From Ground-Breaking to Grand Opening
MCC follows one operator through the making of a $3-million carwash

MCC: How is the construction progressing?

Fischer: We're a few weeks behind right now because there were some changes that needed to made. We've had a couple of small problems, but it's been going pretty well, thankfully.

MCC: What kind of changes did you make?

Fischer: When we originally bid the building out, we thought it was going to be about $900,000, but I changed a few things and it's going to cost more. For example, I decided to put my vacuum plumbing underground instead of overhead. I thought it would have a cleaner look. It ran about $11,000 because of all the trenching.

Interior design was another area where we made changes. That was something I really guessed on. We had anticipated spending about $30,000, but it's going to be closer to $100,000. I didn't know all the costs for the cashier stands and the shelving and things like that. We ended up hiring an interior designer to help us with the layout and flow of everything.

MCC: That's a big difference in cost. Is the interior an area where operators generally have trouble estimating costs?

Fischer: I don't know if most operators are going to go as over-the-top are we are. We really hope to make this a feature property that we'll use to sell future sites and bring in investors.

MCC: What contributions has the interior designer been able to make to your original lobby plan?

Fischer: It was important to get the most flow out of it, the most seating and the most function.

We had planned for the cashier stand to be in a corner. We've now incorporated it into our lobby with trusses coming from the roof. The designer has set up all kinds of seating for us. It is a little more expensive than I had anticipated, but we want it to be pretty neat.

The way we're doing it now will enable us to have three cashier stands in the middle so they can see everything from one central point. They will be able to see the carwash tunnel and the facility entrance and exit. Customers will have to walk by the cashier stand, so no one can go by without paying.

MCC: What other changes weren't in the original bid?

Fischer: We did some separate grading for our pipes underground. Instead of the pipes going into the concrete, we wanted to have full accessibility to each of them so we put separate trenches and a separate grading system under all of the arches so we'd have access to everything.

MCC: Knowing what you know now, what kind of advice would you offer operators building new facilities?

Fischer: Try to have as many things picked out in advance as possible. If you can get it into the initial bid, it's a lot cheaper, obviously, than having a lot of change orders. Try to be as detailed as you possibly can.

You should also have a full-time superintendent/foreman who is there specifically for your job only--not working on other projects. Our foreman is there every singe day, and he's not distracted by other jobs.

Operators also need to know that no matter what you plan for, there are always things that are going to come up. There are certain things you will have to have contingencies for. The bank and the SBA put aside an additional 10 percent of construction costs for us--that was $140,000--for possible things that would come up.

MCC: Has it been challenging running your existing carwash and overseeing the construction of the new facility?

Fischer: The transformation from one facility is a big step right now. I try to get out to the job site every morning and then go back to my office in the afternoon and work a few hours there.

MCC: It will probably be even more challenging for you once the second site is opened.

Fischer: I'm in the process of trying to bring on a partner who has experience running [multiple] carwashes. I have no partner right now, but I'm willing to give up part of my ownership to bring him on board. I can't say who he is, though. It's still a secret.

MCC: Do you think the facility will be completed on schedule? If not, are you concerned about additional costs that might arise?

Fischer: We're pretty sure it will. Every day the contractor is late, he has to pay me $1,000. That helps to keep them on track. We're two or three weeks behind right now, but it's mostly due to some of the changes I've instilled. If they were to finish early, I'd have to pay them $1,000 a day.

MCC: What do you have planned for the grand opening?

Fischer: Since we're going to have a Valvoline oil-change facility, Valvoline is going to be bringing a NASCAR race car to the site for the grand opening. Coca-Cola is also doing a promo where we're giving out free Coca-Cola key chains to everyone who goes through the carwash that day.

We're doing tons of radio, and we're going to be sponsoring the Car Spa Club in our town. Every day [during the week of the grand opening] a listener on the radio will win certain prizes. For example, the person with the dirtiest car will get a free detail.

We've also had a custom radio spot made. It's a spin-off of that old carwash song. But the lyrics will be, "At the Car Spa..." We're also going to start shooting a TV commercial when the facility gets closer to being done.

Look for part three of this series in the February issue of Modern Car Care.

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines

Read Comments [0]