Car Wash Inspiration Tour gives participants new ideas
Car Wash Show Central Europe kicked off Tuesday, Oct. 1, with a Car Wash Inspiration Tour. That took suppliers and entrepreneurs to a local car wash in Krakow, where owner Piotr Kmiecik told them about the possibilities of the car wash tunnel.
Poland may become a booming market for carwashes, but for now it is mainly self-service carwashes. Chain conveyor car washes are even more of a rarity: there are 32 in the entire Central European country. So one of them is in Krakow, next to the Makro on III Obwodnica.
Owner Piotr Kmiecik of Autoclean Car Wash welcomed a packed SHINE bus for a tour of his facility, and explained how he started at this location in 2017 with an investment of 300,000 euros. “I bought a Hanna brand machine in the United States, and I am very satisfied with it,” he interrupted.
Drying by hand on customer demand
For pre-washing, two to three men stand in, soaping the car thoroughly. When a customer arrives during the tour, we immediately get a demonstration. Then the wagon drives onto the chain conveyor. And it is short, says Kmiecik. “She is very compact at 25 meters, but we couldn’t go any wider. It ensures that the capacity of the track is limited to 30 wagons per hour. Especially in the busy season, we run into our maximum then.” In addition to the car wash, the location has four self-service wash bays and a place to vacuum.
When the car comes off the belt, it is further dried by hand. “That’s something we have to offer, that’s what the customer insists on,” he says. Kmiecik further praises his tunnel’s easy-to-maintain stainless steel frames – “you don’t have to paint them, just clean them” – and explains how the rollers only need to be replaced every four years. “The brushes last two to three years. So the service costs are very low for this wash tunnel.”
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No subscriptions yet
When the tunnel is free, many SHINE guests take the opportunity to inspect the facility up close. Water recycling doesn’t do it yet, Kmiecik says. “For subscription formulas, the Polish market is not yet ripe,” the owner explains when asked by an American entrepreneur. “He does advertise a bit on Google and Facebook, to attract new customers. However, most of his customers are satisfied returners.”
A lively conversation about the advantage of subscription packages in carwash country unfolds, and no doubt continues as the participants re-board the bus. The Car Wash Inspiration Tour provided just that: inspiration.
Also read:
The power of a logo | CarwashPro
“A good customer experience is worth money” | CarwashPro
