How Google Changed Our Car Wash

This week’s blog is a shout-out to Google.

Understandably, Google doesn’t need any help from Metro Car Wash (they seem to be doing just fine on their own), but I thought that by mentioning some of the ways in which Google has helped our organization, it might also provide some good information for other local Tucson small businesses.

First of all, let me say that Google has done much more for our car wash than just guiding new customers to our door (though they’ve done a great job with that too). Here’s a quick list of just a few of the things we do with Google products and how they’ve benefited us:

(1) We use their FREE office suite (word processing, spreadsheets, powerpoint) and don’t plan on spending money on software upgrades anytime soon. In this economy, the ability to provide all of our employees with this type of software (that used to cost us lots of money) is a significant savings. They made it easy to switch, too, as you can convert any Microsoft document to a Google document with the click of a button.

(2) We use their FREE Google Sites product to host an internal website for our management team. The simple task of creating this site (I am NO software guru and I created it in an afternoon) changed our business more than we ever imagined. Now all of our policies & procedures, financials, HR documents, compliance documents, checklists, and to-do lists are consolidated and accessible simultaneously, by any authorized employee, from any place there is Internet access. Information is shared between locations and in real-time. Managers stay in touch with their stores even from home (and yes, it’s so fun to play with, they do it on their days off).

(3) We use their FREE Blogger product to host this blog you are reading now, allowing us another way to communicate with our Tucson customer base. (4) We use their FREE Google Analytics product to track how many people visit our website and this blog (a lot more than we thought, btw), as well as what key words were used in their search to find the same (allowing us to refine our marketing efforts).

(5) We use their FREE Gmail product (email and calendar), so that all of our employees can stay in touch with management, schedules, and announcements better.

(6) We use their FREE Google Places product to enhance our Company Listing when people find us in their Google search. We offer coupons, list hours of operation, mention specials, and respond to Customer Reviews (We’ve also petitioned our loyal customers to leave reviews about us on Google, which they have, which has significantly improved our visibility on the web).

(7) We use their Google Checkout product to now sell gift cards on-line (i.e. through Google you can set up e-commerce on your website without breaking sweat).

(8) Finally, we’ve transitioned all of our managers to Android phones so that all of what I’ve just mentioned above is also available on mobile devices.

That’s a fairly impressive list, especially since the word FREE was used in just about every other sentence. Sometimes, its a wonder Google actually makes money at all (don’t worry, their earnings are staggeringly healthy).

But along those lines, there’s one more thing Google helped us with: inspiration.

The more we used free Google products and the more we sang their praises (I’m giving them some pretty good word-of-mouth advertising right now), the more we wanted to model our car wash business after them. Silly, I know, since car washing and the search engine business are a little more than miles apart. But true just the same.

We took our inspiration in three areas: their innovation, the simplicity of their products, and most of all the VALUE in what they were delivering to the consumer. In today’s economy, where everyone wants you to spend more, while delivering less, Google is the freshest of breezes.

And so in 2010, we launched Metro 2.0. It was our effort at improving our business and offering a new version of our services to Tucson. We simplified our menus, cut prices to true value levels, created simple services that customers really wanted, and assured that all could be delivered in the same timely manner. Our motto became “Simple. Fast. Value.” And the truth is, it really worked. Business is up. Customers are happier. And our managers and employees are having more fun washing cars. It may not be a high-tech campus with soaring stock options, but I think you get the point.

So … “Thank You” Google. Thanks for truly being there for small businesses, as well as the big guys. And thanks for being such a great example to this little car wash company. Much appreciated.

As for you readers, if you haven’t checked out Google as a low cost option for your business, you may want to take a look (everything is accessible to you once you sign up for a Free Gmail account at www.google.com). And if you have questions, feel free to ask me. Stop by, get a wash, and I’ll be glad to show you first-hand how we’re utilizing all of these tools.

Until next time, stay clean my friends!

--Dj DripDry

Zombie Car Wash 2010

Let me start by telling you how it ended:

Metro’s Zombie Walk 2010 ended on Saturday night at 10:00 PM with about 30 volunteers dancing the Cupid (Cuban) Shuffle on the front drive of the Speedway Car Wash. It was a great (and appropriate) way to close out 5 days of an Event that seemed to have surpassed everyone’s expectations.

If you didn’t get a chance to stop by, let me say that the reviews we received were exceptional. I don’t think anyone anticipated the effort we put in, turning our car wash into a haunted-house-zombie-themed-ride. Those that did come said things like: “really amazing,” “so much more than I expected,” “too cool,” and “better than other haunted houses in town.” I’m not bragging here. I just want everyone to know that they missed out on something fun and entertaining so that they’ll be sure to come next year. After all, it’s not everyday that you get to combine the classic past-time of washing your car with a classic horror movie like George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (it was playing on the side of the building like a drive-in theatre, incidentally).

But the customers weren’t the only ones who had their expectations exceeded; yours truly did as well. And more than this, I can honestly say that I’m speechless with gratitude and pride at the Metro Car Wash Employees, Sahuaro High School Students, and participating businesses who sacrificed their time and services to make this Event a success.

Like any new project, we really didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into. We have a scholarship; we needed to raise money for it; and a Zombie Car Wash for Halloween seemed like a good idea. But once we began planning and designing and constructing, it became apparent just how large of a task we were faced with. We needed 40 volunteers per night for 5 nights; we needed help in getting the word out about the Event; and we needed supplies and props for the sets. And wherever there was a need, people came through in a big way.

So this week’s blog is more or less a Thank You. It’s a Thank You to all of the Students at Sahauro High School who listened to their teacher, Mr. Harkin, and gave up their plans night upon night to dress up like zombie’s and scare Tucson. It’s a thanks to my employees like Adam Villalobos, Juan Arellano, Melanie Romero, Gwen Valenzuela, Chris Hopper, Steven Hopper, Jacob Bacinski, Gabbi DeJesus, Izzy Lopez, Lorenzo Tambriz, Alex Ortiz-Uribe, and many more who not only worked all day at the car wash, but stayed on into the night to deliver a great show, help clean up, get no sleep, and go back at it again the next day. It’s also a Thanks to the volunteers like Ivan Nieto, Amanda Anyaeji, Josie at the Job Corps, and Les and Sarah Henson who aren’t employees or high school students, but felt that raising money to put a deserving kid through a year of college was a worthy enough cause to give up their personal nights and dress like road kill.

It’s also a big thanks to the businesses that helped us out.

Thanks to Heat Wave Productions and Joey Velasquez for DJ-ing nightly. You kept the party going, spirits high, and got zombies to dance … not an easy task (Metro Car Wash highly recommends Heat Wave’s services for any occasion, btw; you can contact them directly at 520-519-9379).

Thanks to Gary and Judy Tenen at Alphagraphics CPS for donating the 4,000 flyers that were dropped all over Tucson. Thanks to Sue Callahan at SignAge for donating the posters. And thanks to Julie Rustad at 24-7 Creative Solutions for designing such a great marketing piece to begin with.

Thanks to Tucson Weekly, the Arizona Daily Star, and Tucson Night Out for getting the Event coverage and helping to bring in more customers. And thanks to Jo Ann Mesa for volunteering to help contacting the same (your efforts were much appreciated).

I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of people deserving of thanks. I apologize in advance.

Like anything that takes a lot of effort, this was exhausting and I’m glad to say it’s over. But more importantly, I’m glad to know we raised enough money to put our first student through a year at Pima Community College next year. And more than this, I’m glad to know there are so many people in Tucson generous enough with their time and money to make something like this a reality.

I’m all zombied out folks, so until next time … stay clean my friends.

--DJ DripDry