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

Where Are All the Employees?

My wife and I sat down in the bar of a local restaurant the other day. It was mid-afternoon—not a typically busy time—but we seemed to have arrived during a little bit of a rush. It took longer than normal for the bartender to get to us and when he did, he looked a little flustered. He grabbed our order in a hurry and there wasn’t much in the way of friendly customer service (certainly not the normal bartender banter). Then it took too long for our drinks to actually arrive. I leaned over to my wife and made the comment: “This place is really under-staffed.” I spoke with the critical, knowing-edge of a sharp-minded business person. “They need to get their act together,” I added firmly.

The next day, as I walked down the hallway of Metro Car Wash, I overheard one of my customers talking to our cashier. The customer said: “Wow, you don’t seem to have many employees today. Is this going to take a long time?”

I quickly hijacked the conversation. I swooped in and assured the customer that her wait time would be around 15 to 20 minutes and that there wouldn’t be any problem in quickly getting her on her way. I smiled confidently, letting her know she could trust me.

“But where are all your employees?” she persisted.

Together we looked around. It did seem quiet. It reminded me of how much had changed in the last few years—how many more employees we used to have—and then it sheepishly reminded me of my comment about the restaurant needing to get their act together the day before.

The truth is, most business have fewer employees these days. And no one should be surprised by this. It doesn’t matter what your politics are, it’s about economics.

First, we’re still seeing the effects of the increases in Minimum Wage. Minimum Wage increases may be good in the long run, but in the short term, businesses have to figure out how to deal with this increased cost. They have two choices. They can either (a) raise prices or (b) cut jobs. And let’s face it, in this economy, raising prices doesn’t sound like a great idea.

At the car wash, we had to completely re-engineer our Operations Model to be able to provide the same quality, in the same time, at the same price, with fewer people. It wasn’t an easy task. But it had to be done. And the hard work paid off. We’re a better Company for it. We’re more efficient and we’ve kept our prices low. The only problem: it doesn’t change the fact that we’re employing far fewer hard-working Americans.

It got me thinking about the bartender and the restaurant. This establishment was fighting against the same economic forces as any business: a sputtering economy, fewer dollars being spent, and rising costs. They needed to survive, and they were working hard to do so. But one of the things they hadn’t done? They hadn’t raised their prices. The cost of our drinks (and subsequent meals) were about the same as they were a few years ago. As a matter of fact, there were a few specials that might have made things even cheaper.

I had complained about the lack of service. But the truth was, we had just dropped in during an unplanned rush. They couldn’t have known they would be busy then. And they shouldn’t have staffed more employees just for us. Staffing extra bodies to handle a potential rush in a bad economy isn’t a good business decision … at least not if you want to keep prices low for your customers. It was me that had been wrong, because I’d been impatient.

Look, I’m not saying you should ever have to be satisfied with poor customer service. You shouldn’t. But what I am saying is this: Maybe, just maybe, we can all learn to be a little more patient in this rough economic time. If things take just a little longer, because a struggling business is trying to watch their expenses, it might be good to remember that they’re saving you a little money too.

The other thing I’m saying: If we all work together, we just might get through this mess.

And of course, stay clean my friends.

-DJ DripDry

Happiness is a Clean Car

Here’s a quote I bet you haven’t read before. It’s from Sri Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian Spiritual leader born in 1926.

“You cannot be fresh and feeling fine, wearing a washed vest under an unwashed shirt; or, an unwashed vest over a washed shirt. Both have to be clean to provide a sense of tingling joy.”

The tingling joy part aside, it reminds me of something my uncle said to me the other day:

“Clean cars. Clean underwear. They both make you feel a whole lot better.”

And they do!

There are a lot of reasons you should wash your car (preferably at Metro Car Wash) including the maintenance of your paint and vinyl, keeping up the saleable value, and not looking like a slob to your boss in your company parking lot. But all that being said, one of the best reasons to get your car cleaned is simply to make you feel better.

A lot has been written lately about removing stress from your life by getting more organized, cleaning your house, or giving your office filing system a makeover. I think keeping a clean car does the same thing, on several levels.

First, it does feel better to walk out to a shiny car in the parking lot. You may not acquire the same confidence you would if you were walking out to a new Porsche, but it will let you hold your head up just a little bit higher. Let’s face it: it says something about you. It says you care and that you’re responsible. In an unassuming manner, it’s sort of stating that you’re cool. And feeling even a hint of cool will almost always get you feeling better.

Next, there’s that great feeling of sliding into an uncluttered surrounding. When there aren’t balled up bank receipts and tissues on the floor, when the console isn’t sticky with latte spills, when the dash isn’t sneeze-ably thick with dust, when there aren’t cracker crumbs and broken toys in the child seat … well, there’s peace. It may not remove all of your stress, or solve the mess you might have gotten yourself into last night, but it certainly can be calming—a little, sealed space in this world where things are clean and neat and you can listen to the music of your choice. Even if it’s only for a little while.

I often like to tell my employees that we are in the business of making people feel better, we just happen to do it by cleaning your car. And there is truth in this. You can see it in our customer’s faces when they drive away—they’re happier. I just wish more people knew this trick.

So the next time you’re feeling a little down, don’t go blow your diet on an ice cream sundae (which you’ll regret just a few minutes afterwards, and the mess of which will probably end up cluttering your car even more). Instead, try a car wash (again, preferably from Metro). And find out why I always say:

Stay clean my friends!

DJ DripDry

Why Metro Car Wash is a Lot Like the Rolling Stones

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

The Customer Isn't Always Right (But You Can Feel Sorry for Them)

One of my least favorite sayings (ever since becoming a business owner) is: “The customer is always right.”

No offence to H. Gordon Selfridge who supposedly coined the phrase, but it really is nonsense. No one is always right. And more importantly, there are actually some very bad customers out there—customers that aren’t only wrong, but whom you really don’t want as your customer at all.

There is a lot that has been written about businesses “firing” their bad customers, of course. And that discussion is nothing new. But in today’s economy, when you’re doing everything possible to bring a customer through the door, it’s a lot harder not to stand there and take it … to actually let the customer always be right. And unfortunately, it feels like there are more and more bad customers every day.

Now I want to be clear: if you are a business delivering poor customer service, or poor quality, you get what you deserve. The consumer market is obviously the very best assessment of your value and you need to always measure this (at Metro we utilize a Secret Shopper Program). If you’re getting consistent complaints about your business, you need to listen to your customers and fix something. This is not what this blog is about. No, what I’m talking about here are the just plain mean, nasty, greedy, ungrateful, rude customers. The ones with a scowl on their face before ever entering your door; the ones a magic genie couldn’t make happy. And let’s face it: they’re a beast of a different color altogether.

The good news, of course, is that these customers are actually few and far between. At Metro, we wash about 800 cars a day—that’s a lot of people’s lives we touch, if only for a few minutes—and almost every one of them is pleasant and appreciative of the service we provide. It’s just that the nasty ones (the ones that do or say things that leave your jaw hanging open in astonishment) are the ones you remember. They’re the ones you go home thinking about; the ones that get in your head and can wreck your day (and then perhaps have a negative impact on the good customers too). These individuals are few in number; they just make deep impressions.

I don’t know that there is a perfect way to handle them, btw. I just know that they will inevitably cross your path. And for what it’s worth, here’s what I do to keep myself sane:

First, I really do try to see the logic or the sense in what they’re saying. I listen to them intently and see if maybe we’ve done something wrong. If we’re not (wrong), and they’re just being rude and unreasonable, I calmly take a step back and remind myself of something my wife once told me: “When you see someone that’s mean and bad-tempered, there’s a reason. Someone’s making their life hard. Someone’s hurting them. It may be a very bad day, or it may even be a very hard life. You just happen to be the one they’re taking it out on.”

I like the sense in that. It doesn't ever make their actions justified, but it puts things into perspective. For me, it allows me to let them escape from my day (and my life) without leaving too much of a negative mark. I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry for whatever story lies underneath their nasty demeanor. And with this hurting economy, those bad stories are only getting more common.

Last weekend, a man with a scowl on his face walked up to me and my manager as we were talking. He pointed at his car that was in a Detail Bay for a hand wax; then he pointed a meaty finger in our faces. He said (and I quote): “No one’s started waxing my car yet! I’m a cop. If you don’t get someone working on that car, I’ll make one call and this business will be !@%*# up!”

I wish I was making that up. I’m not (although I do want to say we wash the cars of several great police officers who have become our friends).

In shock, we looked over to the car. What the customer couldn’t see was that one of my best workers (also my shortest employee) was just finishing the wax on the opposite side of his car. My manager pointed this out to the customer. In response, the customer said: “Oh. I didn’t see.” And that was it. Not a hint of an apology. He just turned away and continued to scowl.

As my manager and I backed away, I could see my manager was upset. And he had a right to be. The guy had just accused us of something that wasn’t true, he had threatened us, and neither of those things seemed to matter to him. Inside the lobby, we found our cashier a little flustered. She described the same man; she said he’d been rude and short to the point where she’d felt uncomfortable. Obviously, this was a nasty customer. And unfortunately, he had gotten into the heads of my employees.

I told them both to shake it off. I quoted my wife. I told them to enjoy their day. Whatever was behind that guy’s attitude was awfully sad. I told them not to be bothered by him; just feel sorry for him. And then I told them to be thankful they didn’t have anything that bad hanging around their neck.

It may not be a perfect solution. But really, what else are you going to do? My advice: get them out of your head as quickly as you can. Don’t let a rotten customer pass their mood on to you. Smile. Go shake the hand of a good customer and then thank them for their business. Slap an employee on the back. Roll your shoulders and be grateful. You’ll be surprised how quickly you get your mojo back.

Stay clean my friends (and happy).

--DJ DripDry