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Posted on: February 1st, 2017

Unintended Consequences

If you’ve been in the business for five years or longer, you’ve seen the future!  And with the future came some unintended consequences for our industry.  Automotive innovations like automatic wipers and electronic transmissions have affected our ability to produce.  A simple thing like automatic wipers when the sensor on the windshield gets wet has…

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Posted on: June 18th, 2014

Why do you do what you do?

In recent conversations with both future and current operators, familiar topics always come up: Free vacs or not $3 car wash or not Prepping or not Auto cashiers or attendant You get the idea; there are more but this gets you thinking in the right direction. While I certainly have an opinion on most of…

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Posted on: May 16th, 2014

Do you really care and, if so, what do you care about?

I’ve seen operators fixated on cost per car for chemical and it makes me wonder, should we care? The answer is, yes, you have to care, but let’s focus on what’s important. Consistency Be consistent! Make it the same application every time, the same chemical usage every time, and clean the same spots every time.…

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Posted on: February 4th, 2014

Simplicity

A wave has been crossing the country for the last couple of years; maybe you have caught this wave and taken the ride, or maybe you are still trying to understand how it actually works. What is this wave you ask?  Unlimited Wash Clubs! DRB Systems recently held a seminar in Scottsdale, AZ entitled ‘Simplicity…

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Posted on: January 16th, 2014

2014 Resolutions!

A new year is upon us, which means it’s time for the long-standing tradition of setting goals and resolving to better, both personally and professionally, in 2014. For those of us with businesses, it is a time to reflect on the previous year and set new goals for the upcoming year. As we look into…

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Posted on: October 24th, 2013

Focus on the 100%

Far too many times I hear operators talk about adding something to the higher package to try and move customers up; or, when a new store is about to open, they start at the top package (which obviously includes everything they just purchased as wash components) and then start taking away equipment until they get…

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Posted on: July 18th, 2013

Congestion

In the book The Simple Life by Thom S & Art Rainer, the authors talk about removing congestion from your life. Some synonyms of ‘congestion’ are to block, choke, clog, jam or obstruct; pretty heavy stuff, not only for your life but also for your business. In Jason Fried and David Hannson’s book Rework, they…

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Posted on: April 12th, 2013

We Are All Getting Older and Damage Comes Easier!

Time marches on…nothing could be truer.  Despite all the breakthroughs in medical technology and age defying creams, we all get older.  That goes for the cars we drive also.  Cars today look better, have more features, get better gas mileage and, overall, are built better. That means they are on the road longer and are…

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Posted on: January 30th, 2013

There are Only 2 Business Models (Part 2 of 2)

In part one of this series, we looked at the pros and cons of the “High-Volume, Low-Margin” business model. I also made the statement that there are only two models and that standing in the middle of the road long enough will get you run over.  That would be a third model and we will…

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Posted on: January 30th, 2013

Managing Emotions (Part 2 of 3): Customer Service

Customer Service: Eliminating the Negative Emotions & Evoking the Positive It has been widely assumed that the service provider is solely responsible for managing emotions in an exchange.  For instance, a flight attendant should smile, a bill collector should sound intimidating, and a massage therapist should talk in a soft, relaxing tone. All of these…

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