Mehul Rajani expects that it won’t be uncommon for young car enthusiasts to spend 15 minutes trying out the eight programmes on his new Electrajet jet washers, so it is not surprising that he is devising a loyalty programme and a larger in-store car care section to appeal to them.
Also known as Mez Rajani, the second generation operator of Tilgate Service Station expects his two new Electrajet washers, will mean young car drivers spending a lot more time on his forecourt, than when he had a single old-fashioned four setting jet wash.
The Crawley-based Shell/Morrisons Daily retailer says the new machines – with modern features including a reverse osmosis spot free final rinse and a ceramic HD wax coating – will be especially popular with Gen Z petrolheads who take pride in regularly taking care of their vehicles.
The branding of the valeting hub, which is in a covered enclosure with sensor lighting and wider bays for vans, features racing driver imagery. It was designed by Rajani using ChatGPT to appeal to the younger car-conscious demographic.
Rajani is considering introducing a ’buy five washes and get the sixth one free’ type loyalty package, with a 5p a litre off fuel promotion already successful when customers purchase the most expensive rollover wash setting at his site.
He spent more than £200,000 on the jet wash hub, with groundworks completed by AKN Build, and expects the project will have paid for itself within two and a half years from when it goes live this coming Friday.
He also purchased two Electrajet four-in-one air, screenwash, vacuum and fragrance machines for more than £20,000 for the pair – explaining that two-thirds of the jet wash customers are most likely to use this equipment to give their interior a clean afterwards
“We’ve had so many customers calling us on the phone asking when the jet washers will be available,” says Rajani, who has taken over the running of the family business from his father Raj.
Previously, the site which is surrounded by housing was turning over £1,000 to £1,200 from one jet wash, and Rajani predicts this will double to around £2,000 to £2,500 a week, with a fee of £2 for 200 seconds.
Having chosen jet washers with overhead booms he also expects to reduce downtime on the machines being out of order. “This was massive for us. Previously we were replacing hoses every five to six weeks as they split being dragged along the floor. With engineers being like gold dust we could wait for a week to get them fixed,” he says.
“We have a lot of younger customers, as well as van drivers who wash their vehicles here with a big uplift over the weekend,” says Rajani. “And I can see customers who like to spend a lot of time cleaning their cars trying out all of the jet wash options, with the hot active snow foam and bleeding wheel cleaner expected to be particularly popular.”
To help encourage these customers in-store Rajani is considering advertising car care products on the digital displays on the jet washers. He has plans to increase the shop’s three-bay car care display to four bays with more car detailing products, micro-fibre cloths and interior cleaners, likely to be of interest to the younger motorist using the jet washers.
Rajani is marking the opening of the jet washers with a charity day in which it will match the takings from the day across its valeting operation – anticipated to be a couple of thousand pounds – and donate them to the local St Catherine’s Hospice.
It will be a big celebration for the petrol station which had to wait around nine months to get planning permission for the hub. The biggest issue was that to qualify for planning the site needed to prove that it would be using no extra water. Crawley Borough Council suggested harvesting rainfall from the shop’s roof to feed into a tank.
Instead, Rajani opted for a water reclaim system, also from Electrajet, to use on his rollover car wash. He believes that the equipment, costing nearly £30,000, could reduce his site’s water bill by up to 75%. He also had to spend £5,000 on a noise survey.
But his patience paid off, and he was granted permission to operate the valeting centre from 8am to 8pm Monday to Sunday – slightly less than the 6am to 10pm trading time for the shop throughout the week.
“With so much interest in the jet washers before they are even operational, I’m really excited to see what we can achieve,” says Rajani. ”And although we never intended to buy the reclaim system, it will cut our not insubstantial water bills of £1,000 to £1,500 a month by at least half,” he adds.
