Changing the Face of Carwashing

Changing the Face of Carwashing

 By Norm Porges

It's been 10 years since we opened our first carwash, and I can tell you, it has been one heck of a ride. The business is exciting, vibrant, challenging, frustrating, disappointing, fun-filled and anguish-filled all rolled up in one. True, I'm relatively new to the industry and therefore find it challenging to compete with some of the "old-timers" in their wealth of knowledge. On the other hand, because I'm relatively new, I have a fresh perspective on the industry and, more importantly, have most recently been on the other side of the fence as a carwash customer.

Ten years ago, I set out to change the way people think about carwashing. That was the goal. It was part of my written business plan submitted to the bank for my first loan. Remember when we wrote those? Why on earth would that be a goal? Why was that so important? I'll tell you why.

Simply stated, some members of the public have a terrible perception of our industry. They use words and phrases like dirty, unprofessional, uncaring, untrustworthy, unkempt, low-life people, graffiti-strewn, money-hungry, greasy, dark, noisy, a hangout for undesirables, etc. To patronize this kind of business is a "necessary evil."

It also seemed to me that those were the perceptions easiest to change in the public's eye. Keep in mind that I'm saying "perceptions." Perceptions by definition may not be real life, but in the real world, perceptions are everything--perceptions are all that matter. There are many examples of great carwashers in our industry who understand this concept and to them this dissertation is a bit like the choir director preaching to the choir. But believe me, there are some owners/operators who could care less about changing those perceptions for the benefit of all of us. This is demonstrated whenever you try to hire a qualified professional or apply for a permit for your next site. I've had the neighbors march on city hall to prevent me from operating a clean, professional business. Recently in cities across the United States, city planning leaders have been denying operators the right to open or expand their legitimate carwash businesses because of the public outcry: "Oh no! Not a carwash in my backyard!"

As mentioned, perceptions are easy enough to change with clear, written direction, persistence, and commitment. Here are our top 10 solutions:

• A location should be immaculate at all times, regardless of how busy you are. Have the word "immaculate" defined for your employees (dispels dirty perception).
• Well-maintained lighting and building structures (dispels greasy perception).
• Uniforms (full are best) or at least a uniform policy of consistency, rigidly applied to all. Include a personal grooming policy as well (dispels unkempt perception).
• Consistent courtesy when greeting the customer. Use words such as "please," "thank you," "good afternoon," and "my sincerest apology," not just to the customer, but also to one another. The customer sees and hears this (dispels low-life perception).
• A clear policy stated in a positive fashion as to your responsibility to the customer and the customer's responsibility to ensure his vehicle has a safe, trouble-free experience (dispels untrustworthy perception).
• Community participation. You are part of the community and as a good neighbor and citizen, you are supportive of the activities and enjoy giving back (dispels undesirable perception).
• You are generous with giving to any non-profit free carwashes used for fundraising and have a charity carwash program in place (dispels money-hungry perception).
• You avoid public politics but are part of the political process as a good citizen (dispels uncaring perception).
• Provide a Web site or other means for the customer to feed back information to you and then act upon it with an immediate response. Handle customer claims in a quick, professional manner (dispels unprofessional perception).
• Provide an experience beyond expectation (dispels carwashing as a necessary evil).

Operators who are coming into the business today and spending millions of dollars need to understand "perception" better than those whose long-time investment may be close to being paid off and/or the risk/urgency isn't as strong. Ironically, as I have been attending conventions and listening to the industry "experts" expound on these very subjects, you can imagine my shock and disappointment when I visit their sites and am hard pressed to find anything that resembles professionalism. I've discovered that "industry expert" sometimes is defined as the number of years the individual has been in the industry rather than the quality of his performance. On top of that, the association fathers continue to reelect those same individuals to represent our interests. By no means is this a condemnation of all industry associations or the hard-working, dedicated people who volunteer their time. It is a call to arms to put pressure to bear on those operators who fail to meet "industry standards," with particular scrutiny on those industry leaders and experts because, in fact, they are the industry leaders and experts. Kudos are in order to the ICA for working with operators to come up with these standards.

I have met many extraordinary individuals in the past 10 years--operators, vendors, consultants and association staffers. Some of them have become my mentors and either operate, sell, or provide services in a professional manner, aspiring to be the best they can be and represent our industry with honor. In particular, it is those next-generation carwashers, usually in their 30s or 40s, who bring to the industry fresh, new and interesting ideas heretofore locked out of the process. It's time to identify those individuals and roll out the welcome mat to invite them to join and represent all of us who wish to change the way people think about carwashing in this "Perception Revolution."

Norm Porges is the owner of Prime Shine Express Car Washes, with several locations throughout California's central valley.