Free Vacuums??

[captain cw]

I vend a token at both of my washes with every auto wash purchased. The token is worth $1 in the vacuum or they can collect them for discounts or a free wash in the automatic wash. Self serve customers still have to pay for the vacuum. It's helped my auto numbers quite a bit. I also had an EE built down the street and this really helped.

[Red Baron]

If I put up a sign that said "free vaccuums," they'd all be gone tomorrow when I got there.

[cfcw]

Raising prices works fine until you're steamrolled by an express. Consumer sentiment has shifted, people are looking for value and I don't think that's going to revert back anytime soon. Look at fast food- dollar value menus are back, Subway is running their $2 subs, etc. there was a recent article about Subway's $5 footlong being a great success, with same store sales up around 17% in a recession. Anyway, to continue to prosper in this market segment (SS/IBA) and economy I believe we're gonna have to think unconventionally and up our marketing a bit.

In regard to the short term experiment, I think you will have to hang in there longer than a month to see if it makes difference. It really does take a while for word to travel around. I recently picked up a wash with c-store competition. One store gives a free wash with fill up, the other offers rain-x and free vacuum with IBA purchase. I have been offering bonus tokens for several months with any IBA wash. Long-time customers just are used to the drill and have for the most part ignored the free token machine that makes an ear-piercing noise when you purchase a wash. Once I explain it to them they love it. It's been several months now, and is finally catching on with customers. One new customer told me she heard about the token deal from a friend, so she thought she would visit. Just last week I had a guy tell me that he loves the wash but also used an express. He said the vac token sealed the deal for him and is "through" with the express tunnel that is a fifteen minute drive away. Now, he may have been exaggerating, but it's so nice to have a raving fan once in a while! Although there is no discernible increase in revenue as of yet I have only owned this wash since February. I think it will have a positive impact over the next year. Time will tell.


BTW, the one price concept of two self serves has been largely a success. pay a fixed price and wash&vac to your heart's content. One wash in Georgia is averaging about 40% higher revenue, another in Florida has supposedly more than tripled (second hand info on that one) . There will be a brief presentation at the SECWA Memphis road show in a couple of weeks on the Georgia site.

[Jimmy Buffett]

Fwiw I drive past a wash every day that has free vacs on my way to work. There is ALWAYS someone at the vacs. I know that if I see a car in the auto there, that means I will have a line at my place (30 miles away). It just looks to me like he's wearing out his vacs for nothing. He did it because he has a tunnel across the street with free vacs but it doesn't look like it's helping to me.

[dogwasher]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Buffett

Fwiw I drive past a wash every day that has free vacs on my way to work. There is ALWAYS someone at the vacs. I know that if I see a car in the auto there, that means I will have a line at my place (30 miles away). It just looks to me like he's wearing out his vacs for nothing. He did it because he has a tunnel across the street with free vacs but it doesn't look like it's helping to me.

Thanks, when you see one car in the auto how many are in the tunnel across the street? what type of wash do you have 30 miles away?

[captain cw]

I think the only way to successfully do it is to give a token only to paying customers that have purchased a wash. That way non-paying customers still have to pay for a vacuum cycle. The best of both worlds. When I started giving a free vacuum token with my wash, I raised my prices on my automatic $1 across the board. I raised traffic and still have the customers paying for the vac cycle. It just happens to be rolled into the auto price.

[Jimmy Buffett]

The tunnel across the street just went through a total renovation and business seems to have picked up quite a bit. The ss had, until recently an Oasis Typhoon that seemed to be broken a lot. They just replaced it with a new Water World unit. Mind you what I know about these 2 washes comes merely from driving past them twice every day. The traffic count on their road is probably 45k/day or so. It took me a long time to realize why there were always people at the vacs. It never occured to me that he would be giving away that service.

I have a 4/1 with a Ryko Softgloss in a small town about 30 miles away.

[Jeff_L]

Originally Posted by captain cw

I think the only way to successfully do it is to give a token only to paying customers that have purchased a wash. That way non-paying customers still have to pay for a vacuum cycle. The best of both worlds. When I started giving a free vacuum token with my wash, I raised my prices on my automatic $1 across the board. I raised traffic and still have the customers paying for the vac cycle. It just happens to be rolled into the auto price.

I think you're right on captain. Tunnels can do it because you have to pay for a wash to get to the free vacs, so they can build it in their price. You can do it at your autos, and give a token away for certain packages to make the vac appear free. For the ss business, giving away vacs to compete with the tunnels doesn't make sense. SS business is a different market than the tunnel customers.

I've seen a ss wash a few miles down the road from me started giving away free vacs, and he's busy all the time. BUT, he was busy BEFORE he gave away the vacs. Therefore, I don't know what he gained by it.

(Of course, these are my feelings today, I may wake up tomorrow and say "Hey, I've got a great idea, free vacs!") hehehe

[robert roman]

Researchers like Nielsen Media find that more people are buying more of their goods and services at locations that provide incentives tied to spending levels at the stores where they shop. People are also doing things like combining shopping trips and errands to save gas. In general, the low and middle income households (most likely to use self-service) are making the more drastic spending adjustments and the lowest and highest income groups (least likely to use self-service) are less likely to. So, self-service markets are under more pressure in general.

In this situation, the express exterior becomes a threat to self-service markets because the business model is based on marketing strategies that mostly boil down to tactics or techniques used to improve loyalty.

For example, motorists are inclined to purchase most of the products and services they need near their homes. So, we often find that express exterior facilities have superior locations as compared to self-service facilities in terms of household income, densities, proximity to businesses and homes, etc.

Express exterior owners establish a recognized or differentiated product by providing a level of customer service not normally found at self-service carwash facilities, discounting price (low base price), offering free use of vacuums, etc.

To effectively compete against similar products in the market, express owners will accept all forms of payment, many will offer a customer loyalty program, they provide a carwash that is capable of producing a first-class clean, shine and dry and minimizing wait times, etc.

Arguably, the offer of free use of vacuums alone may not be enough to offset the considerable competitive advantage that an express exterior can represent.

Consequently, I would look to niche market retailing to help identify the things that you may be able or willing to do to compete effectively.

[dogwasher]

Oh Boy....got the permit!!