Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A 52 Week Plan


On September 1, we changed our Service Menu at Metro Car Wash.  

Don’t worry, that’s not what this blog is about; it’s not a promo.  I just want to begin by saying why we did it.  We did it because we realized the following: (1) our menu was based on the same “sales presentation” car washes have been using for thirty years and (2) that presentation is confusing for the customer and not user-friendly.

If you’re interested, you can see our new menu at the following link: Metro Car Wash Services.  

Our goal was to make things simple, simple, simple.  We listened to customer feedback, did a lot of research, and then made the change.  You might think that sounds easy (hey, you only changed a menu, man!), but like most things, it was harder than it looked.  We wanted to really streamline things, so in addition to the menu change, we also invested in a new, web-based Point of Sale system.  Like any software change, this came with it’s own set of headaches (and additional hours of work).  Not only this, but we also had to change all of our signage, update our website, modify our coupons and specials, and re-train an entire staff that was VERY used to doing things the OLD way.  

Suffice to say, what looks like a simple update to a service menu was in fact a very large project.  It took time, planning, burning the midnight oil, and more boring meetings than I care to recall.  Oh, and it was worth it.  After a few opening glitches, the employees and sales staff believe it’s helping them deliver better customer service.  Most importantly, our customers (you) seem to like it too.  I’d like to call this a success.  I’d like to say we improved ourselves considerably.  Which finally gets me to the point of this blog: self-improvement.  Ah-ha!  Bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you?

At some point during this project, my wife paid me a compliment.  Not a compliment on how buff I’m looking due to my recent efforts with P90x, nor how impressive my home maintenance skills have become of late (like you, that’s what I would have guessed too), but this was about the business.  

“You guys never stop trying to improve your car wash,” she said.  “Most businesses just sort of stay the same; you guys are always pushing to do something better.”

Nice to hear.  And it also got me thinking about some advice I took nine years ago when we got into this business.  I had a friend who had built a very successful car wash chain in California.  When he heard that I’d gotten into the business, he told me this:  

“Just make sure you improve one thing a week.  Just one.  It doesn’t have to be anything major – it can be as simple as re-organizing a filing cabinet – but improve something.  At the end of the year … at the end of five years … you’ll be amazed by what your business has become.”

It was probably some of the best advice I ever took (it ranks right up there with some of my favorites from Mom and Dad … don’t lick the monkey bars in winter, pee before the movie starts, never play pool with a guy whose first name is also the name of a city).  

And we did take this advice seriously.  For the first four years, I actually kept an “Improvement Journal” for the car wash.  There were 52 weeks, and we had to have something filled out for each of them.  Some of the projects were big (new equipment, new websites, a second car wash); others were small, but when taken as whole, just as effective.  Improvements don’t happen over night, they take time.  And I think maybe that’s what's best about this advice: rather than looking at an overwhelming project, simply start by eating the elephant one bite at a time.

Each week, we check something off.  It’s not overwhelming.  And there’s always something to improve.  Weeks turn into months, months into years, and then (just like my friend predicted): we’re amazed by what our business has become.

I’ll take one quick paragraph to hit some highlights:  We were the first in Tucson to add an express lane, the first (and only) full-service wash to offer free self-serve vacuums, the first to significantly use the internet for communication and marketing (email coupons, website, Facebook, Twitter, Secret Shopper), the only car wash to fund a local scholarship (the money for which was raised by turning our facility into a Zombie Car Wash), the first to drug test employees, the first to have a community Honor Roll, Annual Pass Sale, 2-for-Tuesday special, Community Partnership Program, this blog, and more.  And all of it was accomplished one week at a time.

In truth, if nine years ago I’d seen a snapshot of what we are today, I’d have had no idea how to get here.  I wouldn’t have believed it.  And I never would have guessed that 52 improvements a year could do so much.

For what it’s worth, I think this advice works in any business and in any home.  I’m passing it along in the hopes that it helps some of you too.  It’s pretty simple.  Keep a list.  Improve something every week.  

It could be reorganizing your garage, holding a weekly customer service meeting, creating a new (realistic) budget, cutting out dessert, taking a walk two nights a week, spending an hour playing video games with your kids … it doesn’t really matter what it is, there are just two rules: (1) you’ve got to make the improvement stick and (2) you’ve got to come up with a new one next week.

Don’t be overwhelmed by it; it’s easier than you think.  This is coming from experience.  

So long, folks.  I’m off to come up with this week’s improvement for Metro.  Keep your eyes open.  You might see it the next time you stop by.

Until then, stay clean my friends …

DJ DripDry

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