Should I switch to Flex-Serve?

I currently own a 100' tunnel with 2 laser bays, 4 self-serve bays and a detail shop. I am in a small community of 20,000 and have 1 competitor that has 3 laser bays. I currently towel dry cars but have been told by other operators that I should change my format to a flex serve.

My current price points are $8, $10 and $12 (which I have not changed in 3 years). My idea would be to keep current prices and charge $2 for towel drying along with offering other "hand finished services" such as express wax for $10.

My main concern at this point is a decrease in wash quality. Currently if an SUV exits the tunnel with some road film or "missed areas" on the back end the guy with the towel can easily take care of that. If that person opted not to have their car towel dried, I may leave that customer with a bad impression of our wash.

Has anyone else been faced with this decision or have any words of wisdom for me? Thanks!

Bobby

Bobby,

Many carwash owners face the issues you described, daily.

Words of wisdom - the perspective of impartial observers can be useful.

For example, flex-serve has been suggested. Others may suggest full-service with express detail services while others may suggest throwing in the towel, and go $3 or $4 express exterior with free vacuums. Others may suggest filling your tunnel up with a new equipment package or simply get rid of the equipment and offer a hand wash.

Words of wisdom – In finding help, choose people who have broad based knowledge that will listen to your concerns and provide information the way you need it so you can best use it.

After all, you want to be comfortable in choosing what areas to change and ignore the ones you feel are not right for your business.

Hope this helps.

Bob Roman
www.carwashplan.com

Bobby,

You asked a good question. I do not think there is one correct answer. Do you hand prep? If so could they target these trouble areas?
If not, will more equipment like a second set of wraps or high pressure help solve the issue?

I think the Car wash business is value driven. Sure, we would all like to put out a perfectly clean and dry vehicle 100% of the time, have it cost us 50 cents to do it and get $20.00 for a base exerior wash.

In reality it is more a question of "Enough" than pefection. Can we get the Vehicle Clean enough, dry enough, fast enough, have customers feel they got enough or more than enough for what they paid, at a price point that lets us do enough volume to make enough money.

(I just made this up. If you read it somewhere else they stole it from me:)

Earl...

ENOUGH ALREADY!

To me it depends on alot of factors. The community you wash cars in (what kinds of customers do you have). High end customers wanting only the best treatment or other, the equipment of course (how clean is your product), what is the competition doing around you, the economy, is your premises laid out so you could add free vacuums while still maintaining good flow on busy days - if this is the route you want to take. This can be a big decision. You could take a chance and advertise a one to two month special of an express wash with optional services. Take some surveys from your customers. Do some advertising to get them in for the 1st month - then see how many continue to prefer the format the second month.
I remember what a seasoned car wash guy told me 25 years ago - whatever change you make in your wash can take several months to determine the result -perhaps a year. Your business could suffer a slow death of loosing a customer a week for quite awhile before you begin to notice. Gaining and keeping customers is difficult - loosing them is easy.
I was glad I did it, after several months months of thinking about it before I decided to go for it.

Bobby...

First things first. If you don't wish to improve your washing process with additional or better equipment upgrades, you can still utilize the hand-finishing option on those vehicles (SUV) that pose a problem. In that case, it would be easier and probably make more sense to your customers if you did upgrade to a flex-serve format.

Having hand-drying that picks up missed areas can be costly and pose a relentless overhead that can be avoided. How?

1. As Earl pointed out, upgrade or supplement your equipment to keep the process automated.

2. Continue with your current process and either absorb the overhead or adjust your pricing to reflect the hands-on wiping at the exit-end.

3. Implement flex-serve and segregate the automatic process from the hands-on after-care options. Alert your customers to the cost-saving action by adjusting your price to realistically address the issue of labor overhead. At the same time, educate your clientele to the limitations of any automated process, and invite them to consider the after-care service of "hand-finishing". By doing that, you've given your customer a reasonable choice. The automated-only process can reflect some savings or stay the same... while the after-care service can offer a premium service that renders the vehicle clean and dry.

By exposing the customer to the choice of a quick automated washing & drying service... or a more comprehensive list of hands-on options, you have opened the door to added profitability in a controlled, structured format. It will also act as a feeder system for your existing detail operation. Or, you may even merge your detailing operation into the after-care format.

Keep in mind that the flex-serve format allows each operator to adapt the hands-on after-care services to meet the demands of the individual marketplace and recognizes the uniqueness of a competitive edge in services, convenience, and pricing; also known in this case as "value".

The choice is yours. If you have a viable flex-serve format, the hands-on after-care component can effectively serve to support ALL of your other appearance-care activities.

So, once again... I recommend flex-serve because it is completely scalable and should be tailored to your site's needs and marketplace demands as well as opportunities.

After all, flex-serve has earned the rank of professional carwashing's quintessential carwash operating platform. Why not utilize and enjoy it's features, advantages and benefits?

-Steve

Mr. Okun, shouldn't you mention that whenever you promote flex-serve, you're also promoting yourself and your business?

I promote what I've developed (and accepted by a significant audience of carwash owners) as an exceptionally effective operating platform, and I do so to assist carwash operators and investors who intend to enter the carwash business with the intention of maximizing their profit potential.

Until you brought up the subject, no mention was made of my business. The flex-serve paradigm has been published for years in all of the carwash magazines and is available free to readers. I also offer pro bono assistance as a professional courtesy to interested operators who seek help in their understanding and implementation of the flex-serve concept.

Thanks for asking me to bring that information to light.

-Steve

Steve can you please give provide operators here, some locations that have adapted your version of Flex Serve so that they can see it firsthand in operation?

I know that several years ago the Blue Harbor Wash in Mandeville,LA started with the Oken Flex Serve concept but may have changed to another concept.

Actual operating examples rather than words might help disspell some of the doubt operators might have about the viabilit of the concept.

SONNY'S likes to promote the concept, Bud. I think they have a number of videos on their website. Same is true by checking the various carwash magazine archives; Keyword: flex-serve. Also check with any carwash equipment manufacturer. They all have lists of flex-serve operations, as does DRB and ICS. However, as you know, my clients are confidential, by their own choice. Or, they can simply contact me for all the help they might need in understanding the concept.

Best regards,
-Steve

There you have it Bobby, I believe Crown and Earl have hit the nail on the head.

As Crown suggests, making the switch to flex-serve is a big decision that should not be taken lightly. As Buda referred to, there is at least one carwash owner that has switched from flex to traditional full-service and there are some that have switched from flex to express exterior.

As Earl referred to, the quality issue could be resolved simply by upgrading the equipment (i.e. fully articulating wrap-around brushes with foam material) and/or hand prepping. Either of which or in combination would go a long way in eliminating or reducing the need to use side-dryers to wipe dirt off vehicles with damp towels after exiting the air-dryer.

No need to use a sledgehammer went a fly-swatter will do.