family carwash business in grand Rapids,
Michigan, is in an area hit hard by the
economy. Thanks to the recession, the
area has a 15% unemployment rate.
The company has a program it
developed that company president Mark
Ellis describes as "more than a loyalty
program; it's like netflix, where a customer
gets as many movies as he wants with
no late charges. It's a really good deal.
This unlimited Wash Pass is like that. a
customer pays a monthly fee on his credit
or debit card and can use the pass at any
location. a customer can actually come in
twice a day--and they have. We priced the
program to make sense.
"If you get two weeks of rain, which we
get in Michigan, we'd get no business, but
unlimited customers have already paid,"
said Ellis. "This provides a steady stream
of income for southland, even when we
have a streak of bad weather, and gives
the customer the satisfaction of receiving
vIP treatment, not having to get out their
wallet when they visit, and automatic
entry through our gated Pos system."
to Wash
Washes in Thousand oaks, California,
and arizona, is a fan of the gotCarWash
program developed by Bill Castelblanco
and his brother steve, along with partner
scott siragusa.
simoniz signed onto the program
five years ago. "Each store has about 750
members," armstrong said. "gotCarWash
is a great thing. Those customers on this
program don't go to your competition.
People say they wash four times a month
hey! a car that's washed frequently is
easier to wash, unlike one washed twice a
year."
he says the simoniz customers care
about their car's condition. They do
upgrades in service and simoniz provides
discounts on detailing. "Even if they're
getting their car washed and get a soda,
it's all profit. It's a win-win. There's always
activity on our properties, even on slow
drizzly cloudy days when business is off.
other guys driving by see other people are
washing their cars, and think `so should I.'
"People like to see activity on the lot,
and it gets them in there too.
really bad months, I get enough to pay
my management and overhead. The
members pay rain or shine. It's like rain
insurance."
simoniz sells one package at $29.99
that provides customers with a $12.99
carwash as often as they like. For upsized
cars to trucks, suvs and full size vans, the
price is $34.99. For commercial vehicles
like taxicabs and limos that are washed
on a daily basis, the prices are $49.99 or
$59.99it's negotiable.
gotCarWash.com's Bill Castelblanco
noted: "In a survey, 49% visit a carwash
only once a year. It behooves every one to
capture customers and encourage them to
come in 24 times a year."
To encourage customers to remain on
the gotCarWash program, gotCarWash
partners with national restaurant chains,
movie house chains and sports franchises
to offer incentives like a free dinner for
two, movie tickets and baseball tickets.
"a carwash still has to provide great
customer service...the best quality out
there. During the winter months, when
customers barely come in0.4 times a
month--you still have residual money
coming in."
bullish on the company founded by Dan
Yarusso, the firm's president.
"We're based out of Lino Lakes,
Minnesota, and coming up on our 20th
year in customer card loyalty programs
and fleet management. It's a subscription
service, like a gym membership for services
on a monthly basis, with unlimited washes.
Customers get charged monthly. now, they
come in before it rains, after it rains, or if
they are going on a date, without wasting
money."
he noted the average redemption rate
is like a gym membership, too. "There's
one wash every 18 days after the first 90
days. The first three months, they'll wash
matter. and, if you've got a rainy month,
you've got their $40."
he noted another area where washes
are experiencing success is in setting
up accounts for commercial customers.
"Taxi, limo, landscapersthey have to
keep their vehicles clean. They are going
to go somewhere. The WashCard system
was originally built in 1989 to facilitate
commercial businesses. Employers
handed it out to employees and would
receive an invoice every month. The
biggest thing is, we're the first business in
town to offer this service and do it well.
"It's not like collecting tokens and
coupons," he pointed out. "Carwash
owners don't have to worry about
employees taking untraceable coupons,
tokens or cash. They have a record. Plus,
commercial accounts can't use the card
after business hours."
"The Wash Card creates consistency
and cash flow regardless of the economic
climate for our clients," Carlson said.
"Even when times get tough, washes
have the ability to contact their customer
base and reward those that are loyal with
different specials and promotions. We're
seen a spike in activity among those using
credit cards. If they have to purchase
with cash, they have to wait for payday. If
the credit card reader is right next to the
acceptor, they can stretch their dollars
between pay periods. We've seen a huge
increase in amount of credit card traffic.
When gas prices go up, we see a dip in
cash sales and an increase in credit card
usage."
The company services between 600
and 700 carwash locations in north
america, plus it has expanded to Europe
and australia.
The company has noticed, he said,
that at the self-serve bays on average
80% more time spent in the bay was
on a card-based transaction. seven out