What I've Learned From the Car Wash

I was recently asked how I got into the car wash business. It’s actually a question that get’s brought up frequently. I’ve been in the business, now, for 12 years. I used to be a CPA (a very different life). And people want to know: how did I get from there to here. But as I gave my answer, I realized something: How I got to be a car washer is not nearly as interesting as the lessons I’ve learned since I began washing cars for a living. Maybe it’s this way with any business. But I can assure you, running a car wash could fill a book with Life’s Little Lessons.

So I thought I’d take the time to write down just a few of the things I’ve learned from the car wash. Here’s a very abridged list in no particular order:

Clean cars do make people happier, but most people don't wash their cars regularly.

Out of the 400 customers you see in a day, 398 are wonderful; but it’s the other two you'll talk about over dinner.

People carefully look their car over after a wash, not before; but you have the same chance of winning the lottery as you do of convincing a person a scratch might have already been there (even when we don't have anything that scratches paint and the gash looks curiously like the lingering story of an unhappy shopping cart incident).

Being generous to your employees will break your heart long before it breaks the bank.

Wearing a T-shirt and shorts to work is immeasurably better than wearing a white-collared shirt and a tie. Also related: leaving your job to gamble on starting your own business is one of the scariest, hardest, most draining things you can do; and for the most part, you'll love every minute of it.

It really does mean something to be locally owned and operated.

The better you get at what you do, the dirtier your competition becomes. And while I'm saying that, let me say this also: people, for the most part, are honest; but don't ever be surprised by how dishonorable your competitors can be.

The customer is not always right; but neither is the business.

Immediately taking responsibility for bad service or poor quality can provide you with an opportunity to find a life-long customer (and sometimes a friend).

Don't ever be so arrogant that you won't listen to a complaint or a suggestion; you can always make your business better.

Most of the cars on the road are dirty and most of those people have never heard of Metro Car Wash.

Whatever the temperature is, it's always a lot hotter when you're drying off cars.

Working at a car wash is not a job that gets the opposite sex excited; I'm glad I'm already married.

It rains more often directly over the top of a Metro Car Wash (than other spots in Tucson).

You should never be so busy that you can't take time to talk to your customers ... or your employees.

The boss’s mood, good or bad, is a fast-spreading virus; smiles and frowns are both contagious.

You always have to spend time working at the lowest position to really know what's going on in your business; step out of your office every day.

Compliments from customers never get old; complaints always hurt.

A really good start to building a successful business is getting up early … every day.

I could keep writing folks, but I’ve got to go. There are cars to wash (maybe yours). So until next time, stay clean my friends.

DJ DripDry