Open invitation

Technological advances enable car wash entry systems to issue a warm welcome

By STEPHEN BENNETT

They’re not to the point of asking, “Want fries with that?” but car wash entry systems are becoming more and more sophisticated, with a wider array of payment options and, in some cases, built-in marketing capabilities.

The Access B-Series entry system from PDQ Manufacturing has been marketed to the cost-conscious c-store operator.

Steve Robinson, director of marketing for Mark VII Equipment, Arvada, Colo., which resells car wash equipment manufactured by Hamilton Products and Unitec Electronics, identified three trends in capabilities of entry systems: increased interactivity with consumers; increased ability to accept credit cards; and enhanced marketing capabilities.

Many systems in use today have LED interfaces with ability to display a couple of brief lines of text and so their ability to interact with customers is limited, Robinson noted. But high-tech systems available now offer a range of capabilities that can be of use to operators, he said, including systems with a color screen and the ability to record and present video messages for marketing and up-selling.

“The penetration rate of credit cards at car wash at retail petroleum sites is still fairly low,” but is gaining momentum, Robinson said. “I would say the vast majority of the entry systems that are out there are still not enabled to use a credit card, and that’s not because you couldn’t upgrade it to do it. It’s because the owners have not invested in that technology.”

Some marketers have a proprietary credit card if they’re branded with a major oil company or a regional chain or gasoline jobber, Robinson noted. That card is enabled inside the convenience store and at gasoline pumps, but many marketers “haven’t done the work to integrate that card into the entry system of the car wash,” he said. “That’s one thing that has slowed penetration.”

The other is that a site usually needs another phone line or cable for Internet service to process credit-card transactions. “A lot of retail site owners, particularly single-store owners, really pinch pennies,” he said. “The thought of paying... for a phone line or an Internet connection to process credit cards through the entry system is just something they resist.”

But the investment appears likely to be worthwhile, Robinson said, “because all evidence across any industry supports the fact that if you enable credit-card transactions it’s likely to increase the volume of business. People are likely to buy a more expensive product, in this case a higher-value wash.”

Dial-up and Internet-based credit-card processing are widely available now and not that expensive, Robinson said, “and that is where a lot of the new investment in entry systems is going, to either upgrade to credit-card capabilities on existing systems or, if (marketers are) buying new systems, they’ll buy that option so they can take credit-card transactions.”

Here’s a look at what some entry system providers are offering today.

PDQ Manufacturing
PDQ Manufacturing’s offerings include Access B-, N- and S-Series customer management systems.

Tami Wessley, De Pere, Wis.,-based PDQ’s marketing department manager, said the company offers numerous payment options with its car wash entry systems, including cash payment and bill dispensing (rather than dispensing coin for change); tokens; code; coin; credit card; gift card; fleet card; debit card; loyalty account card/code; RFID; and barcode (i.e., coupon or other prepaid).

“The most innovative systems, when paired with a loyalty system like PDQ’s Access Customer Management System and Wash Access Loyalty System , allow online payment or replenishment right at the entry station,” Wessley said. “Purchases can be either by dollar value or number of washes purchased.”

The PDQ systems offer a range of built-in marketing capabilities, Wessley said. For example, as drivers pull up, sensors detect a vehicle’s presence and trigger welcome messages. Built-in menu boards showcase wash choices; customized “daily special” screens offer the special of the day. Additional features allow operators the opportunity to up-sell customers at the entry unit.

Ryko's new "buy anywhere, wash anywhere" technology allows car-wash operators to increase revenue with minimal investment.

There are also capabilities for customized audio messages, including personalized audio messages for fleet/loyalty customers, and “Thank you” e-mails sent to loyalty customers immediately after use. There is also a loyalty system allowing operators to market directly to their customers via e-mail and at the entry station.

E-mail is particularly useful, according to Wessley, who pointed out that it can be used to send notice of special promotions to customers, and “e-minders” to customers who haven’t washed their vehicles for a period of time.

Further, PDQ systems can be used to announce new products and services at the entry station with custom screens and audio prompts, she said.

Wash customers can be encouraged to visit the c-store to get an in-store special of the day, such as a free soda with purchase, through the customizable audio messages. Also, there are fund-raising opportunities for local charities. Directional LEDs provide instructions to consumers on when to enter the wash, eliminating the need for separate signage, she added.

David Dougherty of PDQ noted that the B- and N-Series are the company’s most recent releases, and that the S-Series was revamped within the past year. The B-Series might be of particular interest to certain petroleum/convenience operators, Dougherty said.

“It has all the features and benefits of the S-Series, but it’s a little bit lower cost than the S-Series,” he said. “It offers definite revenue-generating products and features with our buy-up capabilities and our loyalty systems such as our WALS wash access loyalty system.”

Ryko Manufacturing
“Buy anywhere, wash anywhere,” is a new technological sales tool Ryko Manufacturing, Grimes, Iowa, is implementing in partnership with Intelio Technologies.

It allows an operator to implement a Ryko code wash at a non-Ryko car wash sites, said Rob Deal, director of chemicals and activation, Ryko Manufacturing, and John Carroll, president and CEO, Intelio Technologies, Irvine, Calif. It also enables an operator with multiple gasoline stations and one car wash to sell car washes from the dispensers at all stations.

The chief benefit of the “Buy anywhere, wash anywhere” tool is that for a minimal investment a car wash owner can realize an enhanced return, said the two executives.

According to proprietary data compiled over the past two years, 70 percent of car washes were bought at fuel dispensers, Carroll and Dean said, making dispensers the leading channel for selling washes.

As for the entry systems themselves, the Ryko and Intelio executives said that an enlarged color touch screen that Ryko offers eases the process for car wash customers in all kinds of ways. They described the typical entry to a car wash as “a terrible user experience,” with customers reaching out of their cars to use “tiny key pads and read little LED displays in the sunlight.”

Often, it is further complicated by the size of a driver ’s vehicle, they said, noting that there can be up to a three-foot difference between the height of the driver’s seat in a Mazda Miata and a Ford F-250 pickup truck, resulting in dramatic differences in the way consumers physically relate to the entry system.

With seven out of 10 customers buying car washes with a code, entering that code should be a simple task, they said.

Ryko and Intelio are also marketing a way to integrate car wash entry systems with in-store point-of-sale systems. Operators managing multiple locations can do their jobs more efficiently when car wash entry systems and POS systems work together, the executives from the two companies said.

The car wash can be thought of as “the world’s most profitable vending machine,” they said, an as such, it should integrate with the operators’ other control systems. They said this capability, which can be installed as a retrofit and across equipment lines, was implemented by Sheetz last February.

An operator can integrate with major brands of car wash equipment and still have the same car wash data collected from each location. Intelio provides a “broadband clearinghouse” for such data, Carroll said, serving as Ryko’s technology partner.

The data are consolidated on a Web site, which operators can access with a user name and password. “They can understand what’s going on at all of their sites,” Carroll said.

Further, operators need not travel to each site when they wish to set up a new program or offering.

Breakdowns are more easily managed as well, they said. They cited the need to eliminate “invisible downtime,” the time between when a car wash breaks and the store clerk calls somebody. Using the Internet, the system at the car wash can send service information to service people and can automatically dispatch technicians via cell phone.

The idea is to prevent one bad car wash experience from turning into 12 bad car wash experiences, they said.

As for payment options, code is a major focus because of the ease of selling in that form via dispensers and accepting it at the car wash entry. However, the men noted that credit cards are needed to “upsell,” or enable consumers to accept a higher value wash. To process credit-card transactions speedily, a broadband Internet connection is needed, they emphasized.

Unitec Electronics
Portal TI, Elkridge, Md.-based Unitec Electronics’ most recent product, offers the ability for site owners to dispense change in either coins or bills, thus reducing the number of quarters dispensed, said Tracy Sweitzer, marketing manager.

The Portal TI offers a range of payment solutions that can be scaled according to operators’ business needs. Remote access, comprehensive reporting and advanced security features are designed to let the owner manage a site, cut costs, save time and make more money. The system also enables operators to run advertising, loyalty and cross-merchandising programs.

Sweitzer said a POS interface allows car wash codes to be sold at the c-store register or gasoline pumps for redemption at the Portal TI. The system is compatible with rollover, tunnel and combo washes.

“While the Portal is our most recent product we continue to add features to our Wash Select II product to meet market needs,” Sweitzer said.

In November, Unitec introduced Software 5.10 for the Wash Select II, which contains two new features, including Internet credit-card clearing, designed to decrease transaction time.

Fleet accounts and VIP Wash Pass cards may be set up through the management function of the Wash Select II unit or through the POS4000. A pass card may be used to access the management set-up functions in the Wash Select II.

“Another development is the ability for a car wash user to add services to their wash, which helps the site owner generate more revenue per transaction,” Sweitzer noted. Called the Optioning Sales feature, it gives the site owner the ability to charge for additional services such as wax, tire shine, protectant, etc.

After a customer selects a wash, the Wash Select screens display additional options programmed by the site owner. The customer selects which services they wish to add. These costs are then added to the base wash price previously selected.

Sweitzer also pointed out that Unitec’s entry systems are equipped with surveillance cameras and alarms.

In a paper it distributed to the trade, Unitec pointed out that configuring an automated payment system and subsequent marketing programs to provide consistent messages and up sell the products and services can save a wash owner time and money while helping to increase profits.