Is the customer’s perceived value worth the investment they just made?

by Stuart Levy

All over the country car wash prices range from between $3 to in excess of $20. The difference is what your customer wants applied to his vehicle.  A polish wax application costs extra. Tire dressing, extra.  Super sealant, to make the car shine, costs extra.  Air freshener, extra. This is how we in the car wash industry make our money. It’s called income generating revenue or income from applied special services. You could afford to give away your car wash but as long as you generate an additional 30 percent of revenue from the sale of special service applications you’re going to make a nice profit and have money in the bank.

Whether it’s an express car wash, flex-serve or full service the customer is aware of how much they are spending for the wash and what special services they are going to get. How so? Well, either your greeter told them or it was announced and sold on the washes auto entry system. The big question comes in the form of overall customer satisfaction of what they purchased. Is their perceived value worth the investment they just made? The question often asked by the consumer is “will this application really make my car look better?” The answer of course, is in the sight of the beholder.

The Visual  Experience
Let’s take a look at what the customer should see when they go through your wash and what the end result should be. As an owner you can take this test yourself.

Upon entrance the first application the customer may encounter is a prep application consisting of either a high-pressure alkaline application (high pH solution) or a hand brush application of detergent. Visually the driver should see a soapy appearance on the surface of the vehicle. If the prep application is of an alkaline nature be careful not to use to much as alkaline detergents negatively affect the drying process.

In today’s newer car washes presoak products are applied under low pressure as the conveyor begins to move the vehicle through the wash process. The presoaks are of a high and low pH nature. Generally high pH products do not put on much of a show as they are designed to break down dirt and road film.  The low pH products are more visual and interpreted by the driver as a soap application. They may be applied through a foam application system or spray arch. In reality, the low pH application is designed to help brighten chrome and glass and aid in the drying process as well. This is also the area where an application of tire and wheel cleaner may be applied. If the wash is full service and the customer can see the product being applied, you may want to consider foaming the product on and even use a color additive to make the product have more appeal to the customer.

Seeing What They are Paying For

Next, as the vehicle reaches the mitter curtains and wrap around brushes the driver, whether inside the vehicle or watching from the hallway, should see a copious amount of detergent on the vehicle. This serves two purposes. First the customer see’s value, secondly the detergent being used should provide plenty of lubrication to either the cloth or neo-glide material on the wrap around brushes. This way the customer sees what they are paying for and you lessen the possibility of any potential damage caused by wrap around brushes binding and grabbing any mirrors or loose chrome. In addition noise from the sound of the wrap around brushes moving along the sides of the vehicle should be dramatically reduced.

Following the soap application I always recommend a high-pressure rinse to ensure that all of the detergent is removed from the vehicle and that there is no carry out as the vehicle exits from the wash. Usually detergent or polish wax can accumulate around mirrors, body side moldings and on the ledges of trucks and SUV’s. It is also at this point that the driver cannot see through the windshield of the vehicle. For some people, who are claustrophobic, this can be very disconcerting. This is also the area where any wheel cleaner may be applied to remove dirt and break dust from the wheels. In this application it is essential to have a high-pressure wheel flush to get into all of the nooks and crannies of the wheels. Tires and wheels that still have dirt residue will surely be noticed by the customer. If fact tires and wheels are the first thing they will look at to determine how clean the vehicle is.

Visual Connection

For the most part the vehicle is now clean, but there are many more products still to be applied. After the high-pressure rinse, a coat of triple foam conditioner or polish wax is generally applied. Triple foam conditioners are generally colored detergents and will not do much for the surface of the vehicle. Whereas a true application of polish wax will contain ingredients that will enhance the vehicles finish and cause water to separate and spray waxes to bead better.

These products must have vibrant colors and some type of aromatic fragrance that the driver can smell if they are sitting in the vehicle. If they are watching from a full service hallway there must also be strong visual connection that lets the customer see the application. But, most importantly, these products must be free rinsing. That means they break down and dissipate as soon as water is applied. This goes back to the vehicle carry out problem I spoke about earlier. Colored foam application dripping down the sides of body side moldings or blown back onto windows from mirror residue can be very unsightly; not to mention leaving drip lines on the side of the vehicle where the product has dried. Imagine spending over $20 to have your vehicle cleaned and then come out of your house and find dried drip lines on the body. Yuck.

See the Difference

The vehicle next enters various wax applications. Drying agents and super sealants may now be applied. The purpose here is for the driver to begin to see the finished product. If they have purchased an application of super sealant protection they should be able to see a difference in the finish of their vehicle. It should have a certain “pop” to it, particularly in the sunlight. The glass should be crystal clear and all windshield wiper eyebrow road film removed.

Finally an application of tire dressing may be applied just before the vehicle enters the air dryer. This is a product that has a great deal of visual impact. When the customer looks at their tires they want to see them shining as if they just left the showroom floor. This is a critical part of the wash process. Here’s why. We know that the first thing any wash customer looks at is their tires and wheels to make sure they are clean. If the applied tire dressing creates the right look on the tire then it will only enhance the look of the wheel, whitewall or raised whitewall letters that are on so many trucks and SUV’s. If, on the other hand the customer has purchased the tire dressing application and it does not pop they are more likely to notice any dirt residue left on either the tires or wheels. At this point they will question their investment and the next time they wash their vehicle (assuming you maintain them as a customer) they may not invest in your special service products.

Take the Ride

Every car wash operator I have ever met feels they turn out the best wash in their area. Some do, some don’t. There can be as many as 13 different products used in today’s modern car wash. Each application has its own function and appearance to the eye of the driver. For the short moment that any individual product is being applied the opportunity to either create greater customer satisfaction or poor customer satisfaction is in play. Pay attention to how your products are being applied. Ride through your wash and experience what your customer is experiencing. Have you had A WOW experience? If so, you have succeeded. If not, you can bet your customer hasn’t either and may never return to give you a second chance.

Stuart Levy is the president of Clean Car Consulting. The company represents a variety of OEM car wash manufacturer’s products as well as providing car wash consulting services. For more information visit the CCC Web site at www.cleancarconsulting.com.