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New to Wash Business Need Advice

T

tbarnard

New member
Hello All,

I have been reading around here, there is a lot of good information. I bought my first car wash about 2 months ago. It is a Single SS bay in a small town. I have two main issues I would like to fix soon. One is the high pressure soap. I switched from some discount powder soap he was using to Simoniz Body-bath. The soap is much better but i need a better way to mix the high pressure soap. Previous owner just has a 40 gallon plastic drum next to pump station with a tube going into the drum. I mix 1 quart of soap with 40 gallons of water. The tube goes into a little adjustable fitting on the suction side of the pump. I have it set where it seems to work pretty good, but about once every week to 10 days i have to mix up another 30 gallons of soap mix. There has to be a better way. Please help me with what to do.

Secondly, the meter is quarters only. I have been around this car wash about 15 years and i know there have been countless times I would have washed my truck but had cash only, not enough quarters, so i drove right by. If i had that experience, I KNOW there are plenty of possible customers that are doing the same. I would like to replace with a meter that takes cash/quarters and maybe tokens. Not really interested in credit/debit yet. I was looking at a Dultmeier Mega Meter that takes both paper and coins. Are this good? Is there Better? Which is the best dollar validator for in[bay applications?

Thanks a bunch guys.

Tyler
 
Order an "ultra-lean" kit from Kleen-Rite and you can draw the soap concentrate straight from the bucket and not have to mix up a batch.

If you're going to upgrade the bay box to take more types of currency, you might as well add credit card acceptance too. Not only will more people use it if you take credit cards and others don't, but they'll spend more.
 
I searched for "hydrominder" on Kleen-Rite site then scrolled down and down.
Ultra Lean Tip Kit Part# IN90031210
Do you need High Concentrate Eductor Kit to use these tips?
High Concentrate Eductor Kit Part# IN440321
 
Another alternative is to put in a change machine instead of upgrading your bay boxes. If you have vending machines, I would think this would boost sales as well.
 
Bill acceptance

There are a great many ways to accomplish what you want to do. But when you evaluate those I would also consider security. A box in your bay full of paper money is a more inviting crime target than a box full of quarters, although each is a target for a criminal, of course.

Me? Depending on volume, I would consider putting in a single or possibly a double bill changer which dispenses $1 tokens. Then upgrade the coin acceptor so it accepts quarters, just like always, and $1 tokens. Now anyone driving by with paper money can come and wash, but you haven't heightened the crime target aspect of the bay vault.

The security of a changer is usually much higher than a bay vault due to the way you mount and secure it.

As I said, opinions vary. Some people very much dislike dispensing tokens, and lots of operators take bills in bays with no security problems at all.
 
Chuck Ivey said:
I searched for "hydrominder" on Kleen-Rite site then scrolled down and down.
Ultra Lean Tip Kit Part# IN90031210
Do you need High Concentrate Eductor Kit to use these tips?
High Concentrate Eductor Kit Part# IN440321
Click to expand...

Note: High concentrate is the opposite of Ultra lean. Ultra lean = Low concentration.
 
Sequoia said:
Me? Depending on volume, I would consider putting in a single or possibly a double bill changer which dispenses $1 tokens. Then upgrade the coin acceptor so it accepts quarters, just like always, and $1 tokens. Now anyone driving by with paper money can come and wash, but you haven't heightened the crime target aspect of the bay vault.

The security of a changer is usually much higher than a bay vault due to the way you mount and secure it.

As I said, opinions vary. Some people very much dislike dispensing tokens, and lots of operators take bills in bays with no security problems at all.
Click to expand...

This would also perhaps allow for a credit card to token machine as a cheaper alternative to credit card acceptance in all bays.
 
I don't really have any security concerns. It is in a small town in a rural area close to residential area (car wash on corner lot with houses across on two sides) and well lit. Plus I am there daily to rinse down bay, check chemicals, clean lot, empty trash, etc. and I empty the money daily. Worst case i would only lose 1 day of revenue.
 
I think what Sequoia is trying to say is that some people will tear up a $1500 bay meter to get the $11 that is in it. They tore up one of mine and it only had .25 in it.
 
Security

When I first bought my wash, I emptied the coin boxes very very frequently. To promote good security, of course. And I always vary the time and frequency for safety.

After a while, I figured out that the potential criminals, who typically are a crime of opportunity type, have no clue how often I empty the boxes. So they see a money box and figure ---- there is money in it!!

So, in my opinion, emptying the changers or coin boxes frequently does very little, maybe nothing, for your security compared to doing it occasionally. Perhaps it puts you at an even higher risk since there are more times where you are visible to ... someone ... handling money around the wash.

Maybe if a bad guy is casing your wash, it would make a difference, but if a bad guy is casing your wash you are in trouble anyway. And, what criminal spends that kind of time before a crime?
 
Look at it this way, if they break in to a box and it has nothing, the low life with half a brain will realize that you have emptied them and not bother to break in to anymore, especially if you have them alarmed.
 
pitzerwm said:
Look at it this way, if they break in to a box and it has nothing, the low life with half a brain will realize that you have emptied them and not bother to break in to anymore, especially if you have them alarmed.
Click to expand...

Exactly. They may have hockey score IQs, but ecen the most basic predator knows not to expend considerable energy if they have rec'd little payback for their efforts in the past. Similarly, if the payback made their efforts worthwhile...
 
You would think that, but in my experience their "hockey score IQs" seem to keep them from realizing that there was little or no money in it last time and they'll keep coming back for a few dollars each time.
 
Sequoia said:
When I first bought my wash, I emptied the coin boxes very very frequently. To promote good security, of course. And I always vary the time and frequency for safety.

After a while, I figured out that the potential criminals, who typically are a crime of opportunity type, have no clue how often I empty the boxes. So they see a money box and figure ---- there is money in it!!

So, in my opinion, emptying the changers or coin boxes frequently does very little, maybe nothing, for your security compared to doing it occasionally. Perhaps it puts you at an even higher risk since there are more times where you are visible to ... someone ... handling money around the wash.

Maybe if a bad guy is casing your wash, it would make a difference, but if a bad guy is casing your wash you are in trouble anyway. And, what criminal spends that kind of time before a crime?
Click to expand...

I see your point. I didn't see it like that because I'm not the criminal type. With that being said. I think I'm going to look into a meter box that takes paper money and coins.

Does anyone have any recommendation on where to purchase such a meter box, or recommendations on which coin mech., bill acceptor, or timers to look at?

Thanks
 
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