We understand that it may seem to the outsider like every car wash company is the same — some water, some soap, and bam! A clean car after a couple of minutes — but for the customer and the car wash owner, there are major differences of note between automatic car washes and those of the hand-washing variety. Sure, it includes the obvious stuff; when you take your car to a hand washing place, they’ll have employees clean and dry it down by hand. But beyond the obvious, there are some considerations to take into account as a business owner about what may be best for you — and what may work best for your customers.
Employee Cost & Human Resources
When you open a hand-washing storefront, immediately you’re on the hook to hire a set of employees to fulfil customer needs. With that hiring comes training (minimal for some, more for supervisors), insurance costs, employment and staffing paperwork, and then all the day-to-day management of personalities, work schedules, and employee needs that inevitably happens. Are you ready to take on a management role like that, or trust (and pay) somebody accordingly who will do so in your place?
Now, this doesn’t mean employing hand-washers is bad — far from it! Good employees are the lifeblood of the economy. We’re just aware that dealing with a full set of employee issues may not be a priority for those interested in something more turn-key and hands-off. Self-serve car wash establishments, like automatic car washes, require very, very low overhead and upkeep as far as employment goes. Customers pay and wash their car themselves, without need for significant employee oversight, and you collect per customer without having to worry about as much overhead going into full-time staff. It’s easier for everyone — especially you!
Customer Service & Support
With hand-washing, and the staff it requires, so comes a different level of customer support beyond what a car wash contractor may want to provide. Allowing customers to pay as they go with an automatic, self-serve car wash gives you as a business owner the opportunity to sit back and collect from a relatively simple turn-key operation. Sure, there will always be some level of managed support to ensure your paying customers are happy and satisfied, but by creating a hands-free, do-it-yourself option using touchless car wash equipment, you’ve completely simplified the entire process and decreased the number of contact points at which all-hands-on-deck support becomes necessary. Efficient and easy makes for a successful, repeatable business!
Liability & Other Issues
Every time an employee of a hand-washing company touches a customer’s car, there’s a level of liability there about which a business owner must be concerned. And while the vast majority of employee encounters with customer cars happen without incident, even a few innocent dings and problems here and there can really set you back. Why risk it with a hands-on approach, then, when car wash equipment comes touchless and automatic? Eliminate a significant portion of the risk involved in handwashing and watch your business sail to the next level.
As a leading car wash company in Canada, we’re proud to broadcast the benefits and ease of automatic car washes. But ultimately, whether you choose a hand-washing establishment, or an automatic car wash depends on your own preferences, needs, and desires. There are advantages to each one, of course, and different owners and operators will have different needs and should adjust accordingly.
