THE LURE OF VACUUMS
Vacuum
systems are in residence at virtually every carwash across America.
They are lined up like robots ready to do your customers’ bidding in
their attempt to give the interiors of their vehicles a fighting chance
against dirt and grime. While consumers primarily use your carwash to
keep the exteriors clean and shiny, they quickly take advantage of
available tools, such as your vacuum system, to clean up the interior as
well.
In fact, if a consumer pulls into a carwash and doesn’t spot those
mighty sentinels ready to do their bidding, they may pull back into the
street and continue their hunt for a carwash that has a convenient
vacuum system. After all, they could vacuum their cars at home, but they
don’t want to.
This makes installing reliable vacuums at your carwash a smart
business practice. Although your customers may not use them each time
they visit, the option keeps them coming back — as long as the actual
carwash is performing as expected.
Challenges
Stuart Levy is the president of Auto Glanz Solutions and owner of Clean Car Consulting. He works closely with the
express carwash segment of the industry.
When choosing the vacuum system for a carwash, Levy advises clients
to look at the projected volume of the wash, as the site must have
enough vacuums to handle overall usage. Nothing can chase a customer
away faster than being frustrated at a long line of vehicles waiting
impatiently to use a vacuum.
To do this, according to D. Scott McConnell, the national accounts
manager with Eurovac, look at the number of car bays and figure two
hoses per bay. “And design the vacuum size to handle 75 percent in use
at one time,” he adds. “No one wants poor suction — pay for the power
upfront.”
Wes Taggart, a partner and CEO of Auto Vac, says it is important to
carefully choose your vacuum producer when implementing a central
vacuum system. “It is the heart of the central cleaning system. It must
be strong, durable and dependable,” he advises. “Are there any special
circumstances at the site location such as high altitude or
out-of-the-ordinary debris being vacuumed?” he asks. If so, be sure to
consider that information when outfitting a new carwash or refurbishing
an existing carwash.
While the carwash industry is experiencing rapid growth, according
to McConnell, and consumers are keeping carwashes busy, you have to
build your carwash business based on a long-term outlook. “It is the
physical building and outer appearance of the carwash that presents the
sizzle to get customers in, but once the customer enters, it is the
quality of the experience that keeps them coming back.” A modern vacuum
system will give these customers reasons to return.
But, what about costs? When investigating vacuum systems, it would
be smart to look at the cost of running the system in addition to
initially outfitting or refurbishing the carwash.
Energy
consumption is an obvious expense and concern for most carwash
operators. “Many vacuum systems require high energy use,” Levy says,
“and vacuum motors can range from 25 horsepower and more. These vacuums
are generally left on all day regardless of usage. Stand-alone vacuum
systems can be turned on and off by the user, thus reducing overall
power consumption.”
Concerns
Vacuum systems are mechanical and have moving parts, and that means they need proper, scheduled
maintenance. And, yes, they will break down from time to time.
“The customer will suck up anything,” states McConnell. “If it
clogs the main line, the whole system could be down.” Sooner or later,
McConnell adds, there is going to be a clog, and now is the time to plan
for how you will resolve it.
Taggart suggests the need to separate dirt and debris from the
airflow before it returns to the vacuum producer. “In standard central
systems, this is accomplished with a filter separator immediately before
the air enters your turbine. In each separator, waste is deposited into
convenient dirt containers for easy disposal,” he notes.
Another concern, according to Levy, is with pathogens. “Dirt
containers that are not self-contained may have pathogens that can
become airborne in the form of dust when emptied by an employee,” he
explains. These pathogens can carry some form of disease that can be
absorbed by an open orifice or wound, Levy warns. “A dust bin that is
self-contained dramatically reduces this possibility.”
McConnell also shares that customers aren’t always observant of
what’s going on around them. “Without a planned hose delivery, customers
will drive over hoses, increasing clogs and reducing hose life.”
Imagine the frustrated customer visiting your carwash for the first
time, enjoying the experience until they try out your vacuum that has a
hole in the hose.
Charging
It’s an important question and your decision will impact the
profitability of your carwash: should I charge for the use of my vacuums
at my carwash?
Some carwash owners offer do-it-yourself vacuum services for free,
but usually they are tied to the purchase of a carwash, such as
receiving a coin or code to be used after the exterior of the vehicle is
clean.
Others feel the vacuum option should be paid for, and have even
raised their prices in recent years to reflect this belief. They have
adjusted with the times by adding credit card payment options in
addition to the traditional coin-fed systems.
“I’m in favor of not charging for vacuum services,” Levy says. “In
the express carwash model, the whole concept is to bring the consumer
either onto the property or to provide a valued service that will keep
them coming back.”
Levy adds the free vacuum model helps to accomplish these goals and
create a loyal customer base that, over the long term, will motivate
customers to return to wash their cars on a more frequent basis.
“With a free vacuum, the experience is more inviting,” according to McConnell. “You make it an inviting place to visit.”
Collecting money for the use of the vacuum system, should an
operator decide to charge for this self-service option, requires coin or
token operations and that adds to “what can go wrong,” McConnell continues.
Taggart offers an interesting twist to the challenge of free
carwashes. “It is possible to generate money with your free vac. Not
simply by counting on the increase in wash sales, but by charging for
your free vac. Sounds silly, but it really isn’t,” he states.
The idea, Taggart believes, goes like this. When the customer comes
into the wash, offer them either a token or code in order to
participate in the free vacuums offered at your site. This token or code
allows the customer to vacuum for a predetermined amount of time, such
as five minutes. If the customer then is not finished within the
allotted time to vacuum the vehicle, they can then purchase a token for
the additional time needed to complete their vehicle.
“This way, the operator is not concerned with how long they are
vacuuming so long as they are now offsetting the cost,” Taggart
explains, “and it stops the ‘freebie’ from coming in without having to
first pay for a vacuum token.”
If that doesn’t help the situation, Taggart offers other advice.
“You can monitor the time in the vacuum stall, install polite signage, a
countdown timer, a ‘red’ light announcement for time up, an installed
timer that stops the vacuum at that spot and directional information
that first takes the customer through the wash and then into the vacuum
area.”
No matter which decision you make — free or not free — having a
reliable, powerful vacuum system in place is vital for the growth of
your carwash. And don’t think that reliability and power are the only
considerations you should have. Keeping them clean and shiny with smelly
odors at bay is just as important. No consumer is going to enjoy using a
sticky vacuum hose or a vacuum that discharges foul odors.
So take a moment to inspect and even use your own vacuum system.
Your consumers want the best and you want to give it to them so they
keep coming back again and again and again.
