Self Serve Carwash News Fall '19

10 QUESTIONS
One on One with
Jerry Nix
By Debra Gorgos, Editor
debrag@sscwn.com
Jerry Nix is the president of Speedi Car Wash
-- a car wash chain consisting of four locations
throughout the Washington State. He is the former
president of the Western Carwash Association
(WCA) and has been a key player in the WCA’s
recent Self Serve Summits as well as forums and
educational seminars at the International Carwash
Association’s Car Wash Show. He has over 35 years
of experience in the car washing industry. Nix, along
with his car washes, survived three recessions, water
restrictions, a drought or two, the onslaught of the
$2, $3, $4 and $5 express models, and maintained
a positive outlook and mentor for other self serve
owners. In May 2009, when Nix was president of
the WCA and the economy had officially crashed,
Nix wrote in the WCA newsletter, “While most
businesses dread economic downturns, some
believe that nothing sharpens the mind better than
the economy taking a nap. Leaner times make us
focus our energies on what’s most important.”
His championing advice encouraged many other
owners and it was also around this time that I first
met Jerry Nix. A very busy man, I asked him if he
would answer 10 questions for me and he kindly
said, “yes.” Here is what he had to say.
How did you get started
in the car washing industry?
I got started in the car wash industry in 1982.
I owned apartment rental properties at the time
and had a friend whom was building self-serve car
washes. So, I decided to try it out as an investment.
What type of car wash
is Speedi Car Wash?
I have four Speedi Car Wash Self Serves with 2
Autec Soft Cloth and 2 Laser 360 Plus. All of the
locations are self serves.
How has the self serve
industry changed since
you first got involved?
The industry has changed in many ways from
1982 to present day. The quality of the chemicals in
today’s car wash world has been outstanding. New
soap and wax products have evolved to where they
actually do a tremendous job of cleaning, protecting,
and putting a nice protectant shine on a vehicle.
Self-serve car wash equipment has had a major leap
forward with additional features to sell and market
on your coin box. The addition of pre-soaks, tire
cleaner, triple foam conditioner, air dryers, Rain-X,
tire shine, in-bay credit cards, and in-bay bill acceptors,
have given the operator additional profit opportunities
for their car washes.
Also, there are the other profit centers self-serve
operators have built into their car wash, including
coffee stands, pet washes, and the development of
the in-bay automatic.
What is it you like best
about running a
self serve operation?
What I like best about running a self serve is the
satisfaction of providing a quality service to the
public for cleaning their vehicles. Watching customers
line up and clean their cars either themselves
or going through the in-bay automatic gives
me great satisfaction.
What is the biggest hurdle
facing self serve
car wash owners today?
The biggest hurdle operators face is competition
from the express tunnels that offer the $5 car wash.
The competition from the express tunnel is different
in other markets around the country, but I would say
that’s the biggest hurdle for self serve operators.
What do you think a self
serve owner/manager should
do to improve their business
in terms of attracting more
repeat customers?
Provide a clean, safe and well-maintained car wash
for the customers is the best way to attract and keep
loyal customers. Make sure your facility has curb
appeal, is well lit at night, is cleaned daily and the
equipment is kept in top operating condition.
What should they do in terms
of their car wash equipment?
In terms of equipment, my goal is to keep all
pieces of equipment operating at 100%, which is
why we check on the properties 2 times per day. If
there’s a maintenance issue we fix it ASAP so that
the customer sees everything working and no “out
of order” signs indicating inoperable equipment.
Where do you think the
self serve car wash
model is headed?
There’s no doubt the self-service model has retracted
with the advancements in automatic tunnel
technology. The self-serve business model success
appears geographically specific where some
self serves are thriving and other markets where
they have outlived the highest and best use of the
property they sit on. In my market area of the Pacific
Northwest there hasn’t been a new self-serve
car wash built in the last 26 years. Existing selfserve
locations that are well maintained are still
profitable and successful operations.
What advice do you have for
our readers who are new to
the self serve industry?
New operators to the industry need to learn
as much as they can about their operations and
equipment. Network with others in the industry
or stop by and meet your competition, join regional
associations, and join forces with the self-serve
car wash online forum. There’s a lot of experienced
operators on the self-serve car wash forum
that could help the new operator solve problems.
What advice do you have
for long-term owners?
My advice for long-term owners is to identify what
it is you want your car wash property to do for you.
Are you satisfied with its current operating revenue
or do you want to demolish the property and build
a mini tunnel? Other questions to ask yourself are:
How much longer do you want to work? What other
opportunities can you do with the property? Can
you lease the property to another operator/family
member which will free up some of your time? It
is important to start searching out the most viable
opportunity that suits your lifestyle.
FALL 2019 • 21