Appearance, quality and reliability make a lasting impact on profit potential

David H. VanGorder

Whether you’ve been in the car wash business for many years or you’re just starting out, it is important to keep in mind that your vacuum and detailing services are a major part of your operations. The revenues and profits generated by your interior detailing service centers can have a significant impact on your bottom line. In order to maximize the profit potential of your business, you need to have the right equipment to meet the needs of your customers.

With all that is available on the market today, it can be a difficult task to select the “right equipment” for your business. There are many tangible and intangible factors to be considered, and ultimately, only you can decide what equipment is best for you.

One thought to keep in mind is that the more services you offer to your customers, the more opportunities you will have to make money. Taking this idea one step further, it is imperative that the customer not only has a range of services to choose from, but also that these services be convenient to use.

In today’s market you can choose machines that offer vacuum, shampoo, spot remover, carpet protector, fragrance or air services. A machine may be capable of only one of these services, or it may be configured to combine two or more services in one machine. Additionally, you may choose to sell a variety of detail-related items through drop vendors. Again, these machines and services need to be convenient to use, or they will not generate the maximum level of profitability for your operation.

If cost were not a factor, the optimal solution would be to equip every vacuum island with machines that could deliver all of these services to each customer. In the real world, however, cost is a major issue impacting your decision process—just don’t be short sighted and let cost be a limiting factor. As with most products, you will most likely end up getting what you pay for in terms of functionality, performance, quality and reliability. The cost difference between the entry-level equipment and the top of the line is not that great, when comparing similar pieces of equipment. By contrast, the appearance, the quality, and the reliability of a given system may vary greatly from the low end to the high end—these differences can have a lasting impact on the profit potential of your business.

In addition to the functional capabilities, quality and reliability of the equipment you choose, there is the more intangible aspect of appearance. The equipment you select can add a great deal of curb appeal to your facility, and can be a determining factor in attracting customers to your business as opposed to your competition. Equipment from each manufacturer will typically have some unique attributes, both in terms of physical size and shape, and in terms of graphics. These intangibles are important to your efforts to promote your business. In this regard, a colorful vacuum island and canopy system can give your facility a significant marketing edge.

Basic Vacuums

If you are looking for a basic vacuum, you have several options. First, you will need to decided between a large central vacuum system, or having individual free-standing machines. While the choice between these two types of systems can be debated, it is the opinion of the author that the free-standing vacuums offer better performance, greater flexibility, and a lower overall cost when compared to a central vacuum set-up. Therefore, this article shall focus on free-standing vacuum units.

Traditionally, most manufacturers have produced the round tank vacuum, while others have produced an oval or square machine. Aside from these shape differences, these units are very similar. These machines can be built for “free” use or for “pay” use depending on the business owner’s preference. Historically, these machines have all been designed to be floor mounted; however, there are some newer systems available that are designed for wall or pole mounting (these are typically “free” use models only, though they could be coin operated from a remote meter box).

The basic vacuum configuration consists of the vacuum tank (with or without a vault system), a method of filtration, two vacuum motors, an electronic timer, and a coin acceptor. Beyond this basic set-up, a variety of options and accessories are available to choose from. You may choose from a stainless steel dome or a colored dome (lighted or non-lighted), several motor packages that offer different performance capabilities, various electronic timers, various coin acceptors and payment systems (to be discussed later), and the option of adding a countdown display or last coin alert. These options are but a few of those offered by most manufacturers, and you should be able to purchase your vacuums per your own set of specifications.

Again, most of these machines will be quite similar, but there are some variations of which to note. In terms of filtration, most manufacturers use cloth filter bags, which do allow a fair amount of fine dust to pass thorough into the motors and other parts of the machine. This contamination can be detrimental to the appearance and performance of the machine, over time. In order to combat this, some manufacturers now use high-efficiency (washable) cartridge filters instead of bags—these filters essentially stop 100 percent of the dust ingested by the vacuum, and keep it from building up on other components in the machine. Another difference lies in the dirt compartment—some machines just let the dirt fall into the bottom of the machine, while others provide a liner or a five-gallon bucket that make cleaning easier and much more pleasant.

Again, you will likely get what you pay for. Especially on these units, the lowest cost systems to purchase may not be the lowest cost systems to own and operate; this is where different manufacturers truly differentiate themselves.

Additional Services

The addition of other services to your detailing island can be accomplished in two ways. You may choose to install stand-alone systems that perform services such as fragrance, shampoo, spot remover, carpet protector, or air in addition to your basic vacuum units—or—you may choose to install combination machines that combine two or more of these services in a single unit. Whichever configuration you choose, you should be aware that with these additional services in place, your vacuum and detailing island could become the bottleneck in the flow of traffic through your facility; you will need to consider your layout and equipment needs carefully to address this potential problem.

If you choose the route of adding stand-alone systems in combination with your basic vacuum units, you will most likely be able to do so at the lowest up front cost. For example, an island with two vacuums could be augmented with a stand-alone shampoo machine, a stand-alone fragrance machine, and even a stand-alone air machine, with each of the stand-alone units available to either user (albeit one at a time). The downside of this configuration is that it requires the end user to specifically select and pay to start each service independently, which greatly reduces the convenience of use, as well as the prospect for spontaneous purchases. Additionally, this set-up may tend to leave your island looking cluttered, which will detract from its appearance.

If you choose to install these services in the combination machine configuration, your upfront costs will be higher, but so will your long-term revenues and profits. The advantage of a combination machine is that it typically affords the end user the flexibility to move between the various vending selections, within a single vending cycle, without the need to restart the machine. This type of system will generate far greater spontaneous purchases, which will lead to more customers coming back again and again to utilize the range of services offered. Additionally, the combination machines typically have a larger stature and more distinctive graphics, which can go a long way to improve the curb appeal of your operation.

The list of options and accessories available with these types of systems is generally shorter than with the basic vacuums, since most of these units are of a premium nature to begin with. Again, however, you will typically get what you pay for.

Payment Systems

As with every other sector of society, the electronics revolution is alive and well in the car wash industry. One area that has seen tremendous change is the payment systems used on the various pieces of equipment.

Historically, all of this equipment operated off either quarters or tokens, with very little flexibility. Today, there are numerous systems to consider: The basic coin mechanism is still a standard, but a variety of electronic units are available to accept anywhere from one to 12 coins or tokens, simultaneously, with the ability to differentiate each one and assign a proper monetary value to each. The use of bill acceptors is on the rise, especially in combination machines, which tend to require more money to operate over the full range of services offered. The convenience of inserting a single five-dollar bill as opposed to 20 quarters is obviously apparent.

In addition to currency acceptors, the true revolution is taking place in the various forms of electronic payment systems that are currently available. These systems, which utilize card keys, smart cards and/or credit cards to activate the machines, can provide the business owner and the end user some distinct benefits.

With these types of systems integrated, the convenience of vacuuming and detailing a vehicle has increased dramatically. Again, you will get the features and benefits that you pay for with these systems as well.

Island & Canopy Systems

Although the addition of a vacuum island and canopy is not going to make you any money directly, it is one of the intangible factors that can have a real impact on the performance of your business operations. A well organized island and canopy, with bright colors and clear graphics, will make your facility stand out. People who are comparing you and your competition will choose you, and people who have passed you by many times before will notice you for the first time. This added appeal will have a significant impact on your bottom line. While the fabricated island bases can be quite expensive, a canopy is relatively inexpensive and is highly recommended (regardless of your island base).

Maintenance & Cleaning

Once you have selected the “right equipment” for your facility, and it has been installed, you will want to protect your investment. The best way to make all of these systems perform to the maximum of their potential is to keep them clean and well maintained. It is human nature for your customers to migrate toward a facility that appears to be clean or new, and which is perceived as being dependable. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the upkeep of all of your equipment. If you properly maintain these systems, your benefits will be twofold: You will reduce your overall service costs by increasing the service life of the various components inside your machines, and you will earn greater revenues and profits because your customers will know that they can count on your machines to deliver.

Although keeping your vacuum and detailing systems clean and well maintained will cost you more in time than money, you will get what you pay for.

Summary

Choosing the right equipment for your vacuum and detailing islands can be a difficult task, with so much to choose from. Ultimately, you as the operator will have to select that equipment and those suppliers with whom you feel most comfortable. Only you know the demographics of your market and the competitive forces lined up against you, and only you can decide what you need to be successful.

As you make your decisions, there are a few things that should be reiterated:

1. The more services you offer, the more opportunities you will have to make money.
2. The more convenient you make those services to use, the more likely they will be used to the maximum of their potential.
3. The types and styles of equipment you select will have a tremendous impact on the visual appeal of your facility.
4. The equipment with the lowest front-end cost is not necessarily the lowest cost or most profitable equipment to own and operate.
5. You must keep your equipment clean and well maintained so that it looks good and performs to its fullest potential.
6. In terms of time and money invested, you will generally get what you pay for.

David H. VanGorder, president of Doyle Vacuum Systems LLC, has been in the car wash industry for 11 years. He has spearheaded Doyle Vacuum Systems efforts to remain an industry leader in terms of technology, performance and reliability. You can see all of Doyle’s products by visiting www.doylevac.com.