VOL. 42, NO.

3, SUMMER 2015

Honoring

veterans
in our
industry
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2 SUMMER 2015

CONTENTS
Letters to the Editor ..............4
Future Trends in Self Serve
Car Washing .............................7
From the Archives:

SS Carwash Marketings
Greatest Hits ..........................24
Tricks of the Trade ..............38
Industry Dirt..........................46
Extra Extra ..............................48
Promotional Poster .............56
The Weight of Water ............59
HCA Product Show ..............69
Workin on Sunshine...........75
Customer Complaints .......80
W*A*S*H .................................85
Darwin at the Carwash .....98

VOL. 42, NO. 3, SUMMER 2015

Publisher Jackson Vahaly
Editor Kate Carr
Design Katy Barret-Alley
Editor Emeritus Jarret J. Jakubowski
Editor Emeritus Joseph J. Campbell
Editor Posthumous Julia E. Campbell
Self Serve Carwash News is published 4
times per year and is independently owned by
Jackson Vahaly. Web address is www.sscwn.com.
All inquiries should be directed to:

Self Serve Car Wash News

110 Childs Ln., Franklin, TN 37067
jacksonv@sscwn.com
Copyright 2014.
2 Dollar Enterprises/SSCWN. All Rights Reserved

Carrs Corner
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Ask not what your car wash

association can do for you, but
what you can do for your
car wash association.
Its almost becoming cliche at this point.
In nearly every conversation I have with carwash operators who are excelling in the South,
they make a point of expressing appreciation for
their regional carwash association and, in particular, acknowledging the important role SECWA
Road Shows have played in their success. (Youll
see those sentiments echoed most recently by Tim
Jones of Champion Car Wash in his remarks as a
panelist at Car Wash Show 2015. A transcript of
that discussion can be found on page 8.)
Of course, SECWA isnt the only association
thats excelled in providing these kinds of networking and educational events, although its members
do seem to hold the organization in particularly
high regard. (Having been along for the ride a few
times, I can assure you Southern hospitality lives
up to its hype.)
In the course of my travels and in conversations
as Editor of this fine publication, I have the opportunity to hear from a lot of you -- not just those
Golden Boys from the South -- about your experiences with regional car wash associations and the
various trade shows hosted throughout the year.
It would seem you all have a lot of great ideas for
improving these events. I suppose I could label
much of this commentary as complaint, but that
probably wouldnt get us very far.
In some ways, these regional events remind me
of so many self serve carwashes we know. For many
years, there was a build it and they will come attitude. In some cases, the improvements and innovations over the years have slowed in pace along
with dwindling volume (attendance). The value is
certainly there, so long as the equipment (or show)
is running smoothly. And the market is there, too,
although we find the operator (or association) has
to work harder to tap into it.
So, where do you fit in? Are you an active or
passive participant in your regional association?
Have you offered your assistance or your ideas for
improving regional shows and networking events?
One of the aspects that makes SECWAs road
shows successful is that so many operators are willing to open their bays and tunnels to peering eyes.
Further than that, many of them are willing to tell
you their secret to success. Its no surprise the
express exterior concept caught on like wildfire
in the Southern markets first -- Benny Alford was
a gracious host to any curious operator. It wasnt
the demographics or the customer; it was the

passing of knowledge from operator-to-operator

that changed the game in those areas. (And, predictably, were seeing a similar thing happen with
Gated/Pay-One-Price self serves and multi-service
sites in that region, too.)
The question then, is why? Why give away all
your best ideas? Why invite other operators to
come critique your equipment room? Why get involved with a regional association at all?
The answer is as simple as the question. Southern operators long ago recognized that if you lift
one car wash up, you lift the industry with it. This
is particularly important for the self serve segment
of the industry, where we find so many washes
that are struggling and threatening to drag down
the reputation of our business as a whole.
So often we dont realize the value of our regional association until its needed. These organizations are so much more than an annual expo or
road show. These are the front lines in the fight
against confusing and frustrating state tax legislation (like were seeing in Connecticut) or cumbersome labor laws (i.e.: New York City, California).
These are the groups doing the hard, painstaking
work of beating the drum and laying on the horn to
educate consumers during drought (as evidenced
in recent years by California, North Carolina, and
Georgia) and also funding the research and marketing the environmental benefits of professional
carwashes (Mid-Atlantic and Puget Sound, Im
looking at you!)
Speaking of environmental work, if we jump
across a few ponds, well find one of the best examples of the value our Associations give to our
industry. The Australian Car Wash Association was
recently awarded the Water Environment Federations (WEF) StormTV Project award in the Educational category for the groups animated videos
about stormwater pollution and home car washing. (You can find the video, as well as supporting
information and educational resources, on the Associations website at www.thedirtytruth.com.au.)
As Diane Ross, chief executive officer of the
Association, pointed out in an email to SSCWN
about the award, It has been an incredible path
for the commercial car washes in Australia from
being viewed as water wasters and not environmentally friendly, to now being viewed as both the
most water efficient and most environmentally
protective way to wash a car.
{continued }
SUMMER 2015

LETTERS

RADNELAC

Association
Calendar
of Events
AUGUST 23-25

SECWA Trade Show & Car Wash Tour

Sheraton/Convention Center, Myrtle Beach, SC

www.secwa.org

OCTOBER 5-7
Northeast Regional
Carwash Convention

Atlantic City Convention Center Atlantic City, NJ

www.nrccshow.com

OCTOBER 6

Reader Input
& Feedback
Hey Kate,

I made a math mistake in my letter to you (featured in Spring 2015 issue, page 83). About 1/2
way down the first paragraph, where I mention
80 and 81 coins. Those #s should be 160 and
161. If you can change it, I won't look like an uneducated hillbilly. If it's too late to change it, I'll
just blame the mistake on you.

Pat Hall
Pat,

Ill happily accept the blame.

In regards to your reputation as
an uneducated hillbilly, Im afraid
youre on your own.
All the best,

Kate

Fall Road Trip, presented by Puget

Sound Car Wash Association
LeMay Family Collection Foundation Tacoma, WA

206.622.8425
carwashassoc@qwestoffice.net

OCTOBER 5-7

Car Wash Show Europe,

presented by the
International Carwash Association
Amsterdam, Netherlands

www.carwashshow.eu

NOVEMBER 10

Regional Car Wash Tour,

presented by Southwest
Car Wash Association (SCWA)
Houston Marriott North Houston, TX

www.swcarwash.org

FEBRUARY
28-MARCH 1

SCWA Convention and EXPO

Arlington Convention Center Arlington, TX

www.swcarwash.org

MAY 9-11

Car Wash Show 2016, presented by ICA

Nashville Convention Center Nashville, TN

www.carwash.org/thecarwashshow/

4 SUMMER 2015

Hi Kate,
In the mention in the letters between yourself and
Jim Moran, he talked about his high failure rate
about his CFL conversion, to which you replied
recommending thorough research. This problem
can be avoided by reading the specifications of
the bulb. The complete documentation will always mention if they cannot be used in an enclosed fixture. I had to look for one that didn't
contain that mention before I didn't have the
same failure rate.
Thanks,

Miles Parris

Editors Note: I reached out to Miles

asking if he had a preferred bulb or
brand recommendations since this
question has been coming up a lot at
industry trade shows. His reply:

This one has been great so far (85 Watt CFL 4100K Cool White), one came defective but I've
had several in service for about a year with no
failures. It can be found at www.1000bulbs.com/
product/64232/FC85-S41OD.html.

Carrs Corner

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

And it was a path that wouldnt have existed

without the ACWA, which blazed the trail for operators there and around the world, really, by obtaining government funding to conduct a research
study into the quality of the car wash wastewater. The results of that research showed that it
was safe to recycle wastewater, but that the range
of pollutants and the concentrations were much
higher than expected and that home car washing was making a significant contribution to the
stormwater pollution of the waterways, from the
small creeks to the coastline beaches.
Environmental protection regulations exist
which make any pollution of the stormwater systems illegal, but this is hard to police and enforce.
In discussions with the EPA and the government
environmental departments, we agreed that an educational awareness campaign which encouraged
car owners to change their habits would be much
more effective long term to educate them to understand that everything that flows into the stormwater drains goes untreated directly to the waterways, Ross explained. Funding was provided by
the Victorian Department of Environment, Land,
Water and Planning for ACWA to create these

short animated videos which will appeal to all ages

and which make the point in an easy, friendly way.
The knowledge gained in the first video was applied in a second video to all other home activities
which could pollute the stormwater system and
ways to avoid it.
And just as SECWA members have found, sharing knowledge increases its power. The ACWA has
graciously provided these resources for use here in
the States so that operators here might benefit, too.
Im pretty sure Mother Teresa wasnt referring
to the car wash industry, but her words are extremely apropos here:
I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast
a stone across the water to create many ripples.
So, I urge you: Go on out and throw some rocks
out into the water. Become involved with your
regional association. Attend trade shows and volunteer your wash for road shows. Sit on panel discussions and on boards. Let your voice be heard.
Make some waves.

Happy washing!

Kate

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Future Trends in Self Serve

Car Washing
SSCWN thanks International Carwash Association for allowing us to publish this transcript
of the panel discussion Future Trends in Self Serve Carwashing presented at Car Wash
Show 2015. With over 100 chairs filled, this was by far the best attended self serve educational
event at the show and it was jam-packed with good ideas and operational advice.

David: (Recalling his fathers experiences with

gas station car wash services in the 1960s.) So,
as he remodeled sites, he built the drive in/back
out bays. Does anybody remember those? I knew
somebody would. The big innovation in 1970 was
a bay you could drive through, because we had
cars waiting and they had trouble backing out of
the bay -- they needed to drive through. So that
was the big innovation back then.
Well, we sold the gasoline business in 1995 and
I kept one site that I used to build College Park
Car Wash. I opened that in 1997 as a 7 bay self
serve and one in-bay automatic. We had never had
a rollover carwash. We only ever had the wand self
serve. So that was really new for me -- the rollover
-- and I was very leery of it. I didnt know what it
was going to do. I had no idea. It turned out to be
pretty good.
So gradually, over time, this in-bay was doing so
well that we put in a second in-bay by converting the bay next to it. How many of you all have
done that? Converted a self serve into an in-bay
automatic? So, yes, a lot of us have done that. And
thats been a very successful model for us -- weve
been rewarded well for that. So, six years after that
remodel, we converted a third in-bay.

The first full year we had all three in-bays running was 2007 and we had a terrific year. But I
think you all know what happened in 2008 -when the economic market dropped, and people
didnt feel like washing their cars. They didnt love
that ol gas guzzler as much as they used to. You
know? That big ol Chevy Suburban that could
haul the whole football team, well, now it cost
a lot of money to fill up for $4 a gallon. So that
feeling of love for their car, I think it just disappeared. And our revenue for the in-bays, of course,
went down, too. And it never really recovered to
what we had in that first full year. Even when the
economics got better, it didnt come back. We had
tremendous capacity in the three in-bays, but we
didn't really have the demand for it.
So, I struggled with this. It was such a great thing
-- the machine was a beast. It just kept running
and running and running. But, eventually, last year,
we took a hard step -- we pulled the in-bay out.
Has anybody ever done that? (One hand raised.)
You have? What gave rise to that?
Audience: Well, in that particular community I
own three carwashes. And I had two automatics;
one each at two different sites. And rather than
{continued }

Dale Reynolds

David Dugoff

Tim Jones

PANELISTS:
DALE REYNOLDS

Vice President SECWA, Owner of

Carolina Pride Carwash Systems

DAVID DUGOFF

Past President of the Mid-Atlantic

Carwash Association, Owner of College
Park Car Wash, College Park, MD

TIM JONES

Past President of SECWA, Owner of

Champion Car Wash, Nashville, TN

SUMMER 2015

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8 SUMMER 2015

ICA PANEL
replacing them, I decided to take them out of the
smaller areas and push them to my bigger site,
where I had them at a higher price point. It was
just economics.

Self Serve and IBA Sales 2007-2013

David: So you moved them to a different site?

Audience: No, I just pulled them out and turned
them into self serve. Those two sites had older automatics that were about 15 and 17 years old. So,
they were due to be replaced, but rather than do
that, we pulled em out, turned it into self service
bays, and it drove the people in that town over to
my third location that already had three automatics-- and they were at a higher price point because
those washes were more of a full service type automatic.
David: I understand. So you were able to move business
Audience: Correct.
David: Thats a very good strategy. Very good. Okay.
So, during this time, from 2008-2014, I was looking at sales, and my self serve sales never struggled
at all. If anything, there was a little bit of growth.
The self serve market was rock solid, while the
in-bay automatic was going up and down, up and
down. Much more sensitive to weather and seasons. Whereas the self serve was steady as a rock.
And really strong. So we would always have lines
for the self serve bays. So thats why we pulled out
the in-bay and put in a self serve. So, this is what
it looked like as a three-bay automatic. (Indicates
photo on Power Point slide.) And weve tried a
lot of things over the years -- you may notice the
solar panels. That was an interesting experiment.
And now youll see -- bay six is back into a self
serve. We completed that renovation on August
1st. (2014.)
So, heres the sales. (Power Point slide.) The inbay automatic sales over those years is the red line
on top, and its waving. Its year by year, so its not
showing quite as much fluctuation as month-tomonth, but the self serve sales are just rock solid, steadily rising. And I think theres cause for us
to say that the self serve business is a really good
business to be in.
I wanted to look at the changes in the self serve
and in-bay automatic since that August 1st renovation, and what we saw was that the self serve
went up 29 percent, compared to an average of
the three years previous -- and the in-bay automatic went up 10 percent! Thats with two bays
instead of three. So why would that happen?
Theres a very experienced car wash operator in
my market who said something that I think really
rings true: Activity breeds activity. Meaning that,
sometimes, if there is a little line, people will get
in that line. They think youre handing out twenty
dollar bills. But what we were seeing with three
in-bays, was that there was never a line. You could
go right in, get your wash, pay your $5, and be
out in five minutes. Terrific for that customer in a
hurry. But on the other hand, some people would
drive by and think, Is it working? They dont see

Change in Self Serve & IBA Sales

SS + 29% & IBA + 10%

anybody there. So, having people in the line, seeing the machine working, seeing the lights flicker,
sometimes thats a good thing. So you sort of have
to find the right balance of how much fire power
you need for your market.
One of the things that we were able to do with
the new self serve equipment was take a look at
new services and measure those -- theres an hour
meter and we could look at the hour meters and
say, Whats the percentage of sales? So we introduced two new services that we didnt have before.
We had low pressure tire cleaner that probably everybody has -- but then we added the wheel brush,
which is a tire cleaner detergent with a round nylon bristle brush. Its a stiffer brush with a much
stronger soap than the foaming brush. The wheel
brush is picking up 5% of sales, which I think is
a home run. Now, you know, people are using it
quickly, theyre not spending a lot of time with
it. But theyre using that to scrub the wheels and
they appreciate it. As a side benefit to us -- youre
also saving some wear and tear on a hogs head
brush, which we really dont want them using on
the wheels.

The other new service that we introduced was

a low pressure carnauba wax to be used following the high pressure clear coat protectant that
we probably all have and probably have all always
had. The low pressure carnauba we knew would
be a specialty product with limited appeal, but
those who like it really like it. Were seeing it in
the in-bays and in the tunnels as a really flashy
service -- a great show. We cant duplicate that in
a self serve bay, but it has a wonderful touch when
youre finished using the product. So the customers that are there all the time, that are using all the
services, really like having that available.
Weve also got the air dryers, and thats showing about 4 percent of sales. So if youre thinking
about adding them, think about 4-5 percent. That
might be where youll be.
Now, there are some things that we do that
some people dont understand or they might think
that Im nuts, and thats okay. But one thing weve
always done is weve had a $1 start. I can't advocate this strongly enough. Whatever the time is,
seconds per quarter -- whatever that is, figure that
{continued }
SUMMER 2015

ICA PANEL

Hour Meter
Usage
of Each

Self-Serve
Product

Average Use
of Each Service

out. But instead of having $2 starters or a $3 start,

consider a $1 start. When you have a $1 start, the
customer is much more likely to drop one more
token (or four more quarters) that will use the
high pressure wax or use the carnauba wax or use
the spot free or the air dryers. If your wash is $3,
then thats all you got. They washed and rinsed.
And theyre done and out of there. At a $1 start,
youll get them to stay. Our average sale is more
like $8 or $9. It may seem counterintuitive but
I think its a really important marketing strategy
that makes a customer feel comfortable so theyll
drop three tokens at a time, wash a little bit, catch
their breath, drop a few more tokens, wash some
more.
The other thing that weve always done is weve
given a bonus in token for larger bills. So, for $5
bill, the customer gets six $1 tokens. How many
people here like to get coupons? Right? Everybody. But how many of you remember to take the
coupon to the grocery store? Even if my wife gave
it to me and I had it in my pocket, Ill forget to
take it out. Right? So, then she says, Did you use
the coupon? and I have to say, No, I forgot. But
this way, the customer gets the discount every single time, 24 hours a day. Their mental set is, Im
going to spend at least $5 -- not $3. Thats very
important to change the customers perspective of
how much they're going to spend for a self serve
wash.
A third thing that we added that I think is probably one of the best innovations ever is the billto-bill changer. Every changer company has their
version of it -- Im not advocating for any one in
particular -- but being able to take someones $20
that they got from an ATM machine and convert

10 SUMMER 2015

that down into 5s and 10s in tokens (or dollar

bills and five dollar bills if you want to), but to
be able to take that $20 and move that down so
that they can buy your service, is a win-win. Their
most likely to have a $20 bill on them -- but they
may not have enough ones or a five on them to
wash their car. That bill-to-bill changer is next to
a double normal changer and a token credit card
changer and it does way more than all of em every
day. More dollars and more tokens. It is the best
thing since sliced bread.
Um, what else? We have credit card acceptors
in the bays. Thats very important. It is a growing
segment of our market. As I said, we also have a
credit card token dispenser.
I took the bill acceptors out. How many of you
had bill acceptors in your bays and at your vacuums? A lot of you. Its been the trend for the last
10-15 years. But, I put them in, and then I took
them out. I just felt like it was a vandalism point,
and it was a security issue for me or my manager when we would go to take cash out -- people
could see that big wad of ones. I didn't care for
that. And it was never a big percentage of my sales.
I know others are doing 30-40 percent in paper
currency transactions in their self serve bays, but
I never hit more than 12 percent in the 7-8 years
that I had them. So I took those out and put the
credit card acceptors in. I havent missed em at
all.
Lets see Some other things that we do that
are a little unusual are we give away tickets to Nationals baseball games. Were inside the Washington D.C. beltway and were very excited about our
baseball team. Its a real treat for me to walk up
to a customer who I see enjoying washing his car

(I wait til theyre finished), and Ill ask if they like

baseball. Theyll say yes or no, and Ill say, Well,
Im going to give away some tickets to a baseball
game this week. And they light up. Its a great
thing. So, Im giving out four tickets and parking. And theyre great seats. And the customers
will come back and tell me they had a great time.
One guy even proposed to his wife there! So, I get
these great stories back. Like, I took my son or my
nephew.
We also give away tickets to DC United Soccer. Our community is significantly Latino and our
customer base is probably 60-70 percent Latino
and many of them are more interested in soccer
than baseball. Many of them are also interested
in baseball, or maybe the father likes baseball and
the son likes soccer or whatever. But the DC United tickets are a nice giveaway also. And it gives me
an opportunity to interact with my customer. Im
going up, one-on-one, and talking with them. And
I think thats a very important thing for the owner
of a self serve car wash to do. Its probably pretty
easy to hide in the office or look at the video at
home or read all the reports that you get, but really, you got to be there. Youve got to be on site,
youve got to be looking at your customers and
smiling and thanking them for their business. And
it gives me an opportunity to do that. And, as Im
sure many of you do, we support local churches
and schools and other athletic events. Were about
{continued }

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SUMMER 2015

13

ICA PANEL
a half a mile from the University of Maryland and
so we give away a car wash at every sporting event.
So, we have a contest for the Dirtiest Car at every
game and our name goes up on the screen. Its a lot
of attention. Over the years Ive had tremendous
feedback that recognize the name from the giveaway. So even a very brief mention -- I mean, Im
a very small advertiser at these events. Toyota, the
banks -- they have tremendous presence. But even
a small ad has a lot of impact.
Audience: How often do you walk up to somebody
at the car wash and had them tickets at random?
David: Well, theres 82 home baseball games and
they come in sets of home series -- so six or nine
games. So, I guess it comes out to giving away 4-5

games every week or so. I want it to be random.

I dont want it known when I'm going to do this.
Dale: Weve also done the dirtiest car thing,
and its pretty neat. Wed have the Athletic Department go out and pick out the dirtiest car and
theyd snap a picture of it to put up on the screen
during the seventh inning stretch and then theyd
have to call out the license plate and that person
would have to come down to accept their free car
wash passes. Daves done a lot of neat things in his
business, so if you get a chance to talk to him more
on his own, youll want to pick his brain. He does
the craziest numbers. Next up we have Tim Jones,
owner of Champion Car Wash out in Nashville,
Tennessee. Tim is the past president of the Southeastern Carwash Association. He entered the business in 1993 as a self serve and touchfree automatic operator. He currently owns five sites and I

14 SUMMER 2015

think hes fast closing in on another site. Tim?

Tim: Well, good morning, everybody. Just looking around this room right here tells me that the
self serve industry is not dead. Ill be honest with
you, theres more people here than I thought
would be -- and thats a good thing. Yesterday
morning I sat in the exterior express car wash panel discussion and I want you to know that a lot of
the talk there about the trends in that market was
about the short tunnel conversions happening in
the self serve market and it was nice to hear that
theyre feeling concerned about us for a change.
So, like Dave, I was not really born and raised in
the car wash industry, but I got into it 1993 as a
self serve operator. But my real story, I guess, was
lets fast forward to 2007 or 2008. I was looking

at my business, and I said, Man, Im moving right

along. I had some really nice sites and my in-bay
automatic business was really strong. But there
was something coming fast behind me -- this little
thing called express washes. They were entering
my market and -- you know, before I get into this,
I wanted to say: I highly recommend that you get
involved in your regional association. Thats very
important. We do these things in the Southeast
called road shows which are extremely informative. Well go to different cities and we set up tours
of the local car washes. Man, you see a lot of things
that are really great and you sometimes see some
things that are not-so-great, but either way, theyre
extremely educational.
So, in 2007, I was on one of these road shows
and we were looking at some express washes and I
was starting to get a little scared. I started to think,
Man, Id better do something. Cause theyre go-

ing to come in and squash me like a bug. But it

just so happens that on one of these roads shows
back in 2007, I was looking at these tunnels and I
saw what a great job they were doing and the car
that they were putting out and I thought -- Hey! I
can do that! And then the more I thought about it,
the more I thought, Hey! This could co-exist with
a self serve and in-bay.
I didn't know exactly how I was going to do it,
or what would happen to my self serve sales or my
in-bay sales, but in 2008, I took out my first in-bay
car wash -- it was an in-bay with six self serve bays
-- and I just happened to have enough roof line to
get in a 60 tunnel. I had a canopy over where my
pay station was, so I was able to throw in a front
wheel conveyor and put in a free vacuum area and
Ill tell you what, Ill be honest with you: It started off pretty slow. It really did. But -- man, the
growth came. And in the meantime, Im nervously
looking at my self serve sales and worrying that my
pay vacuum sales will go down, but guess what?
They didnt! If anything, they increased.
When I added my tunnel, I also made some improvements to my self serves. I put tire shine in
the bay and air dryers, and I put in credit cards. I
was trying to offer most anything that I could offer in the tunnel in the self service bay. It worked
out very well for me. So well, in fact, that over
the last few years, Ive added a tunnel to all my
sites. Its been very good to me. The best decision
Ive made. And, to be honest, I'm still in the self
serve and the in-bay automatic industry -- but Im
an exterior car wash operator because the bulk of
my income now comes from the express tunnel.
Dont get me wrong -- I have in-bay automatics
that are still washing 25,000 cars a year, right next
to these tunnels. And my self service bays have
never been stronger. I would highly recommend
it. If youre thinking about it, start canvassing your
area. Look at what your competition is doing. See
whats coming in.
Heres an example of one of my sites (indicating
Power Point slide.) This is a site I did back in 2012.
It was dual touchfree automatics and five self service bays. When I put in my express washes, Ive
always put in the free vacuum area. I've thought
that was very important -- thats the draw. And
my pay vacuums have decreased a bit, yes, but
theyre still strong. It didn't crush em. But at this
particular site, I gated each self service bay. And
on my sign it says $5 Carwash Free Vacuums. So,
my price point for my tunnel, for my automatic
and for my self service bays is $5. So, the gates
are on the exit side of the self service bay, so the
customer is free to pull in the bay, and as soon as
they start the car wash by putting in their money,
the gate opens. Theyre able to wash their car, then
pull through and use the vacuums, and the gate
closes behind em.
Heres an example of my self service bays -- Ive
got the triple foam gun and the air dryers. And
theres a picture of my free vacuum area in the
{continued }

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SUMMER 2015

15

ICA PANEL
back of my car wash that everybody has access to
once theyve washed their car.
So thats what Ive done over these last few
years. Ive tried to update my self serve. Ive stayed
on top of my in-bay business -- Im trying to provide the most service that I can with an automatic.
And then Ive tried to offer the best car wash in
a short tunnel wash that I can do. If anybody has
any questions about it, if you want to talk afterwards, Id be more than happy to discuss it. I know
there is a cost to doing these tunnels. Youve got
to make sure that youve got the right size water
line in -- and youve got to have enough electricity.
You might have to upgrade your electricity service.
Theres different kinds of cost involved and Id be
glad to help anybody out with it if you wanna
come see me and discuss it.

cars. Because the economic had it so that people

were just not washing as often. So, just cleaning
the car became more challenging. Weve seen a
move from the touchless automatics back towards
friction. Thats one of the biggest changes Ive noticed in the last five or six years -- that its harder
to clean those dirty cars and weve had to change
our techniques. Fortunately, in some cases, operators can put in a short tunnel expresses with the
friction can help us to clean those a little bit more.
Weve also started prepping cars and thats helped.
But also, the in-bay automatics have improved
quite a bit -- the quality of the components and
the systems theyre using. All that technology has
improved.
Has anyone out there seen anything recently
thats made a difference?

Dale: Thank you, Tim. You know, Ive been really

fortunate to get to know these two gentlemen, and

Tim: Well, in the past I was big into touchfree. It

was very popular in the 90s and into the early

venience. Theyre very credit card based. Theyre

impatient. They dont want to wait. Thats a big
trend. And you know, its killed me in the past.
Youve got a line at the car wash and you see someone pull out to leave and you wanna chase them
down the street and say, No! No! Come back!
You just dont see the line pile up with the express
tunnel and thats why I think people gravitate towards it -- its moving, its putting out cars.
Dave: One strategy we tried to help with that was
to move some of the daytime business to when
were less busy. So, we have a different price at
night, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. You get one-third
more time for your dollar to try to drive some of
those guys who are taking too long. Its only going to work for your most steady customers. But,
thats great. You know those tow truck drivers that
stay in there forever? But theyre spending $15 or
$20 bucks -- so theyre a good customer. Theyre
kinda big and cumbersome, maybe a little messy.
But theyll come at midnight. Let them come at
midnight. Give em a discount.Get em out of the
way so that regular customers can get in there
during the day. Thats been successful for us, too. I
mean, the technology in our meter boxes is great.
Its letting us do things we never could before.
Tim: You talk about nighttime business -- thats
one of the things that I felt was important also.
Yo know, my little short express tunnels are open
from about 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (depending on the
season), and Im attended those hours, but after
8 p.m., I still have a way to wash cars through my
touchfree automatic. And my touchfree automatic
customers have access to those free vacuums still.
So, when the weather is a little inclement, or at
nighttime, or if its a rainy day and I dont open the
tunnel -- I still have a way to wash cars through
the touchfree and the self serve.

as you can see, theyve obviously gone in very different directions with their self serve businesses,
so it really shows that theres not just one strategy
that works. Theres a lot of different directions you
can take if you want to improve your self serve
business.
A couple years ago I converted one of my twin
automatic sites to a single automatic and a mini
express tunnel. Before I did that, I noticed over
the years -- even after the slow down in 2008 and
2009 -- that people were becoming more and
more impatient. They were getting in lines, and it
used to be that the line would be seven or eight
cars and the people would wait patiently for their
turn. But it seemed to me we were getting to the
point where three cars was the maximum number
they would wait behind for an in-bay automatic.
So how could we help speed things along?
The other thing we were looking at was dirtier

16 SUMMER 2015

2000s. But then we got into friction, and Ill tell

you what, we just dont damage cars. It rarely happens. And its usually do to circumstance. So the
changes in technology has really improved the
friction option for us.
Dale: Weve also seen changes in our customer
base, what with people not washing as frequently. And then another thing Ive noticed is that the
younger generation just dont seem to be as involved with their vehicles as we were when we
were kids. You know, wed spend hours out there
just loving on our cars. But not today. Its amazing, too, how many younger people are not getting
their drivers license. Thats a big change for us. Its
down about ten percent in the last twenty years.
So, the motoring public -- our customer base -is just not interested in driving. Any other things
youre seeing out there?
Tim: Yes, and that younger generation is about con-

Dale: I think one of the neatest sites I ever saw -and this was at least 20 years ago -- was up in New
Haven, New Hampshire, and it was a site that had
six bays self serve, a touch free in-bay automatic
and an express tunnel. And everything was busy. It
co-existed back then and I think it can still co-exist
today. And if that express tunnel was closed, people could still wash. That automatic was still doing 20,000 cars a year. I think youll see more and
more people looking to do those combinations -and in new builds. Not just in converting existing
sites and automatics. But in new construction, too.
Theres a lot of people up in the Northeast that
are doing combinations of two or three self serve
bays and a tunnel or what not. Theres lots of different combinations you can do.
One of the things I wanted to note -- that Dave
touched on earlier -- was changes in services we offer. Ive got to give these two a lot of credit. Theyre
innovators. They do things differently. And they
make investments that theyre not sure are going
to work yet, but theyre trying new things. And I
think thats really important, especially in the self
serve industry. You know, they used to say Build it

 SUMMER 2015

17

18 SUMMER 2015

ICA PANEL
and they will come. But if were not re-investing
in these washes and if someone comes and puts in
a new automatic -- I mean, the market is constantly changing and you need to be constantly changing your services and anticipating those changes.
We havent been seeing too many new services in
the self serve market, but they are coming along.
You know, adding the dryers to the bay. Putting
in the hot wax. Any other service changes youre
seeing, Dave? And Tim, you talked about the free
vacuums in the gated self serve -- thats a really
neat thing. Any other services you can think of?
Tim: Yeah, thats important. I feel like at my sites
that I have something for everybody. I want to
appeal to as wide a customer base as possible.
Theres still a touchfree automatic market, you
know? Theres still people out there that dont
want anything touching their car -- that mindset
is still there.Matter of fact, the first site that I did
my conversion on, one of my projects here in the
next several months is to take one of my six self
serve bays and convert it to a touchfree because
I have that market there. And theres still people
that want the self serve.
You know, I think of the sites where you could
benefit just from a little facelift. Theres a market
out there, but you have to appeal to it. I mean
-- how many of you can think of one of those
sites that maybe is trending downward just a bit?
How many of you own one of those sites? Right?
Theyre out there. The opportunities are out there.
There are some really good locations out there
that just need some effort. But its important to
appeal to as wide as a customer base as you can.
Dale: Tim brings up a good point, one of the sites
I have is 50 years old. It started out as a three bay,
then became a five bay self serve, then we added
a four bay self serve next to it, then we took out
two bays to convert to twin automatics with seven bays of self serve. Its been remodeled many
times throughout the years, but its grown every
time. So, if you drive by and look at it, it doesnt
look like a 50 year old car wash. It looks like a
modern facility. And thats important -- you dont
want your site to look like a tired, worn out car
wash. You look at the petroleum industry and they
are renergizing and rebranding their sites every ten
years. New signage and what not. But our industry
-- typically, we dont do that. But you know, look
at these other industries. Look at hotels. Every ten
years, theyll change the carpet. Theyll change the
color of the bedspreads. Theyll try to make it look
new again without doing too much. But self serves,
you know, a lot of em look tired.
Audience: Were in the Atlanta area and Ive got
in-bay automatics; soft touch and a touch free. I
started out with two touchfrees, but I had to go to
a soft touch because all the express washes were
coming into the area. So, we had to make some
updates. From the service stand point, we couldnt
do what Tim did there -- our property wasn't set

up that way. We couldnt put in a gate. So instead,

what we did was put in some auto cashiers and
added a feature to the Unitec where we could dispense a token to use the vacuums. We had half
that were coin and half that were token and that
worked out really well. The other thing we did,
was we interfaced our Laurel vending machines
-- those electronic ones -- to the Unitec so that
we could give away a free Armor All pack or a discount based on the wash selected. We were trying
to do something that the express washes werent
doing. So no one was giving away discounted product or free wipes, so that helped to grow our business a lot. Its a really quick change; its not capital
intensive. It was just a couple hundred dollars.
Dale: Thats a great point. A lot of people today
are like Tim was -- afraid of the expresses coming

on, especially as it involves the automatics. Those

are real challenges to our business. But there are
things you can do, just like youre doing. Putting in
the token dispenser to give away free vacuums or
tokens for vending. There are also people dispensing tokens in the self serve bays. So, yeah, theres
ways to add value on to your wash services. Thats
great.
Audience: I have a question for Tim. I just converted my self serve; I put in a tunnel in place of my
touchfree. I split my vacuums; so I have the central
vacs for the express wash tunnel conversion and
kept the self serve vacuums for the self serves. Im
not sure if that was the right thing to do. I just
wanted to know what your thought was -- do you
give your self serve customers access to the central
vacs?
Tim: Actually I have not used central vacs. Ive used
canister vacs with a push button and a timer. Because Im open 24 hours,I didnt want the central

vac running the whole time. This way, they use the
canister vac, they come up and press a button for
five minutes time, then it cuts off. I still have pay
vacs separate for my self service customers. And
even at that location that I showed you (where the
self serve customers have access to free vacuums
in the back of the property), I have pay vacuums
out in front of self service bays, but thats for those
people who dont want to wash their cars -- they
just want to pull up and vacuum their car. And its
still doing well.
Dale: Were also seeing people with free vacuums
who still put out those combo vacs with the fragrance and can charge for that extra service.
Lets push on a little bit here, discussing future
trends. I also wanted to talk about marketing to
our customer base; were seeing a lot more elec-

tronics and social media. How do we talk to these

customers? Are you guys entertaining that stuff?
David: Well, we have the Facebook page and were
on Yelp. Those are the two things we focus on, as
far as social media goes. I dont know how successful we really are, frankly. But the friendship base
on Facebook does keep growing and people do put
up pictures of themselves at the car wash. I dont
get it, frankly. But, they do it. I dont have to understand everything that we do for it to work.
But the Yelp reviews -- has anybody been
burned by a Yelp review or a Google review? Nobody? Im the only one? Its good to learn how
to respond to those negative reviews. I think its
important that we do respond calmly. Take a few
days off, then respond. Because its really hard not
to say what youre really thinking -- but you dont
want to say what youre really thinking. You want
to respond and show that youre concerned about
the customers problem and that you want to try
to help -- even if you feel its unfair. You can say
SUMMER 2015

19

ICA PANEL
that, but not defensively. You will find more positive reviews come in. The most important thing is
to show that you, as the owner, care. And if that
crazy review is left to stand -- and theres no response -- then the people who tune into that stuff
think, Well, this lady feels she got shafted at your
facility. Im not going there. But if you respond
and say, This is what we want to do, then your
other customers will see that. I encourage the customer to reach out to me and so on and so on, then
youve done what you can do. Its very frustrating
and aggravating, but a year or so later, that negative review is so far down in the pile that it doesnt
matter anymore. Theres enough positive reviews
on top of it to move it down and still give us the
four and a half stars or whatever the rating is.
Dale: One of the other things I wanted to talk
about is: Millenials. Its a challenge we have: How
do we get to that young customer base? How do
we encourage them to come to the car wash when
car washing is not as important to them as it was in
my generation? I think there are opportunities out
there -- you can talk to some of these marketing
guys out on the show floor who are doing things
with texting and communicating. One of the magazines had an article about this recently. Its how
you actually communicate -- not just market to

20 SUMMER 2015

them -- but how do you become social with them?

One of the things I hope to do is to educate them
about the value of actually taking care of your
car. The younger generation is used to more of a
disposable environment where theres always a
new computer, always a new phone. Everything
has a short lifespan. Theyre not used to keeping
a car for ten years or so. Thats not as important
to them. So hopefully we can do some things to
educate them and get them involved at the car
wash and with taking care of their vehicles. Another thing you might consider is more and more
people in the motoring public are becoming more
environmentally conscious. Everybody's thinking
green. You know, my wife buys all those green
chemicals for cleaning the house. I ask her, How
much more is that cleaner? And she doesnt know
and she doesnt care. She just buys green. Thats
something for millennials, too. Theyve all grown
up knowing that youve got to recycle and youve
got to be green. So we push that, we help communicate that message to them that our washes are all
environmentally friendly and that the car wash is
a good place to go rather than wash your dirt and
oil off into the sewer.
David: Absolutely. The ICAs WaterSavers program
is another great program. There are terrific graph-

ics; we have two banners at the wash that say we

participate in the program. Youre trying to convey that you care. Some customers wont -- they
could care less. But a lot of customers do care, and
you want to show that you care about the environment. Its important to run that flag.
Dale: Growing your business through technology.
Lets discuss it.
David: This is sort of related -- I saw something
in the news recently that Google is going to start
ranking your website based on whether your website is mobile friendly. How many people here
have your own website? Good, good. Most people
have got that. You dont need a Yellow Pages ad
anymore; you do need a website. Good. Okay, so
now, your website has to be mobile friendly. It has
to be rewritten in such a way so that it is viewable
on a smartphone. If you think about it -- for our
purposes, this makes a lot of sense. Our customers are not looking for a car wash while theyre at
home on the computer screen. Theyre out in their
car. Theyre thinking, Oh, Ive got 15 minutes, let
me see if theres some place nearby to wash my
car. Theyre doing it on their phone at the stop
light. So youve got to get your information on the
first page, real quick. If you havent rewritten your
website to be mobile friendly, you want to do it

ICA PANEL
now. Cause thats where your customer is looking,
and also, now you want to improve your Google
ranking.
Tim: Yeah, gosh. Admittedly, when it comes to that
crap -- social media, websites -- I dont have a clue.
But I have a website. Its not where it needs to
be, but Ive got it. I have a Facebook page. I dont
know what Twitter is. But every time I come to
one of these conventions I kick myself in the butt
because theres a lot of things that you can do, all
on your website and on social media, that you can
do to increase your business. A lot of us are out
there too busy turning wrenches to do that and
make that happen, but Im going to make it an action item. Next year, if you see me at this convention and I havent done something with my social
media, I want you to give me a swift kick in the
butt. Im going to do something about it; whether
its getting my daughter or one of my children to
get me up in the world of social media and my
website so that I can promote my business better
and more efficiently.
Dale: One thing thats important -- Im guilty of
it myself -- is you put up a website and its the
same thing for three or four or five years. Its just:
Heres the car wash, heres our address, heres our
phone number. And it just sits there. But it doesnt

work that way. Youve got to drive people to your

website. And as Dave was saying, youve got to be
optimized for mobile phone viewing. Most people today arent buying computers; theyre buying
tablets and smart phones. Its amazing what you
can do with technology. It does change the flow
of business.
Lets see here: We talked a bit about new service
offerings. But do you see any others coming up?
A lot of the in-bays are adding the foaming light
shows and hot wax like we see in the express tunnels. I think last year and this year that has been
the big thing at the show. A lot of operators in our
area are starting to do that. I know the economy
hit people hard and theres a lot of automatics that
need to be replaced, so its something to consider.
If youre going to invest, you might as well go all
out and get a better return on your investment.
SSCWN: Is anyone else out there doing like Dave
has done and actually tracking the services in the
bay? Anyone keeping tabs on how long a customer
is using the pre soak or the dryers or what not?
Dale: Thats a good point. How do you know what
youre selling unless you monitor it? Some people
keep track of how much their solutions or their
chemicals are going down, but some people are
like Dave. Its actually really easy to do -- you just

buy some cheap timers and hook it up for one bay.

You dont have to monitor everything, but maybe
just a single bay. Wire it up to your control box.
David: Thats what I did.
Dale: So its easy to do. Its not like you have to use
a computer or anything complicated.
David: Yeah, I found some timers online for like
$12 each. I guess there were 10 or 12 of them and
a roll of wire.
Dale: There you go. Its a simple way to monitor
it. Knowledge is key. Any other new services out
there? Tire shine in teh bays? Dryers? Anything
else you see coming?
Tim: Im sure there will be. And whatever it is, Ill
have some of it.
Dale: Yeah, and a lot of times it wont matter what
it is. Just something new to create some excitement. One of the simple things I saw people do
in years past was changing the domes on the vacuums. You dont have to change your logo or anything. Just if youve got red domes, go put on yellow ones. That way people driving down the street
will notice that difference. Its just like that picture
youve got hanging on the wall behind your sofa in
{continued }

SUMMER 2015

21

22 SUMMER 2015

ICA PANEL
the living room. Ask someone whats there; they
dont have a clue. Itll be there for 10 or 20 years,
and they just get used to it. And thats what its
like for your customers. Theyre driving down the
street every day and they dont see it -- til you
change it up. Then they think, wait. Whats different here? How longs that been there? Its simple things that are a small investment that show
youre active there.
David: Theres one thing coming out that Im very
excited about. I think most of us are going to groan
about it -- but the changes in the credit cards that
are coming. Well all be updating to that whether we like it or not in the next few years. But I
think thats going to really help for the customer
who doesnt quite get the swipe right. They put
the card in every which way but the right way
and they get so frustrated. Or they think theyve
swiped it twice, and they havent. Or at least, most
of the time they havent. But if its just a simple
contact and then the thing starts up, I think thats
going to be great.
Dale: One of the things I think is important to
mention, one of the best investments you can
make in your business is the simplest: Your time.
As you see evidenced by these gentlemen up here,
just put your time into your business. Most of the
operators that we see that are most successful are
not part-time operators, theyre full-time businessmen. You know, like Dave was talking about handing out tickets at the wash and just talking to his
customers. One of the best operators I ever knew
was a gentleman down in Somerville, South Carolina. He did things that I never thought about -- he
would clean his quarters. So that every day after
he washed cars, he'd pull those quarters and hed
go home and he and his wife would sit down, and
as theyre watching TV or whatever, they would
clean those quarters. Theyd be shining; they
looked brand new. They had parents who would
come down to get quarters whenever a kid lost a
tooth for the tooth fairy. People noticed. He also
did things like hand out free coffee. So customers
would stop by and get a cup of coffee. Also, he
offered tire cleaner for free. So if you pulled up,
you couldnt buy it on the meter. But he would
run around with a little spray bottle, a pump up
sprayer, and he would come into your bay and
spray the cleaner onto your tires for you. But he
was the most involved in his business than any operator I had ever seen. So, things like that -- just
being involved. For me, its my attendants. They
have to speak to every customer that pulls onto
the site. They need to say Thank you for coming
today. Thank you for your business. Is there anything I can do for you? And inside the door of
the equipment room is a decal that says, Smile.
Cause if theyre smiling, the customers smiling. I
dont want an employee there on the site with a
scowl on his face, looking like hes pissed off to be
there. He needs to be happy to be there. Makes the
customer happy to be there, too. So, simple things.

Invest your time.

We talked about a lot of things. Changes in automatics, we touched on that. I think youre going to
see a lot more combination units. Maybe changes
in the friction and how they do touchfree.
Any other questions about the gated self serve?
Tim: I think credit card acceptance is huge. I want
to take your money any way I can.
Dale: Yes. Were moving more and more to a cashless society. And there will be some additional
challenges there, like maintaining PCI compliance,
but its a necessity. Its a part of the business.
Audience: We talked a bit about Facebook, and I
wanted to add how great thats been for our business. So that when we had a negative comment,
we actually had a great response from our customers who replied back and said, Thats never
happened to me. You couldnt ask for any better
counter to a complaint. I mean, we dealt with the
complaint, too, but when you have those customers that can say, Thats not the way this place is
for me, that was great. I also think its important
to make your website mobile friendly. Thats what
Im having my guys do right now. I have a mobile phone app and I think it was about $1500
to set up, but one of the things I can do is I have
better communication with my people and I can
engage people about specials or remind them if
your prices are different after 8 p.m. or whatever.
I like having the way to engage them like that. But
also, quick question for Tim: What happens if you
have a customer who pulls into that self serve bay
and doesnt pay $5. Can they still get in the back
to the vacuums?

Audience: So are all your self serve bays like that?

Tim: No, no. Just at this location. And yes, I did
have some push back on that.
Audience: So, at that location, in order to use the
self serve bay -- you have to put in $5?
Tim: Yes. That is correct. But actually, to get back
to what you were saying about the mobile app.
Thats great. With todays pay stations and the
technology that we have, we can put QR codes
out on Facebook or Instagram. Man, there are so
many different marketing ideas that you can use
to promote your wash just because of the new pay
stations and the technology thats there.
Audience: I wanted to talk about tire dressing in
the bay. One, I wanted to know how it affects
vending sales. And two, do you worry much at all
about those bays being slightly slow with the water and dressing mixture? A liability issue? A slip
and fall risk?
Tim: I havent found any additional risk for slip and
fall because the way I put the dressing out is a fine
mist. Its going to cost you a lot of money if you
do it any other way -- tire dressing is not cheap. If
you put it out too thick, youre losing money. Adjusting those things can be tricky, but I try to put
out a fine mist. I havent noticed a glob in the bay
or anything like that. We do keep it clean on the
walls, but I haven't seen it on the concrete.
Dale: Well, ladies and gentlemen, I apologize.
Weve run out of time. But thank you so much for
coming today, and thank you, Tim and David, for
being up here. Thank you.

Tim: The bay starts for $5. They have to put in $5.
SUMMER 2015

23

From The Archives:

Self Serve Carwash Mar

Jarret J. Jakubowski

INTRODUCTION

Good morning. Ive been the publisher of and editor of the Self Serve Car Wash News for the last 15
years. This year happens to be the 25th the Silver
Anniversary of the SCCWN, and our Spring 99 issue is a special celebration of that birthday a quarter
century ago. In it, there are articles on the history of
self-serve as well as lots of amazing stories selected
from our many years of back issues.
This particular issue makes the point again and
again that you guys who stick with this business
and enjoy success in this business truly are a breed
apart from the thundering herd of other entrepreneurs. Youre not afraid of hard work or risk. You
roll with the punches that life throws at you. And,
if need be, you punch back. Plus, most of you have a
down-to-earth sense of humor that helps keep you
saneand keeping on keeping on.
The Self Service Carwash News in it its own
quirky way has always reflected those special
qualities. For many years, I and my associates have
shared a private joke as to what set the SSCWN
apart from the thundering herd of trade journals
apart from our having little regard for a regular
publishing scheduleas Im sure most of you here
today are aware.
(Peals of knowing laughter erupt from the audience.)
Actually, it was first expressed by a long time subscriber and big fan. He said the SSCWN is the only
trade publication Ive ever seen that was anatomically correct. When I asked what the heck did he
mean by anatomically correct, he responded by
saying that he knew that the SSCWN was started by operators for operatorsand its got Heart n
Guts, Brains n Balls. And those are the same attributes that Ive seen in many a successful carwash
operator. In less anatomical terms that translates to:
Being not only smart, but Savvy street
smart, if you will.
Having an appreciation and working Knowledge of Human Nature a sense of what
makes people tick.
Creativity the capacity to not just be a me
too kind of person and waiting for everybody
else to do something. Its not just clever little
ideas. Its thinking outside of the proverbial
box --- outside of the rut --- which can seem
so safe and so comfortable.
And Courage perhaps bravadopossibly
even bordering on the foolhardy. In a sense, it
relates to Creativity being brave enough to
push the envelope to try something new
and differentto create an image apart from
the herd.
Those characteristics are especially in evidence in
those operators who have aggressively implemented

24 SUMMER 2015

marketing and advertising programs that work for

their carwashes.

ADVERTISING VERSUS
MARKETING

Im not going to trot out textbooks for this presentation. As promised in the ICAs promos, this is
all about good ideas that have worked in real world
carwashes. Still, definition the difference between
Advertising and Marketing is not a bad idea:
At the very least, remember this all Advertising
is Marketing, but not all Marketing is Advertising.
Advertising, generally speaking
1. Is a paid message
2. Appears in the mass media
3. Has the purpose of informing or persuading
people about a product or service.
Youll see relatively little advertising per se in this
presentation.
Marketing, on the other hand, involves virtually
anything and everything you do to understand your
market and promote your business. That includes,
of course, paid advertising. But there are marketing
tactics a successful self serve carwash should implement well before plunging into and paying for radio,
TV, newspapers, and direct mail advertising.

HEY! LOOK AT ME!

At this point in the presentation, I have your

attention. Its not because Im better looking than
George Clooney, or a more humorous and more accomplished speaker than, lets say, the ICAs ill-advised choice for this conventions keynote speech
earlier this morning the Liberal extremist Al Franken.
No. I have your attention simply because Im the
only guy up hereand, not coincidentally, all your
chairs are facing the right direction. But if there was
a competing influenceor a distractionsuch as
wellsuch asWOW! Talk about timing! How
about the three beeeeyoootiful young ladies at the
back of the room who just walked in?!?
(Most of the males in the audience pivot in unison
immediately backwards 180 degrees.)
Ha, ha, made you look! You see, just the prospect
of having something other than a pudgy, middle
aged Polack to look at gave many of you whip lash.
My point is, getting passing motorists to look at your
business is fundamentally important marketing tactic. Its absolutely critical to your bottom line.
Self serve operators who have done customer surveys tell me that typically 20-25 percent of their
customers pulled in on IMPULSEnot a planned,
destination purchase. A ICA survey puts the num-

arketings Greatest Hits

Editors Note: This is Part 1 of a Three-Part article series from SSCWNs archives. It is based upon
a seminar presented by Editor Emeritus Jarret J. Jakubowski at the 1999 ICA Expo in Nashville.
Like so many of JJJs cover stories, this article has a seemingly infinite shelf life and is being re-presented to the readership in the hopes that those who havent seen it before will find much to gain in
perusing these pages, and that those who might recall reading it so many years ago will enjoy many
Oh yes! Why didnt I do that years ago! moments as they remind themselves of these extremely
useful marketing tactics anew.
The article is presented here exactly as it was printed over 15 years ago -- a gentle reminder that
some washes may have changed hands (and names in the ensuing years) and to place similar facts
and circumstances -- especially those concerning dollars -- in historical context.

ber as high as 40 percent! So its a pretty safe bet

that at least of your income could be dependent
on how effectively you attract attention. Here are
some great ways --- big and small --- to do just that.

MAKING EVERY YEAR A

BANNER YEAR

Im a big fan of flags, banners and pennants. They

attract the eye by being colorful, and when a breeze
is blowing, the added movement tugs on the eye
even more.
These red, white and blue flags (pictured at right)
flapping in the wind attract the eye and also repetitively say the word Car WashCar WashCar
Wash. Seeing that word Car Wash is important.
Many people wont think car wash unless they see
the word car wash. Next to writing WASH ME!
on their windshields, making the word Car Wash
very visible is one of the very best ways to trigger the
carwash impulse in the minds of passing motorists.
In the same vein, heres another clever use of flags
and banners suggested by Don Barr, owner of Dons
Carwash in Susanville, California. Don has hundreds
of banners that celebrate 20 different themes and
holidays throughout the year including Christmas,
Easter, Halloween, Saint Patricks Day, Mothers
Day, Fourth of July, Fathers Day, Valentines Day,
etcetera, etcetera. Don hangs them all across the
front of his wash. Most banners are up from seven
to ten daysand then they come down.
Here are some more examples of way to do seasonal banners that I like hanging them from horizontal poles. Actually, that defines the technical
difference between a flag and a banner. Namely, a
flag flies atop a vertical pole, whereas a banner hangs
from a horizontal pole or mount.
Flags and banners run the gamut when it comes
to cost. Some large, elaborate designs can cost as
much as $100. But a typically sized one (about 2x3
foot) will usually sell in the range of $25-50. Don,
however, has his wife always on the lookout for
banner bargains in those bulk mailed, color catalogs
that primarily target the lady of the house. Among
SUMMER 2015

25

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Self Serve Carwash Marketings Greatest Hits

the many in and around the home items featured,
youll often find good deals on flags and banners
some great designs for as little as $12 to $15.
Something to consider given their current and
growing popularity in residential applications
flags and banners can be tempting to some thieves.
School flags and those black and white checkered
flags (a la the well-known Southern Pride carwash
chain in the Southeast) can have an especially bad
habit of disappearing. So you might want to use
securely mounted metal pipe/poles rather than the
easy in n out wood poles.
Hanging banners (as seen in photos) can add a
classy kind of mediaeval castle a bit of a Camelotlike look to a wash. A lot of different banners (with
the same theme, of course) can inject I, personally,
like the look of matching banners. Its less busy
while still attracting attention.
The idea is to always give passing motorists a reason to look at and reconnect with the wash. To see
whats new and what the latest theme and celebration might be month to month, season to season
again, maintaining visual interest and attracting attention throughout the year.

THE GLORY
OF OLD GLORY

There are those areas that prohibit or strictly

regulate signs, flags, banners and pennants. Many of
you have confronted bureaucratic brick walls over
such issues. But even the strictest zoning board will
(as a rule) tolerate American flags. If nothing else,
you cannot go wrong flying Old Glory as seen
here at the Crown Carwash in St. Petersburg, Florida. Its a spectacular wash that still benefits from a
little flag waving.

READER BOARDS

Many operators have reader boards

and/or marquee signs. Don Barr has
a special commitment to his reader
board on his roadside pole sign. This
is another tool to keep his wash visually fresh. He uses it to reinforce
the seasonal themes and to announce
special promotions. Don purchased
large, 9-inch letters so that people
can read the sign more easily and
from further away down the street.
He changes the signs message
weekly. Most of the messages are humorous sayings that are not necessarily related to carwashing. Here are a
few examples that Don has posted
101 Reasons to Wash the Car:
Ask your wife!
Is your rear end dirty? Wash it
here!
WASH ME is not a cool bumper
sticker!
Another popular one: Your wife called,
she said: Wash the Car!
Around election time there will be something such
as, Dont be a Politician Vote Intelligently!
Or during the Clinton impeachment trial,
Tired of the Trial? Wash the Dirt Off Here!
Both major and minor holidays are ripe with potential. For example, around St. Patricks Day, Don
posts Men in Green Tights Wash FREE. A concept
slogan that translates during the Christmas season
to: Fat Man in Red Suit Washes for FREE. And,
believe it or not, Don has people take him up on
such tongue-in-cheek offers. HE is hardly deluged
with guys in green tights sashaying into the wash
around March 17, but he has had one. During the
month of December, however, Don gets more than
the one official visit from St. Nick on Christmas
Eve. Fully costumed Santas charity bell ringers or
those from the mall and private parties do stop by
to collect on the freebee wash offer. Needless to say,
when passersby and customers see Santa(s) in the
bays that attracts attention, gets people talking and
further enhances the this wash is fun! image.
Actually, it would not be a bad idea for the carwash owner to keep his own Santa Claus costume
on hand in the pump room, slip into it when traffic
is high, and then very visibly wash his own vehicle,
or maybe even wash an occasional customers car if
theyve been a very good boy or girl.
Or, how about going from bay to bay dressed as
Santa and giving tokens as early Christmas presents? You could even have the token(s) mounted
on a small, simple Christmas cardperhaps one
that simulates a giftwrapped present

A BOUNTY OF SLOGANS

Patrick Crowe, owner of three washes in Kansas

City, Missouri, is another proponent of reader boards
to promote specials, entertain, generate goodwill
and keep passersby engaged. Here are some samples

of the type of humorous, attention-getting slogans

Pat has used: Three wheeled cars washed FREE! or
Airplanes washed FREE! and Car Washes All Day
Yesterday
While he believes in the extraordinary power of
marketings most beloved, benign F-word FREE
(even used in fun), Pat has an all-time favorite slogan that most people have to ponder a bit before
it sinks in. We feature courteous and efficient self
service car washing! Get it?
Here are just a few more examples from various
sources:
(Easter) Some Bunnys Car is Dirty! Wash it here.
(Thanksgiving) Hey, Turkey! Clean up your act here!
Grime Doesnt Pay Get Clean Here
If at first you dont succeed: Wash Your Car
Bugs, Grim n Dirt: Give em a little squirt!
A Clean Car Runs Better
If you can read this sign youre close enough to
wash your car.
A Clean Car Reflects Nicely On You
Our Vacuums Really Suck!
The weather is a blessing or a curse in this business. When lots of rain is forecast, some operators
fight back with Our Weather Bureau is a Non-Prophet Organization! But as far as weather related sayings its hard to beat the good ol Sat Eats Cars.
Truly a classic slogan. Short, hard hitting and timeless, it originated with the ROBO Wash company
way back in the 1960s.
There are an infinite number of possibilities for
reader board slogans. Good sources for pithy, clever, and/or wise sayings can be found in virtually any
library or book store. But remember you have limited space on a reader board and (to be readable to
motorists) letters shouldnt be any smaller than six
inches high. Don Barrs are 9 inchers. So, messages
have to be fairly short n sweet. Brevity, it is said,
is the soul of wit. especially on reader boards. So
Id suggest books of proverbs which are by definition
brief and pithy. Examples, Proverb Wit and Wid{continued }
SUMMER 2015

29

30 SUMMER 2015

Self Serve Carwash Marketings Greatest Hits

som by L. Berman or 1,911 Best Things Anybody
Ever Said by R. Byrne, or, perhaps, 14,000 Quips
and Quotes by E.C. McKenzie. These and many
others are chock full of brief, down-to-earth sayings
that fit well on signs and can be creatively tweaked
or punned to reflect carwash themes.

passerby to take noticeand then the media in

metro-Houstonand then throughout Texasand
then news services informed the whole country
and then and finally it became a humorous mention in news media all around the world! Ban for the
buck just doesnt get any bigger or better than that.

CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION

We should mention that Don Barr is never without an amusing, fresh slogan. He has many in reserve and he gets quite a few from his customers. He
has had an on-going contest of sorts for years now.
Don simply gives any of his customers who submits
a good idea for the reader board slogan $5 in wash
tokens as a reward. And those good ideas just keep
coming. His paying bounty on good slogans has
generated a bounty of good slogans!
That keeps his sign fresh and passerby engaged
week after week always curious to see what the
latest chuckle might be. But it also gets customers
involved with the wash. The combo of winning tokens and seeing their slogan (even if not totally original) up on the sign really connects customers to his
wash building loyal, repeat business and good ol
word-of-mouth advertising.
The slogans noted above have had a humorous
slant. Don reports, however, that his most successful
reader board message was rather serious. There was
a very prolonged strike at a nearby Safeway store
several years ago. Don expressed his support for the
strikers in a message that said, Im Not Shopping at
Safeway! That public show of support generated a
multitude of thank yous from the strikers, as well
as their families and friends. And that thanks translated to still more new and loyal customers.
One more thought on this aspect of marketing:
Does anyone out there doubt the power of a clever,
amusing saying on a reader board to attract attention? If so, consider the phenomenon of the Texas
gas station carwash this summer during that record
breaking hot spell. Im sure you all heard about
and you all will long remember the sign that
asked the question, Who put eh VIAGRA in the
Thermometer?! That little display of wit first got

Increasing numbers of operators have been having annual Customer Appreciation Promotions.
Thats a time (typically a day, a weekend, or perhaps a week) during which owners tell their customers thank you for your business. In that vein,
Don Barr created a promotional concept that is
one of my all-time personal favorites. He has a celebration the first weekend after April 15 tax day!
and its built around an anti-IRS theme. Heres
how it works:
Don begins by hanging posters (see examples
pictured here) all around his wash on the vacs,
by the changers, etcetera 30 days in advance of
the event. The basic theme is that the IRS takes,
but Don gives! And he does give away quite a bit.
All day there are free hot dogs, free pop, and every
wash service (in bay, vacs, scents and shampooers)
are all FREE. His customers love it as does Don.
The promo costs a couple hundred dollars hot
dogs, buns, condiments, pop plus a days revenue.
But Don insists that investment pays tremendous
dividends in goodwill and customer loyalty.
The idea is flat out brilliant! Think about it: the
owner of a small business generously and with
good humor standing alone against the cash grab
of greedy, insatiable Big Government. Don has
managed to piggyback his promotion on a negative (dreaded!) event and date that no one can forget and create a positive, fun experience everyone
remembers. Not surprisingly, with all the hoopla
posters, signs, flags, and some media attention
Dons regular customers not only remember but
anticipate the yearly event.

THE PERSONAL TOUCH

Heres a picture of Don Barr with his dog a

regular fixture at the carwash. Last summer, Don
had a greeting from his K-9 on the reader board,
My Dog Says Bone Appetit! Not everyone got
the play on words, but, as always, Don did have
some fun with it.

But this is not all just frivolous fun n games. Don

is a great example of how effective a marketing tool
being personally and creatively involved in a wash
can be. How effective? Well, this three-bay wash
went bankrupt first in 1974. It failed again with a
second owner in 1978. And then, Don took it over.
He upgraded. Kept things neat, clean and working. Add to that such nice little touches such as
amusing reader boards, changing flags and banners,
fun promos, plus personal involvement, charity
washes and other community projects. So what are
the bottom line results? Well, even with two direct
competitors each less than a half mile away in either direction Don Barrs twice failed 3-bay now
performs like a 6-bay, generating about twice the regions average per bay income. Proving, among other
things, that nice guys can finish first!

MARKETING VIA
AESTHETICS

One of the SSCWNs most popular issues was

the Spring 1996 edition. We sold out of copies of
that particular back issue much more quickly than
I could have anticipated. The cover story focused
on the sashes of Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida and
demonstrated another way to attract attention,
make a memorable impression, and create a positive
image a strategy some might call building a Taj
Mahal.
This is the Crown Car Wash. It and the next couple examples *see photos) are found in the St. Petersburg area and represent excellent examples of
what I term Marketing through Aesthetics. That is,
creating such a classy, elegant, distinctive beeyooteeful facility that it absolutely commands attention. Were talking taking curbside appeal to the
{continued }
SUMMER 2015

31

Self Serve Carwash Marketings Greatest Hits

maxand beyond.
The Crown is an especially good example. This
is a real jewel of a wash. Its a bit tucked away of
the main drag on a narrow side street but its so
spectacular that it managed to generate tons of curiosity and word of mouth when it opened. People
drive out of their way to wash here. At night it is a
truly amazing site. The rich mix of bright ceramic tile, illuminated vac canopies, the name and logo
accented in neon, the glass doors on the equipment
room all help make the Crown a popular landmark attraction.
The Wash n Vac location (pictured) is another
good example of effective marketing through the
presentation of a clean, classy, stylish, bright and
cheery facility. It too looks very appealing in the day
time, but really shines at night
Heres a great illustration of how to build nighttime business by offering a clean, very bright, well
lit facility that customers including women have
no reluctance to patronize any time...day or night.
On the other hand

LIGHTEN UP!

Compare the Wash n Vac to another nice wash.

Its all brick, modern, very attractive and actually
quite well lit. But that brick does tend to soak up
light. While bright tiled or fiberglass walls bounce
the light around and amplify it making a wash
more visible, and, thereby, more marketable.
While the front of the Wash n Vac looks outstanding (see night photo), out back there is another impressive surprise. This awesome glass pump
room displaying the stainless steel Mega Force 3000
from the Jim Coleman Company, does a great job
of enhancing the perception of value for services at
this wash.
Despite a number of lower priced nearby competitors, no direct access from the main drag, and
city mandated landscaping that reduces visibility
from the street the Wash n Vac proved to be a
very satisfying investment for owner Roy Leonard.
So much so that he and a partner, Warren Knapp,
took the concept of Marketing through Aesthetics
to the next level and built an even more impressive
carwash The Lighthouse which has won regional
and national design awards.

This is another spectacular facility built in the St.

Pete, FL, market that is so distinctive and so attractive that motorists are virtually compelled to check
it out. It almost resembles a fun attraction that

32 SUMMER 2015

might have been transplanted 70 miles east from

Disneyworld.
Again, we see the use of tile, neon and distinctive
design. The Lighthouse structure, of course, commands the most attention. It added about $17,000
to cost of the project, but was money the owners
believe to have been very well invested. It functions
much as a real lighthouse is supposed to, too. The
structure is not just a big, beautiful sign it is, in
every sense of the word, a beacon that can be seen
from far away and pulls in that impulse traffic from
all directions. The Lighthouse structure also does a
powerfully good job of:
Name recognition;
Creating an image and personality; and
Making this wash memorable.
all of which are fundamental marketing goals to
any retail business.

much art as it is science and beyond my ability to

provide a surefire formula. I can be confident in stating, however, that call it what you will aesthetics,
curbside appeal or whatever is surely as important
as the equipment you choose. Look, image and presentation of your services are as nuts and bolts as
the nuts and bolts.
Related to this marketing through aesthetics and
appearances it eh phenomenon of the Rehab!

THE JOY OF REHAB

EXPEN$E OR
INVE$TMENT?

These last three washes cost (in 1995 dollars) on

average about $400,000 to build, including land.
Thats about $60,000 per bay. Certainly not cheap,
but not outrageously out of whack with the special
image and desirable very marketable environment created. (Building such washes up North becomes more expensive where you have to add such
things as boilers and floor heat, frost proof tile materials, et cetera.)
All three the Crown, Wash n Vac and the Lighthouse have considerable direct competition from
much more modest, older serf serves that are nearby
and charge 25-50 cents less for a start-up cycle. Still,
these spectacular washes are doing well and all the
owners say they would like to build more washes
based on how well these have been performing.
It must be noted that there is a point of diminishing returns on Taj Mahal types of washes. It can
and does happen that a carwash is so overbuilt for
a market that the facility juts cannot sustain itself
does not generate sufficient Return On Investment.
Defining that point within a given market is as

I cannot begin to count the number of stories I

have heard from operators who have rehabbed an
old, tired wash they owned, or a run down, failed
fixer-upper they bought for a song. Id guesstimate
that a good 80 percent of them were amazed to discover how much more traffic and how much more
revenue a wash with a facelift and equipment upgrade can generate.
Heres a good but fairly typical example from Patrick Crowe. He bought hta told, ratty four-bay wash
in a tough, lower class neighborhood in Kansas
City, MO. It only cost him a measly $25,000, but
then again, it was generating less than $200 per bay
per month.
Pat invested some sweat equity and $44,000 in a
facelift and equipment. Within several months this
formerly failing wash was producing about $1,300
per bay per month good revenue for that area of the
Midwest, but really wonderful revenue for aw ash in
such an economically depressed neighborhood.
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Self Serve Carwash Marketings Greatest Hits

It should be noted that the great increase in income
can also be attributed to good, hands-on management
enhanced by several other marketing and promotional
effects (which well see later in this article).

THE EMBARRASSMENT
OF (BELATED) RICHES

Heres an even more dramatic testimonial to the marketing power of fresh, new,
clean facelift and rehab. Last
year, we had an interview
a Mr. X, an operator who
was going to bulldoze his
old three-bay wash that was
grossing as little as a piddly
$250 per monthfor all three bays! He had second
thoughts and invested about $20,000 in facelift and
some equipment upgrades. Within a few months after the rehab, that three-bay revenue rocketed up to
$5,700 per monthalmost a 2,000 percent increase!
You may be curious as to why this operator did
not want his identity revealed. Well, he had been in
the business for more than 20 years and owned 12
other self-serve washes. After all that experience, he
was terribly embarrassed to admit that he was not
savvy enough to rehab that under-performing wash
much, much sooner. He could kick himself for tossing away so much revenue, year after year.
The value of a rehab effort is wonderfully easy to
measure. You have direct comparison of earnings
and consumer response within a given market. And
the testimonials and anecdotal evidence weve seen
in the SSCWN over the years, most often point to
exciting potential in washes in need of a new, fresh
look and some upgrading solid evidence of the real
marketing power in the proper presentation of a
wash and its services.

WHATS IN A NAME?

You learned (or should have learned) an important marketing lesson in Sunday school. Do you
remember how in the first Book of the Bible, Genesis, God gave Adam a very special power and great
responsibility: namely, giving all living creatures a
name the divinely mandated first step in mankinds establishing dominion of the earth.
To begin to take control establish dominion of
your business, you should appreciate the marketing
power to be tapped in establishing a distinctive name
for your carwashespecially so if you own multiple
washes or a chain. Its another of those critical steps
in establishing and marketing your very own image
and identity. A name should also work hand in glove
with the creation of an appealing look.
Again, the strategy is to always set yourselfyour
businessapart from them. (I suppose a possible
exception to that could be if the competition is so
much better and has so very much more market
share than you that there might be some advantage
in blurring identities.)
Regardless, a perfect name will:

34 SUMMER 2015

Get attention;
Make a positive impression;
Enhance your image;
Add personality; and, importantly
Be easily remembered.
That image, identity, and personality represented in your name can go a long way to helping you
create themes and concepts for paid advertising,
too. It can give you a ready made hook. That is, a
concept to prime the creative pumpssomething
to play off of.
Once upon a time, it was amazing how many self
serves were opened for business with no name no
identity at all beyond the generic Car Wash. On
the other hand, it has always been virtually impossible to find a full serve/tunnel wash that did not
have its own name. Remarkably, with some several
hundred forms of the term, Carwash is still the
most common official business name on the SSCWNs mailing list. Over the years, however, operators have become more sophisticated about that
and other aspects of the retail marketing, or maybe
theyve developed more of a sense of humor. Whatever. Here are just a few examples of memorable
and humorous carwash names the SSCWN discovered on the road

THE NAME GAME

Chuck/Barrys Wash n Roll is located in northwest

suburban Chicago and is owned by a couple guys
names surprise, surprise- Chuck and Barry. This is
a very successful, very high volume wash. The name
was not a make or break factor, but it sure didnt
hurt a bit to have an unforgettable, fun name that
really appealed to that markets predominant demographic the baby boomers and aging rockers
yours truly.
Wash Around the Cock is a coin-op carwash in Ontario, Canada, that has a similar name plus a 50s rock
n roll theme that is more fully developed and beautifully executed. Its all tile with lots of neon and resembles a classic diner or malt shopcomplete with
juke box pop music from the period. Unfortunately,
the owner didnt want to share any photos with us.
He was afraid somebody might steal the concept. I
hate to break the news to him but hello marketing via 50s nostalgia is hardly a unique concept.
You can understand the popular appeal of such
50s retro themes. Great, fun promo ideas and
reader board slogans almost create themselves
for example:
1950s Cars Wash FREE here!
Chix in Bobby Sox Wash FREE today!

Ducktailed Dudes in Chinos Wash FREE today!

The list of amusing, entertaining possibilities is
endless. Its not all that much of an exaggeration to
say that a nostalgia named/themed business is a lazy
mans marketing dream come true. Its a natural.

Scrub a Dub is a chain (owned by the Paisner family) that has developed fantastic name recognition
in and around the Boston area. Last time I checked,
they had 10 tunnel washesfive of which also have
self serve bays.
The name SCRUB a Dub maybe out of sync now
in an era obsessed with touchless and minimal friction washing. But after more than 30 years of building a reputation as one of the East coast premier
carwash chains, the Scrub a Dub name has come
to speak well for itselfvery well indeed. Not the
great signage above the bays Its the Scrub a Dub
name and logo in three-dimensional letters that are
about five feet high and six inches thick.
While the Paisners seem to do everything right,
they are especially masterful marketers. That track
was laid early on by the chains founder, Marshall
Paisner, who left a successful advertising career to
become a carwasher. His son, David, now manages
the marketing and has taken it to the next level
and the nextas we shall see later in this article.
One of the things the Paisners insist on right out
of Advertising 101 is that the presentation of the
name and logo be absolutely visually consistent everywhere its displayson mansards, signs, T-shirts,
advertising, stationeryeverything!
By the way, Ill be tagging this presentation by
showing you an ad campaign the Paisners created
to introduce their diversifying into self-serve washes
about 15 years ago. It really is the ultimate in Anatomically Correct Marketing.

Scrubby Duck Okay, for nowwe go from Scrub

a Dub to the Scrubby Duck in St. Charles, Missouri.
The Scrubby Duck is one of the most impressive,
prestigious and grand washes youll ever see. This
{continued }

 SUMMER 2015

35

Self Serve Carwash Marketings Greatest Hits

7+1 facility would have been appropriate to feature
in that Taj Mahal section earlier in this presentation. It is an awesome facility that must have cost
at the very least $800,000 to build. And yet it has a
cute, cuddly very unpretentious little name that
offers some balanceand helps make the wash a bit
more personal and user friendly.
There are, of course, an infinite number of ways
to play the name game. But here are a few more
colorful names weve discovered on our On the
Road trips:
Big Bubbly
Dirt Strippers
Dirty Harrys
Grime Busters
Hog Wash
Pistol Petes
Rain Dancer
Snozzles
Squirty Worm
Stop n Glow
Sweet Baby Janes
Top Gun
Uncle Bubbas
Washing Well
Weird Harveys
Wet, White & Blue
But one of my own all time personal favorite carwash names is this
Go, Spot, Go! To my mind
(and my sense of humor) its
close to perfection: Unique,
humorous, and wonderfully
memorable. A virtual icon.
The name has to register big
time with the largest demographic ever all those baby
boomers who learned to
read from a Dick and Jane
book. The choice of this name and the art work are
deceptively simple. Trust me, both represent a very
sophisticated marketing awareness. Chances are
many of you intuitively sense that there is something
about Go, Spot, Go that makes it a winning name.
I know I could not have thought it up if I tried for
another 50 years. But I do know I like it!
Editors note: At the end of this seminar presentation, I was approached by a gentleman who was
among the owners of several washes who had recently
acquired the Go, Spot, Go facility. After hearing my
enthusiastic critique of the name, he expressed some
reservation about what they had done after buying
Go, Spot, Go they changed the name. I was told
the new one. It remember that it was certainly an okay
name. But I didnt write it down, and for the life of me,
I cannot remember it. On the other hand, I could not
forget Go, Spot, Goeven if I wanted to. That may
be significant. What do you think?
I was then approached by another owner-operator
Mark Carnes of Houston, TX. He said he had just
opened a new wash and thought I might be interested in
the name, logo and mascot he had created for it. I was.
Its the Weasel Wash. As you can see implied in the
logo here, there is a sense of playful fun in the marketing

36 SUMMER 2015

of what I was told was a seriously state-of-the-art professional wash facility. Also, I mention it in part because
its a good example of another important facet of establishing a good, memorable business identity creating a
logo and simultaneously bundled into the logo design at
the Weasel Wash is a nifty little mascot character, too.
The next wash approaches wash identification in
somewhat similar ways

REPETITION,
REPETITION

Water Wizard is another rather catchy handle

for a carwash. One of the reasons it works is the
time honored technique of alliteration that is, repeating the first letter/sound of two or more words
in a row, as does the Weasel Wash. (A few other examples: Buggy Bath, Busy Bee, Wonder Wash, Purple Parlor, Wishy Washy, Water Works, Super Suds,
and, of course, the list could go on and on.)
The Water Wizard is in Macon, Georgia, and was
built and is owned by Chip Burton and equipped
by the Jim Coleman Company. Its a 5+1 that cost
about $550,000. ITs bright, airy, stylish, very colorful (lots o bold purple and gold), well landscaped
a beautiful, modern, striking wash. Part of Chips
marketing strategy was to insure that the Water Wizard carwash name would be recognized and remembered by patrons and even passersby. Heres how
Street signs and those readers boards we talked about earlier are the very, very first impression
the public has of your wash. Well look at more
signs shortly, but heres a good one seen out front at
the Water Wizard. Its about 18-feet high and cost
about $15,000. The Water Wizard name, the word
Carwash, and the purple and yellow/gold motif
are all there.
And those same visual elements are found on the
end of the wash large and bold along with the Water Wizard cartoon mascot. There are marigold flowers
at the bottom of the wall that do a good job of picking
up the yellow/gold accent color found throughout the

rest of the wash.

Heres an awning backlit at night above the
vending area. Again you see the purple/gold coloring, cartoon mascot, and name. And on the backside
of the wash is another changer with another awning
purple/gold, mascot, and name present.
The vac islands are outstanding! Theres more
of the purple/gold motif alternating on the backlit
canopies. These colorful canopies are another valuable marketing tool. They look great during the day,
but they and the vac domes are very dramatic and
eye-catching with their colorful backlit illumination
at night.
Over the years, weve seen that vacs have literally
become front line troops in the battle to market a
wash to passing traffic. As we noted earlier a whopping 20-40 percent of your customers upll into your
wash on impulse. When such gleaming, colorful arrays of vacs are lined facing the street, they are almost impossible for passersby to not notice.
But in the center, theres a vending kiosk. The
vendor kiosk draws attention to itself by having a
rose-colored canopy (while the vacs are purple or
gold)communicating that theres something different than vacs offered right there. But youll note,
theres that Water Wizard name and mascot yet
again. And there, on the touchless automatic, youll
see it all repeated.
Allow me to be a bit picky. I wonder if any of you
here noticed a little something a bit of a mistake
in the presenting of the name and logo on the awnings and signs in these photos? There are three different letter faces used to represent the name Water
Wizard. This is unquestionably a great looking wash,
but to further insure a businesss memorability and
recognition logos, colors and typefaces all should
be kept as consistent as you possibly can.
In Part 2 of this three-part marketing article, well delve
further into signage and logos. Stay tuned for a cornucopia of great ideas that will help build traffic, grow
customer loyalty and make you more competitive!

 SUMMER 2015

37

TRICKS TRADE
OF
THE

Presenting some of the best discussions of the self serve industrys headaches and solutions from ACF.
You can find more discussions like these on AutoCareForum.com.

In-Bay Lighting Motion Detectors

2Biz: Im moving towards getting LED light fixtures for
my self serve bays along with adding motion detectors. I
only want one fixture burning while the bay is unused.
My CW doesnt get much use at night, so I want maximum savings while maintaining a good security level.
Can the motion detectors be the same as youd have

mjwalsh: I think that would not work as good

as using a relay from the timed output of the coin
box. We allow 5 minutes (PLC timed) of the 3
times increased light from our well spaced LEDs
& it has worked out very well. That has turned
out to be a plus for giving the customer a hint to
not be tying up the bay too long after using the
coin box. That along with our Blue Colored Blow
Dry LED Lettering that goes off after 6 minutes.
That subtle hint would not exist if we relied just
on motion detection.
canbreak80: I would purchase any "brand
name" device from one of the big box stores. They
will likely outlast you if you mount them high
enough and inside "drip proof" handy boxes. And,
if they don't last, you'll have spent only a small
amount for the experience.
Mike,
Do you really have a problem with customers "tying up the bay too long" at night?
2Biz: I'm also wondering, if the customer pulled
in the bay and seen that only one light was on, why
would he put money in the coin box. I would think
you'd want the additional lights to come on when
the customer pulled in the bay.
I know I wouldn't have to worry about someone
tying up the bay too long at night. I don't get that
many customers at night. And I have it lit up quite
nicely....
MEP001: I've been thinking about using alarm
sensors in each bay, which I can tie into both the
surveillance DVR and the lighting. I haven't decided if I want the lights to come on when someone
enters the bay of if I should tie it into the bay timer, but if I put it on the timer I'll still use the motion sensor to keep the lights on until no motion
is detected for so many minutes. If I use just alarm
sensors I can run them through a programmable
relay to delay the lights coming on so someone
walking or driving through the bays won't make
them come on unnecessarily.
Another thought was to use an inductive loop in
the floor, but that would be a lot more work and
greater cost.
As far as a customer pulling into a bay with only

38 SUMMER 2015

for home use? Or would they need to be

more industrial rated? Load will be minimal on the motion detector. For you that
have moved in this direction, what detectors are you using?

one light on, I've had the back row of bay lights
shutting off at midnight for about four years now,
except for one bay that's fully lit all night. People
almost always use a bay with just one light on.
DiamondWash: Is this the type of concept you
are talking about watch this video from Kleen Rite
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G992Sqb_TQ
Cantbreak80: My lighting control remodel is
about a year old, so I have some observations to share.
Since credit cards account for nearly 58% of my
bay revenue, one might come to the conclusion that
that ratio would hold true 24 hours a dayeven
when the lights are on.
My credit card logs during the past 12 months report 26 transactions between the hours of 10pm and
6am. If the credit card/cash ratio is constant, that
means Ive had maybe 19 cash customers during
those same date and time parameters. Thats a total
of 45 transactions with an assumed average of $6.50
perfor an annual gross of $292.00.
The lighting control settings allow me to extinguish the lights in up to 6 baysthe bays lights on either side of the engine room operate dusk-to-dawn.
During the initial 3 month monitoring period, I determined that leaving Bays 1 & 8 illuminated duskto-dawn had no revenue impact. After 6 months, I
decided to add Bays 2 & 7 to the off at 10pm setting. After 9 months Bays 3 & 6 joined the overnight
darkness team. The revenue produced by the two
dusk-to-dawn Bays remains steadywith about two
visits per month between 10pm and 6am.
Your situation may be differentand some, (including me) might be concerned about security.
Fortunately, my lot, the adjacent properties, and the
citys street fixtures are brightly illuminated.
An interesting aside During my monitoring period, two credit card customers fired up dark bays at
about 2am. I suspect they may have been impaired
patrons of one of the nearby drinking establishments. All that effort to have bay timer controlled
lightingfor a couple of drunks!?!
2Biz:The LED fixtures I'm looking at and testing are
the standard T12/T8 Watertight fixtures pre-wired
for LED tube lights. Each fixture has 3 bulbs, 22w
each bulb and puts out almost 8000 lumens per fix-

ture.
(2650
lumens per
bulb).
I don't have any
streetlights that
illuminates my CW, so I have to keep lights on in
each bay even if it's only one (For security).
Problem is, after posting this, I did the math both
ways....Switching out to LED fixtures and bulbs
with and without motion sensors. Total cost to light
the whole wash without motion sensors is only
$37 a month...With motion sensors shutting off 5
fixtures, $22 a month! That's averaging 14 hours a
day.... Now I'm wondering if it will be worth the
effort to put in the motion sensors? I guess I will
know more once I get the bulbs in and do some
testing. I have clear and frosted 5000k bulbs coming to test. Should be here this week.
mjwalsh: For the most part ... working with 2
foot segments is a quite a bit different than where
a customer is wondering whether to start because
only one light is on. Cantbreak80 makes a good
point. I do that too but the control tends to be manual. 2Biz, when the weather is more favorable car
washing then yes ... it can help to encourage after
dark customers to not tie up the bay in our case. It
may differ for others.
MEP001: Don't forget to factor in the cost of
the LED bulbs and their eventual replacement.
Money spent now to extend their life will pay off
in the future.
2Biz: Good Point! Thanks
pgrzes: In my automatic I have 2-4' t8 vaportights that stay on always. I also have 6-4' vaportights on the walls that come on when a wash is paid
for, they are on a programmable relay that is set to
stay on for 15min after turn on, if it's busy they just
stay on or we have a bypass switch to leave on. I also
tied the relay to a solenoid on my air line. when it's
slow everything is off until called for. I was thinking
of doing similiar in my bays. 1 light on at dark the
other on with bay timer on a delayed off. I am using 2 85w cfl's in old hubbel wall packs in bays and
been very happy with them.

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39

TRICKS TRADE
OF
THE

Advice And Awareness From The Self Serve Car Wash Industry

Air supply for a 4/1 SS

lilb93: How much air supply will you need for 4 bays SS and
1 IBA. Who uses Piston type compared to Rotary screw. Thanks

Twodose: Im not expert on compressors, but

i just purchased a Schrader Air 2-HP 26-Gallon
(Belt Drive) Dual-Voltage Cast-Iron Air Compressor for my garage, you may want to check with
the manufacture of your IBA to see what they recommend for CFM, but i know if i was in a pinch
i could use this compressor in a 3 bay self-serve,
i was impressed the way it came packed, it was
shrink wrapped and bolted to a pallet, i think they
are a great company. It is 120/240v.
You probably need a 2 stage for an IBA, but check
these guys out, they have any and every type you
would want including rotary screw.

cause usually single phase

within a three phase
building makes not as
good of wire & panel
balancing.

MEP001: The main thing to look for is one thats

100% duty cycle. The ones that arent are usually
not meant to run more than half the time.
I got this Husky 80 gal. 3 Cylinder Single Stage
Electric Air Compressor as a back-up compressor.
Its the cheapest one I could find thats 100%
duty cycle. By itself it very easily keeps up with the
6-bay and Vector auto which uses a lot of air. Its
also very quiet.
One of the most important things in making a
compressor last is breaking it in however the manual specifies.

2Biz: Extreme overkill and a lot of money for a

14.2 cfm air compressor?
I have a Campbell Hausfeld 80 gallon compressor
with a single stage cast iron pump. It develops 14
cfm @ 90 psi...I can buy 5-6 of these for what you
are paying for that one....Something to think about.
BTW, mine is over 20 years old. It keeps up with a 4
bay no problem! I bet you could also throw the IBA
in there without any issues!

Ric: 60 gal. 5 HP 165 PSI Two Stage Air Compressor (link to harborfreight.com website)
MEP001: I would not waste money on Harbor
Freight tools or equipment unless I planned to abuse
and break it.
tdlconceptsllc: Always buy a 2 stage and the
highest voltage for less amp draw like 208-230v
three phase I have been buying Polar Air made in the
us by mom and pops company with a Eaton Compressor 5 year bumper to bumper warranty and very
quiet running. Very Industrial grade I would go with
a 80 gallon if I was you. I love mine.
mac: Absolutely go with the three phase motor
on whatever you buy.
mjwalsh: I wonder how good these are http://
www.californiaairtools.com/ ... someone over on the
laundry association forum was bragging them up
based on their experience. Having a backup compressor that automatically comes on has proven to
be helpful for us long term wise.
I agree with Mack on the 3 phase ... if our Ingersoll Rand 2340L5 air compressor motor burns up
... hopefully we will be able to find a 3 phase motor that has the same frame mounting to replace it.
The slight re-wiring to go from 2 phase to 3 phase
in our equipment room will be worth it ... also be-

40 SUMMER 2015

MEP001:
Thats
completely inappropriate for this application.
lilb93: I think we are going
to go with a Ingersoll Rand 5-HP 80-Gallon Rotary Screw Air Compressor (230V 3-Phase 145PSI)
(link to aircompressordirect.com)

lilb93: I would not buy a new one. waiting on a

call a guy had one with 880 hrs on it 5HP IR screw.
He said he would take 600.00 cash.
Will know Wednesday. Anything new is just
crazzzzy priced..
Does anyone use a dryer with the compressor?
mjwalsh: I remember checking into rotary
screws awhile back & then getting cold feet after
lots of information gathering. I am not saying that
it is not a good fit for some though with a need for
more non stop quiet use & more durability. I found
this series of posts on some cons for rotary screw:
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Rotary_Screw_Compressors_for_Intermittent_Use.
htRandy: I have 20 gallon Sanborn air compressor
at the car wash that puts out 6cfm at 90 psi, its only
been running for 33 years ago, I think I paid $199 for
it at the old Builders Square, it was one of those Friday night emergencies where we were going out of
town for a few days and I get call that the IR air compressor had died. I only figured the Sanborn would a
year or two, its still going strong. The only thing Ive
done to that compressor is replace the start switch in
the motor once and a pressure switch. No air dryer.

would scoop it up!! I have 2

ingersoll 80 gal. 2 stage compressors that are tied together,
one has the pressure switch set
just a bit higher than the other, it will only turn on if the
first one fails. I put a binks
dryer regulator off of each
compressor.
MEP001: The 3-piston
single-phase I linked earlier
has about the same output and
is also fairly quiet if thats a concern to
you. Its probably louder than 62dB but you can
stand next to it and talk over it easily.
RAATCB: Any compressor you buy make sure
your running 3phase. Much more reliable and efficient.
wash4me: A couple thoughts. 2 stage is useful
for getting 160-180 pounds. All of our stuff is 80
pounds max so this is unnecessary. You are spending
energy to pump a tank of air up to 170 so you can
regulate it back down to 80 or less. Get a compressor
with a standard frame motor. preferably 1800 rpm
motor. This means it turns slower and the pump will
last longer. This also means you can buy a replacement motor anywhere and also these units are usually on a good compressor (that costs more). 184 T
is an example of a standard frame. Having a larger
compressor than you need is not necessarily good.
Like your air conditioner its easier on a compressor to run longer cycles fewer times. Buy the biggest
tank you can afford or if youre going to have 2 compressors tie the tanks together for less short cycling.
Scroll compressor is more efficient at making air but
for the volume we use its not cost effective. As far
a s Harbor Freight Id rather have a junk used unit
that still works than their house brand of anything. I
had multiple bad experiences.....I learn slowly but I
eventually do learn when an angle grinder burst into
flames in my hands.

Ric: When I had my tunnel I ran an air dryer. Well

worth it. Flo jet pumps, air cylinders, etc. last much
longer.

buda: You can probably get by with a 10HP

Compressor with a 60 or 80 gallon tank. That will
put out about 38 cubic feet of air per minute.
You want to determine how much cfm each item
in the wash will consume then you will know if a
10HP is suitable.
For the little use that a self service wash uses an
air compressor, compared to one that is powering
air tools all day, I piston air compressor is satisfactory. Screws are for locations like dealership service
departments or large body shops both of which use
air tools all day.
Hope that helps.

pgrzes: A rotary screw would be way overkill

for a carwash application, but if I could pick up a
good one for $600 I wouldnt even think twice, I

Randy: We change the pulley on the motor, to a

smaller pulley so the compressor pump runs slower.
The slower they run the longer theyll last.

 SUMMER 2015

41

TRICKS TRADE
OF
THE

Advice And Awareness From The Self Serve Car Wash Industry

My $15 per month internet solution for CryptoPay

CarWashHelp: Hello everyone,
We installed CryptoPay at our car wash back in January and it has worked very well for us.
I want to share my $15 per month internet setup with everyone because I havent seen a cheap
internet solution for CryptoPay posted anywhere here. At our car wash we only have one wired
internet provider available and their cheapest internet for businesses was about $75 per month.
So the setup I came up with is saving us $720 per year. Youll need:
1. CryptoPay Controller
2. Ethernet Cable
3. Straight Talk Mobile Hotspot Device
4. Netgear Wireless Bridge
It was really easy to setup. First activate the mobile hotspot using Straight Talks $15
per month data plan. Follow the instructions to program the Netgear Wireless Bridge so it
connects to the mobile hotspot. Connect the CryptoPay Controller to the Netgear Wireless
Bridge using the Ethernet cable. Thats it! Our setup runs 24/7 and is really fast. Cards
are authorized in about 2 to 5 seconds. The $15 per month data plan provides 1GB of
data, which is more than enough for what CryptoPay needs.

cantbreak80: Outstanding!
Car_Wash_Guy: Thanks for sharing. I wonder
( I'm assuming so ) that I can do the same with
WashCard.
Randy: I wish I could use it for my HD cameras
but my IT guy said there's not enough bandwidth
sparkey: Does that give you a static IP address? I
wonder how secure it is?
CarWashHelp: Randy, your IT guy is right.
Definitely not enough bandwidth to use for remote
video monitoring, but it's more than enough for just
simple credit card processing. We currently use this
setup with 5 swipers (4 bay swipers and one goldline swiper), and plan to add 7 more (4 vac swipers
and 3 vending swipers).
Jeff_L: You're not going to get a static IP with this
method. While it solves the Internet connection, it's
limited in use. If all your doing is credit card transactions, then it's a great, low cost solution. If you're
wanting to use high bandwidth devices, such as video, or if you want to remote into your system, then
it's not the right solution. You'll need to go with one
that can provide a static IP, or pay a domain provider
such as Dyn.org or something.
mjwalsh: This article says expect 4-9 mbps 4G
??? average speed based on tests: http://www.bandwidthplace.com/internet-speed-test-3g-4g-lte-andwifi-who-wins-article/
Straight Talk has a 5gb plan for $50 so based on
that maybe an operator might want to play with the
bandwidth adequacy a bit more. The IT guy could
have other considerations though. Lower uploads
could be a factor. My cable connection consistently tests at over 60 mbps download but upload is
much less ... that is mostly a gain in downloading
& uploading huge multi gigabyte files. I have been

42 SUMMER 2015

using free NetWorx https://www.softperfect.com/

products/networx/ for several years & it is really
reliable & even monitors the connection & signals
a loud alarm when configured with a linked sound
file. Those of us who rely on our connection to have
100% up-time for whatever processing ... including
monitoring break in alarms ... equipment down etc
... could find this useful. I have!
lilb93: Wondering What the actual charge to use
Crypto-pay. Looked at some old posts and they said
5.5% to 20%??????
Anyone using it what is the end rate you pay.
Thanks
CarWashHelp: Using our statement last month
from WorldPay, I divided the total revenue by the
total fees, and the total fees amounted to a little over
4% of total revenue.
Earl Weiss: All in fees for Cryptopay is about
5.5%. That is all fees, including other stuff like interchange fees all clearing houses charge. So, I am not
sure what the Cryptopay portion is.
Earl Weiss: Do you have to have static IP for video?
Comcast is telling me I need this and will be
charged more for the static IP address.
Overachiever: Probably depends on the equipment but you don't need a static IP for video. I use
a SWANN DVR and it has an option for using a
DDNS. So when you view your cameras online you
aren't going to xxx.xxx.xxx everytime you are going
to yourname.swanndvr.net and it doesn't matter if
your IP address changes.
cap732000: Haha! I did the same thing and it
has worked like a champ I just had to have a router
to plug hotspot Into! Great money saver!
canbreak80: Warning: This issue discusses connection issues with a Windows XP OS. (GASP!)

Divert all innocent eyes before continuing.

I rushed right over to Wal-Mart and snagged one
of those Straight Talk Mobile Hotspots after reading
this post. It works like a champ on all of my newer devicesand even on my old retired PC whos
tongues been hanging out for years.
Before I call in the Pros from Dover, maybe
someone can suggest a solution for my connection
issues with the Straight Talk wireless hotspot and
my Car Wash PC.
The XP machine at the facility operates a PLC
control system on the 10/100 local area network.
The LAN connections travel to a network switch
which includes the DSL modem to the outside
world.
The new Belkin USB Wireless Adapter sees the
Wireless Hotspot with no issue.
However, when the PC reboots every night, the
LAN fails to reconnect. The only solution Ive found
is to physically remove the Wireless adapter from
it USB portthe LAN then connects immediately
and the control system returns to full operation.
It would appear that the Wireless adapter is
conflicting with the LAN but, what do I know? I
wouldnt be asking if I did, right?
Suggestions?
BTW, the control software cannot be updated to
a newer OSand yes, I know, if the PC ever crashes Ill have to buy an entirely new control system.
Thats all new hardware that Im not willing to invest in at this time. If I cant get the $15/month data
service to work, Ill just continue spending $80/mo
for the DSL service.
I'll be back...but now, I gotta go to pound a few
hundred golf balls on the driving range.
2Biz: This sounds too simple! Why are you rebooting the PC every night? :-}

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SUMMER 2015

43

TRICKS TRADE
OF
THE

Advice And Awareness From The Self Serve Car Wash Industry

Looking to acquire car wash

sicnic: A 16 year old car wash in my town is up for sale. The wash is two SS
and two IBA with three vacuums.The asking price is $595,000. I have some details
from the owner but no tax returns yet. Here is what I have so far: in 2014 they
grossed 235K of that 190K came from the two IBA, 38K came from the SS bays,
and 6K came from the vacuums. In 2013 the automatics made 190K. In 2012 the
automatics made 175K. So far from Jan 1 - April 22 of this year the automatics
have made 80K. Location wise it is the only carwash for a 5-7 mile radius. It sits
on a corner lot behind a gas station in a heavily trafficked area. The property taxes
are 4k per year and he claims to have spent 36k in 2014 on water. I do not have
details on other maintenance fees or utilities. Both automatics are laserwash 4000
and were installed in 2001. Let me know if you want any more details. I think this
is a gem of an investment but I am SUPER new to this!

robert roman: Depends on what you are buying. Is this deal business-only or 100 percent of the
company including the real estate?
For example, maximum valuation for this type of
carwash using the WAG method is 3.0 to 5.0 multiplied by gross sales or roughly between $700,000
and $1.2 million.
If business-only, typical valuation unadjusted for
pertinent risk factors like you have no hands-on
experience, low barriers to entry (no other competition), etc. is 3.0 times net operating income or
EBIDTA.
Assume NOI is $129,250 so business-only value
would be $388,000.
If price is $595,000, its under-value for 100 percent and over-value for business-only.
There are other factors to consider. In-bays are 14
years old and obsolete from technical and marketing
perspective. Building is 16 years old and most likely
needs renovated. Property taxes are only $4,000.
Property taxes are one indicator of the relative
strength of the retail market in an area. Lower taxes
suggest market has limits. For example, if a significant portion of the business comes from gas station
and heavy traffic, market entry could cause the wash
great pain if the retail market is relatively weak.
My advice is to obtain an opinion of value from
carwash consultant or business broker or real estate
agent who understands carwash industry.
BBE: Can he provide and prove car counts for his
IBA's? 235k gross is pretty high for a 2 and 2. If it
was really generating that much revenue per year, I
don't see why the asking price wouldn't be at least
3x gross.
I.B. Washincars: On the surface, that price
seems low. Maybe they know about imminent competition that you don't...just a thought.
sicnic: I have photocopies of PDQ software printouts for each of the four washes provided and how
much each was generated in revenue for 2013,2014,
and 2015. For 2014 total wash count for bay 1 was

44 SUMMER 2015

E
L
A
S
R
O

9511 generating $92,177.00 and bay 2 was 10900

generating $98,279.00. Super new means my extent
of car wash knowledge is paying for it and driving
through, but I am mechanically inclined and willing to learn. I currently have a full time job making
about 65-70K per year so my involvement would be
after work and a weekend thing.
BBE: My opinion then would be don't do it. I'm
sure most here would agree. A busy wash generating
that much income is a FULL TIME job.
sicnic: so the sale includes business and property,
but the owner will not disclose taxes because they
file multiple car washes on one return.
wash4me: You need to be very careful. People
have deposited money from wash a and b into the
account for wash c to make it look good and get
sold. I don't know enough to know what it would
take to manipulate the counts but it's certainly possible. Rude awakening when you have payments to
make. You need to add in the cost of a full time attendant if that's not going to be you. On the other
hand this guy may be salt of the earth and all is just
like he says.
robert roman: Since commingling funds in
one account only causes disadvantages, ask why seller would want to do this.
For example, without separate LLC for each
wash, there is no way to isolate liability and protect
personal assets (i.e. legal entity) or borrow money
from bank (statement of risk) or sell the business
(i.e. separate balance sheet).
Arguably, the only logical reason to commingle
funds is to obscure facts.
There are a lot of good people in the carwash industry and perhaps just as many that will stick it to
you with one hand while they shake with the other.
These people count on first-time buyer, new-to-industry tendency to be emotionally charged over
prospect of getting into business.
Big income numbers are like throwing gasoline on
a burning fire.

Not backing them up with income and balance

sheet statement, audited books and income tax filing is fools gold.
I.B.Washincars: Not necessarily. Bookkeeping
is much less. I have four washes and run them all
as one business. If they were separate, I would have
to have 4 different bank accounts, and 4 different
accounts with each vendor. Transferring something
from one wash to another would be a hassle to
track, the list goes on. I'm sure that's not the way
you would do it, but there's nothing sinister going
on, just making the best use of the limited manpower available within my small business.
Jim L.: A set of books or a tax return can be manipulated to show just about anything owner desires...it's called "Tax Planning"
robert roman: Well, sure not necessarily but in
many cases, yes.
If 100 percent of company is sold (all four washes) sure there is no problem. For example, big chains
don't have LLC for each wash.
However, its going to cost a lot more to separate
businesses now (i.e. attorney and CPA fees, loss of
value due to shoddy records, etc.) than it would
have been to set up and maintain four LLC earlier.
Ive seen a lot of stuff over the last 15 years as an
adviser and owners who get hurt the most are those
that run the business out of a cigar box.
Owner may have good business and certain expectation of price but without documentation of
revenues and balance sheet, how can buyer determine true investment value.
Without income verification, value to most willing and knowledgeable buyers becomes fair market
value of the real estate plus the liquidation value of
building and furniture, fixtures and equipment.

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SUMMER 2015

45

Happenings In &
Around Self Serve Carwashing

INDUSTRY DIRT
Connecticut car washes are now
subject to sales and use taxes effective July 1 of this year. Legislation
passed in the 2015 regular session of the Connecticut General Assembly, and amended in the
2015 June special session of the Connecticut General Assembly, imposes sales and use taxes on sales
of car wash services as of July 1, 2015.
According to information posted by the state,
retailers selling car wash services -- which includes
coin-operated car washes -- must have a Sales and
Use Tax Permit from the Department of Revenue
Services. Retailers with more than one location
are required to obtain and display a Sales and Use
Tax Permit for each location. If a retailer already
has a Sales and Use Tax Permit for sales of tangible
personal property or other taxable services, there

METAL
HALIDE

is no need to obtain another permit for the same

location
According to the legislation, car wash services
also includes waxing, polishing, vacuuming, cleaning windows and detailing services..
Car wash services are taxable whether payment
is made to an attendant or by using a coin-operated machine (including machines that accept dollar
bills, tokens, credit cards, or debit cards).
The only exemption to sales and use taxes comes
when sales are made to government agencies for
the United States, the State of Connecticut, or
nonprofit organizations. Retailers must document
exempt sales with an exemption certificate.
The legislation also makes allowances for fundraising car wash events. Certain organizations re-

(1200 Watts)

VS.

lated to youth activities can make sales of car wash

services for $20 or less without being required to
collect sales and use taxes, according to information posted by the state. Also, sales included with
purchase of gasoline are exempt.

New York City carwashes must

now obtain licenses and purchase
surety bonds in order to operate
after NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio
signed legislation to that effect
this July.
The legislation also mandates environmental
standards and workplace safety requirements.
The bill favors car washes that have collective
bargaining agreements by reducing the $150,000
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46 SUMMER 2015

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INDUSTRY DIRT
bond to cover labor claims to a mere $30,000.
Steve Rotlevi, a Brooklyn-based car wash owner, called the new law extortion at a mandatory
hearing on the bill before the Mayor signed the
legislation.
Mr. Mayor, simply said, this bill puts a gun to
small business owners heads and says, unionize
or go out of business," said Rotlevi. "Mr. Mayor, if
thats not extortion, I dont know what is."

"Anthony is well known and respected in the industry and his integrity and relationship building
skills make him the perfect fit for our organization, stated Jim Belanger, Vice President of Tunnel Sales for MacNeil.
MacNeil Wash Systems, A Ryko Solutions Company, provides carwash equipment to the tunnel
car wash industry, automotive dealers, fleet and
rental markets.

Anthony DiGioia has joined the

sales team at MacNeil Wash Systems as Regional Sales Manager
for the Southwest U.S.

Randy Wingert is now Manager

of Special Projects for Mark VII
Equipment Inc., the North American

DiGioia has an impressive background in the

car wash industry that
spans over 16 years. His
experience as the Chemical Sales & Marketing
Manager for Arizona Car
Wash Systems, and the
Southwest Regional Sales
Manager for CSI has provided him with a comprehensive knowledge of
the car wash business.

subsidiary of WashTec AG
of Germany, the world's
largest manufacturer of
vehicle cleaning systems.
Wingert's background
includes over 25 years in
marketing
management
positions in the car care
industry at Turtle Wax and
Ryko Solutions. He will be
based at Mark VII's factory
in suburban Denver.
Randy is a great addition to the team," said

Mark VII's CEO Chris Andersen. "His broad experience in all facets of the car car business will bring
a fresh perspective to strategic initiatives critical to
meeting our growth objectives.

Curtis Wendling has been named

Regional Sales Manager for Dosatron International, Inc., manufacturer of water-powered,
proportional chemical injectors.
Curtis recently graduated from Kansas State
University with a degree
in Marketing and was active in the National Strategic Selling Institute where
Curtis was a Key Account
Manager and helped create a system designed to
help students succeed at University career fairs.
I am very excited to start working with the great
people at Dosatron. I hope to bring an added energy to the sales team, build lasting relationships with
customers, and help them get excited about the excellent products and services Dosatron has to offer.
{continued }

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47

SUMMER 12/4/13
2015 2:25
PM

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Read all
about it ...

Interesting operator news and tidbits

from around the industry water cooler.
It appears Im going to have to use
my nagging mom voice (and maybe
give you the look) for our opening
story: Stop what youre doing right now (Yes,
Im serious) and go through your credit card processing systems and procedures with a fine tooth
comb. (I said: Right now!) Change your passwords.
Check your Internet setup, your software and your
hardware components. Get in touch with your
POS system manufacturer and credit card processor for specific advice to your system. Bring any
employees with access up to speed. In short: Verify
the security of your system. (Get moving!)

Our cover story in the Spring 2015 issue contains

excellent advice on how you can protect yourself
from assailants who would like nothing more than
to penetrate your system, grab a bunch of credit
card numbers and clone the whole batch of em.
And trust me, theyre out there. Only a month
after the Whats the Deal with Chip and Pin?
edition of SSCWN hit your mailboxes, Hoffman
Car Wash -- yes, *that* Hoffman, the successful
chain in Central NY that we know and love and
strive to emulate because theyre *that* good -found itself the victim of hackers who took advantage of a mistake in the washs router configura{continued }

INDUSTRY DIRT
The Australian Car Wash Association will present its biennial Car
Wash Expo this August 25-27 at
Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.

The International Carwash Association (ICA) is accepting nominations for the Car Wash Hall of
Fame. Winner

The Exhibition
is the only such
event occurring in
Australia, and this
is the first time it is
being presented in
Melbourne.
The event includes 9.5 hours
of exhibit hall time
with 60+ exhibit
booths, as well as
over five hours of Theatrette Presentations on
industry hot topics. In addition to the expo, the
ACWA has organized a car wash bus tour, keynote
presentation with environmental speakers, social
and networking events and a workplace compliance seminar.

will be announced
at the inaugural
Car Wash Show
Europe in Amsterdam in October. Industry leaders were first inducted into the Car Wash Hall of Fame in 1962.
This would be the first time that car wash leaders
from the European market would specifically be
considered.
The Car Wash Hall of Fame has been our industrys highest honor for more than half a century, stated ICA board of directors chairman Gary
Dennis, a car wash operator from Atlanta, Georgia
(U.S.). Recognizing the contributions and legacy
of car wash legends like Joe Dahm, Dan Hanna,
Marshall Paisner and Ben Alford is a highlight of
our annual convention in the U.S., Dennis continued. A full list of past honorees can be found at
www.carwash.org.

48 SUMMER 2015

ICA chief executive officer Eric Wulf remarked,

The concept of recognizing some of the amazing
contributions that European car wash operators
and suppliers have made to the world of car washing is long overdue. There is no more appropriate
platform for recognizing these leaders than at Europes first car wash convention and trade fair.
Car Wash Show Europe, to be held 5-7 October in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, will provide
Europes first industry dedicated event including
networking, seminars and exhibits. Visitor registrations have already been received from nearly
twenty countries and the exhibit hall already features more new products and car wash companies
than anywhere else in Europe.
Car Wash Hall of Fame nominations can be
made by visitingwww.carwashshow.eu and selecting Car Wash Hall of Fame under The Event
in the navigation menu. Winners will be selected
by International Carwash Association based on the
nominations, with particular emphasis placed on a
candidates success, impact and legacy within the
professional car wash industry.

 SUMMER 2015

49

50 SUMMER 2015

{continued }
SUMMER 2015

51

EXTRA! EXTRA!
tion at two locations.
To add insult to injury, the carwash customer
who discovered the theft said she had also been
the victim of credit card fraud at another local
wash earlier in 2015. (We reported about the attack on Colonial Car Wash in the Spring issue, as
well as a breach at another well regarded car wash
chain in Connecticut.)
Hoffman Car Wash CEO Tom Hoffman Jr. has
reported the breach to the secret service and corrected the router configurations to prevent future
attacks, but as with all breaches in credit card security, this mess is hard to clean up. Hoffman said
around 10 customers have come forward as victims
since the breach and we at SSCWN are crossing our
fingers and toes and holding out hope that thats
the extent of it. Until then -- check your processing
system, people! If you feel like youre out of your
league in regards to cyber security, please contact a
professional to have your system checked.
A series of reports out of California
are showing a wide range of opportunities in the recent drought -- both in
terms of missed ones and how some operators are
press-ing the advantage.
For one, Cruz Thru Express Car Wash perfectly
demonstrated how to stage an offensive attack by
sending out a press release to local news media announcing their $500,000 investment in updated
water reclamation systems for their nine locations
in the Bakersfield area. A local television station
took the story and ran with it, twice reminding
viewers that at-home car washes can use up to 150
gallons of water, while a commercial conveyor system like Cruz Thru uses about 30-40.
The report also detailed how the new PurWater
Recovery Systems from New Wave Industries (a
California-based company) are allowing the chain
to reclaim, filter and treat about 90 percent of the
water used at the wash. Cruz Thru has also made
cuts in water usage through their landscape design.

Order
Reprints
of your article!
Visit www.sscwn.com and click
Reprints to order a copy of any
article printed on a custom-designed
plaque for your office wall!

52 SUMMER 2015

Read all about it ... Interesting operator news

and tidbits from around the industry water cooler.

Frank Hobin, owner of Cruz Thru Express Car

Wash, was quoted in the report, Our desire is to
use a fraction of the amount of water needed to
wash your car at home, and we are committed to
becoming the standard bearer in water reclamation not only for the car wash industry, but for all
businesses in the Central Valley.
A similar report by a news station in Sacramento
also touched on the advantages of commercial carwashes, conducting a news report live from Harvs
Car Wash. The report mentioned that Harvs and a
dozen other washes were now in partnership with
the regional water authority, and that Harvs had
recently installed a $50,000 water reclamation
unit in order to realize better water savings.
Harvs and Cruz Thru were joined by Executive
Car Wash in Palm Desert in the feel good press advantage. In another television news report, the car
wash was able to plug their water recycling system
(which reclaims about 50 percent of the water), as
well as have a few customers explain their reasoning behind using a commercial car wash.
"I figure that they recycle most of the water,"
one client told the news reporter. "So I don't consider it a waste of water."
But while some local media were
reminding Californians of the advantages of using a commercial carwash, other reporters were not so
savvy. Todd C. Frankel, a journalist, conducted
a series of interviews at a self serve wash in Blythe, CA, for an article that appeared in the Washington Post. Much of Frankels piece was focused
on pointing out how the car wash customers were
out-of-touch or seemingly ignorant of the realities
of the drought their state is facing as he notes that
water spills down their various vehicles.
A sample paragraph: It hasnt hit me yet, says
Jesus Aviles.
He is bent low in the shade, next to desert willow
bushes flush with pink flowers. The 39-year-old wipes
water off his Chevy Captiva with a yellow rag. He
knows there is a drought, of course. But it is not clear
to him what he should do about it.
Nowhere in the article does Frankel mention the
water savings of using a self serve car wash facility
(somewhere in the range of 60-80 gallons of water saved versus a home wash, depending on which
study you use). In fact, Frankel seems determined
to paint the car wash customers as water wasters
as he contrasts it against their knowledge about the
drought.
Well, we cant win all of em, I guess.
But we do win *some* of them, and
to that point, theres a terrific column out of The

Morning Call in Florence, SC, by Terasa Lott, a Water Resources Agent for Florence and Darlington
Counties. Terasas article touches on the dangers
posed by charity parking lot washes to local waterways and offers several alternatives, including
renting a bay from a self serve facility or selling
commercial car wash coupons instead.
As Terasa excellently noted in her piece, It
might not seem like your activities make a difference but storm drains may collect drainage from a
large area and route them to a single point known
as an outfall. This means that pollution is concentrated in this area.
(For more ideas on how to partner with your
local community in regards to preventing water
pollution, see our piece on page XX.)
Speaking of saving the wildlife...Waterfalls Auto
Spa in (where else?) Naples, FL, recently played
host to a 480-pound alligator that was hitching a
ride in the back of a trappers truck after the man
was contracted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission to remove the animal
from a nearby golf course.
A carwash customer noticed the reptile after
pulling onto the lot.
"I said, 'do you really have a 480-pound alligator' and he said, 'yeah,'" and opened the back of
his truck, Michelle Batten recalled to a local news
station.
"Sure enough there was a humongous alligator
with its mouth taped shut," Batten said in the report, adding the trapper (who was delivering it to
a local animal rescue) had it secured. "It wasn't
scary, but it was certainly daunting.".
"You definitely don't see that and you definitely
don't expect to see that when you are going to a
car wash," Batten said. "It was pretty cool."
It must be something in the water
Across the world in Aukland, New Zealand, a
suburban car wash had an unusual guest of their
own -- a 220-pound seal.
According to a local news report, the pinniped
spent his time at Papakura Uwash alternately stretching and sleeping, and didnt seem too
bothered by the crowds that amassed including a
woman who brought a bag of raw fish.
At least one local TV station had video of the
seal at the wash before it was cornered into a cage
and delivered back to the beach.
Unfortunately, while the seal delivered the
crowds, it didnt deliver any customers for the
wash.
No business any day of the week is not a good
time, but it is what it is and its nature, Uwash
owner Kirit Makan said in the report.

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54 SUMMER 2015

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SUMMER 2015

55

THINKING ABOUT

SELLING
YOUR CAR?
OUR CAR WASH CAN HELP YOU GET

TOP DOLLAR!

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Not jus
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tw
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over to chec

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58 SUMMER 2015

The Weight
of Water
Heather Ashley

Partnering with your

community and educating
your customers on the
importance of water
conservation will benet
your car wash business.

SUMMER 2015

59

The Weight of Water

Before I owned car washes, I never thought about
water. I mean, I knew we were lucky to have
clean drinking water, but I didn't know what was
involved it in getting to our home. Sadly, I took it
for granted.
Now that I own several car washes and have
gotten involved with water conservation I realize
its significance. Water is not something we can
make, it only happens naturally. Sure, we can filter
almost any water but what if we had no more
water to filter?
According to recent data released by NASA (http://
www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/
wp/2015/06/16/new-nasa-studies-show-howthe-world-is-running-out-of-water/) in June 2015,
our ground water is decreasing around the world.
Add with that any belief that climate change is
affecting our rainfall /snowfall amounts and we
have a potential life threatening situation. A quick
look at weather precipitation history in many areas
would validate a decrease for many of us. Public
perception is key.
Educating the people in the community about
water use and preservation is vital. Many local
organizations can be found that help protect local
waterways. For example, in Virginia the Friends
of the North Fork River help to preserve and
protect the Shenandoah River. The organization

60 SUMMER 2015

The Weight of Water

has volunteers that test water quality and host
clean up trips down the river. They are branching
out into the schools giving special presentations
to the students and faculty. They have summer
camps for kids which serve to get the message to
the next generation. That transfer of information is
key because they will hold their parents to those
standards.
Getting people interested in local waterways will
help them understand the work that goes into
keeping them clean. Group water sport activities
help create that interest. In addition,according
to Henry Staudinger a board member of the Lord
Fairfax Soil and Water Conservation District says
they are trying to educate and ensure participation
of farmers by providing government and private
grants to some costs of keeping waterways clean.
Larger groups like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation
offer lots of educational opportunities to the public.
From their own private islands and boats, of which
I have been able to partake,to their fundraising
events- these groups help bring water conservation
to light.
As professional carwashers we already know that
we are great stewards of water but we have a
burden upon us to educate the public on what we
do on a daily basis. For example, telling folks how
bad it is for the environment to wash your car in

SUMMER 2015

61

Carwash
Boom Assembly
MODEL 203
Ziercos Original Swivel and
Boom Assembly, with
New Rebuildable
Cartridge

MODEL 203 FEATURES

Feather light rotating action
Twin compression springs are
tension-adjustable for a variety
of hose and gun weights
Swivel rotates 360 - 12 ft.
diameter

Temperatures to 280 max.,

pressure to 2000 psi
Longer hose life as spring
prevents kinks
Ruggedly built, satisfaction
guaranteed

Proven performance with over 50 years

service in the field (Since 1962)

OPTIONAL

107C CARTRIDGE

FOR COMPLETE
INFORMATION
CALL

107C Cartridge Features:

FAX: (414) 764-9763

www.ziercowaterboy.com

Double O-Ring Design Uses Any

Type of Grease

414-764-6630
7355 S. 1st. Street
Oak Creek, WI 53154
sales@zierden.com

Field Repairable

100% 304 Stainless Steel Internal

Materials Eliminate Failure Due to
Corrosion

TM

VISA and Master Card accepted

QUALITY PRODUCTS SINCE 1937

DISTRIBUTOR INQUIRIES INVITED

62 SUMMER 2015

Carwash
Boom
Assemblies

MODEL 204 and 206 FEATURES

Twin compression springs are tension-adjustable
for a variety of hose and gun weights
Swivel rotates 360 - 12 ft. diameter
Temperatures to 280 max., pressure to 2000 psi
Longer hose life as spring prevents kinks
Ruggedly built, satisfaction guaranteed
Optional stainless steel components

Ziercos Easy Service Swivel and

Boom Systems with Full 360

Proven performance with over 50 years service in

the field (Since 1962)

Degree roTATIoN

Booms are Available with 3 Different Mountings

STYLE B
Flat Plate

ENHANCE YOUR SELF SERVING

CONVENIENCE

Mounts directly
to the ceiling or
beam.

MODEL 204

STYLE C
Swivel Base

Easy to Use -"Feather Light" rotating action

Mounts directly to
the ceiling.

OFFSET Overhead Carwash Boom

STYLE D
Wall Bracket

Mounts to wall and

is adjustable so
boom swings
to wall when
not in use.

MODEL 206

Allows for TWO Center Boom Installation

Ideal for foaming brushes.

FOR COMPLETE
INFORMATION
CALL

CONVERSION KIT
204B

EASY 3 STEP PROCEDURE

TO CHANGE SEALS.
NO TOOLS REQUIRED.

(414)-764-6630
www.ziercowaterboy.com

7355 S. 1st Street

Oak Creek, WI 53154
Fax: (414) 764-9763
sales@zierden.com

To Convert Model 203

to a 204 Assembly

Remove boom body

from hinge plate

Rotate hinge plate

counter clockwise to
remove seal elbow

TM

Replace O-Rings

DISTRIBUTOR
INQUIRIES
INVITED
VISA and Master Card
accepted

QUALITY PRODUCTS SINCE 1937

SUMMER 2015

63

The Weight of Water

a driveway is going to look like you have a motive
to get them to your wash. We need to prove and
educate to them as to why it really is bad. There are
many scientific studies proving this point.
Partnering with one of the community groups may
be one of the best ways for our business to make
a greater impact. If we partner with a group we
have greater strength in numbers. For example, the
partnership between MCA and the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation helped educate all involved to reach a
common goal while educating the public. Not only is
it important to partner with community but also your
local municipalities and government officials.
A water shortage (or thought of one) quickly means
water restrictions. Most municipalities have a
drought program that will stage in water conservation
measures which usually include the closing of car
washes as a non-essential use of water. The public will
always see washing cars as a non essential water use.
Any true panic about lack of freshwater and the car
wash business will be affected.
Becoming involved in local associations and educating
municipalities works. For example, in Albemarle
County and the City of Charlottesville in Virginia, the
Mid Atlantic Carwash Association was able to create
a water conservation program. This helped car wash
owners to not to be first on the list to be shut down

64 SUMMER 2015

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SUMMER 2015

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sales@etowahmfg.com
888 920 2646
SUMMER 2015

67

The Weight of Water

and rather staged in like other businesses. With
this program, owners had to present a way to
conserve during each stage of the municipality's
drought plans. Participating washes are
inspected yearly by the municipality to ensure
they are still meeting the guidelines set forth in
the program.
Our mission should be to educate the public by
proving we are good stewards of water and we
hope that they follow our lead.
Heather Ashley is the President of the MidAtlantic Car Wash Association and vice president
of Virginia Car Wash Industries Inc., with seven
self serve and two in-bay automatic car wash
locations in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of
Virginia. Heather was recently selected to attend
a week-long educational experience with the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation where she and 19
other educators and river enthusiasts were able
to spend time testing water quality and learning
about contaminants in local waterways.

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Heather Ashley is the President of the Mid-Atlantic Car Wash

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with seven self serve and two in-bay automatic car wash locations in the
beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Heather was recently selected
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Foundation where she and 19 other educators and river enthusiasts
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Reclaim and boilers

and LED lights, oh my!
A transcript from a manufacturer-led panel
discussion at the Heartland Carwash
Association Products Show, held this March
in Altoona, PA
Chris Rojas

Tom: If you havent been in the business and youre

just getting into the business, what youre going to
come to find out is that the cities and the towns
have discovered that the water and the sewer departments can be cash cows for them as their tax
base revenues have declined. Weve seen across the
country mentions of increases in sewer and water
costs. As you know, whenever that happens those
are operating expenses for you and that eats into
your profits at the end of every month. So, if youre
a new investor or looking at getting into the industry,
its important that you take a look at water reclamation or restoration depending on which system you
want to deal with. Even if you dont put in a system,
you want to make sure you put in plumbing out to
the settling tanks so you have the opportunity later
on to try to retrofit a system to your facility even if
its new construction. But check into your water and
sewer rates and do an analysis. Any of the reclaim
companies can do an analysis for you a payback
analysis. It only makes sense if you can generate a
payback in a 3-5 year time period, and a lot of times
its even shorter than that depending on what the
water rates are. Its important to know what your
water rates are and what theyre projected to be, because in some parts of the country theyve projected
double digit increases over the next 5 years. So those
numbers have to be taken into consideration.
Roy: They have different kinds of systems they
can retrofit at an existing location above ground,
below ground and options for you regardless of the
type of facility you have.
Tom: Yes, in the water treatment industry, there are
what I refer to as really three different kinds of systems that you can put in. A re-use system is where
you simply settle out the solids in settling tanks
outside. The city makes you put in settling tanks so
that the dirt youre taking off cars doesnt go into
the sewer treatment line. With a re-use system, the
water just settles and you pull it out of the settling
tank, blast it back on a car. That ones still got all of
the chemicals in it - most of the time the water will
smell when you reuse it because the bacteria growth
in there is anaerobic and gives off a hydrogen sulfide
gas that makes it smell. The other type thats very
prevalent in the industry is what they call a reclaim
system. Its where the water is drawn out of your

settling tank, they hosenate it - run it through some

kind of filtration to remove any remaining solids in
it hosenate it so that it kills the bacteria so the
water doesnt smell and then apply it to a car. Those
systems still have most of the chemicals remaining
from the previous washes. The last system thats
available is a water restoration system. Its where
they biologically remove the bacteria like a sewer
treatment plant so that when the water is reused
its restored back to its original condition. So those
are the three factors associated with it. A lot of it
has to do with how much water you want to use.
Thats really the determining factor of what type of
system that you use.
Roy: Chris, everybodys coming off winter and
looking at their gas bills right now with the boilers
they have installed. Can you go over some of the
advantages of the high efficiency boilers at the facilities out there?
Chris: Right off the bat, the newer high technology
boilers are upwards of 98-99% efficient. Whether
they be wall-mount or floor-mounted, it doesnt
matter. Their condensing technology is in the high
90s. And usually when were running floor-heat
systems, were talking about temperatures that
are, what we consider in the boiler industry, low
water temperatures. Youre talking about heating
water to 130140 degrees. In the boiler world,
thats really a low temperature. When youre using
low temperatures, you can get efficiencies into the
high 90s. The reason you cant use really much
lower water temperatures than 130140 degrees
is that in the current technology, or the technology
that probably many of you have, is because your
units will start to condense. Ive used that term
before so we have condensing technology versus
non-condensing technology. Most of you have
non-condensing technology so you have to keep
your unit at 130-140 degrees or else with will start
to condense and rain inside your unit and cause
sooting and baking into the burners and damaging
the life of the unit. When all that starts happening
the jacket materials start degrading and you get a
thing called stand-by losses and that reduces the
efficiency. So with newer, high efficiency boilers
you can use much lower water temperatures Im
talking 90110 degrees to heat your floors and itll

Tom Gibney

Roy Skoglund

PANELISTS:
CHRIS ROJAS

Owner, Carwash Boilers, Inc.

MICHAEL CALL

VP Sales & Marketing,

Mile High LED System

TOM GIBNEY

President, Aqua Bio Technologies

WITH ROY SKOGLUND

executive director, HCA, moderating

still do the same job. Your flew products are much
cooler you can vent them with PVC pipe and it
doesnt matter how cool the water gets, the water
just strips back down the heat exchanger into the
condensing trap out into your drain.
Roy: Mike, we talked about LED lighting and there
were questions about existing light fixtures and
whether its an option to upgrade to LED without
having to change the whole fixture. Can you explain
a little bit about how to upgrade to LEDs using existing fixtures versus going all new?
Michael: Yeah, when you put that in the context
of the decision to go with LEDs, the thing to me is
ROI. How much money will LEDs save you, and
make you. The decision to go retrofit or replacement fixture is one piece of that overall calculation
you can do. So when youre looking at the overall
existing light plan at your facility, you have to think
about how much light do you have today, do you
want more of it or less, are you happy with it. That
can give you a rough baseline from where to start.
From there, the decision to go retrofit or replacement comes down to cost of installation. To drop
a brand new fixture, and we do lots of locations,
lots of retro-fits and lots of replacements, plan on
roughly an hour a fixture. If you drop a brand new
fixture, thats assuming you new conduit, a retrofit
{continued }
SUMMER 2015

69

HCA Products Show

can take you half that time. So if youre happy with
the light output that youve got and all you want to
do is upgrade to LEDs and reap all the benefits of
LED, great, find a retro-fit thatll go into your existing fixture, put that in there and thats going to be
the most economical way to upgrade. If you want to
increase your light output and maybe you want to
change your aesthetic a little bit and add a little pizzazz, thats where you need to start thinking, okay,
if I add lights to an existing light plan that I already
have is that going to change the way my car wash
looks? Am I going to be happy with that? You need
to start playing that game: What if you run into
those different scenarios.
Audience: Most lights are on timers and Id like to
go to a photo-eye where it turns on and off, is that
something that everybodys doing?
Michael: Oh yeah, you can get photo-eyes at
Home Depot for $50. Especially after the LED
upgrade, you can run pretty much your entire car
wash, usually off one circuit because the AMPs are
so low. So after the upgrade you can run your entire set off one $50 photocell from Home Depot.
The new electronic timers work as well and actually sync through a GPS to time of day and sunset
so theyll automatically know when the sun is setting for where you are. I like the photo eyes better
because on cloudy or really stormy days I want my
lights to be on. I think its good signage and the cost
of running the power and lighting is so insignificant
that its worth it.
Roy: Also explain how you flip the switch and
LEDs are on versus the old halogen bulbs that take
minutes to warm up.
Michael: Maybe youve got a metal halide that
starting to yellow, or God-forbid they turn green
Ive seen that before. If you have LEDs and you
buy them right and you know what youre looking
for theyll be a consistent color temperature for the
life of that LED. I have 100,000 hour rated LEDs.
22 years same color, same light output, doesnt
dim, instant on/off. You can get LEDs that dim
for certain applications if you want. So when you
start talking about the benefits of it, certainly the
longevity is one of the primary pieces. You put this
thing up and 22 years later, if you still own that car
wash, good for you, but if not, you havent had to
do any annual maintenance on that light for forever. The one final thing that a lot of people dont
know, you can get LEDs in any color renditioning
index. You can get them to throw light quality just
like a fluorescent light so if you in the restrooms and
your face looks a little pasty or you cant tell the
difference between your blue socks and your black
socks, thats because fluorescent bulbs do not offer
good color renditioning. Metal halides are a little bit
better, LEDs are better, or can be better if you buy
the right ones. Thats important because in the car
wash environment you are selling clean, good-looking cars. So if you put a fluorescent fixture in, or the
existing metal halides, the color renditioning isnt as
good. Therefore, you come out with a nice clean car,

70 SUMMER 2015

but the car doesnt sparkle like it does in daylight.

Thats because your light quality sucks! Get better
quality in there. Im not talking about total illumination thats called lumens. You want to light the
property properly with enough lumens that you can
see and read and dont hit anything when youre
driving through. But the color renditioning, color
quality, from the light is a second factor that you
need to look at when youre buying an LED. The
higher the quality of that CRI, the better the cars
look after theyre washed.

Pat Shannon: Chris, when I

bought boilers from you, I sent
you an analysis. I think the ROI
payback on that was just over 2
years. We didnt even project that,
but our savings was that good.
And Tom, we do absolutely nothing for water reclamation right
now. Im hearing the most basic
thing we can do is just capture
the water coming off our RO2
system and reusing that how
would be go about doing something like that?

Tom: Your current combustion efficiency right now

most of you are operating right now at around 7580% - thats the standard when you bought your
unit. Todays units are 99% so right out of the box
you are gaining 1925% based on where you currently are in efficiency. Now were going to add
in another technology called outdoor reset. Thats
a technology where were going to monitor the
outside air temperature and were going to adjust
your thermostat based on the outdoor temperature.
Some of you do that already manually you go in
and its a 35 degree day and you might turn it to
X and if its a 10 degree day you turn it up. Does
anybody do that mess with their thermostat daily?
Because when its warmer I dont want it cranked all
the way up, I want it down. So youre doing outdoor
reset manually, and these units do it automatically
for you - in increments of one degree. So when you
combine the outdoor reset with the efficiency right
out of the box, what were seeing on stats is that
were averaging about 3840% savings in gas consumption when properly installed.
RO reject as you all know if you have spot free
rinse systems, theyre generally a 50/50 reduction.
2 gallons in and one gallon out that you can use on
the vehicle. The other gallon gets rejected out. That
gallon of water is still good, soft water a little bit
higher in TDS. What I always recommend to people

that have a spot free rinse system is dont reject that

to sewer, generate some revenue out of that before it
goes to sewer because it will, even in a full water restoration system it will ultimately go to sewer when
the tanks are full. I always recommend you capture
that water in a reject tank, put a repressurization
system on it and actually feed it to your manifold
where youre mixing chemicals. So you mix your
chemicals with that reject water because its good,
soft water. Its got a little higher TES but thats okay.
Chemicals dont like hardness, but TES really doesnt
have a major impact on them. So from a RO reject
standpoint, a great way to generate some revenue
out of it before it goes to sewer is mix the chemicals
with it and wash vehicles with it. One of the other
things that you might think about is using softeners
before the RO system. You can regenerate some of
the salt rind water and reuse it. Theres actually a
salt regeneration system thats been available for the
last 15 years. That technology is available where you
can reduce your salt costs by 25-35%. Water softeners, when the go through a regeneration process, use
a lot of salt and a lot of water. Nobody ever thinks
about that water when it goes through a regen process but you can use 500K gallons of water when its
going through it regeneration cycle. There is also a
regeneration recovery system for the last rinse cycle
of the regen because its basically good water and
that water can be recaptured and reused over again.
The last thing that were starting to do a lot of is
rain harvesting. If you think about the amount of
square footage that youve got on the roof of your
car wash building, for every thousand square feet of
roof surface, one inch of rainfall will generate 750
gallons of water. And its good, soft water in most
parts of the country there are some parts where
youve got acid rain and then youd just have slight
additional treatment before you reuse that water
but you should capture that water. Were doing a
Mercedes dealership where theyve got 50,000 feet
of roof surface can you imagine how much rain
water were going to capture? Were putting in a
35,000 gallon tank just to capture rain and he really
needs a 70,000 gallon tank. Thats how much good,
soft water hes going to be able to use so its all falling out of the sky for free (other than the recovery
costs of putting in a reharvest system). So those are
some of the other things that are available in the
industry for reducing your energy costs - reducing
your operating costs when it comes to water.
Audience: Are there systems out there that retrofit high-wattage pole lights or other high wattage
lighting fixtures?
Michael: Yes. You need to be careful. What kills
LEDs this is kind of a little Myth Busters is heat.
LEDs do generate heat, not as much as a metal halide, you might not cook and egg on it, but they do
generate heat. The way to get 100 thousand hour
life out of an LED is to keep that LED below 180
degrees. So theres a couple of different systems out
there, regardless of what LED system you looked at,
you need to keep that LED cool. There are passive
{continued }

 SUMMER 2015

71

HCA Products Show

systems, like big, huge heat sinks, massive 20 pound
piece of metal and as that LED heats up it pulls the
heat away from the LED and dissipates. My personal opinion is that is what you should be looking for
because it guarantees, if its been constructed right
and properly tested, if the ambient temperature
outside is 120 degrees, if the heat sink has been built
right, you can actively put in a retrofit and expect
it to work 22 years later. Things that you have to
be careful about is that there are LED systems that
use active cooling methods like a little fan. When
things start to heat up a blower starts to go. Is a fan
going to last 22 years? No, maybe 5 years. So, your
LEDs are probably going to last 7. Once its over
180 degrees and that fan goes out, your LED system
is going to fail shortly after. The second most popular active cooling system Ive seen is what is typically
called thermal controls. Thats actually a nice little
marketing spin by the company that makes it, but
what happens is as the LEDs heat up, once it starts
hitting critical temperature, the light automatically
dims to cool itself. So that sounds kinda cool - wow
its going to prolong my light output. The problem
is that you paid for 400 watt metal halide equivalent, and youre only getting 300 watts delivered?
Well, I want more light thats why I did that. So, I
dont like the thermal controls, especially since we
do business at night and you need it to be bright all

the time. Be careful of the fans. Be careful of the

automatic dimmers. Go for the passive systems that
work. That said, if youve got a 400 watt pole light, I
have a retrofit that fits perfectly into that that I know
a thermal management that can be had regardless of
the ambient temperature. Once I get into 750 watt
metal halides, 1,000 watt metal halides, I have not
been able to identify and find a reliable LED retrofit that can keep the system cool. They just get too
hot. The problem is you need to put a lot of LEDs
in a small area to make it a retrofit. And you need
a very large heat sink to do that and once you do
that it doesnt fit in most fixtures. So, once you start
getting into 750 watt, 1,000 watt metal halides and
you want to replace that with LED, you probably
want to get a brand new fixture. Or youre going to
have to look into one of these other systems with a
fan in the back and it might work 22 years, but Im
guessing it wont.
Roy: Tom, earlier you mentioned on soft water and
TDS would you mind expanding on why its important to use soft water and what the TDS levels are?
Tom: Im not an expert in water softeners, but I did
used to work for Turtle Wax, so Im not a chemist
either, but I did sell carwash chemicals. TDS doesnt
have too much of an impact on chemicals, but hardness does. Softness doesnt have too much of an impact on chemicals. If youre using hard water and

SOFTGLOSS XS
NEOGLIDE
BRUSHES

72 SUMMER 2015

youre trying to get foam, its very difficult to get the

detergents to foam. You have to throw more chemicals at it if youre using hard water. The same is true
with seal-a-wax.
Roy: Chris, you talked about the new style boilers
now not only is it saving you money, but Im sure
everybody in here has a cramped equipment room.
Can you explain the size of the boilers nowadays
versus the old Lochinvars and what it takes to vent
those systems compared to what it used to?
Chris: Some of you have 800,000 1,000,000
btu units that are as big as the table you sitting at.
The newer ones are 15 18 wide, maybe about 30
deep and they vent with 3, 4 and 6 PVC pipe. The
savings as far as footprint is phenomenal you can
hang them on the wall. Another thing is you can
access them on your smart phone, you can access
them over the internet, or whatever you want to
do. What theyve done is instead of a long heat exchanger, theyve put the heat exchanger in a stainless steel heat coil. Its going to last longer for you
and obviously its a lot smaller.

Century 6
Century 2

BC-1400

BC-1200

400 RL

SUMMER 2015

73

A Division of DuBois Chemicals

74 SUMMER 2015

Workin on
Sunshine
Ruminations on solar
energy panels after 25
years of experience.
Joe Wolfinger

In 1983 when I decided to open a car wash, the country was in

the middle of a recession brought on by the high cost of energy.
Several national programs were available supporting the usage
of solar energy by providing tax credits. I conducted extensive
research into what works well in the car wash environment.

Cool. Simple. Cheap.

One of the best articles I read on solar water

heating was titled, Keep It Cool, Keep It Simple,
Keep It Cheap.
The first area of design, Cool, referred to the
temperature that your solar panel operated. At
that time there were Solar Panels designed that
had tubes where temperatures rose to as high as
300 degrees Fahrenheit. That means you are working with high temperatures above boiling and the
problems associated with steam generation and
pressure. They were recommending never going
above 200 degrees F on your panel.
The second area of design was Simple. Many
designs had complicated systems where the energy (heat) was moved and transferred before being
stored or used. Two terms used were active solar
systems and passive solar systems.
An active system would move the energy from
the collector to storage by pumping fluid through
the collector and then to a storage tank. Some systems pump an antifreeze solution then used a heat
exchanger to actually transfer the energy to the
water used in the wash.
A passive system heated the water directly in
the solar panel and had a storage device attached
directly to the panel. No movement of the energy
was conducted until the demand for the water was
called for. These systems were mainly designed for
small flows and a large number of individual units

I had worked in the car wash industry and met with numerous
equipment and facility designers. Energy usage was on a hot
topic and I knew that heating water and the floors was an obvious area where solar could be utilized. I decided to concentrate
on these two areas for energy savings using the sun.

would need to be hooked together for a carwash.

The third area of design was Cheap. There was
a large difference in purchase cost for solar collectors. This covered everything from the construction materiel of the collector to the method of
mounting the unit. Copper was the primary construction material, another was EPDM Tube Mat.
EPDM is an extremely durable synthetic rubber roofing membrane (ethylene propylene diene
terpolymer) widely used in low-slope buildings in
the United States and worldwide. Its two primary
ingredients, ethylene and propylene, are derived
from oil and natural gas. A company had created
a mat that was 6 inches wide and could be rolled
out and was flexible. It had 6 tubes attached to the
mat and the mats would be hooked to a discharge
and return header.

Our Set-Up
and Savings

I decided to use the low cost EPDM Tube mat.

I had one large 800 sq.ft. collector panel with a
discharge and return header in the middle with a
butterfly design where the water flowed out and
back from the center to both sides of the panel. A
1500 gallon insulated storage tank was built into
the floor and we directly heated the water that
would be used to wash the cars. On a normal summer day we had tank temperatures of 180 degrees
by 1:00 pm. Our equipment cost for the collector

was $8000. We installed the panel on the roof ourselves which took about 80 total hours. During the
summer all of our hot water needs for a 6 bay selfserve wash were met with solar energy. The storage tank carried us into the evening hours. Winter
operation was not as efficient because we were not
getting as much solar gain.
Rule of thumb design for year round operation
is to place the panel on the same angle as your
location latitude. South Central Pennsylvania is at
40 degrees latitude. So I designed the roof of the
carwash to face due south with a 40 degree angle.
The south face of the roof was 12 feet high by
100 feet wide. The panel was 12 feet high by 65
feet long. If you were designing for summer use
only you would decrease the angle by 15 degrees
and increase the angle by 15 degrees for winter
only use. The location of the sun in relationship
to the horizon is the key factor. Obviously, most
carwashes would want to utilize the solar gain
all year. If you were heating a swimming pool in
Pennsylvania you would design for summer use
only. We utilized an inexpensive swimming pool
pump about $300 and a $100 dollar controller to
operate the pump.
The EPDM tube mat works best when you
start circulating water once the panel is 20 degrees warmer than your holding tank. You stop
circulating water when the panel is less than 5
degrees warmer than the holding tank. The con{continued}
SUMMER 2015

75

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76 SUMMER 2015

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SUMMER 2015

77

Solar Panels
troller simply senses both the panel and holding
tank temperatures and turns on and off the pump
based on the temperature difference between the
two. Our panel design was on a drain back principal when the pump flow stopped the water in
the system would drain back into the storage tank.
Critical in the winter time to prevent pipe freezing. This drain back eliminated the need for any
freeze protection in your panel which is a much
costlier and less efficient design. An interesting fact
about the tube mat is it had a temperature rating
that can withstand temperatures down to -40 degrees F and 250 degrees F. That means the water in
the tube mat actually freezes in the panel during
cold weather. However as soon as you receive solar
gain each morning the tube mat thaws quickly and
starts working with no freeze damage. All the copper supply tubing drained out when the panel shut
down the night before. The tube mat was ready to
go when the panel was 20 degrees warmer than the
storage tank. We were unable to determine exactly
how much energy we were creating. A BTU meter
cost around $2000 and I was not going to spend
that much money to monitor the system. I knew
I was generating lots of hot water. We estimate we
were saving around $1500 per year with a 5-6 year
pay back term on our cost and labor to install the
panel. Commercial solar panel applications at that
time did receive a 15% tax credit for the cost of the
equipment. I received a $1200 tax credit.
I operated the panel for 25 years with no problems. With an annual estimated savings of $1500

per year we would have a savings of $37,500 over

that time with an investment cost of $10,000. The
panel and tube mat had a 20 year warranty and
at 25 years the mat did develop a breakdown in
material allowing numerous leaks. We are not operating the panel at this time. The company who
manufactured the mat is no longer in business and
I have not found a similar product.
A second solar project we used in the self-serve
bay design was pull in and back out bays that are
used at various locations in Canada. We had the
space to make this work and the bays obtain passive solar gain in the winter time when the lower
angle of the sun shines all the way back into the
bay. Remember our bays point due south. We have
no T walls on the entrance which gives easy access
to the bay and eliminates any doors. The windy
winter tunnel effect is also eliminated. You can
actually feel to the touch the gain the floors are
obtaining from the sun. In the summer time the
overhang on the bay prevents any solar gain due
to the higher angle of the sun. We insulated below
the bay floors with 2 inches of Styrofoam and have
been very pleased with the results.

Thoughts on Current
Solar Technology

THE 24/7
OPERATOR
ROUNDTABLE
78 SUMMER 2015

I have done limited research on panels at this

time. Now at retirement age I do not plan on any
long term investments. I do want to pass on one
presentation I recently received. Three years ago
investment grants were once again available for solar projects, up to $50,000 from the Federal Government and $40,000 from the State of Pennsylvania. A local company proposed that I purchase a
$90,000 panel from them, the same size as my existing panel. I would turn over to them my Federal

and State grants in the amount of $90,000. I would

have a panel at no charge but I would have to pay
$16,000 in Federal Income Tax for the panel that
I could depreciate over 15 years. Plus they wanted
me to cover the cost of a monitoring program they
wanted to conduct on my panel at a cost of $500
per year that they would wave after 5 years.
I checked with some competitive panels and
found the cost of a similar panel would be $25,000
to $30,000. I also found that the Pennsylvania grant
actually required the monitoring for 5 years. So the
plan was for me to give them $90,000 in grants
for a panel retailing around $30,000. I believe the
$16,000 in income tax was their actual cost of the
panel. Since I technically paid nothing for the panel,
it was classified as a gift that I had to pay income tax
on. This appeared to be nothing but a scam against
the government which I wanted no part. Whenever
a program becomes available there always seems to
be someone looking for a way to rip it off.
I found investing in solar energy was a good deal.
I wish the panel had lasted longer but I would do
it again based on my results. I would recommend
any car wash owner to explore the options especially in new construction.
Joe Wolfinger owns and operates Solar Shine Car Wash,
a self serve car wash in Chambersburg, PA, and has been
a frequent contributor to Self Serve Car Wash News. The
editor extends her gratitude to Joe for his numerous contributions to this publication and the industry -- especially in
regards to Joes work in studying water carry off and evaporation in the self serve environment. While his experiments
(conducted in partnership with Penn State University and
published in the Winter 2015 issue of SSCWN) did not
yield his own wash any savings with the local utility, his
findings have helped countless operators across the country
as they seek to be charged a fair amount for their sewer
and usage bills.

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CyrptoPay System Security Overview

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retrieve Go Green Receipts

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SUMMER 2015

79

I Washed My Car in
Your SS Bay and

Its Still
Dirty

How a routine
customer interaction
at the carwash
changed the way
I do business.
Chuck Lundberg
Everyone has washed their car in a self serve bay
at least once right? It's not hard; if you follow the
instructions on the sign and do the proper steps in
order you will usually end up with a clean car.
Years ago I operated a car wash with self serve
bays. I pride myself on running a top notch facility
-- as Im sure you do, too. We used the best chemicals, the best equipment and we kept everything
adjusted correctly. Everything was clean and operational. When something broke, we didnt tag it
or put a sign out -- we fixed it right away.
So you can understand my frustration when a
customer would come to complain the wash wasnt
able to clean their car. Most of the time, we could
trace back the error to a customer who wasnt following the instructions on our signage.
Itd be something like: You sprayed wax all over
your car before you scrubbed it with the foam
brush and now youve run out of time and your car
is covered with soap and somehow that is my fault.
But me being the best customer service advisor I
can be, I would explain to the customer what they
did wrong and demonstrate the steps theyd want
to take in the future. Then I would turn on the bay
for them so they could rinse off all the soap.
Im sure youre nodding your head about now
-- its all pretty standard in the car wash business.

80 SUMMER 2015

At least for me it
was -- until one day,
one of our car wash attendants came into the office to tell me that there was
a customer who was complaining
that she washed her car in the self serve
bay and the car is still dirty. We rolled our eyes a
bit and chuckled -- female customers in particular
seem to have a hard time with the self serve.
I asked the attendant to go and point out the
instructions on our signage; explaining that she
must do the steps in order to get her car clean. We
turned the bay back on for free.
A few minutes later, the attendant was back.
What now? The customer had told him she was
a frequent customer; she knows how to wash her
car. But he can see she hadnt done a good job -there were streaks of dirt down the sides of the car.
At this point, Im starting to think I might know
the customer. I stood up and went to check the
situation out for myself.
I walked out to the bay and saw the car, and sure
enough -- there was the little old lady. Shes been
coming here for years; never once complained
about the quality of her wash. So now Im at a
real crossroads: Do I tell this loyal customer that

perhaps shes getting a

little too
old to be scrubbing her own car -- or do I turn on
the bay and let her try a third time?
Im not sure who was more worried about the
situation, me or her. I didnt want to insult her and
apparently she didn't want to insult the wash. In
this case, age wins. She begins talking first, I listen.
She says, You know me. Ive been coming here for
years. I know how to wash my car., I do the same
thing every time. She proceeds to show me the
sign and tells me in order every step she took to
wash her car as she does every time. She was right
-- but obviously she didnt scrub hard enough. The
car is still dirty1 Do I tell her that? Or do I let this
woman think it was something other than her not
putting enough strokes of the wash brush across
her car's finish to get all the dirt off?
I couldn't do it. I told her I would turn the bay
on and wash her car for her myself.

Customer Complaints
I turned the bay on and grabbed the wand and
turned the selector switch to low pressure presoak
and began to spray down the car. That's when I
noticed it; something wasn't right. I didn't smell
that usual fragrance that comes from the pre soak
chemical. And wait a minute -- I dont see the tiny
foam bubbles that usually collect on the car and
slide down the sides.
Without giving you a full class on car wash
chemistry, I will tell you that pre soak is important. It is a step that many people skip because it is
low pressure and not much seems to be happening. But, it is a high Ph alkaline detergent that hits
your dry vehicle and begins the cleaning process.
It breaks down the dirt, separates the molecules
and begins to lift the dirt off your car and put it in
suspension, floating through the soap and down
to the ground. It loosens everything up so that
when you spray the car with high pressure soap
and then scrub the car, everything slides off without damage to your vehicle and ultimately your
car comes out clean.
So, you know, our pre soak is a little off, which
is kind of a bummer for us. But heres the cool
part -- the part that started to move the gears in
my head. There are two things you need to clean
a car: Chemical and friction. If you have strong
chemicals you can use less friction. If you are using
very weak or less effective chemicals it will require
more friction to clean the car completely.
Most customers probably would have seen there
was still dirt on their car and just scrubbed some
more or scrubbed harder. But this was a little old
lady with a limited amount of strength and time.
This elderly woman who had washed her car this
way maybe hundreds of times before and saw a
saw great results knew something wasn't right. For
$2.50 and five minutes of effort, she would always
get a totally clean car. This time she did it the same
way as all the times before and ended up with a
dirty car. She applied the same amount of friction
as always, but the result was not the same.
It had to be the chemical. It was our fault that
her car didnt come out clean.
"It was our fault! I exclaimed to the woman as
she smiled and shook her head.
I went into the chemical room and used my
test kit to check the pre soak. It was below the
strength level that we normally use -- it wasnt
horribly weak, but it wasnt the strength an elderly woman needed to get a clean car. Sure, I probably would have noticed it eventually -- after
all, we check our chemical levels periodically to
make sure all is in order, but this woman brought
it to my attention right away. Until that day, I
never realized how precise our routines play into
everything around us.
Walking into a situation that has occurred many

times before in your life and knowing already

pure well what you are going to do to handle it
seems easy. But this situation woke me up: Not
only was it a curveball in terms of what I believed
was happening and what actually was happening -- but I also realized that only *this* customer could have revealed to me a weakness in my
business.
Which brings me to my new business philosophy, a series of questions I ask when confronted
with a customer interaction: Is it my businesss
responsibility? Is it worth my time? Is it good or
bad? Is it within my control to change it from
bad to good? What will the effort do for me?
At first, it was my business, but not worth my
time. I sent out my attendant. It was bad, and
when the attendant returned, I had to decide if
there was something I could do to make it go
from bad to good.
In the end, this interaction has permeated into
all aspects of my life. When looking at a problem or confronted with a new situation, business or personal, I always ask myself: Is the pre
soak strong enough? The solution to the problem might seem to be obvious, but am I just
seeing the tip of the iceberg?
Cause or effect, choice or consequence? It's
funny how something that has nothing do with
anything important carries so much influence in
everything you do once it happens. Always read
the signs and don't skip the pre-soak. When you
decide to skip a step in the beginning and take
a shortcut, it will show at the end with poor results. Then again, when you ask someone to put
in their best effort and do their best and they
fall short, I now ask, was is due to their lack of
effort or were they not given the right amount
of tools to succeed?
Chuck Lundberg is a 25 year
car wash professional. He has
worked in all aspects of the car
wash industry in New England
from operation, management, to
design, training, building and
repair. Chuck is presently the general manager of
Clean & Green Car Wash in Marlborough, MA
and also operates his own independent car wash
consulting operation. Chuck can be reaached by
email at clundberg99@gmail.com or find him on
Linkedin or his Facebook page at www.facebook.
com/IndependantCarWashConsultant.

A little more on
customer interactions,
from AutoCareForum.com
Not all
customers
SUCK!!!!!
pgrzes: It was a long weekend, was
out late didn't get home till 4am Sunday morn. go to wash late on Sunday
to collect. Fairly busy for a hot humid
Sunday evening. I was just about finished and ready to leave when a customer (1-2 a week regular )is at my
changer and sees me leaving and
tells me how great everything I have
been doing is. I love the new selector
doors, the convenience at the bay,
not needing to walk back and forth
for change, how much soap the foam
brush pushes out. On and on about
all that we have done!!! It makes all
the hard work and time worth it even
with all the bull**** we deal with.
My advice to people struggling to
get by in this business, or newbies
looking at getting in. People want
new things, updates and changes!!
We hesitate to make changes, but
don't wait!!! I waited way to long to
raise prices. Once I did, I said the
same thing I read on here all the time,
why did I wait!!! Give value and price
doesn't matter, weed out the trash.
People will pay you if you show you
are putting $$$ back into the place
and giving good value. The ones that
don't, you don't want anyway!! Last 3
years were the best in the washes 50
year history.
superclean: I had one last week
leave 2 Tim Horton coffee cards in
the mail box they thank you for keeping everything clean and running and
thank you for offering free air. First
time in 8 years not sure who it was
but wow makes up for the 100 crappy ones. It also makes me want to do
it at other business when I get good
service.
mac: One of the things it took me
awhile to realize about self serve is
that the customers who use it, really like to wash their cars. Give them
good working equipment and chemicals, and make it easy for them to
spend their money, and believe me,
they notice.
SUMMER 2015

81

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82 SUMMER 2015

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84 SUMMER 2015

g
n
i
t
a
r
b
e
l
Ce

y
r
a
t
i
l
i
M
s
n
a
e
r
t
e
V
h
s
a
w
r
a
C
e
h
in t
Industry

When I took the helm at SSCWN, there was one

tradition I was particularly excited to carry on
(besides the iconic covers) and that was expressing our pride and gratitude for our nations military. Our Editor Emeritus Jarrett J. Jakubowski
and founding publisher Joe Campbell were both
veterans, and JJJ in particular made no small effort to ensure that these pages regularly called
attention and bestowed appreciation to veterans
in our midst.
Like so many operators and carwash workers,
my favorite day in the carwash industry is undoubtedly Veterans Day, when car wash locations
around the country offer free carwashes to veterans as part of the Grace for Vets program. I have
been so thrilled to see the program grow year
after year, and to hear from so many operators
who have had touching, emotional experiences in
giving back to their community on this important
national holiday.
{continued }
SUMMER 2015

85

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86 SUMMER 2015

As many of you know, I was a

proud Navy wife until my husband was honorably discharged last
year. The military life is a familiar
one to me, as are the sacrifices these
men and women make to keep our
country free and safe. Knowing that
our industry has found a way to give
back is not just a feel good moment
for me; it truly touches my heart.
I was particularly pleased to listen
in to Perry Powells recent conversation with Mike Mountz, founder and Chairman of the Board for
Grace for Vets, on Perrys podcast
series WashIdeas. Perry graciously
allowed me to provide a transcript
of the conversation as part of this
piece, which you will find below.
Perhaps the only story I love
more than hearing about carwash
operators who have given back to veterans, are the
stories from military service veterans who have
found their way into the carwash industry. Often
times these men and women bring an extremely
valuable skillset and mentality to our industry; veterans like Darold Evans, manager at Sandwich Car
Wash in Sandwich, MA, who recently retired from
the Air National Guard after 24 years of service.
I asked Darold to speak to us a bit about his experiences as a way of introducing a new semi-regular feature well be having in the pages of SSCWN,
Veterans in our Mist. We will be collecting the

stories from service veterans

and car wash operators who
have found ways to honor our
military to feature in each issue.
If you fit the billet, please email
me at katec@sscwn.com so that
we might share your story. And,
as always, we encourage you to
sign up to participate for Grace
for Vets this year and to share
your narratives of the day and
photographs with us for our
Winter issue.

Darolds
Story

Being in the Air National

Guard I may be a little different than many in that both my
car wash career and military career started almost
at the same time. After I returned home from basic
training and technical training is when I first got
my job as manager of the car wash.
My military career has not only helped me in
my car wash career, but in many areas of my life.
For most of my military career I was a Jet engine mechanic on F-15 aircraft. Although there
are no jet engines in a car wash there are plenty of moving parts that need constant repair and
maintenance. But I think more important than
any mechanical skills would be the less tangible

skills that I learned. As you move up in rank you

receive great training in management and leadership which have proven to be invaluable. But most
important I believe are the core values that reinforced what I was taught as a child help me in all
aspects of my life but of course have helped me as
a car wash operator.

Integrity First,
Service before Self,
and Excellence in All We Do.
This is how I try to live my life but also how
I run the car wash. Whether this is dealing with
customers, suppliers or employees I believe it is
essential when building a business.

Integrity First - Always

doing the right thing

even when no one is looking. Honesty, responsibility,
accountability, humility.

Service before Self - Professional

duties take
precedence over personal desires. At the very least
it includes the following behaviors:
Rule Following,
Respect for others,
Discipline and self control, and
Faith in the system.

Excellence in All We Do - this

directs us to
develop a sustained passion for the continuous
improvement and innovation that will propel us
into a long term, upward spiral of accomplishment
and performance.
{continued }
SUMMER 2015

87

35-Foot Bay
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88 SUMMER 2015

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89

WashIdeas Podcast Interview

with Mike Mountz, Founder of
Grace for Vets
Perry Powell:

Good morning, Wash Ideas listeners. This morning we have a great guest. And
Im going to be like you guys -- I dont know a lot
about this guy. But what I know is impressive. And
I want to know about what he does. His name is
Mike Mountz and he is with Grace for Vets. Mike,
welcome to the show.

Mike Mountz

Perry Powell

(Editors Note: You can listen to this interview

-- and so many more great interview subjects
-- at www.washideas.com.)

Mike Mountz: Thanks for having me.

PP:

Tell me what you do. Whats your position

with Grace for Vets?

MM: Im the founder of Grace for Vets and I now

serve as Chairman of the Board.

PP: So, were you in the carwash industry before

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Grace for Vets?

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MM: Yes. Me and my wife went into the business

in 1984 and we sold a few years ago, it would have
been 2013.

PP: What type of wash did you have?

MM: We started out with a strictly exterior in a
very small town in Pennsylvania. Then we ended
up building three other locations, so we had four
locations within an hour of each location.

PP: Nice. So youve been at this a while?

MM: Yes, we were involved with the industry for
28 years.

PP: And you recently received an award; I believe it

was the Lifetime Achievement Award from the ICA?

MM:

Well, yes, it was the Hall of Fame award.

That was in 2010, and in 2000 we received the
Community Service Award and in 2005 we received the Innovation Award. And then in 2010
we were lucky enough to receive the Hall of Fame.

PP: So obviously the industry recognizes your accomplishments. Grace for Vets seems like a real
departure for a guy whos run car washes, though.
Tell us how you got started in car washing and
what led you to make this transition.
MM: Sure. In 1984 I was looking for a small business. I really didnt care what type of business; I
was just in search of a business. I was fortunate
enough to be called by an individual that had a
small car wash for sale and I took a look at it and
decided that it might be an industry that fit my
needs pretty well. So, we started off. In our first
year we washed 30,000 cars with just myself and
one other employee. And I just fell in love with
the industry and we grew the business for 28 years.
When we sold it we had a little over 400 employees and we were washing close to a million cars.
So we had very nice growth with some fabulous
employees. Thats what made it possible.

PP:

How did you transition from that to Grace

for Vets?

MM:

Well, I was involved with the service in

1968-1971 and during that time period I had a
stupid injury in the States and was placed in a
service hospital in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and
that was a rehabilitation center for the United
States during the Vietnam War. And during that
time period, from what I was exposed to, I just
felt that I needed to give something back to our
veterans. I was graced enough to start a foundation
called Grace for Vets where the car wash industry
comes together to wash cars for free for all the
veterans on Veterans Day.

PP: So, if a car wash owner is listening that doesnt

really understand your program, could you do a
slight run-through and tell us how it works and
functions? I know one of the questions that has
come up in my discussions of it has been, How
do you keep non-veteran people from taking advantage?

MM:

Sure, well certainly do it. Its a complete

voluntary system; it doesnt cost you anything to
join the program. Theres a web page called Grace

for Vets (www.graceforvets.org) that gives you a

lot of good ideas. Theres free marketing material on that web page. It gives you a history of the
growth of the company -- I shouldnt call it a
company, its a volunteer program. But what happens is, you just put out advertisements through
newspaper or radio advertisements and you invite
veterans in on that given day. One of the requirements for Grace for Vets is that its a free car wash.
Not fifty percent off or any charge -- its free. I
know some of the concern from operators is someone might come in and say theyre a veteran just
to get the free wash and we do ask that all the car
wash operators simply honor that. Theres such
a small percentage of people that would say that
and not be a veteran that its not even worthwhile
trying to figure it out. So, we really just ask that
the program is based on an honor system. It works
quite well like that.

PP: For this program, do you specifically use one

day a year -- Veterans Day? Or is this a specific
day that the car wash can consign during the year?

MM:

Here in the States and in Canada we use

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SUMMER 2015

91

November 11, which is our Veterans Day. We also

have participants in Australia and New Zealand
and they have chosen to celebrate it on two individual days, and thats the way its based there.
Its our hope that we can take it to other countries
and be able to celebrate the service their service
personnel has given them also through a free car
wash. So that day may vary depending on what
country it is.

PP: Do the operators see a benefit through the

newspaper exposure? Have you seen participants
who have benefited in significant ways from participation in the program?
MM:

We certainly feel as though we have. For

many operators, its free advertisements on TV or
in the newspaper press or radio if you tell the local communication companies what youre doing.
Most TV stations and what have you will give you
free time, which is very beneficial. As far as anything else, we really feel that if you acknowledge
the veterans, they become a customer of yours
that will come back multiple times throughout
the year. So its not only serving the veterans, but I
think its also serving the industry as well.

PP:

Very good. You obviously started with one

operator -- how has the program grown?

MM:

Yes, we started
with one operator and that was
11 years ago.
Weve grown

Mike Mountz (L) Founder of Grace for Vets pictured with Chris Keating, President Burleigh Heads
RSL QLD at the ACWA EXPO.

this thing now to, I believe its 2,300 and some

odd operators, and many locations. Last year, we
washed close to 240,000 cars throughout the
United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. So, I think it went from 200 cars in the very
first year to over 240,000 cars now.

PP:

Ive seen your video on the Grace for Vets

website -- its a short video and I recommend that
people go there and watch it. The fact is is that

this is a very personal and close thing for you that

youre doing. Can you speak to that a little bit and
maybe tell us what you tell operators who contact
you about becoming a part of the program?

MM: Yes, I sure can. As I had mentioned before,

I was in the service during the Vietnam era, and a
lot of soldiers were coming back missing arms and
legs and I dont know if it was fortunate or unfor{continued }

From Iraq to car washing...

Just before press time, SSCWN was
pleased to come across another veterans
story of car wash entrepreneurship in his
local newspaper.
According to the article in the
Fraser-Clinton Township Chronicle,
Matthew Reiter was an Army officer
for nearly a dozen years, serving in
South Korea and in Iraq, before he
returned to his hometown of Fraser,
MI, to serve in the Air National Guard
and to turn a former Fraser eyesore
into Crystal Clean Car Wash.
Reiter purchased the site in March of
this year and had it open by April -- with
a grand opening celebration planned for early

92 SUMMER 2015

August. He has spent the past few months getting

the car wash in tip top shape and putting in time
trying to change customers perceptions of the wash.
It was not run well at all, and you could ask
any Sterling Heights or Fraser resident how
disappointing it was, he said in the article. It was
in a state of disrepair and all the customers kind of
had the same story.
According to the newspaper, Reiter relied on his
military background to inform his experiences as a
car wash operator.
I guess Im kind of predisposed to being in charge
of whatever Ive got my hands on, Reiter said in the
article. It kind of suits me; Im drawn to it. If things
are meant to be, its up to me to get them done.

 SUMMER 2015

93

94 SUMMER 2015

Photo Credit - Staff Sgt. Julio Nieves, 326th Mobile Public Affairs Detatchment Spc. Tyler Mcclucas, a motor transportation specialist with the 733rd Transportation Company out of Reading, Pa., explains the capabilities of a Palletized Load System to former Spc. Mike Erb, a Vietnam Era veteran, while on display
during the free car wash for veterans held by Cloister wash and lube Nov 11 2012.
tunate that I was placed in the same hospital and
I was not missing any legs. I think I was the only
one in the hospital that wasnt. And, again, just
recognizing what everybody had been through to
give us the lifestyle that were used to living, so I
certainly felt committed to do something at that
point. I guess that was the cause for it.

PP: And when an operator contacts you, what do

you tell them? This has got to be very personal for
you. It motivated you to move small mountains to
start a foundation to do this. What is it that you
say directly to an owner or operator whos considering implementing the program?

MM:

Its just a fabulous program; it helps grow

your volume, it helps grow your awareness within
the community. Out of all the 11 years that weve
been doing it, I have not had any negative comments come back about it. We find that anyone
thats participated in it, based on the amount of
employees you have, if its 1 or if its 500, most
of the times they will find out it is the most important day, most unmissed day for them. The
employees enjoy it as much as the veterans. Weve
never had any negative comments.

PP: You know, a personal story I have, in my consulting capacity I was consulting with a car wash
and someone was cleaning out the central vac system and something went *ping* and rolled across
the floor. It was turned into me (with permission

Most of the times

[the operator]
will find it is the most

important day -the most unmissed

day for them.

The employees
love it as
much as the
veterans.

of the owner). I still have it, it sits in my bookcase.

But it was a Vietnam-era Congressional Medal of
Honor winners challenge coin. I didnt know what
that was -- we didnt know if we had something vitally important to the recipient. So we contacted
the Congressional Medal of Honor folks and they
shared with us that this was not something that
would have been a memorabilia keepsake for the
recipient, but was in fact one he he would have

given to somebody for doing something for him.

Unfortunately, since we retrieved it from the vacuum system, we had no way of identifying who that
person was and the foundation couldnt identify
who that person was. And they ultimately gave me
permission to keep that and it still sits in my book
case. We were really concerned that we had actually gotten something that he carried in his pocket as a keepsake for having earned the medal and
we were relieved to find it wasnt that. We never
did know the rest of the story behind that coin. I
would have loved to return to the original owner, but no idea how to even find who that might
be. But these guys who go out and serve us and
theyre wounded and they come home, I think we
have a responsibility not just to support them but
to support the people who support them. I dont
know if you heard it, but on Memorial Day, we had
Major Cliff Hendricks talk about his experiences
flying in the first Iraq War and he talked about all
of the fueling station and the race tracks in the sky
and how they would fly into these race tracks and
follow these planes in large, looping circles to fuel
the planes and keep them in the air. All this back
end coordination that keeps the front line guys
going is equally important because the guys who
end up on the front line couldnt be there without
all their support staff, so certainly anyone who has
served in that capacity deserves our appreciation.
{continued }
SUMMER 2015

95

Keep

MM: Yes, thats certainly true.

PP: Where do you see Grace for Vets going in the
future?

MM: Well, since two years ago when we sold our

!
g
n
i
com

businesses -- I dont know if Im retired yet or if Im

going to come out of retirement -- but, Im hoping that were putting a group together, the ICA
is getting involved with us, and I certainly hope
we continue to grow. My goal is this: I want to be
able to wash a million cars per year through the
Grace for Vets program. So we have a long ways
to go there, but were zooming in on 300,000 cars,
probably this year. So we have another 700,000
cars or so to go to get to that million car mark.
Thats what our goals are.

PP: I certainly am very supportive of what youre

doing and I hope if listeners are out there and have
not participated in this program, I would ask them
to go to the website, www.graceforvets.org, click
on Mikes video, listen to Mikes video and then
look at the other details there to learn how you
can become involved. November 11 is not that far
away and its a good time to consider participating
in the program. Can you tell us one of the local
operator success stories with Grace for Vets?

MM: Sure. Hoffmans Car Wash in Albany, New

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96 SUMMER 2015

York, I believe they were the second carwash group

to jump in to the program, and theyve been doing
it for 10 years consistently. Their volume for veterans cars has grown substantially. I was just up for
a managers meeting, a group gathering, and they
were talking about the program being their most
favorite day of the year. Its just a rewarding day,
theres lot of tears shed from the car wash people
watching all these veterans go through, and some
veterans crying realizing that someone is recognizing their past service. Its a very emotional day.
Again, as Ive said, theres never been an operator
thats told me theyre sorry that theyve done it.
One of the nice things, if you go onto the Grace
for Vets web page and look at the people participating in it, youll see all the car wash companies
located underneath their individual state. If nothing else, if you go onto the web page and look,
youll be able to pull up each individuals website.
Which gives you a good marketing tool to see what
everybody else is doing throughout the country -or countries -- in the industry. Its one spot that I
know of where somebody can go on and do a survey of thousands of car wash operators. If nothing
else, its a good thing to do.

PP:

Excellent. Excellent. Thank you for being

with us, Mike. I wish you all the best with Grace
for Vets.

MM: And thank you so much for inviting us onto

the show.

 SUMMER 2015

97

Darwin
Carwash

Youll never guess where

they found him. (Okay,
okay, maybe you will.) A

at the

A collection of the most asinine antics and unusual criminal

events to be reported at carwashes around the country.
Tally on another win for surveillance
cameras! A 19-year-old car wash employee in
Bedford Heights, OH, confessed to staging a robbery
at the business after police reviewed surveillance video of the events he had previously described during
their investigation and questioned him a second time.
Enricque Lee had enlisted the help of two younger teenagers, 16 and 15, who showed up around 1
p.m. on a busy Saturday as Lee was collecting money
from customers.
Lee told police the men punched and pushed
him to the ground, grabbed the cash bag and fled.
He also claimed one of the men said he was carrying
a gun, although he told police he didnt actually see
a weapon.
Police reviewed video, found a few inconsistencies,
and questioned Lee a second time, wherein he confessed to staging the robbery.
The two younger teens will be charged in juvenile court, while Lee has been charged with theft
by deception. Unfortunately, no money has been
recovered.
Absence makes the heart grow ... suspicious, in this case. The owner of Clean and
Classy Carwash in Tulsa, OK, may have been able
to prevent further robbery at his car wash after notifying police and local news reporters that a couple
(who had the gall to wash their car at the business
first!) had stolen two of his security cameras after
their Wednesday morning suds up.
Jim Schwers told a local TV station this
was the first time someone had stolen
his cameras in his 15 years of business. Ironically, the video cameras
captured clear images of the man as
he was in the business of removing
the cameras. Schwers said he does
worry the man and woman might
return to take his change machines
and cause damage to his property,
but advised the TV station it
would be a futile effort. He
plans to replace the cameras in the mean time.
It would be almost
impossible because its
literally cemented into
the wall, said Schwers,
pointing out marks where
someone else had previously tried to chisel the
change machine out and
failed.
Speaking about the
more recent attempt,

Scwher told the reporter: Letting themselves get all

these pictures of themselves taken; theyre not very
professional. If thats what they do for a living theyre
not really very good at it, he said.
It was a dark and stormy night ... so
he decided to get a car wash. Unfortunately for two robbery suspects, a police officer in
Millcreek, UT, didnt agree that a middle-of-thenight car wash made any sense in the middle of a rain
storm, so he decided to investigate their car parked
in a self serve bay at a local wash.
As it turned out, the two men matched descriptions of persons involved with armed robberies at a
bank and smoke shop earlier that night.
The suspects, 41-year-old Marc Kammerman and
28-year-old Bhatia Manmeet were booked on aggravated robbery charges.
U-Steal it U-Haul itif youre not
caught by the cops first. An off-duty police officer with sharp hearing was able to thwart
an in-progress robbery after he investigated a loud
noise he heard as he was driving by a San Antonio
car wash.
The officer observed two men loading a change
machine into a U-Haul truck before they jumped
inside the cab and sped off, nearly hitting the officer in his car and knocking over a concrete block
at the wash.
Police soon had additional reports
from residents of a nearby neighborhood who were concerned about
U-Haul speeding through their
streets and dragging a chain on
the ground that was causing
sparks.
The truck was abandoned
along the side of a street, and
while the police have not yet
located the men responsible,
they did find the change
machine hidden nearby
and a dolly used to haul it
through the grass. The report did not estimate how
much damage was done to
the wash in the failed robbery attempt.

Its too bad

that stupidity
isnt painful!

98 SUMMER 2015

Wheres
Nancy
Drew when you
need her? A missing
necklace and a case of
mistaken identity led to a
shoot out at a Las Vegas

44-year-old man out on bond following

charges related to two previous car wash
burglary cases was found clutching a bag
of almost $900 in coins whilst crawling
around the ceiling of -- you guessed it -- a
Massachusetts car wash.
In a story that practically serves as an
advertisement for surveillance camera systems, police were able to stop the in-progress burglary after the owner of Patriot
Auto Wash contacted them to explain he
thought someone had moved one of his
washs security cameras by hand. He noticed the movement while monitoring the
surveillance footage from his home.
Once police arrived on the scene it
didnt take them long to discover a hole
leading to the ceiling and detect noises
and movement coming from above. Suspected car wash burglar (and convicted
felon) James Rash complied with orders
to come down from the ceiling, dropping a cloth sack with $884 at the officers feet. (More money was found in the
mans pockets.)
The car wash owner has put the damage at about $3,000 while the missing
coins and cash come to about $1,000.

car wash, leaving four people wounded -- including a

car wash employee who was shot in the foot.
Local authorities were called after two assailants
approached a customer waiting for his car to be
washed and tried to yank a gold chain from around
the mans neck. When one of the attackers pulled a
gun, the customers friend brandished his own concealed weapon, firing off 15 shots. The would-be
mugger who started the unfortunate chain of events
(pun intended) later admitted he was mistaken
about the jewelry and it was not his missing necklace. He claimed to not know the shooter who was
with him at the time of the assault; that man was
able to evade police. Perhaps well leave the rest to
Miss Drewshe has a fairly decent track record with
missing jewelry.
Speaking of shoot outs ... A car wash customer in Denver was miraculously spared after her
car was surrounded by two other vehicles at a self
serve wash here and a gunfight ensued, shattering
glass and peppering her vehicle with bullet holes.
While police havent turned out many theories
about the incident, neighbors speaking to a local TV
station are rather concerned.
Ive washed my car there many times, many
times, resident Melissa Fisher told a local reporter.
We walk over there all the time with our dogs
around the neighborhood, kids bike over there. It
just scares me.
She added, Hopefully there was a reason and it
wasnt just something random because its pretty
freaky.
Youd think a pro would know to
look for the cameras. Reality TV star Mickey Mephitz Wright (known for his appearances on

Love and Hip Hop Atlanta and Toya: A Family Affair) is now wanted for aggravated assault and robbery after surveillance video caught him attacking a
car wash worker in Atlanta.
The motive? Another Nancy Drew title, Im afraid.
Only this time, its the case of the missing marijuana.
Carwash worker Harold Huntley told a local TV
station that Wright confronted him after he drove
Wrights car through the carwash tunnel.
"[Wright] comes back and is like, You stole my
weed, you stole my weed. Huntley told the reporter. I was like, Nah, man, and then he pulled a gun
out on me and was like, It's gonna be your life or it's
gonna be my weed," Huntley said.
The carwash worker attempted to reach police with
his cell phone, and surveillance video shows Wright
grabbing the mans phone and fleeing the scene.
"He was like, Man just give me the phone, give
me the phone. What's it gonna be? Your life or your
phone? Is it really that important? Huntley said.
Wrights SUV, handgun and the workers stolen
phone were recovered a few miles from the business.
Wright has been charged with armed robbery and
aggravated assault.
Okay, heres a mystery were actually
interested in solving: A car wash operator in
Toms River, NJ, is trying to figure out why two men
came to his wash late on a Sunday night, broke into
a locked equipment box, and proceeded to damage
the computer system and intercom transmitter.
According to a report in a local newspaper, police
are considering the possibility that the men directly

targeted the computer system in an attempt to destroy its operational capabilities or steal the contents,
and that they may have specific knowledge of what
this device controls and were attempting to sabotage
the business.
The washs surveillance cameras captured images
of the men walking onto the carwash lot, passing the
coin-op boxes, and vandalizing the computer system.
Those images have been provided to police and local
news media.
If it looks like trouble, acts like trouble, and has a neck tattoo that says
trouble, then its probably...burglarizing your car wash. Law enforcement
in Lebanon County, PA, are searching for yet another
Bonnie and Clyde type burglary team after two car
washes in the area were burglarized.
Security cameras were able to capture images of
the couple drilling into the back of pay stations to
retrieve their loot. Our Bonnie is believed to be a
white woman wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and
sunglasses, while our Clyde is described by authorities as a Hispanic male wearing sunglasses, a black
flat rim hat, a gray and white flannel shirt with a
white t-shirt underneath, jeans, black gloves and diamond earrings. According to the report, the man
also has tattoos around his throat and on the left side
of his neck that possibly says "TROUBLE."You just
cant make these things up
Would we call this the Carwashers
Dozen? Operators in Topeka, KS, must be frus-

trated and worried after 12 thefts have been reported at area car washes in just over a month.
Police do have a few leads -- and in fact are on the
lookout for a white male in a silver-colored minivan.
Authorities described the thefts as unique, and
listed thousands of dollars in damages to the washes, while the actual amount taken tallies up to some
pretty small stacks: $10 here and $30 there. What
a mess.
In happier news, authorities and car
wash operators in Bloomington, IN,
and in Greensboro, SC, have something to celebrate: Police departments in
both of these cities have brought charges on men
accused of multiple larcenies at car wash businesses
in those locations.
In Bloomington, police have arrested Keith D.
Osborn, 59, and charged him with felony theft and
misdemeanor possession of burglary tools. Their
investigation was aided by surveillance video from
three different car wash locations which reportedly
showed Osborn tampering with coin machines.
Greensboro police are to be similarly congratulated after arresting William Spencer Brownlow, Jr., 42,
and Charles Robert Franks, 46, following robberies at
three area car washes. The pair are charged with safecracking, possession of burglary tools, conspiracy to
commit a felony, and damage or destroy a coin-operated machine.
The men were finally caught in the act so to
speak when police were notified about suspicious
activity at one of the washes.

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