Micah Smith on the left, Edwin Grabowski on the right, Roland Wunder on the the bottom center.
Our senior engineer Micah Smith had an interesting and international conversation hosted by Car Wash Info Magazine, a trade magazine for car care published in Germany. The hosts are Edwin Grabowski and Roland Wunder. This is the 12th segment of this series produced by Car Wash Info Magazine. Watch the interview here. Below is a transcript in English of Micah’s interview.
As you may already be aware, Washlink Systems is an international company with car wash systems, distributors and clients on almost every continent on the globe. If at anytime you have the need for automation anywhere in the world please contact us.
Transcript German to English
Car Wash Info-The goal of every car wash is to have their Customers become Fans of their location. Can Unlimited Plans make this happen? Can German car washes follow the example of the America market?
Car Wash Info-Our guest today is Micah Smith with Washlink Systems joining us with a 9-hour time difference in California. Washlink Systems calls themselves “the Control Freaks”?
Car Wash Info-What does Washlink Systems do in the industry?
Micah-POS Systems, Pay Stations, Tunnel Controls, Self Serve Controls, Vacuum Controls, Motor Controls, Anything and everything needed to run a Car Wash.
Car Wash Info-Where does Washlink Systems sell their Systems?
Micah-Literally everywhere in the world, including Germany and the rest of Europe.
Car Wash Info-What percentage of Customers use Cash in the US?
Micah-A very small percentage, most use their Bank or Credit Cards.
Car Wash Info-What about other Countries where you sell your Systems, for example Asia or Australia or New Zealand?
Micah-In Asia, especially China they use virtually no Cash whatsoever. In Australia it is still around 20% would be my guess.And Germany, as you know Cash is King. It is still used predominantly over Bank or Credit Cards.
Car Wash Info-When you install a new System at a new location, do they always add the Unlimited Program?
Micah-It depends, in the US we have two basic types of Car Wash locations: Express and Full Service. Almost all Express locations will use the Unlimited Program, The Full Service locations will generally create a special lane for their Unlimited customers and treat them as Express.
Car Wash Info-Does anyone build a new Location without Unlimited Program?
Micah-It does happen, but it is very rarely.
Car Wash Info-What percentage of a Car Wash locations Customers use Unlimited Programs?
Micah-At a location that has marketed it correctly it could be up 40% or more.
Car Wash Info-Are there other Styles of Loyalty Programs?
Micah-Yes, many locations offer a Buy 10 get 1 Free, or a Punch Card where the 10th wash is free.
Car Wash Info-How many Unlimited Passes does a Location typically sell in a month if they are doing well at it?
Micah-200 is an easily reachable number.
Micah-Then there is a bit of a conversation about how Pay Stations and Gates and “Fast Pass” lanes all work together.
Micah explains about a picture of Mattias Pretz with GPS Service and myself at the ICA Europe Show in Amsterdam, NL. Followed a picture of Nobert (far right) and Tobias Grap (far left) both with GPS at the Tankstelle und Mittelstand Show in Münster, DE. GPS Service is our distributor in Europe. They also are the Hanna Distributor in Germany.
Micah-Then more discussion about how most efficiently use a “Fast Pass” lane.
Car Wash Info-How does a Car Wash Location typically price their Unlimited Program?
Micah-Typically, the cheapest wash is 3x the single wash price, middle wash is 2.5x, and the most expensive is 2x the single wash price.Then there are several pictures of different Locations pricing menu for single and Unlimited plans.
Car Wash Info-Can you show as an example of the RFID sticker?
Micah-As you can see the sticker would be placed in the windshield with the Barcode facing out.
Car Wash Info-If there are multiple Tags being read simultaneously, how do you know which wash they are supposed to get?
Micah-The Gate system controls the Queuing of the vehicles. That way once they get to the Tunnel, we know which wash they should be receiving.
Car Wash Info-How much of the Usage can you control or restrict when a Customer abuses the Unlimited Program?
Micah-We can show you in one of our reports that these certain Tags are being used more than what the Operator wants them to be used. We also have the ability to restrict usage in several ways. We can restrict to a maximum number per day, per month, per year or any combination of those. We can also restrict it to a Time of day. In other words, you could restrict it to only between 14:00 – 14:50 on Tuesday.
Car Wash Info-Is there any data on how often the Customer really ends up using the Program in a month?
Micah-Yes, as an average and when they are new Customer, they will generally want to us it 3-4 times a month. But as time passes, they typically begin to use it much less than that. But think of it this way, even if they do use it 3 times a month, you probably priced the Program in a way that you are still making money.
Car Wash Info-So, for the Operator the benefit is that he is collecting money at the beginning of the month?
Micah-Yes, exactly. Imagine having money deposited in your Bank Account each month without having washed a single car!
Car Wash Info-What about the Customer, how do they benefit?
Micah-They have ease of mind that they can go wash their car and not have to pay for it. They also feel they are getting the washes prepaid at a better price than paying for single washes on each visit.
Car Wash Info-In Germany, many Operators tried selling Yearly Passes at almost 1000 Euro, but not many people are willing to pay that so those Passes have basically fallen by the wayside. But with an Unlimited Pass, I assume the Customer gives his Credit Card and then is billed automatically each month …
Micah-Yes, that is correct. The Unlimited Pass is payed for with a Bank or Credit Card and then we save an encrypted code to use for automatic billing each month. Our System never sees any of the Card data and therefore never saves it in our database. Only the encrypted code is used to prompt the Bank to charge the recurring amount. We also have a feature in our System that allows the Operator to pause the automatic billing. This feature works well in Locations where the Customer may only live part of the year. So when they are not there they can pause the billing and restart it when they return. That way the Operator doesn’t loose that Customer, instead he is simply on short pause.
Car Wash Info-Do you think this Unlimited Pass will catch on in Europe?
Micah-Yes, yes I do. In fact, I do not understand why people are so hesitant to this Program. As we have said, you begin each month with money in your Bank Account without have washed a single car. Why would you not do something like this …?
Car Wash Info-Thank you for your time, we enjoyed talking with you! Hopefully when this Corona Pandemic clears, we will be able to each other in Germany.
Micah-Maybe we can have a bier together at Oktoberfest!