Don't Fear Adding Unusual Services to Your Carwash

When we started building our Flagstop Car Wash Mega Car Care Centers 10 years ago, we did so by including our full-service wash, quick lubes, detail bays, self-serve bays, a nice gift shop with a fireplace and business centers with Wi-Fi. We wanted to make our valued customers feel at home while Flagstop was taking care of their vehicles.

Our thought was that everybody’s life is hectic and busy, so the more services we could offer at one stop, the more we would be able to create loyal customers. Fortunately, our customers do appreciate all that Flagstop has to offer and business continues to grow.

We also moved our corporate office upstairs and built it so that we had room for growth. We have Jamie Nester, our vice president, in the office, as well as Jeannie Schrum, my wife and comptroller, and her staff to keep all of our books and records. My office is on the other end of the building. We also rent office space to an insurance agent and converted another large office into a huge storage space for files, Christmas and holiday items, gift shop boxes, etc.

Nothing too out of the ordinary there, but our latest project is really turning heads. My daughter Beth has been a hair stylist for the past 14 years and had been working out of her house while her kids were small. Now that most of them are in school, she approached dear old Dad and said she thought a hair salon would make a great addition to all of the goods and services we offer at Flagstop.

With that, we set out to convert our old storage room into a salon. It took three weeks, but the old storage area now has been transformed with a new 18-inch by 18-inch tumbled tile floor, new tilting shampoo bowls, three new chairs with accessories, new paint, large mirrors, wall fabric, track lighting, ceiling fan, racks and shelving, a new desk and computer.

Simplicity Salon is now open for business. Beth and her business partner, Jessica Triplett (who also has 14 years experience), are more creative than I first thought. Even though they both had their own clientele, they were convinced from the beginning that they would attract new customers from the thousands of existing customers that visit Flagstop every month.

You know something? They were right! They have been open for a little over 12 weeks, and they are already picking up four to six new salon customers each week directly from Flagstop’s customer base. The only thing we have done to draw direct attention to the salon is put up some signs at the entrance to the lobby and place fliers and Simplicity menus in our waiting area.

The added bonus is our customers love being able to get something else done while they have their oil changed or their car washed and waxed.

The bottom line is don’t be afraid to think outside your carwash box. Thanks, Beth, for a great new idea!

Bob Schrum is president of Flagstop Car Wash & Quick Lube and will become president of the Southeastern Carwash Association this month during the association’s fall expo in Atlanta. In business for 25 years, Flagstop operates three full-service carwashes, 25 self-serve wash bays, two lube shops, two gift shops, two detail shops and an express wash. The company broke ground on a second express wash in July.