If you’re ever in the vicinity of Carterton, Oxfordshire, make sure you take a detour to get your car washed at Brize Norton Service Station.
The site, owned by the Fraser family, has been subject to a £1m-plus investment in state-of-the-art washing and valeting equipment. Indeed it’s so good, that it walked away with the Best Valeting prize at this year’s Forecourt Trader of the Year Awards.
The demise of many hand car wash operations coupled with the fact that many people are holding on to their cars for longer, means it’s a good time for car washing. The Frasers themselves say valeting is essential to the future of the business and a key focus for investment and growth.
The investment at Brize Norton is quite staggering and included the purchasing of extra land as well as two Washtec rollover machines, a six bay covered jet wash centre from Adriateh and also two ‘5 in 1’ Multique machines that offer air/vac/screenwash/fragrance and back-to-black tyre polish. Director Nick Fraser says they work with Washtec and Adriateh as they deem both to be leaders in their markets.
Not every forecourt operator has £1m-plus to invest but for Nick it’s a case of “go hard or go home”.
“The key to it all is having the land to offer a full valeting solution. We were fortunate to be able to buy a neighbouring plot of land next to our site and then have the courage to build the valeting centre that we’ve ended up with. Jet wash centres can work on their own but having a defined queuing area as well as space for customers to dry their cars after washing is essential to the site’s success.” He says their ROI/yield from this investment is hoped to be circa 15-20% per annum.
ADVERTISER’S ANNOUNCEMENT
AIR-serv is leading the way
AIR-serv is the leading provider of forecourt vending services, dedicated to enhancing the customer experience at locations across the UK and seven European countries. Established with a focus on innovation and reliability, AIR-serv offers a range of products including tyre inflation, vacuum and jet wash machines that are essential for maintaining vehicle performance and cleanliness. The equipment is designed to be user-friendly, ensuring a seamless and efficient service for customers.
AIR-serv’s commitment to forecourt retailers is evident in the comprehensive service support offered by the local teams. They provide regular inspections and servicing to ensure the equipment operates smoothly, minimising downtime and maximising both retailers’ revenues and customer satisfaction. By partnering with AIR-serv, retailers can enhance their site’s appeal and generate additional revenue through the provision of these essential services.
To find out more about how AIR-serv can help to improve your forecourt tyre inflation and valeting offer, please contact the team:
T) 01942 722333 E) sales@air-serv.co.uk W) www.air-serv.co.uk
Investing in staff
The Frasers have also invested in staff. They have a forecourt maintenance man who works Monday to Friday, maintaining the standards of the general forecourt as well as assisting customers with the new valeting equipment. They also have a part-time member of staff to continue the high level of service over the weekend.
Having double the number of car washes means that on some days the site sees over 150 cars pass through, compared to 80-90 cars when they only had the one machine.
“We don’t wash that volume of cars every day but we can close to double our sales when the weather and conditions are in our favour,” explains Nick.
And it is weather that’s the key factor to sales. Nick says the busiest times are in the evenings from 5pm and also on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays… weather permitting.
The top car wash – costing £10.99 is the most popular wash programme and most transactions on the jet wash are for either £6 or £8.
The car washes are promoted via the Frasers in-house Platinum Club. Members receive a 50% saving on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Nick says this has proven to be very successful and they are seeing even more benefit now that they are able to wash more cars with less queuing time.
The jet washes and Multique machines are linked to the Ready 2 Wash app so the Frasers can run promotions at specific times of the day and week.
All the equipment accepts contactless payment.
Good time for valeting
N & S Electrical Engineers, as the UK distributor for Adriateh, was very much involved in the valeting project at Brize Norton.
Director Paul Wrate says: “It was an absolute pleasure working with the Fraser Group. This was our second project with them but was by far the biggest project we have undertaken as the Adriateh distributor in the UK, working closely with Nick Fraser and the team from Nap Construction.
“All the equipment uses the latest technology including payment by contactless and phone app, which allows customers to set their own promotions and reach out to their growing customer base.”
Wrate says that while not every forecourt would be able to commit to a project this size, his firm can supply the same technology and structures for single bays and upwards.
“We are seeing a growing amount of standalone valeting centres, with four orders already placed for centres next year. These range from three bays up to six bays with customers agreeing on 15 year site leases, rather than having to purchase, which considerably lowers the initial outlay. We are seeing sites with an ROI of 12-18 months. There really has never been a better time to invest in valeting.”
Getting the basics right
Richard Sweet, sales and marketing director at AIR-serv, says jet washing is a highly effective method for cleaning vehicles. “It uses high-pressure water and eco-friendly cleaning agents to remove dirt, grime and other contaminants from surfaces, making it an efficient solution.”
He adds that partnering with AIR-serv, which operate the largest estate of jet washes in the UK, offers numerous advantages such as a large network of directly employed service engineers, unified van stock to speed up repairs and ensure machine uptime, customer satisfaction and, importantly, revenue generation.
“For retailers to attract customers to their jet washing facilities they need to get the basics right. Offering convenience and providing reliable and well maintained equipment, located in well-presented locations will help. Jet washing offers a quality and cost-effective alternative to using an unregulated hand car wash and by upgrading their jet wash estate to offer contactless payment and upgraded services such as the popular foam lance and brush, and new air blaster vehicle dryer, they can stand out from the competition and generate business.”
ADVERTISER’S ANNOUNCEMENT
SmartStart® – the smart way to pay at the bay
SmartStart Pro® and SmartStart® Pay are available to order.*
PSD Codax is excited to have expanded its line-up, continuing a history of leading technology solutions on petrol forecourts for over 30 years.
With recent changes to the retail landscape, Codax has been hard at work reducing cost of entry to unmanned payment devices for the whole car wash market.
“These recent additions to the SmartStart® family complement our existing family of card payment entry systems, reducing cost basis for our operators whilst maintaining the data and revenue uplift our access systems are known for,” says Rob Deal, managing director of PSD Codax Ltd.
“The backwards compatibility of SmartStart® Pay was a key must for us in development, knowing that so many customers have enjoyed the reliability of PSD Codax for their forecourt estate. It’s great to be able to offer a quality product that can easily be installed on existing forecourts in a matter of hours, not days, with the knowledge that it works.”
SmartStart Pay introduces a void function for fail-to-start wash programs** ideal for reducing customer service queries.
*Available on minimum 6-week lead time.
**Check with PSD Codax.
Customer experience
When it comes to car wash facilities, David Cornish, product specialist for Urgent at Techniche, says it’s essential for fuel retailers to get the customer experience right.
“A customer arriving at a petrol station to use the car wash, only to find it out of action, will go elsewhere, and that one poor experience may prevent them from returning to your site in the future.
“Examining our customer data on car wash breakdowns reveals the top three causes for an engineer call out include the car wash stopping mid-wash, car wash programmes freezing or not resetting, or the car wash is out of service due to low chemical levels.
“If downtime occurs, getting the asset – whether that’s the car wash or valeting equipment – up and running again as soon as possible is essential, both to protect revenue and to maintain the retailer’s brand reputation.
“But too often maintenance management relies on manual processes, which can be inefficient and extend the time taken to repair – this results in longer downtime and more disappointed drivers.”
Cornish says retailers should consider ways to reduce the downtime of these assets. “Implementing an asset maintenance management product, such as Urgent, helps forecourt retailers achieve high levels of asset uptime by automating maintenance processes and ensuring revenue-generating assets, including car wash and car care equipment, are working and available to customers when they drive onto a forecourt.
“Urgent also helps retailers track and control their maintenance costs – whether that’s through managing repairs under warranty or tracking supplier performance – all of which contribute to a better bottom line.”
Top 50 Indie Rontec uses remote diagnostics to manage its car washes.
Rontec’s head of property services, Parsya Amin, says: “We know customers value the car wash and valeting services on our forecourts, and we’re always looking for ways to improve the customer experience.
“We’ve recently installed contactless payment terminals on all our valet equipment, making it easier and quicker for customers to pay for these services. And we’ve upgraded our car washes with remote diagnostics, reducing the time it takes to get a car wash back in action.
“It’s an expectation that car wash and valeting services will be available when drivers stop at our forecourts. When these services are out of action, it can lead to customer dissatisfaction and even a decline in brand loyalty.
“One of the challenges we face with car wash and valeting equipment is customer misuse or vandalism, particularly with jet wash and air/vac.”
