newtothescene
New member
Hi there - I am currently working in corporate America and have been contemplating a career change. Went through a few different business options, and car washes just seem like a good idea to me.
When I was in Southern California one weekend, I noticed a different type of car wash that seemed to be quite popular with the locals. The customer pulls up to vacuums, where they vacuum the car themselves. Then they drive up to the front of an automatic tunnel, where they pay the cashier and are offered a $1 tree air freshener. Then they drive through the tunnels themselves, but not before being handed a wet rag so they can wipe down their interior while going through the tunnel. After a minute-and-a-half, they exit the tunnel where two guys are ready with towels to dry them off. The guys are quick and typically dry off 80% of the car by the time the next one comes up, but some customers drive off to the parking lot where there are baskets of rags provided for drying if they want to finish up the drying themselves. All of this is done for about $6-7, which is a touch higher than a gas station car wash, and a few dollars less than a full serve wash. They had lines of cars, yet because of the speed of the system, none had to wait more than ten minutes before their car was clean and dried.
I thought it was a pretty interesting idea, especially since labor would be minimal compared to a full service. I was reading up on flex serve washes, but that seems to incorporate drying in the tunnel and no need for hand drying. What would this idea be considered? Would it be difficult for someone who has no experience in "the biz" to jump into it? I am thinking of bringing the idea to my neck of the woods.
Thanks for your help!
When I was in Southern California one weekend, I noticed a different type of car wash that seemed to be quite popular with the locals. The customer pulls up to vacuums, where they vacuum the car themselves. Then they drive up to the front of an automatic tunnel, where they pay the cashier and are offered a $1 tree air freshener. Then they drive through the tunnels themselves, but not before being handed a wet rag so they can wipe down their interior while going through the tunnel. After a minute-and-a-half, they exit the tunnel where two guys are ready with towels to dry them off. The guys are quick and typically dry off 80% of the car by the time the next one comes up, but some customers drive off to the parking lot where there are baskets of rags provided for drying if they want to finish up the drying themselves. All of this is done for about $6-7, which is a touch higher than a gas station car wash, and a few dollars less than a full serve wash. They had lines of cars, yet because of the speed of the system, none had to wait more than ten minutes before their car was clean and dried.
I thought it was a pretty interesting idea, especially since labor would be minimal compared to a full service. I was reading up on flex serve washes, but that seems to incorporate drying in the tunnel and no need for hand drying. What would this idea be considered? Would it be difficult for someone who has no experience in "the biz" to jump into it? I am thinking of bringing the idea to my neck of the woods.
Thanks for your help!
