I know what you’re thinking: I’m stating the obvious.
Sure DJ DripDry has the same swagger as Mick Jagger. Sure, his business partner OG Celentano (prior to the success of the Patch) burned just as many cigarettes as Keith Richards. And yes, yes, yes: the screaming fans and all that. But the similarities run a bit deeper than most people realize.
For starters, it took the Rolling Stones a little over eight years to become the biggest band in the world. Likewise, it took Metro Car Wash about eight years to become Tucson’s favorite car wash. It takes time to grow a fan base, no matter who you are. Word-of-mouth advertising is great; you just have to be patient. The Rolling Stones started in 1962 and by 1970 (when they were recording “Sticky Fingers”) everyone recognized them as a band at the top of their game. Metro Car Wash started in 2002, and as of 2010, with the release of Metro 2.0, we feel like we’re on our game too. We’re far from perfect, but we’re working harder than ever to be the best service business in Tucson (not just the best car wash).
It’s also interesting to note that, just like the Rolling Stones who started off with Brian Jones as a key member of the band (he was actually the founding member) and then fired him in the middle of their success, Metro Car Wash started off with three partners, but had to make the tough decision early on to lose one also. It’s never easy to make these calls. But sometimes, the most difficult decisions are the best ones. Personnel (that fits) and teamwork are vital to a band’s success (and a business’s).
Here’s another similarity: In 1971, when The Rolling Stones were recognized as the biggest rock band in the world, they were also essentially broke. They’d gotten into tax trouble and contract trouble, and had to flee to France to record “Exile on Main St.”, the album that has just been re-released. Now, rest assured, the guys at Metro aren’t broke (knock on wood), but it is interesting that customers always think things are rosier than they seem. They see the lines of cars and the crowded lobbies, and they assume car washes are money machines. They aren’t. Unless you’re inside an industry, you can never really know how expensive it is to keep things going, especially if you want to maintain high standards. At Metro, we’ve been plowing every spare dime back into the business. We have a long-term outlook on financial growth. And like The Rolling Stones, we don’t anticipate hitting Easy Street until we’re a little older.
Which brings me to my last point: we plan on being around as long as Mick and Keith too.
One of my favorite things about The Stones is that they seem to never to get tired of what they do. They always do a great job, and when things get boring, they re-invent themselves. At Metro, we’d like to think we’re no different. We’ve made a lot of changes over the years. And we’ve re-invented ourselves too. Our customers seem to like the changes, but were not done yet. We’ve got some big things planned for this year—not necessarily a world tour—but we think you’re going to like them.
Stay tuned. And as always, stay clean my friends.
DJ DripDry
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