny days are not as strong as they used to be. economy or lack of money ?
I think a lot of times when there is a lot of rain, people have to relearn to go back to the car wash. Even those of us with wash subscriptions can find the habit being broken. Road salt and/or pollen can solve that.
 

rshiggaon

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Overall, our business has experienced a decline this year when compared to the previous year. I'm located in Houston, and I've noticed a decrease of 15-20%, particularly the IBA business has not been great. I've been contemplating whether the nearby tunnel might be negatively impacting my business. I've had conversations with a few other operators in close proximity to my car wash, and they've reported a similar decline.

I'm struggling to pinpoint the exact cause of this decline, and it's possible that external factors, such as the local economy, extreme weather, is playing a role.
 

Randy

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In our area of Western Washington the car washes have been pretty slow the last few months or so. The wash weather has been prefect, little rain, great car wash washing weather. In talking with other car wash operators they are all telling the same thing, the car washes are dead. I’m down roughly 60% from this time last year. Crime, theft and vandalism has gone through the roof. The police are of very little help.
 

Greg Pack

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Just surprised I had a record Month at one wash, so maybe it is regional/weather and not economy related.

But, they're building an express a block from me, so I imagine I won't see that number again.
 
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