Day 3 at my new carwash location...

[dnkies]

Hey Guys,

I landed a full service car wash location last week. It is a good location with approximately 100-200 cars that are serviced on a daily basis. The facility has an express $5 lane that is where the cars just drive through and it has 3 lanes of full service car wash. I have foud that the full service style wash is much easier to approach the customer for obvious reasons...I have no idea how a person would go about approaching customers who are going through the express drive through wash....that would be a difficult sell for sure.

My agreement with the owner allows me to approach any car I want as long as I don't interfere with their operation. I pay the owner $5 for every repair I do.

I am finding it pretty difficult to make a sale. My approach is pretty low key...because that's the way I like to do business AND the owner requested I have a low key approach. He is familiar with the high pressure tactics used to pressure people into having their windshields repaired by some of the more notorious WSR companies and he said he did not want that type of operation at his wash.

My question to you all is this...

How can I capitalize on my location? It sounds like a dumb question, but I kept a log on Saturday and I contacted approximately 25 potential customers (cars with chips) and of those 25, only 4 agreed to have me do the chip repair. My price point is low right now ($39) and I have not been pushing the insurance jobs because of the extra time it takes for the phone call etc.

The wash is located on the busiest street in town so I really want to try and pull in those people who are driving by that actually want their windshield repaired but don't know where to take their car to have it done. Tonight, I put up a double sided banner 3' x 8' long that says NOW OFFERING WINDSHIELD CHIP REPAIR and my number. There are approximately 10-20k cars that drive by so I'm hoping to pull in a couple cars a day.

Is there anything more I can do? I feel like 6 to 10 repairs a day is what I should be doing...not the 3-4 I am doing. I really want to try to get the people who WANT their windshield repaired ....that way there's not as much "selling". Dont get me wrong, I know "selling" is part of WSR, but I sure do like it when I get a customer who says "Thank you so much for saving me time and money. I have been wanting to get that chip fixed forever."

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Dan

[ministry4u]

Imagine being able to offer it to your potential customers for free? I would get set up for the insurance. I'm lazy, I went through ACT, and they do keep a little bit of the profit, but they tell me right away if it's covered. While the customer talks on the phone with the operator and insurance agent, I'm already doing the repair. After the call has ended, it doesnt take too long to finish since I already started. I have the direct deposit set up and they pay twice a week. Good luck!

[thechipdoctor]

Hi Dan,

Just wondering if things have picked up for you one week on!

[monchichi]

Dan,
I've been running a very successful glass department for five full service car washes in SLC, UT. I have a list of things that have worked. Send me an email if you want me to send you some marketing samples that worked for me.

[dnkies]

Hi Chip Dr.,

Things have definitely gotten better. I am doing about 4-6 repairs a day and it seems like its getting better. The wash gets about 100-150 cars a day so I know I can do better....I just miss a lot of cars sometimes when I'm busy doing a repair. I might train someone to do the sales portion or the repair portion so we can divide and conquer...I am just scared to trust someone enough to do a quality job or give quality customer service because I have been getting excellent customer reviews and the owner is happy. But, I'd really like to see 10 to 12 repairs a day.

I will keep you posted. Thanks for asking.

[thechipdoctor]

I'm no expert but, you come across like you care very passionately about what you do, so if you can make a good enough living doing 4-6 repairs a day yourself I would carry on as you are, and give it a bit longer. It sounds like you are doing quite well!!!
Good work fella!!!

[ctmandu1]

Hi Chip Dr.,

Things have definitely gotten better. I am doing about 4-6 repairs a day and it seems like its getting better. The wash gets about 100-150 cars a day so I know I can do better....I just miss a lot of cars sometimes when I'm busy doing a repair. I might train someone to do the sales portion or the repair portion so we can divide and conquer...I am just scared to trust someone enough to do a quality job or give quality customer service because I have been getting excellent customer reviews and the owner is happy. But, I'd really like to see 10 to 12 repairs a day.

I will keep you posted. Thanks for asking.

Thats sounds good to me. I may have to give this a try when i get started... congrats on the location.

[candyman]

You seem to be doing ok> However, after a few months you will exhaust your market for that car wash. You need to have an alternate site as well to pick up the slack.
I've talked to others that had fixed locations and they also saw a decline after a short time. Dont forget about HLR as a backup . There should be plenty of vehiicles that need that service. You can set an appointment to do those at a later time. If you stick to just WSR, maybe have 2 -3 car wash locations and alternate days. That should keep you plenty busy and get your face out front and your businesss. People will remember you. Pass out chip savers to potiential customers with your Name & Number on them. They will remember you when they get a break and know how to contact you. You are off to a good start at 4-6 per day. Do you wear a uniform or a shirt with your business name on it? Thats a hugh plus to customers. It seperates you from the fly by night guys. Anything positive you do will come back to reward you in the future. Have a good week. ps I saw a friend yesterday and gained some information. He paid a local carwash $15 to wash & wax his car (drive thru) . His headlights were cloudy but not too bad he said. They charged him $20 to polish his HL's while they wiped the water off. They used a buffer and a wax compound. Afterward they sprayed it with a can of clearcoat. They never taped off the HL. I looked at his lights. They are ok, but its not clear like the results we get. He was satisfied, so I guess different people have different expectations.

[pitstop]

I've been doing sales for a while now, making the rounds, and I just have to ask: What was your technique to convincing car wash owners to allow you to provide this service to their customers?

I have a few owners interested, but I'm failing (so far) to get them "over the hump" so to speak.

Any suggestions?

[clamato]

Monchichi,

Hi im looking to get started in WSR and have a ton of questions. Since your running a few carwashes already would you be willing to help me get started?
Thanks